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Résumé. Cet article traite de la diffusion du silex du Cinglais au Néolithique, dans ses aspects géographique, chronologique, technique et culturel. Ce silex originaire de Normandie a fait l’objet d’une exploitation importante à partir du Néolithique ancien, notamment pour la production de lames. Il est également parvenu jusqu’à une grande distance de ses gîtes d’origine à partir de cette période. En se fondant sur les précédents travaux réalisés sur le sujet et en réactualisant l’inventaire exhaustif des découvertes qui s’y rapportent, nous souhaitons préciser les modalités de sa diffusion, sur la totalité de son extension géographique connue, et les contextes chronoculturels dans lesquels elle s’inscrit, sur toute la durée du phénomène. Pour cela, nous exposerons un inventaire critique de la totalité des découvertes recensées de silex du Cinglais à distance des sources, en explorant certaines possibilités d’interprétation archéologique de ces vestiges, dans le contexte socioéconomique élargi du Néolithique nord-européen. Summary. Cinglais flint originates from the jurassic plains of Normandy. Since the Early Neolithic, it was used in blade production and was identified within mines and habitats near flint outcroppings. This article focuses on the distribution of these laminar products and considers a variety of criteria: the aim is to determine its geographical confines and chrono-cultural contexts, as well as to specify the economic, technical and functional modalities of its exploitation. A critical inventory of the archaeological contexts allows us to identify the material as having been primarily diffused during the Early Neolithic. Our understanding of the spread of Cinglais flint in the Middle Neolithic comes from sites that are difficult to analyze. This, in turn, complicates efforts to reconstruct Western cultural groups, as well as our comprehension of the modalities of appropriation of the Armorican coastal territory. Observation of the distribution of a particular resource over the long term allows for the identification of related industries and the consideration of their role as dynamic vectors in the Neolithization process of western France. Exploring the causes of the emergence or disappearance of laminar industries provides information about their role within the expansion of a particular cultural model.

Résumé. Cet article traite de la diffusion du silex du Cinglais au Néolithique, dans ses aspects géographique, chronologique, technique et culturel. Ce silex originaire de Normandie a fait l’objet d’une exploitation importante à partir du Néolithique ancien, notamment pour la production de lames. Il est également parvenu jusqu’à une grande distance de ses gîtes d’origine à partir de cette période. En se fondant sur les précédents travaux réalisés sur le sujet et en réactualisant l’inventaire exhaustif des découvertes qui s’y rapportent, nous souhaitons préciser les modalités de sa diffusion, sur la totalité de son extension géographique connue, et les contextes chronoculturels dans lesquels elle s’inscrit, sur toute la durée du phénomène. Pour cela, nous exposerons un inventaire critique de la totalité des découvertes recensées de silex du Cinglais à distance des sources, en explorant certaines possibilités d’interprétation archéologique de ces vestiges, dans le contexte socioéconomique élargi du Néolithique nord-européen. Summary. Cinglais flint originates from the jurassic plains of Normandy. Since the Early Neolithic, it was used in blade production and was identified within mines and habitats near flint outcroppings. This article focuses on the distribution of these laminar products and considers a variety of criteria: the aim is to determine its geographical confines and chrono-cultural contexts, as well as to specify the economic, technical and functional modalities of its exploitation. A critical inventory of the archaeological contexts allows us to identify the material as having been primarily diffused during the Early Neolithic. Our understanding of the spread of Cinglais flint in the Middle Neolithic comes from sites that are difficult to analyze. This, in turn, complicates efforts to reconstruct Western cultural groups, as well as our comprehension of the modalities of appropriation of the Armorican coastal territory. Observation of the distribution of a particular resource over the long term allows for the identification of related industries and the consideration of their role as dynamic vectors in the Neolithization process of western France. Exploring the causes of the emergence or disappearance of laminar industries provides information about their role within the expansion of a particular cultural model.

[EN] We present the systematic study of a blank decorated with a simple linear shape from the Buendía rockshelter, in a Magdalenian context dated at ±18000 cal BP. The blank and its decoration are studied microscopically, in order to understand the operative sequence, which includes the procurement of the blank in the surroundings, preparation of its surface prior to the graphic execution, drawing of a simple linear motif, and the subsequent modification of the surface after the drawing was made. This sequence suggests the loss of its original symbolic value. Considering the archaeological evidence associated with the decorated piece, we conclude that the symbolic action was conducted in a multifunctional context. Similar motives are reported in other Southwest European Magdalenian contexts. A better understanding of portable art operational sequences and their context will enable moving forward in our knowledge of the use and function of graphic symbolism., [ES] Se presenta el estudio integral de un soporte decorado con una forma lineal simple recuperado en el abrigo de Buendía, en un contexto magdaleniense datado en ±18000 cal BP. Se estudia el soporte y la forma decorada recurriendo al análisis microscópico a fin de comprender la cadena operativa, concretada en la captación del soporte en el ámbito cercano, la preparación de la superficie antes de la ejecución gráfica, la realización de una decoración lineal simple y la modificación posterior de la superficie tras el dibujo, lo que plantea la pérdida del valor simbólico original. Considerando las evidencias arqueológicas asociadas a la pieza decorada, se concluye que la acción simbólica se llevó a cabo en un contexto multifuncional. La búsqueda de referentes similares en el arte mueble del sudoeste europeo pone de manifiesto la existencia de motivos similares magdalenienses. La comprensión de las cadenas operativas y la contextualización del arte mueble permitirán avanzar en el conocimiento de la función y uso del simbolismo gráfico., Las excavaciones en el abrigo de Buendía fueron autorizadas y financiadas por la Dirección General de Patrimonio y Museos (Junta de Comunidades de Castilla-La Mancha) entre 2005 y 2010. Agradecemos la subvención concedida por la Society of Antiquaries of London durante las campañas de 2009 y 2010

International audience; Amorphous charred objects (ACO) are a common category of finds in archaeobotanical assemblages, and they are often derived from processed plants. The largest among them can sometimes show traces of their original form, allowing for their classification as biogenic artefacts. In cases for which analysis is able to successfully retrace their original state to processed food, the informative potential of these “Bread-like objects” (BLO) – potentially representing pasta, breads, flatbreads, cakes, cookies, etc.– is immense, even if their components are no longer visible macroscopically. They are in fact a direct reflection of dietary practices, in domestic/public contexts or of ritual practices in religious ones. Frequently under exploited by the archaeological sciences, these BLOs represent complex products, elaborated by implementing culinary know-how within a precise cultural context. Various analytical approaches allow for the examination of the composition of these food preparations and detailing of certain stages of their preparation. Ground cereal grains are identified by the histology of bran, by observing the morphology of certain cell layers. Bakery practices can be considered in a non-intrusive manner, through X-ray microtomography (μCT), by observing the appearance of the doughs, revealing phases of their production process (kneading, rising, folding, formation of a crust, cooking in a mould, etc.). Impurities or additional ingredients may be studied via scanning electron microscopy. The study of flour and its preparation techniques allows us to observe the variability in standards of quality over time, in regards to cereal characteristics. As an illustration of such approaches, the analysis of six food preparation residues, derived from cereals, and dated between the 2nd c. AD and the 6th c. AD, are presented in this article.; Parmi les mobiliers archéologiques figurent régulièrement des fragments de matière organique carbonisée (MOC), fréquemment assimilables à des produits végétaux transformés. Les plus grands d’entre eux laissent encore deviner leur forme d’origine, et ils peuvent être identifiés comme des artéfacts. Dans les cas où l’analyse les désigne comme des mets élaborés, le potentiel informatif de ces éléments paniformes (EPF) – potentiellement des pâtes, pains, pains plats, galettes, gâteaux, biscuits, etc. – est considérable, même si leurs composantes ne sont plus visibles macroscopiquement. Ils sont en effet le reflet direct de pratiques alimentaires en contexte domestique, ou ils participent de rites en contexte cultuel. Encore sous-exploités dans la démarche archéologique, ces EPF représentent en réalité des produits complexes, témoignant de savoir-faire culinaires dans un environnement culturel précis. Plusieurs démarches analytiques permettent d’identifier la composition de ces préparationsalimentaires et de préciser certaines étapes de leur apprêt. Les grains moulus de céréales sont identifiés par l’histologie du son, en observant notamment la morphologie de certaines couches de cellules. Les pratiques boulangères sont approchées par microtomographie aux rayons X, de manière non intrusive, en observant l’aspect des pâtes, révélateur de leur façonnage (pétrissage, levée, pliage, formation d’une croûte, cuisson dans un moule, etc.). Par observation au microscope électronique à balayage, on relève aussi la présence d’impuretés ou l’adjonction d’ingrédients. L’étude des farines et des modes de préparation permet de voir en quoi les standards de qualité évoluent sur le temps long, en relation avec les caractéristiques des céréales. À titre d’illustration, les résultats des analyses de six préparations alimentaires à base de céréales, datées entre le IIe s. av. J.-C. et le VIe s. apr. J.-C., sont présentés dans cet article.

This paper aims at exploiting the chaîne opératoire as a heuristic tool, studying of urban workshops in Roman Antiquity. After a presentation of how the chaîne opératoire needs to be adapted to the sources used by archeology, the paper shows the need to shift away from the main mode of presentation of archaeological data: the plan. The principle is to use an abstract graphic representation which materializes, beyond the variable renderings of the material remains from one draftsman to another, the nodes where the different stages of the chaîne opératoire take place. By linking these points together, the followed paths are clearly visible; it opens up the possibility of questioning the spatial organization of the workshops and thereby answering technical and economic questions.The bakeries of Roman Italy, mainly those of Pompeii and Ostia, are used as an example of the implementation of this graphic representation. The contours of the theoretical chain of production of bread during the first three centuries of our era are quickly sketched by the compilation of chaînes opératoires observed in different workshops. Two examples are developed to highlight the interest of this spatial representation which allows to truly reveal the organization of bakeries. In the first case, the recurrent localization of a facultative variant of the chaîne opératoire underlines the primacy of certain technical considerations against ‘rationally’ organized spaces. In the second case, pathways analysis undermines assumptions frequently made about Ostian bakeries and opens the need for further field research; in its simplicity, the graphic representation becomes the foundation of an exploration strategy., Cet article propose un essai d’exploitation de l’outil heuristique qu’est la chaîne opératoire dans le cadre d’une étude des espaces de production urbains dans l’Antiquité romaine. Après une présentation de la manière dont la chaîne opératoire doit être adaptée aux sources exploitées par l’archéologie, l’article expose la nécessité de s’éloigner du principal mode de présentation des données archéologiques : le plan. Le principe est d’utiliser une représentation graphique abstraite qui matérialise, par-delà les rendus des vestiges, variables d’un dessinateur à l’autre, les points où s’effectuent les différentes étapes de la chaîne opératoire. En reliant ces points entre eux, on rend clairement visibles les parcours suivis, ce qui ouvre la possibilité de s’interroger sur l’organisation spatiale des ateliers et, par-là, de répondre à des questions d’ordres techniques et économiques.Les boulangeries de l’Italie romaine, essentiellement celles de Pompéi et d’Ostie, sont utilisées pour illustrer la mise en œuvre de cette représentation graphique. Les contours de la chaîne opératoire théorique de fabrication du pain au cours des trois premiers siècles de notre ère sont rapidement esquissés par la compilation de chaînes opératoires issues de l’observation d’ateliers distincts. Deux exemples sont développés pour mettre en évidence l’intérêt de cette représentation spatiale qui permet de véritablement révéler l’organisation des boulangeries. Dans le premier cas, la localisation récurrente d’une variante facultative de la chaîne opératoire souligne le primat de certaines considérations techniques sur les éventuelles velléités d’organisation rationnelles de l’espace. Dans le second cas, l’analyse des parcours met à mal des hypothèses fréquemment formulées sur les boulangeries d’Ostie et révèle la nécessité d’approfondir la recherche sur le terrain ; la représentation graphique, dans sa simplicité devient le fondement d’une stratégie d’exploration.

Anderson, T.J., Alonso, N. (eds), Tilting at Mills: The Archaeology and Geology of Mills and Milling. Revista d’Arqueologia de Ponent. Número Extra 4, 2019. ISBN: 9788491440291 Groups of unfinished quern and millstones (roughouts) have been recovered in Western Europe in the sea, in rivers and along ancient roads. They have also been unearthed during archaeological excavations of cities and rural sites. These different assemblages share similarities: the grinding surfaces are not finished, the eyes are rarely pierced and the handle holes are not cut. These groups evidence a segmentation of the operational sequence of production in Antiquity, from block extraction to their sale, with the transport of unfinished products and final shaping taking place in workshops beyond the quarry near their place of use. This model differs from that in the Middle Ages where millstones were transported in a finished form.

Anderson, T.J., Alonso, N. (eds), Tilting at Mills: The Archaeology and Geology of Mills and Milling. Revista d’Arqueologia de Ponent. Número Extra 4, 2019. ISBN: 9788491440291 The millstone research carried out at the oppidum of Bibracte has recently been bolstered by finds deriving from preventive archaeology carried out at the Roman city of Autun. A new phase of this research has focused on the quern and millstone quarries supplying the two centres. Among the quarries is the vast vaugnerite outcrop of Bois de Joux at Saint-Andeux (Côte-d’Or). Field surveys identified two sectors producing mostly rotary querns dating to the Late Iron Age and Antiquity. Examining the roughouts renders it possible to reconstruct the operational sequence of their manufacture while the study of the quarries offers data to distinguish the Late Iron Age from the Roman quarries and identify their sequences of production.

This article describes the technique of human embryo selection in two laboratories doing in vitro fertilisation in India and France. It is based on participant observations and a comparative ethnography. It shows how reproductive biology utilises naturalism as a global scientific approach to cells, and how biologists interact with patients who seek to realise a parental project. In the French laboratory two definitions of embryos, either as bunches of cells or as potential children, are critically related in a context where the scientific vocabulary is said to be limited or detrimental when communicating with patients. By contrast, the Indian laboratory does not debate the status of embryos, but instead communicates « facts » and scientific « truth » to patients in a context where fraudulent exchanges of gametes can occur. With reference to the notion of the « operational sequence », this comparative ethnography characterises selection as an operational relation, through which local contextualisations determine the meaning and evaluation of scientific naturalism., Cet article décrit la technique de sélection des embryons humains dans deux laboratoires de fécondation in vitro situés en Inde et en France. Il est fondé sur des observations participantes et sur une ethnographie comparative. Il montre comment le naturalisme de la biologie de la reproduction est déployé globalement, puis comment les biologistes entrent en relation avec les patients animés par un projet parental. Dans le laboratoire français, deux définitions des embryons, comme ensembles cellulaires ou enfants potentiels, sont mises en tension dans un contexte où le vocabulaire scientifique est considéré comme limité ou négatif quand il s’agit de communiquer avec les patients. Dans le laboratoire indien, il n’y a pas de débat à propos du statut des embryons. C’est plutôt la communication des « faits » et de la « vérité » scientifiques aux patients qui est valorisée, dans un contexte d’échanges frauduleux de cellules. En recourant à la notion de chaîne opératoire, cette ethnographie comparative permet de caractériser la sélection comme une relation opératoire, à travers laquelle les contextes locaux déterminent le sens et l’évaluation du naturalisme scientifique.

Souvent évoquée dans les termes d’un « jeu de ficelle », la pratique qui consiste à réaliser des figures à partir d’une boucle de ficelle — par des opérations effectuées à l’aide des doigts, voire des dents, des poignets ou des pieds — a été documentée depuis la fin du xixe siècle dans diverses sociétés. Plusieurs corpus de jeux de ficelle ont notamment été collectés en Océanie et en Amérique dans les premières décennies du xxe siècle, sur la base d’une description des modalités de construction des différentes figures de ficelle observées (Rivers & Haddon ; etc.). Une nouvelle méthode d’analyse a été plus récemment élaborée par l’auteur, à partir de l’articulation de différents outils conceptuels (issus de l’ethnomathématique et de l’ethnolinguistique), de manière à mettre au jour à la fois des traits invariants et des traits distinctifs dans les processus de création des figures de ficelle, tant au sein de chacun des corpus culturels, que d’un corpus à un autre. Cette méthode est illustrée ici à travers la comparaison de deux corpus de jeux de ficelle provenant de deux sociétés culturellement contrastées : les Trobriandais de Papouasie-Nouvelle-Guinée et les Guarani-Ñandeva du Chaco. Si ces deux corpus présentent de grandes similitudes de structure, ils se différencient très nettement dans les schèmes opératoires qui les caractérisent. Ce n’est pas dans la façon de créer de nouvelles figures à partir de configurations connues que les deux ensembles se distinguent, mais bien plutôt dans le choix de privilégier certaines opérations. As a practice which consists in producing geometrical figures with a loop of string—using mostly fingers, and sometimes wrists, teeth or feet—string figure making has been observed in various societies since the late 19th century. In the first decades of the 20th century, several corpora of “string figures” have been collected, notably in Oceania and in the Americas, with a description of the processes involved in the making of the different string figures. More recently, a new analytical method — based on the intersection of different conceptual tools (borrowed from ethnomathematics and ethnolinguistics) — has been developed by the author, so as to shed some light on the common and distinctive features in the processes used in the creation of string figures, in each cultural corpus, as well as from one corpus to another. The relevance of this methodology is demonstrated through the comparison of two corpora of string figures collected in two geographically and culturally distant societies: the Trobrianders of Papua New Guinea and the Guarani-Ñandeva of the Paraguayan Chaco. Although these two corpora are very similar in structure, they differ significantly in their operational schemes. What sets them apart is not the way in which practitioners have created new figures, based on previously known configurations, but rather in the choices they opted for in using certain operations.

This paper presents the analysis of 150 retouching tools. They are diaphisis bone splinters from the long limb bones of ungulates. They were found in level “D” at Axlor (Dima, Vizcaya), which corresponds to the last stages of Mousterian period (about 44000 BP). This level contains an abundance of Quina-type side scrapers. The study combines different approaches (taphonomy, technology, traceology and experimentation) within an structure of operational sequence analysis. The role of “sparsely elaborated” tools in neanderthals disability models, and their informative potential about Middle Palaeolithic societies, are discused., Este artículo presenta el análisis de 150 retocadores en esquirlas diafisiarias de huesos largos de las extremidades de grandes ungulados. Provienen del nivel D de Axlor (Dima, Vizcaya), datado en el final del Musteriense (hacia 44000 BP), y caracterizado por la abundancia de raederas Quina. El trabajo combina varios enfoques (tafonómico, tecnológico, traceológico y experimental) que se integran en una estructura de análisis de la cadena operativa. Se discute el papel de las llamadas industrias “poco elaboradas” en los modelos sobre las incapacidades de los neandertales, y su potencial informativo sobre las sociedades del Paleolítico medio.

The boleadeira is one of the most popular archaeological artifacts of the Plata region, not only by the academic community, but also by the general population. Its production process remains surrounded by many assumptions, most of them do not resist empirical trials. In view of this situation, a survey of pre-colonial origins of this artifact was provided, as well as a literature survey of chronicles reports of that instrument, and then reported an activity of production and use in an experimental way. At the end, it is presented the operational sequence of the experimentation and the considerations of this process applied to the study ofarchaeological collections. Resumo: A boleadeira é um dos artefatos arqueológicos mais conhecidos na região platina, não só pela comunidade acadêmica, como também pela população em geral. Seu processo produtivo continua envolto por muitas suposições, que em sua maioria não resistem a provações empíricas. Tendo em vista esta situação, foi realizado um levantamento das origens pré-coloniais desse artefato, uma busca bibliográfica de relatos de cronistas sobre esse instrumento, e em seguida, relata-se uma atividade de produção e uso desse instrumento de forma experimental. Ao final, expõem-se a sequência operatória apreendida na experimentação e as considerações desse processo aplicadas ao estudo de coleções arqueológicas.Abstract: The boleadeira is one of the most popular archaeological artifacts of the Plata region, not only by the academic community but also by the general population. Its production process remains surrounded by many assumptions, most of them do not resist empirical trials. In view of this situation, a survey of pre-colonial origins of this artifact was provided, as well as a literature survey of chronicles reports of that instrument, and then reported an activity of production and use in an experimental way. At the end, it is presented the operational sequence of the experimentation and the considerations of this process applied to the study of archaeological collections.

International audience; Funerary archaeologists excavate and study hundreds or even thousands of skeletons during their career. Yet even though the long-disappeared organic parts are discussed when reconstructing the initial deposits, professionals find it hard to imagine the corpse itself. They were questioned, starting from a life story, about the presence, at least intellectual, of the corpse and their feelings towards it, through the operational sequence of archaeological work.At each stage of fieldwork (diagnostic, excavation, recording, removal of remains), the corpse is hardly present in the mind. During the phase of detection and exploration of sites, called the diagnostic, the main concern is one of respect, for scientific and possibly moral reasons. The breaking up and scattering (of a body or a funerary site), the extraction of part a whole which will not necessarily be excavated, poses a problem for everyone and questions the notion of integrity. During excavation, the long « hand-to-hand » between skeleton and digger can provoke an exchange, a dialogue, which contributes towards rendering the skeleton its disappeared fleshy parts. For some, the appearance of the corpse would thus fall within the time shared and spent on the burial. But in the majority of cases, the image that is created has more to do with the living person than the corpse. The stages following fieldwork (washing, study, reconstruction, experiment) seem more favourable to the emergence of the corpse, but feelings supplant the required scientific detachment. The corpse is now mentioned in terms of awkwardness, disgust, trauma…So the corpse is not very present in the minds of archaeologists working on funerary practices. Rather than an archaeology of death, it is an archaeology of life that is triumphant, or even an archaeology of love since a grave is – also – the reflection of the affection of the living.; Les archéologues du funéraire fouillent et étudient des centaines voire des milliers de squelettes dans leur carrière. Pour autant, même si les parties organiques disparues font partie du discours de recomposition des dépôts initiaux, les cadavres peinent à apparaître dans l’imaginaire des professionnels. Ces derniers ont été interrogés, en partant d’un récit de vie, sur la présence, au moins intellectuelle, du cadavre et du ressenti face à lui, tout en suivant la chaîne opératoire de la discipline.À chacune des étapes de terrain (diagnostic, fouille, enregistrement, prélèvement), le cadavre est assez peu présent dans les esprits. Lors de la phase de détection et de reconnaissance des sites, appelée diagnostic, c’est le souci de respect qui est prégnant, à des fins scientifiques, éventuellement morales. Morceler, éparpiller (un individu, un site funéraire), extraire d’un tout qui ne sera pas forcément fouillé, pose problème à chacun et interroge la notion d’intégrité. Lors de la fouille, de ce long « corps à corps » entre squelette et fouilleur, peut naître un échange, un dialogue, qui contribue à redonner au squelette ses parties molles disparues. L’apparition du cadavre s’inscrirait donc pour certains dans le temps partagé, le temps passé sur la tombe, le temps passé sur l’espace funéraire. Mais dans la majorité des cas, l’image qui se crée renvoie plus au vivant qu’au cadavre. Les étapes postérieures au travail de terrain (lavage, étude, restitution, expérimentation) semblent plus propices à l’émergence du cadavre, mais le ressenti prend alors le pas sur la nécessaire distance scientifique. Avec le cadavre apparaissent dans les discours les termes de gêne, dégoût, traumatisme…Le cadavre est donc assez peu présent dans les esprits des archéologues travaillant sur les pratiques mortuaires. Plus qu’une archéologie de la mort, c’est une archéologie de la vie qui est triomphante, voire une archéologie de l’amour puisqu’une tombe est – aussi – le reflet de l’attachement des vivants.

Dissertação para obtenção do Grau de Doutor em Conservação e Restauro, especialidade Ciências da Conservação This work provides an integrated study of the ancient metallurgy in southern Portugal comprising the characterisation of 241 production remains and artefacts, mostly belonging to the Late Bronze Age (LBA) and Early Iron Age (EIA). Analytical studies involve energy dispersive X-ray fluorescence spectrometry (EDXRF) and micro-EDXRF to determine elemental composition, together with optical microscopy, scanning electron microscopy with X-ray microanalysis and Vickers microhardness testing for microstructural characterisation and hardness determination. Main results include identification of heterogeneous and immature LBA slags containing tin oxides and metallic prills (copper and bronze) with low iron contents. Additionally, relic mineral inclusions indicate co-smelting of copper ores, probably with cassiterite. Poor reducing conditions shall be responsible by lower iron contents of LBA artefacts (

This paper presents the analysis of 150 retouching tools. They are diaphisis bone splinters from the long limb bones of ungulates. They were found in level “D” at Axlor (Dima, Vizcaya), which corresponds to the last stages of Mousterian period (about 44000 BP). This level contains an abundance of Quina-type side scrapers. The study combines different approaches (taphonomy, technology, traceology and experimentation) within an structure of operational sequence analysis. The role of “sparsely elaborated” tools in neanderthals disability models, and their informative potential about Middle Palaeolithic societies, are discused.Este artículo presenta el análisis de 150 retocadores en esquirlas diafisiarias de huesos largos de las extremidades de grandes ungulados. Provienen del nivel D de Axlor (Dima, Vizcaya), datado en el final del Musteriense (hacia 44000 BP), y caracterizado por la abundancia de raederas Quina. El trabajo combina varios enfoques (tafonómico, tecnológico, traceológico y experimental) que se integran en una estructura de análisis de la cadena operativa. Se discute el papel de las llamadas industrias “poco elaboradas” en los modelos sobre las incapacidades de los neandertales, y su potencial informativo sobre las sociedades del Paleolítico medio.

Excavations at the site of Combe Saunière yielded a large quantity of well-preserved Solutrean artefacts, including more than 400 shouldered point fragments and over 12,000 identifiable faunal remains. Several domains of analysis were integrated to reconstruct the technological and economic behaviour of Solutrean populations in their territory. One aspect of this reconstruction, based on the analysis of preserved organic materials, is presented in this paper. Solutrean groups primarily hunted ungulates with little selection, though reindeer were preferred. After the complete exploitation of nutritional resources, shown by the high density of cut marks and the systematic breakage of marrow-bearing bones, a high percentage of the spongy but compact bone was burned. Technical and symbolic needs were clearly anticipated through the hunting of certain birds, the collection of reindeer antler and ivory, the utilisation of objects naturally present on the ground surface, and the stockpiling of reindeer metapodials for future transformation into tools. The technological exploitation of osseous materials was highly diverse and fully integrated with other technological and subsistence activities.

This research takes as starting point Anthropology’s theoretical and methodological developments through which technology and work came to be looked at as social and cultural practices. It assumes that selves weave and make sense of the social world, in a dynamic and historical way, yet they also objectify it, for they must act and interact. This study also assumes that anthropological knowledge, though requiring some degree of reflexivity in order to build its own validity, rather focuses on a world perceived as external. Being subjective, such knowledge is also inter-subjective: it can be shared and partly reproduced in the scope of Anthropology’s disciplinary tradition. The relation between technology and society is the main research subject. As a case study, the social uses of technological knowledge and technological practices, in an industrial work arena, among the machine operators of the glass container industry at Marinha Grande (Portugal) are focused. Ethnographic methodologies were used, through repeated stays at the shop floor along with a worker’s team. These workers, as well as other relevant people, were also in‑depth interviewed. In order to understand the social construction of the machine operators, three additional corpora of data were built, through a wide range of oral and written sources. Those data refer to the history of the Marinha Grande’s and Portuguese glass container industry; to the whole Marinha Grande glass industry (namely its current ‘heritaging’ process); and to the current technological and organisational trends at the global glass container industry. Most of the data concerning technological practices were systematised through the ‘operational sequence’ concept, some complementary concepts having been proposed to make it fit the study of automatic production contexts. This study has observed that machine operators direct their technological practices and their relationship with the machine towards the creation of social areas of autonomy and decision‑making, through which they take possession of their work. They support these social choices with technical arguments, drawn from a representation of glass container production as a complex, unstable process, demanding their skilled, judicious intervention at all times. Because that representation is largely shared among the plant hierarchy, and also because rationalising trends (of growing importance) and ‘productivist’ ones (still dominant) compete within the organisation, there is an ambiguous organisational answer (explicit refusal yet tacit consent) to the transgression and autonomy that mark the operators’ technological practices. Hence the operator’s technological practices are deeply social, illustrating once more the social shaping of technology. Moreover, the very materiality of production provides the operators with (talked and acted) arguments to build their social place in the factory, suggesting that technology and matter, more than being socially constructed, are an object of relevant social uses. As those often imply naturalistic representations of technology, it seems indispensable to study the material features of technological phenomena in order to understand them as long as dynamics of meaning, interpretation and power. Dans cette étude, on part des acquis théoriques et méthodologiques qui permettent, en Anthropologie, penser les techniques et le travail en tant que pratiques sociales et culturelles. On présuppose que le social est construit et interprété, mais aussi objectivé pour permettre l’action et de l’interaction. On considère que, chez l’Anthropologie, la connaissance, bien que demandant le degré de réflexivité nécessaire à la construction de sa validité même, construit pourtant des objets qui questionnent un monde perçu comme extérieur. Il s’agit donc d’une connaissance, bien que subjective, aussi inter-subjective: on peut la partager et la reproduire partiellement à l’intérieur de la tradition disciplinaire. L’objet de recherche est ici la relation entre technique et société. L’étude de cas concerne les usages sociaux des connaissances et des pratiques techniques, dans un environnement social dense (l’usine, le travail), chez les conducteurs de machines de l’industrie automatisée de verre d’emballage à Marinha Grande (Portugal). On a eu recours à la méthode ethnographique, suivant en usine une équipe d’ouvriers. Des interviews approfondies, en dehors de l’usine, avec ces ouvriers et d’autres sujets concernés, ont aussi eu lieu. Moyennant des sources oralles et des sources écrites très diversifiées, on a construit des données pour comprendre le processus de construction sociale de ces ouvriers: données sur l’histoire de l’industrie de verre d’emballage à Marinha Grande et au Portugal; sur l’ensemble de l’industrie verrière à Marinha Grande (envisageant notamment son actuel processus de patrimonalisation); sur les tendances technologiques et organisationnelles les plus importantes observables chez l’industrie de verre d’emballages au niveau global. La plupart des données concernant les pratiques techniques a été systématisé moyennant le concept de chaîne opératoire, auquel on propose d’ajouter quelques concepts complémentaires pour le rendre adapté à l’étude des environements industriels automatisés. On a observé que les conducteurs directionnent ses pratiques techniques et son rapport à la machine vers la création d’espaces sociaux d’autonomie, décision et appropriation du travail. Avec ces choix sociaux ils font interagir des arguments techniques, qui s’appuient sur une représentation du processus de production en tant que complexe et instable, leur demandant de très fréquentes interventions qualifiés et judicieuses. Puisque cette représentation est largement partagée par l’hiérarchie de l’usine, les éléments de transgression et autonomie qui se trouvent dans les pratiques techniques des conducteurs suscitent une réponse ambigüe (refus explicite mais accord tacite) de part de l’organisation, chez laquelle s’entrecroisent des logiques rationalisantes (chaque jour plus importantes, d’après les tendances globales) vs. des logiques productivistes (encore dominantes). Les pratiques techniques des conducteurs se présentent, donc, vraiment sociales, ce qui rend visible, encore une fois, le caractère social de la technique. Davantage, si c’est dans la matérialité de la production que les conducteurs trouvent des arguments (discoursifs et pratiques) pour façonner son espace social dans l’usine, voilà ce qui suggère que la technique et la matière, au delà d’être socialement construites, sont aussi l’objet d’usages sociaux remarquables. Puisque ces usages impliquent souvent des représentations naturalisantes des techniques, il semble indispensable questionner celles-ci dans sa materialité pour les comprendre en tant que dynamiques de signification, interprétation et pouvoir. O presente estudo parte das aquisições teóricas e de método que, em antropologia, permitem pensar as técnicas e o trabalho enquanto práticas sociais e culturais. Pressupõe que o social é construído e interpretado, dinâmico e histórico, mas também objectivado para efeitos de acção e interacção. Considera que o conhecimento em antropologia, embora exigindo a reflexividade necessária à sua própria validação, incide todavia sobre objectos que interrogam um mundo percebido como exterior – sendo então, embora subjectivo, igualmente intersubjectivo: i.e., partilhável e parcialmente reprodutível no âmbito da tradição disciplinar. É objecto global de pesquisa a relação entre técnica e sociedade, tendo-se tomado como caso as utilizações sociais dos conhecimentos e práticas técnicos, no contexto socialmente denso da fábrica e do trabalho, entre os condutores de máquinas da indústria automatizada de vidro de embalagem na Marinha Grande (Portugal). Utilizou-se o método etnográfico, com permanências em meio fabril acompanhando uma equipa de operários e realizaram-se entrevistas aprofundadas (guião semi‑directivo), fora da fábrica, a esses e outros intervenientes. Mediante fontes orais e fontes escritas muito diversificadas e visando apreender o processo de construção social dos condutores de máquinas, foram construídos dados sobre a diacronia do sector industrial em causa, na Marinha Grande e em Portugal, sobre o conjunto do contexto vidreiro marinhense (nomeadamente os actuais processos de patrimonialização) e sobre as principais tendências técnicas e organizacionais da indústria de vidro de embalagem a nível global. Parcela importante dos dados construídos a respeito das práticas técnicas em estudo foi sistematizada mediante o conceito de cadeia operatória, para cuja aplicação a contextos industriais automatizados se propõem conceitos complementares. O estudo observou que os condutores de máquinas orientam as suas práticas técnicas e a sua relação com a máquina no sentido da criação de espaços sociais de autonomia, decisão e apropriação do trabalho. Com estas escolhas sociais fazem interagir argumentos técnicos, apoiados numa representação do processo produtivo enquanto complexo e instável, requerendo da sua parte constantes intervenções casuísticas e judiciosas. Uma vez que esta representação é, em grande medida, partilhada pela hierarquia fabril, os elementos de transgressão e autonomia presentes nas práticas técnicas dos condutores suscitam uma resposta ambígua (recusa explícita mas aceitação tácita) por parte da organização, no interior da qual se cruzam lógicas racionalizadoras (crescentemente importantes, no âmbito de tendências globais) vs. lógicas produtivistas (ainda dominantes). As práticas técnicas dos condutores apresentam-se, então, fortemente sociais, ilustrando ainda uma vez o carácter socialmente construído da técnica. Adicionalmente, o facto de ser na materialidade da produção que os condutores buscam argumentos (de discurso e de prática) para a quotidiana construção do seu lugar social na fábrica sugere que a técnica e a matéria, mais que serem socialmente construídas, são objecto de relevantes usos sociais. Passando estes, amiúde, por representações naturalizantes das técnicas, afigura-se indispensável interrogá-las na sua materialidade para as compreender enquanto dinâmicas de sentido, interpretação e poder.