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15-16 Nov 2022 Lyon (France)
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Collective research project (PCR) “Réseau de lithothèques” and research group (GDR) “Silex”: Assessment of fifteen years of a dynamic approach to silicites studies 15-16 november 2022
Lugdunum Museum, 17 rue Cleberg, Lyon France Among all the technical activities of prehistoric humans, stone tools knapping is a privileged field of studies for archaeologists. Lithic materials are well known for being almost imperishable and have the property of recording the mechanisms at the origin of their formation and their aging as well as the physical traces of the human gestures of their knapping or shaping.
The study of these materials is therefore an invaluable source of information about ancient societies: mobility, circulation of goods and interactions between humans and their environment. Furthermore, it provides a dynamic vision of ancient societies and their socio-economic organization. Even if identiying the different types of flint was a question raised very early in the history of prehistoric archeology, a long maturation was necessary to reach a pertinent and efficient methodology. Over the past fifteen years, petroarchaeology has made major methodological advances to understand the mechanisms of silicite (flint, chert, silcrete and hydrothermal silica) diagenesis and evolution (e.g. Fernandes and Raynal 2006; Fernandes 2012; Thiry et al. 2014; Delvigne 2016; Delvigne et al. 2020). These incorporate the concept of the evolutionary chain of silicite in which the lithic material is considered as a vulnerable rock that records over time the physical, chemical and mineralogical transformations ruled by the various environments it passes through. The reading of these stigmas gives clues to go beyond the genetic characterization of the silicites (environment of formation) and define gîtological types corresponding to many particular places (ex: place of collection). Petroarchaeology applied to lithic industries helps to find the silicite-bearing deposits exploited by prehistoric groups. This work, partly carried out within an universitary framework, involved an overhaul of practices to build repositories – the lithothèques or “rock library” -, in the field (sampling and recording methods) as well as in the laboratory, with the gradual implementation of analytical tools adapted to decipher the “evolution chain of silicites”. Coupled with spatial analysis tools, the results of this research not only allowed to approach the questions of circulation of lithic raw materials and spatial structuration of prehistoric societies, but also helped to clearly identify the technical behaviors applied to the different types of materials and thus questioned their modes of acquisition. Practically, it was necessary to create the analytical tools, to control the reproducibility of the protocols, to standardize the vocabulary and to disseminate the method in order to initiate a synergy between researchers. This cooperation began in 2010 during the “Silex” workshop in Lyon and continued in 2016 at the CNRS thematic school held in Nice. A national survey about lithothèques was also carried out the same year, in order to identify the achievements and needs of research units in terms of repositories. These events marked the beginning of the consideration and dissemination of a conceptual and methodological renewal and helped to strengthen exchanges and collaborations between the various researchers and programs engaged in this questioning. Collective research projects (PCR) « Réseau de lithothèques » in the Auvergne-Rhône Alpes region (since 2006), Centre-Val de Loire (since 2016), Nouvelle Aquitaine (since 2016) et Ile-de-France (since 2018), as well as the research group (GDR) « Silex » (since 2019), constitute the operating structures of this new approach and bring together researchers from different professional backgrounds: CNRS, Ministry of Culture, Universities, INRAP, private companies, local authorities, museums... In order to harmonize results and practices, these projects are built on the same model and operate along five main axes: - Axe 1: Inventory, development and enrichment of lithothèques ; - Axe 2: dynamic characterization of silicites ; - Axe 3: Mapping of silicites formations; - Axe 4: Archaeological application ; - Axe 5: Dissemination, training and promotion of knowledge. The purpose of the Journées SPF we propose is to present, publicize and compare the results obtained over the past years by these various collective programs. We chose to divide the event in four half-days (4 hours each) with two long papers (20 minutes) and 6 to 8 short papers (10 minutes) followed by an hour of debate. - A session « Analyze tools » (coord. V. Delvigne + C. Tufféry + S. Renault + J. Garniaux) : will present the various tools developed over the past few years: evolutionary chain, collaborative GIS, common database, prospecting form and application, analysis chain, metadata, etc; - A session « Lithothèque and survey » (coord. P. Allard + C. Bressy + F. Bostyn + J.-P. Collin) will see participants discuss lithothèques models, tools, practices and perspectives; - A session « Geological case studies» (coord. P. Fernandes + J.P. Raynal + M. Piboule + A. Tomasso) will present some examples about so-called “marker” flints and case studies within the framework of a dynamic approach (i.e. of the evolutionary chain); - A session « Archaeological case studies» (coord. H. Lethrosne + R. Angevin + L. Mevel + E. Vaissié) will present the consequences of a dynamic approach of silicites in the context of archaeological studies and propose models of reflection on the spatiality of past groups. Organization comitee
Pierre Allard (CNRS), Raphaël Angevin (MCC), Didier Binder (CNRS), Françoise Bostyn (Univ. Paris 1), Céline Bressy-Leandri (MCC), Jean-Philippe Collin (Univ. Libre Bruxelles), Vincent Delvigne (CNRS), Paul Fernandes (Paléotime), Jérémy Garniaux (Univ. Aix-Marseille), Harold Lethrosne (EVEHA), Ludovic Mevel (CNRS), Maurice Piboule (Univ. Grenoble), Jean-Paul Raynal (CNRS), Stéphane Renault (CNRS), Antonin Tomasso (CNRS), Christophe Tufféry (INRAP) & Erwan Vaissié (Univ. Liège) |
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