This thesis explores the findings of a diachronic analysis of three lithic assemblages from Quadra Island, British Columbia. From this, insights flow about the genealogies of technological practice and communities of skilled practitioners who inhabited the study area throughout its deep history. I use qualitative and quantitative methods including macroscopic lithic analysis, thin section petrography, X-ray fluorescence spectrometry, and morphometrics to operationalize these theoretical foundations. This suite of complementary methods and theory weaves a narrative of technological change alongside simultaneous continuity for hundreds of generations of human life. I argue this is evidence of the dynamic, sophisticated, yet enduring knowledge and practice of the inhabitants of the Discovery Islands throughout their deep histories that persist in the present. / Graduate / 2019-04-16

L’oasis de Kharga, est située au cœur du Sahara oriental, l’occupation humaine de cette région est strictement corrélée à un facteur limitant : l’eau, dont la présence ancienne est perceptible à travers des formes géomorphologiques telles que les playas et les sources artésiennes fossiles. Les données étudiées dans le cadre de cette recherche doctorale ont été rassemblées au cours de dix années de recherches dans le cadre de la mission archéologique de Douch (IFAO). La prospection systématique a permis de dresser la carte archéologique de ce territoire et mis en évidence plus de 84 sites composés de 359 ensembles attribués à la Préhistoire récente. Fouilles stratigraphiques, sondages et collectes de surface ont livré un matériel dont l’étude est au cœur de notre recherche. L’analyse est ici guidée par plusieurs axes de réflexion. Établir les jalons d’une périodisation des installations humaines par la caractérisation et l’étude comparative des assemblages archéologiques axée sur les industries lithiques taillées s’avère un préalable nécessaire. Un programme de datation radiocarbone permet d’esquisser les contours d’une chronologie absolue pour cette séquence culturelle. Sur cette base, il devient possible de saisir l’articulation diachronique qui s’opère entre les installations humaines et les différentes formes de paysage reflétant des stratégies d’occupation du territoire adaptatives. Cette approche permet de questionner la singularité de l’oasis dans les scénarios de mobilité et de dynamiques de peuplement à l’échelle macro-régionale dans une période marquée par des phénomènes de transition majeurs tant climatiques que techno-économiques. / Kharga oasis is located in the heart of the eastern Sahara. In this region, human occupation is linked to a limiting factor: water, whom former presence is attested by geomorphological forms as playas and artesian fossil springs. The data studied here were gathered in the course of 10 years of fieldwork during the Douch archaeological mission (IFAO). A systematic survey permitted to draw the archaeological map of this area and revealed 84 sites including 359 clusters attributed to Holocene Prehistory. The archaeological material coming from stratigraphic excavations, tests and collections serve as a basis for our work. The analyse is guided by several lines of thought. Establishing the archaeological sequence thanks to lithic industries and radiocarbon dating is the first step. It is then possible to understand the relationship between landscape, environment and human occupation’s strategies. This approach allows us to question the place of Kharga at a regional scale during times of technologic, economic and climatic change.

L’Azilien pyrénéen tient un rôle princeps dans la construction et la reconnaissance des sociétés de la fin du Paléolithique supérieur. Cette référence s’est peu à peu éloignée des définitions actuelles, enrichies par d’autres découvertes. Les vestiges lithiques sont étudiés dans cette thèse pour interroger la caractérisation régionale par rapport aux autres données chronoculturelles. Pour cela, l’étude est fondée sur les gisements de Rhodes II (Ariège), Troubat (Hautes-Pyrénées), La Tourasse (Haute-Garonne), Le Poeymaü (Pyrénées-Atlantiques), Gouërris (Haute-Garonne) et l’abri Pagès (Lot). Ces analyses permettent d’aborder les questions liées aux évolutions dynamiques, notamment la mise en place de l’Azilien puis sa fin et le développement du Laborien. Elles mettent aussi en avant la particularité des pratiques pyrénéennes par rapport à ce que l’on connaît de l’Azilien plus septentrional. Un point de vue plus général est ensuite entrepris par rapport aux autres cas de figures de l’ouest européen. Le développement de l’Azilien dans les Pyrénées (14 200 à 12 500 cal BP) est différent des données plus septentrionales dans la phase d’azilianisation, avec un Magdalénien tardif (jusqu’à 14 200 cal BP) et l’absence de phase de transition. Par la suite, la phase récente trouve des points communs à l’ensemble des données françaises, pyrénéennes et cantabriques par une simplification technique marquée, mais tout de même agrémentée de caractères régionaux propres aux Pyrénées. Le Laborien, parfois présent, pourrait témoigner d’un retour à une normalisation technique dans les sites attribuables à cette phase. Il confirme la généralisation de ce renouveau dans l’ensemble de l’Ouest européen à partir de 12 300 cal BP. / Since its discovery in the French Pyrenees at the end of 19th century, the Azilien has an important role in construction and reconnaissance of the last Palaeolithic societies. It was characterized by its specific lithic industry (baked points), osseous artefacts (harpoons) and artistic remains (painted pebbles). However, new discoveries shed some new light on the character and dynamics of Azilian. This work deals with lithic industry in order to question its regional character and its relation other chrono-cultural data. Six lithic assemblages were examined in this work: Rhodes II (Ariège), Troubat (Hautes-Pyrénées), La Tourasse (Haute-Garonne), Le Poeymaü (Pyrénées-Atlantiques), Gouërris (Haute-Garonne) and Pagès (Lot). Primary, this study allows questioning the evolution of Azilian culture and its relation to the development of Laborien. Further, we question the character of Pyrenean Azilian, its status and particularity by comparing it with its northern counterparts. Finally, we’re observing the Azilian phenomenon in larger perspective by comparing the French facies with those of Western Europe. The development of Azilian in the Pyrenees differs from the situation observed in the “azilianisation phase” of the northern sites as the Magdalenian persist until 14 200 cal. BP and the transitional phase is actually lacking. However, during the younger phase some common traits are identified on the larger territory (France, Pyrenees, Cantabria) marked in particularly by a technological simplification. Still, the Pyrenean Azilian (between 14 200 and 12 500 cal BP) preserves its regional particularity as seen in its lithic industry characterized by double backed points, little scrapers and use of anvil in percussion. The Laborian, sporadically present in the Pyrenees, might indicate the retour of “technological normalisation” characterized by more regular and straight production. This “technical renewal” will soon characterize the whole Western Europe around 12 300 cal. BP.

Cette thèse a pour objet l’étude technologique de plusieurs ensembles d’outillage lithique provenant de sites néolithiques du bassin du Gobaad en République de Djibouti. Ces séries inédites proviennent de travaux récents de prospection et de fouilles réalisées dans le cadre d’un programme de recherche franco-djiboutien intitulé « premières sociétés de production dans la Corne de l’Afrique ». Pendant de nombreuses années, la Préhistoire récente de la Corne de l’Afrique n’a été documentée qu’à partir de ramassages de surface et de fouilles sommaires livrant de l’industrie lithique et parfois de rares tessons de poterie modelée. J.D. Clark en 1954 a regroupé ces séries provenant principalement de l’ancien protectorat britannique du Somaliland sous l’appellation de Somaliland Wilton. Jusqu’en 1984, aucune recherche n’avait été entreprise à Djibouti et ce n’est que depuis une trentaine d’années que la question de l’émergence des premières sociétés de production peut être abordée sur la base d’une documentation matérielle provenant de contextes datés. Dans le bassin du Gobaad, l’identification des faciès culturels du Néolithique a été réalisée à partir de l’analyse d’importantes séries céramiques et l’économie des populations qui les ont produites a pu être définie à partir de la fouille de deux sites d’habitat, Asa Koma et Wakrita qui ont livré de nombreuses informations, notamment la présence des plus anciens restes osseux d’animaux domestiques actuellement connus dans la Corne de l’Afrique, restes datés du milieu du 3e millénaire BCE. Dans ce contexte, l’étude des assemblages lithiques présents au sein des sites d’habitat du bassin du Gobaad a pour ambition de contribuer à la caractérisation chrono-culturelle de ces premières sociétés de producteurs mais aussi de tenter de déceler les rapports existant entre les comportements techniques des tailleurs et les pratiques économiques révélées par les fouilles. / This dissertation is focused of the technological analysis of several lithic assemblages from the Neolithic sites of the Gobaad basin, Republic of Djibouti. These ensembles were collected during recent surveys and excavations conducted within the framework of a French-Djiboutian project entitled “premières sociétés de production dans la Corne de l’Afrique” (first food-producing societies in the Horn of Africa). For many years, the late Prehistory of the Horn of Africa was only documented through surface collections and limited excavations that provided lithics and sometimes few hand-formed potsherds. In 1954, J.D. Clark grouped such materials from the former British Somaliland protectorate under the term Somaliland Wilton. No research has been conducted in Djibouti until 1984 and it is only since thirty years that emergence of food-producing societies can be addressed on the basis of material culture from dated contexts. In the Gobaad basin, Neolithic facies were identified based on important ceramic collections, the subsistence strategies of their makers were defined from two habitation sites, Asa Koma and Wakrita, which provided a wealth of data, including the earliest domestic animals bone remains known to this day in the Horn of Africa, dated to the middle of the 3rd millennium BCE. In this context, analysis of lithic collections from the Gobaad basin habitation sites is aimed to contribute to the characterization of the culture history of first food-producing societies but also to address the links between the technical behaviors of the knappers and the economic practices revealed by excavations.

Ce travail est une démarche d'évaluation des industries du Badegoulien en Auvergne au travers d'une analyse techno-typologique fine des séries de deux gisements : la grotte du Rond-du-Barry (Haute-Loire) et le site de plein air de la Contrée Viallet (Allier). Les caractères marquants et ceux plus discrets de ces industries ont été identifiés et comparés à ceux d'autres gisements de l'espace régional (Cottier, la Roche à Tavernat, Le Blot, la Goutte Roffat, la Grange Jobin et la Faye Godet). Nombre de chaînes opératoires ont été reconstituées en fonction de la variété des matériaux exploités. Il en ressort la mise en évidence de la souplesse technique du Badegoulien.En Velay, dans la grotte du Rond-du-Barry, le niveau F2 présente une diversité de faciès culturels du Badegoulien. Le Badegoulien ancien s'y caractérise par l'abondance des outils composites, l'absence de raclettes et par une production laminaire de supports épais. Le Badegoulien récent est marqué par des traditions techniques variées, en lien avec le sud du Bassin parisien et l'espace méditerranéen.Les sites de plein air du Bourbonnais (La Contrée Viallet et la Faye Godet), montrent la diversité technique du Badegoulien auvergnat : débitage d'éclat sur face inférieure de gros support éclat (méthode Kombewa), production lamellaire autonome, débitage sur tranche transversale et longitudinale d'éclat, débitage lamellaire sur face inférieure (pièce de la Bertonne).L'ensemble de ces données, intégrées à celles des autres sites du Velay (La Roche à Tavernat, le Blot, Cottier) et du Forez (La Goutte Roffat, la Grange Jobin) permettent de proposer une structuration de l'espace auvergnat au Badegoulien, entre plaine et montagne. / We present an evaluation of the Badegoulian of Auvergne after a detailed technological and typological approach of the lithic series from two sites, the Rond-du-Barry cave in Haute-Loire and the open-air site of La Contrée Viallet in the Allier. The characters of these series are compared with those from other sites located in the same area (Cottier, La Roche à Tavernat, Le Blot, La Goutte Roffat, La Grange Jobin and La Faye Godet). Numerous chaînes opératoires have been reconstructed according to the nature of the raw materials utilized. They demonstrate the technical adaptivity of the Badegoulian.In Velay, unit F2 of the Rond-du-Barr cave exhibits a diversity of Badegoulian cultural fascies. Ancient Badegoulian is characterized by the abundance of multiple tools, the absence of raclettes and a production of thick blades.The recent Badegoulian is marked by various technical traditions linked with thoose from the South of the Paris Basin and from the Mediterranean area.The open-air sites in the Bourbonnais (La Contrée Viallet and La Faye Godet) reveal the technical diversity of the Badegoulian of the Auvergne : flakes production from large flakes (Kombewa), autonomous bladelets production, débitage on flakes flanks and bladelet production on ventral surfaces (pièce de la Bertonne).All these data, when connected with those from the other sites of the Velay (La Roche à Tavernat, Le Blot, Cottier) and the Forez (La Goutte Roffat, la Grange Jobin) allow us to propose a model of structuration of the Badegoulian in the Auvergne, between lowlands and mountains.

Dans l’arc liguro-provençal, la coexistence des derniers chasseurs-cueilleurs et des premiersagro-pasteurs entre 7000 et 5500 av. J-C. engendre des interrogations sur la nature de leurs interactions.Colonisation et acculturation sont les deux piliers du phénomène de Néolithisation.Dans l’espace méditerranéen nord-occidental, celle-ci résulte d’évolutions techno-culturellessuccessives se manifestant par une diffusion arythmique. Ces sociétés, respectivement du techno-complexe Castelnovien de la fin du Mésolithique et du complexe Impresso-Cardial du Néolithiqueancien, ne partagent pas les mêmes sites mais peuvent exploiter les mêmes ressourceslithiques.Notre éclairage de ce moment de transition repose sur l’étude de cinq sites pour lesquels lesanalyses interdisciplinaires ont caractérisé finement le contexte chrono-culturel, économique etenvironnemental : Mourre-de-Sève, la Font-aux-Pigeons, Monte Frignone, Arene Candide et Pendimoun.Ils illustrent pour les uns la variété des biotopes exploités au Mésolithique et constituentpour les autres, les premières attestations du modèle économique néolithique dans la région.C’est par une approche fonctionnelle des systèmes de productions lithiques qui combine l’observationà faible et à fort grossissement (loupe binoculaire et microscope) des traces d’utilisationsur les outils que nous entrons dans les univers techniques de chacun de ces groupes. Lesrésultats portent ainsi sur les productions lithiques mais aussi sur la production céramique et lescomportements cynégétiques ou agricoles.La caractérisation des spectres fonctionnels, des ressources exploitées et des traitements exercésvient préciser la fonction de chacun des sites et les modalités de gestion des territoires associésà ces deux techno-complexes. Dans le complexe Impresso-cardial, on relève des éléments decontinuité avec les premiers agro-pasteurs du sud de l’Italie, dans le mode de fonctionnementdes projectiles et dans les techniques de moisson. L’étude de plusieurs phases d’occupations dece complexe donne à voir une évolution dans le travail de l’os notamment et l’apparition de nouvelles pratiques comme l’utilisation des industries lithiques dans la fabrication des céramiques.Parmi les occupations castelnoviennes, aucun témoignage matériel d’emprunts depuis le mondenéolithique n’est visible alors que dans le complexe Impresso-cardial, de nouveaux transferts depuis les traditions mésolithiques apparaissent : la typologie et le fonctionnement des projectilesainsi que d’outils employés pour le traitement des végétaux indiquent une forte convergence. Lesrecherches sur ces interactions doivent se poursuivre, tout au long du chemin de la Néolithisation,pour saisir les causes profondes de cet immense changement économique et donc, social. / The coexistence of the last hunter-gatherers and the first farmers in the Liguro-Provencal arcbetween 7000 and 5000 B.C. generates questions about the nature of their interactions. Colonization and acculturation are the two main models used to explain the phenomenon of Neolithisation.In the northwestern Mediterranean area, this is the result of successive techno-culturalevolutions which are manifested in the form of an arrhythmic diffusion. These societies whichbelonged to the late Mesolithic Castelnovian techno-complex and the early Neolithic Impresso-Cardial complex, respectively, did not occupy the same sites but could have exploited thesame lithic resources.Our understanding of this moment of transition is based on the interdisciplinary investigation offive sites including Mourre-de-Sève, la Font-aux-Pigeons, Monte Frignone, Arene Candide andPendimoun that allowed for a precise characterization of the chrono-cultural, economic and environmental contexts. Certain sites illustrate the variety of biotypes exploited during the Mesolithic, while the remaining sites illuminate the first attestations of a Neolithic economic model for the region.It is by means of a functional approach to lithic production systems that combines low and highmagnification (binocular magnifier and microscope) of use-wear traces on tools, that we canaccess the technical universe of each of these groups. The results concern the lithic and ceramicproduction, as well as the hunting and agricultural behaviors of these populations.The characterization of the functional spectra, the resources exploited and the processing techniques clarifies the function of each of these sites and the modalities of territorial managementof these two techno-complexes. In the context of the Impresso-Cardial cultural complex, weidentify elements of continuity with the first agro-pastoralists of southern Italy and especially inwhat concerns projectile use and harvesting techniques. The study of several occupation of thiscultural complex demonstrates an evolution in bone working techniques and the appearance ofnew practices such as the use of lithic industries for ceramic fabrication. There is no evidence forNeolithic material influence on the Castelnovian culture, while in the Impresso-Cardial complex,a strong convergence is indicated through the cultural transfer of Mesolithic traditions includingthe typology and use of projectiles as well as tools used for plant processing. Continued researchon the entire period of Neolithisation is needed in order to understand the profound causes ofthis significant economic and social transformation.

The study of prehistoric trade and exchange networks in the Western Mediterranean is directly linked to the identification and location of commodities available to Neolithic communities in that region. One of these commodities is a volcanic glass commonly known as obsidian. This investigation focused on the procurement, processing, and distribution of obsidian from the island of Pantelleria, situated between the southwestern coast of Sicily in the Straits of Sicily and the northeastern coast of Africa near Cape Bon, Tunisia. Previous studies indicate that there are several chemically different source areas on the island. Research involved the identification of primary obsidian deposits and the collection of samples from primary and/or secondary sources. The position of each collection point was recorded using GPS coordinates, photographs, and physical descriptions, including accessibility and geological matrix. Additional information regarding the size, frequency, and grade (i.e. quality for tool production) was also noted. Each geological specimen and artifact was visually examined for color, luster, transparency and internal structure. Geological samples and artifacts were subjected to trace element analysis, and the density weight of each piece was determined. Multivariate analyses of these test results were used to establish the unique chemical signature of each primary source on Pantelleria and to identify the specific flows where obsidian was collected by Neolithic and Bronze Age communities on Pantelleria and Zembra. Artifacts from Late Neolithic and Bronze Age sites on Pantelleria, and from Zembra, a Late Neolithic site located on an island situated off the northeast coast of Tunisia near Cape Bon were also included in this study. The results of this research has proven the importance of using large geological sample populations in determining the unique geochemical signatures of obsidian flows on Italian source islands, and will enable researchers to identify with greater certainty the source of raw material used to create obsidian tools in the Western Mediterranean.

No description available.

Stone plays an inextricable role in the lives of Andean peoples and the monumental stoneworks of pre-Hispanic cultures stand in memorial to the experiences and beliefs of those who created them. Stone is often selected as a medium for symbolic works due to its durability and perceived permanence, but in the Andes, its meaning expands beyond its physical properties. Stone was an extension of the animate landscape that both sheltered and endangered its inhabitants. Stories were attached to stones, whether natural or modified, to embed knowledge of the landscape and of history in the memory of communities. Centuries later, archaeologists utilize modified stones and constructed monuments as a window to understand long past societies. As our own technological abilities expand, we are able to garner even deeper understandings of the way stones were used and the meanings they may have once held. High in the Peruvian Andes, in a small city renown for its natural beauty and ecological adventures, there is a modest museum, where hundreds of once powerful stone ancestors are visited by school groups and tourists, receiving words of wonder in place of the offerings of coca, chicha, and music once granted to them by their human children and grandchildren known today as the Recuay people. These carved figures give clues to their meaning through their crouched mummified positions and their accoutrements of power, warfare, and fertility. But much of their histories have been lost, as looting, religious persecution, and local curation have moved almost all of these ancestors from their resting places, erasing clues about their roles and meaning in the society that made them. Utilizing a Holistic Approach to craft production (Shimada and Craig 2013; Shimada and Merkel 1987; Shimada and Wagner 2007), this research seeks to recontextualize these powerful Recuay ancestors that once populated the Huaraz region of highland Ancash (ca. 100-700 CE) through an investigation of their making. Each choice and action in the process of production reveals important information about broader technological systems, social, political, and economic relationships, and the cosmologies and belief systems of the makers. Incorporating multiple lines of evidence from geochemical and technological analysis, as well and surveys of archaeological sites, interviews with modern stone sculptors, and experimental testing of manufacturing techniques, this research provides a reconstruction of the entire production sequence for Recuay stone ancestors, from the selection, procurement, and dispersal of raw materials to the techniques, tools, and settings employed in manufacturing. This research offers an example of the efficacy of the Holistic Approach to gain sociocultural insights from material records of the process of production through direct evidence of manufacturing and to overcome limitations regarding artifact provenience. Additionally, the robust geochemical analysis outlined here provides a replicable approach to semi-quantitative sourcing studies through non-destructive portable X-Ray Fluorescence spectroscopy, with an analytical approach that is as accessible as equipment operation. As a rare case study in pre-Inkaic stone quarrying and carving, this research showcases the technological and symbolic variability within a centuries long belief system that recognized the animate landscape and treated extracted materials as an extension of those forces. Over the course of this 600 year long carving tradition, Recuay artisans altered the forms and iconographic details of these important sculptures, but the production techniques, surface treatments, and raw materials remained remarkably consistent. Only four geologic sources provided raw materials for 96% of analyzed sculptures in this regional assemblage across three different volcanic stone types, including two long-hypothesized quarries, Pongor and Cerro Walun. Over 97% of sculptures across all volcanic, sedimentary, and plutonic stone types shared a specially crafted surface treatment that differed from other Recuay stoneworks and from stone sculptures of preceding cultures in the region. Investigations at the confirmed quarry site of Cerro Walun reveal contextualized insights about the infrastructure of stone quarrying and carving and its close association with tombs and venerated, animate landscapes. Combined with understandings of communal ancestor veneration and intercommunity socio-political negotiations among the Recuay, we see that these stone figures and the process of creating them played an active role in the expression and maintenance of relationships and knowledge between communities and across generations.

No description available.