This thesis covers more than thirty years of the author's research into the Paleoamerican period of the Middle Atlantic Region of North America, including the last 19+ years of focused work on the Cactus Hill site (44SX202) and replication of the Paleoamerican occupation discovered there. Using a landform and geology based predictive model derived from the Paleoamerican occupation at Cactus Hill, the author directed preliminary archaeological testing in three other areas of the same Nottoway River Valley, where Cactus Hill is located. These areas were the Barr site, located 11 miles (18 km.) downriver from Cactus Hill; the Chub Sandhill Natural Resource Conservation Area, located 19 miles (30 km.) downriver from Cactus Hill; and the Blueberry Hill site (44SX327), located approximately 1,000 feet (300 meters) east of Cactus Hill. The latter two produced OSL dated, pre-Younger-Dryas landforms, as predicted. The Rubis-Pearsall site (44SX360), located in the Chub Sandhill preserve also produced a buried Paleoamerican, Clovis age cultural level confirming the model. In addition to the OSL dates, Blueberry Hill also produced a distinct and apparently discrete activity surface with a possible pre-Clovis age Cactus Hill point at the same depth as the Paleoamerican levels at Cactus Hill and Rubis-Pearsall.

Consacrée à la céramique de l’habitat d’Acy-Romance et, plus largement, à la céramique rème en Champagne, cette thèse comporte un premier volet dédié à l’analyse chronologique du corpus du village des IIe-Ier s. avant J.-C. En s’appuyant sur un classement technique et morphologique et sur une sériation des données, la perception de l’évolution a pu être affinée en relation avec le contexte social et culturel. Le second volet est dédié à l’approche fonctionnelle qui constitue l’objectif majeur. L’analyse est étendue à des ensembles de fouilles préventives d’habitats dans la vallée de la Vesle afin d’élargir la perspective. Le croisement de familles fonctionnelles, définies à partir de l’analyse interne, et des traces d’altération observées de manière systématique apporte de nouveaux arguments et pistes concernant l’utilisation des céramiques. Des correspondances dans la représentation des traces sur les grands contenants et les vases fermés amènent, avec d’autres arguments, à reconsidérer les interprétations pour l’attaque des parois intérieures et débouchent sur la reconnaissance de grandes céramiques probablement destinées à la préparation de la bière au cours de l’âge du Fer. En outre, l’étude de dépôts calcaires à l’intérieur d’ustensiles à large(s) perforation(s) conduit à proposer une interprétation comme entonnoirs pour fabriquer de l’eau de chaux. Une réflexion sur les emplois potentiels de ce produit s’accompagne d’un nouvel éclairage sur la production de la chaux dont tout indique qu’elle a pu jouer un rôle considérable au second âge du fer et s’accompagner de la colonisation de territoires où la ressource adaptée à sa fabrication était directement accessible. / This thesis focuses on pottery from the Iron Age settlement of Acy-Romance and more generally on pottery used by the Remi people of the Champagne area between 300 BC and 30 BC. A chronological approach, based on the definition of recurrent assemblage facies using statistical analysis and detailing the evolution of the pottery in Acy-Romance in relation to cultural and social contexts constitutes the first part of this work. The second part deals with the function of pottery based on new data from rescue excavations from the TGV project in the Vesle valley near to Reims, which has been included to significantly broaden the analysis. The vessel type and the functional relationship between vessels – as defined by measurable properties such as shape, volume and fabric, and surface alteration provide new arguments concerning their actual use. A similar type of surface attrition is observed on large containers and on fineware used to store and serve liquids. Including references such as ethnographic comparisons, it is proposed that some of the larger vessels were used for beer-brewing. Moreover, the study of a white mineral deposit regularly observed in “perforated pots” with large perforations has led to the hypothesis that they were used as funnels (with a cloth filter) to obtain a clear limewater solution. A discussion on the potential uses of lime underlines the role played by its production during the late Iron Age, as well as identifying specific production sites. The development of this production is probably one of the contributing factors of Celtic settlement on land where materials mainly composed of calcium carbonate such as chalk or limestone were easily accessible.