Scientific article
OA Policy
English

First Obsidian in the Northern French Alps during the Early Neolithic

Published inJournal of Field Archaeology, vol. 44, no. 3, p. 180-194
Publication date2019
Abstract

An exceptional discovery was made in 2013 in the northern French Alps, at the Grande Rivoire site in Sassenage (Isère department): an obsidian bladelet from Sardinia was found in a cultural horizon dated to about 5360–5210 CAL B.C. The abundant arrowheads found with it are characteristic of the Early Neolithic in the South of France (Cardial/Epicardial). Yet there was no pottery or domestic fauna, and only discrete markers of farming. The typological, technological and micro-wear analysis of this bladelet, as well as the determination of the origin of the raw material, open new avenues of reflection for the neolithization of the northern Alps, in particular concerning the role played by the Early Neolithic cultures of northern Italy.

Keywords
  • Europe
  • France
  • Archéologie
  • Préhistoire
  • Néolithique
  • Néolithisation
  • Obsidienne
  • Industrie Lithique
Citation (ISO format)
NICOD, Pierre-Yves et al. First Obsidian in the Northern French Alps during the Early Neolithic. In: Journal of Field Archaeology, 2019, vol. 44, n° 3, p. 180–194. doi: 10.1080/00934690.2019.1580077
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Article (Published version)
Identifiers
Journal ISSN0093-4690
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436downloads

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