Climats et cultures paléolithiques : quand la vallée devient frontière…
The absence of Palaeolithic remains in the Garonne valley was at the start of a reflexion on the way this part of the Aquitaine basin was settled, especially during the cold periods of the Quaternary. A critical analysis of the distribution of sites between the Massif Central and the Pyrenees is sup...
| Published in: | Archéopages |
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| Main Authors: | , |
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | French |
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Institut national de recherche archéologique préventive (Inrap)
2012-01-01
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| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://journals.openedition.org/archeopages/469 |
| Summary: | The absence of Palaeolithic remains in the Garonne valley was at the start of a reflexion on the way this part of the Aquitaine basin was settled, especially during the cold periods of the Quaternary. A critical analysis of the distribution of sites between the Massif Central and the Pyrenees is supported by new archaeological and stratigraphic data from thousands of sondages undertaken within development-led archaeology. It provides new insights into the old question of the place of the Garonne plain in the Upper Palaeolithic of Aquitaine. Discussion centres on its implications, given that this part of Europe is, in part justifiably, considered a privileged area, an area or even a refuge in which the settlement of northern populations contracted during the Ice Ages. We conclude that a part of the Aquitaine territory was split into two by a largely depopulated or unpopulated zone. We suggest some interpretations, not only on the territorial reality of groups living on the edge of this inhospitable zone, but also on the culturally endemic consequences of these climatic conditions, apparently much greater than generally accepted for this region. |
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| ISSN: | 1622-8545 2269-9872 |