From Mesolithic to Early Neolithic in the western Mediterranean
Résumé
The transition from the Mesolithic to the Early Neolithic in the western Mediterranean is a stimulating subject for more than one reason. In southern France, the earliest Neolithic manifestations are due to small groups of "settlers" of Italic origin. They are distinguished by the installation of small settlements of limited duration but which were clearly vectors of the "Neolithic package": agriculture, animal husbandry, pottery, polished axes, etc. It thus seems that the trigger in the beginning was a process of maritime colonisation of Italic origin. The Cardial must henceforth be considered, in France, as a secondary process. Its genesis is still subject to discussion. Three components seem to have played a role in its composition: 1) the previously mentioned Italic substratum, vector of the production economy; 2) the Tyrrhenian Cardial group, perhaps responsible for the band decoration; 3) a possible native substratum, still poorly known. These three components would then have blended locally in a context of rapid population increase, stimulated by a "demographic transition" resulting from the agro-pastoral practices introduced earlier. It is this hypothesis of "demographic stress" which would have led to the process acquiring a stronger expansionist dynamism. In Spain, where the pioneering Italic culture establishments have not yet been identified, the Cardial, spreading from Provence and Languedoc, seems to have been in its turn the vector of the economic and technical " Neolithic package".
Domaines
Archéologie et Préhistoire
Origine : Accord explicite pour ce dépôt
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