De l'utilisation des outils de mouture, broyage et polissage au Néolithique en Bassin parisien : apports de la tracéologie

In the Paris Basin, neolithic grinding and polishing tools are characterized by the almost exclusive use of one raw material, sandstone, and by complex management involving multi-purpose tool use as well as raw material recycling. A functional approach was therefore necessary to complete the initial typo-technological study, given the highly fragmentary nature of the artefacts and difficulties in observing working surfaces. In order to examine the materials worked and the function of the more problematical typological categories, a basic methodology for observation at low magnification was established. The definition of observation criteria was elaborated in parallel with experimental tests for three kinds of activity. The archaeological sample was taken from a Villeneuve-Saint-Germain site at Poses "Sur la Mare " and a Chassey culture site at Louviers "La Villette " (both in the Eure département). Preliminary analyses of archaeological and experimental surfaces produced encouraging results, both for the understanding of use-wear formation and for the functional differentiation of working surfaces. As a consequence, interpretation of the technical status of these tools in the everyday domestic activities of neolithic populations can be taken a degree further.