The distribution of the first domesticated animals and crops along the coastal area of Atlantic NW Europe, which triggered the transition from a hunter-gatherer-fisher to a farmer-herder economy, has been debated for many decades among archaeologists. While some advocate a gradual transition in which indigenous hunter-gatherers from the very beginning of the 5th millennium cal BC progressively adopted Neolithic commodities, others are more in favor of a rapid transition near the end of the 5th millennium caused by a further northwest migration of farmers-herders colonizing the lowlands. Here, radiocarbon dated bones from sheep/goat and possibly also cattle are presented which provide the first hard evidence of an early introduction of domesticated animals within a hunter-gatherer context in NW Belgium, situated ca. 80 km north of the agro-pastoral frontier. Based on their isotope signal it is suggested that these first domesticates were probably not merely obtained through exchange with contemporaneous farmers but were kept locally, providing evidence of small-scale local stockbreeding in the lowlands maybe as early as ca. 4800/4600 cal BC. If confirmed by future in-depth isotope analyses, the latter testifies of intense contact and transmission of knowledge in this early contact period, which is also visible in the material culture, such as the lithic and pottery technology. It also implies direct and prolonged involvement of farmer-herders, either through visiting specialists or intermarriage, which follows recent genetic evidence demonstrating much more hunter-gatherer ancestry in early farmer’s genes in western Europe compared to central and SE Europe.
This study aims at analyzing the mineralogical, chemical, and structural characteristics of flint raw material used for the production of prehistoric stone tools in NW Belgium. Understanding these characteristics is important to recognize their value for tool making and even tool use during prehistory. Due to its formation process, flint is defined by a wide variety of internal structures, chemical variations, and impurities. Moreover, alteration processes cause additional chemical and structural changes complicating the study of this material. Archaeological artifacts often display alteration features, mostly expressed as patination or burning, leading them to be regularly discarded from the functional analysis of lithic tools. By not incorporating these artifacts, our understanding of the investigated assemblage is biased. It is therefore important to investigate the influence of flint characteristics on its weathering behavior, and the impact of preservation of prehistoric use‐wear traces on flint artifacts. The characteristics of flint raw material and natural patination were studied using a combination of different techniques, such as macroscopic analysis, optical microscopy, X‐ray fluorescence, and high‐resolution X‐ray computed tomography. This resulted in a detailed description and distinction of the different flint variants used on prehistoric sites in NW Belgium and a good understanding of patination.
La fouille récente du gisement alluvial de Kerkhove (Belgique), situé dans la vallée de l’Escaut, à une vingtaine de kilomètres de la frontière française, a permis de mettre au jour 17 locus mésolithiques. D’après les données typochronologiques et les datations absolues, ces locus datent non seulement du Mésolithique ancien, mais aussi du Mésolithique moyen et récent. La première phase d’occupation de la levée alluviale, datée du 11e et 10e millénaire avant le présent (cal BP), a clairement été la plus intensive. Elle correspond à un Mésolithique ancien caractérisé par des assemblages du « groupe de Chinru », dominés par les triangles et les pointes à base retouchée. La deuxième phase d’occupation, celle du Mésolithique moyen, compte trois locus et est caractérisée par de nombreuses lamelles étroites à bord abattu, et des pointes à retouche couvrante d’une part, et par une exploitation de matières premières siliceuses différentes d’autre part. La dernière phase d’occupation date du Mésolithique récent. Elle est représentée par un seul locus qui a livré de nombreux artefacts en grès-quartzite de Wommersom, quelques trapèzes et des lamelles plus régulières. Le principal intérêt du site de Kerkhove est la possibilité d’étudier tous les aspects de l’industrie lithique, mais également l’exploitation des matières premières siliceuses et des autres ressources naturelles dans une large perspective diachronique. En effet, hors vestiges lithiques, des quantités considérables de coquilles de noisettes carbonisées et de restes fauniques ont été récupérées. En plus de la présence d’ossements brûlés, des restes fauniques non brûlés sont également conservés, situation inédite pour le Mésolithique ancien, moyen et récent du nord de la Belgique. Ainsi, les ossements de sanglier et de chevreuil dominent les assemblages du Mésolithique ancien et sont associés à des restes d’animaux à fourrures, tandis que les contextes du Mésolithique moyen livrent des indices fréquents de consommation de poissons sur le site.
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