International audienceWith the aim of providing better control of shooting experiments performed with replicas of prehistoric projectiles, we have conducted an instrumental archaeology study on the efficiency of prehistoric projectile points by placing emphasis on their adhesion and ballistic characteristics. In order to avoid any reproducibility problems, hafting adhesives were made with controlled mixtures of commercial rosin (also called ‘colophany’) and beeswax added as a plasticizer. An original experimental device has been developed to instrument a bow, allowing the control of both the trajectories and the velocities of the different shoots. In the course of an experimental programme on Sauveterrian microliths from the Mesolithic period of the South of France, the experimental system was applied to composite replica projectile tips of Mesolithic hunters. Arrows being shot at transparent targets were filmed in order to evaluate the penetration length and residual damage. Interestingly, this study reveals that the properties of the mixture are highly dependent on the velocity of the arrows. It was shown that—contrary to previous experiments that usually used a mixture in which rosin predominates— the most efficient adhesive is made of 70 wt% beeswax with only 30 wt% rosin. This result is of great importance for improving further shooting experiments and overcoming the problems frequently mentioned due to the loss of the flint armatures before they reach the animal target, or at least before penetration. When using this appropriate mixture, the lateral armatures are resistant to most of the shots. Experiments performed on real boars’ flesh have also shown that the presence of lateral microliths allows the laceration inflicted on the target to be enlarged. Finally, a critical parameter has been identified, which is the location on the arrow of the microlithic element

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Discovered in 1986, La Grande Rivoire is a rockshelter located in the north of the prealpine mountain range of Vercors (Northern French Alps). It lies at 580 m asl, on the west side of the Furon valley, at the foot of a cliff. The 6-m stratigraphy reveals a continuous chronocultural sequence starting from the First Mesolithic to the Gallo-Roman period. The present communication aims at characterizing the earliest occupation of the site attributed to the First Mesolithic (ca. 8500–7000 cal. BC). The new multidisciplinary data are intended to contribute to the understanding of the regional chronocultural evolution. The deposits are constituted of very rich organic materials, possibly resulting from the degradation and combustion of plant litters. Their natural and/or anthropogenic origin still remains unclear. The excellent state of preservation of the faunal remains (superficially covered of an ashy encrustation) and the bone refittings would indicate a low post-depositional impact on the faunal material in this sector. The highly intentionally fragmented long bone remains indicate (intensive?) carcass exploitation of various large game species, among which red deer seems to predominate. Plant remains analysis gives also information on wild picking products, especially hazelnuts. Osseous material industry is dominated by waste products occurring from sectioning action of red deer antler by notching. Few examples of bone and tooth working highlight the use of removal by diffuse percussion during shaping. Preliminary observations conducted on the lithic assemblages show that domestic tools are mostly manufactured on local raw materials of poor quality. Exogenous raw materials of better quality are mainly used for the fabrication of microliths using the microburin technique; the latter tending to disappear at the end of the sequence. Usewear analysis on arrowheads shows that triangles are present throughout the sequence and always hafted as barbs while Sauveterre points and segments are only present in the oldest decapages

taphonomic, petroarchaeological, technoeconomic, and technofunctional approaches to the lithic industry. The site of Brignol provides a new archaeological assemblage attributable to the quite particular grattoir Caminade facies of the Recent Aurignacian. Identified in relatively important quantities on only eight sites to date, the role of this facies within the recent phase of the Aurignacian macro-cultural phenomenon remains quite enigmatic. Is it a functional facies, complimentary with other variants during this period, or can it be considered its own separate chronological and/or regional entity? Several factors impede our ability to provide an adequate answer to this question at this juncture. Firstly, taphonomic issues in stratified sites render our comprehension of the relationship between grattoirs Caminade and other chronological markers of the Recent Aurignacian less than clear, while the absence of refits on such a series to date has made it impossible to complete the existing description the grattoir Caminade operational sequence, which is in turn necessary to evaluate its compatibility with other modes of production present during this phase. The technoeconomical study of the lithic assemblage from Brignol, systematic refits, combined with technofunctional, petroarchaeological, and taphonomic analyses, provide a new milestone for the comprehension of this particular archaeological facies. While Brignol cannot provide answers to all of our questions, the description of the operative schema of grattoir Caminade production, data from micro-wear analyses, as well as possible site functions, allow us to evoke novel hypotheses to explore regarding how these particular objets functioned and what the role of this facies is within the larger Recent Aurignacian period.

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In this paper, I present interpretations of the stigmata of fabrication (observation of retouch methods) and use (observation of impact traces and hafting glue residues) of microliths and hyper-microliths (arrowheads) of the Middle Mesolithic Sauveterrian period. Based on the first results obtained from the sites of Grande Rivoire, Pas de la Charmate (Vercors, Isère) and Sinard (Trièves, Isère), a reconstruction of the hafting modes of these tools is proposed. The results of a first experimental test are also presented.

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