La nécropole à incinérations du Néolithique récent des "Canas" à Varennes-Changy (Loiret)

Abstract

Discovered on the occasion of work prior to the construction of the A77 motorway, the cremation cemetery of "Les Canas " was the subject of a pluridisci- plinary study undertaken directly in the field in good conditions. The general organization of the 13 burials forming it, in three distinct bands of the same length, orientation and spacing, creates an ordered and original entity, previously unknown (architecture in perishable materials ?). A certain homogeneity is however observed in the funerary practices in spite of characteristics proper to each group ; certain graves attain an exceptional depth which presumes the presence of a container made of perishable materials in the bottom of the burial pit. This cemetery, which presents a well-ordered layout, is dated by the lithic material (blades), in every respect comparable with the Seine-Oise-Marne civilization, and also by two C'4 samples. Cremation is not common in the Seine-Oise- Marne civilization, but it is not an isolated example in the Paris Basin; only the organization of these cemeteries and of the collective burials differs.