Les gisements du Paléolithique inférieur et moyen de Lorraine

Abstract

Only five stratified sites are characteristic of the Paleolithic period in Lorraine, because of the absence of loess and cavities : - Vassincourt (Meuse) « Sables verts » . Temporary halt of the transition period Middle Acheulean/Upper Acheulean, established on the bank of a branch of the river Ornain at temperate interstade of the beginning of the Riss period. - Archettes (Vosges) « Rein de Péchotte » : Temporary halt of the Riss period. - Chavelot (Vosges) « Clair Bois » : A stone chipping area on for levels established inside a dolina dug in the alluvium at the Riss-Wurm and the beginning of the Wurm period. - Ludres (Meurthe-et-Moselle) « Bois de Chauvemont » : Disturbed archeological level with micoquian artefacts of the early Wurm period. - Rebeuville (Vosges) « Grottes de Jeannue » : Wurmian sequence with moustenan and magdaleman levels, very poor in artefacts.

A Middle Paleolithic/Pleistocene Stratified Sequence at Coussey/Sionne in the Meuse Alluvial Valley (Vosges, France)

“…In the Darney area, situated 45 km southeast of Coussey, several sites were discovered between 1971 and 1993 within a 10 km area: Dombasle-devant-Darney, Jésonville, Noncity, Sans-Valois, Provenchères-les-Darney (collective survey work). The eastern part of the Vosges Department is characterized by a lithic industry based on quartzite and quartz; flint is also present but in small quantities (Jannot 1981;Guillaume 1982). Close to Coussey, numerous surface sites have been recorded in recent years, in particular by Serge Beguinot between 2009(Beguinot 2015Asselin et al, this volume).…”

“…Close to Coussey, numerous surface sites have been recorded in recent years, in particular by Serge Beguinot between 2009(Beguinot 2015Asselin et al, this volume). Paleolithic sites with stratigraphical contexts are much rarer with only 6 recorded examples (Guillaume 1988). The closest is the cave site of Jeannüe in Rebeuville, located 10 km from the Coussey site.…”

“…Other sites are located over 50 kilometers away. The oldest occupation sites, Vassincourt and Archettes, occur in alluvial contexts and have been assigned to the Riss glaciation by various authors (Bordes 1955;Maubeuge 1961;Guillaume 1982). Others have been attributed to the Eemien period (Vincey, Guillaume 1988) and the early Würmian (Guillaume 1982;Thévenin 1975).…”

“…The oldest occupation sites, Vassincourt and Archettes, occur in alluvial contexts and have been assigned to the Riss glaciation by various authors (Bordes 1955;Maubeuge 1961;Guillaume 1982). Others have been attributed to the Eemien period (Vincey, Guillaume 1988) and the early Würmian (Guillaume 1982;Thévenin 1975). They come from different contexts: sinkholes as in the case of Vincey and Chavelot (Guillaume 1982(Guillaume , 1988, loess deposits sealing terraces (Ludres) and a cave (Rebeuville, Guillaume 1988).…”

Reflections on the term Micoquian in Western and Central Europe. Change in criteria, changed deductions, change in meaning, and its significance for current research

“…The combination of micoquoid-looking artifacts and dating into the early Würm was described repeatedly in the course of the 1980s. Examples come from the extreme East of France (Guillaume 1982;Janot 1981), from Jura Dept. (Campy et al 1989) or from Aube Dept.…”