Un type de vase néolithique à embouchure angulée et son milieu ambiant à Lijay (Loire)

Abstract

Located in one of the Massif Central's valleys, between Clermont-Ferrand and Lyons, the rock spur of Lijay was occupied during the early middle Neolithic and early La Tène periods. The Neolithic discoveries remain unpublished. An undated ditch was dug at the entrance of the spur. A group of archaeological sherds from Lijay has allowed us to reconstitute a 5th millennium ВС oxidizing-fired vase (early middle Neolithic). It has a square mouth and impressed decoration (face 1) and added twisted bands of clay (face 2). The mouth of the vase is set on a carinated and rounded bottom. We can evaluate the size of the vase from the impressed and symmetrical decoration. The characteristics of this vase with its squared mouth are used to shed light on the relationship between the Northern and Mediterranean spheres. The proximity between the site and the hard stones employed for the local fabrication of polished stone axes is noted. Exchange by means of axes made of local stones could explain the special relationships between northern Massif Central communities. The impressed and applied decoration of the non-engraved ceramics reflects these relations. One may consider a potential analogy between the elongated rock spurs in mountainous areas and the monumental enclosures of the Paris Basin. The funerary context of square-mouthed vases in the Paris Basin is noted. The vase from Lijay with its squared mouth also suggests the existence in the Massif Central of an archetype for a group of large, low vases, richly decorated and with a carinated and rounded bottom. According to this model, the aspect of the vase's mouth and the type of decoration can be perceived as secondary.