Mineral Resources, Procurement Strategies, and Territories in the Linear Pottery Culture in the Aisne Valley (Paris Basin, France)

Abstract

Abstract This article presents the mineral resource procurement territories of Early Neolithic settlements (LBK or Rubané) in the Aisne valley. Our study focuses on data from 15 LBK sites belonging to the final LBK of central Europe; C14 dates for the sites fall between 5100 and 4900 cal BC. The bulk of pottery from these sites seems to have been produced using local raw materials that can be found over a large part of the valley; only a dozen recorded vessels were made of an exogeneous raw material. Analysis of the supply and management of sandstone and flint productions indicates the presence of three groups of villages. These distinct groups correspond to the definition of a cluster as proposed to define site organization in the Aisne valley. On the LBK sites of the Aisne valley blades, polished tools and certain personal ornaments were occasionally made of non-local materials. Some of these objects seem to indicate contacts outside the LBK settlement zones and suggest relationships with southern Neolithic groups.