Interpreting transfers of rocks during the Mesolithic in the West of France

Abstract

The crystalline geological substratum of the Armorican Massif, in the West of France, is devoid of flint nodules in primary position. As a result, during Prehistory, humans developed different strategies for making their toolkits, either by adapting production methods to local rocks from diverse sources, or by importing materials from the sedimentary margins. This article proposes to analyse the distribution of lithic materials during the Mesolithic as the consequence of a succession of collective choices. Many sedimentary, metamorphic or plutonic rocks of local origin were used, and considerably increased in quantity from the Early Mesolithic to the Late Mesolithic. After the identification of the geological origin of the rocks, a series of mechanical analyses were carried out to define their properties. Then, the social integration process of these rocks was addressed. The lithic assemblages of Beg-er-Vil (Quiberon) and la Presqu’île (Brennilis) were then described to tangibly explain the intentions of productions in coastal and continental economies respectively during the Late Mesolithic (end of the seventh and sixth millennia BCE). The toolkits in both economies are strictly identical, but two different lithic management systems were clearly in place. The first, on the coast, consisted exclusively of production on pebbles, whereas, the other, inland, used a wide range of materials of mediocre quality. During the Mesolithic (and unlike Neolithic practices), and in this context of geological paucity, sacrificing technical standards always seemed preferable to long-distance acquisitions by means of imports or exchanges.