Technological Behavior and Mobility of Human Groups Deduced from Lithic Assemblages in the Late Middle and Early Late Pleistocene of the Middle Rhône Valley (France)

Abstract

The Middle Rhône Valley in south-eastern France is a vast corridor bordered by low plateaus and valleys. This area has yielded about 12 sites with one or several human occupation levels, dated to the end of the Middle Pleistocene or the beginning of the Late Pleistocene (OIS 9–3). Most of the human occupation levels are dated to OIS 4 and the beginning of OIS 3, but the (oldest) early sites are rare, e.g., Orgnac 3 (OIS 9–8), Payre (OIS 7–5), Abri Moula (OIS 6–4), and Abri des Pêcheurs (OIS 5–3). The few human remains belong to Neanderthals (Orgnac 3, Payre, Abri Moula, Abri des Pêcheurs, Baume Néron). New geological, stratigraphical, radiometric, palynological and faunal studies of these sites suggest a preliminary chronological and environmental framework for human occupation in this area. Using this new framework, the lithic assemblages have been analyzed to reconstruct human behavior over time, through raw material gathering and technological and subsistence behavior. Most of the sites show a continuity of technological or subsistence behavior over time, explained perhaps by the function of the settlement or the sedimentation record. The lithic variability among sites cannot be linked with chronological data, except for the appearance of a laminar processing system which is related to the beginning of OIS 4 as in all of southern Europe. Various activities and traditions certainly explain this diversity which cannot, however, be linked to subsistence patterns alone. The data suggest highly mobile human groups, travelling in small territories on plateaus and valleys, along the Rhône corridor for daily subsistence. There is no evidence of human travel into the Massif Central Mountains to the west to collect raw materials; in fact any geographical obstacle appears to have stopped human movements along the south-eastern border of the Massif Central. The hypothesis of mobile groups, using local raw materials and game during seasonal stops is supported by the data in this paper. The characteristics of this area can be observed in relation to other geographical settings, like the large North European plain or south-western France.