Where Are the Hunting Camps? a Discussion Based on Lateglacial Sites in the Paris Basin, in Bon F., Costamagno S., Valdeyron N
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LABORATOIRE TRAVAUX ET RECHERCHES ARCHÉOLOGIQUES SUR LES CULTURES, LES ESPACES ET LES SOCIÉTÉS Proceedings of the International Symposium, May 13-15 2009 University Toulouse II - Le Mirail 2011 # 3 http://www.palethnologie.org ISSN 2108-6532 edited by HUNTING CAMPS IN PREHISTORY François BON Current Archaeological Approaches Sandrine COSTAMAGNO Nicolas VALDEYRON Revue bilingue de Préhistoire Bilingual review of prehistory Revue bilingue de Préhistoire Bilingual review of prehistory Review published by the P@lethnologie association, created and Editorial office supported by the TRACES laboratory, the Ethnologie Préhistorique Karim GERNIGON laboratory, the University of Liège and the Ministry of Culture and Céline THIÉBAUT Communication. Translation Director Karim GERNIGON Vanessa LEA Hazel KING Magen O’FARRELL Editorial committee François BON Layout, graphics Sandrine COSTAMAGNO Fabien TESSIER Karim GERNIGON Vanessa LEA Monique OLIVE Marcel OTTE Michel VAGINAY Nicolas VALDEYRON The contributions should be addressed to: Scientific committee Michel BARBAZA, university of Toulouse, France REVUE P@LETHNOLOGIE Laurent BRUXELLES, INRAP, France Vanessa LEA, Research associates Jacques CHABOT, university of Laval, Canada Jesús GONZÁLEZ URQUIJO, university of Cantabria, Spain TRACES - UMR 5608 of the CNRS Dominique HENRY-GAMBIER, CNRS, France Maison de la recherche Jacques JAUBERT, university of Bordeaux, France 5 allées Antonio Machado Béatrix MIDANT-REYNES, CNRS, France 31058 Toulouse cedex 9, FRANCE Karim SADR, university of Witwatersrand, South Africa Boris VALENTIN, university Paris I, France Phone: +33 (0)5 61 50 36 98 Jean VAQUER, CNRS, France Fax: +33 (0)5 61 50 49 59 Randall WHITE, university of New York, USA Email: [email protected] This event and its proceedings received support from ETHNOLOGIE PREHISTORIQUE ETHNOLOGIE PREHISTORIQUE ETHNOLOGIE PREHISTORIQUE ETHNOLOGIE PREHISTORIQUE ETHNOLOGIE PREHISTORIQUE ETHNOLOGIE PREHISTORIQUE Hunting Camps in Prehistory. Current Archaeological Approaches. Proceedings of the International Symposium, May 13-15 2009 - University Toulouse II - Le Mirail Article outline WHERE ARE THE HUNTING CAMPS? A Discussion based on Lateglacial Sites in the Paris Basin Pierre BODU, Monique OLIVE, Boris VALENTIN Olivier BIGNON-LAU, Grégory DEBOUT 1 - Introduction 231 2 - A region well adapted to research on site function 233 2.1 - Variable taphonomic contexts 233 2.2 - Extensive excavations that reveal camps 235 2.3 - Residential “family-oriented” sites 236 3 - Changing hunting strategies in different levels: the example of Pincevent 236 3.1 - A reindeer hunting camp occupied in the fall: level IV20 237 3.2 - A long-term occupation or several discontinuous occupations: level IV0 238 4 - Another example: the Early Azilian of Le Closeau 239 5 - Another later example: the Late Azilian of Le Closeau 241 6 - A few elements of discussion on the notion of a “hunting camp” 242 6.1 - A broad definition of a hunting camp: the residential base camp 242 6.2 - A restrictive definition of a hunting camp: specialized expeditions by a few hunters 242 6.3 - An intermediary definition of a hunting camp: the hunter’s camp 242 7 - Epilogue: the Belloisian (ca 9500 cal. BC) 243 Acknowledgments 247 Bibliographic references 248 To cite this article Bodu P., Olive M., Valentin B., Bignon-Lau O., Debout G., 2011 - Where are the Hunting Camps? A Discussion based on Lateglacial Sites in the Paris Basin, in Bon F., Costamagno S., Valdeyron N. (eds.), Hunting Camps in Prehistory. Current Archaeological Approaches, Proceedings of the International Symposium, May 13-15 2009, University Toulouse II - Le Mirail, P@lethnology, 3, 229-250. http://www.palethnologie.org P@lethnology | 2011 | p. 229-250 Hunting Camps in Prehistory. Current Archaeological Approaches. Proceedings of the International Symposium, May 13-15 2009 - University Toulouse II - Le Mirail WHERE ARE THE HUNTING CAMPS? A Discussion based on Lateglacial Sites in the Paris Basin Pierre BODU, Monique OLIVE, Boris VALENTIN Olivier BIGNON-LAU, Grégory DEBOUT Abstract With its numerous, well preserved Lateglacial sites, the Paris Basin contributes useful elements to discussions of the notion of “hunting camps” in Prehistory. Several extensively excavated, and sometimes well preserved, stratified sites allow us to address questions concerning the settlement durations and site functions in greater depth than is possible in other contexts. Drawing on examples of Magdalenian and Azilian sites, we discuss the evolution and limits of interpretations of prehistoric occupations. It appears that regardless of the definition retained or its degree of strictness, the functional category of a “hunting camp” does not apply to the Lateglacial sites currently known in the Paris Basin. A broader interrogation, incorporating the Belloisian sites of the very end of the Lateglacial period and beginning of the Holocene, further demonstrates the difficulty of identifying this type of site. Keywords Paris Basin, Magdalenian, Azilian, Belloisian, settlement, paleoethnology. 1 - Introduction As the organizers of this colloquium stated in their introduction, the term “hunting camp” is still not precisely defined and this approximation leads to interrogations concerning the archaeo- logical situations to which it may apply. Everyone agrees that this type of site corresponds to short-term occupations and specialized activities, but beyond this minimal consensus, the term is used rather loosely. The presentations in this colloquium have clearly shown this and some even questioned the validity of the use of the term (W. Müller, presentation). This semantic imprecision is hardly surprising given that the functional and temporal parameters that we must evaluate are strongly influenced by extremely variable taphonomic contexts. For example, the degree of resolution that we can expect to attain in site interpretations differs depending on whether we work on the Early or Final Paleolithic, on cave sites or open-air sites, in contexts that allow the preservation of faunal remains or not, etc. In addition to this methodological difficulty, there is another more theoretical one, which consists of knowing how to define a hunting camp in the world of nomadic hunter-gatherers? We will further discuss this issue after presenting some archaeological examples that we know well. 231 PIERRE BODU, MONIQUE OLIVE, BORIS VALENTIN, OLIVIER BIGNON-LAU, GRÉGORY DEBOUT The Paris Basin, with its numerous Lateglacial sites, is a region well adapted to this discussion (figure 1). The Magdalenian is the period with the most sites, of course, but the Azilian can also contribute to the debate, notably through the large stratified site of Le Closeau, which allows long-term comparisons (figure 2). We believe there is yet another reason, in this case methodological, to use the Paris Basin as an example in discussions of the notion of hunting camps: the continuity of research in this region allows us to observe the evolution of hypotheses in function of the progression of excavations, and thus their limits. Flixecourt Manche Hangest-sur-Somme Belloy-sur-Somme Amiens 0 50 km Le Havre Rouen Verberie Vieux-Moulin Reims Acquigny La Haye Paris Le Closeau Étiolles Les Blanchères Les Tarterêts Donnemarie-Dontilly Pincevent Magdalenian sites Troyes Chartres Marolles-sur-Seine Azilian sites Ville-Saint-Jacques Holocene/Pleistocene transition sites Marsangy Current cities Figure 1 - The main Lateglacial sites in the Paris Basin. late early ? Magdalenian Azilian ? ? MESOLITHIC Age “Belloisian” (Kans BC) 15 14 13 12 11 10 9 8 7 -35,0 Intra Bølling Intra Period Cold -36,0 Heinrich event 1 , 1993) , -37,0 et al. Middle Dryas Period Cold Allerød Intra Gerzensee cf. -38,0 O (‰) 18 δ -39,0 Boreal Preboreal Bølling Meiendorf)(cf. Allerød Dryas Younger -40,0 (after Grootes -41,0 GI-1e GI-1c GS-1 GI-1a GI-1d GI-1b -42,0 Greenland stadial 2 Greenland Greenland Interstadial 1 (GI-1) stadial 1 (GS-1) UPPER PLENIGLACIAL LATEGLACIAL POSTGLACIAL Figure 2 - The main technical traditions in the Paris Basin and their position in the climatic chronology constructed based on the GRIP core (Greenland) (after Valentin, 2008, fig. 6). 232 233 WHERE ARE THE HUNTING CAMPS? Finally, to broaden our diachronic comparisons, we thought it useful to add Belloisian sites to our discussion, as an epilogue. These sites are dated to around a thousand years later and were presented separately during the colloquium. Awaiting the results of the paleoethnographic studies of one of these sites (Donnemarie-Dontilly), this conclusive discussion remains speculative, since it is mostly based on the distribution of lithic productions on a territorial scale. As preliminary as it may be, this element reinforces the feeling that throughout the long duration of the Lateglacial period, the hunting camp, however it is defined, is a category of sites that continues to elude us. 2 - A region well adapted to research on site function The advantages of this region for our knowledge of Lateglacial occupations are well known: it has numerous and often well preserved sites, even if the conditions are variable, and a history of research focusing on a paleoethnographic approach, which is enriched by extensive excavations conducted over many years. 2.1 - Variable taphonomic contexts Using a few examples of Magdalenian and Azilian sites in the Paris Basin, we will first discuss the taphonomic contexts that differ for each site. These differences obviously influence the precision of the interpretations