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Back to Combe-Grèze (La Cresse, Aveyron): New data on the Neolithisation of the Grands Causses region, Southwestern France–abridged version

Elsa Defranould, Ingrid Bertin, Laurent Bouby, Stéphanie Bréhard, Joséphine Caro, Jean-Michel Carozza, Jessie Cauliez, Fabien Convertini, Frédérique Durand, Auréade Henry, Mathieu Lejay, Claire Manen, Guillaume Roguet, Jean-Denis Vigne et Antoine Zazzo
p. 45-76
Cet article est une traduction de :
Retour à Combe-Grèze (La Cresse, Aveyron) : nouvelles données sur la néolithisation des Grands Causses [fr]

Résumés

Situé dans une doline sur le Causse Noir, à une dizaine de kilomètres au nord-est de Millau, le petit abri de Combe-Grèze a d’abord été fouillé dans la seconde moitié du xxsiècle, puis a fait l’objet d’un récent retour sur le terrain par les auteurs du présent article. Ce site, occupé à différents moments de l’Holocène, a été largement mobilisé dans les scénarios de néolithisation des arrière-pays. Cependant, les travaux de terrain conduits depuis quelques années à l’extérieur de l’abri et un retour sur les collections anciennes permettent de nuancer nettement les interprétations anciennes, mettant notamment en évidence l’existence de nombreux problèmes de mélanges d’occupations. Ainsi, nous proposons ici une réactualisation des données disponibles concernant ce gisement, notamment pour ce qui concerne la nature des occupations, la chronologie, les productions matérielles issues des différentes occupations, les ressources exploitées et la précision du cadre paléo-environnemental.

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Notes de la rédaction

"English version of the texts translated by Guillaume Robin and Karoline Mazurié de Keroualin (LINARKEO).

Texte intégral

Introduction

1The site of Combe-Grèze, located in the Grands Causses region in Southwestern France, was mainly excavated at the end of the 1970s and contributed to the debate on the neolithisation of the Mediterranean margins (Costantini 1984, Costantini & Maury 1986). Indeed, although the neolithisation of Mediterranean France is now well-investigated, the neolithisation processes in its hinterland remains less comprehensible. Traditionally, different terms were used to designate the Neolithic cultures of the 4th millennium in Southwestern France: Tardenoisian III, Roucadourian, Para-Mediterranean Early Neolithic, Pericardial (see Bailloud 1970, Roussot-Larroque 1977, Guilaine 1982, Arnal 1987). These designations depended on the scholars and were associated with underlying diverging interpretations of the phenomenon, ranging from the hypothesis of an autochthonous process of neolithization to that of peripheral facies of the Early Mediterranean Neolithic. The homogeneous and autonomous characters of this vast entity is currently facing major challenges (e.g. Zohary 1982, Poplin et al. 1986, Marinval 1987, Uerpmann 1987, Marchand 1999, Valdeyron et al. 2013, Defranould et al. 2018).

2Since the 2010s the site of Combe-Grèze has been completely reinvestigated based on a reexamination of the remains stemming from ancient excavations and new fieldwork carried out in the dolina in front of the rock-shelter. This work has now been completed and this article presents an overview of the data available on the site.

The site of Combe-Grèze

3The site was established on the Causse Noir plateau, which is part of a series of limestone plateaus flanking the south-eastern slopes of the Massif Central (fig. 1). The dolina of Combe-Grèze is located in the western part of the Causse Noir, at an altitude of 800 m asl within formations of dolomitic limestones attributed to the Middle Jurassic, and more specifically to the Upper Bathonian period. The site, which appeared as a small hole below a rock ledge section of dolomitic limestone in the north-western part of the dolina, was discovered in 1960 by M. Lacas. An initial excavation campaign was carried out in the 1960s inside the gallery, followed by three additional seasons between 1979 and 1981 carried out by G. Costantini and J. Maury, who identified the layers dated to Mesolithic and Early Neolithic (Costantini & Maury 1986). From 2014 on a new excavation project was launched in order to detail the stratigraphic sequence inside the dolina and to carry out a survey with the aim of identifying possible Mesolithic and Neolithic occupational remains in the outside area in front of the rock shelter (fieldwork directed by C. Manen and later on by E. Defranould).

1. Location of Combe-Grèze.

1. Location of Combe-Grèze.

a- Location map (CAD: J. Caro, UMR5608-TRACES from géoportail base map); b- View of the doline from the northwest; c- View of the shelter and excavation of trench 3.

Main results

4The longer version of the article presents the results of a variety of studies carried out on the remains collected from ancient and new excavations. These studies concerned geomorphological, micromorphological, radiocarbon, carpological, anthracological, and zooarchaeological samples as well as lithic and ceramic assemblages. All in all, these results reveal serious taphonomic problems affecting both the area inside the rock shelter and the area outside in the dolina where the occupational layers were largely eroded and/or disturbed at the mouth of an erosion channel. In addition, despite the mixed character of the assemblages, it was not possible to document any evidence for agropastoral activities at the site. Lastly, the ceramic and lithic material productions indicate the presence of Early and Late Neolithic occupations and further lithic remains can be assigned to the Early and Late Mesolithic (fig. 8 and 10).

8. Arrowheads and Microburins (CAD E. Defranould/UMR7264-CEPAM).

8. Arrowheads and Microburins (CAD E. Defranould/UMR7264-CEPAM).

10. Morpho-stylistic synthesis of Early Neolithic ceramic productions: 1- small bowl, 2- middle bowl, 3-12- decorated pots (drawings and pictures J. Caro/UMR5608-TRACES).

10. Morpho-stylistic synthesis of Early Neolithic ceramic productions: 1- small bowl, 2- middle bowl, 3-12- decorated pots (drawings and pictures J. Caro/UMR5608-TRACES).

Conclusion

5This overview clearly highlights the mixed character of the assemblages discovered at Combe-Grèze. Inside the rock shelter the numerous stratigraphic inversions of the radiocarbon dates confirm the presence of significant taphonomic biases, which were already pointed out by the studies of the artefacts. Outside the rock shelter the excavations did not yield any evidence for accurately contextualised occupational layers; only scattered archaeological remains possibly indicating human occupations in front of or in the immediate vicinity of the shelter could be recorded, which were disturbed a posteriori by biopedological or sedimentary processes.

6Despite this major constraint, it has been possible to specify to some extent the periods during which the dolina of Combe-Grèze was occupied during prehistory:

  • a possible occupation or an epiphenomenon during the Late Glacial Interstadial is represented by a radiocarbon date made from a carbonised bone in the absence of associated artefacts;
  • a short-term occupation during the Early Mesolithic is well attested by specific lithic productions, although it could not be confirmed by radiocarbon dating;
  • one or several occupations took place during the Late Mesolithic as indicated by radiocarbon dates ranging from 6400 to 6 000 BCE (and possibly 5500-5300 BCE?), probably contemporaneous to comparable occupations identified elsewhere in Southwestern France (Perrin et al. 2017), although these latter are difficult to distinguish from productions that are specific to the Early Neolithic.
  • one or several occupations dated to the end of the 6th millennium which can be assigned to the Early Neolithic;
  • very few artefacts (pottery and lithic productions) as well as radiocarbon dates are indicative of a Late Neolithic occupation.

7The issue of the neolithisation of the Mediterranean hinterlands, which led us to resume fieldwork at Combe-Grèze, could not be fully tackled given that several Holocene occupations were mixed up. More particularly it is difficult to advance hypotheses as regards possible contacts between Late Mesolithic hunter-gatherers and Early Neolithic farmers. Considering the lack of data related to the neolithisation process in Aveyron as well as more generally in the southwestern part of France (Perrin et al. 2018), it seemed important to us to make maximum use of the results obtained at Combe-Grèze in order to advance some hypotheses, which can be tested in the future in more reliable contexts. Based on the different elements recovered from Combe-Grèze that can be assigned to the beginning of the Neolithic (and without considering their context within the site), it is possible to advance several hypotheses concerning the Early Neolithic impacts in the Causse Noir region:

  • Significant connections with the Cardial and Epicardial cultural spheres in the Mediterranean.
  • Cultural recompositions as regards the pottery and lithic productions, possibly due to multiple influences (stemming from northern France, Iberia, local Mesolithic traits, etc.).
  • Lastly, these elements can be combined with a functional hypothesis, assuming that the Combe-Grèze dolina and rock shelter may have served as occasional settlement places during specific displacements to the Grands Causses.

8These different hypotheses are not mutually exclusive and can be combined, which enables us to conclude that original and complex neolithisation processes originating from the Mediterranean sphere were at work.

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Bibliographie

Arnal 1987, ARNAL G.-B., Le Néolithique primitif non cardial, in Guilaine J., Courtin J., Roudil J.-L., Vernet J.-L. (dir.), Premières communautés paysannes en Méditerranée occidentale. Actes du colloque international du CNRS, Montpellier, 26-29 avril 1983, Paris, CNRS, 1987, p. 541-544.

Bailloud 1970, BAILLOUD G., Signification de Roucadour C, in Les civilisations néolithiques du Midi de la France (Actes du colloque de Narbonne, 15-17 février 1970), Carcassone, Laboratoire de préhistoire et de palethnologie, 1970, p. 25 (Atacina ; 5).

Costantini 1984, COSTANTINI G., Le Néolithique et le Chalcolithique des Grands Causses. I. Étude archéologique, Gallia Préhistoire, 27, 1, 1984, p. 121-210.

Costantini & Maury 1986, COSTANTINI G., MAURY J., Le néolithique ancien de l’abri de la Combe-Grèze, commune de La Cresse (Aveyron), Bulletin de la Société Préhistorique Française, 83, 11‑12, 1986, p. 436‑451.

Defranould et al. 2018, DEFRANOULD E., CARO J., BOBOEUF M., MANEN C., PERRIN T., Mesolithic and Neolithic material productions in Aveyron (France) during the 6th millennium BC: Originality or adaptability?, Quaternary International, 472, 2018, p. 221‑235, DOI: 10.1016/j.quaint.2017.01.036.

Guilaine 1982, GUILAINE J., Problèmes actuels de la néolithisation et du Néolithique ancien en Méditerranée occidentale, in Best J.G.P., De Vries N.M.W. (dir.), Interaction and acculturation in the Mediterranean, Amesterdam, B.R. Grüner, 1982, p. 3‑19.

Marchand 1999, MARCHAND G., La Néolithisation de l’ouest de la France : caractérisation des industries lithiques, Oxford, British archaeological Reports, 1999, 381 p. (BAR international series ; 748).

Marinval 1987, MARINVAL P., Présence de macro-restes végétaux (semences et fruits) en contexte funéraire protohistorique français, in Duday H., Masset C. (dir.), Anthropologie physique et archéologie, Paris, CNRS, 1987, p. 333‑342 (Actes du Colloque de Toulouse, novembre 1982).

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Poplin et al. 1986, POPLIN F., POULAIN T., MÉNIEL P., VIGNE J.-D., GEDDES D.S., HELMER D., Les débuts de l’élevage en France, in Demoule J.-P., Guilaine J. (dir.), Le Néolithique de la France. Hommage à G. Bailloud, Paris, Picard, 1986, p. 37‑51.

Roussot-Larroque 1977, ROUSSOT-LARROQUE J., Néolithisation et Néolithique ancien d’Aquitaine, Bulletin de la Société préhistorique française, 1977, p. 559‑582.

Uerpmann 1987, UERPMANN H.-P., The origins and relations of neolithic sheep and goats in the western mediterranean, in Guilaine J., Courtin J., Roudil J.-L., Vernet J.-L. (dir.), Premières communautés paysannes en Méditerranée occidentale. Actes du colloque international du CNRS, Montpellier, 26-29 avril 1983, Paris, CNRS, 1986, p. 175‑180.

Valdeyron et al. 2013, VALDEYRON N., MANEN C., BOSC-ZANARDO B., Mésolithique récent/final et néolithisation du sud-ouest de la France : vers de nouvelles perspectives ?, in Jaubert J., Fourment N., Depaepe P. (dir.), Transitions, ruptures et continuité en Préhistoire : [Volume 1 : Évolution des techniques - Comportements funéraires - Néolithique ancien], Paris, Société préhistorique française, 2013, p. 373‑390 (Congrès préhistorique de France. Compte Rendu de la 27e Session, Bordeaux 2010 [Session H]).

Zohary 1982, ZOHARY D., Domestication of the Neolithic Near Eastern crop assemblage, in Anderson P.C. (dir.), Préhistoire de l’agriculture. Nouvelles approches expérimentales et ethnographiques, Paris, CNRS, 1992, p. 81‑86 (Monographie du C.R.A ; 6).

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Table des illustrations

Titre 1. Location of Combe-Grèze.
Légende a- Location map (CAD: J. Caro, UMR5608-TRACES from géoportail base map); b- View of the doline from the northwest; c- View of the shelter and excavation of trench 3.
URL http://journals.openedition.org/pm/docannexe/image/4034/img-1.jpg
Fichier image/jpeg, 1,8M
Titre 8. Arrowheads and Microburins (CAD E. Defranould/UMR7264-CEPAM).
URL http://journals.openedition.org/pm/docannexe/image/4034/img-2.jpg
Fichier image/jpeg, 1,4M
Titre 10. Morpho-stylistic synthesis of Early Neolithic ceramic productions: 1- small bowl, 2- middle bowl, 3-12- decorated pots (drawings and pictures J. Caro/UMR5608-TRACES).
URL http://journals.openedition.org/pm/docannexe/image/4034/img-3.jpg
Fichier image/jpeg, 940k
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Elsa Defranould, Ingrid Bertin, Laurent Bouby, Stéphanie Bréhard, Joséphine Caro, Jean-Michel Carozza, Jessie Cauliez, Fabien Convertini, Frédérique Durand, Auréade Henry, Mathieu Lejay, Claire Manen, Guillaume Roguet, Jean-Denis Vigne et Antoine Zazzo, « Back to Combe-Grèze (La Cresse, Aveyron): New data on the Neolithisation of the Grands Causses region, Southwestern France–abridged version »Préhistoires Méditerranéennes, 10 | -0001, 45-76.

Référence électronique

Elsa Defranould, Ingrid Bertin, Laurent Bouby, Stéphanie Bréhard, Joséphine Caro, Jean-Michel Carozza, Jessie Cauliez, Fabien Convertini, Frédérique Durand, Auréade Henry, Mathieu Lejay, Claire Manen, Guillaume Roguet, Jean-Denis Vigne et Antoine Zazzo, « Back to Combe-Grèze (La Cresse, Aveyron): New data on the Neolithisation of the Grands Causses region, Southwestern France–abridged version »Préhistoires Méditerranéennes [En ligne], 10 | 2022, mis en ligne le 13 novembre 2023, consulté le 14 avril 2026. URL : http://journals.openedition.org/pm/4034 ; DOI : https://doi.org/10.4000/pm.4034

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Auteurs

Elsa Defranould

Université Côte d’Azur - UMR7264-CEPAM
Campus Saint Jean d’Angély 3
24, avenue des Diables bleus
F-06300 Nice
elsa.defranould@yahoo.fr

Ingrid Bertin

Departement de Prehistòria – Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona
Edifici B Facultat de Filosofia i Lletres
08193 Bellaterra (Barcelona)
et UMR7264-CEPAM
Campus Saint Jean d’Angély 3
24, avenue des Diables bleus
F-06300 Nice
ingrid.bertin@palaeome.org

Laurent Bouby

UMR 5554-ISEM- Université Montpellier, EPHE, IRD
Montpellier – France
laurent.bouby@umontpellier.fr

Stéphanie Bréhard

Muséum national d’Histoire Naturel (MNHN) – UMR7209 AASPE
55, rue Buffon
75005 Paris
stephanie.brehard@mnhn.fr

Joséphine Caro

UMR5608-TRACES
Université Toulouse Jean Jaurès
5 allées Antonio Machado
31058 Toulouse Cedex 9
josephinecaro@hotmail.fr

Jean-Michel Carozza

Université de la Rochelle – UMR7266 LIENS
jean-michel.carozza@univ-lr.fr

Jessie Cauliez

CNRS - UMR5608-TRACES
Université Toulouse Jean Jaurès
5 allées Antonio Machado
31058 Toulouse Cedex 9
jessie.cauliez@univ-tlse2.fr

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Fabien Convertini

INRAP- UMR 5140 – ASM
Centre de recherche archéologique de Nîmes
Km delta
561 rue Etienne Lenoir
30900 Nîmes
France

Frédérique Durand

INRAP – UMR5608- TRACES
ZI les Pinsons
13 rue du Négoce
31650 Saint-Orens-de-Gameville
durand.frede@laposte.net

Auréade Henry

CNRS - UMR7264-CEPAM
Campus Saint Jean d’Angély 3
24, avenue des Diables bleus
F-06300 Nice
aureade.henry@cepam.cnrs.fr

Mathieu Lejay

GéoArchEon SARL – UMR5608-Traces
Université Toulouse Jean Jaurès
5 allées Antonio Machado
31058 Toulouse Cedex 9
mathieu.lejay@geoarcheon.fr

Claire Manen

CNRS - UMR5608-Traces
Université Toulouse Jean Jaurès
5 allées Antonio Machado
31058 Toulouse Cedex 9
claire.manen@cnrs.fr

Guillaume Roguet

Acter Archéologie
1 rue du marché de Gros
66370 Pézilla-la-rivière
groguet@acter-archeologie.fr

Jean-Denis Vigne

Muséum national d’Histoire Naturel (MNHN) – UMR7209 AASPE
55, rue Buffon
75005 Paris
jean-denis.vigne@mnhn.fr

Antoine Zazzo

Muséum national d’Histoire Naturel (MNHN) – UMR7209 AASPE
55, rue Buffon
75005 Paris
antoine.zazzo@mnhn.fr

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