A map and a database for flint-bearing formations in Southern France: A tool for Petroarchaeology

Monte Carlo Simulation Aided Quantitative Laboratory X-ray Fluorescence Analysis and Its Application in Provenancing Studies for Geo-Archeological Samples

“…The XRF scans were performed on regions of the samples where the interior on the flint samples was visible (as shown in Figure 3 for sample OD2), since it has been proven in the literature that the outer layers, that is the cortex of these types of materials, show great variance in composition. 23 In addition, artefacts with visible surface alterations were avoided in the sampling process. Whenever possible, two different locations on the same sample were scanned, with each time three points being measured.…”

“…This phenomenon is well known among archaeologists and should be considered carefully in raw material provenance studies. 12,16,23 Polishing of the archeological artefacts could improve the results but was not implemented as mentioned above because of the unique character of some of the artefacts included. In the future, however, it would be interesting to perform a μXRF-scanning of a control sample of regular debitage products before and after polishing to assess the potential impact of post-depositional weathering on the outer surface of artefacts that at first glance do not appear to be weathered.…”

“…Although only limited research has been done on this topic so far in Belgium, recent research on Mons basin flints 14,23 confirmed the effectiveness of geochemical analysis to achieve this. In addition, in a previous paper, 30 we reported the results of XRF-analysis performed on geological samples of six different flint types from Northeast France, the Mons basin, and the beaches of the Scheldt estuary.…”

Raw material procurement and use at Gargas Cave (Hautes-Pyrénées, France): a Pyrenean-foothill economy during the Gravettian period

“…For instance, in the Gravettian levels at Gargas around a dozen used ribs with two different types of incised decorations were observed; one with long and thin lines on the body of the rib, and the other with short and deep incisions on the edges of the proximal area. These two types of osseous tools, also discovered in other Gravettian sites in the region, have a different territorial distribution, the first being limited to strictly north-Pyrenean sites (La Tuto de Camalhot, Gargas, Isturitz), and the second corresponding to traditions shared on a larger scale, including the eastern part of the northern Iberian coast and all of the Aquitaine region (SAN JUAN-FOUCHER, 2006, 2013. On the other hand, based on recent discoveries and a new inventory, the "Isturitz Spear Points" do not appear to have been diffused beyond the eastern zone of the Cantabrian coastline (RIOS-GARAIZAR & GARA-TE, 2014).…”

“…It was nonetheless integrated within a much wider exchange network ( fig. 6) that covered the Aquitaine Basin and the eastern Cantabrian zone, and concerned osseous and lithic industries, as well as shells (SAN JUAN-FOUCHER, 2010, 2013.…”