Acquisition and Circulation of Flint Materials in the Linear Pottery Culture of the Seine Basin

Abstract

This paper proposes a synthesis of recent discoveries and their implications for our knowledge of the Danubian lithic territory of acquisition and the circulation networks. With the recent discoveries it is really possible to talk in terms of networks in so far as the various links are now known for the Danubian period -from the flint's extraction site to its sites of production and consumption. These networks played a part in the functions of the society of the Linear Pottery Culture and the relationships of which they are the sign are complex. There is no correlation between the distance from the sources and the intensity of the circulations.

Lithic industries, territory and mobility in the western Linear Pottery Culture

“…Depending on the procurement and diffusion strategies, the procurement territory must be reconsidered because the circulation modalities of siliceous products -as described in the "down-the-line" or "central place of redistribution" (Renfrew 1984: 119) models-reduce the distances traveled to procure the products. The existence of true economic distribution networks for siliceous products throughout the LPC (Allard 2018;Lech 1987;1990;Zimmermann 1995: 92-96) suggests that the recognition of a siliceous resource procurement territory must begin with an understanding of the settlement organizations. The case of Langweiler 8, located outside of our study area, is exemplary because this one site appears to manage the procurement and redistribution of siliceous products to the other sites (Zimmerman 1995: 106).…”