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Pré-Publication, Document De Travail Année : 2008

Moving into the Metal Ages: The Social Importance of Metal at the End of the Neolithic period in France

Résumé

This article, focused on a number of areas in Continental France, tries to evaluate the impact of metal production and its consumption on communities dating from the end of the Neolithic and the Early Bronze Age.
Few metal discoveries have been made in the northern half of France. However, it is in the Paris Basin that the oldest metal objects have been discovered so far (second half of the 4th mill. BC). The region was exclusively a “metal consumer” during the whole 3rd mill. BC, and the use of metal in the Paris Basin remained a secondary phenomenon which had little or no effect on the mutation of the local cultural groups.
In contrast to the Paris Basin, the southern half of France could count on a wide range of copper ore resources.
The mining and metallurgical district of Cabrières-Péret in Languedoc developed its activities over a long period, starting during the late 4th mill. BC and declining at the end of the 3rd mill. BC. The study of this mining district reveals an integrated production site where zones for the extraction of the raw material were closely associated with metallurgical areas. The micro-region around Cabrières-Péret developed a cultural and economic activity particularly dynamic during this period, in which metal played an important role. Metal was therefore probably considered as having a high social value in that specific area.
Other models of copper production are known in Languedoc and the southern border of the Massif Central, such as the Al Claus settlement, a site featuring a small scale and occasional copper production, within the living units. Moreover, the study of the Neolithic metal objects discovered in Languedoc indicates that the diffusion was essentially local. These two facts, the Al Claus model and the local diffusion of copper objects, support the hypothesis of a multipolar production of copper, an alternative to the Cabrières model, where output of metal on social change was probably very low.
At the end of the 3rd mill. BC, a decline in metal production seems to have occurred on the southern border of the Massif Central. At the same time, ie the beginning of the Early Bronze Age, an increase in the exploitation of copper resources in the French Alps is to be noticed. Thus, the mining and metallurgical site of Saint-Véran (Hautes-Alpes) developed a specific high-yield metallurgical process similar to the one which spread over the whole Alpine zone throughout the Bronze Age.
According to an evolutionary interpretation, the Cabrières / Al Claus / Saint-Véran models can be used to represent the passage from the Neolithic to the Bronze Age. This schema however implies that the phenomena succeeded each other in a defined period and in the same area. Does the model remain valid when the cultural areas are not connected and the phenomena not associated in time? The answer is quite obviously in the negative.
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Dates et versions

halshs-00345292 , version 1 (08-12-2008)

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  • HAL Id : halshs-00345292 , version 1

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Laurent Carozza, Benoit Mille. Moving into the Metal Ages: The Social Importance of Metal at the End of the Neolithic period in France. 2008. ⟨halshs-00345292⟩
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