Obsidian from the Epipalaeolithic and Neolithic eastern Maghreb : a view from the Hergla context (Tunisia)

Simone Mulazzani (1, 2) , François-Xavier Le Bourdonnec (3) , Lotfi Belhouchet (4) , Gérard Poupeau (3, 5) , Jamel Zoughlami (4) , Stéphan Stephan Dubernet (3) , Emiliano Tufano (6) , Yannick Y. Lefrais (3) , Rym Khedhaier (7)

1 ArScAn - Archéologies et Sciences de l'Antiquité
2 UNIBO - Alma Mater Studiorum Università di Bologna = University of Bologna
3 IRAMAT-CRP2A - IRAMAT-Centre de recherche en physique appliquée à l’archéologie
4 INP - Institut National du Patrimoine - Tunisie
5 MNHN - Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle
6 UNISOB - Università degli studi Suor Orsola Benincasa
7 LAMPEA - Laboratoire méditerranéen de préhistoire Europe-Afrique

In the present paper, it is shown that in the Hergla area (eastern Tunisia), obsidian was present from the early to at least the late sixth millennium cal BC. The presence of cores indicates that obsidian knapping was at least partly carried out in situ. The origin of these obsidians was determined from their elemental composition, by comparison with those originating from western Mediterranean potential sources, including analyses of new samples from the nearby Pantelleria Island. All obsidians were measured following the same protocol, by particle induced X-ray emission or by scanning electron microscopy/energy dispersion spectrometry. All the Hergla obsidians were found to originate from the Balata dei Turchi sources of Pantelleria. A review of the present body of knowledge on eastern Maghreb suggests, in spite of the still very preliminary data available, that Pantelleria was almost its unique provider of obsidians from the Epipalaeolithic to and during the Neolithic. However, the relative importance of the two main Pantellerian sources of Balata dei Turchi and Lago di Venere as providers of obsidian to eastern Maghreb remains to be investigated.

Mots clés: Obsidian; Provenance; Hergla; Epipalaeolithic; Neolithic; Pantelleria; Tunisia

Domaines: Archéologie et Préhistoire; Science des matériaux [cond-mat.mtrl-sci]; Géochimie

Simone Mulazzani, François-Xavier Le Bourdonnec, Lotfi Belhouchet, Gérard Poupeau, Jamel Zoughlami, et al.. Obsidian from the Epipalaeolithic and Neolithic eastern Maghreb : a view from the Hergla context (Tunisia). Journal of Archaeological Science, 2010, 37 (10), pp.2529-2537. ⟨10.1016/j.jas.2010.05.013⟩. ⟨halshs-00521023⟩