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Durant tout le Paléolithique, les différentes productions lithiques réalisées présentent selon les cultures des caractéristiques morphométriques propres répondant aux fonctions précises auxquelles elles sont destinées. Elles procèdent donc nécessairement de choix techniques spécifiques de conception et de gestion des nucléus et du strict respect des modalités opératoires qu’impose le débitage. A cette règle répond naturellement le débitage laminaire qui, aux différentes périodes, bénéficie d’une normalisation optimale et adaptée des produits.Le nucléus de Port d’Envaux présenté ici, par ses propriétés morpho-techniques et dimensionnelles, intègre parfaitement les critères qui régissent la production de lames durant la seconde partie du Magdalénien. Cette découverte exceptionnelle confirme parfaitement l’originalité de ce concept de débitage qui, au cours de la première moitié du Tardiglaciaire, se développe entre le stade moyen-récent (MMR) et le stade supérieur (MS) de la culture. Throughout the Palaeolithic, the specific morphometric characteristics of stone tools varied according to the precise functions for which they were destined. Consequently, these elements reflect specific technical choices in terms of core conceptions and management as well as a strict respect for the rules governing the production sequence. This is particularly the case with blade production, which was geared around the manufacture of optimally standardised and adapted products.The morphological and technical properties as well as the size of the core found at the site of Port d’Envaux perfectly illustrates the criteria underlying blade production during the second part of the Magdalenian. This exceptional discovery succinctly demonstrates the distinctiveness of this production concept that emerged during the first half of the Late Glacial, between the Middle-Recent (MMR) and Upper (MS) Magdalenian.This large core preform was discovered by chance in the 1970s near the village of Saint-Vincent-de-Cosse (Dordogne) during work carried out in orchards on the structural bench of the lower terrace of the Dordogne River. Although this isolated object lacks a precise archaeological context, it was found in an area that was heavily frequented during the Upper Palaeolithic. Moreover, its position on a potential axis of circulation connecting more distant areas suggests the core was abandoned by Magdalenian groups.The core from Port d’Envaux must be seen in the context of several other pieces (about fifteen in total) discovered at the end of the 19th and beginning of the 20th century, whose particular shape and size and thus function intrigued researchers of the time. This new piece therefore provides an opportunity to rediscuss these particular artefacts commonly referred to as “large arched pieces” and, despite their unusual characteristics, confirm their being full-fledged blade cores.This contribution aims to provide a chrono-cultural context for this new large core from the Périgord region and highlight broader relationships between the southern and western parts of the Aquitaine Basin, where the technique has also been documented. A detailed technological analysis of the Port d’Envaux preform demonstrates this original technique to produce standardised blades sets it apart from other Upper Palaeolithic blade production systems, particularly those assigned to the Aurignacian and Gravettian.The preform was made on a large block of tabular flint and measures 40 cm in length. After shaping, the piece had a general bifacial outline, with the installation of two crests giving it a semi-ellipsoidal shape. These well-delineated crests serve to maintain the core’s relatively straight postero-lateral convexities, while those of the anterior surface ensure the removal of the first blade and guide the detachment of subsequent products. The convexity of the anterior surface of the core therefore predetermines the shape of the blades produced, guides reduction and gives it its characteristic section. The marked curvature of the crest, which both ensures the fluidity of reduction and the impressive length of the products, is therefore one of the most specific and original characteristics of this blade production system.In addition, the relative narrowness of the core (ca. 5.5 cm) is also very particular and implies that blades are removed primarily from the core’s surface and only minimally remove portions of either edge. Accordingly, blades are narrow and relatively thin, independent of their length, which is consistent with archaeological examples from the same production system. Our analysis shows a clear technological coherence of a number of industries documented in archaeological contexts or as isolated finds, thus confirming the attribution of large number of them to the same blade production concept. This being the case, a clear techno-cultural contemporaneity and technical parallels are also evident between different industries in the Aquitaine Basin dated to the same period.These technological similarities between preforms, on the one hand, and certain blade assemblages on the other hand, also repeatedly coincide with the selection of particular raw materials. While not exclusively the case, flint from Upper Campanian alterites in the Bergerac region, well suited for the production of big blades, was preferentially selected in many cases.A large number of pieces produced using this same method (including several large cores) are linked to this source of exceptional raw material. Moreover, these materials were transported over long distances between production sites in the Bergerac region and Magdalenian open-air or cave sites, notably in the Pyrenees. In light of this, we discuss issues concerning the general movement of artefacts and their transport over several hundred kilometres, particularly with regards to the cores. Several preforms, including the Pont d’Envaux example, bear technical details related to their eventual export. Given the novel aspect of this data, we provide a classic description accompanied by more interpretative elements.Certain details, notably the fact the both ends of the preform show no evidence of preparation, are particularly surprising. Despite its rather trivial and sometimes recurrent appearance, this distinctive feature is more than a simple technical convergence and may reflect a cultural norm. The striking fact that these large and heavy cores were transported over significant distances, perfectly preserved, almost ready to be reduced, lacking only the preparation of the striking platform, reveals a link between transported goods (the signifier) and symbols (the signified), a characteristic that most likely accompanied these objects both in practice and in terms of cultural traditions. |
