thechalcolithicageandsocialcomplexificationthe（36页）.docVIP

Moving into the Metal Ages: The Social Importance of Metal at the End of the Neolithic period in France. Laurent Carozza, UMR5602, Géographie de l’environnement, Maison des Sciences de l’Homme, Toulouse, France. Beno?t Mille, UMR171, Centre de Recherche et de Restauration des Musées de France, Paris, France. Abstract: 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 La