Un automne à PinceventLe campement magdalénien du niveau IV20

Abstract

Since 1964, when the Magdalenian site of Pincevent was discovered by A. Leroi-Gourhan and his team, the methods of excavation and analysis have evolved. On the level IV20, it has then been possible to recognize a camp extending over an area of nearly 5000 square meters, allowing a reconstitution of the life of reindeer hunters 13000 years ago. This study is based on both a description of the archaeological facts and an interpretation enhanced by the contribution of ethnoarchaeological data. A bundle of marks suggests that four families corresponding to an amount of about thirty people were present. The analysis of the organisation and function of the twenty occupation-units is first dedicated to the four central habitations, then to the peripheral technical units. We are questioning the nature of the relationships between the families of hunters. It seems that the group was submitted to the authority of one person whose great experience allowed the orientation of the hunting strategies.

Keywords

• method
• Pincevent
• magdalenian
• reindeer
• camp
• social organisation