L'industrie lithique du site pléistocène moyen d'Orgnac 3 (Ardèche)

Abstract

Orgnac 3 is dated from 350,000 to 280,000 years before present. It was excavated by J. Combier and his team. The lithic data show a Middle Palaeolithic industry which becomes more and more typical in the three most recent levels. The Levallois debitage, not present at the base of the human occupation, becomes the most important way of producing flakes in the last levels. The number of flakes from one core is more and more numerous. On one Levallois core, several methods are successively used to control the variety of the production. The raw material is flint which is collected around the site. Tools on flakes are the most frequent. Scrapers and points are first in number. Choppers and chopping-tools are usual in all the layers but not frequent. Hand-axes are not many and decrease in frequence at the top of the sequence.