Contribution des matériaux lithiques dans la chronologie du Néolithique ancien et moyen en France et dans les régions limitrophes

Seven papers from the session on Lithics and the Early and Middle Neolithic Chronology in France given at the EAA conference in Lyon in 2004. Work on lithic materials in the widest sense has developed considerably over the last two decades, leading to an almost complete renewal of methods and objectives. From the 1980s onwards there emerged methods which have become classic: investigation of raw materials, creation of reference collections (lithothèques), characterization of procurement modes, studies oftechnology and analyses of use-wear. Relative chronology, mainly established through study of decorated ceramics, is still an essential aspect of our discipline and new data have stimulated debate on the relations between various cultural groups defined on stylistic grounds. This volume aims to review the contribution of lithic studies in both France and neighbouring regions for establishing the cultural sequences of the early and middle Neolithic.