Lucie Martin

The site of Bavra-Ablari is a Mesolithic-Chalcolithic rock shelter, located on the Javakheti plateau in the valley of a tributary of the Kura River, in southern Georgia. Excavations have been carried out by a Georgian-French team since 2012 and have shed light on pro-cesses that took place during the Early Holocene. The Mesolithic layer of the site shows an occupation, not yet fully excavated, which will provide important chrono-cultural infor-mation about the exploitation of the mountainous areas during the ninth millennium BCE. The Neolithic occupation chronologically matches the first evidence of agricultural society in the Near East during the sixth millennium BCE, and is characterised by a combination of Neolithic and Mesolithic features. The Chalcolithic layer produced a significant collec-tion of material that supports a re-occupation of the highlands during the fifth millennium, as well as the development of subsistence strategies adapted to this environment. Non-final proof.

Recent excavation at the site of Chobareti (1615 m a.s.l., South Caucasus Mountains) reveals an important
Kura-Araxes settlement and eleven burials so far, for which a first multi-proxies approach was conducted
to understand both exploitation of plants and human dietary practices in this mountainous area. Thanks
to the excavation of several pits, in 2011, a well-reasoned sampling for archaeobotanical analysis,
including phytoliths, pollen and non-pollen palynomorphs, charcoal, seeds and other plant macroremains
was undertaken. In parallel, human, animal bones and wheat seeds were recovered in order to
perform stable isotope analysis (d13C, d15N). Results show the strong presence of cereals (especially naked
wheat, as a hexaploid form, and emmer), highlighting the role played by cereal growing in the Kura-
Araxes farming activities. Plant macroremains, but also phytoliths recovered in pits, reflect processing
activities on the site. While animal dung seems to have been used to enhance cereal yields, different
herding practices can be suggested by d15N values. Whereas d13C values and archaeobotanical data agree
for a consumption of C3 plants, with no significant input in wheat for both animals and humans, a homogeneous
mixed diet, with a great contribution of animal protein source (meat, secondary products)
has been observed.

This paper presents the state of knowledge on plant economy in the Northern French Alps from Middle Mesolithic to Middle Neolithic (about 10,500 to 6200 cal. BP). The recent analysis of charcoal and seeds/fruits of a hunting camp of the Chartreuse massif provides new information on the way people managed their environment in a subalpine context. We focus here on a block shelter (l'Aulp du Seuil), located in an isolated valley, at 1720 m a.s.l. Excavations carried out between 1993 and 2005 permitted the discovery of an archaeological sequence stretching from Middle Mesolithic to Historic times. Charcoal and seeds/fruits analyses were performed on layers dated from Mesolithic to Middle Neolithic. Botanical assemblages mainly recorded the local vegetation, dominated by Pinus (charcoal and needles). The charcoal and macroremain assemblages reflect the exploitation of a large territory, especially during the Middle Neolithic: inhabitants of the shelter gathered plants in a large zone, from the collinean level to the immediate surroundings of the site, the subalpine level. Finally, the results inform us about fuel management and diet. The high amount of pine used for fuel has most probably two causes: its abundance in the vegetation but also its easiness of use in a temporary occupation (important amounts of dead wood). Seasonal inhabitants of the shelter brought hazelnuts and cereals. The presence of these last clearly shows, during Neolithic, a connection between the shelter and a permanent village located at lower altitude. L'Aulp du Seuil could be used as a seasonal residential station during that period. This study shows the importance to integrate the analyses of ecofacts in such archaeological programs in order to better understand the socio-economic systems of prehistoric alpine communities.► Archaeobotanical analysis were carried of a hunting camp in a subalpine context ► Charcoal, seed and fruit assemblages reflect exploitation of a large territory during Neolithic ► High amount of pine was used for fuel ► Cereals were brought and shows a connection between the shelter and a permanent village in the plain

presents an up-to-date overview of the archaeobotanical data available for the Chasséen, and more broadly
the Middle Neolithic.
As far as we know, more than seventy sites have benefited from the study of archaeobotanical remains; around
fifty of these yielded exploitable but dissimilar data, which allow us to propose a synthesis concerning the
exploitation of plant resources during this period. The occupations taken into account cover the period 4400 -
3500 Cal BC and are mainly located in southern France. The compiling of these data allows us to record a list
of food species, both cultivated and wild, and to outline the evolution of their use through time. The period
around 4000 Cal BC is identified as a rupture, materialized by the passage from predominant free-threshing
to hulled wheats. This overview also underlines the geographic specificities of the Chasséen: data from the
southern Chasséen (much more significant) are first compared with those from more northern areas; they
are subsequently compared with information from less distant sites belonging to other contemporaneous
cultures (central and northern Europe, Northern Italy, Atlantic coast).

Abstract L'abri-sous-roche de la Grande Rivoire est localisé sur la commune de Sassenage (Isère), dans le nord du massif du Vercors. Exposé plein sud à 580 mètres d'altitude, il abrite une surface au sol d'environ 75 mètres carrés (fig. 1). Son remplissage sédimentaire a enregistré sur plus de cinq mètres d'épaisseur 8 000 ans d'histoire humaine, depuis l'époque des derniers chasseurs du Mésolithique jusqu'aux premiers siècles de notre ère.

Prehistoric populations visited upland areas to exploit natural resources, for example flint, quartz, game, and wild plants, as early as the late Palaeolithic, around 17,000 BP. Finds like the Tyrolean Iceman in Italy or the glacier finds from Lenk-Schnidejoch in Switzerland show that (high) alpine regions were still used during the Neolithic and in later periods. In the Alps, as well as in the Caucasus, several archaeological sites, in the form of settlement, sheepfold or hunting camps, were excavated in mountainous and subalpine context. All these finds, combined with multi-proxy archaeobiological analyses, provide an indication of vertical (probably seasonal) mobility and the use of high altitudes, including for pastoral purposes. This session aims to bring together archaeologists, archaeozoologists, archaeobotanists and scholars from related scientific disciplines. The objective will be to discuss vertical mobility and niche construction through time using archaeological, archaeobiological and stable isotopic analytical approaches, with a special focus on the study of faunal and plant remains. We welcome papers on case studies about land- and resource use, animal and crop management, dairy economy, gathering and hunting, especially in mountainous regions, including their forelands. In order to stimulate a constructive discussion, we encourage submitting papers which elaborate on the following aspects: methodology – results – evidence and limitations – needs and perspectives.

In this paper we will reflect on the evidence of balanephagy found on Corsican sites dating to the middle of the 2nd and the 1st millennium BC. This research is based on three main sources. Firstly, the remains of clay seals that protected storage pits found on the Middle Bronze Age sites of Contorba and Cuccuraccia have preserved imprints of acorns on their underside which leads us to speculate on the motivations and the mode of storage of these fruits. The second source is provided by the archaeobotanical study of a pit filled carbonised acorns at the settlement of Cuciurpula. The third, more hypothetical, proposes that a certain type of Late Bronze Age/Early Iron Age pot frequently found on sites located on the southern half of the island was used to grill the acorns. This proposal has not been dismissed by the physico-chemical analysis carried out on the vessels that have a very particular appearance.