Les sites palafittiques de Chalain et Clairvaux. (Jura, France) : un eldorado bioarchéologique ?

Résumé En

The disciplines that contribute to bioarchaeology (archaeozoology, palynology, anthracology and carpology, palaeoparasitology, dendrochronology, etc.) have been widely used and incorporated into the study of the pile-dwelling settlements of Chalain and Clairvaux (Jura, France), highlighting to a large extent their unparalleled informative value. The study of a series of faunal bone and botanical remains (seeds, charcoal, tree bark, plaiting materials, pollen, plants, architectural elements, equipment, wooden furniture and tools, etc.) has allowed us to discover the daily life of prehistoric communities up close: from food consumption to cooking, hunting, gathering, agriculture, animal husbandry, to the craft of wood, plant fibres and hard animal materials (ivory, antlers, teeth, bones…). The informative potential of these organic remains is equally proven by the consistently renewed progress of investigative techniques, which give access to an unimaginable wealth of information and data a priori that, until very recently, were considered inaccessible. Among these are fragments of birch resin from several sites in Northern Europe (Denmark, Sweden), the genetic analysis of which allows access to the genomes of prehistoric humans even in the absence of bone remains. The bioarchaeological documentation of pile-dwelling settlements is of unique heritage and cultural value, and its preservation, filing, long-term storage and accessibility are essential in the conservation of these collections and in knowledge-building.