Sociétés et Identités du Premier Néolithique de Grande-Bretagne et d'Irlande dans leur contexte ouest européen : caractérisation et analyses comparatives des productions céramiques entre Manche, Mer d'Irlande et Mer du Nord

Abstract

This Ph.D thesis takes part to the vast debate of Mesolithic-Neolithic transition in Britain and Ireland. The bonds between the British Isles and the Near Continent are undeniable. Rather, the form(s) the transition took is (are) still to be understood. This work is an accurate analysis of material culture, more specifically pottery production ; sampling was made in order to address questions regarding Britain, Ireland and the Neat Continent. Moreover, a specific type of analysis, usually avoided in British studies, is here promoted : technological study of pottery production. This topic addressed the question of the determination of production styles as well as the appearing of cultural identities during that period. The second question that has been dealt with here is the continental areas of influence. The results obtained, following a multiscalar analysis, shed light on two wide areas during the first centuries of Neolithic (between c. 4000 and 3700/3650 cal BC), on the one hand on the Atlantic façade and western Channel and on the other hand on the North Sea façade and eastern Channel. These areas can thereafter inform on the transition modalities that, in all likelihood, are divergent from one area to the other. Later, pottery productions seem to find a regional basis, developing, for most of them, elaborate decorative patterns, probably used as a means of recognition. Interestingly, these productions seem to rely on the same stylistic codes that are used afterwards in the recognition process, highlighting the gradual emphasis on know-how transmission, through more and more significant exchange network.