La séquence gravettienne de Belgique : mise à jour et mises au point

The Gravettian in Belgium is documented in a limited number of sites, mostly cave or rock shelter sites located in the Meuse basin, and whose excavations often began in the 19th century. Our knowledge of the Belgian Gravettian owes a great deal to the work of M. Otte, who compiled, synthesised, and structured a scattered and often imprecise documentation, enabling him to identify eight proven Gravettian sites, as well as numerous potential sites (Otte 1979; Fig. 1; Table 1). This list was ­subsequently extended to two additional sites, bringing the number of proven Gravettian sites in Belgium to ten (Otte & Noiret 2007). These are classified into three typological “facies” or “groups”, which together form the Belgian Gravettian sequence and whose “kinship” is attested by the recurring presence of certain tool types (tanged points, points with flat retouch/Maisières points). The knowledge accumulated over the last few decades has made it possible to approach certain aspects of this model from a different angle. The aim of this article is therefore to draw up a critical assessment of the Belgian Gravettian sequence, based on data from four major sites: Maisières-Canal, the caves and the Upper shelter of Goyet, and Station de l’Hermitage.