Quartz et quartzite dans le site de Payre (MIS 7 et 5, Ardèche, France) : données techno-économiques sur la gestion de roches locales au Paléolithique moyen

The results of studies applied to pieces made of quatrz and quartzite at the site of Payre (isotopic stages 7 and 5) testify to the peculiar handling of these stones which were collected in the neighbourhood of the site and are little abundant in the assemblages found. The two rocks were worked outside the cave, according to techniques similar to those applied in the case of silex. These observations concern all the levels of the sequence. The techno-economic study of the artefacts indicates a handling of these materials that exceeds the strict frame of the site, such as rocks being often considered as a makeshift complement and little used in the sites of the Rhone middle valley.