hal-05718986 Badegoulian eyed needles : New data on morphometric and technology from the (…)

The precise timing of the appearance of eyed needles in Southwest Europe (Solutrean or later periods) is still debated. The problem is made more complex because the distribution and representativeness of eyed needles vary, depending not only on the more or less intensive production of these objects, but also on preservation hazards and the excavation methodology employed. This paper presents the study of eyed needles and their by-products recovered from two archaeological sites in France, Cuzoul de Vers and Abri Fritsch. The studied assemblages come from layers attributed to the Solutrean to Badegoulian transition and the Ancient and Recent Badegoulian. Here, we document: (1) the different operational schemes employed, how the raw material is acquired and what techniques and procedures are used in its transformation into a needle; (2) the variability of morphology and metrics approached through a compared statistical analysis in each site; and (3) the reality of the existence of needles during the Solutrean period. We then assess the technological development of eyed needles and their implications in the daily lives of the Badegoulian human groups.