Urgeschichte und Naturwissenschaftliche Archäologie

The Gravettien open land site Azé (Saône-et-Loire, France)

Following the excavations at this site between 1998 and 2004 conducted by Harald Floss, the focus now (February 2008) is analysing the finds and features recovered and documented from the site. 

One Magister thesis on retouched artifacts (Ursula Maurer M.A.) has been completed succesfully, and another two are on their way: one focusing an technological aspects (Andreas Taller), the other on site formation processes (Christian Hoyer). For the technological aspects, the documented chaînes opératoires and definition of bladelet/burin cores are important aspects of the thesis. The analysis of the technology could also enable researchers to chronologically sort the site within the technocomplex Gravettien. 

Regarding site formation processes, the goal of the thesis is to evaluate postdepositional displacements of sediment vs. anthropogenic find distribution by analysing micromorphological sediments and pollen and thoroughly mapping the finds in three dimensions. 

Further investigations  deal with the origin of lithic raw materials as well as a "site catchment analysis" in the area of the central Gravettien site.