Shifting Procurement Strategies: Exploring Non-Flint Materials in Flint-Based Assemblages of Abri du Maras Between MIS 3 And MIS 7

The Ardèche River valley was recurrently occupied by different human groups throughout the Middle and Upper Palaeolithic, as evidenced by numerous known sites along its banks. The study of raw materials is one of the main sources of information about mobility strategies in the landscape. Although there are many detailed studies on the exploitation and management of lithic raw materials, primarily focusing on flint-rich lithic assemblages, it is common for lithic assemblages, especially from the Middle Palaeolithic, to include other raw materials that have often been overlooked in analysis. This oversight may be due to the assumption that these materials are of local origin and therefore do not contribute significantly to our understanding of the mobility patterns of past populations and are interpreted predominantly as the result of an engagement in incipient and expedient exploitation models. Abri du Maras, located near the banks of the Ardèche River, is a rock shelter occupied between MIS 3 and MIS 7, whose sequence allows for a chronostratigraphic interpretation of lithic resource management strategies. While levels 4.1, 4.2, 5 and 6 comprise mostly flint, which has been extensively studied and published previously, strategies for procuring other local materials are less well understood and have only recently received attention. The presence of non-flint raw materials varies between c. 10% for level 4.1. and 40% of the assemblage for level 6.For this study, a multiproxy approach was applied based on: i) the identification of lithic raw materials by macro and microscopic analysis following geological standard descriptive procedures, ii) the distribution of groups and sub-groups of raw materialsidentified by techno-typology (e.g. hammerstones, cores, flakes, retouched elements), iii) survey of the local landscape to understand raw material availability and accessibility, iv) and correlation of the times of occupation of the site with the geomorphological evolution of the Ardèche River and its terraces. The set of data obtained makes it possible to distinguish moments of different access to potential sources of raw materials depending on accessibility and their representation in the lithic assemblage. Few studies have analysed diachronical changes in procurement strategies during the Middle Palaeolithic, with transitional periods (e.g. between the Middle and Upper Palaeolithic) receiving most of the attention. However, a more detailed study of the Abri du Maras occupation sequence makes it possible to detect changes in procurement strategies taking place in the Ardèche Valley between MIS 7 and MIS3. During this long period in which the rock shelter was frequently visited by Neandertal groups, the surrounding landscape underwent changes related above all to the incision of the Ardèche River and sedimentation phases of the adjacent terraces. Studying a sequence of occupations in an area where the landscape has changed allows for correlating landscape alterations with potential shifts in raw material procurement strategies and the relationship of Neanderthals with the local environment.