http://popups.lib.uliege.be/3041-5527/index.php?id=655 Entrées d’index fr 0 http://popups.lib.uliege.be/3041-5527/index.php?id=689 Oolitic ironstones (OIS) are red raw materials producing a strong red pigment that are frequently encountered on LBK (Linearbandkeramic culture or Linienbandkeramische Kultur) sites from the Hesbaye (Liège province, Belgium), the Maastricht region (Limburg province, The Netherlands) and the Dendre springs area (Hainaut province, Belgium). Macroscopical, mesoscopical and microscopical investigations show a genetic relationship between all of the studied samples. The latter consist mainly of Clinton-type OIS with fine-grained hematitic ooids and a red clayey-sandy matrix, rarely enclosing carbonates within the cement or in the fossils. The observed variation inside the geological outcrops results from differences in the proportions of the detrital matrix and the carbonate content in comparison with the richness in hematitic ooids. The geochemical analyses carried out with HH-XRF and PIXE, also show strong analogies between all of the studied archaeological objects discovered in both of the studied areas. The diffractometric analysis resulted in poor information except for the mineralogical composition of the major phases. We do not observe differences between the pioneer sites and the older occupation sites. Furthermore, no significant differences were observed between the OIS from one village to another. A comparison of geological samples from Belgium and Germany allowed to link archaeological samples to Lower Famennian OIS of the southern border of the Namur Synclinorium. The latter spots are most probably located between the towns of Loyable and Amay, along the Meuse river valley. We may therefore conclude that the early Neolithic people looked at the same spots (in a geographic area of about three kilometers along the Meuse river axis). Moreover, they have selected their primary raw materials using the richness in iron ooids and the scarcity in quartz and calcite as main selection criteria. This study is still in progress, now taking into account other types of (non-oolitic) red rocks from LBK sites in the Hesbaye area, The Netherlands and Lorraine, in order to trace the geographical and geological provenances of the raw materials. So far, we can already suggest that the sources are local to regional for the red sandstones and of German origin for the non-oolitic hematitic ores. Fri, 29 Nov 2024 14:00:18 +0100 Fri, 29 Nov 2024 14:28:13 +0100 http://popups.lib.uliege.be/3041-5527/index.php?id=689 http://popups.lib.uliege.be/3041-5527/index.php?id=650 Oolitic ironstones (OIS) disccovered at archaeological (Early Neolithic & Mesolithic) sites in the Caen region (Basse-Normandie, France) were analyzed and compared with Ordovician OIS sampled in geological sites in Basse-Normandie, in order to establish the source of the raw materials used in prehistory. Samples of OIS were analyzed and characterized by X-ray diffraction (whole rock and clay fraction), LA-ICP-MS, HH-XRF and PIXE. Ironstone objects from Colombelles (early Neolithic) show compositions that are different from those recovered at Biéville-Beuville (final Mesolithic). Those at Colombelles were initially extracted from slightly weathered ironstone layers and it is suggested here that their extraction required extra digging to reach less weathered hematite-rich material. In contrast, OIS from Biéville-Beuville have a mineralogical composition indicative of more intense weathering, which might indicate collection of surface material. The final Mesolithic raw material of Biéville-Beuville seems to have been obtained through a different mode of acquisition than that utilized during the early Neolithic. Our research allows us to conclude that all the archaeological OIS from the Plain of Caen are of local or regional origins and that Devonian (Lower Famennian, Frasnian) OIS from Belgium, Lower/Middle Devonian, OIS from the Eifel (Germany) or Mesozoic OIS from Lorraine (in the three border areas between the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, Belgium and France) are totally lacking. Early Neolithic sites in Belgium contain no oolitic ironstone imported from Normandy. As a consequence, we can conclude that for this specific raw material, there is a lack of exchange between early Neolithic Belgian populations (Hesbaye and Dendre Springs) and the population of the Plain of Caen. Fri, 29 Nov 2024 13:21:49 +0100 Fri, 29 Nov 2024 13:21:57 +0100 http://popups.lib.uliege.be/3041-5527/index.php?id=650