From the block to the blade

The contribution of lithic technology of the Villazette site (Creysse, Dordogne) to understanding the early stages of blade production in the Middle Magdalenian

Bibliographic Data

ID7473452
AuthorsManon Bocquel (Université de Bordeaux, corresponding author), Pierre‐antoine Beauvais (University of Cape Town), Pierre-Antoine Beauvais (0009-0003-0673-198X), Morgane Dachary (0000-0001-6753-6254, Ministère de la Culture), Vincent Delvigne (0000-0001-6477-2104, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique), Lukas Dijkstra (Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique), Jérémie Jacquier (0000-0002-8815-3903, Géosciences Rennes), Mathieu Langlais (0000-0002-7075-388X, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique)
Year2026
Volume71
Pages105648
Publication date2026-05-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueJournal of Archaeological Science Reports (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 2352-409X • E-ISSN: 2352-4103
PublisherElsevier BV (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1016/j.jasrep.2026.105648
OpenAlexW7131113763
LanguageEN
References cited17

Villazette site reveals the first open air occupation from the Late Middle Magdalenian. • The early stages of long blade production have been documented. • Refitting enabled interpretations of two distinct lithic concentrations production. In southwestern France, blades attributed to the Late Middle Magdalenian are occasionally found in the form of batches of finished objects in particular contexts such as painting cave like Labastide or Enlène in the Pyrenees. The lack of first stages of production, absent or poorly documented in “consumption” sites, represent a key obstacle to fully understand the chaîne opératoire . As such, investigating a lithic assemblage from “production” sites through refitting and technological analysis raises questions about technological segmentation of blade production. Located in the Aquitaine Basin, the site of Villazette (Creysse, Dordogne) is situated on the low terraces of the Dordogne River, in an area rich in high-quality ‘Bergeracois’ flint. Excavations have revealed a series of open-air occupations, including one layer related to the Late Middle Magdalenian phase showing evidence of blade production. The analysis of cores and other products confirms the presence of blades exceeding twenty centimeters, along with the production of smaller blades for toolmaking. Refitting studies provide insight into the early stages of blade production: raw blocks were collected on-site and shaped through the preparation of anterior and posterior crests, ensuring an efficient reduction sequence. Furthermore, the spatial distribution analysis reveals two concentrations with distinct functions, raising questions about the organization of the occupation. The discovery of this site underscores the archaeological potential of the Dordogne’s riverbanks for exploring the organization of Magdalenian groups

Assemblage (archaeology · Blade (archaeology · Cave · Excavation · Lithic technology · Magdalenian · Middle Paleolithic · Scraper site · Archaeological and Geological Studies · Evolution and Paleontology Studies · Pleistocene-Era Hominins and Archaeology

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