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Archaeologists discover France's oldest Neolithic settlement on the French Riviera
Archaeology Magazine ^ | January 18, 2025 | Dario Radley

Posted on 01/24/2025 5:07:53 PM PST by SunkenCiv

The Neolithic period along the Mediterranean coastline represents a transformative chapter in human history: transitioning from a nomadic lifestyle to a sedentary one, characterized by agriculture and livestock farming. Just as its name suggests, in the Early Cardial period -- around 5800 BCE -- the period is characterized by pottery decorated with impressions made using the serrated edges of Cardial shells. This 'cultural current,' believed to have originated in Anatolia, spread rapidly across the coasts of Greece, southern Italy, and eventually into southern France.

The importance of the settlement at Cavalaire-sur-Mer is that it is the second known site of this period in France. Similarities to earlier finds in Greece, Slovenia, and central Italy confirm that the original impetus for this cultural diffusion came from the east and that it played a very significant part in the introduction of agro-pastoral economies into Europe.

Beneath a four-meter layer of alluvial deposits in a small coastal valley, archaeologists found a building that dated from the Early Cardial period. Its position, 1.3 meters beneath Middle Neolithic occupation layers dated to ca. 4800 BCE, confirmed its age. The building had two parallel stone walls and a small apse, now badly eroded. The area measured approximately 7 by 5 meters, and the walls were reinforced with a mixture of raw earth and gravel, resulting in dense diagnostic sediment.

(Excerpt) Read more at archaeologymag.com ...


TOPICS: History; Science; Travel
KEYWORDS: cavalairesurmer; france; godsgravesglyphs; neolithic; riviera
General view of the site at the start of the excavation.
Credit: Sylvain Barbier, Inrap
Credit: Sylvain Barbier, Inrap

1 posted on 01/24/2025 5:07:53 PM PST by SunkenCiv
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To: StayAt HomeMother; Ernest_at_the_Beach; 1ofmanyfree; 21twelve; 24Karet; 2ndDivisionVet; 31R1O; ...

2 posted on 01/24/2025 5:08:19 PM PST by SunkenCiv (Putin should skip ahead to where he kills himself in the bunker.)
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To: SunkenCiv

Nice!


3 posted on 01/24/2025 5:16:24 PM PST by posterchild
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To: posterchild

Thanks!


4 posted on 01/24/2025 5:17:01 PM PST by SunkenCiv (Putin should skip ahead to where he kills himself in the bunker.)
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To: SunkenCiv

Pronounced ‘neece!’ :)


5 posted on 01/24/2025 5:18:01 PM PST by posterchild
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To: SunkenCiv

Did they find the casino yet?


6 posted on 01/24/2025 5:27:50 PM PST by monkeyshine (live and let live is dead)
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To: SunkenCiv

One can bet on the paleos to seek out the good weather.


7 posted on 01/24/2025 5:44:59 PM PST by Carry_Okie (The tree of liberty needs a rope.)
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To: SunkenCiv

I’ve never seen a photo of an archeological dig site with heavy equipment before.


8 posted on 01/24/2025 5:50:51 PM PST by Inyo-Mono
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To: posterchild; SunkenCiv

“Nice!”

I see what you did there! More accurately, I Cannes see what you did there.


9 posted on 01/24/2025 5:55:37 PM PST by Larry Lucido (Donate! Don't just post clickbait!)
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To: SunkenCiv
Area looks larger than 7x5 meters.

At least it did not get further destroyed by German artillery when the 36th division (T) landed in ‘44.

10 posted on 01/24/2025 5:58:12 PM PST by Deaf Smith (When a Texan takes his chances, chances will be taken that's for sure.)
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To: Larry Lucido

Picasso i can!


11 posted on 01/24/2025 5:59:23 PM PST by posterchild
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To: Inyo-Mono

Never seen any Time Team episodes, eh?


12 posted on 01/24/2025 6:02:23 PM PST by SunkenCiv (Putin should skip ahead to where he kills himself in the bunker.)
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To: Larry Lucido

Heh heh... I’m taking credit for that, despite not realizing it at the time...


13 posted on 01/24/2025 6:03:01 PM PST by SunkenCiv (Putin should skip ahead to where he kills himself in the bunker.)
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To: posterchild

Heh heh... and of all people, I missed it at the time. :^)

And, I had a niece do some of her college study *on* the Riviera.


14 posted on 01/24/2025 6:05:37 PM PST by SunkenCiv (Putin should skip ahead to where he kills himself in the bunker.)
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To: monkeyshine

That would be a good deal. /rs


15 posted on 01/24/2025 6:06:38 PM PST by SunkenCiv (Putin should skip ahead to where he kills himself in the bunker.)
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To: Carry_Okie

Plus the nude beaches. Which were just beaches at that time. :^)


16 posted on 01/24/2025 6:19:08 PM PST by SunkenCiv (Putin should skip ahead to where he kills himself in the bunker.)
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To: SunkenCiv

Have archaeologists dated the invention of the loin cloth?
Perspiring minds want to know.


17 posted on 01/24/2025 7:40:38 PM PST by Carry_Okie (The tree of liberty needs a rope.)
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To: Carry_Okie

:^)


18 posted on 01/24/2025 8:24:47 PM PST by SunkenCiv (Putin should skip ahead to where he kills himself in the bunker.)
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To: SunkenCiv
Never seen any Time Team episodes, eh?

No, we don't have television.

19 posted on 01/24/2025 8:32:16 PM PST by Inyo-Mono
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To: Inyo-Mono

https://www.youtube.com/TimeTeamClassics

and the reboot:

https://www.youtube.com/@TimeTeamOfficial


20 posted on 01/24/2025 9:11:40 PM PST by SunkenCiv (Putin should skip ahead to where he kills himself in the bunker.)
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