Production métallique en Aquitaine à l'âge du Bronze moyen. Techniques, usages et circulation

The focus of this study is the metallic material culture and its craft industry as a socio-cultural production of communities occupying the Aquitaine region in the Middle Bronze Age (17th-14th century BC). The metallic artefacts were analysed according to typological, technological and contextual research methods. The reconstruction of the environmental context highlights transformations (on the scale of human life), which took place in the estuary area, playing a role in the development of the technical and economic systems of societies. Functional and morpho-typological examination of copper-based alloy artefacts enabled several classifications to be established. Morphometric and weight comparisons can be made by looking at common criteria of differentiation. Determination and interpretation of traces made on the metal or upstream (model, mould), allow the reconstruction of technical processes and some insight into the chaînes opératoires. Even within the same category of objects, the chaînes opératoires differ according to the moulding technology, the material, and the series of gestures, etc. The results of the metallographic examinations provide information of some of the technical processes used on axes and bracelets. For example, the plastic deformation sequence in cold / annealing is frequently used. The correlation of technical practices and functional and typological classifications highlights the various parallels existing in metallic production and renews the interpretation of the practices of deliberate burial.