L’artisanat à l’âge du Bronze ancien en basse Bretagne

International audienceLarge numbers Early Bronze Age barrows were excavated in Brittany from the second half of the 19th century. This flurryof activity produced various syntheses, published by the main excavators of the time (Aveneau de la Grancière, 1899; Martin, 1900;Du Chatellier, 1907). A century later, a new synthesis coupled with an inventory was published in 1984 by Jacques Briard, titled LesTumulus d’Armorique. Despite a wealth of data, the different objects discovered in the tombs, whether craft goods or other items, haverarely undergone comparative analysis. A critical review of radiocarbon dates shows continuity between the Bell Beaker Culture (2500-2150 BC; Salanova, 2011) and the Armorican Tumuli. There is clear contemporaneity between barrows containg arrowheads, called‘Première série’, and barrows containing pottery, called ‘Seconde série’ (fig. 1). However, these terms and their chronological assumptionsshould be abandoned (Nicolas, 2011). For the moment, one can tentatively see an early phase (2140-1900 cal. BC) and a middlephase (2020-1750 cal. BC), even if there is much overlap. Re-examination of the artefacts discovered in Early Bronze Age graves showsdifferent degrees of specialization, in relation to raw materials and technological know-how. The Armorican arrowheads appear to be theresult of specialized crafting (Nicolas, 2011 and forthcoming), but this was not necessarily a full-time activity as raw material acquisitionand flint knapping are easier during the summer (Pelegrin, 2002). Metal daggers reveal considerable expertise: mastery of alloys, largedaggers, gold decoration, high quality sheaths. A majority of ornaments are of exotic origin (Briard, 1984a; Du Gardin, 1989; Sheridanand Shortland, 2004; Needham, 2009). The pottery, the typology of which has been revised (Stevenin, 2000), varies considerably in qualitybetween different areas of Brittany. Stone tools (scrapers, points, grindstones) are present in the graves but are poorly documented.The distribution of funerary objects in Brittany shows geographical disparities: very few people were doted with arrowheads, however,daggers have a wider distribution and pottery is distributed uniformly throughout the area. The circulation of Breton objects over thechannel in Britain shows the same reality: pottery circulates, daggers circulate and are copied, but arrows do not circulate but are copied.These three types of distribution reflect three different statuses, from common goods to inaccessible and copied goods.The presence of objects specifically intended for the elite indicates that the production of arrowheads, metal objects and related craftitems is closely controlled. Exotic ornaments also seem to fit into this pattern as prestige goods. The various pottery vessels suggesta wide range of situations: domestic production, local or interregional workshops. Stone tools, such as scrapers or grindstones, couldhave been produced in a domestic context. This pattern, based on the burials, will have to be confronted with evidence from settlements,quarries and mines, as well as workshop sites if these do indeed exist.Plus d’un millier de tumulus ont été fouillés depuis le xixe siècle en basse Bretagne. Ceux-ci ont fourni un important corpusmobilier (pointes de flèches, vases, poignards, haches, fourreaux en cuir, parures, outils en pierre). La chronologie de ces objets a longtempsété discutée, mais un examen critique des dates radiocarbone permet de s’assurer de leur contemporanéité et de leur datation auxdébuts de l’âge du Bronze. La revue détaillée de ces objets funéraires permet d’observer différents niveaux de savoir-faire. Certainsartefacts (flèches, poignards) ont nécessité une grande habileté technique suggérant l’existence d’artisans spécialisés. D’autres, commeles vases ou les outils en pierre, ont pu être produits dans un cadre domestique ou artisanal. La répartition de ces biens dans les tombesbretonnes et outre-Manche révèle l’existence d’objets communs, possédés par le plus grand nombre, ou d’objets prestigieux, détenuspar quelques-uns. Cette distribution hétérogène reflète vraisemblablement une société hiérarchisée, où les objets signent le statut social.En retour, la valorisation des biens dans les sépultures permet de suggérer plusieurs modes de productions d’objets : activités domestiquesou artisanales, libres ou contrôlées, à diffusion locale ou interrégionale