Image Credits : Vallées des Merveilles Sorcier © crédits Sébastien Hosy

The Neolithic period (dated in France to between 6,000 and 2,000 BC) was characterised by the introduction and development of agriculture and livestock farming. Unlike the pre-existing hunting and gathering practices, the development of agricultural and pastoral activities enabled food resources to be controlled and led to a complete transformation of the relationship between societies and the environment they exploited. Generally speaking, the increase in the population (encouraged by food production), the intensification of agro-pastoral activities to ensure subsistence, and the (relative) sedentary nature of life led to an increase in social complexity. As far as the paleoenvironment is concerned, this development is indicative of a more intensive exploitation of the environment in all its diversity, i.e. an increase in pressure from human activities throughout the region. This agro-pastoral colonisation of nature involved the appropriation of land. Essentially, this implicated competition for resources, which must have led to social hierarchies, conflicts, alliances and exchanges (Demoule, 2017).
In the mountainous region of the Alpes de Haute-Provence and the Province of Cuneo, the development of pastoralism and agriculture meant that lowlands and uplands were used differently depending on the season. By documenting the landscape of Neolithic sites, the ways in which the environment has been transformed by human activity can be highlighted and thereby can help to determine how the land has been managed.
DEMOULE J.-P. (2017) - Les dix millénaires oubliés qui ont fait l'Histoire, Paris, Fayard, 318 p.