Continental France and the Benelux

Abstract This chapter concerns the Mesolithic of a vast and highly diverse geographical area extending from the Pyrenees in the south of France to the North Sea coast of Belgium and the Netherlands. Because of this, it not only encompasses the Sauveterrian, but also parts of the Beuronian and Maglemosian cultural spheres. Typochronological data generally allows to divide the Mesolithic of this area in an Early and a Late stage, or in a Premier and Second Mésolithique. An exception is the Rhine-Meuse-Scheldt area, where a Middle Mesolithic, characterized by the sudden appearance of microliths with flat retouch, is lodged in between this bipartite scheme. Regional geography and taphonomic settings heavily influenced research history and research focus in the different subregions that are addressed in this chapter. In southern France and the Belgian Meuse valley, information, for example, originates primarily from caves and rock shelters that offered rich faunal assemblages as well as extensive information on the diverse burial rites of Mesolithic hunter-gatherers. Conversely, in other areas, where large-scale open-air excavations are the rule, more information is available on settlement organization and settlement structures. Next to hearth features, artefact clusters, and possible post-hole configurations, the latter also consist of pit-features that are often found on the fringes—or completely outside—of traditional settlement terrains, such as the remarkable pit alignments from the Paris Basin and the many ‘pit-hearths’ of the northern Netherlands.