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Les récentes fouilles méthodiques (2012) faites sur le site Capsien supérieur de Kef Ezzahi (Kairouan, Tunisie centrale) ont livré un matériel archéologique (osseux et lithique) très riche particulièrement en restes malacofauniques. Notre étude concerne les coquilles des hélicidés terrestres trouvées lors des fouilles de la rammadiya de Kef Ezzahi afin d’appréhender leur impact dans l’alimentation des populations capsiennes. Notre analyse montre la prédominance de Sphincterochila candidissima par rapport aux autres espèces (H. melanostoma, M. vermiculata et R. decollata). S’agit-il d’une sélection faite par l’homme préhistorique qui pourrait être liée soit à un choix économique ou à une contrainte paléoenvironnementale ou bien encore d’une série qui a été en grande partie régie par les nombreux facteurs taphonomiques ? En effet, l’étude taphonomique des coquilles de S. candidissima montre la présence de plusieurs perforations au niveau de la spire ou/et à l’apex, réalisées à l’aide d’un outil en silex et par des canines humaines. Dans ce travail, nous essayons, d’une part, de formuler des hypothèses pour expliquer l’utilité et le mode de mise en place de ces perforations et, d’autre part, de montrer la part de la consommation des hélicidés terrestres dans l’économie de subsistance des hommes capsiens. Recent systematic excavations (2012) at the Upper Capsian site of Kef Ezzahi (Kairouan, central Tunisia) had yielded a very rich bone, lithic artefacts in addition to land snails remains. This study concerns the land snails in order to understand their impact in the diet of the Capsian populations at the site. It highlighted the predominance of Sphincterochila candidissima compared to other species (H. melanostoma, M. vermiculata and R. decollata). This selection carried out by prehistoric groups, could be due to an economic choice, or paleoenvironmental challenges, or also to taphonomic factors. Indeed, the taphonomic study of shells from S. candidissima shows the presence of several perforations in the whorls and / or at the apex made by flint. In this paper, we try firstly to formulate hypotheses to explain the purpose and the way of shells perforations and at the last to see the part of land snails in the Capsian subsistence economy.

Si aujourd’hui l’homme peut se passer du miel grâce à la diversification de produits destinés à sucrer les aliments, en particulier la canne et la betterave à sucre, au Moyen Âge en revanche, l’apiculture occupait une place non négligeable dans l’économie locale du Maghreb. Elle fournissait non seulement une marchandise appréciable à l’exportation vers les grandes métropoles occidentales (la cire et le miel), mais également un produit d’usage courant pour la préparation des médicaments et la conservation des aliments. Considéré comme un produit naturel, les Maghrébins le préféraient au sucre et l’utilisaient à la fois comme édulcorant et agent conservateur. Cette contribution propose d’analyser dans un premier temps les conditions de production du miel et de la cire, et sa répartition géographique, en étroite relation avec les activités pastorales dans le Maghreb médiéval. Seront ensuite abordées les questions du commerce et de l’exportation de ces deux produits, ainsi que celle de leurs différents usages. If today people can do without honey thanks to the diversification of products used to sweeten the food, in particular the sugar cane and beet, in the Middle Ages on the contrary, beekeeping played an important role in the local economy in Maghrib. It not only provided a noticeable merchandise (wax and honey) for exportation to western major cities, but also a product commonly used to prepare medicines and preserve food. Considered a natural product, Maghrebis prefered it to sugar and used it both as an sweetener and a preservative agent. In this paper we will firstly analyse the conditions of production of honey and wax, and their geographical distribution, in strait connection with pastoral activities in Medieval Maghrib. We will then tackle the questions of trade and exportation of these two products, and of their different uses.

International audience; This paper aims to provide an overview of recent palaeoenvironmental data and archaeological discoveries brought to light in the Seine basin and, more specifically, in Champagne, between 9700 and 5200 cal. BCE, corresponding to the first half of the Holocene and, culturally speaking, on a regional scale, to the Mesolithic. This early part of the Holocene was marked by rising temperatures, leading to successive changes in biotopes. The sea rose by more than 400 feet, completely redrawing coastlines. Steppe gave way to pine and then broadleaf forests. On an archaeological level, the Mesolithic has suffered from the fact that its sites were difficult to detect, probably due to the small size of its flint artefacts. The increasing number of discoveries, coupled with the methodological advances in research on the Mesolithic, has made it possible to renew our knowledge of this pivotal period that precedes the Neolithic “revolution”. In this configuration, the Seine plays a central role but also functions as a cultural boundary. The Aube and Marne departments are marked by rare Mesolithic sites, which we might describe as albeit temporary dwellings. Deep pits discovered in these two departments were probably used for hunting and the storage of edible plants. Graves and other burial places are rare in the Seine basin and are totally absent in the Aube. Preventive archaeology and the excavation of large areas reveal barely anything more than one new burial site a year, as opposed to the hundreds discovered for subsequent periods. Several factors help to explain the absence of burial sites, making the discovery of isolated graves more random, and simply the lack of evidence for alternative funerary practices. Despite this documentary lacuna, the recent development of research into ancient DNA makes it possible to imagine major advances in our understanding of the cultural origins and identities of the Mesolithic people.