THE HYPOTHESIS OF THE CLIMATIC CONTROL OF THE FIRST POLLEN EVIDENCE OF THE EARLY NEOLITHIC IN THE JURA (FRANCE)

Pollen analyses performed on two sites (Chalain and Remoray) in the Fr ench Jura have brought to light two early phases in the local transiti on to the Neolithic. They are dated to between 5500 and 5400 BC (calen dar years) and to the earlier part of the vth millenium. The correlati on of these phases of farming activity with the fluctuations of the Ju ra lakes reveals that links exist between agricultural practice and cl imatic amelioration. As the records are very small (particularly the e arlier ones) and appear so far only on two sites, any inference must c onsequently be very carefully drawn. However, this correlation once mo re raises the question of the relevance of the climatic factor for the settlement of the first farming communities within a middle mountain environment.