The chrono-cultural frameworkAs a result of the studies presented here, we can give an entirely positive assessment of the contributions of the excavations carried out at the Chalcolithic sites on the Carmaux by-pass.To start with, the site of "La vayssonnié" yields a fine series of pottery (cf. Chap. 4), that is to say, 5498 shards derived from 121 individuals and comprising 42 partial forms. They make up a homogeneous vessel assemblage, except for two pieces that are unexpected but contained in well dated areas. Indeed, all the series come from closed structures, including five which have been dated by 14C (cf. Chap. 7.3). These dates, which are highly consistent between themselves and with the material remains, all lie between - 2600 and - 2400 years BCE. The cultural facies concerned is a Chalcolithic facies anchored in Bas- Quercy, apparently attached to the verazian sphere and the Languedocian chronology (cf. Chaps. 4.2 and 8.4). The site of "La Salaberdié" is much more limited, but complementary. Indeed, it relates to an occupation that is clearly a little more recent, included in a bracket ranging from - 2550 to - 2350 BCE. It is possible that there was some overlap, but the series exhibit small differences that evoke a slight diachronism. Although the pottery assemblages show a very strong affinity with each other, the presence of a Bell Beaker-type appropriation of style at "La Salaberdié" could reflect the emergence of this influence in the zone. As regards lithic industries (cf. Chaps. 5 and 9), exogenic materials such as flint, already very poorly represented at "La vayssonnié", are completely absent in the small series of "La Salaberdié". This small time shift between the two sites is rather an advantage, since it concerns two relatively close but quite distinct geographical areas. This is because it provides a reference chronology covering almost all the Chalcolithic, derived from closed assemblages (sixty of them yielding pottery). Such a reference frame was previously lacking between the garonne plain, Southern Rouergue, Larzac and the Montagne Noire (cf. Chap. 1). generally, the various types of artefacts evoke a local production, but are also attached to the Languedocian sphere, which seems relevant in this early metallurgy context.Nature of the occupationsThe chrono-cultural coherence of each site allows us to outline the spatial arrangement of the structures, since these latter also make up a reference frame (cf. Chap. 3). For the "La Vayssonnié" site alone, this reference frame comprises 127 anomalies distributed over an area of 5000 m2, and can bebroken down into 72 proven structures including: three "kilns", nine "small pits", 13 "bowl-shaped hearths ", 21 "oblique pits " and 29 "medium and large pits". Each occupation appears to cover a rather limited time span, since only one direct section is observed. Evidently, the depth of erosion, cutting down locally to more than 0.5 m, prevents us from observing surface works and shallow-buried structures, which leads to an important bias. However, certain activity levels appear to show through, as in the case of associations "gA and gB" (cf. Chap. 3, 1.2). Almost all the remains of activities (carbonized seeds, abundant grinding tools, wasters on large pots) evoke the conservation and preparation of cereals. Unfortunately, it is difficult to identify the combustion structures from which these remains are derived, because of various problems that are often mentioned (erosion, pedogenesis, etc., cf. Chap. 2). However, structures A “La vayssonnié” et “La Salaberdié” 40 and A 91 (association "gB") are of a very particular type. They are strongly reminiscent of the "possible pottery-firing structure" of Nôtre Dame-de-Marceille at Limoux in the department of Aude (vaquer 1994). Attributed to the Saint-Pons or vérazian group, this latter structure exhibits a longitudinal "stepped" profile, similar to that of anomaly A 91. Its fill is also primarily composed of combustion residues thrown down in various beds. Although abundant ceramic remains are recorded at Nôtre Dame-de-Marceille, no mention is made of overfired and/or deformed elements. Pits A 40 and A 91 also evoke three combustion structures of the Early/Middle Bronze Age on Tatihou island (Manche department: Marcigny, dir. Ghesquière 2003, p. 57 to 62), which are termed "suspended kilns". However, apart from their morphology, we do not find any convincing elements of architecture (fragments of hearth floor or pillar, etc.) in our two pits. Moreover, the abundant oxidized sand component in the surrounding sediments at this site makes it impossible to observe the presence of any eventual reddening. Nevertheless, we still consider that one of these structures could have been used to produce the waster pots and/or carbonized seeds, perhaps in the context of a mixed operation, implying a possible "tiered/layered kiln". Lastly, we could also explain these structures by the burning down of a building especially reserved for agricultural activities, leaving remains composed of (varied) lithic elements trapped in storage pits with platforms (9; 40; 91). Although the structures and refuse deposits present over the remainder of the site are less evocative of pottery craft activity, they remain as a "background", which is normal for the periodconsidered. Taking into consideration the taphonomic bias, it is not possible to say whether the entire zone was dedicated to agricultural and craft activities. A possible argument in favour is the slope of the substrate, the exposure towards the North (perhaps motivated by the presence of water farther downslope), the absence of faunal remains and the striking over-representation of macro-tools. Nevertheless, the distribution of pottery volumes seems in conformity with that already observed on sub-contemporary "habitats", and it is rather unlikely that the storage structures and treatment areas were located very far away from the habitat. Consequently, we adopt the hypothesis that the area was used for generalpurposeactivities, while nevertheless containing some zones related to preferential activities (gA, gB, gF, etc.) within or near the habitat. Concerning the site of "La Salaberdié", the small number of structures (12 anomalies, including 5 proven structures, over an area of 1200 m2 (cf. Chap. 7) makes it even more complicated to define the nature of the occupation. This site also displays features usually restricted to small domestic and generalpurpose occupations, which further highlights the importance of the probable smelting furnace at A10.Local metallurgy of copperIn fact, the structures used for copper smelting in the South of France are so far only known from specialized sites. They generally comprise furnaces of small volume, with simple and rather shallow bowl-shaped hearths (Ambert et al. 2005; Barge 2003, p. 54 to 60; Rovira 2005a, p. 184; 2005b) that are more suitable for obtaining a high temperature. However, these structures have little chance of being preserved on an eroded surface such as observed at "La vayssonnié". We were able to collect some slag and shards that had been strongly altered by high temperatures, but found nothing indicative of a "reduction" process. This is found, for example, at the nearby site of "Al Claus" (Carozza 1998; Carozza et al. 1997; Carozza, Burens, Laurens 1998), whose occupation is situated in the same age bracket as "La Salaberdié", and where a score of copper-rich metal encrustations were observed on the inner walls of the shards. The authors proposed to interpret these encrustations as the residue of a reduction technique carried out directly in pots derived from the common vessel assemblage and reused as "smelting pots or crucibles", which corresponds to a technique initially documented in Spain [vasos-hornos in Spanish] (Ambert et al. 1996; Ambert, Rovira 2003, p. 285 to 287; Rovira 2005a; Rovira, Ambert 2002). At "La Salaberdié", the carpet of shards covering the bottom of small furnace A 10 (cf. Chaps. 7 and 11) has also yielded a large number (about sixty) of scoriaceous lumps. This material also accumulated on the inner walls (i.e.concave faces) of the shards, which show an extremely high porosity indicating the attainment of high temperatures. But the shards correspond to very small fragments (412) derived from several pots (more than four), and are distributed with equal density over the bottom. Thus, the structure is not a "smelting-pot furnace" [vasos-hornos in Spanish], but rather a composite hearth. In this same structure, we find the "nozzle" or "tuyere" of a bellows, as well as an ingot mould that most probably corresponds to the mould of a flat axe similar in size to the specimen from "La vayssonnié" (cf. Chaps. 6.2 and 11). These finds characterize the furnace as having an authentic new character. The presence of these objects, the small size of the pit and the signs of heating undoubtedly equal to or higher than 1000°C, are all indications in favour of a smelting furnace with a hearth that represents a novel development. It probably relates to the final stages in the operational chain, including casting and moulding, since there are no proven traces of copper waste (some analyses of the slaggy residues are envisaged). As mentioned above, the framework of discovery provides a good demonstration that the final stages of the operational chain of copper metallurgy (smelting, moulding and hammering) can be carried out in a domestic context, as has already been proposed (Carozza 2005, p. 660; Maass 2005, 8; Rovira 2005b, p. 180), even though the present example clearly involves a very specialized craft industry. Moreover, the site of "La vayssonnié" has also yielded some secondary markers of this activity, that is to say, three probable fragments of "ingot moulds" and a fine specimen of a "galet à cupules" ["pitted pebble/cupstone"] (cf. Chap. 11). But the importance of opper in these societies appears on this site in a rather spectacular way, represented by the assemblage of pit A 118 (cf. Chaps. 3 and 11). In this case, we note the deposition of a collar (cf. Chap. 6.1) and a large flat axe (cf. Chap. 6.2), both carefully laid out in a small hollow dug at the bottom of a pit undoubtedly of domestic origin. This corresponds to a sort of hiding-place (or cache) masked by a pot in functional position with an atypical peariform shape. The pot containing the combustion residue, made up of charcoals and carbonized seeds, then appears to have collapsed onto itself. The significance of this deposition is problematic. It could indeed represent a simple cache for copper intended for recasting, since a defect could be partly responsible for the initial breaking of this axe. However, the axe has suffered many violent and repeated blows on one of its faces, quite unrelated to any technical process, and this occurred at the beginning. Moreover, this large possibly-decorated axe is associated with a very fine composite collar comparable with some rare pieces discovered in funerary or ambiguous contexts. The atypical and vaguely anthropomorphic shape of the vase, along with the presence of carbonized seeds on its bottom, clearly argues in favour of a symbolic deposit that links together some strong elements belonging to the universe of these populations. The numerous data presented here nearly all indicate the end of the operational chain, while also providing positive evidence for a local pre-Bell Beaker copper metallurgy. On the other hand, the question of the origin of the ore remains unanswered.The southernmost edge of the Massif Central is rich in cupriferous sites. Indeed, the oldest "mining-metallurgy" site currently known is situated in its foothills, belonging to the famous Cabrières- Péret district (Ambert 1992; 1999; Ambert et al. 1996; 2005). Since the Ségala deposit In the department of Tarn also forms part of this geological unit, an ancient local extraction is strongly suspected (Servelle 1998; Servelle, Servelle 1984 and 1991). To back up this hypothesis, a campaign of "thematic prospection" and limited (manual excavation) surveys was carried out in the framework of the preparation of this publication, to look for evidence of a prehistoric working at the "Labenq" mine, located approximately 2 km from "La vayssonnié" and already known at least since Antiquity (cf. Chap. 11). The objective was also to collect in situ ore and carry out geochemical comparisons between this material and the objects of deposit A 118. Unfortunately, while the results for the axe allow us to draw some conclusions, we did not obtain enough metal from the other highly oxidized parts or the excessively thin malachite coating of the historical crosscutting galleries. In addition, this "light" approach (prospection and limited manual excavations) failed to reveal any material evidence of a prehistoric working. In fact,a preliminary indication comes from a rather unexpected source, the presence of lithic artefacts at the two archeological sites: a crusher made of "chopped/splintered" quartz and an "attractive" quartz stone with greenish inclusions, which were certainly both collected from the Labenq vein (cf. Chaps. 10 and 11).ConclusionIn conclusion, while the studied remains do not make up an ideal record (…), the new data - in many cases unpublished – resulting from the present work have led to many valuable and sometimeseven spectacular advances in the regional study of the Chalcolithic. Thus, the 72 proven structures at the site of "La vayssonnié" themselves form a reference frame, yielding a fine series of pottery that is homogeneous and datable. In addition, the lithic series displays a striking over-representation of macro-tools, while the 300,000 carbonized seeds collected at "La vayssonnié" are clearly relevant regarding the function of the site. This function fits in with a domestic sphere where much of the activity is related to the conservation and treatment of harvests. These activities coexist explicitly here with a well-developed copper metallurgy, located at around 2550 BCE, as show by the small original smelting structure (A 10), the lithic, ceramic and slaggy remains, as well as the fine artefacts belonging to the newly discovered deposit of pit A 118. In our opinion, the various components of this assemblage plead in favour of a deposit reflecting a religious gesture, which links together certain strong symbols for these populations: axecollar/ pit-earthenware jar/cereals/fire. Finally, although we cannot formally confirm an extraction of the ore in the immediate environment of the sites, the fact that mineral substances were collected from the Labenq vein shows clearly that the Chalcolithic populations of "La vayssonnié" and "La Salaberdié" had some knowledge of this deposit.
