The Middle Palaeolithic at the Brive-Laroche-Aérodrome sites (Corrèze, France) ; Le Paléolithique moyen des sites de Brive-Laroche-Aérodrome (Corrèze, France) ; The Middle Palaeolithic at the Brive-Laroche-Aérodrome sites (Corrèze, France): Techno-economic choices between Périgord and Massif central ; Le Paléolithique moyen des sites de Brive-Laroche-Aérodrome (Corrèze, France): Choix techno-économiques entre Périgord et Massif central

International audience ; Southwestern France, with its numerous sites including eponymous sites, constitutes one of the richest archaeological records for the Middle Palaeolithic in Western Europe. However, data availability varies widely in this region. Techno-economic and subsistence behaviors are especially well documented in the Charente and Dordogne areas. Conversely, few data are available for the Middle Palaeolithic occupations on the fringes of the Massif central, such as in Corrèze. In this area, the mineral environment is mainly dominated by quartz, unlike the rest of the Aquitaine basin, which is rich in silicites exploited by prehistoric populations.In the Corrèze area, the Middle Palaeolithic is essentially known through surface lithic material and the past excavations of two major sites: La Chapelle-aux-Saints and Chez-Pourré Chez-Comte. Recently, preventive archaeology has allowed the discovery and excavation of open-air sites associated with the Late Middle Paleolithic (Combemenue, Brive-Laroche or les Hauts de Lestrade), offering information on the temporal framework, techno-economic behaviors of these populations, and the strategies developed in relation to the quartz pebbles and cobbles between the Périgord and the Massif central.The occupations dated to the Late Middle Palaeolithic were uncovered at the Brive-Laroche-Aerodrome site, located between the municipalities of Brive-la-Gaillarde and Saint-Pantaléon-de-Larche. Two excavation areas were explored in the alluvial plain (named North and South), which may correspond to two different sites.The geomorphological and taphonomic analysis reveals polyphase occupations, particularly in the South sector where fewer refits were identified. Only a concentration of small quartz material, which prompted manual excavation, remains unexplained in this sector. The lithic material underwent minimal mechanical alterations prior to excavation, but three levels of patina show evidence of post-depositional water circulation, and significant damage occurred ...