The Rubane recent du Bassin parisien (RRBP) sequence has until now been defined and characterized particularly in the Aisne valley. As a result, the modalities of the Bandkeramik neolithisation of the south-east Paris basin have remained unclear for some time. While the Yonne valley sites of Armeau, Chaumont and Cheny were attributed on their discovery to the RRBP (Bailloud, 1974), their chronological position was later questioned due to the clear presence of traits classically attributed to the Villeneuve-Saint-Germain culture (VSG), such as modelled decoration (Constantin, 1985; Duhamel, 1991). Consequently, there have long been two conflicting hypotheses: the colonisation of the south-east Paris basin could be envisaged as originating either directly from the Alsace Bandkeramik (Duhamel and Prestreau, 1988), or from Bandkeramik groups already settled further north in the Paris basin, during the final stage of the RRBP (Constantin and Ilett, 1997). In the south-east Paris basin, the Bandkeramik pottery evidence has recently been updated, comprehensively analysed and reviewed (Meunier, 2012a). The Seine-Yonne region, which is located on the borders of several cultural zones and presents a different configuration from the Aisne valley, is open to other paths of influence. The region thus provides some new leads for exploring chronological trends in intercultural relations. The pottery data were integrated into a sequence covering the whole of the early Neolithic of the Seine-Yonne region and centred on the RRBP-VSG transition. The RRBP pottery comes from five sites in the Bassee and the north Yonne valley. On the basis of 275 decorated vessels, including all techniques, two stages were identified. This is now the second best documented Bandkeramik sequence in the Paris basin and can be synchronised with the second half of the Aisne valley RRBP sequence. This article thus proposes to describe the main features of these two stages. Stage 1 is distinguished notably by the presence of motifs combining incised lines and bands of impressions made with combs with two or three teeth, often used in separate impression. In stage 2, these motifs have almost completely disappeared to the advantage of motifs with triangles and incised bands filled with hatching, often making up extensive decoration patterns. At the same time, this stage sees not only a clear decrease in combs used in separate impression but also the introduction of combs with five to seven teeth. The aim is then to compare this evidence with the Aisne valley Bandkeramik sequence. Despite the difference in the size of the currently available pottery assemblages between the north and south of the Paris basin, comparable trends in the RRBP were identified, enabling RRBP Seine-Yonne stage 1 to be synchronised with RRBP Aisne stage 2, and RRBP Seine-Yonne stage 2 with Aisne RRBP stages 3-4. However, there are some differences between the north and the south of the Paris basin. The interpretations are diverse and can affect our conception of RRBP chronology. Some variations show the complexity of processes underlying the formation of the RRBP, with the presence of decoration clearly related to Bandkeramik styles in upper Alsace, lower Alsace or the middle Moselle. Furthermore, at the end of the RRBP, there is a north-south divide which involves decoration traits considered to be chronologically pertinent for the RRBP sequence: the number of comb teeth and the relative frequency of incised line/impressed band motifs and triangle/band motifs filled with hatching. The divide can be interpreted in terms of conservative or innovative styles in each region and this also underlines the difficulty of separating regional differences from chronological trends. These observations on the diversity of the RRBP lead us to modify the chronological importance of some attributes in the distinction of a final RRBP stage, depending on the region under study. Combined with the analysis of the assemblage from Juvigny (Marne), this now makes it possible to re-assess the chronological attributions of several sites located east of the Seine-Yonne confluence, distributed along the Seine and as far as the Marne valley: Pont-sur-Seine 'la Graviere' (Aube), Lesmont 'les Graveries' (Aube), and Saint-Dizier 'le Toupot Millot' (Haute-Marne). These sites with small pottery assemblages are difficult to link to a precise RRBP stage and had often been attributed to the end of the RRBP on the basis of a single attribute, the band filled with hatching. Yet there are no examples of pivoting comb impression on the three sites. In contrast, the recurrent association of bands filled with hatching and decoration with two or three toothed combs used in separate impression suggests we could be dealing here with an early RRBP stage or even a transitional stage between the Champagne late Bandkeramik and the RRBP. The discovery of larger pottery assemblages in the Seine and Marne valleys would enable this hypothesis to be more fully discussed.
