These villages, comprised of fewer than a dozen houses each along the shores of Lake Chalain, present a picture of a society in which there was fierce competition between men. It appears as though the social structure did not allow for groups larger than about a hundred individuals, hence villages broke apart once they exceeded this threshold.
In addition, there is no shortage of symbols for asserting male status, such as these long flint daggers, sought after as much for their social value as their superior technical quality. In social environment where certain men displayed their preeminence, the village of Chalain 19 presents a surprising discovery: one house, set apart from the others, was built according to a plan originating not in local tradition, but from very far away in the south of France.
This remarkable house has several features that are unique in this village community: low production of the most common items, specialized textile production, a large collective cooking area for meat and, finally, a sledge designed to be pulled by a pair of oxen. These were, no doubt, elements that set the owner of the house apart.