Les populations des VIIIe-Xe si cles du nord-ouest de la France peuvent tre analys es gr ce l' tude de leurs ossements. Pour ceci, la mise en pratique de l'anthropologie biologique (sexe, ge, sant , activit ) n cessite une m thodologie rigoureuse et des crit res nettement d finis d taill s ici. La mise au point de nouvelles m thodes permettant des analyses sp cifiques aux informations recherch es est propos e. Les sites arch ologiques du corpus correspondent des situations vari es du point de vue de l'environnement et la topographie religieuse. La d termination de leur recrutement mais aussi l' tude de leur tat sanitaire et de leur niveau d'activit donne la possibilit de les caract riser et de proposer des hypoth ses sur leur nature. Ces donn es, confront es aux tudes men es d'apr s les sources crites et arch ologiques, donnent alors une image pr cise des populations carolingiennes, permettent de comparer les divers ensembles fun raires et illustrent ainsi la grande vari t mais aussi la hi rarchisation partielle des groupes populationnels carolingiens.
The 8th to 10th century populations of the north-west of France can be better understood through the analysis of human remains. If biological anthropology is to be used for this purpose (to determine sex, age, health and activity level), it needs a rigorous methodology and clearly defined standards. The development of new methods of analysis specific to the research data is proposed in this volume. The archaeological sites of the corpus correspond to a variety of environmental, topographical and cultural contexts. Analysis of the selection (or acceptance) of individuals for burial at these sites and the study of their state of health and level of activity makes it possible to characterise the populations, and to suggest hypotheses about their origins. These methods, in comparison with studies of archaeological and written sources, can thus grant us a clear picture of Carolingian populations. The data allow us to compare various burial situations and thus to illustrate the large variety, but also the partially hierarchical organisation, of Carolingian population groups.