Lionel Gourichon

Research scientist – CNRS (PhD)
Laboratory CEPAM (UMR 7264), Nice, France
lionel.gourichon@cepam.cnrs.fr

As archaeologist specialized in zooarchaeology, my main research interest lies in the emergence of food production in Southwest Asia, the Mediterranean area and North-East of Africa. My studies are dedicated to human-animal relations and the process of domestication during the Neolithic period, as well as the economic and subsistence organization of the last hunter-gatherers during the Late Glacial Interstadial and the Early Holocene. Contributing to the improvement and transmission of bioarchaeological approaches based on the study of mammal and bird remains, especially those related to seasonality and hunting and herding strategies, is one of my great interests. In this perspective, I am teaching courses in zooarchaeology for Master students at the University Côte d’Azur. As a faunal analyst, I am involved in various archaeological excavation programs in France, Jordan, and Sudan, and in several French, European and international research projects. 

My participation in the ERC MERMAID project aims to coordinate, in collaboration with the PI, the sclerochronology/skeletochronology research that will be conducted on fish and shellfish remains to provide information on the seasonal organization of capture/harvesting activities. In addition, my task is to put into perspective the modalities of exploitation of terrestrial resources in the studied contexts with the data acquired on marine resources.