In arid environments, continental records of climate change are rare. In southeast Arabia, where most of the landscape is dominated by the ophiolithic al-Hajar mountains, palaeoclimatic data are mainly derived from sedimentary records on the piedmonts. In the mountains themselves, where human occupation could have prevailed during periods of climatic stress, sedimentary archives are weakly preserved. Recent studies have revealed the existence of thick but under-explored sedimentary archives in oases. In order to evaluate their potential as palaeoenvironmental records, we develop a geomorphic, sedimentological and mineralogical approach in the oasis of Masafi (UAE). Results allow us to identify sediment sources and deposition modes over the last 18 ka. Late Pleistocene deposits are comprised of quartz-rich aeolian sands from the Rub’al-Khali while Early to Mid-Holocene deposits (10–7.5 ka) are calcite-rich loess probably originating from the Persian Gulf, deposited on the slope upstream of the oasis and later remobilized during humid periods. Late Holocene records (after 2.7 ka) are more complex to interpret with the onset of anthropogenic activities. While sediment connectivity between the slope and the oasis still occurred up until the last 2 ka through the channelling of runoff water and gullying, we witness shifting soil management strategies and reduced sediment supply from the slopes after that date. As a conclusion, our results reveal complex morphoclimatic and anthropogenic processes in the oasis but its high potential as an archive of ancient climate change and alluvio-aeolian processes if studied with caution.
Typologie d'actualités : Publications
Article | Unravelling ceramic content and organic coatings in Senegalese ethnographic pottery vessels
Résumé : Ethnoarchaeological studies have highlighted a wide variety of organic coatings used by contemporary potters’ communities. Previous analyses have demonstrated the absorption of organic molecules from coatings in pottery, but these were mainly based on experimental approaches using only a few products, without considering the complexity of the chaînes operatoires of pottery manufacture. This study addresses the question of the identification of organic coatings, by investigating ethnographic vessels from three different pottery traditions in southern Senegal which involve such surface treatments. Coated pots are analysed before and after use, combining macro- and mesoscopic observations alongside biomolecular investigations. Based on observational criteria, this work highlights the partial degradation of the organic coatings during the initial use of the pottery, with an almost complete disappearance of visual clues observed after some months of use. Biomolecular analyses confirm that lipids from coating products can be absorbed. Yet, once the container has been used, it becomes challenging to distinguish between the coating products and the contents. However, one pottery displays molecular compounds that may originated from the coating product. These findings underscore the need to consider the entire life cycle of a ceramic vessel to ascertain the origin of the organic compounds trapped in its matrix. This origin may be traced back to either to the manufacturing stages of the vessel or to its use.
Article | The Canis lupus ssp. (Mammalia, Carnivora) of the Baume Traucade (Issirac, Gard, France): A complete skeleton of a “dog-like” individual from the post-LGM
Source : https://doi.org/10.1016/j.quascirev.2025.109288
Completely preserved canid skeletons dating from the Pleistocene are rare finds. Here, we describe such a unique discovery from Baume Traucade, a cave site in the municipality of Issirac in southern France, which presents a rare opportunity to study in detail a series of skeletal elements from the same individual. This canid was likely a female with an estimated body mass of 26 kg and a shoulder height of 62 cm. It has an age of approximately 16.0 to 15.3 cal ka BP. Impact marks on the lumbar vertebrae and ribs, along with circular perforations on one of the scapulae, suggest that this canid was wounded by humans shortly before its death. The Baume Traucade skeleton is compared to a series of reference groups, including fossil and extant wolves, as well as Palaeolithic, prehistoric, and recent dogs. Linear discriminant analysis of its ln-transformed raw craniometric variables assigns this canid to the putative Palaeolithic dog group with a posterior probability of 99.5% and a typicality probability of 49.8%. Linear discriminant analysis of its allometrically size-adjusted craniometric variables assigns it to the same group with a posterior probability of 96.7% and a typicality probability of 75.1%. Furthermore, based on univariate analyses of its mandible and long bones, the Baume Traucade canid also shows the closest affinity with the group of putative Palaeolithic dogs.
Article | On the presence of Hystrix vinogradovi (Argyropulo, 1941) in level XV of the Baume Moula-Guercy (Soyons, Ardèche, France).Systematics and paleoecological implications
Source : https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jasrep.2025.105001
Level XV of the Baume Moula-Guercy, has yielded a porcupine mandible bearing p/4-m/3. Its morphology and small size allow us to attribute this specimen to Hystrix vinogradovi (Rodentia, Mammalia), a small species sporadically present in Eurasia during the Pleistocene. Its presence, associated with other thermophilic species, confirms an Eemian age (MIS 5e) for level XV of the Baume Moula-Guercy and highlights the impact of global warming during the Last Interglacial (LIG) on the distribution of mammal species.
Article | Du brai de bouleau dès l’âge du Bronze final en Corse ? Un cas d’étude sur le site de Cuciurpula, Serra-di-Scopamena (Corse-du-Sud)
Résumé : En Corse, l’usage du brai de bouleau est attesté dès l’âge du Fer, par les études chimiques (Drieu et al. 2018, Rageot et al. 2016). Ces résultats inédits ont permis d’émettre des hypothèses sur les usages, les stratégies d’acquisition de ce matériau et les modes de fabrication notamment (Rageot et al. 2019). En ce qui concerne l’âge du Bronze final, du brai de bouleau a été identifié au sein de deux échantillons issus de deux sites corses (I Casteddi et Mezana) (Koch et al. 2024), permettant ainsi d’attester de l’ancienneté de son exploitation. Ces données suggèrent que l’absence de brai de bouleau durant l’âge du Bronze en Europe serait le résultat, non pas d’un fait archéologique, mais d’une orientation de la recherche sur d’autres périodes et sur certains types de vestiges (Koch et al. 2024). Afin d’étudier l’évolution des pratiques artisanales en Corse durant les âges de métaux, une dizaine de résidus organiques issus de niveaux d’occupation de l’âge du Bronze provenant du site de Cuciurpula a été analysée en chromatographie en phase gazeuse couplée à un spectromètre de masse (GC-MS). Cette étude confirme la continuité de l’exploitation de l’écorce de bouleau pour la fabrication du brai de bouleau durant les âges des métaux en Corse et renforce l’hypothèse d’une rupture dans les pratiques artisanales et/ou culturelles. En effet, à l’âge du Bronze, le brai de bouleau semble être utilisé de manière exclusive, contrairement à l’âge du Fer, où l’on observe une diversité de substances naturelles (résine et goudron de conifères, cire d’abeille) employées pour des usages similaires (adhésifs, imperméabilisation).
Article | Le projet d’abdication de Louis IX : enjeux et questionnements sur le rôle de la reine Marguerite de Provence
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Résumé : Les actions de la reine Marguerite de Provence (1221-1295), épouse du roi de France canonisé, Louis IX, ne sont pas suffisamment étudiées. Il s’agit de reprendre la question du souhait qu’aurait eu Saint Louis d’entrer dans un des deux principaux ordres mendiants (Dominicains ou Franciscains) et la place qu’aurait jouée, dans le refus finalement exprimé par le roi, son épouse la reine Marguerite.
Article | SACHA: an interactive identification key of Southern African CHArcoals for anthracological research
Source : https://doi-org.inshs.bib.cnrs.fr/10.1163/22941932-bja10173
Since the 1980s, the field of anthracology has continued to expand in Southern Africa to study the interaction between past human societies and their environments, including plant resources and forest management from prehistoric times. To answer such questions, the need for comparative wood anatomy analyses of the local taxa is of particular relevance in this rich species environment to perform rigorous taxonomic identification. This paper introduces the first computer-assisted identification tool specifically designed for the analysis of archaeological charcoals from Southern Africa. This online database, called SACHA for Southern African CHArcoals, is accessible via the following link: https://sacha.identificationkey.org/. It currently includes anatomical descriptions, as well as ecological and ethnobotanical information for 68 taxa of modern specimens collected in the Savanna Biome. An identification key is available on the Xper3 online platform, which is designed for descriptive data management and interactive identification. This article presents a survey of the existing reference collections on Southern African woods and charcoals and proposes an overview of the development of computerised tools for systematic wood descriptions and identification keys. The SACHA database can be easily updated and enriched without requiring computer science skills. Furthermore, it can serve as a training tool for beginners in wood anatomy. The database offers an online interactive key option, a fact sheet catalogue, and conventional dichotomous and tabular keys for offline or printed versions. These functions are facilitated by the various export formats that are available in the database.
Article | A database and interactive identification key for the anatomy of woods of the Ethiopian Afromontane Forest
Identifying wood and wood charcoal from sub-tropical to tropical regions is challenging, due to the high floristic diversity. This is especially true for the Horn of Africa, characterized by a high degree of endemism, for which no wood anatomy atlas is available. Yet, there is a strong need for anatomical descriptions and identification tools, in particular concerning archaeobotanical research.
Numerous rock shelters in the Ethiopian highlands provide rich charcoal assemblages. Their study is of utmost interest to decipher past human-vegetation relationships. Many of these sites are located in the Afromontane Forest, the potential natural vegetation of the highlands within the Eastern Afromontane biodiversity hotspot, hosting 483 dicot woody species.
Here, we present the first wood database for the species of the Ethiopian Afromontane Forest. It is set up on the online open-access platform Xper3 and includes an interactive identification key. The anatomical features follow the IAWA nomenclature and include additional ones, to improve the identification process. The database comprises wood anatomical descriptions of (1) 68 species from the wood reference collections of Addis Ababa University, Ethiopia, and Goethe University, Frankfurt, Germany; (2) 72 species from InsideWood and (3) 92 genera/species from specialized literature. The database also includes original pictures taken on samples from the reference collections. Our original coded descriptions and pictures are also available in InsideWood.
Article | Renewed impetus for stone age research in the Eastern Free State (South Africa) centred on Rose Cottage Cave
Rose Cottage Cave is widely recognised as a key sequence for the Middle Stone Age and Later Stone Age in the southern African central interior, with its unique palaeoenvironmental and chrono-cultural archive spanning a semi-continuous record from the Late Pleistocene to the 19th century. Building on important previous research, new excavations will extend our knowledge concerning technological systems, landscape use, human-environment interactions, as well as site formation and the linkages between these parameters in a regional context. Here we report on preliminary insights from the recent fieldwork and provide an overview of future directions.
Article | Macchia or forest? Toward the reconstruction of Ericaceae formations in Corsica (NW Mediterranean) during the Holocene using a quantitative wood anatomy analysis
Source : https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jasrep.2025.105014
Arbutus unedo L. is very abundant in pre- and protohistoric anthracological assemblages of Corsica (north-western Mediterranean). In the present day, it is a dominant species, along with Erica arborea L., of the macchia, a shrubland ecosystem that covers a major part of the island. The current state of the macchia is characterised by a low and more or less dense shrubby stage, maintained by frequent disturbances. However, rare preserved plots demonstrate the capacity of Arbutus unedo to evolve into a tree up to 10 m high, forming high, nearly forested macchia.
A traditional anthracological approach documents the floristic composition of past woodland but it does not allow us to specify the growth habit of the trees. Consequently, the physiognomy and structure of the Holocene Ericaceae formations remain unknown, despite their abundance in the landscape and their potential for exploitation in pre- and protohistoric human activities. To address this issue, we have developed a quantitative eco-anatomical approach for the characterisation of size patterns of Arbutus unedo. This method is based on the measurement and quantification of wood structural and vascular elements whose abundance and size are influenced by natural or anthropogenic ecological parameters. Modern wood samples are used to build a predictive model that can be applied to archaeological specimens.
Results from statistical analyses indicate that tree height and branch size are recorded by eco-anatomical features. Moreover, it has been shown that tree height is correlated with anatomical features such as ray size and vessel density. Applied to archaeological samples of Arbutus, the eco-anatomical analysis highlights the presence of tall Arbutustrees during the early Neolithic period, while low macchia appears to be the dominant vegetation type during the Bronze and Iron Ages. These results confirm hypotheses previously formulated from pollen and charcoal data and provide further insight into the impact of human activities on the landscapes.