Typologie d'actualités : Publications

Article | Socio-economic dynamics of Magdalenian hunter-gatherers: Functional perspective

Source : https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0274819

The beginning of the Middle Magdalenian is marked by an increase in the density and geographic extension of evidences of human occupation across western Europe. The Early Middle Magdalenian (19,5–17,5 ka cal. BP) thereby extends from Poland to Spain, and the sharing of the flint-knapping concepts and the circulation of raw materials show the existence of networks active over this wide area. In parallel, part of the production of art, ornaments, microliths, bone industry, and the proportions of hunted ungulates vary regionally and allow to identify distinct technical traditions. Departing from a palethnographic approach at a regional scale, this paper aims at participating in renewing our understanding of the mechanisms of regionalisation during the period, and among past societies of hunter-gatherers. The reflection is based on the techno-functional analysis of stone tools from two cave sites of west-central France that are at the heart of the definition of two technical traditions: La Marche (Magdalenian with Lussac-Angles points) and the Blanchard cave (Magdalenian with navettes). Inter-site comparisons of the functioning and management of stone tools, and of subsistence strategies show the sharing of techno-economical norms, expressing the adhesion to a wider community of practice. The long-term occupation of at least part of the caves and the high density of sites in the Vienne, the Creuse, the Gartempe, and the Charente Valleys, indicate the strong regional implantation of human societies. This strong territoriality (effective and symbolic) is likely a major factor to understand the specificity of the EMM expressions in the area, as well as the sharing, in the same economic territory, of technical norms and of part of the system of symbolic representation.

Article | Fire Among Neanderthals

Source : https://www.elsevier.com/books/updating-neanderthals/romagnoli/978-0-12-821428-2

Ethel Allué ; Carolina Mallol; Vera Aldeias, Aitor Burguet-Coca, Dan Cabanes, Ángel. Carrancho, Rory Connolly, Lucia Leierer, Susan Mentzer, Christopher Miller, Dennis. Sandgathe, Mareike Stahlschmidt, Isabelle Théry-Parisot, Manuel Vaquero (2022). Fire Among Neanderthals. In: Francesca Romagnoli, Florent Rivals, Stefano Benazzi (Eds.) “Updating the Neanderthals: understanding behavioural complexity in the late Middle Palaeolithic”. Elsevier, pp 227-242.

Description de l’ouvrage :

Updating Neanderthals: Understanding Behavioral Complexity in the Late Middle Paleolithic provides comprehensive knowledge on Neanderthals who lived throughout the European and Asian continents. The book synthesizes historical information about the study of Middle Paleolithic populations and presents current debates about their genetics, subsistence, technology, social and cognitive behaviors. It focuses on the last phase of Neanderthal settlements and presents the main patterns of modern humans across Europe. Written by international experts on the Middle Paleolithic who have conducted innovative studies in the last three decades, this book explores the implications of interactions between different human species, including Neanderthals, Denisovans and Sapiens. In addition, the book discusses the diversity and variability of human adaptations and behaviors in the changing climate and environment of the Late Pleistocene, and the relationship between these behaviors, demography and cognitive capabilities.

les prochaines journées du GDR https://sciencesdubois.sciencesconf.org/

Article | Terminal Pleistocene human occupation of the upper Copper River basin, southern Alaska: Results of test excavations at Nataeł Na’

Source : https://doi.org/10.1016/j.quaint.2022.08.012

After decades of debate, the homeland of the First Americans is now generally understood to be northeast Asia; however, the process of Late Pleistocene peopling remains unresolved. As more archaeological sites south of the continental ice sheets are discovered that predate the opening of the interior “ice-free” corridor, interest in a coastal Pacific dispersal route has grown, and previously overlooked regions proximal to the Pacific coast have become a central focus of exploration efforts. The Copper River basin of southern Alaska is one such region. Here we present the results of 2019 archaeological excavations at Nataeł Na’, a buried and stratified archaeological site situated along the upper Copper River. The site contains a robust occupation dating to the late Younger Dryas climate reversal as well as an earlier occupation dating to the late Allerød interstadial. This discovery demonstrates that Pleistocene hunter-gatherers inhabited the Pacific basin of southern Alaska during the same time Clovis peoples inhabited temperate North America. The occupations at Nataeł Na’ join a growing body of evidence suggesting that the early inhabitants of eastern Beringia were geographically more widely dispersed than previously documented.

Ouvrage | De la mer à la montagne : premiers systèmes d’élevage et paysage végétal de part et d’autre des Alpes méridionales à la fin de la Préhistoire (6500‑2000 av. n. è.). Approche anthracologique

Cet ouvrage tiré du doctorat de Janet Battentier, réalisé au CEPAM, vient de paraître dans le n°70 des Mémoires de la Société Préhistorique Française. Il a été publié avec le soutien financier du laboratoire CEPAM, du Laboratoire d’Archéologie Préhistorique et Anthropologie de l’Université de Genève, du groupement de recherche 3644 « BioarchéoDat », du groupement de recherche 3766 « ChasséoLab » et du groupement de recherche 3544 « Sciences du Bois ».

En région liguro-provençale, l’avènement de l’agriculture et de l’élevage (début du VIe millénaire  BCE) a modifié le couvert forestier et la relation entre les sociétés et le milieu qu’elles exploitent. L’analyse anthracologique de six sites archéologiques répartis du littoral jusqu’à 1000 m d’altitude et occupés entre la fin du Mésolithique (Castelnovien) et le Néolithique final (ca 6500-2000 BCE) précisent les modalités de ces évolutions, venant combler les lacunes chronologiques, géographiques et sitologiques d’un large corpus préexistant (78 séquences, anthracologiques et polliniques, en contexte archéologique ou naturel).De part et d’autre de l’arc liguro-provençal, des dynamiques de végétation relativement similaires se traduisent de façon variable en termes de paysages. Au Castelnovien et à l’Impressa (6500-5600/5400 BCE), les futaies denses et diversifiées prédominent sur un large gradient altitudinal. Dans les basses terres et en altitude, les milieux ouverts, sans doute plus propices aux activités de subsistance (chasse, pastoralisme, agriculture) semblent toutefoispréférés par les derniers mésolithiques et les premiers néolithiques.A partir de la seconde moitié du VIe millénaire BCE, de la méditerranée aux étages alpins, les premières atteintes anthropiques sur le couvert forestier favorisent l’augmentation discrètedes végétaux tolérant l’ouverture du milieu et le recul des taxons plus sensibles. Bien que ce processus se renforce progressivement, à toutes les altitudes, sur fond de diversification de l’exploitation du territoire, des séquences anthracologiques attestent du maintien des chênaies caducifoliées dans l’arrière-pays jusqu’au Néolithique final. Ainsi, au fil du Néolithique, l’ouverture anthropique du milieu se déploie sous forme d’éclaircies, de plus en plus répandues mais qui demeurent localisées. Le recul des formations forestières, la baisse de leur diversité et l’essor des taxons de milieux ouverts témoignent directement d’un changement des paysages débuté sans doute en amont, par la modification de l’apparence des forêts (taillis vs futaies). Ainsi, le paysage végétal actuel trouve sa genèse dans les pratiques néolithiques.

Mots-clés : Néolithique, paysage, anthracologie, dynamique de végétation, pastoralisme, Holocène, Méditerranée nord-occidentale.

Article | Science Revealing Ancient Magic: Phytolith Evidence from the Early Chalcolithic Site of Isaiia (Eastern Romania)

Source : https://doi.org/10.3390/biology11081102 & https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9331568/

HAL : https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/view/index/docid/3768217

Abstract :

The present paper aims to present the newsworthy results and interpretation of the interdisciplinary analysis conducted at an Early Chalcolithic settlement (Isaiia, Romania). The archaeological campaigns of 2015 and 2017 offered remarkable results including a ceramic vessel, inside which an anthropomorphic figurine (with pregnancy depiction) and a small cone, both made out of clay, were found. Given the special character of the deposition, we collected several samples from the vessel and near it for phytolith analysis; samples of bone found next to the pot and from the nearby features were also dated by AMS radiocarbon. The palaeobotanical evidence based on the phytolith analysis showed that cereals and probably mugwort seem to have been in association with the small artefacts; both, and especially the latter, are known, aside from their practical uses (as aliment or remedy), as powerful symbols, used through the ages in magic practices. All of these facts nuance and augment the cultic interpretation of the deposition as a result of a ritual related to fertility (possibly to counteract some physiological problems or reproductive disorders) involving both feminine and masculine symbols and the use of plants.

Article | Foodstuffs and organic products in ancient SE Arabia: preliminary results of ceramic lipid residue analysis of vessels from Hili 8 and Hili North Tomb A, al Ain, United Arab Emirates

Source : https://www.thenationalnews.com/uae/heritage/2022/08/27/fat-and-oil-residues-from-thousands-of-years-ago-shed-new-light-on-the-uaes-past/

Lien HAL : https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-03759054

Abstract : Exchange networks in the Bronze Age between SE Arabia, Mesopotamia, SE Iran, SW Pakistan and the Indus Valley moved a variety of raw and finished products, especially pottery. However, we have little understanding of what organic products were a part of these exchange networks, as well as what foodstuffs were prepared in ceramic vessels as part of everyday activities. This paper presents the preliminary results of lipid residue analysis of local and imported vessels from Hili 8 and Hili North Tomb A in al-Ain, United Arab Emirates (UAE). Absorbed lipids were extracted and analysed via Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry (GC-MS) from a range of vessels, including local, regional, Indus, Mesopotamian and Makran wares. A majority of the lipid profiles were indicative of degraded animal fats, however some vessels, including Fine Red Omani Ware and imported Black-Slipped Jars from the Indus Valley, had evidence for plant oils. Further analyses that will shed light on the possible origin of the animal fats and plant oils are ongoing. The preliminary results provide new insights into the use of pottery at Hili, with broader implications for our understanding of subsistence and exchange networks in the region.

Article | 4500 ans d’occupation au Pré-du-Stand (Grand-Saconnex – Genève)

Besse M., Piguet M., Steimer-Herbet T., Isabelle André, Anouk Bystritzsky-Papilloud, Antony Carbone, Julie Debard, Benjamin Gehres,Michel Guélat, Auréade Henry, Tobias Hofstetter, Emmanuel Mens. 2022. 4500 ans d’occupation au Pré-du-Stand (Grand-Saconnex – Genève). Annuaire d’archéologie Suisse 105 : 7-46.
https://archaeologie-schweiz.ch/fr/annuaire-archeologie-suisse/

Henry A., Piguet M., Steimer-Herbet T., Besse M. (2021). Foyers empierrés du Bronze final : nouvelles données anthracologiques issues des structures de combustion du Pré-du-Stand (Grand-Saconnex, Genève, Suisse). ArchéoSciences 45 (2) : 7-29.
https://journals.openedition.org/archeosciences/10320

Besse M., Piguet M., Carbone A., Henry A., Girardclos S., Debard J., Hofstetter T., Bystritzsky-Papilloud A.,  Steimer-Herbet T. (2021). Funerals During the Second Iron age: A Newly Discovered Sepulchral Ensemble Reveals Practices in Western Switzerland (Pré-Du-Stand, Geneva). Journal of Anthropological & Archeological Sciences 4 (5). DOI: 10.32474/JAAS.2021.04.000198
https://archive-ouverte.unige.ch/unige:153804

Ouvrage | « Notre-Dame de Paris – La science à l’oeuvre »

source : https://www.paris-centre.cnrs.fr/fr/cnrsinfo/parution-de-louvrage-notre-dame-de-paris-la-science-loeuvre

Communiqué de presse du CNRS

Au lendemain de l’incendie du 15 avril 2019, la mobilisation succède instantanément à l’émotion. Une formidable aventure scientifique démarre alors lorsque le CNRS et le Ministère de la culture lancent un chantier scientifique. Son objectif : recueillir un maximum de données sur les centaines de tonnes de matériaux qui jonchent le sol. Bois de charpente, pierres, métaux, etc. sont ainsi triés, répertoriés, stockés en vue d’être sauvegardés, étudiés, analysés et parfois réemployés.

Au lendemain de l’incendie de Notre-Dame du 15 avril 2019, la mobilisation succède instantanément à l’émotion. Une formidable aventure démarre alors lorsque le CNRS et le ministère de la Culture lancent un chantier scientifique pour étudier la cathédrale endommagée et mise à nu par l’incendie. Les éléments rendus accessibles par l’incendie permettent de dévoiler différentes phases de son histoire, de sa construction à sa destruction. Ces recherches scientifiques pourront en outre servir la restauration de Notre-Dame.

A partir du 8 septembre, découvrez dans un livre édité par le Cherche Midi les secrets révélés par le grand incendie et les coulisses du monumental chantier scientifique de la cathédrale.Illustré d’images exceptionnelles, il permet de comprendre comment Notre-Dame a été pensée, bâtie et restaurée au fil des siècles en revisitant notre connaissance du monument à chaque période de son histoire.

Un livre collectif avec les contributions des plus grands spécialistes du CNRS et du ministère de la Culture, en partenariat avec l’établissement public chargé de la conservation et de la restauration de la cathédrale Notre-Dame de Paris.

Numéro spécial | Tropical Agriculture: Past and Present

Source : https://ethnobiology.org/publications/journal-of-ethnobiology/current-issue

TABLE DES MATIERES

Tropical Agriculture, Past and Present: Cross-Cutting Approaches to Global Challenges
Lydie Dussol and Stéphen Rostain

Fields and People at Río Bec (Mexico): A Study in Progress (2019-2022) of Settlement Agriculture in the Classic Maya Lowlands
Eva Lemonnier and Charlotte Arnauld 

Ancient Agriculture on Lava Flows: Using LiDAR and Soil Science to Reassess Pre-Hispanic Farming on Malpaís Landforms in West Mexico
Antoine Dorison

Thinking Outside the Continent and outside the Box: Cross-Continental Comparative Studies Can Enrich Studies of Pre-Columbian Rasied-Field Agriculture
Doyle McKey, Leonor Rodrigues, Javier Ruiz-Pérez, Rumsaïs Blatrix, and Stéphen Rostain

Local Knowledge of the Interactions Between Agrobiodiversity and Soil: A Fertile Substrate for Adapting to Changes in the Soil in Madagascar?
Juliette Mariel, Vincent Freycon, Josoa Randriamalala, Verohanitra Rafidison, and Vanesse Labeyrie

Semi-Domesticated Crops Have Unique Functional Roles in Agroecosystems: Perennial Beans (Phaseolus dumosus and P. coccineus) and Landscape Ethnoecology in the Colombian Andes
Jonathan Locqueville, Vanesse Labeyrie, Doyle McKey, Olga Lucia Sanabria, and Sophie Caillon

Digging Deep: Place-Based Variation in Late Pre-Contact Mā’ohi Agricultural Systems, Society Islands
Jennifer G. Kahn and Dana Lepofsky

Traditional Agriculture and Food Sovereignty: Quilombola Knowledge and Management of Food Crops
Maiara Cristina Gonçalves, Fernanda Ribeiro da Silva, Daniele Cantelli, Maria Rita dos Santos, Paulo Volnei Aguiar, Eliseu Santos Pereira, and Natalia Hanazaki

Article | Fishing, Weaving, Matting: Debating the Function of Notched Cobbles in Neolithic Greece

Source : https://doi.org/10.12766/jna.2022.2

This article focuses on notched cobbles – pieces of stone with indentations on roughly opposite parts of their periphery. While exhibiting a wide geographic and chronological distribution, these simple artefacts have rarely become the subject of systematic archaeological study. In an attempt to address this gap, we discuss the three main hypotheses regarding the functions of these objects (as weights for fishing, weaving or matting) and evaluate the archaeological and ethnographic evidence that is available for each one of them; provide a detailed presentation of the technomorphological characteristics of the material from the Greek Neolithic site of Varemeni Goulon and compare it to that from the neighbouring site of Servia; expand the comparative framework to include other sites from Greece and elsewhere; and finally reconstruct the uses of both the Varemeni and Servia notched cobbles as fishing gear – the hypothesis that emerged as most likely from our survey. If associated with fishing, notched cobbles represent one of the rare components of fish capture technology preserved from Neolithic Greece.