Search results for "lithic"
showing 10 items of 392 documents
Examen de las dinámicas socio-ecológicas en el valle medio del Xuquer (Valencia) desde el Paleolítico Medio hasta el Calcolítico
2017
En paisajes intensamente modificados por terrazas agrícolas y otros usos modernos del suelo, el patrón espacial y temporal del poblamiento prehistórico puede ser difícil de detectar usando métodos de prospección arqueológica tradicionales orientados a la localización de yacimientos part iculares. El abancalamiento del territorio para su explotación agrícola es norma común en el área de trabajo, por lo que es necesario examinar el paisaje en su conjunto, en lugar de intentar localiza r zonas concretas de actividad ant rópica prehistórica. Para superar estos desafíos, se ha empleado una estrategia estratificada, seleccionando aleato ria me nte las parcelas a prospectar, para examinar las diná…
A Neandertal dietary conundrum: Insights provided by tooth enamel Zn isotopes from Gabasa, Spain
2022
The characterization of Neandertals’ diets has mostly relied on nitrogen isotope analyses of bone and tooth collagen. However, few nitrogen isotope data have been recovered from bones or teeth from Iberia due to poor collagen preservation at Paleolithic sites in the region. Zinc isotopes have been shown to be a reliable method for reconstructing trophic levels in the absence of organic matter preservation. Here, we present the results of zinc (Zn), strontium (Sr), carbon (C), and oxygen (O) isotope and trace element ratio analysis measured in dental enamel on a Pleistocene food web in Gabasa, Spain, to characterize the diet and ecology of a Middle Paleolithic Neandertal individual. Based on…
Animal husbandry in Sicilian prehistory: The zooarchaeological perspective from Vallone Inferno (Scillato, Palermo)
2023
Starting in the mid-6th millennium cal BCE, Neolithic groups occupied the midlands of Sicily. The economy of these groups was based primarily on livestock farming. Archaeological and archaeobotanical data indicate an intensification of livestock practices during the Early Bronze Age, leading to a change in the landscape in the form of more open forests. The Vallone Inferno rockshelter in the Madonie massif is one of the few sites that has been systematically excavated in these midlands, and has yielded evidence of Middle Neolithic and Early Bronze Age occupations. This work focuses on the study of prehistoric husbandry in the Sicilian midlands and highlands through the analysis of the Vallo…
Neolithic Human Societies and Woodlands in the North-Western Mediterranean Region: Wood and Charcoal Analysis
2017
An overview of woodland history in the north-western Mediterranean region, based on charcoal analysis (Anthracology) from Mesolithic and Neolithic sites, is proposed for the Mediterranean areas of France, Spain and Portugal. The taxonomic identification of charcoal fragments and the diachronic variations of taxa frequencies provide, for each settlement, an accurate image of the local vegetal cover. During the end of the last glaciation, beginning of the Holocene, vegetation dynamics reflects the evolution of climatic and geographic conditions. Any potential ecological impact by hunter-fisher-gatherer communities (Mesolithic) remains invisible; the same comment applies to the farming-herding…
Zinc isotopes in Late Pleistocene fossil teeth from a Southeast Asian cave setting preserve paleodietary information
2020
Significance Dietary habits, especially meat consumption, represent a key aspect in the behavior and evolution of fossil hominin species. Here, we explore zinc (Zn) isotope ratios in tooth enamel of fossil mammals. We show discrimination between different trophic levels and demonstrate that Zn isotopes could prove useful in paleodietary studies of fossil hominin, or other mammalian species, to assess their consumption of animal versus plant resources. We also demonstrate the high preservation potential of pristine diet-related Zn isotope ratios, even under tropical conditions with poor collagen preservation, such as the studied depositional context in Southeast Asia. However, assessing the …
Entanglements, transmission processes and social identities. The technical traditions of ceramics in the Three-Lakes region and its margins (3600-300…
2019
In Western Europe, the second half of the 4th millennium is a turning point. On the Swiss Plateau, this phase is characterized by the end of Middle Neolithic cultures (Cortaillod and Pfyn) around 3550 BCE, and the emergence of Horgen after 3250 BCE. The transition between these two phases is now better documented thanks to Port-Conty type and Pfyn/Horgen settlements dated around 3400 BCE. This work aims to identify the cultural substract at the origin of the Horgen by characterizing the technical identities and entanglements at the end of the 4th millennium, then by identifying over time the transmission or abandonment of certain ways of making pots in order to determine the share of local …
-3400 autour du lac de Bienne
2015
La question du substrat culturel à l’origine du Néolithique récent reste, pour la Suisse occidentale, toujours ouverte. Ces changements viennent-ils plutôt du fond Cortaillod (de type Port-Conty) local, ou bien de la culture de Pfyn, présente en Suisse orientale. De plus, est-il possible de mettre en évidence des phénomènes de diffusion de l’émergence du Néolithique récent vers l’Ouest, en comparant notamment avec le Horgen du Jura français, ou le Néolithique récent du Bassin parisien.Ce poster présente les résultats préliminaires d'un mémoire de recherche de Master 2. Il concerne l'étude technologique des poteries issues de trois sites voisins et contemporains : Sutz-Lattrigen Riedstation,…
Symétries et tourbillons, l'apport d'Alain Testart à l'étude de l'art paléolithique
2016
National audience; Trois ethnologues ont profondément modifié notre vision de l’art paléolithique : Annette Laming-Emperaire, André Leroi-Gourhan et Alain Testart. Ils ont chacun démontré que la décoration des cavernes n’était pas due au hasard et relevait d’une organisation symbolique, suivant un schéma et un programme, adapté ensuite à la topographie de chaque grotte. Alain Testart est allé le plus loin, en formulant vingt propositions, qui fonctionnent comme autant d’opérateurs de pensée.
Neolithic enclosures with pseudo-ditches
2020
The recent discovery of seven Neolithic sites in the Alsace Plain with “Rosheim” enclosures has renewed the interpretation of these extensive complexes dated to the 5th millennium BC. This very particular type of enclosure, whose eponymous site is located about twenty kilometres from Strasbourg, is made up of discontinuous ditches, following a pre-established layout, which are progressively filled in. New analysis of these monuments is accompanied by a reflection on their function (ceremonial or defensive), enabling us to provide a coherent account of the origin and important geographical extension of these enclosures, which are found in numerous cultural groups over more than two millennia…
Relationships between societies and their environment in the Sahel in southwestern Niger over the past four thousand years : a geoarchaeological appr…
2013
The Sahel, a zone between the Sahara Desert and the Sudan forests, is currently experiencing major environmental changes. Since the droughts in 1970s and 1980s, and with the high population growth rate, vegetation cover has deteriorated considerably, contributing to increased runoff and soil erosion. Starting from this observation, we undertook the study of past societies in the Niamey region, to assess their impact on the environment. The lack of archaeological data meant that it was necessary to identify key indicators of occupation during the Neolithic and the Iron Age. In addition to providing new evidence to date the Neolithic site of Kirkissoy, a sedimentary study was conducted on a p…