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1. A way to break bones? The weight of intuitiveness

Author

Antony Borel, Delphine Vettese, Juan Marín, Marie-Hélène Moncel, Camille Daujeard, Marta Arzarello, Trajanka Stavrova, Histoire naturelle de l'Homme préhistorique (HNHP), Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle (MNHN)-Université de Perpignan Via Domitia (UPVD)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Universidad de Cantabria [Santander], Università degli Studi di Ferrara (UniFE), This project was supported by the Fondation Nestlé France (SJ 671–16) (https://www.nestle.fr/la-fondation-nestle-france), the Centre d’Information des Viandes – Viande, sciences et société (SJ 334–17), and the Muséum national d’Histoire naturelle., Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle (MNHN), Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle (MNHN)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Dipartimento di Studi Umanistici [Ferrare], Università di Ferrara, ARCHEORIENT - Environnements et sociétés de l'Orient ancien (Archéorient), Université Lumière - Lyon 2 (UL2)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Sorbonne Université (SU), Eötvös Loránd University (ELTE), Institut Catala de Paleoecologia Humana I Evolucio Social (IPHES), and Universitat Rovira i Virgili

Subjects
Male, Critical Care and Emergency Medicine, Social Sciences, 01 natural sciences, Bone Response, [SHS]Humanities and Social Sciences, Fractures, Bone, Osteology, Geoinformatics, Medicine and Health Sciences, 0601 history and archaeology, Femur, Musculoskeletal System, Trauma Medicine, Geography, 060102 archaeology, Fossils, Percussion, Hominidae, Yellow marrow, 06 humanities and the arts, GIS, Archaeology, Bone Fracture, Connective Tissue, Distribution pattern, Medicine, Female, Anatomy, Traumatic Injury, Research Article, Cognitive psychology, Adult, Computer and Information Sciences, 010506 paleontology, [SHS.ARCHEO]Humanities and Social Sciences/Archaeology and Prehistory, bone breakage, Science, spatial analyses, Context (language use), Bone and Bones, Young Adult, percussion marks, Animals, Humans, experimental archaeology, Bone, Skeleton, 0105 earth and related environmental sciences, Spatial Analysis, Tibia, Biology and Life Sciences, Humerus, Biological Tissue, Earth Sciences, Cattle, Diaphyses, intuitiveness, Intuition
Abstract

The essential relationship to fat in the Middle Paleolithic, and especially to the yellow marrow, explains the importance of addressing this issue of butchery cultural practices through the study of bone fracturing gestures and techniques. In view of the quasi-systematization of bone marrow extraction in many anthropized archaeological levels, this butchery activity had to be recurrent, standardized and counter-intuitive. Thus, the highlighting of butcher traditions made possible by the analysis of the distribution of percussion marks within fossil assemblages, in particular by opposition at patterns resulting from an intuitive practice. With this in mind, we carried out an experiment that focus on the intuitive way of fracturing bones to extract marrow, involving volunteers with no previous experience in this butchery activity. The objective of this experiment was to highlight the presence or absence of a distribution pattern for percussion marks in an intuitive context by comparing several long bones and individuals. Thus, we wanted to evaluate the influence of the morphological specificity of the element and the specific characteristics of volunteers on the distribution of percussion marks during marrow extraction. Indeed, a previous study was able to show the possible existence of intuitive patterns of distribution of these traces according to the elements (Stavrova et al. 2019). In addition, the comparison of the different behaviours of volunteers during bone fracturing with the production of remains and marks on bone surfaces highlighted the variables that most influence the creation of an intuitive model. We selected twelve from a larger experiment that resulted in the fracturing of more than 360 long bones. Each of the experimenters broke a series of ten long bones, always the same element. Subsequently, we compared the data collected during the experiment with the data from the laboratory study of the remains. Then, we applied an innovative GIS (Geographic Information System) method to analyze the distribution of percussion marks to highlight recurrent patterns. One of the most significant results of our article shows the existence of significant concentrations of percussion marks, regardless of the volunteers’ behaviour during bone fracturing. The predominance of two factors explains the distribution patterns that emerge from our analysis: for humerus, radio ulnas and tibias, the morphology of each element seems to constrain the location of percussion marks, while for femurs, individual choices have more weight in this distribution. In addition, we have observed that at different levels of our analyses, the bone response to fracturing may be totally opposite (quantity of bone marrow, marrow quality, number of blows, difficulty felt, number of fragments produced, type of marks registered), particularly regarding the results for radio-ulnas and tibias. Subsequently, it would be most interesting to compare the intuitive models that we were able to highlight through spatial analysis with the distributions of percussion marks registered in fossil assemblages. It would thus be possible to propose new hypotheses on butchering practices based on the results presented in this work.

Published
2020
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2. Early Levallois core technology between Marine Isotope Stage 12 and 9 in Western Europe

Author

Brunella Muttillo, Carlo Peretto, Alain Tuffreau, Gabriele Luigi Francesco Berruti, Federica Fontana, Beccy Scott, Gabriele Nenzioni, Marta Arzarello, Agnès Lamotte, Nick Ashton, Marie-Hélène Moncel, Histoire naturelle de l'Homme préhistorique (HNHP), Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle (MNHN)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), British Museum, Dipartimento di Biologia ed Evoluzione, Università di Ferrara, Università degli Studi di Ferrara, Histoire Archéologie Littérature des Mondes Anciens (HALMA) - UMR 8164 (HALMA), Ministère de la Culture et de la Communication (MCC)-Université de Lille-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Dipartimento di Studi Umanistici [Ferrare], Università degli Studi di Ferrara (UniFE), Préhistoire et environnements quaternaires de l'Europe du nord-ouest (PEQENO), Université de Lille, Sciences et Technologies-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle (MNHN)-Université de Perpignan Via Domitia (UPVD)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Università degli Studi di Ferrara = University of Ferrara (UniFE), Histoire, Archéologie et Littérature des Mondes Anciens - UMR 8164 (HALMA), Université de Lille-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Ministère de la Culture (MC), and Histoire Archéologie Littérature des Mondes Anciens - UMR 8164 (HALMA)

Subjects
Marine isotope stage, 010506 paleontology, Technology, Neanderthal, Pleistocene, Early Levallois, Neanderthals, Western Europe, [SHS.ARCHEO]Humanities and Social Sciences/Archaeology and Prehistory, Mode 2, Socio-culturale, 01 natural sciences, Hafting, [SHS]Humanities and Social Sciences, biology.animal, Middle Paleolithic, Animals, 0601 history and archaeology, Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics, ComputingMilieux_MISCELLANEOUS, 0105 earth and related environmental sciences, 060101 anthropology, biology, Hominidae, 06 humanities and the arts, SH6_2, Archaeology, Biological Evolution, United Kingdom, Geography, Italy, Anthropology, Western europe, France
Abstract

International audience; Early Levallois core technology is usually dated in Europe to the end of Marine Isotope Stage (MIS) 9 and particularly from the beginning of MIS 8 to MIS 6. This technology is considered as one of the markers of the transition from lower to Middle Paleolithic or from Mode 2 to Mode 3. Recent discoveries show that some lithic innovations actually appeared earlier in western Europe, from MIS 12 to MIS 9, contemporaneous with changes in subsistence strategies and the first appearance of early Neanderthal anatomical features. Among these discoveries, there is the iconic Levallois core technology. A selection of well-dated assemblages in the United Kingdom, France, and Italy dated from MIS 12 to 9, which include both cores and flakes with Levallois features, has been described and compared with the aim of characterizing this technology. The conclusion supports the interpretation that several technical features may be attributed to a Levallois technology similar to those observed in younger Middle Paleolithic sites, distinct from the main associated core technologies in each level. Some features in the sample of sites suggest a gradual transformation of existing core technologies. The small evidence of Levallois could indicate occasional local innovations from different technological backgrounds and would explain the diversity of Levallois methods that is observed from MIS 12. The technological roots of Levallois technology in the Middle Pleistocene would suggest a multiregional origin and diffusion in Europe and early evidence of regionalization of local traditions through Europe from MIS 12 to 9. The relationships of Levallois technology with new needs and behaviors are discussed, such as flake preference, functional reasons related to hunting and hafting, an increase in the use of mental templates in European populations, and changes in the structure of hominin groups adapting to climatic and environmental changes.

Published
2020
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3. Grotta Reali, the first multilayered mousterian evidences in the Upper Volturno Basin (Rocchetta a Volturno, Molise, Italy)

Author

Benedetto Sala, Qiao-Yu Cui, Vincent Lebreton, Ornella De Curtis, Giuseppe Lembo, Marco Bertolini, Marta Arzarello, Mauro Coltorti, Silvia Ravani, Pierluigi Pieruccini, Laurent Marquer, Sahra Talamo, Ettore Rufo, Carlo Peretto, Ursula Thun Hohenstein, Dipartimento di Studi Umanistici [Ferrare], Università degli Studi di Ferrara (UniFE), University of Siena (University of Siena), Key Laboratory of Land Surface Pattern and Simulation, Institute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resources, Histoire naturelle de l'Homme préhistorique (HNHP), Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle (MNHN)-Université de Perpignan Via Domitia (UPVD)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle (MNHN)-Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Research Group for Terrestrial Palaeoclimates, Max Planck Institute for Chemistry, Mainz, Germany, Dipartimento di Scienze della Terra [Torino], Università degli studi di Torino = University of Turin (UNITO), Dipartimento di Scienze Fisiche, della Terra e dell'Ambiente., Università degli Studi di Siena = University of Siena (UNISI), Department of Human Evolution [Leipzig], Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology [Leipzig], Max-Planck-Gesellschaft-Max-Planck-Gesellschaft, Università degli studi di Torino (UNITO), Peretto C., Arzarello M., Coltorti M., Bertolini M., Cui Q.-Y., De Curtis O., Lebreton V., Lembo G., Marquer L., Pieruccini P., Ravani S., Rufo E., Sala B., Talamo S., and Thun Hohenstein U.

Subjects
010506 paleontology, Archeology, [SHS.ARCHEO]Humanities and Social Sciences/Archaeology and Prehistory, subsistence, Terrace (agriculture), Cave, Socio-culturale, 01 natural sciences, Neanderthal behaviour, lithic technology, palaeoenvironment, subsistence, MIS 3, Cave, southern Italy, [SHS]Humanities and Social Sciences, Neanderthal behaviour, Sedimentary depositional environment, southern Italy, 0601 history and archaeology, Stratigraphy (archaeology), ComputingMilieux_MISCELLANEOUS, 0105 earth and related environmental sciences, geography.geographical_feature_category, 060102 archaeology, biology, Knapping, palaeoenvironment, Mousterian, 06 humanities and the arts, SH6_2, Aurochs, biology.organism_classification, MIS 3, Archaeology, Geography, Tufa, Anthropology, lithic technology
Abstract

The Mousterian site of Grotta Reali (Rocchetta a Volturno, Molise, southern Italy), dated from between 50,940 and 40,370cal BP, provides detailed information on the depositional dynamic and human occupation in southern Italy, and contributes to the international debate on technical behaviour at the end of the Mousterian. The site was discovered in 2001 and it was located in a small cave/shelter now partially quarried, on the backside of a tufa waterfall, at the edge of a large alluvial terrace, in correspondence of the major spring of the Volturno River. Pollen and faunal assemblages record the persistence of wooded environments with large open areas as indicated by the presence of horse, aurochs and spotted hyena. Humans settled occasionally for hunting, processing game and performing related activities. Anthropic occupation was followed by carnivores, particularly in the upper part of the stratigraphy where the evidences of their activities prevail decisively rather than those left by humans. The chronological attribution of Grotta Reali to the MIS 3 allows placing the settlement in the last phase of Neanderthals presence in Europe. The technology of knapping stone does not deviate from the range of methods used during the Mousterian. However, the large presence of a laminar volumetric method may attest a new necessity related to activities differentiation. This paper offers for the first time a comprehensive and detailed illustration of this site with a unique set of environmental data and human occupation layers.

Published
2020
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4. Late Neandertals in central Italy. High-resolution chronicles from Grotta dei Santi (Monte Argentario - Tuscany)

Author

Astolfo Gomes de Mello Araujo, Adriana Moroni, Guido Montanari-Canini, Stefano Benazzi, Daniele Aureli, Simona Arrighi, Aldo Segre, Sahra Talamo, Sem Scaramucci, Marzia Bonato, Giulia Marciani, Jean-Jacques Hublin, Fabio Parenti, Margherita Freguglia, Giovanni Boschian, Francesco Boschin, Jacopo Crezzini, Vincenzo Spagnolo, Tobias Lauer, Stefano Ricci, Claudio Berto, Giulia Capecchi, Dipartimento di Scienze Archeologiche, University of Pisa - Università di Pisa, Dipartimento di Scienze Fisiche, della Terra e dell'Ambiente., Università degli Studi di Siena = University of Siena (UNISI), U.R. Ecologia Preistorica, Dipartimento di Scienze Ambientali ', Anthropologie des techniques, des espaces et des territoires au Pliocène et au Pléistocène (AnTET), Archéologies et Sciences de l'Antiquité (ArScAn), Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne (UP1)-Université Paris Nanterre (UPN)-Ministère de la Culture et de la Communication (MCC)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne (UP1)-Université Paris Nanterre (UPN)-Ministère de la Culture et de la Communication (MCC)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Dipartimento di Studi Umanistici [Ferrare], Università degli Studi di Ferrara (UniFE), Chaire internationale Paléoanthropologie, Collège de France (CdF (institution)), Universität Leipzig [Leipzig], University of Bologna, Dipartimento di Scienze Ambientali, Department of Human Evolution [Leipzig], Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology [Leipzig], Max-Planck-Gesellschaft-Max-Planck-Gesellschaft, Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne (UP1)-Université Paris 8 Vincennes-Saint-Denis (UP8)-Université Paris Nanterre (UPN)-Ministère de la Culture et de la Communication (MCC)-Institut national de recherches archéologiques préventives (Inrap)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne (UP1)-Université Paris 8 Vincennes-Saint-Denis (UP8)-Université Paris Nanterre (UPN)-Ministère de la Culture et de la Communication (MCC)-Institut national de recherches archéologiques préventives (Inrap)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Università degli Studi di Ferrara = University of Ferrara (UniFE), Collège de France - Chaire internationale Paléoanthropologie, University of Bologna/Università di Bologna, and Moroni A., Boschian G., Crezzini J., Montanari – Canini G., MARCIANI G., Capecchi G., Arrighi S., Aurel, D., Berto C., Freguglia M., Araujo A., Scaramucci S., Hublin J.J., Lauer T., Benazzi S., Parenti F., Bonato M., Ricci S., Talamo S., Segre A.G., Boschin F., Spagnolo V

Subjects
010506 paleontology, Archeology, 010504 meteorology & atmospheric sciences, [SHS.ARCHEO]Humanities and Social Sciences/Archaeology and Prehistory, Evolution, Context (language use), OSL and 14C dating, Neandertals, 01 natural sciences, Sequence (geology), Cave, Behavior and Systematics, Central Italy, Crocuta crocuta, Geoarchaeology, Grotta dei Santi, MIS 3, Paleo-environmental reconstruction, Small mammals, Zooarchaeology, Global and Planetary Change, Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics, Archeology (arts and humanities), Geology, Quantitative Biology - Populations and Evolution, ComputingMilieux_MISCELLANEOUS, 0105 earth and related environmental sciences, geography, geography.geographical_feature_category, Ecology, Populations and Evolution (q-bio.PE), Mousterian, Archaeology, MIS 3Neandertals Grotta dei Santi Central Italy Geoarchaeology Zooarchaeology Crocuta crocuta Small mammals OSL and 14C dating Paleo-environmental reconstruction, FOS: Biological sciences, Radiometric dating, Chronology
Abstract

Most of the Middle Palaeolithic evidence of Central Italy still lacks a reliable chrono-cultural framework mainly due to research history. In this context Grotta dei Santi, a wide cave located on Monte Argentario, on the southern coast of Tuscany, is particularly relevant as it contains a very well preserved sequence including several Mousterian layers. Research carried out at this site in the last years (2007–2017) allowed for a preliminary estimation of its chronology based on a set of radiometric determinations which place the investigated sequence in the time interval between 50 and 40 ka BP. Alongside the chronological issue, this paper mainly focuses on the geoarchaeological and zooarchaeological (micro and macro fauna) studies carried out on the materials retrieved during the 2007–2014 excavation fieldworks. The results of these studies are consistent with those from the radiometric chronology. A state of art concerning the MIS3 Italian sites is also provided in order to highlight the key role Grotta dei Santi may play in the assessment of late Neandertals’ behaviour within the framework of the Middle to Upper Palaeolithic transition of Central Italy.

Published
2019
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5. New insights on the Monte Fenera Palaeolithic, Italy: Geoarchaeology of the Ciota Ciara cave

Author

Diego E. Angelucci, Marta Arzarello, Gabriele Luigi Francesco Berruti, Julie Arnaud, Carmela Vaccaro, Sara Daffara, Umberto Tessari, Maurizio Zambaldi, Università degli Studi di Ferrara (UniFE), Centre de Recherches sur les Macromolécules Végétales (CERMAV ), Institut de Chimie du CNRS (INC)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Université Grenoble Alpes [2016-2019] (UGA [2016-2019]), and Dipartimento di Studi Umanistici [Ferrare]

Subjects
010506 paleontology, Archeology, geography, Middle Pleistocene, geography.geographical_feature_category, [SHS.ARCHEO]Humanities and Social Sciences/Archaeology and Prehistory, Geoarchaeology, archaeological soil and sediment micromorphology, cave‐site, Middle Palaeolithic, Middle Pleistocene, Upper Pleistocene, Socio-culturale, Upper Pleistocene, 010502 geochemistry & geophysics, 01 natural sciences, Archaeology, Cave, Earth and Planetary Sciences (miscellaneous), archaeological soil and sediment micromorphology, Middle Palaeolithic, cave‐site, Geology, ComputingMilieux_MISCELLANEOUS, 0105 earth and related environmental sciences
Abstract

International audience

Published
2019
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6. Isolated teeth from La Ferrassie: Reassessment of the old collections, new remains, and their implications

Author

Gaël Becam, Julie Arnaud, Caroline Souday, Antoine Balzeau, Stéphane Madelaine, Aida Gómez-Robles, Christine Verna, Catherine Schwab, Alain Turq, Asier Gómez-Olivencia, Lou Albessard, Mélanie A. Frelat, Histoire naturelle de l'Homme préhistorique (HNHP), Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle (MNHN)-Université de Perpignan Via Domitia (UPVD)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Dynamique de l'évolution humaine : individus, populations, espèces [Paris] (DEHIPE), Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Dipartimento di Studi Umanistici [Ferrare], Università degli Studi di Ferrara (UniFE), UMR 6578 : Anthropologie Bio-Culturelle (UAABC), Université de la Méditerranée - Aix-Marseille 2-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Musée des Antiquités Nationales, Ministère de la Culture et de la Communication (MCC), Musée National de Préhistoire, Centre européen de recherches préhistoriques de Tautavel, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle (MNHN)-Université de Perpignan Via Domitia (UPVD), Università di Ferrara, UMR 6578 : Adaptabilité Biologique et Culturelle (UAABC), Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Université de la Méditerranée - Aix-Marseille 2, and Università degli Studi di Ferrara = University of Ferrara (UniFE)

Subjects
0106 biological sciences, microtomography, [SHS.ARCHEO]Humanities and Social Sciences/Archaeology and Prehistory, Socio-culturale, Context (language use), 010603 evolutionary biology, 01 natural sciences, Anthropology, Physical, patrimonial collections, enamel–dentine junction, Animals, Humans, Odontometry, 0601 history and archaeology, Full extension, Dental Enamel, ComputingMilieux_MISCELLANEOUS, Neanderthals, Morphometrics, 060101 anthropology, anatomically modern humans/Homo sapiens, enamel–dentine junction, microtomography, Neandertal, patrimonial collections, Pleistocene/Paleolithic, 06 humanities and the arts, X-Ray Microtomography, Archaeology, Caves, Geography, Anthropology, Dentin, Upper Paleolithic, Pleistocene/Paleolithic, France, Anatomy, Tooth, anatomically modern humans/Homo sapiens, Neandertal
Abstract

OBJECTIVES We provide the description and comparative analysis of six new teeth from the site of La Ferrassie. Our goal is to discuss their taxonomic attribution, and to provide an updated inventory of Neandertal and modern human remains from La Ferrassie in their associated archeological context. MATERIALS AND METHODS We use external and internal anatomy, classic morphometrics, and geometric morphometrics. The teeth from La Ferrassie are compared to several samples of contemporary Neandertals and upper Paleolithic modern humans and to recent modern humans. RESULTS Three specimens are classified as Neandertals, two as modern humans, and one remains unclassified. DISCUSSION Based on the previously known fossil samples and the new teeth reported here, there are currently a minimum of four adult and five immature Neandertal individuals coming from the "Grand Abri" and a minimum of two modern human adult individuals: one from "Grand Abri" and one from "Grotte." It is noteworthy that the spatial distribution of the recovered Neandertal remains is not restricted to the area where the LF1-LF 8 were found but now covers the full extension of the excavated area. Moreover, while both Neandertal and modern human occupations have yielded isolated human remains, the partial-to-complete skeletons only belong to Neandertals. These considerations open new perspectives for the understanding of the occupation and use of the La Ferrassie site.

Published
2018
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7. Assemblages with bifacial tools in Eurasia (third part). Considerations on the bifacial phenomenon throughout Eurasia

Author

Claire Gaillard, Benoît Chevrier, Eric Boëda, Marta Arzarello, François Sémah, Stéphanie Bonilauri, Li Yinghua, Hubert Forestier, Valéry Zeitoun, Marie-Hélène Moncel, Histoire naturelle de l'Homme préhistorique (HNHP), Université de Perpignan Via Domitia (UPVD)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle (MNHN), Dipartimento di Studi Umanistici [Ferrare], Università di Ferrara, Université Paris Nanterre (UPN), School of History [Wuhan], Wuhan University [China], Centre de recherche sur la Paléobiodiversité et les Paléoenvironnements (CR2P), Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle (MNHN)-Université Pierre et Marie Curie - Paris 6 (UPMC)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle (MNHN)-Université de Perpignan Via Domitia (UPVD)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Università degli Studi di Ferrara (UniFE), Università degli Studi di Ferrara = University of Ferrara (UniFE), and Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle (MNHN)-Université de Perpignan Via Domitia (UPVD)

Subjects
010506 paleontology, 060101 anthropology, Origines, [SHS.ARCHEO]Humanities and Social Sciences/Archaeology and Prehistory, Palaeontology, General Engineering, Socio-culturale, Context (language use), Outils bifaciaux, 06 humanities and the arts, Bifacial tools, Diffusion, Eurasia, Hominins, Origins, 01 natural sciences, Paleontology, Geography, Phenomenon, Rock types, 0601 history and archaeology, Homininés, Eurasie, 0105 earth and related environmental sciences
Abstract

International audience; Eurasian bifacial series present some common features, but are chiefly characterized by wide-ranging diversity in terms of bifacial technology and blank types, whereas the heavy-duty component presents a limited number of types or categories. Heavy-duty tools are present throughout the geographical areas but the frequency of handaxes and/or cleavers is generally low, except in some regions, where they are made on flakes and/or cobbles/pebbles, on siliceous stones or other rock types. So far, it appears to be generally accepted that bifacial technology became widespread from 800 to 700 ka onwards, both for Europe and Asia, except for some earlier occurrences in the Levant and India. It would thus be reasonable to infer that bifacial technology first reached the Levant from Africa before moving toward Asia, then Europe. However, the existing data point to a much more complex reality, suggesting contemporaneous technological worlds, with or without links between them. In the state of current knowledge, and based on the methodology used for analysing lithic series, it is impossible to clearly argue in favour of either a unique phenomenon with movements of hominins or/and ideas from an African source, or to point to evidence of several onsets of bifacial technology over time on a local substratum. The palaeoanthropological background shows the difficulties involved in characterizing the few available hominin fossils and clearly relating them to bifacial technology. The current context suggests that each area should be analysed independently. Accumulative technological processes in some areas due to successive arrivals and the influence of the local substratum, and local onsets must be considered, as these contribute to the diversity of the strategies encountered and the varied forms of bifacial technology.; Selon les zones géographiques et selon les séries comparées, l’Eurasie livre des séries bifaciales qui partagent des traits communs, mais, dans le temps et dans l’espace, c’est la diversité qui les caractérise. Les outils bifaciaux sont toujours présents, mais avec des fréquences réduites. Ils sont façonnés selon des stratégies variées, sur des supports et des matériaux eux-mêmes variés. Les données récentes attestent qu’ils se généralisent à partir de 800 à 700 ka à la fois en Europe et en Asie, excepté quelques témoignages plus anciens au Levant et en Inde. Il serait facile d’admettre que la technologie bifaciale a tout d’abord atteint le Levant avant l’Asie orientale et l’Europe. La réalité est plus complexe, suggérant des mondes technologiques contemporains étant ou non en relation. Les données dont nous disposons ne permettent pas à l’heure actuelle de concevoir un unique phénomène ayant abouti à la diffusion d’un Acheuléen est-africain par des mouvements de populations ou d’idées. Selon les méthodologies employées, des preuves d’émergence locale ne sont pas toujours claires selon les zones géographiques, par manque de données ou de datations. Les données paléoanthropologiques confirment la difficulté de relier des hommes aux outils bifaciaux et à les nommer. La réalité est que chaque secteur doit être étudié indépendamment, certains livrant des « outils bifaciaux », d’autres des « bifaces ». Des transformations locales ou bien issues de l’influence de nouvelles idées ou de groupes humains différents sont autant de possibilités et scénarios pour expliquer la diversité des stratégies rencontrées, démontrant la plasticité de la technologie bifaciale

Published
2018
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8. Palaeoenvironments of early hominins in temperate and Mediterranean Eurasia: new palaeobotanical data from Palaeolithic key-sites and synchronous natural sequences

Author

Josette Renault-Miskovsky, Carlo Peretto, Marta Arzarello, Jackie Despriée, Laurent Marquer, Ronan Orain, David Lordkipanidze, Vincent Lebreton, Elda Russo-Ermolli, Erwan Messager, Messager, E., Lebreton, V., Marquer, L., RUSSO ERMOLLI, Elda, Orain, R., Renault Miskovsky, J., Lordkipanidze, D., Despriée, J., Peretto, C., Arzarello, M., Centre d'Études Préhistoire, Antiquité, Moyen-Age (CEPAM), Université Nice Sophia Antipolis (... - 2019) (UNS), COMUE Université Côte d'Azur (2015-2019) (COMUE UCA)-COMUE Université Côte d'Azur (2015-2019) (COMUE UCA)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Histoire naturelle de l'Homme préhistorique (HNHP), Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle (MNHN)-Université de Perpignan Via Domitia (UPVD)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle (MNHN)-Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Dipartimento di Scienze della Terra, dell'Ambiente e delle Risorse (DiSTAR), Università degli studi di Napoli Federico II, L'Homme préhistorique : son évolution, son milieu, ses activités, Université de la Méditerranée - Aix-Marseille 2-Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle (MNHN)-Université de Provence - Aix-Marseille 1-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Georgian National Museum, Dipartimento di Studi Umanistici [Ferrare], Università degli Studi di Ferrara (UniFE), Université Nice Sophia Antipolis (1965 - 2019) (UNS), University of Naples Federico II = Università degli studi di Napoli Federico II, and Università degli Studi di Ferrara = University of Ferrara (UniFE)

Subjects
Mediterranean climate, 010506 paleontology, Archeology, Early Pleistocene, [SHS.ARCHEO]Humanities and Social Sciences/Archaeology and Prehistory, Hominin dispersal, Subtropics, 010502 geochemistry & geophysics, 01 natural sciences, [SHS]Humanities and Social Sciences, Temperate climate, paleolitich, phitoliths, Paleonvironment, ComputingMilieux_MISCELLANEOUS, Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics, 0105 earth and related environmental sciences, Global and Planetary Change, mediterraneo, palaeoenvironment, Ecology, Geology, Vegetation, 15. Life on land, Pleistocene, Taxon, Geography, pollen, Biological dispersal, [SDE.BE]Environmental Sciences/Biodiversity and Ecology, Chronology
Abstract

The present study focuses on new palaeobotanical data (pollen, phytoliths and fruits) from three of the oldest Early Palaeolithic sites in Eurasia (Dmanisi in Georgia, Ca’ Belvedere di Monte Poggiolo in Italy and Pont-de-Lavaud in France). The main aim is to examine the ecological factors associated with the first human dispersals out of Africa into Eurasia. The palaeoecological data are discussed with regards to chronology and geographical location of the settlements. The vegetation pattern of each site consists of temperate Eurasian and Mediterranean taxa, subtropical trees being more or less recorded depending on climatic and geographic features. The new palaeobotanical data show that different vegetation structures occurred between the first human dispersal in Caucasus and the later dispersals in western Eurasia. However, in all cases hominins seemed to be adapted to temperate ecosystems. In Caucasus, human occupation took place at 1.7 Ma in a forest-steppe environment, while at ca 1 Ma human populations occupied various settings such as open landscapes or dense forests. These data suggest that during the Early Pleistocene, human populations evolved and dispersed in western Eurasia, gradually increasing their degree of adaptation to diversified environments.

Published
2011
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9. The first European peopling and the Italian case: Peculiarities and 'opportunism'

Author

Carlo Peretto, Louis de Weyer, Marta Arzarello, Dipartimento di Studi Umanistici [Ferrare], Università degli Studi di Ferrara (UniFE), Anthropologie des techniques, des espaces et des territoires au Pliocène et au Pléistocène (AnTET), Archéologies et Sciences de l'Antiquité (ArScAn), Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne (UP1)-Université Paris Nanterre (UPN)-Ministère de la Culture et de la Communication (MCC)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne (UP1)-Université Paris Nanterre (UPN)-Ministère de la Culture et de la Communication (MCC)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne (UP1)-Université Paris Nanterre (UPN)-Ministère de la Culture et de la Communication (MCC)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Université Paris Nanterre (UPN), Università degli Studi di Ferrara = University of Ferrara (UniFE), Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne (UP1)-Université Paris 8 Vincennes-Saint-Denis (UP8)-Université Paris Nanterre (UPN)-Ministère de la Culture et de la Communication (MCC)-Institut national de recherches archéologiques préventives (Inrap)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne (UP1)-Université Paris 8 Vincennes-Saint-Denis (UP8)-Université Paris Nanterre (UPN)-Ministère de la Culture et de la Communication (MCC)-Institut national de recherches archéologiques préventives (Inrap)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), and Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne (UP1)-Université Paris 8 Vincennes-Saint-Denis (UP8)-Université Paris Nanterre (UPN)-Ministère de la Culture et de la Communication (MCC)-Institut national de recherches archéologiques préventives (Inrap)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)

Subjects
010506 paleontology, Paleomagnetism, geography, 060101 anthropology, geography.geographical_feature_category, [SHS.ARCHEO]Humanities and Social Sciences/Archaeology and Prehistory, Socio-culturale, 06 humanities and the arts, 01 natural sciences, Archaeology, Debitage, [SHS]Humanities and Social Sciences, Lithic technology, First European peopling, Peninsula, Opportunism, First European peopling, Lithic technology, Southern Italy, Earth-Surface Processes, 0601 history and archaeology, Southern Italy, Geology, ComputingMilieux_MISCELLANEOUS, 0105 earth and related environmental sciences, Earth-Surface Processes, Chronology
Abstract

The Italian Peninsula attests an early human peopling through the presence of several sites such as Monte Poggiolo and Pirro Nord, the first one dated to about 1.0 Ma (by paleomagnetism and ESR) and the second one dated to 1.2–1.5 Ma (on a biochronological basis and especially on the presence of Allophaiomys ruffoi ). The techno-economical approach to the lithic industries has been used to highlight the technical behaviours, the choices related to raw materials and to make comparisons with other European sites that have the same chronology. In these sites, the lithic production is generally characterized by short reduction sequences strongly adapted to the initial morphology of raw material (always flint cobbles or pebbles). The lithic production is mainly made by unipolar/orthogonal/multidirectional debitage, but also centripetal exploitation is attested, and seems to have an important place inside the debitage economy. From a general point of view, these features are shared with the other contemporary European sites and with the African Mode 1, but some peculiarities can be underlined, indicating an extraordinary savoir-faire and capacity of adaptation to raw material.

Published
2016
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10. Assemblanges à outils bifaciaux en Eurasie (deuxième partie). Que se passe-t-il à l’Est ? Données sur l’Inde, l’Asie de l’Est et l’Asie du Sud-Est

Author

Li Yinghua, Valéry Zeitoun, Claire Gaillard, Téphanie Bonilauri, Benoît Chevrier, Marie-Hélène Moncel, Marta Arzarello, Hubert Forestier, François Sémah, Eric Boëda, Histoire naturelle de l'Homme préhistorique (HNHP), Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle (MNHN)-Université de Perpignan Via Domitia (UPVD), Dipartimento di Studi Umanistici [Ferrare], Università di Ferrara, Université Paris Nanterre (UPN), Laboratoire Archéologie et Peuplement de l'Afrique (Unité d'Anthropologie) (APA), Université de Genève (UNIGE), Wuhan University [China], Centre de recherche sur la Paléobiodiversité et les Paléoenvironnements (CR2P), Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle (MNHN)-Université Pierre et Marie Curie - Paris 6 (UPMC)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle (MNHN), Università degli Studi di Ferrara (UniFE), Anthropologie des techniques, des espaces et des territoires au Pliocène et au Pléistocène (AnTET), Archéologies et Sciences de l'Antiquité (ArScAn), Université Panthéon-Sorbonne (UP1)-Université Paris Nanterre (UPN)-Institut national de recherches archéologiques préventives (Inrap)-Ministère de la Culture et de la Communication (MCC)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Université Panthéon-Sorbonne (UP1)-Université Paris Nanterre (UPN)-Institut national de recherches archéologiques préventives (Inrap)-Ministère de la Culture et de la Communication (MCC)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Université de Perpignan Via Domitia (UPVD)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle (MNHN), Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle (MNHN), Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle (MNHN)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle (MNHN)-Université de Perpignan Via Domitia (UPVD)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Università degli Studi di Ferrara = University of Ferrara (UniFE), Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne (UP1)-Université Paris 8 Vincennes-Saint-Denis (UP8)-Université Paris Nanterre (UPN)-Ministère de la Culture et de la Communication (MCC)-Institut national de recherches archéologiques préventives (Inrap)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne (UP1)-Université Paris 8 Vincennes-Saint-Denis (UP8)-Université Paris Nanterre (UPN)-Ministère de la Culture et de la Communication (MCC)-Institut national de recherches archéologiques préventives (Inrap)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne (UP1)-Université Paris 8 Vincennes-Saint-Denis (UP8)-Université Paris Nanterre (UPN)-Ministère de la Culture et de la Communication (MCC)-Institut national de recherches archéologiques préventives (Inrap)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Université de Genève = University of Geneva (UNIGE), and Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle (MNHN)-Université Pierre et Marie Curie - Paris 6 (UPMC)

Subjects
010506 paleontology, China, Technology, [SHS.ARCHEO]Humanities and Social Sciences/Archaeology and Prehistory, Asie du Sud-Est, Dome, India, Technologie, Structural basin, 010502 geochemistry & geophysics, 01 natural sciences, [SHS]Humanities and Social Sciences, East Asia, Chine, ComputingMilieux_MISCELLANEOUS, 0105 earth and related environmental sciences, geography.geographical_feature_category, Palaeontology, General Engineering, Outils bifaciaux, Archaeology, language.human_language, Indonesian, Geography, Archipelago, South-eastern Asia, language, Mainland, Inde, Far East, [SDU.STU.PG]Sciences of the Universe [physics]/Earth Sciences/Paleontology, Bifacial tools
Abstract

In press, corrected proof; International audience; This second paper is part of a wider review of lithic complexes with bifacial technology, and is devoted to the Asian sector, from India to the south-eastern mainland and the archipelagos and China. For India, sites such as Attirampakham, Isampur, Morgaon and Singi-Talav are described in detail. For China, sites in the Bose Basin, but also Liangshan, Longgangsi and Houfang are included in discussions of technological strategies that are found a long way from East African roots. For the Southeast, discoveries from Thailand and Cambodia are presented, as are some major Indonesian sites (for instance Nebung and the Sangiran dome).; Cette deuxième partie concerne l’Inde, le Sud-Est asiatique (continent et archipels) et la Chine. Pour l’Inde, les sites d’Attirampakham, Isampur, Morgaon et Singi-Talav sont détaillés. Pour la Chine, les sites du bassin de Bose, mais également Longgangsi et Houfang, permettent de discuter des stratégies technologiques loin des racines africaines. Pour le Sud-Est, les découvertes en Thaïlande et au Cambodge sont examinées, de même que celles sur certains sites majeurs indonésiens, comme Ngebung et le dôme de Sangiran.

Published
2016
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11. A human deciduous tooth and new 40Ar/39Ar dating results from the Middle Pleistocene archaeological site of Isernia La pineta, southern Italy

Author

Jacopo Moggi-Cecchi, Carlo Peretto, Giuseppe Lembo, Marta Arzarello, Carmela Vaccaro, Mauro Coltorti, Claudio Berto, Christophe Falguères, Sébastien Nomade, Alison Pereira, Rosalia Gallotti, Benedetto Sala, Giorgio Manzi, Ursula Thun Hohenstein, Brunella Muttillo, Jean-Jacques Bahain, Julie Arnaud, Dominique Grimaud-Hervé, Dipartimento di Studi Umanistici [Ferrare], Università degli Studi di Ferrara (UniFE), Univ Florence, Dipartimento Biol, Florence, Italy, Dipartimento di biologia ambientale, Università degli Studi di Roma 'La Sapienza' = Sapienza University [Rome], Laboratoire des Sciences du Climat et de l'Environnement [Gif-sur-Yvette] (LSCE), Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Université Paris-Saclay-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Commissariat à l'énergie atomique et aux énergies alternatives (CEA)-Université de Versailles Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines (UVSQ), Paléocéanographie (PALEOCEAN), Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Université Paris-Saclay-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Commissariat à l'énergie atomique et aux énergies alternatives (CEA)-Université de Versailles Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines (UVSQ)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Université Paris-Saclay-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Commissariat à l'énergie atomique et aux énergies alternatives (CEA)-Université de Versailles Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines (UVSQ), Ecole française de Rome (EFR), Histoire naturelle de l'Homme préhistorique (HNHP), Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle (MNHN)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Université de Perpignan Via Domitia (UPVD), Dipartimento di Scienze Storiche, Archeologiche e Antropologiche dell'Antichità, De la Préhistoire à l'Actuel : Culture, Environnement et Anthropologie (PACEA), Université de Bordeaux (UB)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), University of Siena (University of Siena), The field mission of the French team for the dating sample has been funded by the GALILEO project., Università di Ferrara, Università degli Studi di Roma 'La Sapienza' [Rome], Université Paris-Saclay-Commissariat à l'énergie atomique et aux énergies alternatives (CEA)-Université de Versailles Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines (UVSQ)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle (MNHN)-Université de Perpignan Via Domitia (UPVD), University of Ferrara [Ferrara], Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle (MNHN)-Université de Perpignan Via Domitia (UPVD)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Università degli Studi di Ferrara = University of Ferrara (UniFE), Università degli Studi di Firenze = University of Florence (UniFI), Università degli Studi di Roma 'La Sapienza' = Sapienza University [Rome] (UNIROMA), Université de Versailles Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines (UVSQ)-Commissariat à l'énergie atomique et aux énergies alternatives (CEA)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Université Paris-Saclay-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Université de Versailles Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines (UVSQ)-Commissariat à l'énergie atomique et aux énergies alternatives (CEA)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Université Paris-Saclay-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Université de Versailles Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines (UVSQ)-Commissariat à l'énergie atomique et aux énergies alternatives (CEA)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Université Paris-Saclay-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), and Università degli Studi di Siena = University of Siena (UNISI)

Subjects
Marine isotope stage, Pleistocene, lcsh:Medicine, Isernia, deciduous, teeth, middle pleistocene, dating, NO, Prehistory, Paleontology, Paleoanthropology, Humans, agricultural and biological Sciences (all), biochemistry, genetics and molecular biology (all), medicine (all), Assemblage (archaeology), lcsh:Science, [SDU.ENVI]Sciences of the Universe [physics]/Continental interfaces, environment, teeth, [SDU.OCEAN]Sciences of the Universe [physics]/Ocean, Atmosphere, Multidisciplinary, lcsh:R, Excavation, Archaeology, Paleoanthropology, Pleistocene, teeth, Geography, Italy, Tufa, lcsh:Q, Research Article, Chronology, Faunal assemblage
Abstract

International audience; Isernia La Pineta (south-central Italy, Molise) is one of the most important archaeological localities of the Middle Pleistocene in Western Europe. It is an extensive open-air site with abundant lithic industry and faunal remains distributed across four stratified archaeosurfaces that have been found in two sectors of the excavation (3c, 3a, 3s10 in sect. I; 3a in sect. II). The prehistoric attendance was close to a wet environment, with a series of small waterfalls and lakes associated to calcareous tufa deposits. An isolated human deciduous incisor (labelled IS42) was discovered in 2014 within the archaeological level 3 coll (overlying layer 3a) that, according to new 40Ar/39Ar measurements, is dated to about 583–561 ka, i.e. to the end of marine isotope stage (MIS) 15. Thus, the tooth is currently the oldest human fossil specimen in Italy; it is an important addition to the scanty European fossil record of the Middle Pleistocene, being associated with a lithic assemblage of local raw materials (flint and limestone) characterized by the absence of handaxes and reduction strategies primarily aimed at the production of small/medium-sized flakes. The faunal assemblage is dominated by ungulates often bearing cut marks. Combining chronology with the archaeological evidence, Isernia La Pineta exhibits a delay in the appearance of handaxes with respect to other European Palaeolithic sites of the Middle Pleistocene. Interestingly, this observation matches the persistence of archaic morphological features shown by the human calvarium from the Middle Pleistocene site of Ceprano, not far from Isernia (south-central Italy, Latium). In this perspective, our analysis is aimed to evaluate morphological features occurring in IS42.

Published
2015
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12. Lower and Middle Pleistocene human settlements recorded in fluvial deposits of the middle Loire River Basin, Centre Region, France

Author

Sophie Robin, Salah Abdessadok, Marta Arzarello, Robert Sala, Jackie Despriée, Christophe Falguères, Laurent Marquer, Hélène Tissoux, Marie-Hélène Moncel, Gilles Courcimault, Pierre Voinchet, Simon Puaud, Erwan Messager, Jean Dépont, Jean-Jacques Bahain, Histoire naturelle de l'Homme préhistorique (HNHP), Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle (MNHN), Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle (MNHN), Bureau de Recherches Géologiques et Minières (BRGM) (BRGM), Centre régional de Recherches archéologiques, Laboratoires d'Analyses Industrielles, BioExigence, Dipartimento di Studi Umanistici [Ferrare], Università di Ferrara, Area de Prehistoria (IPHES (Institut Catala de Paleoecologia humana i Evolucio Social)), Universitat Rovira i Virgili, Les hominidés au quaternaire : milieux et comportements (HQMC), Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Centre d'Études Préhistoire, Antiquité, Moyen-Age (CEPAM), Université Nice Sophia Antipolis (... - 2019) (UNS), Université Côte d'Azur (UCA)-Université Côte d'Azur (UCA)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Département de Préhistoire du Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle, Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle (MNHN)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle (MNHN)-Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Università degli Studi di Ferrara (UniFE), and COMUE Université Côte d'Azur (2015-2019) (COMUE UCA)-COMUE Université Côte d'Azur (2015-2019) (COMUE UCA)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)

Subjects
010506 paleontology, Archeology, Pleistocene, [SHS.ARCHEO]Humanities and Social Sciences/Archaeology and Prehistory, Drainage basin, Fluvial, Context (language use), Palaeocology, Structural basin, 010502 geochemistry & geophysics, 01 natural sciences, [SHS]Humanities and Social Sciences, Tributary, Middle Loire basin, Handaxes, Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics, ComputingMilieux_MISCELLANEOUS, Human evolution, Palaeolithic, 0105 earth and related environmental sciences, ESR dating, First human settlements, Global and Planetary Change, geography, geography.geographical_feature_category, ESR dating, First human settlements, France, Handaxes, Human evolution, Middle Loire basin, Palaeocology, Palaeogeography, Palaeolithic, Pleistocene river deposits, Geology, Archaeology, 13. Climate action, Alluvium, France, Quaternary, Palaeogeography, Pleistocene river deposits
Abstract

This paper records the findings from c. 80 prehistoric sites that have been discovered in the alluvial deposits of the rivers Creuse, Cher, and Loir, tributaries of the middle Loire River, over the period since 1981. These deposits comprise river terrace aggradations formed during successive glacial–interglacial cycles which have recorded climate and environment during Quaternary time. The systematic dating of these river deposits by Electron Spin Resonance (ESR) applied to optically bleached sedimentary quartz has resulted in the establishment of a chronological framework for the evolution of these rivers during Lower and Middle Pleistocene (between 1.7 Ma and 130 ka). Evidence for Early Palaeolithic (Mode 1) industries with an in situ context (workshops, soils) in the highest aggradations indicates that Hominins were present in the study area, near the geographical centre of France (47°N), around 1.1 Ma. Examination of the sites indicates that Human occupations were located along valley bottom sites during temperate episodes. Subsequently, after a gap of several hundred thousand years industries with handaxes appear in the Middle Loire Basin in the interval between 700 and 600 ka, and then continuously from 400 ka. These two phases of settlement produced industrial assemblages with clear differences in their responses to the supplies of raw materials and in the modes of making flakes.

Published
2011
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