- France
stephane boulogne
INRAP, Institut National de Recherches Archéologiques Préventives, 33, Department Member
ABSTRACT Experiments have been carried out at two sites in periglacial (MAAT ≈ 0°C) and alpine (MAAT ≈ 4°C) contexts in the Pyrenees, including open-air and cave loci, to document in detail the role of site formation processes and... more
ABSTRACT Experiments have been carried out at two sites in periglacial (MAAT ≈ 0°C) and alpine (MAAT ≈ 4°C) contexts in the Pyrenees, including open-air and cave loci, to document in detail the role of site formation processes and taphonomic agents in the degradation of archaeological assemblages. In both sites, the experimental cells have undergone significant changes over the five years of measurements. These are marked by slow downslope creep of lithic artefacts due to solifluction, rain creep, and the impact of debris fallen from the wall in the cave. The behaviour of bone material was significantly different from that of lithics, due to the activity of scavengers. This was responsible for scattering a high proportion of bone remains, and displacements were typically significant. Such activity was also responsible for a high number of bone elements being lost (1/3 to 2/3 of the bones). Weathering, mostly cracking and exfoliation, also affected dry bone material in the open-air cells. The measurements have highlighted the specific nature of the cave context, which plays a protective role for bone remains against meteoric agents. The talus at the entrance of the cavity was also characterized by a strong spatial heterogeneity in sedimentary processes, which may generate a differential preservation of the assemblages.
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Sciences de l'Homme et de la Société.
Research Interests:
Gavarnie. Dynamique des abris et des porches de grotte en contexte périglaciaire. Etudes taphonomiques. Rapport d'activité 2007
ABSTRACT In addition to the study of the climatic setting and sedimentation in cave and rockshelter entrances, the Gavarnie project permitted the development of a series of experiments dedicated to documenting post-depositional... more
ABSTRACT In addition to the study of the climatic setting and sedimentation in cave and rockshelter entrances, the Gavarnie project permitted the development of a series of experiments dedicated to documenting post-depositional modifications of archaeological remains in periglacial environments. Experiments ran over a period of 3-5 years and documented: 1) the lateral and vertical dispersals of an assemblage deposited on the scree slope of a cave entrance, 2) the displacement, re-orientation, and size sorting of archaeological pieces situated on a solifluction sheet, and 3) the movement of a group of artefacts during the melting of snow cover. Displacement measurements are linked with the experimental site’s climatic record to determine the influence of part of freeze/thaw cycles and summer storms on overall modifications. The results indicate that initial artefact distribution - discrete cluster or dispersed scatter - influences the degree of displacement by solifluction. The stages of deformation of the archaeological structures are documented. A computer simulation based on flint orientation measurements indicates that the time interval needed to obtain a linear fabric of artefacts displaced by solifluction is about twenty years. Finally, the comparison between results from experiments conducted in the alpine zone and those obtained in the snow zone shows the particular degradation pattern specific to each environment. As a whole, these results provide present-day comparisons for evaluating the degree of natural modification at a number of European Palaeolithic sites.
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Experiments have been carried out at two sites in periglacial (MAAT z 0 C) and alpine (MAAT z 4 C) contexts in the Pyrenees, including open-air and cave loci, to document in detail the role of site formation processes and taphonomic... more
Experiments have been carried out at two sites in periglacial (MAAT z 0 C) and alpine (MAAT z 4 C) contexts in the Pyrenees, including open-air and cave loci, to document in detail the role of site formation processes and taphonomic agents in the degradation of archaeological assemblages. In both sites, the experimental cells have undergone significant changes over the five years of measurements. These are marked by slow downslope creep of lithic artefacts due to solifluction, rain creep, and the impact of debris fallen from the wall in the cave. The behaviour of bone material was significantly different from that of lithics, due to the activity of scavengers. This was responsible for scattering a high proportion of bone remains, and displacements were typically significant. Such activity was also responsible for a high number of bone elements being lost (1/3 to 2/3 of the bones). Weathering, mostly cracking and exfoli-ation, also affected dry bone material in the open-air cells. The measurements have highlighted the specific nature of the cave context, which plays a protective role for bone remains against meteoric agents. The talus at the entrance of the cavity was also characterized by a strong spatial heterogeneity in sedimentary processes, which may generate a differential preservation of the assemblages.
Experiments have been carried out at two sites in periglacial (MAAT ≈ 0°C) and alpine (MAAT ≈ 4°C) contexts in the Pyrenees, including open-air and cave loci, to document in detail the role of site formation processes and taphonomic... more
Experiments have been carried out at two sites in periglacial (MAAT ≈ 0°C) and alpine (MAAT ≈ 4°C) contexts in the Pyrenees, including open-air and cave loci, to document in detail the role of site formation processes and taphonomic agents in the degradation of archaeological assemblages. In both sites, the experimental cells have undergone significant changes over the five years of measurements. These are marked by slow downslope creep of lithic artefacts due to solifluction, rain creep, and the impact of debris fallen from the wall in the cave. The behaviour of bone material was significantly different from that of lithics, due to the activity of scavengers. This was responsible for scattering a high proportion of bone remains, and displacements were typically significant. Such activity was also responsible for a high number of bone elements being lost (1/3 to 2/3 of the bones). Weathering, mostly cracking and exfoliation, also affected dry bone material in the open-air cells. The measurements have highlighted the specific nature of the cave context, which plays a protective role for bone remains against meteoric agents. The talus at the entrance of the cavity was also characterized by a strong spatial heterogeneity in sedimentary processes, which may generate a differential preservation of the assemblages.
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
The Shi’bat Dihya 1 site in western Yemen, dated by optically stimulated luminescence to 55 ka, provides insight into the Middle Paleolithic peopling of the Arabian Peninsula. The archaeological layer is interstratified within thick,... more
The Shi’bat Dihya 1 site in western Yemen, dated by optically stimulated luminescence to 55 ka, provides insight into the Middle Paleolithic peopling of the Arabian Peninsula. The archaeological layer is interstratified within thick, sandy silt floodplain deposits filling a piedmont basin. Luminescence dates, lack of soil development, and gypsum precipitation indicate a high accretion rate of the floodplain during Marine Isotope Stage 3, in connection with a (semi)-arid environment. Rapid overbank sedimentation was likely a result of the remobilization of loess material deposited on the Yemeni Great Escarpment at the periphery of the adjacent Tihama coastal sand desert or of other sources. Fabric and size analyses of the lithic artifacts, together with spatial projections, indicate site modifications by floods. Primary modifications include (1) selective accumulation of medium-sized lithic pieces as a result of hydraulic sorting, (2) bimodal orientation of artifacts, and (3) ripple-like arrangement of lithics and bone/tooth fragments. The overrepresentation of teeth may also be a consequence of sorting. Although floods have distorted the original site patterning, long-distance transport of artifacts by water can be excluded, as indicated by relatively high refitting rate, close proximity of artifacts derived from the same block of raw material, and lack of abrasion of the pieces. Therefore, the site is considered “geologically” in situ because its remobilization by water occurred shortly after human abandonment. This study also stresses that the effective preservation of a site cannot be assessed without careful taphonomic study, even in a potentially favorable depositional context such as silty alluvium.
Research Interests:
Experiments have been carried out at two sites in periglacial (MAAT z 0 C) and alpine (MAAT z 4 C) contexts in the Pyrenees, including open-air and cave loci, to document in detail the role of site formation processes and taphonomic... more
Experiments have been carried out at two sites in periglacial (MAAT z 0 C) and alpine (MAAT z 4 C)
contexts in the Pyrenees, including open-air and cave loci, to document in detail the role of site formation
processes and taphonomic agents in the degradation of archaeological assemblages. In both sites, the
experimental cells have undergone significant changes over the five years of measurements. These are
marked by slow downslope creep of lithic artefacts due to solifluction, rain creep, and the impact of
debris fallen from the wall in the cave. The behaviour of bone material was significantly different from
that of lithics, due to the activity of scavengers. This was responsible for scattering a high proportion of
bone remains, and displacements were typically significant. Such activity was also responsible for a high
number of bone elements being lost (1/3 to 2/3 of the bones). Weathering, mostly cracking and exfoliation,
also affected dry bone material in the open-air cells. The measurements have highlighted the
specific nature of the cave context, which plays a protective role for bone remains against meteoric
agents. The talus at the entrance of the cavity was also characterized by a strong spatial heterogeneity in
sedimentary processes, which may generate a differential preservation of the assemblages.
contexts in the Pyrenees, including open-air and cave loci, to document in detail the role of site formation
processes and taphonomic agents in the degradation of archaeological assemblages. In both sites, the
experimental cells have undergone significant changes over the five years of measurements. These are
marked by slow downslope creep of lithic artefacts due to solifluction, rain creep, and the impact of
debris fallen from the wall in the cave. The behaviour of bone material was significantly different from
that of lithics, due to the activity of scavengers. This was responsible for scattering a high proportion of
bone remains, and displacements were typically significant. Such activity was also responsible for a high
number of bone elements being lost (1/3 to 2/3 of the bones). Weathering, mostly cracking and exfoliation,
also affected dry bone material in the open-air cells. The measurements have highlighted the
specific nature of the cave context, which plays a protective role for bone remains against meteoric
agents. The talus at the entrance of the cavity was also characterized by a strong spatial heterogeneity in
sedimentary processes, which may generate a differential preservation of the assemblages.
Research Interests:
Une opération de diagnostic archéologique a été réalisée par l’INRAP du 25 juin au 30 juin 2009 sur la commune de Saint Astier en Dordogne. Les parcelles sondées correspondent à l’emprise d’un projet de déchetterie dans le quartier du... more
Une opération de diagnostic archéologique a été réalisée par l’INRAP du 25 juin au 30 juin 2009 sur la commune de Saint Astier en Dordogne. Les parcelles sondées correspondent à l’emprise d’un projet de déchetterie dans le quartier du Perrier par la Communauté de Communes Astérienne Isle et Vern.Un niveau archéologique du Néolithique récent ou final (3600-2800 BC) conséquent a été identifié dans la partie sud de l’emprise du projet de déchetterie. L’ensemble lithique traduirait non seulement des activités de production d’éclats allongés sur silex sénonien local mais une zone d’activités plus variées avec la présence de nombreux galets fragmentés par la chauffe.Le niveau a été reconnu exclusivement dans le sondage 7 de 55 à 65 cm de profondeur sur plus de 50 m². Il est très dense sur une zone de moins de 10 m² sur le bord sud du sondage et pourrait s’étendre au-delà sur une étendue possible d’au moins 300 m², ce que la présence d’une ligne à haute tension n’a pas permis de vérifier.