Quaternary Paleontologist of Large Mammals Address: UMR 7194 CNRS Musee de Prehistoire de Tourrette-Levens 171 montee du Chateau 06690 Tourrette-Levens France
HAL (Le Centre pour la Communication Scientifique Directe), 2022
Systematic excavations in Lazaret Cave over several decades (1967-2017), directed by Henry de Lum... more Systematic excavations in Lazaret Cave over several decades (1967-2017), directed by Henry de Lumley, identified 29 levels of human occupation recording the cultural transition between the Acheulean and the Mousterian. Each level or archaeostratigraphic unit contained abundant archaeological and palaeontological material, sometimes associated with several human remains. The large mammal faunal spectrum includes 25 species and varies little from one unit to another. This faunal association and the evolutionary stages of certain species (Canis lupus, Ursus spelaeus, Cervus elaphus, Capra ibex) indicate that the archaeological deposits are correlated with the last Middle Pleistocene glacial period, MIS 6. On account of a specific geo-topography and moderate climatic impact, this region was a refuge zone for temperate species during glacial phases, resulting in the continuity of archaic species. The original faunal association of Lazaret Cave comprises temperate species with prevalent red deer (Cervus elaphus), ibex (Capra ibex) and aurochs (Bos primigenius). The antique elephant (Palaeoloxodon antiquus) also continued to live in the region during this cold phase. Relatively rare cold-climate mammals have been identified, such as the reindeer (Rangifer tarandus), the woolly rhinoceros (Coelodonta antiquitatis) and the wolverine (Gulo gulo). Archaeozoological analyses brought to light very diversified anthropic activities in the different archaeostratigraphic units. Here, we focus on the study of animal populations, combining classical methods to estimate the age and sex of slaughtered animals with cementochronological analyses. The results highlight and refine the seasonality of site occupations, and enhance our understanding of Acheulean subsistence and hunting strategies. In a regional context, these faunal data from Lazaret Cave broaden our knowledge of behavioural aspects of the Acheulean occupants of Lazaret Cave and their successors, Neanderthals from the Ligurian-Provencal zone.
HAL (Le Centre pour la Communication Scientifique Directe), May 2, 2001
Les restes de Cervus elaphus de différents sites pléistocènes des Alpes-Maritimes et de Ligurie (... more Les restes de Cervus elaphus de différents sites pléistocènes des Alpes-Maritimes et de Ligurie (Lazaret, Madonna dell'Arma, Fate, Manie, Santa Lucia Superiore) ont été étudiés, sous un angle paléontologique et taphonomique. L'analyse morphométrique des dents ...
Cannibalism was shown to have existed in Europe during the Lower Paleolithic at Gran Dolina cave ... more Cannibalism was shown to have existed in Europe during the Lower Paleolithic at Gran Dolina cave in Spain, in the Middle Paleolithic Moula-Guercy cave and the Neolithic Fontbrégoua cave in France. One of the characteristics of Upper Paleolithic populations is to have buried their deads. However, fragmented human bones with cutmarks were observed within several Upper Paleolithic French caves. We present a new case study, that of La Salpétrière (Gard) in Southeastern France.
HAL (Le Centre pour la Communication Scientifique Directe), 2018
Valensi P., Bailon S., El Guennouni K., Hanquet C., Khatib S., Lartigot-Campin A.-S., Manzano A.,... more Valensi P., Bailon S., El Guennouni K., Hanquet C., Khatib S., Lartigot-Campin A.-S., Manzano A., Roger T., Rousseau L., Thino M., Lumley H. de. In M.-A. de Lumley dir. "Les restes humains fossiles de la grotte du Lazaret, Nice, Alpes-Maritimes, France".
The interglacial period, known as Marine Isotope Stage 11 (MIS 11, 428-397 thousand years ago), i... more The interglacial period, known as Marine Isotope Stage 11 (MIS 11, 428-397 thousand years ago), is often consideredas a potential analogue for future climate projection because of the similar patterns of insolation variability.However, studies on mechanisms of the onset of MIS 11 (called Termination V, T-V) in response to insolationincrease is still hampered by a lack of good dating materials in paleoclimate archives, despite a stack of East Asianmonsoon records with precise U-Th dates has been proposed. Previous studies suggested the 18O value registeredin speleothems in Mediterranean realm can be a good bridge connecting the U-Th-based age model of speleothemto marine cores from Mediterranean sea, which opens a new possibility to detect ocean-atmosphere/internalexternalforcing interaction beyond 14C dating limitation. Here we present a new speleothem 18O record fromnorthern Italy covering 500-300 thousand years ago. The results show a similar pattern with 18O records ofmarine cores around Mediterranean. The age model of the speleothem hence provides an opportunity for tuningthe marine cores, which could improve our understanding of relationship between global atmosphere and oceancirculations
The variability of the northern westerlies has been considered as one of the key elements for mod... more The variability of the northern westerlies has been considered as one of the key elements for modern and past climate evolution. Their multiscale behavior and underlying control mechanisms, however, are incompletely understood, owing to the complex dynamics of Atlantic sea-level pressures. Here, we present a multi-annually resolved record of the westerly drift over the past 6,500 years from northern Italy. In combination with more than 20 other westerly-sensitive records, our results depict the non-stationary westerly-affected regions over mainland Europe on multi-decadal to multi-centennial time scales, showing that the direction of the westerlies has changed with respect to the migrations of the North Atlantic centers of action since the middle Holocene. Our findings suggest the crucial role of the migrations of the North Atlantic dipole in modulating the westerly-affected domain over Europe, possibly modulated by Atlantic Ocean variability.
HAL (Le Centre pour la Communication Scientifique Directe), 2022
Systematic excavations in Lazaret Cave over several decades (1967-2017), directed by Henry de Lum... more Systematic excavations in Lazaret Cave over several decades (1967-2017), directed by Henry de Lumley, identified 29 levels of human occupation recording the cultural transition between the Acheulean and the Mousterian. Each level or archaeostratigraphic unit contained abundant archaeological and palaeontological material, sometimes associated with several human remains. The large mammal faunal spectrum includes 25 species and varies little from one unit to another. This faunal association and the evolutionary stages of certain species (Canis lupus, Ursus spelaeus, Cervus elaphus, Capra ibex) indicate that the archaeological deposits are correlated with the last Middle Pleistocene glacial period, MIS 6. On account of a specific geo-topography and moderate climatic impact, this region was a refuge zone for temperate species during glacial phases, resulting in the continuity of archaic species. The original faunal association of Lazaret Cave comprises temperate species with prevalent red deer (Cervus elaphus), ibex (Capra ibex) and aurochs (Bos primigenius). The antique elephant (Palaeoloxodon antiquus) also continued to live in the region during this cold phase. Relatively rare cold-climate mammals have been identified, such as the reindeer (Rangifer tarandus), the woolly rhinoceros (Coelodonta antiquitatis) and the wolverine (Gulo gulo). Archaeozoological analyses brought to light very diversified anthropic activities in the different archaeostratigraphic units. Here, we focus on the study of animal populations, combining classical methods to estimate the age and sex of slaughtered animals with cementochronological analyses. The results highlight and refine the seasonality of site occupations, and enhance our understanding of Acheulean subsistence and hunting strategies. In a regional context, these faunal data from Lazaret Cave broaden our knowledge of behavioural aspects of the Acheulean occupants of Lazaret Cave and their successors, Neanderthals from the Ligurian-Provencal zone.
HAL (Le Centre pour la Communication Scientifique Directe), May 2, 2001
Les restes de Cervus elaphus de différents sites pléistocènes des Alpes-Maritimes et de Ligurie (... more Les restes de Cervus elaphus de différents sites pléistocènes des Alpes-Maritimes et de Ligurie (Lazaret, Madonna dell'Arma, Fate, Manie, Santa Lucia Superiore) ont été étudiés, sous un angle paléontologique et taphonomique. L'analyse morphométrique des dents ...
Cannibalism was shown to have existed in Europe during the Lower Paleolithic at Gran Dolina cave ... more Cannibalism was shown to have existed in Europe during the Lower Paleolithic at Gran Dolina cave in Spain, in the Middle Paleolithic Moula-Guercy cave and the Neolithic Fontbrégoua cave in France. One of the characteristics of Upper Paleolithic populations is to have buried their deads. However, fragmented human bones with cutmarks were observed within several Upper Paleolithic French caves. We present a new case study, that of La Salpétrière (Gard) in Southeastern France.
HAL (Le Centre pour la Communication Scientifique Directe), 2018
Valensi P., Bailon S., El Guennouni K., Hanquet C., Khatib S., Lartigot-Campin A.-S., Manzano A.,... more Valensi P., Bailon S., El Guennouni K., Hanquet C., Khatib S., Lartigot-Campin A.-S., Manzano A., Roger T., Rousseau L., Thino M., Lumley H. de. In M.-A. de Lumley dir. "Les restes humains fossiles de la grotte du Lazaret, Nice, Alpes-Maritimes, France".
The interglacial period, known as Marine Isotope Stage 11 (MIS 11, 428-397 thousand years ago), i... more The interglacial period, known as Marine Isotope Stage 11 (MIS 11, 428-397 thousand years ago), is often consideredas a potential analogue for future climate projection because of the similar patterns of insolation variability.However, studies on mechanisms of the onset of MIS 11 (called Termination V, T-V) in response to insolationincrease is still hampered by a lack of good dating materials in paleoclimate archives, despite a stack of East Asianmonsoon records with precise U-Th dates has been proposed. Previous studies suggested the 18O value registeredin speleothems in Mediterranean realm can be a good bridge connecting the U-Th-based age model of speleothemto marine cores from Mediterranean sea, which opens a new possibility to detect ocean-atmosphere/internalexternalforcing interaction beyond 14C dating limitation. Here we present a new speleothem 18O record fromnorthern Italy covering 500-300 thousand years ago. The results show a similar pattern with 18O records ofmarine cores around Mediterranean. The age model of the speleothem hence provides an opportunity for tuningthe marine cores, which could improve our understanding of relationship between global atmosphere and oceancirculations
The variability of the northern westerlies has been considered as one of the key elements for mod... more The variability of the northern westerlies has been considered as one of the key elements for modern and past climate evolution. Their multiscale behavior and underlying control mechanisms, however, are incompletely understood, owing to the complex dynamics of Atlantic sea-level pressures. Here, we present a multi-annually resolved record of the westerly drift over the past 6,500 years from northern Italy. In combination with more than 20 other westerly-sensitive records, our results depict the non-stationary westerly-affected regions over mainland Europe on multi-decadal to multi-centennial time scales, showing that the direction of the westerlies has changed with respect to the migrations of the North Atlantic centers of action since the middle Holocene. Our findings suggest the crucial role of the migrations of the North Atlantic dipole in modulating the westerly-affected domain over Europe, possibly modulated by Atlantic Ocean variability.
Marie Liouville , Patricia Valensi , Eleni Pasthi
In order to characterize the morphological vari... more Marie Liouville , Patricia Valensi , Eleni Pasthi In order to characterize the morphological variations of the red deer during middle and upper Pleistocene, we intend to establish a link between biometrical data and a palaeological approach.
Hsun-Ming Hu, Chuan-Chou Shen, Xiuyang Jiang, Fucai Duan, Yongjin Wang, Horng-Sheng Mii, Véroniqu... more Hsun-Ming Hu, Chuan-Chou Shen, Xiuyang Jiang, Fucai Duan, Yongjin Wang, Horng-Sheng Mii, Véronique Michel, Patricia Valensi, Yu-Min Chou, Chung-Che Wu and Elisabetta Starnini Abstract: Mediterranean, known as " climate change hot spot " , has been expected to experience sensible hydroclimate variability in the twenty-first century. Severe floods and droughts are in particular of concern due to the prolonged influence on water resources, agricultural production and economic activity. Here, we present a new high-resolved and absolutely-dated stalagmite δ 18 O record from Toirano Cave, northern Italy, which reveals important hydroclimate evolution in the north Mediterranean. The results show dramatic instability of the hydroclimatic dynamics in northern Italy, characterized by abrupt changes of dry/wet conditions in <50 year with amplitude of ~50 mm/month in rainfall amount. The timing of regional culture demise, such as the Hittite Kingdom, Mycenaean Greece, Akkadian Empire, Egyptian Old Kingdom, and Uruk, occurred at stalagmite-inferred dry periods. Solar activities Two-phase relationship between this stalagmite δ 18 O and paleo-North Atlantic Oscillation index records is found, from an anti-phased condition at 6-2 ka to a in-phased condition after 2 ka, probably attributed to a southward shift of westerlies in the late Holocene
Ongoing research at the Bois-de-Riquet site (Lézignanla-
Cèbe, l’Hérault, France) has significant... more Ongoing research at the Bois-de-Riquet site (Lézignanla- Cèbe, l’Hérault, France) has significantly increased the archeological data available for this exceptional Lower Pleistocene occurrence. Since its discovery in the 1990’s, the rich paleontological level situated within a basalt flowstone radiometrically dated to 1.57 Ma (archeostratigraphical unit: ‘US2’) has yielded a well preserved large and small mammal assemblage. New biochronological evaluations based on the entire faunal assemblage allow an age evaluation of around 1.3-1.2 Ma for this level (late-Early Pleistocene). A small lithic assemblage in basalt is attributed to anthropic intrusion.
In. L. Sarti, F. Martini « Una preziosa eredità. Scritti in ricordo di arturo Palma di Cesnola », Milleni, Studi di Archeologia Preistorica 24, Edit. Museo e Istituto Fiorentino di Preistoria “Paolo Graziosi", Firenze, 2021
Contrariamente a quanto riscontrato in altre aree europee, i manufatti in avorio sono estremament... more Contrariamente a quanto riscontrato in altre aree europee, i manufatti in avorio sono estremamente rari nel Paleolitico superiore italiano e limitati a siti della Liguria di Ponente: le grotte dei Balzi Rossi e la Caverna delle Arene Candide. Questa rarità è da mettere in relazione con l’assenza (o quasi) in Italia, in questo periodo, del mammouth, fonte prioritaria se non unica − per quei tempi e per quei luoghi − della materia prima.
Valensi P., Bailon S., El Guennouni K., Hanquet C., Khatib S., Lartigot-Campin A.-S., Manzano A.,... more Valensi P., Bailon S., El Guennouni K., Hanquet C., Khatib S., Lartigot-Campin A.-S., Manzano A., Roger T., Rousseau L., Thino M., Lumley H. de. In M.-A. de Lumley dir. "Les restes humains fossiles de la grotte du Lazaret, Nice, Alpes-Maritimes, France".
Cecilio Barroso Ruiz, Marie-Antoinette de Luley, Anne-Marie Moigne, José Antonio Riquelme Cantal,... more Cecilio Barroso Ruiz, Marie-Antoinette de Luley, Anne-Marie Moigne, José Antonio Riquelme Cantal, Anna Echassoux, Patricia Valensi Palaeoethnological signification of Neanderthal and Sapiens remains from the Boquete of Zafarraya cave: taphonomy, fractures, cutmaks and combustion. The human bones from the Boquete de Zafarraya cave number 16 and represent a minimal number of 9 individuals. The bones are well preserved. Several types of event modified them before their fossilization: breaking, burning, cut marks and carnivore tooth marks have been identified. The post-depositionnalphenomenons are also analyzed. Each bone is sharply analyzed and in some case, a chronology of the events can be reconstructed exactly. The succession of human and carnivore actions on bones allows to suggest possible behaviours of the Neanderthals from the Boquete de Zafarraya cave towards their peers.
Uploads
Papers by Patricia Valensi
In order to characterize the morphological variations of the red deer during middle and upper Pleistocene, we intend to establish a link between biometrical data and a palaeological approach.
Abstract: Mediterranean, known as " climate change hot spot " , has been expected to experience sensible hydroclimate variability in the twenty-first century. Severe floods and droughts are in particular of concern due to the prolonged influence on water resources, agricultural production and economic activity. Here, we present a new high-resolved and absolutely-dated stalagmite δ 18 O record from Toirano Cave, northern Italy, which reveals important hydroclimate evolution in the north Mediterranean. The results show dramatic instability of the hydroclimatic dynamics in northern Italy, characterized by abrupt changes of dry/wet conditions in <50 year with amplitude of ~50 mm/month in rainfall amount. The timing of regional culture demise, such as the Hittite Kingdom, Mycenaean Greece, Akkadian Empire, Egyptian Old Kingdom, and Uruk, occurred at stalagmite-inferred dry periods. Solar activities Two-phase relationship between this stalagmite δ 18 O and paleo-North Atlantic Oscillation index records is found, from an anti-phased condition at 6-2 ka to a in-phased condition after 2 ka, probably attributed to a southward shift of westerlies in the late Holocene
Cèbe, l’Hérault, France) has significantly increased the
archeological data available for this exceptional Lower
Pleistocene occurrence. Since its discovery in the 1990’s,
the rich paleontological level situated within a basalt
flowstone radiometrically dated to 1.57 Ma (archeostratigraphical
unit: ‘US2’) has yielded a well preserved large
and small mammal assemblage. New biochronological
evaluations based on the entire faunal assemblage
allow an age evaluation of around 1.3-1.2 Ma for this
level (late-Early Pleistocene). A small lithic assemblage
in basalt is attributed to anthropic intrusion.
Palaeoethnological signification of Neanderthal and Sapiens remains from the Boquete of Zafarraya cave: taphonomy, fractures, cutmaks and combustion. The human bones from the Boquete de Zafarraya cave number 16 and represent a minimal number of 9 individuals. The bones are well preserved. Several types of event modified them before their fossilization: breaking, burning, cut marks and carnivore tooth marks have been identified. The post-depositionnalphenomenons are also analyzed. Each bone is sharply analyzed and in some case, a chronology of the events can be reconstructed exactly. The succession of human and carnivore actions on bones allows to suggest possible behaviours of the Neanderthals from the Boquete de Zafarraya cave towards their peers.