- University of Liege, Prehistory, Department Memberadd
- Lithic Technology, Chatelperronian, Neanderthals (Palaeolithic Archaeology), Prehistory of Central Asia (Prehistoric Archaeology), Prehistory, Prehistoric Archaeology, and 15 moreEaster Island Archaeology, Palaeolithic Archaeology, Middle to Upper Paleolithic Transition, Lithics, Gravettian, Middle Palaeolithic, Projectile technology, Aurignacian, Radiocarbon Dating (Earth Sciences), Early Upper Paleolithic technocomplex (Archaeology), Lithic Technology (Archaeology), Paleoanthropology, Upper Paleolithic, Middle Paleolithic, and Paleoenvironmentedit
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University of California [Davis] (UC Davis) – One Shields Avenue, Davis, CA 95616-5294, États-Unis University of Cambridge [UK] (CAM) – The Old Schools, Trinity Lane, Cambridge CB2 1TN, Royaume-Uni Institute of History and Archaeology MAS... more
University of California [Davis] (UC Davis) – One Shields Avenue, Davis, CA 95616-5294, États-Unis University of Cambridge [UK] (CAM) – The Old Schools, Trinity Lane, Cambridge CB2 1TN, Royaume-Uni Institute of History and Archaeology MAS – Mongolie Max Planck Institut for Evolutionary Anthropology – Allemagne Service de Prehistoire, Universite de Liege – Belgique Harvard University [Cambridge] – Massachusetts Hall, Cambridge, MA 02138, États-Unis Center for Experimental Archaeology in Davis – États-Unis University of Belgrade, Faculty of Philosophy – Serbie Department of Human Evolution, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology – Deutscher Platz 6, Leipzig 04103, Allemagne Chaire Internationale de Paléoanthropologie – Collège de France, Collège de France – Paris, France
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If any of you would like to be added as a co-author of this message, let me know. ------------- Call to action to stop the Russian invasion of Ukraine by any means necessary. Заклик до дій, щоб зупинити російське вторгнення в Україну... more
If any of you would like to be added as a co-author of this message, let me know.
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Call to action to stop the Russian invasion of Ukraine by any means necessary.
Заклик до дій, щоб зупинити російське вторгнення в Україну будь-якими необхідними засобами.
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Call to action to stop the Russian invasion of Ukraine by any means necessary.
Заклик до дій, щоб зупинити російське вторгнення в Україну будь-якими необхідними засобами.
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University of California [Davis] (UC Davis) – One Shields Avenue, Davis, CA 95616-5294, États-Unis University of Cambridge [UK] (CAM) – The Old Schools, Trinity Lane, Cambridge CB2 1TN, Royaume-Uni Institute of History and Archaeology MAS... more
University of California [Davis] (UC Davis) – One Shields Avenue, Davis, CA 95616-5294, États-Unis University of Cambridge [UK] (CAM) – The Old Schools, Trinity Lane, Cambridge CB2 1TN, Royaume-Uni Institute of History and Archaeology MAS – Mongolie Max Planck Institut for Evolutionary Anthropology – Allemagne Service de Prehistoire, Universite de Liege – Belgique Harvard University [Cambridge] – Massachusetts Hall, Cambridge, MA 02138, États-Unis Center for Experimental Archaeology in Davis – États-Unis University of Belgrade, Faculty of Philosophy – Serbie Department of Human Evolution, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology – Deutscher Platz 6, Leipzig 04103, Allemagne Chaire Internationale de Paléoanthropologie – Collège de France, Collège de France – Paris, France
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The Tolbor valley (North Mongolia) has yielded a concentration of archaeological sites documenting multiple episodes of human occupation dated between the first half of the MIS3 and the Holocene. In the main stratified sites, two... more
The Tolbor valley (North Mongolia) has yielded a concentration of archaeological sites documenting multiple episodes of human occupation dated between the first half of the MIS3 and the Holocene. In the main stratified sites, two variants of Upper Paleolithic have been reported at the base of the cultural sequence. The lowermost archaeological assemblages are usually dated around 45 ka Cal BP. They are referred to as Initial Upper Palaeolithic (IUP) based on the associations of multiple technological attributes (e.g. asymetric blade reduction and burin-core technology). Stratigraphically, the IUP is followed by another kind of assemblages named Early Upper Palaeolithic (EUP)-for the lack of better term and dated around 40 ka cal BP. Although considerable efforts have been devoted to the study of IUP in Mongolia and elsewhere, relatively little is known about the EUP and its variability. At Tolbor-4 (AH4) and Tolbor-15 (AH6-AH7), it shows a decrease in frequency of blade blanks, a switch toward unidirectional blade core reduction patterns and the appearance of bladelet technology. Here we present a detailed description of the laminar blank production in the EUP from Tolbor-16 with three main questions in mind: what characterizes the blade production? What are the relations between blade and bladelet reduction sequences? Finally, how consistent is the EUP technology in region? While a closer look at the blade technology should help to better understand what differentiates the two variants, improvements in their definition will allow for further discussions on evolutionary implications.
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The fossil record suggests that at least two major human dispersals occurred across the Eurasian steppe during the Late Pleistocene. Neanderthals and Modern Humans moved eastward into Central Asia, a region intermittently occupied by the... more
The fossil record suggests that at least two major human dispersals occurred across the Eurasian steppe during the Late Pleistocene. Neanderthals and Modern Humans moved eastward into Central Asia, a region intermittently occupied by the enigmatic Denisovans. Genetic data indicates that the Denisovans interbred with Neanderthals near the Altai Mountains (South Siberia) but where and when they met H. sapiens is yet to be determined. Here we present archaeological evidence that document the timing and environmental context of a third long-distance population movement in Central Asia, during a temperate climatic event around 45,000 years ago. The early occurrence of the Initial Upper Palaeolithic, a techno-complex whose sudden appearance coincides with the first occurrence of H. sapiens in the Eurasian steppes, establishes an essential archaeological link between the Siberian Altai and Northwestern China. Such connection between regions provides empirical ground to discuss contacts between local and exogenous populations in Central and Northeast Asia during the Late Pleistocene. Although models for H. sapiens' early dispersals out of Africa emphasize a southern route to Asia 1-5 , Neanderthal and Modern Human (MH) fossils in Siberia 6-9 suggest that at least two other dispersals took place across the Eurasian steppe north of the Asian high mountains. Given the size of the area considered, human fossils are few but recent studies have suggested that a major change in the regional archaeological record could be indicative of a large-scale human dispersal event. Known as the Initial Upper Palaeolithic (IUP), it refers to the sudden appearance in contiguous regions of a specific blade technology sometimes associated with bone tools and ornaments 10-17. How old these assemblages are, and how long the phenomenon lasts are still controversial questions, and little is known about the timing and environmental context of these population movements. Here we present
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At the time of its excavation in 1861, the cave site of Long Hole (Gower peninsula, Swansea, UK) was recognized as important for establishing the antiquity of man in Wales. However, in comparison to its more illustrious neighbour Paviland... more
At the time of its excavation in 1861, the cave site of Long Hole (Gower peninsula, Swansea, UK) was recognized as important for establishing the antiquity of man in Wales. However, in comparison to its more illustrious neighbour Paviland Cave, it has received very little attention since. Long Hole has been host to three documented excavations: by Colonel Wood in the 1860s, by John Campbell in 1969 and most recently the small-scale work in 2012 described in this paper. Here we outline Long Hole's excavations and the archaeological material from the cave. Although the site's earliest collections suffer from the familiar problems of being significantly selected and lacking contextual information, several conclusions are possible. Previous suggestions of two late Neanderthal occupations are unconvincing. Lithic artefacts from Long Hole are instead reminiscent of Aurignacian material from Paviland Cave, suggesting that they were left by some of Britain's very early modern human occupants, 37-35,000 cal BP. Because Campbell excavated an apparently well-stratified Late Pleistocene sequence his collections have the greatest potential for future work.
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A B S T R A C T The site of Isturitz is clearly important to discussions of the emergence and development of the Aurignacian. It bears a long stratigraphic sequence of this period and has benefited from recent excavation and analysis. In... more
A B S T R A C T The site of Isturitz is clearly important to discussions of the emergence and development of the Aurignacian. It bears a long stratigraphic sequence of this period and has benefited from recent excavation and analysis. In this paper we present 18 new AMS radiocarbon dates (Normand excavation), covering the majority of the Aurignacian sequence at this site. Our dating was aimed at addressing two key questions of this period (1) what is the date of occupation of each of the Aurignacian variants (Protoaurignacian, PA, and Early Aurignacian, EA) at Isturitz and (2) how do the dates of PA and EA occupation at Isturitz compare to those of other nearby sites? To achieve this we dated well-provenienced, species-identified, humanly-modified faunal remains from layers of each Aurignacian variant at Isturitz, most including an ultrafiltration step. We built a Bayesian model from these to determine start/end dates of each layer/industry at this site. We also compiled a list of all recently-dated, ultrafiltered/ABOx-SC, more carefully sampled, results from PA and EA layers in France, Italy and Spain to see where Isturitz fit into these groups. Results indicate that at Isturitz, the PA started at 42.8–41.3 modelled BP (95% confidence interval) and the EA at least as far back as 41.6–39.7 modelled BP (95% confidence interval). These are among the earliest dates for both of these industries in western Europe and it is one of the only sites to have multiple old dates. Our results and comparisons confirm that the PA was the earlier of the two variants, but show that the EA and later PA overlap statistically within the western European region (between sites). Thus the possibility that the two variants existed partially contemporaneously must remain open as a working hypothesis. Whether the EA was initiated as a result of HS4 is equivocal with the new data.
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Kulbulak (Uzbekistan) is among the most important Paleolithic sites in Central Asia. Based on excavations from the 1960s to the 1980s, a stratigraphic sequence yielding 46 archeological horizons of the Lower, Middle and Upper Paleolithic... more
Kulbulak (Uzbekistan) is among the most important Paleolithic sites in Central Asia. Based on excavations from the 1960s to the 1980s, a stratigraphic sequence yielding 46 archeological horizons of the Lower, Middle and Upper Paleolithic has been described. The lowermost 22 layers were at that time defined as Acheulean, both in cultural and chronological aspects. Based on these previous works, Kulbulak has thus often been cited as one of the rarest occurrences of Lower Paleolithic and Acheulean in the region. However, this attribution was debatable. New excavations at Kulbulak in 2007–2010 provided new material and the first reliable dates that permitted us to tackle this issue. Moreover, a reappraisal of the lithic collections and documents from previous excavations was also conducted. These new data clearly indicate the absence of Acheulean or even Lower Paleolithic at Kulbulak. On the contrary, the lithic assemblages from this site only correspond to Middle and Upper Paleolithic periods.
The lowermost layers are particularly interesting due to the presence of an early industry with blade and bladelet
technology.
The lowermost layers are particularly interesting due to the presence of an early industry with blade and bladelet
technology.
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Almost 150 years after the first identification of Neandertal skeletal material, the cognitive and symbolic abilities of these populations remain a subject of intense debate. We present 99 new Neandertal remains from the Troisième caverne... more
Almost 150 years after the first identification of Neandertal skeletal material, the cognitive and symbolic abilities of these populations remain a subject of intense debate. We present 99 new Neandertal remains from the Troisième caverne of Goyet (Belgium) dated to 40,500–45,500 calBP. The remains were identified through a multidisciplinary study that combines morphometrics, taphonomy, stable isotopes, radiocarbon dating and genetic analyses. The Goyet Neandertal bones show distinctive anthropogenic modifications, which provides clear evidence for butchery activities as well as four bones having been used for retouching stone tools. In addition to being the first site to have yielded multiple Neandertal bones used as retouchers, Goyet not only provides the first unambiguous evidence of Neandertal cannibalism in Northern Europe, but also highlights considerable diversity in mortuary behaviour among the region's late Neandertal population in the period immediately preceding their disappearance. Neandertal funerary practices remain at the forefront of palaeoanthropological research, generating heated debates following the revision of old data and new excavations at key sites such as La Chapelle-aux-Saints 1,2 , Roc de Marsal 3 , Saint-Césaire 4 and La Ferrassie 5. More generally, attention has focused on the variability of Neandertal mortuary practices to evaluate their cognitive and symbolic implications, especially as they may provide insights concerning the social systems of this fossil human group 6. Neandertals are known to have buried their dead and are associated with mortuary behaviours that are often difficult to interpret in Palaeolithic contexts. The site of Krapina (Croatia) is an instructive example in this sense. Evidence for cannibalism was first proposed for this site as early as 1901 7 based on the fragmentation and traces of burning from a large collection of early Neandertal remains. This evidence has since been disputed by proponents of alternative explanations for the human bone modifications who argue for natural processes while others maintain that the anthropogenic manipulations are best interpreted in the context of secondary burials 8. Several studies dedicated to cannibalism have proposed that securely identifying anthropogenic modifications related to this practice should incorporate evidence for the
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The mata'a is a lithic artefact emblematic of the Rapa Nui aboriginal material culture and it plays an important role in the " collapse hypothesis ". According to this hypothesis, this tool could be one of the elements showing the... more
The mata'a is a lithic artefact emblematic of the Rapa Nui aboriginal material culture and it plays an important role in the " collapse hypothesis ". According to this hypothesis, this tool could be one of the elements showing the development of warlike conflicts following the exhaustion of the natural resources due to overex-ploitation of the environment by the Rapa Nui people. However, this tool type has rarely been the topic of detailed studies on large samples. The technology of its production , its typological diversity and its function(s) remain thus poorly understood. The study of a significant sample of mata'a allows here to shed a new light on these issues and to discuss the role of the mata'a in the " collapse hypothesis " .
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A study o f the Upper Paleolithic in western Pamir-Tian-Shan in the last ten years has led to a revision o f its attribution, formerly proposed main features o f this period were - mosaic industries, and the non-blade nature o f Upper... more
A study o f the Upper Paleolithic in western Pamir-Tian-Shan in the last ten years has led to a revision o f its attribution,
formerly proposed main features o f this period were - mosaic industries, and the non-blade nature o f Upper Paleolithic
complexes, the overall shape o f an archaic industry - preserving Middle Paleolithic stone processing techniques.
The studies o f key-sites o f the local Upper Paleolithic allow us to say that they belong to the single Upper Paleolithic cultural
and technological tradition that demonstrates the development o f the original microblade microlithic complex, including
backed tools and scalene triangular microliths. In the course o f its development, the tradition includes the steps of
appearance, formation, flourishing and replacement o f carinated technology. This tradition has been traced in lithic assemblages
from Kulbulak layers 2.1 and 2.2, Kyzyl-Alma-2, and Dodekatym-2, (Uzbekistan), Shugnou (Tajikistan). This
article presents the results o f the technical, typological and attribution analysis o f Upper Paleolithic stone industries from
Kulbulak site obtained in 2007 to 2011 years joint Russian-Uzbek-Belgian expedition.
formerly proposed main features o f this period were - mosaic industries, and the non-blade nature o f Upper Paleolithic
complexes, the overall shape o f an archaic industry - preserving Middle Paleolithic stone processing techniques.
The studies o f key-sites o f the local Upper Paleolithic allow us to say that they belong to the single Upper Paleolithic cultural
and technological tradition that demonstrates the development o f the original microblade microlithic complex, including
backed tools and scalene triangular microliths. In the course o f its development, the tradition includes the steps of
appearance, formation, flourishing and replacement o f carinated technology. This tradition has been traced in lithic assemblages
from Kulbulak layers 2.1 and 2.2, Kyzyl-Alma-2, and Dodekatym-2, (Uzbekistan), Shugnou (Tajikistan). This
article presents the results o f the technical, typological and attribution analysis o f Upper Paleolithic stone industries from
Kulbulak site obtained in 2007 to 2011 years joint Russian-Uzbek-Belgian expedition.
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The Middle Paleolithic industry of Kulbulak – a key stratified site in Uzbekistan – has been described as the Denticulate Mousterian. Our findings suggest that this definition is problematic because the principal diagnostic feature of... more
The Middle Paleolithic industry of Kulbulak – a key stratified site in Uzbekistan – has been described as the Denticulate Mousterian. Our findings suggest that this definition is problematic because the principal diagnostic feature of this facies – the denticulate outline of tools – has resulted from natural processes. Accordingly, in our view, no such facies exists either at Kulbulak or in Western Central Asia at large.
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Research Interests: Lithic Technology, Investigation of cave Deposits, Lithics, Archaeology of Caves and Caverns (Archaeospeleology), Neanderthals (Palaeolithic Archaeology), and 10 moreMousterian, Aurignacian, Middle to Upper Paleolithic Transition, Lithic Technology (Archaeology), Middle Paleolithic, Gravettian, Bifacial Tools, Lithic Analysis, Mta, and Keilmesser and Keilmessergruppen
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Dans le piémont nord-occidental des Pyrénées, peu de sites documentent les phases récentes du Paléolithique moyen et le Paléolithique supérieur initial au sein d’une même séquence stratigraphique. La grotte de Gatzarria (Ossas-Suhare,... more
Dans le piémont nord-occidental des Pyrénées, peu de sites documentent les phases récentes du Paléolithique moyen et le Paléolithique supérieur initial au sein d’une même séquence stratigraphique. La grotte de Gatzarria (Ossas-Suhare, Pyrénées-Atlantiques), fouillée principalement par Georges Laplace de 1951 à 1976, a révélé une stratigraphie complexe dont les industries documentent ce passage du Paléolithique moyen au Paléolithique supérieur. Des études récentes ont remis en question l’homogénéité des niveaux dans le secteur du fond de la cavité et de nouvelles interprétations stratigraphiques sont proposées pour le Paléolithique moyen sur la base de l’analyse technologique et de la projection spatiale des vestiges. Les niveaux du Paléolithique supérieur sont également particulièrement intéressants, Gatzarria offrant une séquence de plusieurs niveaux attribués au Protoaurignacien et à l’Aurignacien permettant ainsi d’aborder la question très débattue du rapport entre ces deux techno-complexes.