Kevin Walsh
University of York, Archaeology, Faculty Member
- Archaeology, Prehistoric Archaeology, Mediterranean archaeology, Alpine and Arctic Research, Landscape Archaeology, Geoarchaeology, and 39 morePalaeoecology, Climate Change, Bronze Age Europe (Archaeology), Neolithic Archaeology, Mediterranean prehistory, European Prehistory (Archaeology), Rock Art (Archaeology), Cultural Heritage Management, Alps, Cultural Heritage, Heritage Tourism, Neolithic, France, Bronze Age, Mediterranean Studies, Mediterranean, Bronze And Iron Age In Mediterrarranean (Archaeology), Mobility, Néolithique, Âge du Bronze, Mobilité, Bronzezeit, 3D Laser Scanning (Archaeology), Prehistoric Rock Art, Arte Rupestre, Roman Archaeology, Ancient History, Ancient Near East, Spain, Italy, Ancient Greek History, Physical Geography, Geomorphology, Anthropocene, Virtual Archaeology, Virtual Environments, Anthropocene studies, Culture and the Anthropocene, and The Anthropoceneedit
Petrification is a process, but it also can be understood as a concept. This volume takes the first steps to manifest, materialize or “petrify” the concept of “petrification” and turn it into a tool for analyzing material and social... more
Petrification is a process, but it also can be understood as a concept. This volume takes the first steps to manifest, materialize or “petrify” the concept of “petrification” and turn it into a tool for analyzing material and social processes. The wide array of approaches to petrification as a process assembled here is more of a collection of possibilities than an attempt to establish a firm, law-generating theory. Divided into three parts, this volume’s twenty-plus authors explore petrification both as a theoretical concept and as a contextualized material and social process across geological, prehistoric and historic periods.
Topics connecting the various papers are properties of materials, preferences and choices of actors, the temporality of matter, being and becoming, the relationality between actors, matter, things and space (landscape, urban space, built space), and perceptions of the following generations dealing with the petrified matter, practices, and social relations. Contributors to this volume study specifically whether particular processes of petrification are confined to the material world or can be seen as mirroring, following, triggering, or contradicting changes in social life and general world views. Each of the authors explores – for a period or a specific feature – practices and changes that led to increased conformity and regularity. Some authors additionally focus on the methods and scrutinize them and their applications for their potential to create objects of investigation: things, people, periods, in order to raise awareness for these or to shape or “invent” categories. This volume is of interest to archaeologists, geologists, architectural historians, conservationists, and historians.
Topics connecting the various papers are properties of materials, preferences and choices of actors, the temporality of matter, being and becoming, the relationality between actors, matter, things and space (landscape, urban space, built space), and perceptions of the following generations dealing with the petrified matter, practices, and social relations. Contributors to this volume study specifically whether particular processes of petrification are confined to the material world or can be seen as mirroring, following, triggering, or contradicting changes in social life and general world views. Each of the authors explores – for a period or a specific feature – practices and changes that led to increased conformity and regularity. Some authors additionally focus on the methods and scrutinize them and their applications for their potential to create objects of investigation: things, people, periods, in order to raise awareness for these or to shape or “invent” categories. This volume is of interest to archaeologists, geologists, architectural historians, conservationists, and historians.
Research Interests: Cultural Studies, Geochemistry, Epistemology, Medieval Archaeology, Building Materials (Archaeology), and 9 moreMegalithic Monuments, Archaeological Theory, Agency (Archaeological Theory), Nature/culture Dichotomization, European Prehistory (Archaeology), European Archaeology, Ancient Egypt, New Materialism, and Monumentality
This volume presents a comprehensive review of palaeoenvironmental evidence and its incorporation with landscape archaeology from across the Mediterranean. A fundamental aim of this book is to bridge the intellectual and methodological... more
This volume presents a comprehensive review of palaeoenvironmental evidence and its incorporation with landscape archaeology from across the Mediterranean. A fundamental aim of this book is to bridge the intellectual and methodological gaps between those with a background in archaeology and ancient history, and those who work in the palaeoenvironmental sciences. The aim of this volume is twofold: first, to provide archaeologists and landscape historians with a comprehensive overview of recent palaeoenvironmental research across the Mediterranean, and second, to consider ways in which this type of research can be integrated with what might be considered “mainstream” or “cultural” archaeology. This volume takes a thematic approach, assessing the ways in which environmental evidence is employed in different landscape types, from coastal zones via rivers and wetlands to islands and mountainous areas. This volume also presents analyses of how people have interacted with soils and vegetation, and revisits the key questions of human culpability in the creation of so-called degraded landscapes in the Mediterranean. It covers chronological periods from the Early Neolithic to the end of the Roman period.
Bridges the gap between environmental science and Mediterranean archaeology
A comprehensive review of the use of environmental evidence in archaeology from across the Mediterranean
The author has not only carried out research in the region, but has also lived there for much of the time since 1994
Bridges the gap between environmental science and Mediterranean archaeology
A comprehensive review of the use of environmental evidence in archaeology from across the Mediterranean
The author has not only carried out research in the region, but has also lived there for much of the time since 1994
Research Interests: Geoarchaeology, Landscape Archaeology, Mediterranean prehistory, Mediterranean Studies, Mediterranean, and 13 moreHistory of the Mediterranean, Greek Archaeology, Trade, Mediterranean archaeology, Amphorae, Wine and Olive Oil Production, Wine and Olive Oil Production, Aegean Archaeology, Mediterranean Archeology, the island of Crete, Catastrophism, Roman Archaeology of the Mediterranean, Geography of the Mediterranean World, Meditterranean Coastal Zoones, and Antic Technology
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
The last ten years have seen significant developments in archaeological science, more specifically within Bioarchaeology and palaeoenvironmental science (aDNA, isotopes, proteomics, lipid analyses etc.). Within mountain archaeology, these... more
The last ten years have seen significant developments in archaeological science, more specifically within Bioarchaeology and palaeoenvironmental science (aDNA, isotopes, proteomics, lipid analyses etc.). Within mountain archaeology, these innovative methodologies have started to transform our understanding of the complex networks of economic and cultural activities, the mobility of people and animals and thereby, the web of human-environment interactions that operated across different temporal and spatial scales.
Prior to the emergence of these techniques, research across the higher altitudinal zones, in particular, was limited, due, in part to assumptions and preconceptions that characterised mountain areas in general and especially the higher altitudes as zones of marginal importance. Research projects that developed during the 1990s and 2000s have changed our understanding of mountain landscapes. More recently, the emergence of new bioarchaeological techniques has greatly facilitated our ability to engage with complex questions and theoretical nature relating to mobility, variations in diet and economy, heterogeneous landscape trajectories. In this session, we hope to consider how these methods inform our understanding of a wide range of human practices and activities in mountain environments: from the development of short and long-distance transhumance, mining, trade and exchange, human mobility and changes in diet and health. In addition, we wish to consider how these activities, combined with the complex phases of climatic change, affected mountain environments. We aim to attract contributions from colleagues who work within in both low altitude/valley-bottom zones as well as those researching the higher-altitudinal areas.
This session will aim to involve colleagues working in mountain ranges. Although our aim is to consider the application of bioarchaeological methodologies, as suggested above, we also wish to include contributions that deal with theoretical frameworks that address issues relating to human and animal mobility, socio-ecological trajectories, and the evolution of environmental knowledge in mountain environments.
Prior to the emergence of these techniques, research across the higher altitudinal zones, in particular, was limited, due, in part to assumptions and preconceptions that characterised mountain areas in general and especially the higher altitudes as zones of marginal importance. Research projects that developed during the 1990s and 2000s have changed our understanding of mountain landscapes. More recently, the emergence of new bioarchaeological techniques has greatly facilitated our ability to engage with complex questions and theoretical nature relating to mobility, variations in diet and economy, heterogeneous landscape trajectories. In this session, we hope to consider how these methods inform our understanding of a wide range of human practices and activities in mountain environments: from the development of short and long-distance transhumance, mining, trade and exchange, human mobility and changes in diet and health. In addition, we wish to consider how these activities, combined with the complex phases of climatic change, affected mountain environments. We aim to attract contributions from colleagues who work within in both low altitude/valley-bottom zones as well as those researching the higher-altitudinal areas.
This session will aim to involve colleagues working in mountain ranges. Although our aim is to consider the application of bioarchaeological methodologies, as suggested above, we also wish to include contributions that deal with theoretical frameworks that address issues relating to human and animal mobility, socio-ecological trajectories, and the evolution of environmental knowledge in mountain environments.
Research Interests:
The AHRC-funded project, Protohistoric to Medieval pastoralism in the Western Alps: The origins and development of long-distance transhumance, aims to study the development of long-distance pastoral transhumance (the management and... more
The AHRC-funded project, Protohistoric to Medieval pastoralism in the Western Alps: The origins and development of long-distance transhumance, aims to study the development of long-distance pastoral transhumance (the management and movement of animals between lowland to high altitude pasture) in the Western Alps, from the Iron Age to the Medieval Period.
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Research Interests:
The European Alps are highly rich in species, but their future may be threa- tened by ongoing changes in human land use and climate. Here, we recon- structed vegetation, temperature, human impact and livestock over the past ~12,000 years... more
The European Alps are highly rich in species, but their future may be threa- tened by ongoing changes in human land use and climate. Here, we recon- structed vegetation, temperature, human impact and livestock over the past ~12,000 years from Lake Sulsseewli, based on sedimentary ancient plant and mammal DNA, pollen, spores, chironomids, and microcharcoal.We assembled a highly-complete local DNA reference library (PhyloAlps, 3923 plant taxa), and used this to obtain an exceptionally rich sedaDNA record of 366 plant taxa. Vegetation mainly responded to climate during the early Holocene, while human activity had an additional influence on vegetation from 6 ka onwards. Land-use shifted from episodic grazing during theNeolithic and Bronze Age to agropastoralism in the Middle Ages. Associated human deforestation allowed the coexistence of plant species typically found at different elevational belts, leading to levels ofplant richness that characterise the current high diversity of this region. Our findings indicate a positive association between low intensity agropastoral activities and precipitation with the maintenance of the unique subalpine and alpine plant diversity of the European Alps.
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Terraces are highly productive, culturally distinctive socioecological systems. Although they form part of time/place-specific debates, terraces per se have been neglected-fields on slopes or landscape elements. We argue that this is due... more
Terraces are highly productive, culturally distinctive socioecological systems. Although they form part of time/place-specific debates, terraces per se have been neglected-fields on slopes or landscape elements. We argue that this is due to mapping and dating problems, and lack of artefacts/ecofacts. However, new techniques can overcome some of these constraints, allowing us to re-engage with theoretical debates around agricultural intensification. Starting from neo-Broserupian propositions, we can engage with the sociopolitical and environmental aspects of terrace emergence, maintenance and abandonment. Non-reductionist avenues include identifying and dating different phases of development within single terrace systems, identifying a full crop-range, and other activities not generally associated with terraces (e.g. metallurgy). The proposition here is that terraces are a multi-facetted investment that includes both intensification and diversification and can occur under a range of social conditions but which constitutes a response to demographic pressure in the face to fluctuating environmental conditions.
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25 Terraces and lynchets are ubiquitous worldwide, and particularly within Europe, can provide 26 increasingly important Ecosystem Services (ESs) which may be able to mitigate aspects of climate 27 change. They are also a major cause of... more
25 Terraces and lynchets are ubiquitous worldwide, and particularly within Europe, can provide 26 increasingly important Ecosystem Services (ESs) which may be able to mitigate aspects of climate 27 change. They are also a major cause of non-linearity between climate and erosion rates in 28 agricultural systems as noted from alluvial and colluvial studies. New research in the 'critical zone' 29 has shown that we must now treat soil production as an ecologically sensitive variable with 30 implications for soil carbon sequestration. In this review and synthesis paper we present a modified 31 classification of agricultural terraces, review the theoretical background of both terraces and 32 lynchets, and show how new techniques are transforming the study of these widespread and often 33 ancient anthropogenic landforms. Indeed the problems of dating terraces and also the time-34 consuming nature of costly surveys has held back the geomorphological and geoarchaeological study 35 of terraces until now. The suite of techniques available now, and reviewed here, includes Digital 36 Terrain Models (DTMs) from Structure from Motion (SfM) photogrammetry, Airborne and Terrestrial 37 Laser Scanning (ALS-TLS); the use of optically stimulated luminescence (OSL and pOSL), portable x-ray 38 fluorescence (pXRF), Fourier-transform infra red analysis (FTIR), phytoliths from plants, and 39 potentially environmental DNA. Three process-related geomorphological questions arise from using 40 this suite of methods; a) can they provide both a chronology of formation and use history, b) can we 41 identify the sources of all the soil components? And c) can terrace soil formation and ecosystem 42 services be modelled at the slope to catchment scale? The answers to these questions can also 43 inform the management of the large areas of abandoned and under-used terraces that are resulting 44
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Agricultural terraced landscapes, which are important historical heritage sites (e.g., UNESCO or Globally Important Agricultural Heritage Systems (GIAHS) sites) are under threat from increased soil degradation due to climate change and... more
Agricultural terraced landscapes, which are important historical heritage sites (e.g., UNESCO or Globally Important Agricultural Heritage Systems (GIAHS) sites) are under threat from increased soil degradation due to climate change and land abandonment. Remote sensing can assist in the assessment and monitoring of such cultural ecosystem services. However, due to the limitations imposed by rugged topography and the occurrence of vegetation, the application of a single high-resolution topography (HRT) technique is challenging in these particular agricultural environments. Therefore, data fusion of HRT techniques (terrestrial laser scanning (TLS) and aerial/terrestrial structure from motion (SfM)) was tested for the first time in this context (terraces), to the best of our knowledge, to overcome specific detection problems such as the complex topographic and landcover conditions of the terrace systems. SfM-TLS data fusion methodology was trialed in order to produce very high-resolution digital terrain models (DTMs) of two agricultural terrace areas, both characterized by the presence of vegetation that covers parts of the subvertical surfaces, complex morphology, and inaccessible areas. In the unreachable areas, it was necessary to find effective solutions to carry out HRT surveys; therefore, we tested the direct georeferencing (DG) method, exploiting onboard multifrequency GNSS receivers for unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) and postprocessing kinematic (PPK) data. The results showed that the fusion of data based on different methods and acquisition platforms is required to obtain accurate DTMs that reflect the real surface roughness of terrace systems without gaps in data. Moreover, in inaccessible or hazardous terrains, a combination of direct and indirect georeferencing was a useful solution to reduce the substantial inconvenience and cost of ground control point (GCP) placement. We show that in order to obtain a precise data fusion in these complex conditions, it is essential to utilize a complete and specific workflow. This workflow must incorporate all data merging issues and landcover condition problems, encompassing the survey planning step, the coregistration process, and the error analysis of the outputs. The high-resolution DTMs realized can provide a starting point for land degradation process assessment of these agriculture environments and supplies useful information to stakeholders for better management and protection of such important heritage landscapes.
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Human interaction with mountain environments is generally perceived as an adaptation of local communities to the constraining ecological and morphological characteristics of their territory, a preconception challenged by many historians... more
Human interaction with mountain environments is generally perceived as an adaptation of local communities to the constraining ecological and morphological characteristics of their territory, a preconception challenged by many historians and ecologists yet still largely accepted for seasonally exploited uplands. Traditional upland seasonal practices are considered timeless and immutable as the mountain landscapes shaped by such practices. We combine the methodologies of landscape archaeology, ethnoarchaeology, and historical ecology in order to examine the validity of this assumption. Our analysis of two case studies from the French and Italian Alps between the eighteenth and the twenty-first century shows that socioeconomic dynamics affect the resilience of local montane ecosystems and the historical character of upland landscapes, and reveals that historical social, economic, and ecological driving forces contributed to upland landscape change, so that the sustainability of ‘traditional’ mountain land-use should not be presumed.
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Research conducted for over twenty years in the Southern French Alps has highlighted the presence and intensity of human mobility in the core of this region since prehistoric times. Surveyed and excavated sites are numerous in the... more
Research conducted for over twenty years in the Southern French Alps has highlighted the presence and intensity of human mobility in the core of this region since prehistoric times. Surveyed and excavated sites are numerous in the sub-alpine zone (1,500 – 2,300 m). The study of lithic and ceramic material allows us to consider connections with other territories and infer exchange and circulation networks over a range of distances. The same is true for certain types of ritual sites. The study of rock art, based on the assessment of the similar forms and techniques apparent at a number of sites, allows us to consider the question of the mobility of ideas at the European scale from the Neolithic onwards. Three emblematic sites have been chosen to illustrate this subject: the Faravel rock shelter (Freissinières, Hautes-Alpes, 2,133 m) in Les Écrins National Park, the Oullas shelter (Saint-Paul-sur-Ubaye, Alpes-de-Haute- Provence, 2,390 m) and the Sagnes burnt-mound (Jausiers, Alpes-de-Haute-Provence, 1,900 m) in the Upper Ubaye
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Over the last decade, an increasing number of studies have used lake sediment DNA to trace past landscape changes, agricultural activities or human presence. However, the processes responsible for lake sediment formation and sediment... more
Over the last decade, an increasing number of studies have used lake sediment DNA to trace past landscape changes, agricultural activities or human presence. However, the processes responsible for lake sediment formation and sediment properties might affect DNA records via taphonomic and analytical processes. It is crucial to understand these processes to ensure reliable interpretations for “palaeo” studies. Here, we combined plant and mammal DNA metabarcoding analyses with sedimentological and geochemical analyses from three lake-catchment systems that are characterised by different erosion dynamics. The new insights derived from this approach elucidate and assess issues relating to DNA sources and transfer processes. The sources of eroded materials strongly affect the “catchment-DNA” concentration in the sediments. For instance, erosion of upper organic and organo-mineral soil horizons provides a higher amount of plant DNA in lake sediments than deep horizons, bare soils or glacial flours. Moreover, high erosion rates, along with a well-developed hydrographic network, are proposed as factors positively affecting the representation of the catchment flora. The development of open and agricultural landscapes, which favour the erosion, could thus bias the reconstructed landscape trajectory but help the record of these human activities. Regarding domestic animals, pastoral practices and animal behaviour might affect their DNA record because they control the type of source of DNA (“point” vs. “diffuse”).
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This paper uses the results of recent excavations of the city of Stymphalos and environmental studies on the floor of the Stymphalos polje to examine the role of both the lake and springs in the history of the classical city. Associated... more
This paper uses the results of recent excavations of the city of Stymphalos and environmental studies on the floor of the Stymphalos polje to examine the role of both the lake and springs in the history of the classical city. Associated with Artemis and famed for Herakles' sixth labour (killing of the Stymphalian birds), the city has a rich (geo)mythology. While this narrative has been associated solely with the lake, it is argued here that this geomythology was part of the city's relationship to environmental unpredictability and the relationship between water supply and water loss. Seen in this context, the construction of the fountain-house above the contemporary lakeshore is symbolic of the importance of springs to the foundation and sustainability of the classical city during both the Greek and Roman Periods. Through these archaeological and environmental analyses, we seek to illustrate the complimentary, but complex nature of archaeological, hydrogeological and palaeoenvironmental data that intersect in the geomythological landscapes of Mediterranean antiquity.
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This paper critically examines the soil exhaustion and societal collapse hypothesis both theoretically and empirically. The persistence of civilizations, especially in the Mediterranean, despite intensive and presumably erosive arable... more
This paper critically examines the soil exhaustion and societal collapse hypothesis both theoretically and empirically. The persistence of civilizations, especially in the Mediterranean, despite intensive and presumably erosive arable farming creates what is described here as the archaeology soil erosion paradox. This paper examines the data used to estimate past erosion and weathering rates before presenting case studies that engage with the theoretical arguments. Study 1 shows 5000 years of high slope erosion rates with both soil use and agriculture continuously maintained in the catchment. Study 2 shows how ancient agricultural terraces were constructed as part of an integrated agricultural system that fed the ancient city of Stymphalos—now abandoned. Study 3 presents a recent example of how after the removal of terraces high soil erosion rates result during intense rainstorms but that arable agriculture can still be maintained while external costs are borne by other parties. What these case studies have in common is the creation of soil, and increased weathering rates while productivity is maintained due to a combination of soft bedrock and/or agricultural terraces. In societal terms this may not be sustainable but it does not necessarily lead to land abandonment or societal collapse.
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he Abri Faravel, discovered in 2010 at 2,133m asl in the Parc National des Ecrins, Freissinières, Southern French Alps, is probably the most enigmatic high altitude site in the Alps. This rock shelter saw phases of human activity from the... more
he Abri Faravel, discovered in 2010 at 2,133m asl in the Parc National des Ecrins, Freissinières, Southern French Alps, is probably the most enigmatic high altitude site in the Alps. This rock shelter saw phases of human activity from the Mesolithic through to the medieval period; the artefactual assemblages comprise Mesolithic and Neolithic flint tools, Iron Age hand-thrown pottery, a Roman fibula and some medieval metalwork. However, the most interesting and unique feature on the site are the prehistoric rock paintings; the highest representations of animals (quadrupeds) in Europe. These paintings are presented in this article. The paintings themselves were the object of a white-light scan, whilst the rock-shelter and surrounding landscape was scanned using a Faro laser scanner. Both of these models are presented here, and their interpretation elucidated by an assessment of the different phases of activity at the shelter, combined with a synthesis of other evidence from the area and pertinent environmental evidence.
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Research Interests: Prehistoric Archaeology, Landscape Archaeology, Digital Archaeology, Rock Art (Archaeology), Neolithic Archaeology, and 14 moreVirtual Archaeology, Digital Heritage, Neolithic Europe, Alpine Archaeology, Digital Cultural Heritage, European Prehistory (Archaeology), Prehistory, Prehistoric Rock Art, Neolithic, Iron Age, Rock Art, 3D Laser Scanning (Archaeology), Virtual Heritage, and Caves and rockshelters
The European high Alps are internationally renowned for their dairy produce, which are of huge cultural and economic significance to the region. Although the recent history of alpine dairying has been well studied, virtually nothing is... more
The European high Alps are internationally renowned for their dairy produce, which are of huge cultural and economic significance to the region. Although the recent history of alpine dairying has been well studied, virtually nothing is known regarding the origins of this practice. This is due to poor preservation of high altitude archaeological sites and the ephemeral nature of transhumance economic practices. Archaeologists have suggested that stone structures that appear around 3,000 years ago are associated with more intense seasonal occupation of the high Alps and perhaps the establishment of new economic strategies. Here, we report on organic residue analysis of small fragments of pottery sherds that are occasionally preserved both at these sites and earlier prehistoric rock-shelters. Based mainly on isotopic criteria, dairy lipids could only be identified on ceramics from the stone structures, which date to the Iron Age (ca. 3,000–2,500 BP), providing the earliest evidence of this practice in the high Alps. Dairy production in such a marginal environment implies a high degree of risk even by today’s standards. We postulate that this practice was driven by population increase and climate deterioration that put pressure on lowland agropastoral systems and the establishment of more extensive trade networks, leading to greater demand for highly nutritious and transportable dairy products.
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
The citation of natural environmental processes as a key element in the formation of and changes in human culture has been unfashionable for some time. Whilst scepticism of certain unfettered cultural ecological or socioecological... more
The citation of natural environmental processes as a key element in the formation of and changes in human culture has been unfashionable for some time. Whilst scepticism of certain unfettered cultural ecological or socioecological theories is understandable, archaeologists often fail to engage fully with the dynamic relationships between people and environment in the past. This paper provides a new assessment of the potential of more nuanced cultural and historical ecological frameworks that explicitly develop notions of environmental knowledge in the investigation of human engagements with the environment. More specifically, this contribution considers the development of the forms of environmental knowledge associated with a Roman wetland, the Pontine Marshes. Changes in settlement activity and practices in this central Italian wetland landscape close to Rome were the product of a complex interplay of elite political initiatives and management projects and local forms of environmental knowledge applied by ordinary people who had to engage with this landscape. The paper comprises an introduction to the research questions and the interpretive framework, followed by an assessment of documentary and recent archaeological research that serve to illustrate the development of human interaction with these marshes. The discussion considers the probable reasons for the waxing and waning of wetland activity, and the nature of different class-based understandings of the wetland during the Roman period.
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The assessment of the important changes that occurred in late third and second millennia societies across Europe often emphasizes changes in technology and the emergence of associated objects and art forms, changes in burial rites, and... more
The assessment of the important changes that occurred in late third and second millennia societies across Europe
often emphasizes changes in technology and the emergence of associated objects and art forms, changes in burial
rites, and developments in economic practices. Notions relating to the evolution of homo economicus dominate
many of the discourses, and the evidence for increased long-distance trade / contact across Europe is used to bolster
this assessment. These themes are underpinned by an obsession with ever-refined chrono-typological phases. In
an attempt to present a more socially embedded perspective, this paper considers the changes that occurred in the
uses of the high-altitude, sub-alpine, and alpine zones in the southern French Alps during the third and second
millennia BC. From c. 2500 BC onwards, there was a fundamental change in the use of and engagement with
this landscape. The first substantial stone-built pastoral structures at high altitude (2000 m and above), appear
at this time. This departure in the use and structuring of the alpine space would have included concomitant
changes in the nature of mobility, notions of territory, and memories associated with this area.
often emphasizes changes in technology and the emergence of associated objects and art forms, changes in burial
rites, and developments in economic practices. Notions relating to the evolution of homo economicus dominate
many of the discourses, and the evidence for increased long-distance trade / contact across Europe is used to bolster
this assessment. These themes are underpinned by an obsession with ever-refined chrono-typological phases. In
an attempt to present a more socially embedded perspective, this paper considers the changes that occurred in the
uses of the high-altitude, sub-alpine, and alpine zones in the southern French Alps during the third and second
millennia BC. From c. 2500 BC onwards, there was a fundamental change in the use of and engagement with
this landscape. The first substantial stone-built pastoral structures at high altitude (2000 m and above), appear
at this time. This departure in the use and structuring of the alpine space would have included concomitant
changes in the nature of mobility, notions of territory, and memories associated with this area.
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Research into Alpine archaeology in France has concentrated on the lower altitudes and has emphasized economic and chrono-typological approaches. Notions of Alpine landscapes as marginal, defined via discourses imbued with environmental... more
Research into Alpine archaeology in France has concentrated on the lower altitudes and has emphasized economic and chrono-typological approaches. Notions of Alpine landscapes as marginal, defined via discourses imbued with environmental determinism, have informed this type of archaeology. A multidisciplinary project has studied the history of the presence and absence of people in two adjacent study areas in the Ecrins National Park. Some 240 new sites have been discovered, of which nearly forty have been securely dated through excavation. This paper presents the results from one of these areas. We consider how our evidence can be used not only to reconstruct past economic activities, but also to assess how pre- and proto-historic peoples may have engaged with this enigmatic and supposedly risky milieu.
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The Roman and early medieval Richeaume XIII necropolis in Provence (France) was systematically studied using magnetic prospection and electrical resistivity tomography (ERT). Remains of a limestone-made building are embedded in a reddish... more
The Roman and early medieval Richeaume XIII necropolis in Provence (France) was systematically studied using magnetic prospection and electrical resistivity tomography (ERT). Remains of a limestone-made building are embedded in a reddish clay formation bearing iron oxides. This produces an interesting negative magnetic anomaly, whereas the wall itself is resistive. Other dipolar magnetic anomalies are correlated with the location of sepulchres, either covered by roman, strongly magnetized tegulae, or corresponding to burnt layers of cremations. After normal data processing, filtering and modelling are applied to the magnetic field data in order to more precisely define the sources. Constraints using ERT soundings, magnetic property measurements, archaeological and geological data help to build such a source model. This study particularly emphasizes that magnetic prospection combined with ERT profiles should be suitable and sufficient on other necropolis sites in the same geological environment.
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The so-called culture–nature divide manifests itself in the ways in which many landscape archaeologists and historians write about landscape. This divide is in part a consequence of the differences between the ‘scientific’ method and the... more
The so-called culture–nature divide manifests itself in the ways in which many landscape archaeologists and historians write about landscape. This divide is in part a consequence of the differences between the ‘scientific’ method and the approaches adopted by cultural landscape archaeologists and historians. In Mediterranean landscape archaeology, this split is characterised by the ways in which the history of erosion and landscape degradation are researched and written about. Employing ideas derived from Actor-Network Theory, two case studies from the south of France illustrate the potential for more nuanced interpretations of how different groups of people may have perceived and responded to erosion within landscape types that are often classified as ‘marginal’ in one sense or another.
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Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Living at high altitude carries risks, so settlement there can be thought marginal. Its success or failure ought to be dependent on the environment and the climate. But recent fieldwork in the French Alps shows that exploitation was not... more
Living at high altitude carries risks, so settlement there can be thought marginal. Its success or failure ought to be dependent on the environment and the climate. But recent fieldwork in the French Alps shows that exploitation was not coincident with climatic conditions: Mesolithic people found the hunting good; in the climatic optimum of the Roman period the high altitudes were said to be uninhabitable and apparently were; while in the Little Ice Age of the fourteenth century and later, the high Alps were at their busiest. The author hypothesises that social control and perception, rather than climate, were the determinant factors.
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Research Interests:
LeS maSSiFS de L'arGentiéroiS du méSoLitHique au déBut de L'antiquité: au croiSement deS donnéeS arcHéoLoGiqueS et paLéoenVironnementaLeS en Haute montaGne (HauteS-aLpeS, parc nationaL deS écrinS) réSumé depuis 1998, un programme de... more
LeS maSSiFS de L'arGentiéroiS du méSoLitHique au déBut de L'antiquité: au croiSement deS donnéeS arcHéoLoGiqueS et paLéoenVironnementaLeS en Haute montaGne (HauteS-aLpeS, parc nationaL deS écrinS) réSumé depuis 1998, un programme de recherche pluridisciplinaire sur l'occupation du sol et le pastoralisme de la préhistoire au moyen Âge dans les alpes méridionales est mené sur les hauts massifs de l'argentiérois (Hautes-alpes), sous la direction de Kevin Walsh et de Florence mocci.
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Cette contribution a pour objectif de replacer dans un cadre théorique les méthodes utilisées par les archéologues et les géographes anglo-saxons qui travaillent, dans les régions méditerranéennes, sur l'archéologie du paysage et plus... more
Cette contribution a pour objectif de replacer dans un cadre théorique les méthodes utilisées par les archéologues et les géographes anglo-saxons qui travaillent, dans les régions méditerranéennes, sur l'archéologie du paysage et plus précisément, en archéologie environnementale. Dans ces régions, cette discipline s' est développée et imposée grâce à la dynamique d'échange des idées entre les chercheurs anglo-saxons et méditerranéens.
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Eine von 1998 bis 2003 an der antiken Fundstelle von Richeaume I (Puyloubier, Dép. Bouches-du-Rhône) durchgeführte Plangrabung führte zur Entdeckung einer ausgedehnten Villenanlage. Sie nimmt eine Fläche von mehr als 5. 000 m2 ein und war... more
Eine von 1998 bis 2003 an der antiken Fundstelle von Richeaume I (Puyloubier, Dép. Bouches-du-Rhône) durchgeführte Plangrabung führte zur Entdeckung einer ausgedehnten Villenanlage. Sie nimmt eine Fläche von mehr als 5. 000 m2 ein und war vom ersten Jahrhundert v. Chr. bis zu Beginn des sechsten Jahrhunderts n. Chr. belegt.
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A series of research excavations at the foot of the Barbegal mills were undertaken and the general results of this work have already been published elsewhere. This work has allowed us to complete the plan of the building, define its... more
A series of research excavations at the foot of the Barbegal mills were undertaken and the general results of this work have already been published elsewhere. This work has allowed us to complete the plan of the building, define its context within the Vallée des Beaux, and to push back the date of construvtion to the beginning of the second century. The results of the actual excavation were until now published. The archeological features are described and the nature of the contexts and the stratigraphy are detailed (Ph. Leveau, K.
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Abstract Geoarchaeology and, in particular, the way in which it is exploited in the Mediterranean, emphasises the study of human and climate impact on the geomorphic system. This paper assesses some of the problems with this approach, as... more
Abstract Geoarchaeology and, in particular, the way in which it is exploited in the Mediterranean, emphasises the study of human and climate impact on the geomorphic system. This paper assesses some of the problems with this approach, as well as some of the more recent uses of Mediterranean geoarchaeology, where authors tend to underplay the importance of geoarchaeological processes in the past. Case studies from two different environment types in Provence (south of France) are presented.
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This article presents the results of a landscape archaeology project from Provence in the south of France. Datafrom field survey and excavation are discussed. Settlementpatterns and human/landscape dynamics from theprotohistoric periods... more
This article presents the results of a landscape archaeology project from Provence in the south of France. Datafrom field survey and excavation are discussed. Settlementpatterns and human/landscape dynamics from theprotohistoric periods through to the end of the Romanperiod are assessed. Trends in settlement expansion andcontraction are analyzed along with the relationshipsthat might have existed between this area and urbancenters at Aix-en-Provence and Massilia (Marseille).Geoarchaeological work informs our appreciation of thisenigmatic and dynamic landscape. This supposedly marginalmicro-region 15 km to the east of Aix is characterizedby a series of erosion surfaces and stable, economicallyproductive plains. This contribution considers therelationship between settlements and the geomorphicsystem, and makes a first attempt at an assessment of theevolution of organization and management of this landscape.The conclusion to this article reasserts the potentialfor dynamic and rich discourses that landscape archaeologycan engender in the study of period "transitions"and human/environment relationships.
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Depuis 1998, plusieurs Programmes Collectifs de Recherche pluridisciplinaires1 sont menés sur les activités humaines en moyenne et haute montagne dans les Alpes méridionales françaises et, plus particulièrement, sur quatre communes de... more
Depuis 1998, plusieurs Programmes Collectifs de Recherche pluridisciplinaires1 sont menés sur les activités humaines en moyenne et haute montagne dans les Alpes méridionales françaises et, plus particulièrement, sur quatre communes de l'Argentiérois et du Champsaur, dans la partie médiane du département des Hautes-Alpes: Freissinières, Champoléon, Orcières et St-Jean-St-Nicolas2 (fig. 1-2).
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SUMMARY - Nine thousand years of human/landscape dynamics in a high altitude zone in the southern French Alps (Parc National des Ecrins, Hautes-Alpes) - Since 1998, a group of archaeologists has been studying the long-term history of... more
SUMMARY - Nine thousand years of human/landscape dynamics in a high altitude zone in the southern French Alps (Parc National des Ecrins, Hautes-Alpes) - Since 1998, a group of archaeologists has been studying the long-term history of human settlement and activity in the mid to high altitude (1800 m and above) in the Parc National des Ecrins (southern French Alps). This research has identified a number of different phases of settlement since the end of the last Ice Age (10,000 years ago).
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Abstract This paper presents and discusses the use of soil charcoal analysis (pedoanthracology) to reconstruct past forest dynamics in a larch forest of the upper Guil valley (French Alps, Queyras). We also discuss the role of... more
Abstract This paper presents and discusses the use of soil charcoal analysis (pedoanthracology) to reconstruct past forest dynamics in a larch forest of the upper Guil valley (French Alps, Queyras). We also discuss the role of anthropogenic fire in forest dynamics. The radiocarbon dates from this site demonstrate that arolla pine (Pinus cembra) and larch were present in the area since 7566—7673 cal. BP and 5934—6123 cal. BP, respectively.
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La haute montagne, notion définie en fonction de facteurs naturels fluctuants à la fois dans Fespace et dans le temps, est un ensemble de territoires dont Phis-toire est peu étudiée. Dans cette perspective, Fapproche archéologique est... more
La haute montagne, notion définie en fonction de facteurs naturels fluctuants à la fois dans Fespace et dans le temps, est un ensemble de territoires dont Phis-toire est peu étudiée. Dans cette perspective, Fapproche archéologique est fondamentale. Elle consiste en l'étude des traces laissées par PHomme sous forme de structures en pierre, dhménagemcnts, de vestiges mobiliers.
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Museums and interpretation centres are one of the elements that contribute to the structuring of communal memories within societies. This article considers these processes through the specific study of the ways in which the collective... more
Museums and interpretation centres are one of the elements that contribute to the structuring of communal memories within societies. This article considers these processes through the specific study of the ways in which the collective memory of the Second World War in France has evolved. Emphasis is placed on an analysis of the representation of resistance in French museums and interpretation centres. An historical and spatial study of the development of these museums is also developed. This shows how the collective memory has been restructured in recent years as more and more people realise the need for a more ?honest? approach to the mediation of this difficult period in French history; a period that many would like to forget . . .
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The European high Alps are internationally renowned for their dairy produce, which are of huge cultural and economic significance to the region. Although the recent history of alpine dairying has been well studied, virtually nothing is... more
The European high Alps are internationally renowned for their dairy produce, which are of huge cultural and economic significance to the region. Although the recent history of alpine dairying has been well studied, virtually nothing is known regarding the origins of this practice. This is due to poor preservation of high altitude archaeological sites and the ephemeral nature of transhumance economic practices. Archaeologists have suggested that stone structures that appear around 3,000 years ago are associated with more intense seasonal occupation of the high Alps and perhaps the establishment of new economic strategies. Here, we report on organic residue analysis of small fragments of pottery sherds that are occasionally preserved both at these sites and earlier prehistoric rock-shelters. Based mainly on isotopic criteria, dairy lipids could only be identified on ceramics from the stone structures, which date to the Iron Age (ca. 3,000–2,500 BP), providing the earliest evidence of this practice in the high Alps. Dairy production in such a marginal environment implies a high degree of risk even by today's standards. We postulate that this practice was driven by population increase and climate deterioration that put pressure on lowland agropastoral systems and the establishment of more extensive trade networks, leading to greater demand for highly nutritious and transportable dairy products.
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Terracing is found widely in the Mediterranean and in other hilly and mountainous regions of the world. Yet while archaeological attention to these 'mundane' landscape features has grown, they remain understudied, particularly in Northern... more
Terracing is found widely in the Mediterranean and in other hilly and mountainous regions of the world. Yet while archaeological attention to these 'mundane' landscape features has grown, they remain understudied, particularly in Northern Europe. Here, the authors present a multidisciplinary study of terraces in the Breamish Valley, Northumberland. The results date their construction to the Early to Middle Bronze Age, when they were built by cutting back the hillside, stone clearance and wall construction. Environmental evidence points to their use for cereal cultivation. The authors suggest that the construction and use of these terraces formed part of an Early to Middle Bronze Age agricultural intensification, which may have been both demographically and culturally driven.
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HAL - hal.archives-ouvertes.fr, CCSd - Centre pour la Communication Scientifique Direct. Accueil; Dépôt: S'authentifier; S'inscrire. Consultation: Par domaine; Les 30 derniers dépôts; Par année de publication, rédaction, dépôt;... more
HAL - hal.archives-ouvertes.fr, CCSd - Centre pour la Communication Scientifique Direct. Accueil; Dépôt: S'authentifier; S'inscrire. Consultation: Par domaine; Les 30 derniers dépôts; Par année de publication, rédaction, dépôt; Par type de publication; Par collection; Les portails de l'archive ouverte HAL; Par établissement (extraction automatique); ArXiv; Les Thèses (TEL). Recherche: Recherche simple; Recherche avancée; Accès par identifiant; Les Thèses ...
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Research Interests:
Depuis 1998, plusieurs Programmes Collectifs de Recherche pluridisciplinaires1 sont menés sur les activités humaines en moyenne et haute montagne dans les Alpes méridionales françaises et, plus particulièrement, sur quatre communes de... more
Depuis 1998, plusieurs Programmes Collectifs de Recherche pluridisciplinaires1 sont menés sur les activités humaines en moyenne et haute montagne dans les Alpes méridionales françaises et, plus particulièrement, sur quatre communes de l'Argentiérois et du Champsaur, dans la partie médiane du département des Hautes-Alpes: Freissinières, Champoléon, Orcières et St-Jean-St-Nicolas2 (fig. 1-2). La particularité de ces communes réside dans le fait qu'une grande portion de leur territoire (entre 900 et 3 200 m d'altitude), ...
Research Interests:
The citation of natural environmental processes as a key element in the formation of and changes in human culture has been unfashionable for some time. Whilst scepticism of certain unfettered cultural ecological or socio-ecological... more
The citation of natural environmental processes as a key element in the formation of and changes in human culture has been unfashionable for some time. Whilst scepticism of certain unfettered cultural ecological or socio-ecological theories is understandable, archaeologists often fail to engage fully with the dynamic relationships between people and environment in the past. This paper provides a new assessment of the potential of more nuanced cultural and historical ecological frameworks that explicitly develop notions of environmental knowledge in the investigation of human engagements with the environment. More specifically this contribution considers the development of the forms of environmental knowledge associated with a Roman wetland, the Pontine Marshes. Changes in settlement activity and practices in this central Italian wetland landscape close to Rome were the product of a complex interplay of elite political initiatives and management projects and local forms of environmental knowledge applied by ordinary people who had to engage with this landscape. The paper comprises an introduction to the research questions and the interpretive framework, followed by an assessment of documentary and recent archaeological research that serve to illustrate the development of human interaction with these marshes. The discussion considers the probable reasons for the waxing and waning of wetland activity, and the nature of different class-based understandings of the wetland during the Roman period.
Research Interests: Geography, Archaeology, Roman History, Historical Archaeology, Geoarchaeology, and 12 moreLandscape Archaeology, Mediterranean Studies, Ecology, Historical Ecology, Mediterranean archaeology, Wetland Archaeology, Wetland, Mediterranean landscapes, Roman Archaeology, ROMAN HISTORY, Pianura Pontina, and Marsh
Sciences de l'Homme et de la Société.
The aim of this paper is to assess the development of summer activities in the high-altitude zone of the southern French Alps between the Neolithic and the Middle Ages. During these periods, there was enormous variety in the nature of... more
The aim of this paper is to assess the development of summer activities in the high-altitude zone of the southern French Alps between the Neolithic and the Middle Ages. During these periods, there was enormous variety in the nature of high-altitude activity in these valleys. The Bronze Age witnessed the establishment of the first stonebuilt pastoral structures at 2200m and above. This marked an important change in the engagement with this landscape, with high-altitude summer pasturing emerging as a new activity. The Iron Age and Roman era are characterised by a dearth of archaeological structures, but continued palaeoecological signals for pastoral (and possibly mining) activity. The medieval periods saw a substantial increase in activity; a combination of pastoralism and mining, with some large high altitude settlements created which imply the wholesale summer movement of communities from valley-bottom to the high altitude zones.
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This paper presents a review and preliminary metadata analysis, of Holocene fluvial archives from Mediterranean islands by island group. For geomorphological reasons islands have not received as much attention from fluvial... more
This paper presents a review and preliminary metadata analysis, of Holocene fluvial archives from Mediterranean
islands by island group. For geomorphological reasons islands have not received as much attention from fluvial
geomorphologists as the continental areas surrounding the Mediterranean. However, the studies that have been undertaken, suggest that they can reveal both climatic and cultural drivers of erosion and sedimentation from relatively small catchments. Although more research is needed, the preliminary analysis published here, suggests that during the mid-Holocene ca. 3000 BC to 800 BC, and the later Holocene, ca. 400 BC to 1600 AD, many islands experienced elevated rates of fluvial activity. Both periods, and particularly the earlier period are the result of climatic fluctuations combined with agriculture and cleared landscapes. At present the Little Ice Age signal appears to be less strong than it is on the continent although it has been recognised in Corsica and Crete. Due to their bounded nature and generally distinct cultural history islands do, however, offer excellent opportunities to research the non-linear relationships between culture, climatic change and fluvial response
islands by island group. For geomorphological reasons islands have not received as much attention from fluvial
geomorphologists as the continental areas surrounding the Mediterranean. However, the studies that have been undertaken, suggest that they can reveal both climatic and cultural drivers of erosion and sedimentation from relatively small catchments. Although more research is needed, the preliminary analysis published here, suggests that during the mid-Holocene ca. 3000 BC to 800 BC, and the later Holocene, ca. 400 BC to 1600 AD, many islands experienced elevated rates of fluvial activity. Both periods, and particularly the earlier period are the result of climatic fluctuations combined with agriculture and cleared landscapes. At present the Little Ice Age signal appears to be less strong than it is on the continent although it has been recognised in Corsica and Crete. Due to their bounded nature and generally distinct cultural history islands do, however, offer excellent opportunities to research the non-linear relationships between culture, climatic change and fluvial response
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This chapter arises from a long-term interdisciplinary programme of research into the history of settlement on Lindisfarne. It explores relationships between documentary, archaeological and palaeoenvironmental data on the land use and... more
This chapter arises from a long-term interdisciplinary programme of research into the history of settlement on Lindisfarne. It explores relationships between documentary, archaeological and palaeoenvironmental data on the land use and agriculture of Lindisfarne from the ninth to the seventeenth century. The data employed include ecclesiastical documents, archaeological evidence, pollen analysis from the lough on the island and geomorphological evidence if changing soil conditions. It is considered vital to view land use history in the specific context of individual settlements, and the extent to which these were economically inter-dependent or independent. The evidence from Lindisfarne suggests increasing economic diversification within estate structures in the ninth and tenth centuries, but also some fragmentation. The more recent documentary evidence can be viewed in the light of evidence indicating changing land use, at least partially forced by a changing coastal environment.
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This chapter serves as an introduction to the Populus volume on Environmental Reconstruction in Mediterranean Landscape Archaeology. It considers issues of data integration and the different spatial scales at which palaeoenvironmental and... more
This chapter serves as an introduction to the Populus volume on Environmental Reconstruction in Mediterranean Landscape Archaeology. It considers issues of data integration and the different spatial scales at which palaeoenvironmental and archaeological evidence operate.
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A l'extrémité orientale du bassin d'Aix-en-Provence et du territoire des Bouches-du-Rhône, le petit habitat fortifié du Mitronet, sis sur la commune de Puyloubier, s'inscrit au sein de l'unité orogra-phique du massif Sainte-Victoire, dans... more
A l'extrémité orientale du bassin d'Aix-en-Provence et du territoire des Bouches-du-Rhône, le petit habitat fortifié du Mitronet, sis sur la commune de Puyloubier, s'inscrit au sein de l'unité orogra-phique du massif Sainte-Victoire, dans la haute vallée de l'Arc
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1Université de Provence, Centre Camille Jullian, UMR 657 CNRS-Université de Provence, Maison Méditerranéenne des Sciences de l'Homme, 5 rue du Château de l'Horloge, BP 647, 1 094 Aix-en-Provence cedex 2, France 2Centre... more
1Université de Provence, Centre Camille Jullian, UMR 657 CNRS-Université de Provence, Maison Méditerranéenne des Sciences de l'Homme, 5 rue du Château de l'Horloge, BP 647, 1 094 Aix-en-Provence cedex 2, France 2Centre Camille Jullian, UMR 657 CNRS-Université de Provence, MMSH., 5 rue du Château de l'Horloge, BP 647, 1 094 Aix-en-Provence cedex 2, France Service Régional de l'Archéologie PACA, DRAC, 21-2 Boulevard du Roy René, 1 621 Aix-en-Provence, France 4Department of Archaeology, University of York, King's Manor, ...
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1Université de Provence, Centre Camille Jullian, UMR 657 CNRS-Université de Provence, Maison Méditerranéenne des Sciences de l'Homme, 5 rue du Château de l'Horloge, BP 647, 1 094 Aix-en-Provence cedex 2, France 2Centre Camille... more
1Université de Provence, Centre Camille Jullian, UMR 657 CNRS-Université de Provence, Maison Méditerranéenne des Sciences de l'Homme, 5 rue du Château de l'Horloge, BP 647, 1 094 Aix-en-Provence cedex 2, France 2Centre Camille Jullian, UMR 657 CNRS-Université de Provence, MMSH., 5 rue du Château de l'Horloge, BP 647, 1 094 Aix-en-Provence cedex 2, France Service Régional de l'Archéologie PACA, DRAC, 21-2 Boulevard du Roy René, 1 621 Aix-en-Provence, France 4Department of Archaeology, University of York, King's Manor, ...
Research Interests:
Depuis 1998, plusieurs Programmes Collectifs de Recherche pluridisciplinaires1 sont menés sur les activités humaines en moyenne et haute montagne dans les Alpes méridionales françaises et, plus particulièrement, sur quatre communes de... more
Depuis 1998, plusieurs Programmes Collectifs de Recherche pluridisciplinaires1 sont menés sur les activités humaines en moyenne et haute montagne dans les Alpes méridionales françaises et, plus particulièrement, sur quatre communes de l'Argentiérois et du Champsaur, dans la partie médiane du département des Hautes-Alpes: Freissinières, Champoléon, Orcières et St-Jean-St-Nicolas2 (fig. 1-2). La particularité de ces communes réside dans le fait qu'une grande portion de leur territoire (entre 900 et 3 200 m d'altitude), ...
Research Interests:
HAL - hal.archives-ouvertes.fr, CCSd - Centre pour la Communication Scientifique Direct. Accueil; Dépôt: S'authentifier; S'inscrire. Consultation: Par domaine; Les 30 derniers dépôts; Par année de publication, rédaction, dépôt;... more
HAL - hal.archives-ouvertes.fr, CCSd - Centre pour la Communication Scientifique Direct. Accueil; Dépôt: S'authentifier; S'inscrire. Consultation: Par domaine; Les 30 derniers dépôts; Par année de publication, rédaction, dépôt; Par type de publication; Par collection; Les portails de l'archive ouverte HAL; Par établissement (extraction automatique); ArXiv; Les Thèses (TEL). Recherche: Recherche simple; Recherche avancée; Accès par identifiant; Les Thèses ...
Research Interests:
La haute montagne, notion définie en fonction de facteurs naturels fluctuants à la fois dans Fespace et dans le temps, est un ensemble de territoires dont Phis-toire est peu étudiée. Dans cette perspective, Fapproche archéologique est... more
La haute montagne, notion définie en fonction de facteurs naturels fluctuants à la fois dans Fespace et dans le temps, est un ensemble de territoires dont Phis-toire est peu étudiée. Dans cette perspective, Fapproche archéologique est fondamentale. Elle consiste en l'étude des traces laissées par PHomme sous forme de structures en pierre, dhménagemcnts, de vestiges mobiliers. Mais comme ces traces sont souvent peu spectaculaires et difficiles à repérer, Papport des données sur la végétation passée et ses évolutions est également ...
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This article presents the results of a landscape archaeology project from Provence in the south of France. Data from field survey and excavation are discussed. Settlement patterns and human/landscape dynamics from the protohistoric... more
This article presents the results of a landscape archaeology project from Provence in the south of France. Data from field survey and excavation are discussed. Settlement patterns and human/landscape dynamics from the protohistoric periods through to the end of the Roman period are assessed. Trends in settlement expansion and contraction are analyzed along with the relationships that might have existed between this area and urban centers at Aix-en-Provence and Massilia (Marseille). Geoarchaeological work informs our ...
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Cet article de synthèse propose une restitution des dynamiques de la végétation et des anthroposystèmes d’altitude, à l’échelle de la haute vallée de Freissinières (Hautes-Alpes), en s’appuyant sur l’analyse anthracologique de dépôts... more
Cet article de synthèse propose une restitution des dynamiques de la végétation et des anthroposystèmes d’altitude, à l’échelle de la haute vallée de Freissinières (Hautes-Alpes), en s’appuyant sur l’analyse anthracologique de dépôts carbonisés miniers et (agro-) pastoraux datés de l’Âge du Bronze à la Renaissance. Les particularités archéologiques et chronologiques des différents contextes de dépôt et les méthodes d’échantillonnage et d’analyse en laboratoire sont explicitées. L’ensemble des données livrées est mis en perspective dans des diagrammes de
synthèse et des tentatives de modélisation spatiale de la dynamique de la végétation et des aires d’approvisionnement en combustible pastoral et minier. De la sorte, l’étude cerne les grands changements floristiques subalpins opérés depuis l’Âge du Bronze, le développement des prés boisés et l’abaissement de la limite supérieure de la forêt dense associé à l’expansion des landes et des fourrés. En outre, elle caractérise l’évolution des pratiques d’approvisionnement et la gestion de l’inculte – en particulier durant le Moyen Âge – et saisit le cycle du fourrage de feuilles, attesté par les charbons de bois au tournant de l’ère moderne.
This review paper outlines the reconstruction of vegetation and altitude anthroposystem dynamics, at the scale of the Freissinières high valley, based on the anthracological analysis of mining and (agro-) pastoral carbonised deposits, dating from the Bronze Age to the Renaissance. Archaeological and chronological features of the various deposit contexts, sampling protocol and laboratory methods used, have been outlined. All the obtained data has been summarized in diagrams, and attempts have been made to model vegetation dynamics and areas of firewood supply for mining and pastoral activities.
Thus, this study identifies the major subalpine floristic changes that have occurred since the Bronze Age, the development of wood pasture and the lowering of the upper limit of dense forest associated with heathlands and thicket expansion. In addition, this study characterises the evolution of supply
practices of fuel wood and the management of uncultivated area – particularly during the Middle Ages – and grasps the leaf-fodder cycle, documented by charcoals at the turn of the Modern era.
synthèse et des tentatives de modélisation spatiale de la dynamique de la végétation et des aires d’approvisionnement en combustible pastoral et minier. De la sorte, l’étude cerne les grands changements floristiques subalpins opérés depuis l’Âge du Bronze, le développement des prés boisés et l’abaissement de la limite supérieure de la forêt dense associé à l’expansion des landes et des fourrés. En outre, elle caractérise l’évolution des pratiques d’approvisionnement et la gestion de l’inculte – en particulier durant le Moyen Âge – et saisit le cycle du fourrage de feuilles, attesté par les charbons de bois au tournant de l’ère moderne.
This review paper outlines the reconstruction of vegetation and altitude anthroposystem dynamics, at the scale of the Freissinières high valley, based on the anthracological analysis of mining and (agro-) pastoral carbonised deposits, dating from the Bronze Age to the Renaissance. Archaeological and chronological features of the various deposit contexts, sampling protocol and laboratory methods used, have been outlined. All the obtained data has been summarized in diagrams, and attempts have been made to model vegetation dynamics and areas of firewood supply for mining and pastoral activities.
Thus, this study identifies the major subalpine floristic changes that have occurred since the Bronze Age, the development of wood pasture and the lowering of the upper limit of dense forest associated with heathlands and thicket expansion. In addition, this study characterises the evolution of supply
practices of fuel wood and the management of uncultivated area – particularly during the Middle Ages – and grasps the leaf-fodder cycle, documented by charcoals at the turn of the Modern era.
Research Interests:
Depuis 1998, plusieurs Programmes Collectifs de Recherche pluridisciplinaires1 sont menés sur les activités humaines en moyenne et haute montagne dans les Alpes méridionales françaises et, plus particulièrement, sur quatre communes de... more
Depuis 1998, plusieurs Programmes Collectifs de Recherche pluridisciplinaires1 sont menés sur les activités humaines en moyenne et haute montagne dans les Alpes méridionales françaises et, plus particulièrement, sur quatre communes de l'Argentiérois et du Champsaur, dans la partie médiane du département des Hautes-Alpes: Freissinières, Champoléon, Orcières et St-Jean-St-Nicolas2 (fig. 1-2). La particularité de ces communes réside dans le fait qu'une grande portion de leur territoire (entre 900 et 3 200 m d'altitude), ...
Research Interests:
La haute montagne, notion définie en fonction de facteurs naturels fluctuants à la fois dans Fespace et dans le temps, est un ensemble de territoires dont Phis-toire est peu étudiée. Dans cette perspective, Fapproche archéologique est... more
La haute montagne, notion définie en fonction de facteurs naturels fluctuants à la fois dans Fespace et dans le temps, est un ensemble de territoires dont Phis-toire est peu étudiée. Dans cette perspective, Fapproche archéologique est fondamentale. Elle consiste en l'étude des traces laissées par PHomme sous forme de structures en pierre, dhménagemcnts, de vestiges mobiliers. Mais comme ces traces sont souvent peu spectaculaires et difficiles à repérer, Papport des données sur la végétation passée et ses évolutions est également ...
Research Interests:
MOCCI (F.), SEGARD (M.), WALSH (K.), GOLOSETTI (R.) et la collaboration de DUMAS (V.), CENZON-SALVAYRE (C.), TALON (B.) 2010 – Données récentes sur l'occupation humaine dans les Alpes méridionales durant l'Antiquité, Actes de la Table Ronde « Archéologie de l’espace montagnard : confrontation d’expériences européennes », Museum départemental de Gap (Hautes-Alpes), 29 et 30 septembre 2008, Coll. Bibliothèque d’archéologie méditerranéenne et africaine, Centre Camille Jullian-Ministère de la Culture, Aix-en-Provence, p. 301-317.more
Research Interests:
The citation of natural environmental processes as a key element in the formation of and changes in human culture has been unfashionable for some time. Whilst scepticism of certain unfettered cultural ecological or socio-ecological... more
The citation of natural environmental processes as a key element in the formation of and changes in human culture has been unfashionable for some time. Whilst scepticism of certain unfettered cultural ecological or socio-ecological theories is understandable, archaeologists often fail to engage fully with the dynamic relationships between people and environment in the past. This paper provides a new assessment of the potential of more nuanced cultural and historical ecological frameworks that explicitly develop notions of environmental knowledge in the investigation of human engagements with the environment. More specifically this contribution considers the development of the forms of environmental knowledge associated with a Roman wetland, the Pontine Marshes. Changes in settlement activity and practices in this central Italian wetland landscape close to Rome were the product of a complex interplay of elite political initiatives and management projects and local forms of environmental knowledge applied by ordinary people who had to engage with this landscape. The paper comprises an introduction to the research questions and the interpretive framework, followed by an assessment of documentary and recent archaeological research that serve to illustrate the development of human interaction with these marshes. The discussion considers the probable reasons for the waxing and waning of wetland activity, and the nature of different class-based understandings of the wetland during the Roman period.
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Museums and interpretation centres are one of the elements that contribute to the structuring of communal memories within societies. This article considers these processes through the specific study of the ways in which the collective... more
Museums and interpretation centres are one of the elements that contribute to the structuring of communal memories within societies. This article considers these processes through the specific study of the ways in which the collective memory of the Second World War in France has evolved. Emphasis is placed on an analysis of the representation of resistance in French museums and interpretation centres. An historical and spatial study of the development of these museums is also developed. This shows how the collective memory ...
Research Interests:
This research is an integral part of an ongoing archaeological field project on the Northum brian island of Lindisfame (also known as Holy Island) directed by Deirdre O'Sullivan and Rob Young of the School of Archaeological Studies at the... more
This research is an integral part of an ongoing archaeological field project on the Northum brian island of Lindisfame (also known as Holy Island) directed by Deirdre O'Sullivan and Rob Young of the School of Archaeological Studies at the University of Leicester. The project is multi-period, and has investigated sites spanning from the Mesolithic to the industrial period. The specific aim of the work for this thesis is the reconstruction the environment contemporary with the early medieval settlement site of Green Shiel on the north shore of Lindisfarne, and to consider the relationship of environment to site function and economy. The principle aim of the work is to show how no site can be interpreted without recourse to a wide range of data sources including archaeological data, environmental evidence and historical sources. Fundamental to such a synthetic approach is the analysis of spatial scales beyond the site itself as no settlement can be interpreted in isolation from other settlements and the broader landscape. The reconstruction of the environment around the Green Shiel site is located within a broader discussion of the early medieval period in Northumberland. It is argued that the interpretation of this site, and indeed any site, is limited if off-site environmental reconstruction is not attempted. Such work should then be integrated within a broader historical framework that considers the nature of socio-economic systems that would have obviously influenced the ways in which any environment was exploited.
Research Interests:
A book review of - Engineering Mountain Landscapes: An Anthropology of Social Investment Edited by Laura L. Scheiber and Maria Nieves Zedeño. Salt Lake City, UT: University of Utah Press, 2015. x + 201 pp. US$ 45.00. ISBN 978-1-60781-433-7.