Browsing by Author "Turq, Alain"
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- Identifying the unidentified fauna enhances insights into hominin subsistence strategies during the Middle to Upper Palaeolithic transitionPublication . Sinet-Mathiot, Virginie; Rendu, William; Steele, Teresa E.; Spasov, Rosen; Madelaine, Stéphane; Renou, Sylvain; Soulier, Marie-Cécile; Martisius, Naomi L.; aldeias, vera; Endarova, Elena; Goldberg, Paul; McPherron, Shannon J. P.; Rezek, Zeljko; Sandgathe, Dennis; Sirakov, Nikolay; Sirakova, Svoboda; Soressi, Marie; Tsanova, Tsenka; Turq, Alain; Hublin, Jean-Jacques; Welker, Frido; Smith, Geoff M.Understanding Palaeolithic hominin subsistence strategies requires the comprehensive taxonomic identification of faunal remains. The high fragmentation of Late Pleistocene faunal assemblages often prevents proper taxonomic identification based on bone morphology. It has been assumed that the morphologically unidentifiable component of the faunal assemblage would reflect the taxonomic abundances of the morphologically identified portion. In this study, we analyse three faunal datasets covering the Middle to Upper Palaeolithic transition (MUPT) at Bacho Kiro Cave (Bulgaria) and Les Cottes and La Ferrassie (France) with the application of collagen type I peptide mass fingerprinting (ZooMS). Our results emphasise that the fragmented component of Palaeolithic bone assemblages can differ significantly from the morphologically identifiable component. We obtain contrasting identification rates between taxa resulting in an overrepresentation of morphologically identified reindeer (Rangifer tarandus) and an underrepresentation of aurochs/bison (Bos/Bison) and horse/European ass (Equus) at Les Cottes and La Ferrassie. Together with an increase in the relative diversity of the faunal composition, these results have implications for the interpretation of subsistence strategies during a period of possible interaction between Neanderthals and Homo sapiens in Europe. Furthermore, shifts in faunal community composition and in carnivore activity suggest a change in the interaction between humans and carnivores across the MUPT and indicate a possible difference in site use between Neanderthals and Homo sapiens. The combined use of traditional and biomolecular methods allows (zoo)archaeologists to tackle some of the methodological limits commonly faced during the morphological assessment of Palaeolithic bone assemblages.
- Measuring spatial structure in time-averaged deposits insights from Roc de Marsal, FrancePublication . Reeves, Jonathan S.; McPherron, Shannon P.; Aldeias, Vera; Dibble, Harold L.; Goldberg, Paul; Sandgathe, Dennis; Turq, AlainThe use of space, both at the landscape and the site level, is considered an important aspect of hominin adaptations that changed through time. At the site level, spatial analyses are typically conducted on deposits thought to have a high degree of temporal resolution. Sites with highly time-averaged deposits are viewed as inferior for these analyses because repeated site visits obscure individual behavioral events. To the contrary, here, we take the view that behaviors that repeat themselves in a spatially structured way through time are exactly the kinds of behaviors that are potentially significant at an evolutionary timescale. In this framework, time averaging is seen not as a hindrance but rather as a necessary condition for viewing meaningful behavior. To test whether such patterning is visible in time-averaged deposits, we use spatial statistics to analyze a number of indices designed to measure lithic production, use and discard behaviors in a multi-layer, late Neandertal cave site in southwest France. We find that indeed some such patterning does exist, and thus sites with highly time-averaged deposits have the potential to contribute to our understanding of how hominin use of space varied through time. This is useful because a great many archaeological sites have highly time-average deposits. Interpreting the spatial patterning will likely require modeling to create expectations in time-averaged and likely emergent contexts such as these.
- Neanderthal plant use and pyrotechnology: phytolith analysis from Roc de Marsal, FrancePublication . Wroth, Kristen; Cabanes, Dan; Marston, John M.; Aldeias, Vera; Sandgathe, Dennis; Turq, Alain; Goldberg, Paul; Dibble, Harold L.The plant component of Neanderthal subsistence and technology is not well documented, partially due to the preservation constraints of macrobotanical components. Phytoliths, however, are preserved even when other plant remains have decayed and so provide evidence for Neanderthal plant use and the environmental context of archaeological sites. Phytolith assemblages from Roc de Marsal, a Middle Paleolithic cave site in SW France, provide new insight into the relationship between Neanderthals and plant resources. Ninety-seven samples from all archaeological units and 18 control samples are analyzed. Phytoliths from the wood and bark of dicotyledonous plants are the most prevalent, but there is also a significant proportion of grass phytoliths in many samples. Phytolith densities are much greater in earlier layers, which is likely related to the presence of combustion features in those layers. These phytoliths indicate a warmer, wetter climate, whereas phytoliths from upper layers indicate a cooler, drier environment. Phytoliths recovered from combustion features indicate that wood was the primary plant fuel source, while grasses may have been used as surface preparations.
- Reconstructing Late Pleistocene paleoclimate at the scale of human behavior: an example from the Neandertal occupation of La Ferrassie (France)Publication . Pederzani, Sarah; Aldeias, Vera; Dibble, Harold L.; Goldberg, Paul; Hublin, Jean-Jacques; Madelaine, Stéphane; McPherron, Shannon P.; Sandgathe, Dennis; Steele, Teresa E.; Turq, Alain; Britton, KateExploring the role of changing climates in human evolution is currently impeded by a scarcity of climatic information at the same temporal scale as the human behaviors documented in archaeological sites. This is mainly caused by high uncertainties in the chronometric dates used to correlate long-term climatic records with archaeological deposits. One solution is to generate climatic data directly from archaeological materials representing human behavior. Here we use oxygen isotope measurements of Bos/Bison tooth enamel to reconstruct summer and winter temperatures in the Late Pleistocene when Neandertals were using the site of La Ferrassie. Our results indicate that, despite the generally cold conditions of the broader period and despite direct evidence for cold features in certain sediments at the site, Neandertals used the site predominantly when climatic conditions were mild, similar to conditions in modern day France. We suggest that due to millennial scale climate variability, the periods of human activity and their climatic characteristics may not be representative of average conditions inferred from chronological correlations with long-term climatic records. These results highlight the importance of using direct routes, such as the high-resolution archives in tooth enamel from anthropogenically accumulated faunal assemblages, to establish climatic conditions at a human scale.
- Site formation histories and context of human occupations at the paleolithic site of La Ferrassie (Dordogne, France)Publication . Aldeias, Vera; Sandgathe, Dennis; McPherron, Shannon; Bruxelles, Bibiana; Turq, Alain; Goldberg, PaulThe Paleolithic site of La Ferrassie (Dordogne, France) has contributed significantly to the understanding of Middle and Upper Paleolithic technocomplexes, as well as Neanderthal skeletal morphology. Excavations at the site have spanned more than a century and uncovered rich archaeological assemblages associated with the Mousterian, Chatelperronian, Aurignacian and Gravettian technocomplexes. Renewed excavations exposed a sequence spanning both Middle and Upper Paleolithic occupations in the Western Sector and low-density Mousterian deposits and Chatelperronian in the Northern Sector. Here, we report on an extensive geoarchaeological study of deposits at the western end of the site to reconstruct and interpret both the depositional history of the sediments and associated human occupations in this poorly documented part of La Ferrassie. Our results point to the nature of the site as originally a karstic cave, with the Western Sector located in what would have been the cave's mouth. The stratigraphic sequence comprises first fluvial deposition (Phase I) followed by soliflucted deposits and accretion cones that emanate from an elevated platform situated several meters above the modern road next to the site (Phase II) and, finally, spatially restricted channeling (Phase III). Most archaeological assemblages are associated with Phase II and reflect an interplay between occupations directly in this area and bones and artifacts sliding down the slope from the upper platform. Unlike in the Western Sector, in the Northern Sector - situated along the north wall and several meters inside the footprint of the cave - cold features dominate the entirety of the sequence; we interpret these as being linked to microenvironments specific to this location of the karst rather than to general (external) climatic conditions. Relevant is the identification of patterned ground formation in this area, which can be clearly linked to the "monticule" features first reported by Capitan and Peyrony and erroneously interpreted as anthropogenic in origin. Our geoarchaeological results point to a large and complex karst system, with distinct depositional sources and often locally independent sedimentary histories throughout its extent. These formation pathways have differently impacted the main occupation areas and resulted in distinct degrees of preservation of the archaeological assemblages throughout the different areas of the site.