In a world of drastic climatic and ecological changes, our knowledge of how the environment influenced hominin behaviour is of the utmost importance. Archaeology plays a key role in this domain, as it is the only discipline that studies empirical evidence of past societies’ responses to environmental change. Computational models generating predictions about past climatic and ecological conditions are vital for understanding the archaeological record and how these factors shaped the dispersal of hominins out of Africa and into Eurasia during the Early and early Middle Pleistocene. In this paper, various models for past reconstructions of climatic and ecological conditions and simulation techniques are presented to provide an overview of the diverse approaches, possibilities, advantages and constraints of using computational reconstructions in archaeological research. Focusing on studies of hominin dispersals out of Africa and into Eurasia during the Early and early Middle Pleistocene, this paper discusses the links between environmental factors and hominin dispersal behaviour. The use of simulation techniques to represent hominin populations, such as cellular automata or agent-based modelling, can contribute to connecting small-scale environment-induced influences on hominins to large-scale patterns, supported by ecological theories of species survival and spatial behaviour. Collectively, these approaches provide an elaborate foundation for understanding environmental influences on past hominin dispersals.
Bifaces, emblematic Lower Palaeolithic tools, have been present in Eurasia for at least 1.7 Ma. These bifacially shaped tools are found over a vast spatio-temporal range and variable environmental contexts. Their manufacture is also associated with different hominin species. These factors raise questions about the origins of these tools: do they stem from the same technical lineage, or are they the result of reinventions that remain to be identified and traced? Bifaces appeared relatively late in the west of Europe (0.78 Ma) and persist until 0.12 Ma. Given the marked variability of chronostratigraphic contexts and archaeological assemblages containing bifaces, the scientific community has called into question the techno-cultural unity of bifacial shaping. Against this backdrop, we propose to examine techno-cultural data from archaeological sites in southern France. This area is a potential crossroads of influences. The sites are correlated with various geographical and climatic contexts that may have influenced the technical expression of hominins. We present an overview of the cha & icirc;nes op & eacute;ratoires involved in bifacial shaping which we compare with those of heavy-duty and lightweight tools in order to discuss the consistency of technical choices. Our results highlight the variability of techno-economical behaviours within the 'bifacial industries' of southern France.
L’étude de l’art rupestre bénéficie désormais des avancées technologiques en imagerie. Parmi ces technologies, l’imagerie hyperspectrale (HSI) se révèle être un outil puissant pour analyser les peintures anciennes en révélant des détails invisibles à l’œil nu. Les travaux de recherche présentés appliquent l’HSI à l’art rupestre paléolithique de la grotte ornée Mayenne-Sciences (Mayenne, France), dont les dessins et gravures datent du Gravettien. L’objectif principal était de déterminer quel type d’informations supplémentaires l’HSI peut apporter par rapport aux méthodes traditionnelles d’analyse d’art rupestre, en particulier dans le spectre visible et le très proche infrarouge. L’enjeu était également de tester l’application dans un contexte difficile : une obscurité totale nécessitant un éclairage adapté, une hygrométrie élevée et la présence de particules d’argile pouvant s’infiltrer dans les appareillages. Un imageur HSI Specim IQ a permis d’acquérir des images hyperspectrales sous éclairage artificiel de différentes figures pariétales, principalement tracées au pigment noir sur des concrétions calcaires. Des transformations mathématiques avancées réduisant la dimensionnalité des données ont permis d’extraire, de différencier les pigments utilisés et de révéler des tracés jusqu’alors inconnus. Un bison dessiné au charbon, très altéré, est apparu quasiment tel qu’il était lors de son tracé initial. Par ailleurs, deux chevaux semblent avoir été tracés en plusieurs fois. Nos résultats montrent que l’HSI est particulièrement efficace pour améliorer le contraste des pigments dans le visible, tout en apportant de nouvelles informations discriminantes dans la partie très proche infrarouge du spectre. Cette méthode non invasive a permis de révéler de nouvelles figures, de préciser la composition des pigments et d’apporter des éléments inédits sur les méthodes de création de ces œuvres d’art. Cette étude souligne l’importance de l’intégration des technologies d’imagerie avancées dans l’étude de l’art rupestre et ouvre des perspectives pour l’application de l’HSI à d’autres sites archéologiques.
This research examines the unique lithic technology at the Doi Pha Kan site dated 13 300 to 12 800 calBP in Northern Thailand during the Hoabinhian period (which globally extends from the final Late Pleistocene to Mid Holocene) by means of a technological and morpho-metric analysis. While it shares similarities with typical Hoabinhian assemblages, significant deviations in reduction methods, targeted tool types, and the singular presence of reduction sequences dedicated to the production of a diversity of slab tools. Nevertheless, the study blanks the existence of a distinct population within the Hoabinhian world, indicating a shift towards lighter, composite tools, which may represent a modern trajectory or the final phase of the Hoabinhian culture. The study also explores the potential influence of climatic fluctuations at the end of the Late Pleistocene on human behaviors and the evolution of modern human diversity in Southeast Asia. However, due to limited available paleoenvironmental data and data with a few seasonal contrasts in the tropics within a world without winter, a direct connection remains elusive for the moment. The study underscores the need for further research and interdisciplinary collaboration for comprehensive understanding of human paleoecology in the region as well as innovative technical adaptation.
