Maison de l'Orient et de la Méditerranée Jean Pouilloux

Goats were among the first farm animals domesticated, approximately 10,500 years ago, contributing to the rise of the "Neolithic revolution." Previous genetic studies have revealed that contemporary domestic goats (Capra hircus) show far weaker intercontinental population structuring than other livestock species, suggesting that goats have been transported more extensively. However, the timing of these extensive movements in goats remains unknown. To address this question, we analyzed mtDNA sequences from 19 ancient goat bones (7,300-6,900 years old) from one of the earliest Neolithic sites in southwestern Europe. Phylogenetic analysis revealed that two highly divergent goat lineages coexisted in each of the two Early Neolithic layers of this site. This finding indicates that high mtDNA diversity was already present >7,000 years ago in European goats, far from their areas of initial domestication in the Near East. These results argue for substantial gene flow among goat populations dating back to the early neolithisation of Europe and for a dual domestication scenario in the Near East, with two independent but essentially contemporary origins (of both A and C domestic lineages) and several more remote and/or later origins.

Surface roughness is a key parameter for surface‐atmosphere exchanges of mass and energy. Only a few field measurements have been performed in arid or semiarid areas where it is an important control of the aeolian erosion threshold. An intensive field campaign was performed in southern Tunisia to measure the lateral cover, L c , and the aerodynamic roughness length, Z 0 , over 10 sites with different surface roughnesses. L c was determined by combining field measurements of the geometry of the roughness elements and simple assumptions on their shapes. Z 0 was experimentally determined from high‐precision wind velocity and air temperature profiles. The resulting data were found to be in good agreement with the existing relationships linking the geometric and the aerodynamic roughness. This suggests that for natural surfaces, Z 0 can be estimated on the basis of the geometric characteristics of the roughness elements. This data set was then used to investigate the capabilities of radar backscatter coefficients, σ 0 , to retrieve L c and/or Z 0 . Significant relationships were found between σ 0 and both L c and Z 0 . The SAR/ERS data set is in agreement with the SIR‐C SLR data set from Greeley et al. (1997). On the basis of these two data sets including data from different arid and semiarid areas (North Africa, South Africa, North America), we propose an empirical relationship to retrieve Z 0 using radar observations in the C band from operational sensors.

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The Routledge Handbook of Classics and Cognitive Theory is an interdisciplinary volume that examines the application of cognitive theory to the study of the classical world, across several interrelated areas including linguistics, literary theory, social practices, performance, artificial intelligence and archaeology. With contributions from a diverse group of international scholars working in this exciting new area, the volume explores the processes of the mind drawing from research in psychology, philosophy, neuroscience, and anthropology, and interrogates the implications of these new approaches for the study of the ancient world. Topics covered in this wide-ranging collection include: cognitive linguistics applied to Homeric and early Greek texts, Roman cultural semantics, linguistic embodiment in Latin literature, group identities in Greek lyric, cognitive dissonance in historiography, kinesthetic empathy in Sappho, artificial intelligence in Hesiod and Greek drama, the enactivism of Roman statues and memory and art in the Roman Empire. This ground-breaking work is the first to organize the field, allowing both scholars and students access to the methodologies, bibliographies and techniques of the cognitive sciences and how they have been applied to classics

Une haute stèle de marbre opisthographe trouvée il y a quelques années à Marmarini, au nord-est de Larissa (Thessalie), propose un long texte de 54 et 82 lignes aujourd’hui lisibles. En s’appuyant sur cette inscription du milieu du iie s. av. J.-C., qui d’une part comporte un calendrier cultuel et de l’autre un certain nombre de prescriptions touchant aux rites, le présent article propose une présentation de l’aspect probable du sanctuaire (péribole, temple, autel etc.), une liste des divinités concernées — Artémis Phylakè comme divinité principale, mais d’autres divinités grecques et surtout plusieurs divinités d’origine orientale jusqu’alors inconnues — et des remarques sur les modalités d’un culte qui était sans doute un culte à mystères. Ce document, par son contenu, par les détails qu’il donne, est une trouvaille exceptionnelle en Thessalie.

For almost a century there has been debate on the functional interpretation of desert kites. These archaeological structures have been interpreted as constructions for animal hunting or domestication purposes, sometimes for both, but with little conclusive evidence. Here, we present new evidence from a large-scale research programme. This unprecedented programme of archaeological excavations and geomatics explorations shows the unequivocal and probably exclusive function of kites as hunting traps. Considering their gigantic size, as well as the significant energy and organization required to build them, these types of traps are called mega-traps. Our research is based on five different field studies in Armenia, Jordan, Kazakhstan and Saudi Arabia, as well as on satellite imagery interpretation across the global distribution area of kites throughout the Middle East, the Caucasus and Central Asia. This hunting interpretation raises questions about the transformation of the landscape by human groups and the consequent anthropogenic impacts on local ecological equilibrium during different periods of the Holocene. Finally, the role of trapping in the hunting strategies of prehistoric, protohistoric and historic human groups is addressed.

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Abstract Two millets, Panicum miliaceum and Setaria italica , were domesticated in northern China, around 6000 BC. Although its oldest evidence is in Asia, possible independent domestication of these species in the Caucasus has often been proposed. To verify this hypothesis, a multiproxy research program (Orimil) was designed to detect the first evidence of millet in this region. It included a critical review of the occurrence of archaeological millet in the Caucasus, up to Antiquity; isotopic analyses of human and animal bones and charred grains; and radiocarbon dating of millet grains from archaeological contexts dated from the Early Bronze Age (3500–2500 BC) to the 1 st Century BC. The results show that these two cereals were cultivated during the Middle Bronze Age (MBA), around 2000–1800 BC, especially Setaria italica which is the most ancient millet found in Georgia. Isotopic analyses also show a significant enrichment in 13 C in human and animal tissues, indicating an increasing C 4 plants consumption at the same period. More broadly, our results assert that millet was not present in the Caucasus in the Neolithic period. Its arrival in the region, based on existing data in Eurasia, was from the south, without excluding a possible local domestication of Setaria italica .

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Les fouilles entreprises depuis quelques années dans plusieurs gisements du Sud-Est de la France fournissent un aperçu précis de la grande faune de la fin du stade isotopique marin 7 (MIS 7) au début du stade 4. Quatre sites ont des niveaux qui ont été datés de l’Éemien. Ils sont situés pour l’un à l’est du Rhône (Bau de l’Aubesier ; Monieux, Vaucluse - Niveau H), et pour les trois autres à l’ouest de ce fleuve, en Ardèche : grotte de Saint-Marcel d’Ardèche (couche u), abri Moula à Soyons (couches XII à XV) et Baume Flandin à Orgnac-l’Aven. D’après le stade évolutif du tahr (Hemitragus cedrensis) et du cheval (Equus cf. taubachensis), la couche H1 du Bau de l’Aubesier doit être légèrement vieillie (MIS 6). Les trois localités ardéchoises ont livré un assemblage faunique tempéré avec comme éléments communs le daim (Dama sp.), le cerf élaphe (Cervus elaphus), le chevreuil (Capreolus capreolus), le sanglier (Sus scrofa) et chez les carnivores, un ours de type deningeri. Le début du sous-stade 5e (MIS 5e) est caractérisé par la persistance du tahr de la fin du Pléistocène moyen, H. bonali. Il est ensuite relayé par le bouquetin de la lignée du Caucase qui fait sa première apparition en Europe sud-occidentale (Capra caucasica praepyrenaica). La fin du MIS 5e est marquée par l’essor du bouquetin de la lignée alpine (C. ibex), déjà présent sur le territoire depuis la fin du Pléistocène moyen ; son stade évolutif le rattache à la forme du début du Weichselien, C. ibex cebennarum. Les équidés sont représentés par Equus hydruntinus et par un cheval proche d’Equus taubachensis mais néanmoins différent de la forme type des niveaux éemiens de Taubach. Tout au long de l’interglaciaire, les félins sont présents et diversifiés : lion (Panthera (Leo) spelaea), panthère (P. pardus), lynx (Lynx spelaeus) et chat sauvage (Felis silvestris). L’existence du dhole (Cuon alpinus) et de l’ours du Tibet (Ursus thibetanus) est attestée au début du sous-stade 5e. Pour ce dernier, il s’agit de sa dernière mention en Europe. La fin de l’Éemien voit l’apparition de la hyène des cavernes (Crocuta spelaea).

This chapter explores the cultural adaptations to the particular environment of the human groups that inhabited the Balearic Islands in the Bronze Age. Previous studies of the cultural dynamics in the early prehistoric Balearic Islands have mostly been based on architecture, artefact typologies and radiocarbon dates. First, the chapter offers an alternative approach based on metallurgical and faunal studies, which are recent innovations in Balearic archaeology. These shed light on local strategies for exploiting mineral and animal resources and on contacts within and beyond the archipelago. The chapter contributes to a more nuanced understanding of the major transformation of Balearic prehistory that heralds the so-called Talayotic period in Majorca and Menorca and that is not only defined by more complex social organization but is also characterised by as many similarities as differences between the two islands. The evidence points to two processes underway in the Late Bronze Age: a demographic growth and a slight increase in the external contacts.

The Ravin Blanc I archaeological occurrence, dated to MIS 5, provides unprecedented data on the Middle Stone Age (MSA) of West Africa since well-contextualized archaeological sites pre-dating MIS 4/3 are extremely rare for this region. The combined approach on geomorphology, phytolith analysis, and OSL date estimations offers a solid framework for the MSA industry comprised in the Ravin Blanc I sedimentary sequence. The paleoenvironmental reconstruction further emphasizes on the local effects of the global increase in moisture characterizing the beginning of the Upper Pleistocene as well as the later shift to more arid conditions. The lithic industry, comprised in the lower part of the sequence and dated to MIS 5e, shows core reduction sequences among which Levallois methods are minor, as well as an original tool-kit composition, among which pieces with single wide abrupt notches, side-scrapers made by inverse retouch, and a few large crudely shaped bifacial tools. The Ravin Blanc I assemblage has neither a chronologically equivalent site to serve comparisons nor a clear techno-typological correspondent in West Africa. However, the industry represents an early MSA technology that could either retain influences from the southern West African 'Sangoan' or show reminiscences of the preceding local Acheulean. A larger-scale assessment of behavioral dynamics at work at the transition period between the Middle to Upper Pleistocene is discussed in view of integrating this new site to the global perception of this important period in the MSA evolutionary trajectories.

Entre 2005 et 2007, dans le cadre d’un projet du Ministère de la Culture et de la région Rhône-Alpes, de nouvelles investigations ont été consacrées aux séquences du Paléolithique moyen des sites de la Baume Flandin, l’Abri des Pêcheurs, l’Abri du Maras et la Grotte du Figuier. Elles ont permis d’apporter des précisions sur les cadres biostratigraphique et paléoenvironnemental d’occupations humaines localisées sur la rive droite de la moyenne vallée du Rhône dans le sud-est de la France.Les études paléontologiques permettent de dater le niveau d’occupation de la Baume Flandin du début du stade isotopique 5, niveau un peu plus ancien que les bases de l’Abri du Maras et de l’Abri des Pêcheurs qui sont rattachées à la fin du stade isotopique 5. Le sommet de la séquence de l’Abri du Maras est contemporain du stade isotopique 4, comme les niveaux supérieurs des salles profondes de la Grotte du Figuier. À la Baume Flandin, à l’Abri des Pêcheurs et au Figuier, le bouquetin correspond au Capra ibex cebennarum. Les occupations humaines sont soit de très courtes haltes de subsistance, soit des occupations saisonnières plus durables, orientées vers la chasse et l’exploitation d’un ou plusieurs herbivores. Lors de ces occupations, les hommes ont utilisé des moyens techniques variés, sans relation apparente avec les stratégies de subsistance, montrant en cela la diversité des comportements humains dans la région, quelles que soient les conditions environnementales.

Thessaly, Central Greece, like most of the Aegean realm is characterised by a diffuse seismic activity. Both instrumental and historic data are revised and, with few exceptions, this information substantiates that the local seismicity is characterised by a shallow seismogenic depth that can generate important destructions though distributed to limited areas. However, historical sources like diaries and church books or, for more recent events, newspapers are almost completely lacking before the 17th century. On the other hand, recent palaeoseismological surveys carried out along some of the active faults of Eastern Thessaly clearly document the occurrence of past earthquakes during latest Pleistocene and Holocene times. The present research is an attempt of partially filling the gap of our knowledge on the seismicity of the area. At this regard, we followed the methodological approaches of the Historical Seismology and the Archaeoseismology. In particular, we focused our investigations on the interpretation of both direct and indirect evidences issued from Greek inscriptions, monuments and settlements of Ancient and Byzantine times. Special emphasis is given to the recently discovered Great Theatre of Larissa that shows important evidences of seismically induced damages. We analyse all this information with the intention of reconstructing the late Holocene seismic evolution of the northeastern sector of Thessaly, while the final aim of this article is the seismic hazard assessment of this region, whose major urban centre is Larissa that represents the third town of Greece.

The formative processes of the Kura-Araxes cultural complex, in particular the date and circumstances of its rise, have been debated for decades. This article takes advantage of the recent data retrieved from Ovçular Tepesi, a Late Chalcolithic settlement located in Nakhchivan by the Arpaçay river, to demonstrate that the earliest manifestation of the Kura-Araxes phenomenon should be dated back at least to the last quarter of the 5th millennium BC. More importantly, since the early Kura-Araxes pottery from Ovçular Tepesi was found within the Late Chalcolithic habitat together with buff-coloured Chaff-Faced Ware, we make use of technological and functional evidence to argue that the coexistence of Kura-Araxes and Chaff-Faced vessels corresponds to a multicultural settlement pattern, which involves two human communities that interact at the regional level. We then compare this pattern with later examples of multiculturalism involving Kura-Araxes societies in the Kura and Euphrates basins, but also in Palestine.

An ancient Egyptian crocodile mummy (MHNL 90001591, Musée des Confluences, Lyon, France) dating to the Roman period and discovered at Kom Ombo (Upper Egypt) was analysed through synchrotron multiscale microtomography. Using this advanced technology, the virtual autopsy of the animal was carried out without affecting the bones, flesh, balms and linen bandages. The technique allows for the precise analysis of the specimen's bones and tissue, enabling us to establish the cause of death and the last meal(s) of the animal. From these data, we can conclude that this crocodile was hunted while living in the wild. This is the first evidence for this mode of obtaining animals to produce mummies. With this case study, it is apparent that the praxis related to the mummification of animals in ancient Egypt are more diverse than the current Egyptological reconstruction of that phenomenon.

During the Neolithic period, cattle were used not only for their meat and their milk but also for their strength. Unfortunately, apart from the discovery of specific instruments (yokes, travois, wheels, ards, etc.), it is not easy to demonstrate archaeologically their use for work. Nevertheless, the bone pathologies related to this activity can be analyzed. The methodological approach employed in this study is based on multivariate analyses (PCA) applied to the dimensions of the first and second phalanxes, as well as to shape indices of the same bones determined by the Mosimann method. The measurements of aurochs and domestic cattle bones from twenty Mesolithic and Neolithic sites form the data matrix. The results of this study attest, on the one hand, that cattle were used for draught and transport during the Neolithic in various parts of Europe and the Near East and, on the other hand, that this use and its corollary, castration, are practices that can be dated back earlier than is generally accepted.

Abstract Prehistoric stone structures are prominent and well-studied in the Levantine desert margins. In northern Arabia, however, such structures have received less attention. This article presents the results of investigations of a 35m-long stone platform, first constructed in the mid sixth millennium BC, overlooking the oasis of Dûmat al-Jandal in northern Saudi Arabia. Excavation of the platform has yielded bioarchaeological and cultural remains, along with evidence for several phases of construction and intermittent use down to the first millennium BC. Analysis of the platform and nearby tombs highlights the persistent funerary and ritual use of this area over millennia, illuminating nomadic pastoralist lifeways in prehistoric Arabia.

The Egyptian Eastern Desert, the part of the Sahara Desert that connects the Nile and the Red Sea, is rich in natural resources and meshed with multiple networks. The adoption of the camel as the main mode of transportation in the 1st millennium BC, faster and with a greater load capacity than humans or donkeys, dramatically changed the logistics used to cross this difficult terrain. Our objective, therefore, is to understand and reconstruct circulation in the region during Antiquity through location factors and the evolution of roads. For this purpose, a least-cost network specific to camel movements has been created for this arid and mountainous region. The network is based on the reconstructed itineraries of modern travelers (18th and 19th centuries) who crossed the region under similar conditions to ancient ones. These routes and the travelers’ diaries have enabled us to analyze the main travel constraints; they provide a set of data to calibrate the different movement factors of camel caravans and to validate the calculated least cost paths. The modeled network takes into account transport infrastructures, navigation conditions in plain areas, difficulties of the terrain surface, and the topographical constraints specific to camels. This methodological paper details our approach from the description of movement factors, their mapping, and their use in least cost algorithms to the creation of a network covering 253 archaeological sites and 204 desert watering places. It aims to provide the archaeological and GIS communities with the method and tools to reproduce itineraries based on the hypotheses of movement and empirical data. For this purpose, the data is available and documented by a data paper.