Dissertations / Theses on the topic 'Lower Palaeolithic'

The causes of morphological variation within Lower Palaeolithic stone tool assemblages have been subject to debate for decades. As a result of numerous explanatory hypotheses, it forms one of the most substantial areas of research within Palaeolithic archaeology. To date, however, very little research has ever been undertaken into the functional causes and consequences of Lower Palaeolithic stone tool form variation. Indeed, despite stone tools being functional objects tasked with the cutting and modification of aspects of the physical environment, previous researchers have preferentially sought to explain their morphology as a result of social, aesthetic, cultural, cognitive, reductive, and raw material influences. Here, this imbalance is addressed and the two principal technological components of the Lower Palaeolithic, ‘basic’ flakes and handaxes, are subject to a number of controlled, statistically robust, and archaeologically inferable experiments investigating relationships between variable tool-forms and functional performance characteristics. Results and subsequent discussion identify a number of important evolutionary, behavioural, and technological implications for Lower Palaeolithic hominins.

This thesis aims to explore whether idiosyncrasies in Acheulean handaxe manufacture can be seen and, if so, whether these can be used to trace the actions of hominins within the Lower Palaeolithic. This analysis has important implications for the application of current social theory to Palaeolithic contexts, which advocates a 'bottom-up' approach to archaeological study. This socially orientated theoretical approach emphasises the individual as the primary unit of analysis. However, as Hopkinson and White (2005) state, there is currently no methodology for such an analysis, rendering many discussions as exercises in what has been termed 'theoretical storytelling'. Using a series of innovative experiments, the question of whether the individual is a viable unit of analysis was tested. The results show that a suite of other factors that also contribute to stone tool manufacture currently masks the actions of individuals. Chief amongst these is variability in the raw material nodules selected for reduction. However, intra-site variability may indicate differences that are linked to socially mediated knapping strategies, or 'group templates' (c.f. Ashton & McNabb 1994). While this possibility requires further exploration, the thesis suggests that the individual is currently not viable as a primary unit of analysis within Palaeolithic archaeology and stresses that the theories posited from the standpoint of the individual cannot be interpreted as fact. At the same time, it appears that further work needs to be conducted that focuses on the more traditional group as the primary analytical unit and the prospect of teasing apart the interplay between the individuals, groups and the effects of raw material variability.

The big question raised in this thesis is one of choice: To what extent did the makers of microlithic tool kits during the Lower Palaeolithic merely respond to environmental pressures and to what extent did they choose to shape their environment, by means of their toolkits, according to their needs? Assuming a certain degree of choice, a selection of Lower Palaeolithic microlithic assemblages was analysed to investigate possible patterns within the material with regards to raw material selection, tool shape and size. The emerging pattern will be viewed against the backdrop of ecological variables, i.e. climate, environment, potential resources and the archaeological evidence of actually exploited resources. The impact of smallness is then explored in areas such as subsistence and lifestyle, hafting, learning and focus of attention. A further aspect to be considered in this investigation concerns the recurrence of microlithic assemblages during the Middle Palaeolithic in the form of the Taubachian and the question of continuation of a technological tradition over a long period of time. I have analysed data collected from microlithic assemblages from Poland (Trzebnica 2d, Trzebnica 2g, Rusko 33, Rusko 42) and Germany (Mauer, Bilzingsleben, Ehringsdorf Lower Horizon, Taubach) with the help of the statistic software package PASW17. The results indicate that early human populations in central Europe had far greater opportunities to shape their subsistence strategies and choose their lifestyles than was previously assumed. Environmental pressures and restrictions are partly but not solely responsible for the chosen strategies. Raw material availability had an influence but was not always the determining factor in artefact size, shape and technological strategies. As for the question of recurrence versus continuation of small tool traditions into the Middle Palaeolithic: The results suggest that there was no continuation, which may be unsurprising given the long periods of time involved. Instead similar strategies were chosen in similar environmental and climatic conditions, but with morphologically and technologically varying toolkits.

This thesis represents a site-specific, holistic analysis of faunal assemblage formation at four key Palaeolithic sites (Boxgrove, Swanscombe, Hoxne and Lynford). Principally this research tests the a priori assumption that lithic tools and modified large to medium-sized fauna recovered from Pleistocene deposits represent a cultural accumulation and direct evidence of past hominin meat-procurement behaviour. Frequently, the association of lithics and modified fauna at a site has been used to support either active large-mammal hunting by hominins or a scavenging strategy. Hominin bone surface modification (cut marks, deliberate fracturing) highlight an input at the site but cannot be used in isolation from all other taphonomic modifiers as evidence for cultural accumulation. To understand the role of hominins in faunal assemblage accumulation all other taphonomic factors at a site must first be considered. A site-specific framework was established by using data on the depositional environment and palaeoecology. This provided a context for the primary zooarchaeological data (faunal material: all elements and bone surface modification) and helped explain the impact and importance of faunal accumulators and modifiers identified during analysis. This data was synthesized with information on predator and prey behavioural ecology to assess potential conflict and competition within the site palaeoenvironment. Results indicate that association of lithics and modified fauna are not sufficient evidence of a cultural accumulation; two sites (Swanscombe, Hoxne) demonstrate evidence of fluvial accumulation and disturbance. Whereas at Boxgrove, hominins had primary access to all fauna, fully exploiting carcasses. At Lynford, the mammoth remains were not modified by hominins, whilst other species only indicated exploitation for marrow, which conflicts with existing interpretations. I argue that hunting and scavenging are a continuum of behaviour, not necessarily represented at each site.

The widespread appearance of Levallois technology approximately 300,000 years ago in Europe and Africa is associated with significant behavioural and cognitive changes. The origins of this technique, however, are still highly debated. Fully developed Levallois reduction sequences seem to have their roots in a lesser-understood technique referred to as either ‘proto’, or ‘reduced’ Levallois, and more recently as Simple Prepared Core (SPC) technology. This thesis examines the technological relationship between SPCs and the Levallois technique in eight British and two Belgian assemblages. Whilst exploring the significance of the presence of SPC technology in the Lower Palaeolithic archaeological record of northwest Europe, this research also assesses the implications for hominin behaviour and cognition. Results demonstrate identical reduction techniques at nine of the ten sites studied, allowing for the construction of a new overarching technological definition of SPC technology, which is now accepted to be present on a significantly wider scale both temporally and geographically. A clear conceptual link between SPC technology and the Levallois technique is apparent regarding the approach to the volume of the core and the targeted end product. However the lack of shaping of the preferential flaking surface prevents the SPC end products from being considered predetermined. As it is the predetermination of the final product that is linked with the cognitive complexity required to implement the Levallois technique, the hominins responsible for SPCs cannot be considered to demonstrate the same level of cognition as those with Levallois technology. The implications of these results suggest hominins using the SPC technique were conceptually on the path towards the Levallois technique but cannot be considered to demonstrate the same behavioural and cognitive capacity.

El subcontinent indi ofereix un gran potencial per contribuir als debats en curs sobre dispersions d’hominins i transicions tecnoculturals. Els jaciments de la vall de Malaprabha, al sud de l’Índia peninsular, proporcionen una perspectiva regional sobre els processos de transició entre el Paleolític inferior i el Paleolític mitjà. Es van triar tres conjunts, des del final de l'Aixelià fins al Paleolític mitjà, com a col·leccions clau i després es van comparar amb dos dels seus homòlegs del sud-est. Aquests conjunts, excavats o recollits en superfície, es troben en diversos Museus de l'Índia, França i el Regne Unit. L’objectiu d’aquesta tesi doctoral és rastrejar els canvis tecnològics i tipològics dels Large Cutting Tools (LCT: Grans Eines Tallants, bifaços i fenedors) en la transició del Paleolític inferior al Paleolític mitjà. Un segon objectiu era discernir els efectes de les matèries primeres sobre la variabilitat de formes dels LCT. La combinació de l’anàlisi tecnotipològica clàssica i l’anàlisi Geomètrica-Morfomètrica (2D i 3D) ens permet obtenir resultats holístics precisos i reversibles. Els LCT inclouen més bifaços que fenedors. Es fabriquen constantment a partir de quarsita local en diversos tipus de suports amb un ús creixent de les ascles com a suport. La seva variabilitat morfològica s’observa principalment en la perifèria de l’objecte i no està influenciada pels tipus de suports
El subcontinente indio, ofrece un gran potencial para contribuir a los debates sobre la dispersión de los homínidos y las transiciones tecnoculturales. Los yacimientos del Valle de Malaprabha, en el suroeste de la India, proporcionan una perspectiva regional sobre los procesos de transición entre el Paleolítico Inferior y Medio. Se eligieron tres conjuntos, del Achelense tardío hasta el Paleolítico medio local y luego se compararon con dos de sus homólogos. Estos conjuntos, excavados o procedentes de recogidas de superficie, se encuentran en varios museos de India, Francia y Reino Unido. El objetivo era trazar los cambios tecnológicos de los Large Cutting Tools en la transición del Paleolítico Inferior al Medio. Un segundo objetivo es discernir la influencia de las materias primas y los tipos de soporte en las variabilidades de forma de los LCTs. La combinación del análisis tecno-tipológico y el enfoque de la morfometría geométrica (2D y 3D) nos permite obtener resultados holísticos precisos. Los LCTs de Malaprabha incluyen más bifaces que hendedores. Se fabrican casi exclusivamente en cuarcita local en varios tipos de soportes con un uso progresivo de lascas. Su variabilidad de forma se encuentra en la periferia y no está influenciada por los soportes.
The Indian sub-continent, midway between Africa and South-east Asia, offers great potential to contribute to the ongoing debates of hominin dispersals and techno-cultural transitions. The Malaprabha Valley sites, in south-western Peninsular India, provides a regional perspective on the transitional processes between Lower and Middle Palaeolithic. Three assemblages, from local Late Acheulean to Middle Palaeolithic were chosen as the key collections and then compared to two of their south-eastern counterparts. These assemblages, excavated or collected from surface, are housed in various museums in India, France and UK. The aim of this PhD was to trace the technological and typological changes of the Large cutting tools (LCTs: handaxes and cleavers) at the transition from Lower to Middle Palaeolithic. A second objective was to discern raw material and blank effects on the shape variabilities of the LCTs. Combining the classical techno-typological analysis and Geometric Morphometric approach (2D and 3D) allow us to get accurate, reversible holistic results. LCTs in Malaprabha Valley always include more handaxes than cleavers. They are constantly made from local quartzite on various types of blanks with gradual increasing use of the flakes. Their shape variability is mostly located on their periphery and is not influenced by the blank types. Whatever variability occurred it seemed to result from varying relative width and thickness.

The majority of Lower Palaeolithic assemblages are recovered from lowland fluvial locations, and hence most interpretation is based around these. It is clear, however, that these represent only a small fraction of the hominin landscape and this bias is potentially limiting our understanding of hominin organisation to only a single facet of behaviour. While recent authors have recognised the importance of upland sites, and other non-fluvial contexts, research is currently limited to highly specific studies (such as Boxgrove), and often fail to extend the purview to incorporate the wider landscape. Consequently we are still a long way from answering basic questions such as: how and why were hominids utilising particular locations? How, if at all, does behaviour respond to landscape context? Is the same pattern seen in continental Europe? This research applies a landscape approach to the British Palaeolithic, combining a technological, typological and chaîne opératoire methodology to determine assemblage signatures for a variety of landscape types (lowland riverine, lacustrine, grassland plains and uplands). An exploratory Geographical Information Systems (GIS)approach is applied to the upland study areas to gain a better understanding of settlement structuring and how behaviour responds to landscape context. The results are then considered in terms of behavioural variation, site choice, specialisation and provisioning across the landscape.

La variabilité des assemblages du Paléolithique inférieur dans l'ouest de l'Europe nourrit les débats actuels quant à leur relation avec les flux de populations, dans le contexte des changements environnementaux et paléogéographiques. Le faciès technique du Colombanien, localisé sur la façade atlantique bretonne, illustre cette variabilité. Selon la littérature, il diffère de l'Acheuléen, dominant dans les régions voisines, notamment par l'absence de bifaces. L'industrie du site de Menez-Dregan I (Plouhinec, Finistère) en constitue l'exemple dont le contexte géologique et paléoclimatique est le mieux documenté. Ce site a livré des traces de foyer qui sont parmi les plus anciennes d'Europe, ainsi qu'un abondant matériel, qui, dans les niveaux supérieurs, offre les prémices de la transition du Paléolithique inférieur vers le Paléolithique moyen. L'analyse des caractères techniques et typologiques des assemblages lithiques issus des couches 9 à 4 permettra de retracer l'évolution des stratégies d'approvisionnement et des comportements techniques et de replacer ce site dans le contexte régional et européen. La contemporanéité d’assemblages sans pièces bifaciales et à pièces bifaciales est attestée en Europe dès 700 ka. Si la plupart des sites européens présentent des assemblages à pièces bifaciales, les gisements à niveaux sans bifaces sont également assez nombreux. L’interstratification des niveaux à et sans pièces bifaciales sur certains sites est parfois interprétée comme le témoignage d’occupations liées à des activités spécialisées différentes, des matières premières différentes, ou des groupes humains aux traditions culturelles ou techniques différentes. De récentes publications de synthèse font état de la question : l’hypothèse de la coexistence de groupes humains aux traditions techniques différentes y est discutée, sur la base de modalités de débitage communes et d’utilisations similaires des territoires. Ainsi, seule la présence ou l’absence de bifaces tend à différencier ces occupations. Le travail engagé ici s’inscrit dans la lignée des études antérieures, mais a été entrepris dans le but de définir les systèmes techniques mis en œuvre au Paléolithique ancien dans l’ouest armoricain. Il permet ainsi de présenter des données nouvelles afin de caractériser les industries lithiques des sites dits « colombaniens ». Il ressort de notre étude que si le contexte paléogéographique et géologique ainsi que le type de gisement explique une certaine variabilité dans la composition des assemblages, cela n’explique pas les traditions techniques, et notamment la présence ou l’absence de pièces bifaciales ou de large cutting tools (LCTs). Si le type d’activité peut alors être mis en cause pour expliquer cette variabilité, une fréquentation répétée sur un même site, dans un contexte paléoenvironnemental globalement similaire, comme c’est le cas à Menez Dregan I indiquerait une visite régulière de groupes humains aux traditions techniques différentes, comme cela est aussi le cas sur d’autres gisements. Nous aboutissons ainsi à une révision du faciès Colombanien, qui s’avère être une variante régionale de l’Acheuléen. Ces résultats confrontés aux données paléoclimatiques et paléogéographiques contribuent à mieux comprendre la dynamique de peuplement de ce Finistère eurasiatique au Pléistocène moyen
The variability in the Palaeolithic assemblages of western Europe feeds current debates about their relationship with population flows in a context of environmental and palaeogeographic changes. The technical Colombanian facies, located in the South Atlantic coast of Brittany, illustrates this variability. This facies differs from the Acheulean that is dominant in neighboring regions, especially in its lack of bifaces. The industry at the site of Menez-Dregan is an example where the geological and paleoclimatic context is the best documented in the region. Specifically, this site has yielded evidence of fireplaces that are among the oldest in Europe, and an abundance of lithic material, which, in the upper levels, evidences the beginning of the transition from the Lower Palaeolithic to the Middle Paleolithic. As for the analysis, the technical, typological and morpho-functional features of the lithic assemblages from layers 9 to 4 will trace the development of procurement strategies, techniques and behaviors to put this site into a regional and European context. The contemporaneity of assemblages with bifacial pieces and without bifacial pieces is attested in Europe from 700 ky. While most of the European sites display assemblages with handaxes, deposits without any bifacial components are quite numerous as well. On some sites, the interstratification of levels with bifacial pieces and without bifacial pieces is sometimes interpreted as a testimony of either specialized activities, different raw materials, or human groups with different cultural or technical traditions. Recent publications state the question: the hypothesis of a coexistence of human groups with different technical traditions is discussed, on the basis of similar modalities of debitage and similar use of landscape. Therefore, only the presence or absence of handaxes is left to differenciate these occupations. The work realised here joins in the lineage of the previous studies, but was undertaken with the aim of defining the technical systems operating during the Lower Palaeolithic in the western Armorican Massif. Therefore, it enables the presentation of new data in order to characterize the “Colombanian” lithic industries. It emerges from this study that if the palaeogeographical and geological context as well as the type of deposit explain a certain variability in the composition of the assemblages, it does not explain the technical traditions, especially the presence or absence of handaxes or large cutting tools. If the variability cannot be explained by activity alone then the repeated visits to a single site, given a globally similar palaeoenvironmental context as evidenced at Menez-Dregan I, likely indicates a regular occupancy by human groups with differing technical traditions. Therefore, we end up in a revision of the Colombanian facies, which turns out to be a regional variant of the European Acheulean. These results, when compared to paleoclimatic and palaeogeographic data, help develop a better understanding of the settlement dynamics of this region during Middle Pleistocene

Plusieurs sites du Paléolithique inférieur découverts dans le Caucase depuis presque un siècle permettent de considérer ce territoire comme un centre de ces cultures. Situé au carrefour de trois mondes – l’Afrique, l’Europe et l’Asie, – le Caucase, notamment la Transcaucasie, représente une zone-clé dans le déroulement des schémas de migrations des premiers hominidés Out-of-Africa vers notre continent. Plusieurs cultures acheuléennes technologiquement et typologiquement très variées coexistent et se développent dans cette région. Cependant, l’élément présent dans tous les assemblages lithiques transcaucasiens est le biface. Dans ce contexte, l’objectif de la thèse est d’apporter des renseignements dans la compréhension du développement du Paléolithique inférieur dans le Caucase par une étude morpho-technologique et typologique des bifaces. Les échantillons de bifaces sélectionnés sont issus des sites du Caucase du sud, notamment de la grotte de Koudaro I (MIS 9-8) et des ensembles des sites acheuléens de plein-air de Lashé-Balta (Ossétie du Sud, Géorgie) et de Dzhraber (Arménie). La grotte de Koudaro I est l’un des rares sites stratifiés, il représente un site de comparaison pour les autres gisements. La classification proposée ici et appliquée aux échantillons est basée sur la distinction des « bifaces », des « pièces bifaciales » et des « pièces considérées comme bifaces » par Vasily P. LYUBIN, responsable de fouille, dans les années 60. Ainsi, à Koudaro I sur 138 pièces considérées comme « bifaces » 27 sont des bifaces complets et partiels fabriqués sur éclat de grès, grès quartzite et schiste, de morphologie lancéolée, ovalaire et amygdaloïde et 58 sont des pièces bifaciales. A Lashé-Balta sur 56 pièces 31 sont des bifaces complets, partiels et des unifaces sur éclat de bombe volcanique en andésite, de types ovalaires, amygdaloïdes et cordiformes et 15 sont des pièces bifaciales. A Dzhraber sur 105 pièces 75 sont des bifaces complets, partiels et des unifaces sur éclat d’obsidienne, de typologie cordiforme, amygdaloïde, ovalaire, lancéolée et 7 sont des pièces bifaciales. Les résultats de comparaison montrent que les bifaces provenant de Koudaro I et de Lashé-Balta sont très proches, malgré la différente nature des matières premières. Les bifaces de Dzhraber, à leur tour, partagent non seulement des caractéristiques techno-typologiques des pièces ossétiennes, mais en grande majorité de celles des pièces en obsidienne de Turquie. Dans ce contexte, la question concernant le rapport « Roche – Technique(s) » se pose.Cette méthodologie a ensuite pu être appliquée sur les bifaces découverts en surface dans les régions de la péninsule de Manguistaou, de la mer d’Aral et des monts Mougodjar au Kazakhstan (lieu de conservation : Institut d’Archéologie A.Kh. Margulan, Almaty). L’étude des collections kazakhstanaises est inédite. Il s’agit des bifaces complets et partiels en grès quartzite et en silex, de morphologie ovalaire et lancéolée provenant des monts Mougodjar et de la péninsule de Manguistaou. Les pièces de la région de la mer d’Aral sont attribuées à une période plus tardive. La comparaison effectuée apporte des éléments nécessaires pour soutenir l’hypothèse d’occupation de l’Eurasie par la voie « Ouest » à travers le Caucase à partir de la première vague de migration et non par la voie « Est ». Elle est renforcée par une étude complémentaire d’une collection sans bifaces des couches acheuléennes du site d’Ulalinka (Altaï de Montagnes, Russie)
Several Lower Palaeolithic sites discovered in the territory of the Caucasus for almost a century give us many arguments to consider this territory as a center of these cultures. Situated at the crossroads of three worlds - Africa, Europe and Asia, - the Caucasus, especially the Transcaucasia, represents a key area in migration ways of the first hominids “Out-of-Africa” to our continent. Many Acheulean cultures, of various technology and typology, coexist and develop in this region. However, the element present in all Transcaucasian lithic assemblages is the hand axe. In this context, the aim of this PhD thesis is to provide information about the Lower Palaeolithic period in the Caucasus. The study is based on the morpho-technological and typological study of the hand axes. Samples of hand axes are from South Caucasus sites, in particular from the Kudaro I cave (MIS 9-8) and the Lashe-Balta (South Ossetia, Georgia) and the Dzhraber (Armenia) groups of surface Acheulean sites. The Kudaro I cave is one of the few stratified sites; it represents a comparison site for other surface site collections.The proposed classification is applied to the samples. It is based on the distinction between "hand axes", "bifacial tools" and "pieces considered as hand axes" by Vasily P. LYUBIN, the head of the excavation, in the 1960s. Therefore, in the Kudaro I cave, among 138 pieces considered as "hand axes" by the researcher only 27 are hand axes, complete and partial, made in sandstone, quartzite sandstone and schist flakes, of a lanceolate, ovate and amygdaloid morphology and 58 are bifacial tools. In the Lashe-Balta group of surface sites, among 56 objects only 31 are hand axes, complete and partial, and unifaces in andesite volcanic bombs, of ovate, amygdaloid and cordiform morphology and 15 bifacial tools. In the Dzhraber group of surface sites, among 105 objects only 75 are hand axes, complete and partial, and unifaces in obsidian flakes, of cordiform, amygdaloid, ovate and lanceolate morphology and 7 bifacial tools. Comparison data show that the hand axes from the Kudaro I cave and from the Lashe-Balta group of surface sites are very close, despite the different nature of the raw materials. The hand axes from the Dzhraber group of surface sites, in turn, share not only the techno-typological features of the Ossetian pieces, but in the vast majority of cases those of the obsidian hand axes from Turkey. Here, the question of the relationship "Rock - Technique(s)" arises.Then, that methodology was applied to the hand axes discovered on the surface in the regions of the Mangystau Peninsula, the Aral Sea and the Mugodzhar Mountains in Kazakhstan (place of conservation: Institute of Archaeology named after A.Kh. Margulan, Almaty). The study of the Kazakh collections is unpublished. The collections from the Mugodzhar Mountains and the Mangystau Peninsula are composed of complete and partial hand axes in quartzite sandstone and in flint, of ovate and lanceolate morphology. The hand axes from the Aral Sea region are attributed to a later period. The comparison provides necessary elements to support the hypothesis of occupation of Eurasia by the first humans of the first migration wave by the "Western" way through the Caucasus and not by the "Eastern" one. It is reinforced by the study of the collection without bifaces from the Acheulean layers of the Ulalinka site (Altai Mountains, Russia)

Les modèles de diffusion de l’Homme hors d’Afrique considèrent que les premiers groupes humains ont peuplés l’Europe selon deux vagues correspondant chacune à une culture technique différente. Les premiers peuplements, qui remonte au million d’année et se caractérisent par des productions d’éclats, associée à des outils sur galet. La deuxième vague serait porteuse de l’Acheuléen, puisque les premières industries comprenant des bifaces en Europe sont datées à 0,6 millions d’année. Mais les données présentes en Europe centrale ont bien du mal à entrer dans ce cadre théorique. Pourtant sur le chemin des premiers peuplements hors d’Afrique, cette région n’a pas livré les données archéologiques auxquelles ont aurait pu s’attendre. Les premiers indices d’occupation humaines antérieures à 0,5 Ma sont rarissimes, les bifaces sont absents durant toute la durée du paléolithique inférieur et les industries présentes sont originales. L’Europe centrale est-elle une aire culturelle spécifique au Paléolithique inférieur ? Ou est-ce nos propre outils méthodologiques qui doivent être interrogés pour répondre à cet apparent paradoxe ? C’est à travers l’étude de l’industrie lithique de quatre sites que nous avons tenté de répondre à ces questions. Le deux premiers assemblage (Korolevo VI en Ukraine et Kärlich-Seeufer en Allemagne) sont datés aux environs de 0,5 Ma et ont livré une industrie basée sur la production d’éclats variés. Les deux autres collections (Vértesszölös en Hongrie et Bilzingsleben en Allemagne) se caractérisent au contraire par une industrie basée sur la confection de petits supports sélectionnés. Les résultats de l’étude des premières industries en Europe centrale, nous invite donc à reconsidérer la question du peuplement de l’Europe et à s’interroger sur les critères pris en compte dans la définition des entités culturelles et des systèmes techniques au Paléolithique inférieur
Out of Africa diffusion models stipulate that the earliest humans reached Europe in two waves, each correlating with a different techno-cultural entity. The earliest occupation, dating back to over a million years ago, is characterised by the production of flakes and pebble tools. The second wave is related to the Acheulean, since the first handaxe industries in Europe date back to 0.6 million years ago. However, the Central European data are difficult to incorporate into this theoretical framework. Despite being located on the Out of Africa route towards Europe, this region has not yielded the archaeological evidence that could have been expected. Evidence of humans occupations before 0.5 million years ago is sparse and handaxes are absent during the entire duration of the Lower Palaeolithic with the assemblages present being more unique. Does Central Europe represent a specific techno-cultural unit during the Lower Palaeolithic? Or do we need to question our methodological tools to be able to find an answer to this apparent paradox? This study aims to answer these questions through the analyses of four lithic assemblages. The first two collections (Korolevo VI in Ukraine and Kärlich-Seeufer in Germany) are dated around 0.5 Ma and contain industries that are characterised by the production of various types of flakes. Conversely, the other two assemblages (Vértesszölös in Hungary and Bilzingsleben in Germany) are typified by the selective production of small blanks. The results of this study of the first lithic industries from Central Europe, allow a reconsideration of the question of the earliest occupation of Europe and the criteria taken into account in the definition of the different Lower Palaeolithic cultural entities and technological systems

Les industries lithiques du Paléolithique inférieur européen sont caractérisées par une grande variabilité typo-technique encore mal cernée (assemblages bifaciaux, à éclats, à petits outils…). Cette disparité est souvent expliquée par le seul fait culturel. Seule une partie de la recherche prend en compte les questions relatives au temps d'occupation des sites, à leur place dans le territoire ou encore à la fonction de site. En prenant en compte ces facteurs, ce travail participe à une réévaluation des interprétations des séries lithiques pour cerner les comportements socio-économiques des groupes concernés. La fonction des outils anciens est au cœur des réflexions de cette thèse. Dans cette perspective, afin d'approcher les outils aussi bien dans leur structure propre qu'au sein de l'ensemble lithique auquel ils appartiennent, nous avons croisé analyse fonctionnelle et techno-morpho-fonctionnelle. La restitution des processus post-dépositionnels, préalable indispensable à toute analyse fonctionnelle, est abordée par le biais de la pétroarchéologie. Cette recherche est fondée sur des sites bien datés, en contextes stratigraphiques fiables et ayant fait l'objet d'analyses pluridisciplinaires. L'étude porte sur neuf séries archéologiques, représentatives d'une bonne partie de la diversité typo-technologique qui caractérise la période et issues de modalités d'occupation et de contexte paléoclimatique variés : Soucy (France ; MIS 9), Marathousa 1 (Grèce ; MIS 12) et Valle Giumentina (Italie ; MIS 15-12). Les données suggèrent que les activités, variées et brèves, sont réalisées avec des outils structurés autour du couple partie active/préhensible. Nous proposons que la composition des ensembles lithiques observés reflète la flexibilité des groupes humains, leur adaptation à des besoins immédiats, à des matières premières locales diversifiées et à des contextes paléoenvironnementaux variés. Cette flexibilité pourrait être à l'origine de la remarquable résilience des groupes humains à travers les changements de milieux et les variations climatiques caractérisant le Paléolithique inférieur
The lithic industries of the European Lower Palaeolithic are characterized by a wide typo-technical diversity that is still poorly understood (bifacial assemblages, flakes, small tools...). This diversity is often explained only by cultural factors. Few researches take into consideration questions relating to the occupation of the sites, their function and their place in the territory. By taking these factors into account, this work participates in a re-evaluation of the interpretations of the lithic assemblages in order to identify the socio-economic behaviours of the considered human groups. The function of ancient tools is the focus of this thesis. In this perspective, in order to approach the tools in their own structure as well as within the lithic assemblage to which they belong, we have combined functional and techno-morpho-functional analysis. The restitution of post-depositional processes, an essential prerequisite to any functional analysis, is examined by the approach of petroarchaeology. This research is based on well-dated sites, which belong to reliable stratigraphic contexts and were studied by means of multidisciplinary analyses. The study focuses on nine archaeological lithic assemblages, which are representative of the typo-technological diversity that characterizes the period and from varied occupation modalities and paleoclimatic contexts: Soucy (France; MIS 9), Marathousa 1 (Greece; MIS 12) and Valle Giumentina (Italy; MIS 15-12). The data suggest that the activities, varied and short, are carried out with tools structured around an active and a prehensile edge. We propose that the composition of the observed lithic assemblages reflects the flexibility of human groups and their adaptation to immediate needs, to diversified local raw materials and to varied paleoenvironmental contexts. This flexibility could be responsible of the remarkable resilience of human groups through the environmental changes and climatic variations characterizing the Lower Palaeolithic

Cette thèse présente l’étude pluridisciplinaire (sédimentologie, géochimie, micromorphologie, étude des biomarqueurs, géochronologie et téphrostratigraphie) réalisée sur le remplissage sédimentaire du bassin de Valle Giumentina (Abruzzes, Italie). La longue séquence continentale conservée dans le bassin, épaisse de 45 m, a livré dans les années 1950 neuf niveaux d’occupation préhistoriques attribués à l’Acheuléen et au Clactonien. Depuis, le site constitue une référence pour la définition du Paléolithique inférieur d’Italie et d’Europe. Les données issues de cette étude ont permis de produire une reconstitution détaillée de l’évolution du bassin de Valle Giumentina, qui s’articule en quatre phases principales au cours du Pléistocène moyen et qui documente deux cycles climatiques glaciaire-interglaciaire complets entre 600 et 400 ka, corrélés avec les stades isotopiques (MIS) 15 à 12. La comparaison de Valle Giumentina avec les principales archives paléoclimatiques contemporaines révèle qu’il s’agit d’un enregistrement extrêmement détaillé, dont l’évolution se rapproche de celles reconnues en Méditerranée orientale. Le nouveau cadre chronostratigraphique établi dans notre étude permet en outre de préciser la chronologie de chacun des niveaux archéologiques et de reconstruire les contextes environnementaux contemporains des occupations paléolithiques
An integrated multidisciplinary study (sedimentology, geochemistry, micromorphology, biomarker analysis, geochronology and tephrochronology) was undertaken on the sedimentary infill of the Valle Giumentina basin (Abruzzo, Italy). In the 1950s an outstanding archaeological sequence, composed of nine human occupation levels ascribed to Acheulean eand Clactonian, was discovered inside this continental succession, 45m deep. Since then, the site is a reference for the definition of the Italian and European Lower Palaeolithic. This study depicts an evolution of the Valle Giumentina basin in four phases during the Middle Pleistocene, on a time span comprised between 600 and 400 ka, corresponding to MIS15-MIS12. The comparison with the contemporaneous palaeoenvironmental archives highlights that Valle Giumentina is a high-precision record and that its evolution is close to the East-Mediterranean sites. The new chronostratigraphic framework built by our results allows to precise the chronology of each archaeological level and to reconstruct the environmental context of the Palaeolithic human occupations
Questa tesi presenta lo studio pluridisciplinare (sedimentologia, geochimica, micromorfologia, studi dei bioindicatori, geocronologia e tefrostratigrafia) realizzato sul riempimento sedimentario del bacino di Valle Giumentina (Abruzzo, Italia). La lunga sequenza continentale conservata all'interno del bacino, profonda 45 metri, ha restituito negli anni 1950 nove livelli di occupazione preistorici, attributi all'Acheuleano e al Clactoniano. Da allora il sito rappresenta un riferi-mento per la definizione del Paleolitico inferiore d'Italia e d'Europa. I risultati del nostro studio hanno permesso di elabo-rare una ricostruzione dettagliata dell'evoluzione del bacino di Valle Giumentina, che si articola in quattro fasi principali durante il Pleistocene medio e che documenta due cicli interglaciale-glaciale completi, tra 600 e 400 ka, correlati con gli stadi isotopici (MIS) 15-12. Il confronto tra Valle Giumentina e i siti paleoclimatici contemporanei di riferimento, rivela che la sua successione stratigrafica rappresenta un archivio estremamente dettagliato, la cui evoluzione é simile a quella delle lunghe sequenze del Mediterraneo orientale. Il quadro cronostratigrafico definito nell'ambito del presente lavoro di tesi permette inoltre di precisare la cronologia di ciascuno dei livelli archeologici e di ricostruire il contesto ambientale delle occupazioni paleolitiche

The use of strontium isotope analysis to provenance biominerals such as bone and teeth has become a regularly applied component of archaeological research. This method works by comparing the isotopic composition of these materials with regional bioavailable soil values, allowing an estimation of the distance and vector of an individual's mobility. New advances in analytical equipment has facilitated the spatially resolved micro-analysis of strontium isotope composition using laser ablation sampling, allowing intra-sample heterogeneity to be quantified. This provides the opportunity to determine not only the overall provenance of a material, but also the degree of mobility during biomineral formation. This research applies laser ablation multi-collector inductively coupled plasma mass spectroscopy (LA-MC-ICPMS) to 90 teeth of Lower and Middle Palaeolithic faunal prey from Lower and Middle Palaeolithic archaeological sites within Israel and France. These sites span a crucial period in human evolution, characterised by the radiation of multiple hominin species and by dynamic oscillations of climate with attendant changes in fauna and flora. The strontium isotope values from LA-MC-ICPMS analysis in this thesis show a high level of intra-sample variability, which would not have been captured by a traditional analytical methodology. This suggests that, despite some problems in obtaining accurate results due to offsets between solution and laser values, strontium isotope studies that do not utilise spatially resolved micro-analysis are unable to accurately determine mobility. The results of this research demonstrate that fauna from the archaeological sites of interest-including Amud, Qafzeh, Tabun, Skhull, Holon, Bois Roche, Le Moustier, La Chapelle-aux-Saints, Les Fieux, Pech de l'Aze II and Rescoundudou-appear to have patterns of mobility that are controlled by variables such as species, marine isotope stages (MIS) and regional physiography. Specifically, Persian fallow deer, bison, mountain goat/chamois and fox are frequently mobile between different geological environments during amelogenesis while wild boar and rhinoceros are sessile. The calculated range of distance for minimum possible mobility for each sample is large, ranging from 0 km to 350 km. The median values for minimum possible mobility for each species suggest that wild boar, bison and fox are mobile over the greatest distance while Bos, rhinoceros, Persian fallow deer and unidentified deer are mobile over the least. Furthermore, fauna in MIS 4 and 3 are significantly more mobile than in MIS 6 and 5. Fauna from France are more mobile than those from Israel, which is attributed to the location of the archaeological sites adjacent to significant river systems that could serve as conduits of mobility, even during inhospitable climate periods. Overall, these insights show that strontium isotope analysis can be usefully applied to quantifying mobility on a broad temporal and geographic scale, rather than simply being used, as is typical, for locating the source of material within a specific archaeological site.