Archéosciences-Bordeaux : Matériaux, temps, Images et Sociétés

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Neanderthal genomes have been recovered from sites across Eurasia, painting an increasingly complex picture of their populations' structure that mostly indicates that late European Neanderthals belonged to a single metapopulation with no significant evidence of population structure. Here, we report the discovery of a late Neanderthal individual, nicknamed "Thorin," from Grotte Mandrin in Mediterranean France, and his genome. These dentognathic fossils, including a rare example of distomolars, are associated with a rich archeological record of Neanderthal final technological traditions in this region ∼50-42 thousand years ago. Thorin's genome reveals a relatively early divergence of ∼105 ka with other late Neanderthals. Thorin belonged to a population with a small group size that showed no genetic introgression with other known late European Neanderthals, revealing some 50 ka of genetic isolation of his lineage despite them living in neighboring regions. These results have important implications for resolving competing hypotheses about causes of the disappearance of the Neanderthals.

The south Levantine mid-Middle Palaeolithic (mid-MP; ~130–80 thousand years ago (ka)) is remarkable for its exceptional evidence of human morphological variability, with contemporaneous fossils of Homo sapiens and Neanderthal-like hominins. Yet, it remains unclear whether these hominins adhered to discrete behavioural sets or whether regional-scale intergroup interactions could have homogenized mid-MP behaviour. Here we report on our discoveries at Tinshemet Cave, Israel. The site yielded articulated Homo remains in association with rich assemblages of ochre, fauna and stone tools dated to ~100 ka. Viewed from the perspective of other key regional sites of this period, our findings indicate consolidation of a uniform behavioural set in the Levantine mid-MP, consisting of similar lithic technology, an increased reliance on large-game hunting and a range of socially elaborated behaviours, comprising intentional human burial and the use of ochre in burial contexts. We suggest that the development of this behavioural uniformity is due to intensified inter-population interactions and admixture between Homo groups ~130–80 ka. The Middle Palaeolithic of southwest Asia witnessed interactions and knowledge sharing between archaic and modern humans ~130,000–80,000 years ago. These interactions led to increased behavioural complexity and consolidation of a uniform behavioural set across Homo groups in the region.

The Mid-Upper Paleolithic (Gravettian) karstic Grotte de Cussac (France) contains two areas of human remains in the context of abundant (and spectacular) parietal engravings. The first area (loci 1 and 2) includes the skeleton of a young adult male in a bear nest, rearranged by postdecomposition inundation, and the variably fragmentary remains of at least two individuals distributed across two bear nests, sorted anatomically and with most of the elements constrained to one side of one nest. The second area (locus 3) retains remains of two adults and an adolescent, in upper hollows and variably distributed down the slope, largely segregated into upper versus lower body groups. The only decoration associated with the human remains is red pigment on some of the bones or underlying sediment. The human remains indicate variable nonnatural deposition and manipulation of human bodies, body portions, and skeletal elements of at least six individuals. Moreover, Cussac is unusual in the association of these remains with exceptional parietal art. The complex Cussac mortuary pattern joins growing evidence from other Gravettian sites of variable treatment of individuals after death, within and across sites, in terms of formal deposition of the body versus postmortem manipulation versus surface abandonment. It provides a window onto the social diversity and the complex interactions of the living and the dead among these successful Late Pleistocene foragers.

The Riparo Mochi rock shelter, located on the Ligurian coast of Italy, is one of the most important early Upper Paleolithic sites on the Mediterranean rim. Its ∼10-m-deep stratigraphy comprises a Mousterian sequence, followed by various development stages of the Upper Paleolithic. A series of radiometric dates on marine shells bearing traces of human modification has provided a chronological framework for the final Mousterian and the Proto-Aurignacian of the site. Based on modeling results, the end of the Mousterian was dated between 44.0 and 41.8 ka cal BP (68% probability) and the beginning of the Proto-Aurignacian between 42.7 and 41.6 ka cal BP (68% probability). However, these estimates were based on a limited number of radiocarbon ages in the Mousterian levels. Here, we report new dating of the Mochi sequence using luminescence techniques, along with new radiocarbon measurements. The combination of these results using a Bayesian modeling approach allows for the first time the establishment of a more precise timing for the Mousterian occupation at the site. We show that Mousterian groups were already present at Riparo Mochi by at least 65 ka and continued to occupy the site for another 20 ka. The transition to the earliest Upper Paleolithic at the site is centered around 44.3-41.1 ka (95.4% probability), providing our best age estimate for the beginning of the Early Upper Paleolithic and the establishment of modern human groups in the Balzi Rossi. The sequence continues upward with a more evolved Aurignacian phase and a Gravettian phase starting at ∼26 ka or earlier.

Abstract Evaluating synchronies between climate and cultural changes is a prerequisite for addressing the possible effect of environmental changes on human populations. Searching for synchronies during the Middle-Upper Paleolithic transition (ca. 48–36 ka) is hampered by the limits of radiocarbon dating techniques and the large chronological uncertainties affecting the archaeological and paleoclimatic records, as well by their low temporal resolution. Here, we present a high-resolution, pollen-based vegetation record from the Bay of Biscay, sea surface temperature changes, additional 14 C ages, and a new IRSL date on the fine-sediment fraction of Heinrich Stadial (HS) 6. The IRSL measurements give an age of ca. 54.0 ± 3.4 ka. The paleoclimatic results reveal a succession of rapid climatic changes during the Middle-Upper Paleolithic transition in SW France (i.e. D-O 12–8 and two distinct climatic phases during HS 4). Comparison of the new paleoclimatic record with chronologically well-constrained regional archaeological changes shows that no synchronies exist between cultural transitions and environmental changes. The disappearance of Neanderthals and the arrival of Homo sapiens in SW France encompassed a long-term forest opening, suggesting that Homo sapiens may have progressively replaced Neanderthals from D-O 10 to HS 4 through competition for the same ecological niches.

Color schemes ready for each type of data (qualitative, diverging or sequential), with colors that are distinct for all people, including color-blind readers. This package provides an implementation of Paul Tol (2018) and Fabio Crameri (2018) color schemes for use with 'graphics' or 'ggplot2'. It provides tools to simulate color-blindness and to test how well the colors of any palette are identifiable. Several scientific thematic schemes (geologic timescale, land cover, FAO soils, etc.) are also implemented.

Abstract. During the Last Glacial Period, the climate shift to cold conditions associated with changes in atmospheric circulation and vegetation cover resulted in the development of large aeolian systems in Europe. On a regional scale, many factors may have influenced dust dynamics, such as the latitudinal difference between the various aeolian systems and the variability of the sources of wind-transported particles. Therefore, the assumption that the timing of aeolian deposition is strictly synchronous in Europe does not seem to be the most plausible hypothesis and needs to be evaluated. To test this assumption, the chronology of loess deposition in different European regions was investigated by studying 93 luminescence-dated loess–palaeosol sequences with their data recalculated and compiled in a single comma separated values (*.csv) file: the ChronoLoess database. Our study shows that the two major aeolian systems, the Northern European Loess Belt (NELB) on the one hand and the systems associated with the rivers draining the Alpine Ice Sheet on the other hand, developed asynchronously. The significant deposition started at about 32 kyr b2k for the NELB vs. 42 kyr b2k for the perialpine loess and peaked about 2 millennia later for the former (21.8 vs. 23.9 kyr b2k, respectively). This shift resulted mainly from the time lag between the maxima of the Alpine and Fennoscandian ice sheets, which acted as the primary sources of fine-grained particles through glacial abrasion. The major geomorphic changes that resulted from the development and decay of the Fennoscandian and British–Irish ice sheets also played an important role. Particularly, ice sheet coalescence during the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) diverted meltwater fluxes through the Channel River and provided vast amounts of glacial particles available for deflation in the western NELB. The period during which the maximum mass accumulation rate was reached for each loess–palaeosol sequence is relatively homogeneous in the NELB and ranges from 30 to 19 kyr b2k, whereas it is more scattered in the perialpine systems (>60 to 14 kyr b2k). This probably resulted from a combination of factors, including the asynchrony of maximum valley glacier advances and local geomorphic factors. The ChronoLoess database is available at https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.7728616 (Bosq et al., 2023).

Cultural objects of archeological findings are often broken and fractured into a large amount of fragments, and the archeologists are confronted by 3D puzzles when reassembling the fractured objects. Scanning the fragments and reassembling the corresponding 3D objects virtually is an elegant (and sometimes the only) solution. An efficient user interaction for the complex task to orientate or position two 3D objects relative to each other is essential, eventually in addition to automatic matching techniques. In this paper, we present ArcheoTUI, a new tangible user interface for the efficient assembly of the 3D scanned fragments of fractured archeological objects. The key idea is to use tangible props for the manipulation of the vir- tual fragments. In each hand, the user manipulates an electromagnetically tracked prop, and the translations and rotations are directly mapped to the corresponding virtual fragments on the display. For each hand, a correspond- ing foot pedal is used to clutch the movements of the hands. Hence, the hands of the user can be repositioned, or the user can be switched. The software of ArcheoTUI is designed to easily change assembly hypotheses, beyond classical undo/redo, by using a scene graph. We designed ArcheoTUI on the demand of archeaologists and in a direct collaboration with them, and we con- ducted a user study on site at their workplace. This user study revealed that the interface, and especially the foot pedal, was accepted, and that all the users managed to solve simple assembly tasks. In a case study, we show the assembly of one of their fractured archeological findings.

Abstract Higher education in evolutionary anthropology involves providing students with in‐depth knowledge of biological and cultural heritage sites and collections that are frequently inaccessible. Indeed, most sites, fossils, and archaeological remains can be visited or manipulated only rarely and solely by specialists with extensive experience. Owing to the development of 3D and medical imaging techniques, this fragile heritage is now more widely accessible, and in a dynamic way. However, exclusive adoption of virtual teaching and learning has a negative impact on student engagement and, naturally, on exchanges with instructors, and thus cannot be used without some reservations. In the ITAP ( Immersion dans les Terrains de l’Anthropologie biologique et de la Préhistoire ) project of the higher education STEP ( Soutien à la Transformation et à l’Expérimentation Pédagogiques ) transformation program at the University of Bordeaux, we combine student‐active teaching with Master's students fully immersed in ongoing fieldwork, laboratory study, and dissemination of research results in order to develop more individually shaped learning curricula and to foster both professional and new interdisciplinary skills. Here, we present examples of experiments conducted in the ITAP project using both authentic and virtual collections of archaeological, experimental, and reference materials that help to break down the barriers between research activities and higher education, as well as providing a more general appraisal of the appropriate use of virtual tools in higher education by combining them with real‐life situations.

Stained-glass windows form an important part of cultural heritage. Short pulse lasers open new opportunities for safe decontamination. In this work, and for the first time, the interaction of sub-nanosecond and femtosecond pulsed lasers with some contemporary stained-glasses has been analyzed exploring their applicability to safely clean stained-glass windows. The results show that, in these materials, damage can be induced using energy levels below damage thresholds due to the heat accumulation in the coating layer that is being eliminated. The latter generates significant thermal stresses on the glass volume, which induce crack formation. In consequence, in order to apply safe stained-glass cleaning protocols, laser parameters have to be selected to control the temperature increase within this layer. To achieve the latter goal, two alternative irradiation procedures were explored in this work. As a first option, a reduction of the effective pulse repetition frequency to values lower than 20 kHz was applied. A second alternative was used for lasers with pulse repetition rates in the hundreds of kHz. In this case, the burst mode was employed controlling the number of pulses emitted and combined with an adequate time lapse selection between two consecutive burst runs. A proof of concept demonstration was carried out on a stained-glass sample from the Cathedral of Cuenca, dated at the end of the XV century. Las vidrieras constituyen un elemento esencial de nuestro patrimonio cultural. Los láseres de pulsos ultracortos ofrecen nuevas oportunidades para desarrollar procesos de restauración seguros. En este trabajo, por primera vez, se estudia la interacción de láseres pulsados emitiendo pulsos en el rango de los subnanosegundos y femtosegundos con piezas de vidrieras contemporáneas, con el fin de explorar la posibilidad de desarrollar procesos seguros de restauración de vidrieras. Los resultados muestran que, en estos materiales, incluso trabajando con niveles de energía por debajo de los umbrales de daño, se puede generar deterioro por la acumulación de calor generada en la capa que se está eliminando, lo cual puede generar niveles de tensiones térmicas que provocan la ruptura del vidrio. Por tanto, para desarrollar protocolos de limpieza seguros, los parámetros de procesado deben escogerse de tal manera que se minimice la temperatura que se alcanza en esta capa. Se han explorado dos alternativas. Una es reducir la frecuencia de trabajo hasta valores por debajo de los 20 kHz. En el caso de láseres que trabajen a frecuencias más elevadas, la alternativa es trabajar en modo burst, limitando el número de pulsos en cada serie y estableciendo tiempos de espera entre dos series. Estas ideas se han aplicado sobre una pieza de vidriera de la Catedral de Cuenca de finales del siglo XV.

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We propose an automatic framework to recover the illumination of indoor scenes based on a single RGB-D image. Unlike previous works, our method can recover spatially varying illumination without using any lighting capturing devices or HDR information. The recovered illumination can produce realistic rendering results. To model the geometry of the visible and invisible parts of scenes corresponding to the input RGB-D image, we assume that all objects shown in the image are located in a box with six faces and build a planar-based geometry model based on the input depth map. We then present a confidence-scoring based strategy to separate the light sources from the highlight areas. The positions of light sources both in and out of the camera's view are calculated based on the classification result and the recovered geometry model. Finally, an iterative procedure is proposed to calculate the colors of light sources and the materials in the scene. In addition, a data-driven method is used to set constraints on the light source intensities. Using the estimated light sources and geometry model, environment maps at different points in the scene are generated that can model the spatial variance of illumination. The experimental results demonstrate the validity and flexibility of our approach.

Leye Cave (Dordogne, France) is a laboratory cave in the Vézère area, a region that contains some of the most famous rock art caves in the world such as Lascaux, Font-de-Gaume and Combarelles, and is listed as Human World Heritage by UNESCO. Leye Cave was selected because it is representative of painted caves, with respect to parameters such as its geological stage, the presence of water and carbon dioxide, the geological state of its walls, and the size of the cave. These wall states are studied to better understand the conditions of conservation of rock art caves without damaging them. The choice of an equivalent medium, i.e., a non-painted cave, was made to be able to conduct experiments or take measurements that would not have been possible in a rock art cave. The climatic conditions (temperature, hygrometry, etc.) monitored since 2011 are central to our understanding of the genesis and evolution of wall states. Leye Cave is sub-horizontal then descendant, forming a cold air trap. The phenomenon of condensation is thought to be important in the genesis of these wall states. Our article presents a model which describes the competition that exists between the conduction of the rock heating the air and the convection cooling the rock, in the area named the “Throne Chamber”, located in the deepest parts of the cave.

Laser irradiation enables the removal of unwanted surface deposits from different materials in a safe and controllable manner. Laser parameters should be carefully selected to achieve the removal of the target contaminants without inducing damage to the substrate. Ultra-short pulse lasers have opened new opportunities for safe and controlled decontamination of cultural heritage materials because the thickness of material that is affected by the laser is limited. In this study, an ultraviolet femtosecond pulsed laser was used for the removal of unwanted encrustation formed on the surface of an historical colourless stained-glass sample from the Cuenca Cathedral in Spain. One of the sides of this glass exhibits a reddish-brown grisaille that also has to be preserved. A laser cleaning process has been designed to avoid heat accumulation while controlling the thickness of ablated material. In this context, a multi-step process was selected in order to be able to eliminate, in a controlled way, the crust layer without damaging the grisaille layer, or the glass substrate. In this case, laser irradiation in beam scanning mode with a pulse repetition frequency of 10 kHz proved to be effective for the safe cleaning of the glass. The latter was analysed before and after laser cleaning by optical and confocal microscopy, scanning electron microscopy, energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, X-ray fluorescence, and Raman spectroscopy, confirming that the crust layer was effectively eliminated without damaging the surface.

The late Middle Pleistocene, starting at around 300 ka, witnessed large-scale biological and cultural dynamics in hominin evolution across Africa including the onset of the Middle Stone Age that is closely associated with the evolution of our species-Homo sapiens. However, archaeological and geochronological data of its earliest appearance are scarce. Here we report on the late Middle Pleistocene sequence of Wadi Lazalim, in the Sahara of Southern Tunisia, which has yielded evidence for human occupations bracketed between ca. 300-130 ka. Wadi Lazalim contributes valuable information on the spread of early MSA technocomplexes across North Africa, that likely were an expression of large-scale diffusion processes.

Cet article présente une étude des différentes transformations diagénétiques et de leur chronologie relative intervenues en milieu météorique et affectant le calcaire de la plate-forme carbonatée Oligocène supérieur au Nord du Bassin aquitain (France), en combinant des données de cathodoluminescence (imagerie et spectroscopie haute résolution) et de microsonde de Castaing. Plus de 128 analyses ponctuelles par la microsonde électronique (WDS) et plus de 60 analyses par cathodoluminescence (CL) ont été effectuées sur les différents ciments carbonatés identifiés préalablement par les méthodes classiques de microscopie optique. En fonction de l'intensité relative des bandes CL observées (350, 380, 430, 500 et 620 nm), il a été possible de classer les ciments en trois types. Grâce à ces investigations au sein de chaque ciment météorique, ce sont des successions de phases de croissance cristalline et de dissolution que l'on a pu identifier finement, et ainsi de proposer une séquence diagénétique météorique beaucoup plus réaliste exprimant les passages cycliques de la zone vadose (non saturée) à la zone météorique d'eau douce (saturée).

The study of Neanderthal-Environment interactions very often lacks precise data that match the chrono-geographical frame of human activities. Here, we reconstruct Neanderthals’ hunting grounds within three distinct habitats using dental microwear analysis combined with zooarchaeological data. The predation patterns toward ungulates are discussed in term of frequency (NISP/MNI) and potential meat intake (MAM). Unit IIIa of Teixoneres Cave (MIS 3, NE Spain) corresponds to a mosaic landscape, Unit IIIb was more forested, and, in the “Ensemble” II of Pié Lombard (MIS 4, SE France), forest cover dominated. At Pié Lombard, Neanderthals rely on a high diversity of taxa from closed and semi-open hunting grounds, mostly two ungulate species as well as rabbits and several bird taxa. At Teixoneres Cave, mainly open areas are exploited in summer with a predation mostly focused on large gregarious ungulates. The larger size of ungulate herds in open spaces may have allowed Neanderthals to restrict their subsistence behaviour only to very few species, in specific hunting strategies. In Unit IIIa, they do not appear to have made any selection within the most abundant species, while in Unit IIIb, they focused on aurochs and also opportunistically and heavily on newborn red deer. Neanderthal subsistence strategies seem, therefore, only partially linked to the hunting grounds they had access to. While it impacted the diversity of the prey they selected, Neanderthal groups were able to develop distinct hunting strategies within similar environments.

Further developments in luminescence dating, dosimetry and temperature-sensing require a deep understanding of luminescence processes and their driving parameters. Natural quartz is one of the most widely used minerals for these purposes. Still, poor reproducibility of results often hampers comparability and credibility from findings in the literature. We identified the lack of suitable natural reference samples as a pivotal problem impeding significant progression. Ideally, basic investigations involve several laboratories working on well-characterised reference quartz samples with different characteristics. Investigations should include multiple complementing methods to analyse luminescence properties and mineralogical and geochemical composition. Here, we present such a multi-technique luminescence comparison of two natural quartz samples. Next to the recently introduced Fontainebleau (FB) reference quartz, we propose another reference sample derived from the ‘Silver Sands of Morar’ (lab code ‘MR’; Scotland, UK). Our experiments confirm that both quartz samples behave fundamentally different in terms of signal composition and sensitivity. The comparative characterisation of both samples targeted electron traps via thermoluminescence (TL) and optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) techniques and luminescence centres via radioluminescence and time-resolved OSL spectrometry. In summary, we conclude that all observed differences are likely the results of divergent defect concentrations rather than variances in defects' composition (nature). The measurement data of our study are accessible open-access for inspection by others.

This research provides the first detailed insight into the composition of hydraulic bedding and coating mortars used in the Roman city of Hippo Regius with the aims of bringing to light the use of natural pozzolanic aggregates for mortars preparation following the legacy of Vitruvius and determining their possible sources. Nine samples of hydraulic mortars taken from different structures have been thoroughly analysed adopting a multi-analytical research strategy combining thin-section petrography, optical cathodoluminescence (CL) microscopy, and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) coupled with energy‐dispersive spectroscopy (EDS). The results indicate the use of pumice clasts with trachytic composition (SiO2: 58.9-64.4 wt.% and total alkali oxide content: 8.81–14.20 wt.%) as a pozzolanic additive to enhance the strength and hydraulicity of mortars. The comparison of petro‐mineralogical features and major element concentrations with literature data reveals the Campi Flegrei caldera (Phlegraean Fields) in the Gulf of Naples, and probably the Baia-Fondi di Baia, as possible area of provenance. This is the first proven case of trade in Phlegraean tephra as a building material to a city of Africa Proconsularis, and a new piece of evidence of the spread of Roman technologies to the southern Mediterranean region of the Roman Empire as well as the transfer of their technical expertise to local artisans of the provincial city of Hippo Regius.