Holocene landscape and human modesof occupation in the Kura Valley (Azerbaijan)

International audienceGoy Tepe, 291 where they are dated to the Neolithic. This similarity between the two periods contributes to the discussion on the heritage of Neolithic populations to Chalcolithic ones in our area. The main raw material used is bone. Quite often people extracted this material from domesticated animals (ovi-caprines) at hand, but large ruminants , wild or domesticated, were also used. The selections, probably oriented by technical advantages , are quite systematic: metapods of small ruminants for awls, scapulae of big mammals for shovels. The main characteristics of the tools demonstrate a will to produce in a quick but efficient way: quite often tools are made on plain bones only lightly shaped, while rapid techniques are frequently used (percussion, abrasion). Part of the blanks obtained by percussion are probably the result of a proper, well controlled débitage: the blanks are fairly long and regular. We cannot exclude that others, with more random shapes, were collected from kitchen wastes. As has been observed on grinding materials 292 and in several areas of the site, ochre is quite often attested on bone tools. It would be useful to analyse this red material found on stones and bones and to determine, through a joint study by specialists, its possible uses and the links between two industries. Similarly, the discovery of bone shovels that were possibly used to work the earth needs further cross studies and experimentations. Part IV: Studies concerning the three areas of the Middle Kura Valley Bertille Lyonnet and Barbara Helwing With this section of our work we enter into the studies dealing with the three geographic areas of the Middle Kura Valley. In this part of the project, our specialists study and compare the material culture, or the landscape and geomorphology of the three places in order to detect differences and similarities and the chronological development. This phase of our research is just at its very beginning, and most of the time it was possible to work on only two areas and not yet on all the collections. Nevertheless , the project gives a hint at the potential of such studies, which will aid in a better determination of the local cultures, of their local development, and of their relations between themselves and/or with other regions further away. We will first present the results concerning the general landscape and environmental conditions, and then comparative studies on the material culture

Interactions immunitaires hôtes-tiques : des mécanismes aux applications

Les tiques sont à l'origine de pertes économiques importantes, de part leur action spoliatrice et par leur rôle de vecteur d'agents pathogènes, et posent un problème de santé publique car elles sont à l'origine de nombreuses zoonoses. L'étude des interactions immunitaires entre la tique et son hôte permet de comprendre les mécanismes mis en oeuvre par la tique pour déjouer le système immunitaire de son hôte, afin d'accomplir son cycle. La compréhension de ces mécanismes a également permis le développement de nouvelles méthodes de lutte : les vaccins ayant pour cible des antigènes cachés de la tique

Datations radiométriques de l'extinction des grandes faunes pléistocènes au Pérou.

International audienceThe discovery in northern Peru of fossil deposits belonging to large mammals allows the dating of the extinction of this fauna. The method based on desequilibrium within the uranium family (230Th/234U) was used. The extinction occurred at the end of the Pleistocene (15-16 Kyrs Cal BP) and is contemporaneous with the beginning of the deglaciation. Moreover, this dating, compared with the results of excavations of palaeo-indian "Paijan" sites, indicates that human groups in Peru did not play a significant role in the extinction of this large fauna.Les restes osseux découverts dans les gisements paléontologiques à grands mammifères du Pérou ont pu être datés par la méthode fondée sur les déséquilibres de la famille de l'uranium (230Th-234U). L'extinction de cette grande faune coïncide avec la fin du Pléistocène et le début de la déglaciation (15-16 Ka Cal BP). La chronologie et les fouilles menées dans les gisements paijaniens montrent que les groupes humains préhistoriques au Pérou ne semblent pas avoir joué un rôle significatif dans cette extinction qui semble être la conséquence de changements climatiques importants dans cette région

Caractérisation de la table de routage BGP

International audienceBGP routing table growth is one of the major Internet scaling issues, and prefix deaggregation is thought to be a major contributor to table growth. In this work we quantify the fragmentation of the routing table by the type of IP prefix. We observe that the proportion of deaggregated prefixes has quasi doubled in the last fifteen years. Our study also shows that the deaggregated prefixes are the least stable; they appear and disappear more frequently. While we can not see significant differences in path prepending between the categories, deaggregated prefixes do tend to be announced more selectively, indicating traffic engineering. We find cases where lonely prefixes are actually deaggregation in disguise. Indeed, some large transit ISPs advertise many lonely prefixes when they own the covering prefix. We show the extents of this practice that has a negative impact on the routing table even though it could usually be avoided.La croissance de la table de routage BGP est un des problèmes majeurs de l'expansion d'Internet, et la désaggrégation des préfixes semble être la cause principale de cette croissance. Dans cet article, nous quantifions la fragmentation de la table de routage BGP en classant les préfixes IP par type. Nous observons que la proportion de préfixes désaggrégés a doublé dans les quinze dernières années. Nous montrons également que ces préfixes sont les moins stables: ils apparaissent et disparaissent plus fréquemment. Malgrés le taux similaire de path prepending pour les différentes catégories de préfixes, les préfixes désaggrégés ont tendance à être annoncés sélectivement, indiquant de l'ingénierie de trafic. Une partie des préfixes solitaires sont en réalité désaggrégés. En effet, certains grands FAI annoncent un grand nombre de préfixes solitaires alors qu'ils possèdent le préfixe les couvrant. Nous dévoilons l'étendue de cette pratique qui a un effet non négligeable sur la fragmentation de la table de routage alors qu'elle pourrait généralement être évitée

Contrasted morphosedimentary activity of the lower Kert River (northeastern Morocco) during the Late Pleistocene and the Holocene. Possible impact of bioclimatic variations and human action

International audienceFrom field observations in the lower Kert valley and 16 radiocarbon dating measurements, six alluvial units (UF1 to UF6) deposited since about 30,000 years BP have been identified, comprising 18 lithofacies and separated by six incision stages resulting in three alluvial terraces (T1 to T3). While the Late Pleistocene is mainly marked by sedimentary accretion (UF1 forming part of T1), the Holocene is marked by the alternation of major incision (I2, I3 and I4) and accretion (UF2 and UF3) stages, with roughly similar height ranges, between the current river level and polyphased T1 surface. During the Lower and Middle Holocene, this complex morphosedimentary evolution could have been the result of contrasted bioclimatic trends that did not appear during the Late Pleistocene. Human activities modified the earth surface conditions, intermittently during the Middle Holocene, and during the Upper Holocene, inducing new responses from the fluvial geosystem to the environment

Etude Archeothanatologique De La Sepulture Protohistorique Du Monument Funeraire Mbii (Boulmane, Moyen Atlas, Maroc)

The Moudmane Boulama site is a funeral structure located at 10 km South West of the city of Boulmane (Middle Atlas). It is a necropolis made of approximately twenty tumuli implanted on a hill. The MBII funeral monument is a tumulus built on the top of this hill, which culminates at 1970 m. It is an oval formation made of stack of stones and blocks. The funeral space is delimited in its West part by a low wall made of a sharpened stone alignment. The digs undertaken in June 2013 brought to light the burial place of a H3 adult and some remains of another adult as well as an immature subject. The skeleton of the most complete H3 individual is a male adult, buried in a lying dorsal position, oriented towards East West, head towards West and feet East. He is in a hyper contracted position and lays on an oval plane pit with a diameter of less than a meter. The calvarium and the mandible were subjected to a rotation and lay on the right side. The superior members are folded on themselves and laid on the thorax. The inferior members are also flexed. The skeleton is characterised by the maintaining of the connection of a number of labile elements which allows the characterisation of the burial place as being primarily in clogged space. This funeral monument has probably been used at first for the reception of the two individuals (H1 and H2) and then for the burial of the H3 individual in a sepulchral pit. The reuse of the monument could be explained by the three individuals belonging to the same family and that the last buried subject H3 has a more important familial and possibly social role. This tumulus has also released funeral furniture made of a few bones of domestic fauna. They were the object of a radiometric dating, which allowed the attribution of 2290 ± 35 years old to this tumulus14C B.P (GifA15085/ Sac A 41509)