A Unique Population of Cave Bears (Carnivora: Ursidae) from the Middle Pleistocene of Kents Cavern, England, Based on Dental Morphometrics

The ‘breccia’ stratum from Kents (we follow local tradition in using the form ‘Kents’, without an apostrophe) Cavern, England, has been well known for its rich yield of cave-bear material since excavations began in the mid-19th century. Recent work has established that the bears are of latest MIS 12 or earliest MIS 11 age. A life table based on a collection of 67 molariform teeth is consistent with the use of the cave as a hibernaculum. Univariate and morphological assessment of the teeth shows an unusual range of primitive and more derived characters. Multivariate morphometric analysis of cave-bear teeth from the site demonstrates that these animals, while currently assignable to Ursus deningeri sensu lato, are nevertheless morphologically distinct and not simply late deningeri on a hypothetical chronospecific continuum

Genetic turnovers and northern survival during the last glacial maximum in European brown bears.

The current phylogeographic pattern of European brown bears (Ursus arctos) has commonly been explained by postglacial recolonization out of geographically distinct refugia in southern Europe, a pattern well in accordance with the expansion/contraction model. Studies of ancient DNA from brown bear remains have questioned this pattern, but have failed to explain the glacial distribution of mitochondrial brown bear clades and their subsequent expansion across the European continent. We here present 136 new mitochondrial sequences generated from 346 remains from Europe, ranging in age between the Late Pleistocene and historical times. The genetic data show a high Late Pleistocene diversity across the continent and challenge the strict confinement of bears to traditional southern refugia during the last glacial maximum (LGM). The mitochondrial data further suggest a genetic turnover just before this time, as well as a steep demographic decline starting in the mid-Holocene. Levels of stable nitrogen isotopes from the remains confirm a previously proposed shift toward increasing herbivory around the LGM in Europe. Overall, these results suggest that in addition to climate, anthropogenic impact and inter-specific competition may have had more important effects on the brown bear's ecology, demography, and genetic structure than previously thought

Gestion de l'hydraulique agricole et bonification des grands marais de Bourgoin-la Verpillière à l'époque romaine

International audienc

Contexte géoarchéologique, chronologique et environnemental

Contexte géoarchéologique, chronologique et environnementa

Contexte géoarchéologique, chronologique et environnemental

Contexte géoarchéologique, chronologique et environnementa

Les mutations d'un domaine de La Tène au Haut Moyen Âge Le Vernai à Saint-Romain-de-Jalionas (Isère)

[FR] Une étude interdisciplinaire est actuellement conduite sur une villa et son terroir à Saint-Romain-de-Jalionas (Isère), aux confins septentrionaux de la Narbonnaise. À la fouille d’un établissement rural occupé sans interruption du IIIe s. av. J.-C. à la fin du haut Moyen Âge, cette recherche associe l’exploration des formations superficielles de la plaine alluviale de la rivière bordant le site à celle d’un marais où sont conservés plusieurs réseaux hydrauliques antiques. Cet article présente les différentes phases de l’évolution de cet habitat, aux dimensions exceptionnelles, et les modalités de l’adaptation par ses occupants successifs d’un environnement considéré, a priori, comme défavorable.[EN] A pluridisciplinary study is going on at Saint-Romain-de-Jalionas (Isère) on a villa and its territory on the northern fringes of Narbonensis. This research includes the excavation of a rural establishment occupied without interruption from the 3rd c. BC to the end of early Middle Age and the exploration of superficial formations of the alluvial valley of the river along the site and of a marsh where several Roman hydraulic systems are preserved. In this article, the different phases of occupation of this exceptionally vast settlement are being described altogether, with the modes of adaptation by its successive inhabitants of an environment considered as unfavourable.Peer Reviewe

Ancient canals in the valley of Bourgoin-La Verpillière (France, Isère): morphological and geoarchaeological studies of irrigation systems from the Iron Age to the Early Middle Ages (8th century bc–6th century ad)

International audienceAncient canals in the valley of Bourgoin-La Verpillière (France, Isère): morphological and geoarchaeological studies of irrigation systems from the Iron Age to the Early Middle Ages (8th century BC–6th century AD