L’habitat du Bronze final des Courtinals à Mourèze (Hérault)

Cet article présente le matériel découvert lors des premières fouilles sur le site des Courtinals à Mourèze, réalisées par le C.R.A. des Chênes Verts en 1961. Ces lieux offrent une succession de niveaux datés par le mobilier du Néo-Chalcolithique, du Bronze final IIb, du Bronze final IIIa et des Ve-IVe s. av. J.-C. Le matériel du Bronze final IIb, rare et très fragmenté, permet de souligner la disjonction entre le faciès de l’arrière-pays du Languedoc oriental et celui du littoral. Celui du Bronze final IIIa, très abondant et très bien conservé, contribue à définir le fonds typologique de cette phase en Languedoc oriental, à partir duquel va se former le faciès Mailhacien I. Un développement particulier concerne une figurine de terre cuite dans laquelle on reconnaît aisément l’oie, la fonction de cet objet et le statut possible de cet oiseau au sein de ce groupe humain où il ne paraît pas avoir été consommé.This article presents the material discovered during the first excavations undertaken (b the CRA from des Chênes Verts in 1961) on the Courtinals site in Mourèze. A series of levels were dated by neo-chalcolithic material, from late Bronze Age IIb and IIIa, and also from Vth-IVth centuries BC. The small quantity of late Bronze Age IIb material is very fragmented, but it does allow us to define the disjunction between eastern Languedoc hinterland assemblages and those from the coast. The large late Bronze Age IIIa assemblage is well preserved, and makes an important contribution to the definition of the Mailhacien I typology, which characterises this period in the eastern Languedoc. The terre cuit figurine representing a goose is especially important in this regard as this poses the question as to the status of this bird, which seems never to have been eaten

Impacts of habitat heterogeneity on the provision of multiple ecosystem services in a temperate floodplain

The relationships between habitat heterogeneity and the provision of multiple ecosystem services are not well understood. This study investigates the impacts of heterogeneity in surface floodwater inundation on the productive efficiency of ecosystem service provision, and the degree to which the relative provision of these ecosystem services is evenly balanced. We analyse indicators of five services. Field data from 100 floodplain quadrats were first analysed to investigate relationships between ecosystem service indicators and floodplain hydrology. Floodplain mosaics of varying hydrological heterogeneity were then simulated using the empirical data. Simulated floodplains with higher hydrological heterogeneity were generally less efficient in providing the target indicators, because they were adapted to the particular hydrological ranges which best provided the target services. Simulated floodplains that were more heterogeneous generally provided more even levels of the target indicators by segregating provision into different habitat types. Heterogeneity in floodplain hydrology may help to balance provision of multiple ecosystem services. However, management of hydrological heterogeneity to achieve this requires a detailed understanding of the relationships between each service and habitat conditions

Historical influences on the current provision of multiple ecosystem services: is there a legacy of past landcover?

Ecosystem service provision varies temporally in response to natural and human-induced factors, yet research in this field is dominated by analyses that ignore the time-lags and feedbacks that occur within socio-ecological systems. The implications of this have been unstudied, but are central to understanding how service delivery will alter due to future land-use/cover change. Urban areas are expanding faster than any other land-use, making cities ideal study systems for examining such legacy effects. We assess the extent to which present-day provision of a suite of eight ecosystem services, quantified using field-gathered data, is explained by current and historical (stretching back 150 years) landcover. Five services (above-ground carbon density, recreational use, bird species richness, bird density, and a metric of recreation experience quality (continuity with the past) were more strongly determined by past landcover. Time-lags ranged from 20 (bird species richness and density) to over 100 years (above-ground carbon density). Historical landcover, therefore, can have a strong influence on current service provision. By ignoring such time-lags, we risk drawing incorrect conclusions regarding how the distribution and quality of some ecosystem services may alter in response to land-use/cover change. Although such a finding adds to the complexity of predicting future scenarios, ecologists may find that they can link the biodiversity conservation agenda to the preservation of cultural heritage, and that certain courses of action provide win-win outcomes across multiple environmental and cultural goods

Three-dimensional super-resolution microscopy of the inactive X chromosome territory reveals a collapse of its active nuclear compartment harboring distinct Xist RNA foci

Background: A Xist RNA decorated Barr body is the structural hallmark of the compacted inactive X territory in female mammals. Using super resolution three-dimensional structured illumination microscopy (3D-SIM) and quantitative image analysis, we compared its ultrastructure with active chromosome territories (CTs) in human and mouse somatic cells, and explored the spatio-temporal process of Barr body formation at onset of inactivation in early differentiating mouse embryonic stem cells (ESCs). Results: We demonstrate that all CTs are composed of structurally linked chromatin domain clusters (CDCs). In active CTs the periphery of CDCs harbors low-density chromatin enriched with transcriptionally competent markers, called the perichromatin region (PR). The PR borders on a contiguous channel system, the interchromatin compartment (IC), which starts at nuclear pores and pervades CTs. We propose that the PR and macromolecular complexes in IC channels together form the transcriptionally permissive active nuclear compartment (ANC). The Barr body differs from active CTs by a partially collapsed ANC with CDCs coming significantly closer together, although a rudimentary IC channel system connected to nuclear pores is maintained. Distinct Xist RNA foci, closely adjacent to the nuclear matrix scaffold attachment factor-A (SAF-A) localize throughout Xi along the rudimentary ANC. In early differentiating ESCs initial Xist RNA spreading precedes Barr body formation, which occurs concurrent with the subsequent exclusion of RNA polymerase II (RNAP II). Induction of a transgenic autosomal Xist RNA in a male ESC triggers the formation of an `autosomal Barr body' with less compacted chromatin and incomplete RNAP II exclusion. Conclusions: 3D-SIM provides experimental evidence for profound differences between the functional architecture of transcriptionally active CTs and the Barr body. Basic structural features of CT organization such as CDCs and IC channels are however still recognized, arguing against a uniform compaction of the Barr body at the nucleosome level. The localization of distinct Xist RNA foci at boundaries of the rudimentary ANC may be considered as snap-shots of a dynamic interaction with silenced genes. Enrichment of SAF-A within Xi territories and its close spatial association with Xist RNA suggests their cooperative function for structural organization of Xi

Une nouvelle lampe en terre cuite en forme de pied

Rouquette Daniel. Une nouvelle lampe en terre cuite en forme de pied. In: Revue archéologique du Centre de la France, tome 11, fascicule 1-2, 1972. pp. 172-174

Les parures wisigothiques de Marseillan (Hérault)

Rouquette Daniel. Les parures wisigothiques de Marseillan (Hérault). In: Revue archéologique de Narbonnaise, tome 2, 1969. pp. 197-205

Annexe 2. Les estampilles sur amphores

Rouquette Daniel. Annexe 2. Les estampilles sur amphores. In: Revue archéologique de Narbonnaise, tome 27-28, 1994. pp. 112-120

Annexe 2. Les estampilles sur amphores

Rouquette Daniel. Annexe 2. Les estampilles sur amphores. In: Revue archéologique de Narbonnaise, tome 27-28, 1994. pp. 112-120

Une curieuse lampe en terre sigillée de Mèze (Hérault)

Daniel ROUQUETTE, Une curieuse lampe en terre sigillée. Lampe en caliga, avec laçage réduit à de fines lanières, rappelant celui de la solea et indication du cloutage de la semelle ; ce dernier, léger et disposé avec art indique peut-être que l'on a voulu représenter une sandale peu cloutée destinée aux femmes. Comparaison avec les deux seules lampes de ce type connus en Gaule, existant au Kam Museum à Nimègue et dont une reproduction est donnée ici.Rouquette Daniel. Une curieuse lampe en terre sigillée de Mèze (Hérault). In: Revue archéologique du Centre de la France, tome 8, fascicule 3, 1969. pp. 239-243