Neverwhere : les égarés de la narration

Cet article propose une analyse des schémas actantiels qui régissent les différents personnages du roman Neverwhere par Neil Gaiman. À travers une exploration rigoureuse des rôles successivement endossés par les personnages, il cherche à démontrer la porosité des fonctions narratives classiques. Au terme de cette démarche, on s’aperçoit que le récit met en acte des personnages mouvants, chacun héros, de leur histoire ou d’une autre.This article focuses on the characters of the novel Neverwhere written by Neil Gaiman and discusses the roles they play in the novel. It tackles their mutability and their lack of stability through a careful analysis of the narrative patterns dictating their actions. Its leading statement is that, despite being presented as sidekicks and underlings, all the characters in the novel are in fact heroes in their own rights, albeit of different stories

The advantage of using independent subdivisions during archaeological excavations for the study of small vertebrate remains

Les restes de petits vertébrés de nombreuses collections sont conditionnés et étudiés selon les couches archéologiques caractérisées lors de la fouille. De facto, l’analyse de ces collections est influencée par ces ensembles prédéfinis, ce qui biaise d’éventuelles réévaluations et de nouveaux découpages biostratigraphiques. S’appuyant sur l’analyse de trois collections de petits vertébrés issues de gisements fouillés à différentes périodes (les sites d’Olha I dans les Pyrénées-Atlantiques, des Pradelles en Charente et de Peyrazet dans le Lot), ce travail met en évidence l’avantage d’enregistrer précisément la provenance spatiale de ce type de microvestiges. Cet article propose donc que les restes de petits vertébrés soient systématiquement enregistrés et collectés par décapages successifs (ou passes) dont la situation spatiale est définie non pas par rapport à une couche archéologique, mais par des coordonnées cartésiennes. Ce mode d’enregistrement permet d’établir des biostratigraphies réellement indépendantes des autres stratigraphies (i.e. litho-, archéo-, chronostratigraphies) et corrélables à ces dernières.The remains of small vertebrates are generally recorded and analyzed according to archaeological levels defined during excavations. As a consequence, the study of such assemblages is influenced by these predefined levels, creating possible analytical biases and errors in the characterization of biostratigraphical units. The study of small vertebrate assemblages from Olha 1 (Pyrénées-Atlantiques), Les Pradelles (Charente) and Peyrazet (Lot) demonstrates the benefit of systematically recording detailed spatial information for these types of remains. Independent subdivisions (spits) defined by Cartesian coordinates allow independently defined biostratigraphical units to be correlated with litho- and archaeo-stratigraphy

Intérêts de l’utilisation des décapages lors des fouilles archéologiques pour l’étude des restes de petits vertébrés

Les restes de petits vertébrés de nombreuses collections sont conditionnés et étudiés selon les couches archéologiques caractérisées lors de la fouille. De facto, l’analyse de ces collections est influencée par ces ensembles prédéfinis, ce qui biaise d’éventuelles réévaluations et de nouveaux découpages biostratigraphiques. S’appuyant sur l’analyse de trois collections de petits vertébrés issues de gisements fouillés à différentes périodes (les sites d’Olha I dans les Pyrénées-Atlantiques, des Pradelles en Charente et de Peyrazet dans le Lot), ce travail met en évidence l’avantage d’enregistrer précisément la provenance spatiale de ce type de microvestiges. Cet article propose donc que les restes de petits vertébrés soient systématiquement enregistrés et collectés par décapages successifs (ou passes) dont la situation spatiale est définie non pas par rapport à une couche archéologique, mais par des coordonnées cartésiennes. Ce mode d’enregistrement permet d’établir des biostratigraphies réellement indépendantes des autres stratigraphies (i.e. litho-, archéo-, chronostratigraphies) et corrélables à ces dernières.The remains of small vertebrates are generally recorded and analyzed according to archaeological levels defined during excavations. As a consequence, the study of such assemblages is influenced by these predefined levels, creating possible analytical biases and errors in the characterization of biostratigraphical units. The study of small vertebrate assemblages from Olha 1 (Pyrénées-Atlantiques), Les Pradelles (Charente) and Peyrazet (Lot) demonstrates the benefit of systematically recording detailed spatial information for these types of remains. Independent subdivisions (spits) defined by Cartesian coordinates allow independently defined biostratigraphical units to be correlated with litho- and archaeo-stratigraphy

Hares and rabbits at Regourdou (Montignac-sur-Vézère, Dordogne, France): paleontological and taphonomic studies of two naturally-occurring bone accumulations

Depuis la fin du XIXe siècle, l’Europe occidentale a fait l’objet de très nombreux travaux pour étudier les modes de subsistance des sociétés préhistoriques. À partir du Paléolithique moyen, les Hommes vont alors s’intéresser au petit gibier, tels que les léporidés, taxons relativement abondants sur ce territoire. Or, distinguer l’origine de leur accumulation dans un site archéologique ne constitue pas une tâche aisée tant les agents pouvant en être responsables sont nombreux (i.e. mortalité naturelle, humains, carnivores terrestres, rapaces nocturnes ou diurnes). Dans cette contribution, nous avons mené des études taphonomique et paléontologique sur les léporidés de Regourdou, gisement moustérien ayant livré le squelette d’un Néandertalien. Les indices recensés suggèrent qu’aucun prédateur n’est intervenu dans les processus d’accumulation des restes de lièvres et de lapins, mais leurs assemblages seraient dus, respectivement, à une mortalité naturelle de type accidentelle et de type attritionnelle. La mise en évidence du premier processus montre que la cavité aurait fonctionné comme un aven-piège à un moment donné de son histoire, tandis que le second révèle l’existence d’une Garenne in situ, interprétée comme la dernière occupation du site durant le MIS 4 ou 3, avant la fin du comblement sédimentaire. Les variations morphologiques et de taille corporelle des individus permettent également de préciser les changements d’ordre paléo-environnementaux depuis le début du fonctionnement du site, confirmant l’attribution des niveaux inférieurs à la période tempérée du MIS 5, et les niveaux supérieurs à une phase plus récente du MIS 4 ou 3.Since the end of the nineteenth century, a great deal of work studying subsistence patterns of prehistoric societies in Western Europe has been done. During the Middle Paleolithic, humans were interested in small game, particularly the Leporidae, taxa that were abundant in their territories. However, distinguishing the exact nature of their origin in an archaeological site is not an easy task, given that numerous agents could be responsible for their accumulation (i.e., natural mortality, acquisition by humans and/or other terrestrial carnivores, or even nocturnal or diurnal raptors). In this contribution, we put forth a new taphonomic and paleontological study of the leporids of Regourdou, a Mousterian site that has yielded a Neandertal skeleton. This study suggests that no predators were involved in the accumulation of the hare or rabbit remains, but rather that they are due to natural (accidental) mortality for the former, and natural (attritional) mortality for the latter. Specifically, the evidence suggests that at one point in its history (for the hares), the cavity functioned as a natural pitfall trap, while for the rabbits it appears to show the existence of a warren, which we interpret as having existed during the last occupation of the site during MIS 4 or 3, before the end of the accumulation of sediments in the site. Morphological variation and body size of individuals also allows us to specify the order of paleoenvironmental changes since the site’s functional beginning, confirming the attribution of the inferior levels to the MIS 5 temperate period, and the upper levels to a more recent phase in MIS 4 or 3

Nouveaux fossiles humains moustériens : les vestiges du gisement de La Balutie (Montignac-Lascaux)

Nos connaissances sur la variabilité biologique des membres de la lignée néandertalienne dépendent de la découverte de fossiles humains. En France, ces connaissances sont souvent restreintes à des vestiges issus d’un cercle limité de gisements, fouillés régulièrement depuis plusieurs dizaines d’années. L’étude de vestiges issus de fouilles programmées menées sur de nouveaux contextes ou sur d’autres longtemps oubliés, comme c’est le cas ici, offre ainsi l’opportunité rare de mieux appréhende..

Importance of field data for understanding a potential Mousterian funerary deposit : the case of the Regourdou 1 skeleton (Montignac-sur-Vézère, Dordogne, France)

Aside from the work of Bonifay (see Bonifay et al. 2007 for one of the more recent papers) and various articles following these earlier works (e.g., Binant 1991, Defleur 1993, Maureille et Vandermeersch 2007, Pettitt 2011, see also May 1986 for a more critical analysis), the in situ position of the remains of Regourdou 1 from layer 4 has never actually been discussed on the basis of available data from the salvage operation carried out in October 1957 by E. Bonifay and G. Laplace-Jauretche, under the administrative authority of François Bordes, or from the subsequent, more systematic, excavations directed by E. Bonifay between 1961 and 1964. Via the compilation of available information from a number of unpublished documents (François Bordes’ field notes, drawings made during the salvage operation, photographs taken in 1957, 1961 and 1962, as well as databases from the 1961 to 1964 excavations), and also a new inventory of human remains (both previously known and recently discovered), it is now possible to more accurately reconstruct the position of the human remains in a Cartesian system. In this, we assume that the concentration of remains uncovered during the salvage operation was in square G2, according to the preliminary systematic excavations carried out in 1961. They also bring to light that while practically no anatomical connections can be demonstrated with any certainty – and despite significant disruptions (all of the hominin remains are spread over 9 squares : G1 to G3, F1 to F3, E1 and E2, D2) – they are mainly positioned in squares G2 and G3 to some degree with respect to the anatomical logic of the human body. We therefore assume that Regourdou 1 was lying flat, with its head to the west – perhaps upon its trunk – close to the wall of the cavity. This result is different from the fetal position hypothesis proposed in Bonifay et al. (2007). Moreover many post-depositional (albeit Pleistocene) disturbances are also evident. We believe that they were likely the result of the utilization and modification of the cavity by brown bears and lagomorphs.Only new excavations at the site, and a better taphonomic understanding of Bonifay’s (1964) layer 4 (in which Regourdou 1 was found), and the exact role of humans in its formation, i.e., their anthropic impact on the layer, will allow us to discuss in more detail the nature of the deposition of the body, and, hopefully, the absence of the skull

Recent Laborian of the Peyrazet cave-rock shelter (Creysse, Lot, France). New data for the end of Lateglacial in Quercy

Découverte en 1990, la grotte-abri de Peyrazet (Creysse, Lot, France) se situe dans le Haut-Quercy en bordure du causse de Martel, à quelques centaines de mètres du cours actuel de la Dordogne. Les fouilles menées depuis 2008 livrent une archéoséquence du Tardiglaciaire qui permet de combler certaines lacunes documentaires régionales et plus largement du Sud-Ouest de la France. Au Magdalénien supérieur succède un niveau ayant donné des indices d’un Azilien sensu lato stratigraphiquement séparé du Laborien, ensemble supérieur qui fait l’objet de cet article. Jusqu’alors ce technocomplexe de la fin du Pléistocène et des débuts de l’Holocène demeurait mal connu dans la région. En effet, seuls des travaux anciens menés dans deux gisements permettaient de noter sa présence en Quercy. La découverte d’un ensemble laborien récent (ou Épilaborien) à Peyrazet est l’occasion de conduire une étude collective des divers vestiges dans un cadre archéostratigraphique mieux maîtrisé. L’analyse géoarchéologique met en évidence l’action conjointe du ruissellement et de l’éboulisation comme principaux responsables de la mise en place des dépôts. Dans la partie S-O du site, un lithofaciès de remaniement indique une bioturbation importante en lien avec le creusement de terriers. Bien que leur origine ne soit pas liée aux activités humaines, les rongeurs, les oiseaux, les poissons et les mésomammifères (excepté le lièvre) apportent des données concernant l’environnement des chasseurs-cueilleurs. La grande faune est dominée par le cerf dont les carcasses pourraient avoir été introduites incomplètes sur le site puis traitées pour en extraire la viande et la moelle. Nous avons bénéficié d’une analyse fonctionnelle croisée à l’étude typo-technologique des vestiges lithiques composés pour l’essentiel de silex locaux et régionaux. Ce double regard a permis de mettre en évidence une diversité d’activités mise en œuvre dans la cavité. Une pièce d’ocre rouge, quelques vestiges d’industrie osseuse et des éléments de parure participent également à la description d’une large gamme de tâches effectuées lors d’un séjour prolongé ou de plusieurs occupations successives. La comparaison des pointes de chasse microlithiques avec d’autres gisements sur une vaste échelle géographique conduit à discuter l’attribution de cet ensemble supérieur à différentes phases du Laborien. L’hypothèse d’un Laborien récent (ou Épilaborien) conduit à réfléchir à une perduration de morphotypes ancestraux parallèlement à de nouveaux types d’armatures, observation déjà réalisée notamment à La Borie del Rey dans le Haut-Agenais mais qui demande encore des précisions et de nouvelles découvertes.Discovered in 1990, Peyrazet cave-rock shelter (Creysse, Lot) lies in the Haut-Quercy region at the limits of the Martel limestone plateau, several hundred meters from the current Dordogne River valley. Excavations begun in 2008 produced a Late Glacial archaeo-sequence that sheds new light on several still poorly understood aspects of the archeological record in both the Haut-Quercy region and southwestern France in general. The level overlying the Late Magdalenian occupation produced limited evidence for the Azilian and is stratigraphically separated from the Laborian. This latter techno-complex, dated to the end of the Pleistocene and early Holocene, remains poorly documented in the region, having only been previously identified from two sites in the Quercy. The discovery of a recent Laborian (Epilaborian) occupation at Peyrazet presented the ideal occasion for a collaborative study of the diverse archaeological material recovered from this well-understood archaeo-stratigraphic context. A geoarchaeological analysis produced evidence for both surface runoff and the accumulation of coarse deposits (éboulis) as the principal site formation processes. In the southwest area of the site, a reworked lithofacies demonstrates substantial bioturbation in connection with animal burrowing. Although the presence of rodent, bird, fish, and medium-sized mammals (except hare) cannot be definitively connected to human activity, they nevertheless provide important information concerning the environments exploited by hunter-gatherer groups. Larger species are dominated by red deer whose carcasses were partially processed before being introduced to the site, where meat was subsequently removed and marrow consumed. A functional analysis combined with a typo-technological study of the primarily locally- and regionally-procured lithic material revealed evidence for diverse activities having taken place on-site. An ochre fragment, several bone tools and ornaments equally indicate a large variety of tasks to have been carried out during a single, long occupation or several successive visits. A typo-technological comparison of hunting weaponry (microliths) from sites across a substantial area suggests the assemblage to represent either a Laborian/Epilaborian mix or a unique Epilaborian occupation. This latter case would indicate the persistence of older morphotypes alongside the development of new tools forms, a situation already identified at Borie del Rey in the Haut-Agenais but which requires more detailed study supported by new discoveries

Ancient DNA reveals interstadials as a driver of common vole population dynamics during the last glacial period

Aim Many species experienced population turnover and local extinction during the Late Pleistocene. In the case of megafauna, it remains challenging to disentangle climate change and the activities of Palaeolithic hunter-gatherers as the main cause. In contrast, the impact of humans on rodent populations is likely to be negligible. This study investigated which climatic and/or environmental factors affect the population dynamics of the common vole. This temperate rodent is widespread across Europe and was one of the most abundant small mammal species throughout the Late Pleistocene. Location Europe. Taxon Common vole (Microtus arvalis). Methods We generated a dataset comprised of 4.2 kb long fragment of mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) from 148 ancient and 51 modern specimens sampled from multiple localities across Europe and covering the last 60 thousand years (ka). We used Bayesian inference to reconstruct their phylogenetic relationships and to estimate the age of the specimens that were not directly dated. Results We estimated the time to the most recent common ancestor of all last glacial and extant common vole lineages to be 90 ka ago and the divergence of the main mtDNA lineages present in extant populations to between 55 and 40 ka ago, which is earlier than most previous estimates. We detected several lineage turnovers in Europe during the period of high climate variability at the end of Marine Isotope Stage 3 (MIS 3; 57-29 ka ago) in addition to those found previously around the Pleistocene/Holocene transition. In contrast, data from the Western Carpathians suggest continuity throughout the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) even at high latitudes. Main Conclusions The main factor affecting the common vole populations during the last glacial period was the decrease in open habitat during the interstadials, whereas climate deterioration during the LGM had little impact on population dynamics. This suggests that the rapid environmental change rather than other factors was the major force shaping the histories of the Late Pleistocene faunas.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

How complex is the evolution of small mammal communities during the Late Glacial in southwest France?

11 pagesInternational audienceThe Late Glacial was a slow gradual warming associated with short, cold events that occurred between 18.0 and 11.7 ka cal. BP. Pollen analyses from deep-sea and lacustrine cores have well documented the evolution of floral communities in western Europe and suggest that climatic fluctuations influenced the evolution of terrestrial ecosystems. However, the exact impact of these climate changes on small faunal communities in southwest France is still poorly documented. Peyrazet Cave is an archaeological site located in the Lot (France) that has been excavated since 2008 and has yielded a Late Glacial sequence dated between 15.5 and 11.1 ka cal. BP. Thousands of small faunal remains resulting from a natural accumulation have been recovered. Investigation of this material has surprisingly revealed remains of two rodents that currently inhabit Central and Eastern Europe, the northern birch mouse (Sicista betulina) and the European hamster (Cricetus cricetus). The presence of these two taxa, which had migrated from the east and had been never documented in this region before the Late Glacial, is most likely related to short climatic fluctuations in the Late Glacial, suggesting more complex scenarios than traditionally accepted to explain the evolution of small faunal communities between the Last Glacial Maximum and the Holocene