Natural processes involved in the formation of Pleistocene bone assemblages in continental South-East Asian caves : the case of the cave of the monk (Chiang Dao Wildlife Sanctuary, Thailand).

A large paleontological assemblage typical of Ailuropoda-Stegodon fauna was discovered in the Cave of the Monk, in northern Thailand. Geological and taphonomic approaches were conducted in order to determine site formation processes. A sedimentological study indicated that the fossiliferous layer resulted from mediumsize burrowing animals occupying the cave. Bone surface analysis confirmed that Porcupine was the main, if not exclusive, bone accumulator. A bone accumulation rate was calculated. The assemblage appears to have formed over an average period of one to several tens of thousand of years. This time frame means that the assemblage can not be considered as a homogeneous reference for palaeoenvironmental reconstruction as may have been assumed without the present analysis

Taphonomy and paleoecological significance of the Ailuropoda-Stegodon complex of Ban Fa Suai (Northern Thailand).

International audienceSince the description of the complex Ailuropoda-Stegodon as a faunistic association with chronological signification for South-East Asian area, no consideration was done to evaluate the melting of faunas pointed out by De Vos. The taphonomical study of the cave of the Monk (Ban Fa Suai, Northern Thailand) brings evidence of sequential deposits with ecological significance

Dutour O., Hublin J.-J, Vandermeersch B. Origine et évolution des populations humaines

Zeitoun Valéry. Dutour O., Hublin J.-J, Vandermeersch B. Origine et évolution des populations humaines. In: Bulletin de la Société préhistorique française, tome 103, n°2, 2006. pp. 406-409

Dutour O., Hublin J.-J, Vandermeersch B. Origine et évolution des populations humaines

Zeitoun Valéry. Dutour O., Hublin J.-J, Vandermeersch B. Origine et évolution des populations humaines. In: Bulletin de la Société préhistorique française, tome 103, n°2, 2006. pp. 406-409

Pindar Sidisunthorn, Simon Gardner and Dean Smart. Caves of Northern Thailand

Zeitoun Valéry. Pindar Sidisunthorn, Simon Gardner and Dean Smart. Caves of Northern Thailand. In: Aséanie 18, 2006. pp. 211-212

Censure et guerres mondiales

Holman Valerie, Zeitoun Valéry. Censure et guerres mondiales. In: Cahiers de l'Association internationale des études francaises, 2010, n°62. pp. 377-393

Prospections paléolithiques et perspectives technologiques pour redéfinir le hoabinhien du Nord de la Thaïlande (campagnes 2002-2005)

Field research conducted in 2002-2005 in the North of Thailand by the "Thai- French Paleolithic Mission" has led to the discovery of new prehistorical sites dating to the Hoabinhian period - the oldest ones (situated in the Tham Lot area) dating back to more than 20,000 years. The findings provide new data concerning the tools of the final stage of the Paleolithic period in the Far East and open new pespectives on the technological identity of the Hoabinhian assemblage.Les recherches menées par la Mission paléolithique franco-thaïe dans le Nord de la Thaïlande ont permis de mettre en évidence de nouveaux sites préhistoriques qui viennent enrichir la cartographie des sites d'époque hoabinhienne de cette région dont les plus anciens remontent à plus de 20000 ans dans la région de Tham Lot. Ces découvertes complètent les données connues sur les outils du Paléolithique final en Extrême-Orient, et ouvrent de nouvelles perspectives sur l'identité technologique du faciès hoabinhien.Forestier Hubert, Zeitoun Valéry. Prospections paléolithiques et perspectives technologiques pour redéfinir le hoabinhien du Nord de la Thaïlande (campagnes 2002-2005). In: Aséanie 15, 2005. pp. 33-60

Une usure dentaire différentielle chez les Néandertaliens ?

Differences in tooth wear are said to be found when comparison is made between anterior and posterior teeth among Neandertaliens. Some researchers have suggested that this queer wear on front teeth might lead to infer that Neandertaliens used their anterior dentition to hold objects while working on them. Others assert that differential wear is the proof of paramasticatory activities which contribute to select and maintain processes operating on Neandertals " muzzle " shaped face. The investigation of presumed relationship between tooth wear and cultural may be important, but a preliminar scientific study of facts has to be done. The use of anterior teeth for paramasticatory activities among Neandertals is supposed to be based on the paper of Hrdlicka (1911). But this author only wrote : (p. 408) : "The teeth in man, as well as in the animals, are, strictly speaking, only natural tools". Since, authors created the paramasticatory hypothèse, repeated it as a fact and now study it as an evidence. To study differential wear on teeth, a specific tool is needing. In this way we propose to test experimentally the dental wear scoring scale created by Molnar. While the levels of degree of wear were formulated in a manner such that each succeeding level represents a more severe expression of dental wear, the differences between levels and among each types of tooth, have to be assumed to be equal in magnitude. Our experimentation shows that the dental wear scoring scale of Molnar is not efficient to describe differential wear of teeth. We propose a new scale allowing to answer if anterior teeth wearing is much heavier than posterior one. Nevertheless, we can not show any distinction between Neandertaliens and anatomically modern humans.L'existence d'une usure plus prononcée des incisives par rapport aux dents jugales sur certains fossiles néandertaliens a été avancée par plusieurs auteurs. Cette existence présumée est à l'origine de l'hypothèse d'une utilisation particulière des dents antérieures chez les Néandertaliens. Or, ce comportement singulier aurait une grande implication culturelle. Pour étudier ce phénomène il convient de définir parfaitement l'usure dentaire. Comme préliminaire à la discussion de l'existence ou non d'une usure dentaire différentielle, il est utile d'élaborer un outil qui permette de la quantifier. Dans ce but nous avons étalonné l'échelle d'usure dentaire de Molnar, très utilisée en anthropologie et en odontologie. Malgré la constitution d'un abaque permettant de quantifier l'usure dentaire différentielle, il n'apparaît pas de distinction entre les Néandertaliens et les hommes modernes du Paléolithique ni avec des populations contemporaines.Zeitoun V., Ambroise D. Une usure dentaire différentielle chez les Néandertaliens ?. In: Paléo, n°7,1995. pp. 13-25