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Dissertations / Theses on the topic 'Paleolithic archaeology'
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1
Nash, Stephen Edward 1964. "Curation during the Middle Paleolithic: A reasonable research focus?" Thesis, The University of Arizona, 1991. http://hdl.handle.net/10150/291400.
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Anthony Marks' (1988) study "The Curation of Stone Tools During the Upper Pleistocene" utilized data from several Middle and Upper Paleolithic sites in the Central Negev Desert to test Binford's hypothesis that Middle Paleolithic assemblages are "expediently" produced, and Upper Paleolithic assemblages are "curated" (Marks 1988:276). The present study analyzes Marks' contribution, offers comparative data on technologically and typologically similar Middle Paleolithic assemblages from Tabun Cave in the northern Levant, and concludes that the application of these broad technological distinctions oversimplifies a complex archaeological record, and is not a very useful approach to the analysis of Middle Paleolithic assemblage variability.
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Roveland, Blythe E. "Contextualizing the history and practice of paleolithic archaeology : Hamburgian research in Northern Germany /." Ann Arbor (Mich.) : UMI dissertation services, 2001. http://catalogue.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/cb40112851f.
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Bush, Jessica Jo. "A Spatial Analysis of 24HL1085: A Prehistoric Site in the Bear's Paw Mountains." The University of Montana, 2009. http://etd.lib.umt.edu/theses/available/etd-05152009-142055/.
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This thesis is a spatial analysis of 24HL1085 and attempts to discern the use areas of two prehistoric components, Late Archaic and Late Prehistoric, through the identification of spatial patterns created by the excavated lithics, faunal remains, and fire cracked rock (FCR). I also wanted to show that understanding the spatial layout of FCR is just as important as understanding the spatial layout of lithics and faunal remains. In order to complete this analysis the three ring model developed by Stevenson (1985) was adapted and combined with the trend surface analysis created by Hodder and Orton (1976). Theory behind this analysis was based heavily on work done by Binford (1978, 1979, 1980, 1983, 1987). Results from this study showed that both components were comprised of several discernible use areas that provided a better understanding of how the site was created and used. Despite being separated by several thousand years, both components are representative of campsites at which people were hunting and gathering resources locally before leaving. Without the spatial data obtained from the FCR, a spatial analysis would have been almost impossible to complete to the same degree of certainty.
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Poupart, Melanie. "The oases in the desert: mobility and settlement in the Middle Paleolithic record of Jordan." Thesis, McGill University, 2009. http://digitool.Library.McGill.CA:80/R/?func=dbin-jump-full&object_id=66707.
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The Levantine Paleolithic record is central to understanding human migrations out of Africa and the relationship between Neanderthals and Anatomically Modern Homo sapiens. Lithic remains are the most plentiful source of information on these ancient peoples, and understanding how they can be used to infer cognitive abilities, mobility patterns and settlement strategies is essential to Paleolithic studies. A review of published Middle Paleolithic sites in Jordan demonstrates that currently accepted theories on Levantine Middle Paleolithic archaeology can be used as a framework only. Sites must be understood according to their specific contexts, and local Jordanian environments depend as much on tectonics and base water levels as they do on generalized climatic records. Lithic assemblages show that organizational flexibility was a key component to human adaptations and modern behavior is already present in Jordan early in the Middle Pleistocene.Les données du Levant paléolithique sont indispensables pour l'étude des migrations humaines hors de l'Afrique et pour celle des relations entre les Néanderthaliens et Homo sapiens sapiens. Les vestiges lithiques représentent la source de renseignements la plus importante au sujet de ces populations anciennes. Il est essentiel pour l'étude du Paléolithique de comprendre comment l'on peut utiliser ces renseignements afin d'en déduire les capacités cognitives, les trajectoires de mobilité et les stratégies d'établissement de ces hommes. Une révision des publications au sujet des sites du Paléolithique moyen en Jordanie démontre que les théories archéologiques courantes s'y rapportant ne peuvent constituer qu'un cadre. En effet, les sites doivent être étudiés selon le contexte particulier de chacun. Ainsi, la tectonique et le niveau de la nappe phréatique produisent des environnements locaux en Jordanie qui diffèrent des données climatiques généralisées. En outre, l'on peut démontrer à l'aide d'assemblages lithiques que la souplesse organisationnelle représentait un élément clé de l'adaptation humaine. Le comportement moderne est déjà présent en Jordanie au début du Pléistocène moyen.
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Jorstad, Susan Kay 1951. "A quantitative comparison of finds from open-air and cave sites in the Western European Middle Paleolithic." Thesis, The University of Arizona, 1996. http://hdl.handle.net/10150/291920.
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This study looks at quantitative differences and similarities in diversity of archaeological finds (stone tools and animal bone) at two categories of Western European Middle Paleolithic sites: open-air and cave/rockshelters. Specifically, it tests the null hypothesis that there are no differences in (1) artifact diversity as measured using the Bordes typology; (2) faunal diversity as measured by number of taxa; and (3) the percentages of stone tools that fall into the categories of either denticulates/notches or intensively retouched pieces. All analyses are based on regressions of diversity against assemblage size. For lithic assemblages, the H0 of no differences in find diversity between site types is rejected for lithics when the full Bordes typology is employed, but not when retouched-only pieces are analyzed (excluding Bordes' types 1-3, 5, 38, and 45-50). Faunal data are equivocal. The H0 is also rejected for the dimension of percentages of heavily-retouched tools, but not for denticulates/notches.
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Angel, Samanatha. "Music and paleolithic man the soundtrack of human cognitive development." Honors in the Major Thesis, University of Central Florida, 2012. http://digital.library.ucf.edu/cdm/ref/collection/ETH/id/651.
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Archaeologists have pored over countless texts of the ancient civilizations, attempting to piece together bygone worlds. However, relatively little work has been done to reconstruct the musical history of these societies, and even less on why their musical histories are important. This paper aims at a synthesis between the ancient Egyptian and classical Greek archaeological records to analyze the importance of music in Paleolithic human cognitive development. Countless musical instruments have been discovered globally, ranging from pre-Columbian bone flutes in Oaxaca, Mexico to ancient trumpets in Egyptian burials (Barber et al 2009). Apart from their place in a museum, minimal work has been done to ascertain their importance to human society as a whole. This thesis attempts to display the crucial need for more research in this field. The recent decline in support for arts education in favor of 'hard sciences' and mathematics is deeply disturbing; the history of humanity should be important not only to anthropologists and historians, but to members of all disciplines. This lack of interest in 'soft sciences' and the arts may lead to a complete loss of ancient musical history; a loss that would be devastating to history, anthropology and the worlds. The contents of this paper portray both the ancient importance of music, and how it contributed to increased cognitive faculties during hominid development.B.A.
Bachelors
Sciences
Anthropology
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Reubens, Karen. "From Keilmesser to Bout coupé handaxes : macro-regional variability among Western European Late Middle Paleolithic bifacial tools." Thesis, University of Southampton, 2012. https://eprints.soton.ac.uk/367133/.
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Neanderthals in Western Europe are associated with a plethora of stone tool assemblages and their internal variation has been linked to different causal factors and behavioural interpretations. This thesis presents a new contribution to the study of Middle Palaeolithic variability by focusing specifically on the Late Middle Palaeolithic period (MIS 5d-3) and the typo-technological, spatial and temporal differences amongst bifacially worked tools. Currently, in Western Europe distinct types of Late Middle Palaeolithic bifacial tools are associated with two macro-regional entities, the Mousterian of Acheulean Tradition (MTA) and the Keilmessergruppe (KMG). These two entities, centred in Southwestern France and Germany, also link to two different research traditions which use a variety of competing terms, typologies and definitions. This study uses a new classificatory approach to overcome these epistemological issues and facilitates for the first time wider-scale comparisons, incorporating the regions located in between the MTA and KMG core areas. Bifacial tools from 14 key assemblages were analysed through an extensive attribute analysis, creating a database with primary data for 1,303 bifacial tools. This data was then incorporated with other published site information allowing for a detailed assessment of both the typo-technological characteristics of the bifacial tools and their variability. Firstly, the results indicate that genuine differences exist among Late Middle Palaeolithic bifacial tool assemblages regardless of the classificatory framework. Secondly, exploration of the data using three different scales of analysis allowed for the recognition of different variation patterns and interpretations. At a micro-scale, it is clear that a large amount of typo-technological variability exists among Late Middle Palaeolithic bifacial tools, which can mainly be attributed to differences in local conditions, such as raw material and function. At a macro-scale the MTA/KMG dichotomy was confirmed by a distinct divide between classic handaxes and backed bifacial tools west and east of the Rhine. Additionally, a third entity, the Mousterian with bifacial tools (MBT), is located in between the MTA and KMG core areas and contains a wide variety of bifacial tools, including MTA and KMG types. At a meso-scale, several previously identified regional entities were merged into the MTA and MBT, but specific spatio-temporal units do exist, e.g. bout coupé handaxes in MIS3 Britain. At both this meso-and macro-scale the observed patterns cannot be explained merely by referring to differences in local settings, but require an additional sphere of interpretation, argued here to be culture. The MTA and KMG can be seen as two distinct cultural traditions, reflecting different lines of learned behavior, as expressed by different ways of making bifacial tools. The sporadic spread of KMG elements across Western Europe is indicative of Neanderthal population dynamics and the MBT is interpreted as the results of MTA-KMG interactions in an overlap zone where foreign influences were more easily absorbed. Finally, the distinct presence and absence of certain bifacial tool types in specific regions allow to argue for the presence of a collective cultural capacity among Neanderthals.
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Gao, Xing. "Explanations of typological variability in paleolithic remains from Zhoukoudian Locality 15, China." Diss., The University of Arizona, 2000. http://hdl.handle.net/10150/284129.
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Zhoukoudian Locality 15 is one of the most important Paleolithic sites in North China. It plays an essential role in assessing Pleistocene hominid adaptation and behavior, and defining Paleolithic cultural/technological traditions and transitions in North China and greater East Asia. However, the paucity of published original research hinders the accessibility of this rich archaeological collection and forces many discussions concerning this locality speculative and far-fetched. This dissertation makes a comprehensive study of this site and the rich data-set from it. Major topics covered by this study includeGeology, stratigraphy, chronology, paleoenvironmental reconstruction, lithic analysis, and a discussion of the current practice and theoretical framework of Paleolithic research in China. The centerpiece of the study is lithic analysis, including artifact typology and variability, core reduction, tool retouch and modification, and raw material exploitation and economy. Through these analyses, a series of theoretical and empirical questions are addressed, such as the nature of stone tool variability at the site, the capability and preferences of the Locality 15 hominids in handling the available raw materials and modifying lithic tools, the restrictions of raw materials placed on stone tool technology and stylistic features, the interaction between nature and hominids at the site, and the proper placement of the Locality 15 industry in Paleolithic cultural traditions and developments in North China. This study found that sophisticated direct hard hammer percussion was employed as the principal flaking technique to exploit vein quartz at the site, which is very distinctive from the Sinanthropus industry at Zhoukoudian Locality 1. However, the presence of Levallois technology at the site, as often mentioned, cannot be verified by this study. The dominant tool type is simply modified sidescrapers. The stone tools' informal features, minimal modification, and variability in morphology and edge are perceived as closely related to raw material quality and availability and mainly the function of the original blank forms. The Locality 15 materials are also recognized as a direct challenge to the scheme of identifying a three-stage cultural transitions and models classifying distinct Paleolithic technological traditions currently prevail in North China and East Asia.
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Terry, Karisa. "Extreme measures Upper Paleolithic raw material provisioning strategies and settlement of the Transbaikal region, Siberia /." Pullman, Wash. : Washington State University, 2010. http://www.dissertations.wsu.edu/Dissertations/Spring2010/k_terry_040710.pdf.
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Tonner, Philip. "The dwelling perspective : Heidegger, archaeology, and the Palaeolithic origins of human mortality." Thesis, University of Oxford, 2015. https://ora.ox.ac.uk/objects/uuid:1970f1dc-201d-4f49-adc0-9ffdd4010127.
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This interdisciplinary thesis is about dwelling, both as a method in archaeology and as a mode of existence. My thesis has two principal aims. Firstly, to explore the 'dwelling perspective' as this has been outlined in recent archaeological theory. This will involve discussion of phenomenological philosophy and the figure of Martin Heidegger. The term 'dwelling' is a technical one originating in Heidegger's philosophy of being. Phenomenology has been making inroads into archaeological theory as a consequence of the interpretive turn of the 1980s. The theoretical commitment of this thesis is that phenomenological inquiry is a useful project in archaeological research. Reflexive archaeological research in the present might articulate and confirm certain phenomenological dimensions of present experience so as to inform and enhance our understanding of the past. Secondly, I discuss the notion of dwelling in the existential sense as a mode of existence in terms that might allow us to deploy this concept in Palaeolithic archaeology, with specific reference to mortuary practice and "art". I propose two case studies in order to explore this. Firstly, mortuary practice and existential awareness of death will be explored with reference to the site of the Sima de los Huesos. Secondly, Heidegger's notion of artistic production as a world-opening event will be explored in relation to Upper Palaeolithic art in caves. The focus on mortuary practice and art is not arbitrary: both are central planks of Heidegger's account of dwelling and both are linked by 'heterotopic' space. Heidegger presented a novel account of human existence as 'Dasein'. Dasein is being-in-the-world and being-in-the-world is unified by what Heidegger called 'care' (Sorge). Heidegger's account of Dasein remains anthropocentric: I argue that we should move away from Heidegger's own anthropocentric view of being-in-the-world, dwelling or care toward a phenomenological archaeology that goes 'beyond the human'. I argue that care or dwelling is evidenced by the archaeological record of human becoming and that our ancestors 'cared for' or 'dwelled with' their dead. Care is evidenced by appropriating the world and by looking after compatriots within the world, and I argue that such an existential state had been reached before the advent of the Upper Palaeolithic. I argue that Upper Palaeolithic "art" opened up a hunter-gatherer world that enabled others, including animal others, and objects, to become meaningful to groups of Daseins, and so to become part of particular "dwelling places". Heidegger remains the key theorist of dwelling but his anthropocentrism should be abandoned. Suitably revised, Heidegger's account of dwelling will provoke us to look at Palaeolithic archaeology from a fresh perspective.
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Cole, Stephen C. "Lithic raw material exploitation between 30,000 BP and 40,000 BP in the Perigord, France /." Thesis, Connect to this title online; UW restricted, 2002. http://hdl.handle.net/1773/6401.
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Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Washington, 2002.Vita. Accompanying CD-ROM contains data recorded during examinations of six lithic assemblages and Pendulum Indenter tests, plus macros for use with data. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 553-598).
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Wood, Rachel Elizabeth. "The contribution of new radiocarbon dating pre-treatment techniques to understanding the Middle to Upper Palaeolithic transition in Iberia." Thesis, University of Oxford, 2011. http://ora.ox.ac.uk/objects/uuid:075d79c6-edb4-4f19-9e34-50a63e7b7fe0.
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In the last ten years it has become apparent that the radiocarbon dating method can significantly underestimate the age of samples > 25 ka BP because routine pre-treatment protocols may not remove sufficient contaminants. In response, new pre-treatment protocols have been proposed, and two in particular, ultrafiltration of bone collagen and ABOx-SC of charcoal, show promise. This thesis has tested whether these methods effectively remove contaminants without adding carbon in the laboratory. Subsequently it used them, alongside careful selection of humanly modified material and Bayesian statistical analysis, to test the radiocarbon-based chronology of the Iberian Middle to Upper Palaeolithic transition. Both protocols were found to effectively remove environmental contaminants, but add small amounts of laboratory-derived carbon. Using known age standards, a correction has been calculated for the ultrafiltration protocol to counter the effect of the laboratory-derived carbon. A similar correction could not be made for the ABOx-SC protocol due to uncertainties in the age of the standards and underlying chemical processes. However, the effect of such contamination did not have a significant effect on the chronologies developed for the sites examined in this thesis. 96 new radiocarbon dates have been obtained from the Iberian Middle to Upper Palaeolithic transition. A further 50 dates recovered from the literature and are regarded as reliable. The most alarming finding of this thesis is that routine pre-treatment protocols may cause dates to be underestimated by more than 10 ka 14C years. The implication of offsets of this magnitude in Iberia is significant: whereas a prolonged survival of Neanderthals south of the Ebro valley has been observed in the published dataset, this study could not replicate such ages. Preservation did not allow the arrival of anatomically modern humans to be dated in the south. However, using typological arguments and the chronology constructed for the north of the Peninsula, it is unlikely that they were present in this region before 38,080 – 36,680 cal BP (95% probability). This implies a temporal gap of at least 4,490 – 12,740 cal years, although it is unclear whether this is due to taphonomic factors or is a real period of abandonment. This pattern contrasts to northern areas of the Peninsula where the Aurignacian appears at 42,330 – 40,980 cal BP, shortly postdating the start of the Châtelperronian and end of the Mousterian. It is hoped that the chronology produced will warn against the use of radiocarbon dates produced using poor pre-treatment protocols and has laid the foundations from which a more accurate and more precise chronology can be built in the future.
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Woods, Alexander Davidson. "The effects of lithic raw material quality on Aurignacian blade production at Abri Cellier." Diss., University of Iowa, 2011. https://ir.uiowa.edu/etd/1111.
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The Aurignacian is a contentious time period in paleoanthropology. The myriad social changes which accompany the Upper Paleolithic transition have often become associated with the physical tools which Aurignacian people left behind. One result of this is the current tendency of professionals to use blade technology as an indicator of "modernity," rather than examining how changes accompanying the Upper Paleolithic transition made blades a useful adaptation. Of particular importance is the fact that the adoption of blades coincides with a long distance shift in the system used to procure and transport the lithic raw materials. This suggests that before we can use blades to answer anthropological questions about the Aurignacian, we need to establish the relationship between blade production and the acquisition of exotic raw materials.
This dissertation combines an analysis of the lithic collection from the French archaeological site of Abri Cellier with the experimental fracture of lithic raw material samples in order to examine the impact of raw material quality on Aurignacian blade production. The analysis of the assemblage from Abri Cellier demonstrates that Aurignacian blades manufactured on exotic materials were of higher quality than those produced locally. The experimental fracture of raw material samples reveals that the differences in the quality of the exotic and local materials do not sufficiently account for the differences in the quality of the blades produced on them. This implies that the differential transport of high quality final products accounts for the increased quality of exotic blades at Abri Cellier.
This research examines a number of new ways to evaluate quality in the archaeological record. More importantly, however, it firmly demonstrates that the acquisition of long distance raw materials was not a prerequisite for blade production in the Perigord. This work will conclude by arguing that blades played a role in increasing the maintainability of a hafted toolkit geared towards meeting the requirements of an increasingly mobile and collaborative Aurignacian population.
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Jones, Emily Lena. "Broad spectrum diets and the European rabbit (Oryctolagus cuniculus) : dietary change during the Pleistocene-Holocene transition in the Dordogne, southwestern France /." Thesis, Connect to this title online; UW restricted, 2004. http://hdl.handle.net/1773/6529.
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Groenen, Marc. "Diachronie et synchronie dans l'approche du paléolithique, des origines de la science préhistorique au milieu du XXème siècle: analyse interne des méthodes et concepts fondamentaux." Doctoral thesis, Universite Libre de Bruxelles, 1994. http://hdl.handle.net/2013/ULB-DIPOT:oai:dipot.ulb.ac.be:2013/212663.
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McComb, Patricia. "A technological study of selected osseous artifacts from the Upper Palaeolithic of Britain and Belgium." Thesis, University of Oxford, 1988. http://ora.ox.ac.uk/objects/uuid:924d6551-80d8-4d69-b763-8c6ad29a7bbf.
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This thesis records the study of over one thousand selected, bone, antler and ivory artifacts from the Upper Palaeolithic in Britain and Belgium, with particular reference to manufacture. The methods used include the experimental manufacture and use of certain bone and antler artifacts, and the recording of the traces produced. This information is used as a reference collection with which to compare the archaeological material. Both the experimental and the archaeological implements are examined either with the aid of a handlens, or at a variety of magnifications using an optical microscope and a scanning electron microscope. Upper Palaeolithic bone tool types as a whole are considered for comparative purposes, as are some ethnographic artifacts. The artifacts studied here are ordered into twenty-six different tool types, each of which is discussed in turn; this includes a description of the raw materials used, of the identifiable traces of manufacture and their interpretation, and of the identifiable traces of use, and their interpretation. The regional and chronological distribution of the specimens is also considered, as is any variation in each type, for example in size or in the raw materials used. Some regional and chronological patterning is found, but in the absence of reliable contextual information, its interpretation is often speculative. It is concluded that a large scale programme of radiocarbon accelerator dating of actual artifacts is required to solve this problem.
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Reynolds, Natasha. "The mid Upper Palaeolithic of European Russia : chronology, culture history and context : a study of five Gravettian backed lithic assemblages." Thesis, University of Oxford, 2014. https://ora.ox.ac.uk/objects/uuid:f9a56097-50b9-427d-8276-3acc191c834c.
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This thesis examines the Mid Upper Palaeolithic (MUP) of Russia (ca. 30,000-20,000 14C BP). During this time, as in the rest of Europe, the principal archaeological industry is known as the Gravettian. However, in Russia two other industries, the Streletskayan and the Gorodtsovian, are also known from the beginning of the MUP. Historically, there have been significant problems integrating the Russian MUP record with that from the rest of Europe. The research described in this thesis concentrates on backed lithic assemblages (including Gravette points, microgravettes, other backed points and backed bladelets) from five Russian Gravettian sites: Kostenki 8 Layer 2, Kostenki 4, Kostenki 9, Khotylevo 2 and Kostenki 21 Layer 3. These are studied from an explicitly Western European theoretical perspective, using standard techno-typological methods to construct typological groupings and describe the variation between and within sites. Alongside this, new radiocarbon dates from several sites Kostenki 8 Layer 2, Kostenki 4 and Borshchevo 5) were obtained. These radiocarbon dates are critically analysed alongside published dates and unpublished dates made available to this research. The results of the research constitute a new culture history for the Russian MUP. Each stage of the MUP is dated and described, and the uncertainties in our knowledge outlined. One new lithic index fossil is defined and two others are re-assessed. The Russian record is compared with the contemporary archaeological record elsewhere in Europe, in order to describe large-scale synchronic variation and changes through time in the homogeneity and regionalisation of material culture. The relationship between these dynamics and climate change are discussed.
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Andersson, Lisa. "Stenålderskost : en kritisk granskning av metod, teori och tolkning." Thesis, Uppsala universitet, Institutionen för arkeologi och antik historia, 2017. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:uu:diva-325438.
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In recent years there has been discussion of the many health benefits of the paleodiet, a diet that consist of food that we are evolutionary and genetically adapted to consume. The agricultural revolution introduced mankind to dietary changes that did not suit our biology, and is now the main reason for the nutrition-based diseases in developed countries. The purpose of this paper is to review both the archaeological methods used to explain the paleodiet and the knowledge we have about our hunter-gatherer ancestors and to see if there is any evidence to claim that the paleodiet could be an answer to food-health related diseases. This paper will also discuss the different perspectives behind the many dietary changes in human evolution and how they reflect on man’s dietary conditions today. The material used for this research is based on studies in anthropology, biology, genetics and epidemiology. The theory behind this paper is based on the positivism knowledge founded on properties and relations between measurable studies. Based on interpretations by reason and logic this paper is concluded through deductive reasoning. The results show that food-related diseases and syndromes are absent from traditional hunter-gatherer societies and that they first start to manifest if a western-based diet is adopted. According to our evolutionary and biological structure, man is not adapted to consuming dairy or agricultural products and we are, in fact, genetically identical to our Paleolithic ancestors. Therefore, because we have the same dietary conditions as the paleo hunter-gatherer, we would be considerably more healthy if we adopted a Paleolithic based diet.
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Lengyel, Györgyi. "Upper Palaeolithic and Epipalaeolithic lithic technologies at Raqefet Cave, Mount Carmel East, Israel /." Oxford : Archaeopress, 2007. http://www.loc.gov/catdir/toc/fy0803/2007534086.html.
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Chrzavzez, Julia. "Approche expérimentale de la conservation des charbons de bois dans les gisements paléolithiques : processus post-dépositionnels, fragmentation et représentativité des assemblages anthracologiques." Phd thesis, Université Nice Sophia Antipolis, 2013. http://tel.archives-ouvertes.fr/tel-00948324.
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Dans les gisements paléolithiques, les résidus anthracologiques étudiables sont parfois très abondants ou, au contraire, quasiment absents, sans relation évidente avec l'intensité des activités liées au feu. Ce constat pose la question de l'impact des processus post-dépositionnels, dont l'action est particulièrement importante dans les sites anciens. Lorsque la fraction grossière est rare, les charbons méso ou microscopiques sont souvent bien représentés, mettant en lumière un intense processus de fragmentation. Agent majeur de la formation des assemblages, la fragmentation conditionne le niveau de conservation du dépôt, mais aussi éventuellement la représentation quantitative des taxons. Dans une perspective méthodologique et au moyen d'une série d'expérimentation in vivo et in vitro (tests de compression, cycles gel-dégel, piétinement, retrait-gonflement du sédiment, etc.), les propriétés physico-mécaniques des charbons de bois et les modalités de fragmentation de différents taxons d'Europe tempérée sont caractérisées. Un ensemble de processus post-dépositionnels qui participent de la formation de nombreux dépôts du Pléistocène sont simulés de manière à mesurer leur impact sur le matériel anthracologique. Nos résultats montrent que les charbons de bois sont particulièrement sensibles aux processus météoriques et aux phénomènes périglaciaires ainsi qu'au piétinement. Le niveau de fragmentation des charbons laisse envisager l'ampleur des dommages causés sur la longue durée. Les propriétés physico-mécaniques et le comportement à la fragmentation des charbons de bois varient selon les essences. Ces différences s'expriment au niveau générique, spécifique et plus ponctuellement intra-spécifique, mais elles ne semblent pas de nature à induire des distorsions quantitatives majeures de la représentation initiale des taxons au sein des assemblages. Enfin, lorsque des différences entre taxons sont mises en évidence, elles s'expriment principalement au sein de la fraction fine (charbons compris entre 1 et 2 mm), laquelle est rarement étudiée en termes quantitatif.
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Saidel, Deborah J. "Women in Music: Letting a Long Story Be Long Contemplating Women’s Sonic, Musical, and Spiritual Experiences in Prehistory." VCU Scholars Compass, 2018. https://scholarscompass.vcu.edu/etd/5635.
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Situated within deep history, this study explores the auditory and spiritual lives of Paleolithic women. It considers their personal agency in mediating the spiritual power of sound and how doing so contributes to a multifaceted musicality. The theoretical framework involves a wide spectrum of topics, from ways of rethinking the writing of history and reckoning with time, to sound studies and the study of acoustics in ancient sites, to a critical examination through a feminist lens of normative disciplinary scholarship in anthropology and archaeology, religious studies, and musicology. I explore potential audio-visual-lithic relationships for their implications for deepening an understanding of the spiritual aspects of Paleolithic life. Drawing from this interdisciplinary literature, integrative discussions are constructed which when considered collectively, not only provide different types of role models and different criteria pertaining to women's experiences of music-making, but also facilitate the emergence of a more nuanced understanding of Paleolithic spiritual practices. In this women-centric narrative innumerable generations of women's participation as spiritual healers within the shamanic musical paradigm are acknowledged and valued, broadening the parameters of women's cultural heritage and spiritual experience. This expansion can help women today turn away from a compensatory music history perspective that is oriented toward figuring out how to fit into a prescribed androcentric narrative of Western art music and turn towards a more holistic narrative in which women can better consider their lineage(s) on their own terms. It fosters re-conceptualizations of women's musical and spiritual identities by reorienting the timeline, contexts, and definition of women's experiences of music-making as sound-producers and sound-interpreters. This project is intended to provide one possible starting point for new conversations about women in music regardless of one's positionality. From a more inclusive gynocentric vantage point, the toxic self-perpetuating loop which has affected how musicology has thus far been shaped, namely through the undervaluing of women’s musical experiences and the ways that they think and feel about music, is being contested. Ultimately, it is a matter of ownership.
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Discamps, Emmanuel. "Hommes et hyènes face aux recompositions des communautés d'Ongulés (MIS 5-3) : Éléments pour un cadre paléoécologique des sociétés du Paléolithique moyen et supérieur ancien d'Europe de l'Ouest." Phd thesis, Université Sciences et Technologies - Bordeaux I, 2011. http://tel.archives-ouvertes.fr/tel-00671035.
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En Europe, le rôle du climat fait souvent partie intégrante des modèles proposés pour expliquer les bouleversements des sociétés humaines à la transition Paléolithique moyen - supérieur (e.g. extinction des néandertaliens, développement de comportements dits " modernes "). Pourtant, l'impact exact des changements climatiques globaux du Pléistocène supérieur sur les écosystèmes terrestres reste pour partie inconnu. Cette étude vise à replacer dans un contexte paléoenvironnemental et paléoécologique l'histoire des mutations biologiques et culturelles des sociétés humaines entre MIS 5 et 3 (soit avant, pendant et après la transition Paléolithique moyen - supérieur). Dans le cadre de ce travail, la reconstruction des communautés animales terrestres est réalisée à l'échelle écosystémique (reconstruction des dynamiques des communautés d'herbivores, fluctuations de la biomasse d'Ongulés, paléodémographie de l'Hyène des cavernes) et intra-guilde (compétition interspécifique hommes - hyènes). Ces deux échelles d'analyse s'appuient d'une part sur l'étude taphonomique, spatiale et paléoécologique de deux repaires d'hyènes avec indices de fréquentation humaine (Camiac et La Chauverie) et d'autre part sur l'analyse multi-méthodes de bases de données des sites anthropiques et paléontologiques (archéostratigraphie, SIG, statistiques multivariées et bayésiennes). À l'échelle écosystémique, l'histoire des communautés d'herbivores est reconstruite pour le Sud-Ouest de la France. Des fluctuations importantes sont perceptibles dans la biomasse d'Ongulés disponible, qui augmente à la fin du Moustérien et chute fortement au début de l'Aurignacien. Ces variations de biomasse ont été suffisantes pour contraindre les populations de grands prédateurs, l'histoire paléodémographique de l'Hyène des cavernes étant hautement corrélée aux fluctuations de biomasse. À l'échelle intra-guilde, l'intensité de la compétition interspécifique hommes - hyènes varie au cours du temps et selon les espaces géographiques. Concernant la sphère alimentaire (espèces exploitées, populations ciblées, stratégies de subsistance), si le recouvrement de niches entre ces deux prédateurs est parfois fort (notamment à la fin du Moustérien), des différences apparaissent néanmoins. La nature des interactions hommes - hyènes dans les espaces d'habitats communs (cavités karstiques) est quant à elle discutée sur la base de l'étude interdisciplinaire des séries fauniques et lithiques de Camiac et de La Chauverie. Le modèle paléoécologique proposé pour le Sud-Ouest est ensuite confronté à la spécificité d'autres régions d'Europe de l'Ouest par l'exploitation d'une base de données étendue. Ces comparaisons soulignent les différences existantes selon les régions géographiques dans la réponse des écosystèmes terrestres aux changements climatiques globaux. Les résultats obtenus apportent de nouveaux éclairages sur la transition Paléolithique moyen - supérieur : ils pondèrent fortement l'importance qui doit être accordée aux facteurs environnementaux et écologiques. Ces derniers ne semblent pas pouvoir expliquer à eux seuls les bouleversements culturels et biologiques de cette période.
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Bintz, Pierre. "Du Tardiglaciaire à l'Holocène dans les alpes du nord françaises : approches chronostratigraphique, paléoclimatique et culturelle." Phd thesis, Université Joseph Fourier (Grenoble), 1994. https://tel.archives-ouvertes.fr/tel-00723796.
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Les donnees sur la transition tardiglaciaire-holocene (de 14500 a 6000 bp) s'appuient sur les resultats livres par le gisement de st. Thibaud-de-couz (savoie, chartreuse) et une dizaine de sites a stratigraphies developpees qui ont fait l'objet de fouilles recentes. Ces sites representent des remplissages karstiques qui permettent d'avoir une vision precise mais ponctuelle sur les modalites du passage du dernier glaciaire a l'interglaciaire actuel. L'approche chronostratigraphique assure les bases chronologiques des evolutions naturelles et culturelles. L'etude d'une douzaine de sequences stratigraphiques a permis de distinguer quelques types d'enregistrement sedimentaire propres a chaque phase de l'evolution climato-sedimentaire. La reconstruction de l'evolution paleoclimatique a ete faite selon deux approches complementaires: 1) la sedimentologie met particulierement en evidence les manifestations de l'humidite qui sous climat froid engendre une importante sedimentation detritique et sous climat chaud des depots carbonates ; 2) l'etude des faunes de mollusques terrestres permet de preciser les conditions paleoecologiques et climatiques locales ; la presence d'une association a columella de type periglaciaire est significative. Les resultats mettent particulierement en evidence le caractere instable du climat. Le probleme des occupations humaines est aborde a travers l'etude des outillages lithiques sous deux aspects: 1) l'etude petrographique permet de localiser les gites d'approvisionnement en silex et d'avoir des indications sur les territoires parcourus ; 2) la caracterisation des systemes culturels est basee sur les series lithiques considerees en terme d'ensembles structures ; dans ce but une methode de classement hierarchise est proposee. Les grandes etapes de l'evolution chronoculturelle sont precisees ; elles sont marquees par de profondes mutations qui caracterisent les cultures de la fin du paleolithique superieur au mesolithique et par l'emergence des premieres phases de la neolithisation. Une synthese integrant l'ensemble des donnees bioclimatiques et culturelles permet de proposer un modele de transition dernier glaciaire-interglaciaire actuel caracterisee par une succession de cycles a regimes climatiques contrastes situes a la charniere de deux periodes a climats plus stables. La mise en parallele des donnees culturelles suggere une relation forte entre evolutions culturelles et changements bioclimatiques
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Wargo, Melissa Canady. "The Bordes-Binford debate Transatlantic interpretive traditions in Paleolithic archaeology/." 2009. http://hdl.handle.net/10106/1766.
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Roveland, Blythe E. "Contextualizing the history and practice of Paleolithic archaeology: Hamburgian research in northern Germany." 2000. https://scholarworks.umass.edu/dissertations/AAI9978546.
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For decades, archaeologists have investigated the history of the discipline and, more recently, some have suggested that self-reflection be incorporated into fieldwork and archaeological reports. These efforts should promote critical understandings of archaeological practice as well as of the data and interpretations originating from such practice. This dissertation represents an exploration of the influences, at various levels, affecting one body of data (constituting the German Hamburgian) and interpretations about that data. The Hamburgian was first defined as a late Paleolithic cultural complex on the North European Plain in the early 1930s. Throughout its research history, avocational archaeologists have played a prominent role in the discovery and interpretation of the Hamburgian record. The most influential of these amateurs was Alfred Rust, whose fieldwork at the now-classic sites of Meiendorf and Stellmoor was carried out at the very inception of Hamburgian research. His discoveries inspired a host of other explorations of Hamburgian sites in northern Europe and shaped subsequent expectations and interpretations about this prehistoric period. These findings were eagerly followed by an interested public and were the source of intense regional and national pride during the unique social, political, and economic climate between the World Wars in Germany. Among the early investigations that followed upon the heels of Rust's work was the excavation of Pennworthmoor 1 in Cuxhaven-Sahlenburg by another self-trained archaeologist, Paul Büttner. Sixty years later Pennworthmoor 1 was again the site of archaeological fieldwork at which time I played a part. Past practices of Hamburgian archaeology in northern Germany, in general, and at the site of Pennworthmoor 1, in particular, are considered through documentary and collections research. The formative first decade of Hamburgian archaeology is the primary focus. In addition, a reflexive approach to my own fieldwork at the Pennworthmoor 1 site is offered to illustrate the complexities and effects of daily practice involved in data recovery and interpretation that cannot be readily gleaned from historical records.
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Wroth, Kristen. "Neanderthal plant use and phytolith taphonomy in the Middle Paleolithic of Southwest France." Thesis, 2018. https://hdl.handle.net/2144/33201.
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The role of plants in Neanderthal subsistence is less well known than the role of animals due to differences in preservation and a subsequent lack of study. Phytoliths, the silica infillings of plant cells, are more durable than organic components of plants and can be used to reconstruct human activities, local plant ecology, and diagenetic alteration of archaeological sediments. This dissertation, comprising three articles, examines the relationship between Neanderthals and plants during the Middle Paleolithic (ca. 100,000-40,000 BP) of southwest France using phytolith analysis.
The first article provides an analysis of the phytoliths recovered from the cave site of Roc de Marsal, relating phytolith concentrations and identifications to environmental change, natural deposition, and Neanderthal pyrotechnology. The analysis of 115 phytolith samples provides evidence for spatial patterning in plant remains related to hearth features and diachronic change in plant use coincident with a shift from warm stadial to cold glacial conditions.
The second article applies morphometric statistics to a specific class of phytoliths, grass cells known as bilobates, to understand the range of variation within and among grass genera and to compare these results with an archaeological phytolith assemblage. More than 200 archaeological bilobates from Roc de Marsal are compared with those from seven modern reference specimens to assess these links. The analysis of the modern material indicates that some species are good candidates for morphometrics, but others should be avoided. The range of variation and lack of patterning in the archaeological assemblage suggest that Neanderthals at this site used multiple grass species.
The third article presents the analysis of 102 phytolith samples from Pech de l’Azé IV in comparison to those from Roc de Marsal. The two sites are similar in terms of chronology, stratigraphy, artifacts, and preserved combustion features, but there are key differences in the structure/morphology of hearths and phytolith densities. The comparison of these two sites highlights variation in Neanderthal pyrotechnology and fuel use. The analysis also indicates that different phytolith recovery protocols are needed to maximize phytolith extraction due to differences in formation processes between sites and should be evaluated on a site by site basis.2019-11-27T00:00:00Z
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"Tracking Climate-Driven Changes in Neandertal Subsistence Behaviors and Prey Mobility Patterns." Doctoral diss., 2012. http://hdl.handle.net/2286/R.I.16049.
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abstract: The ability of Neandertals to cope with the oscillating climate of the late Pleistocene and the extent to which these climate changes affected local Neandertal habitats remain unanswered anthropological topics of considerable scientific interest. Understanding the impact of climatic instability on Neandertals is critical for reconstructing the behaviors of our closest fossil relatives and possibly identifying factors that contributed to their extinction. My work aimed to test the hypotheses that 1) cold climates stressed Neandertal populations, and 2) that global climate changes affected local Neandertal habitats. An analysis of Neandertal butchering on Cervus elaphus, Rangifer tarandus, and Capreolus capreolus skeletal material deposited during global warm and cold phases from two French sites - Pech de l'Azé IV and Roc de Marsal - was conducted to assess the impact of climate change on butchering strategies and resource extraction. Results from a statistical analysis of surface modification on all marrow yielding long bones, including the 1st phalanx, demonstrated that specimens excavated from the cold levels at each cave have more cut marks (Wald χ2= 51.33, p= <0.001) and percussion marks (Wald χ2= 4.92, p= 0.02) than specimens from the warm levels after controlling for fragment size. These results support the hypothesis that Neandertals were nutritionally stressed during glacial cycles. The hypothesis that global climates affected local habitats was tested through radiogenic strontium isotopic reconstruction of large herbivore mobility patterns (e.g., Bison, Equus, Cervus and Rangifer), because it is known that in the northern hemisphere, mammals migrate less in warm, well-vegetated environments, but more in cold, open environments. Identifying isotopic variation in mammalian fossils enables mobility patterns to be inferred, providing an indication of whether environments at Pech de l'Azé IV and Roc de Marsal tracked global climates. Results from this study indicate that Neandertal prey species within the Dordogne Valley of France did not undertake long distance round-trip migrations in glacial or interglacial cycles, maintaining the possibility that local habitats did not change in differing climatic cycles. However, because Neandertals were nutritionally stressed the most likely conclusion is that glacial cycles decreased herbivore populations, thus stressing Neandertals.Dissertation/Thesis
Ph.D. Anthropology 2012
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Patenaude, Benjamin. "Faunal exploitation at the middle paleolithic site Kabazi II(Western Crimea)." Thèse, 2010. http://hdl.handle.net/1866/4865.
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Kabazi II est un site de plein air, situé sur la deuxième rangée des Monts de Crimée.
Après sa découverte en 1986, les investigations archéologiques effectuées entre 1987 et le milieu des années 90 ont établi que Kabazi II avait auparavant servi de lieu de chasse et d’abattage pour
les groupes néanderthaliens de la région. Les études archéozoologiques antérieures (Patou-Mathis 2003, 1999, 2005, 2006a, 2006b) ont déterminé que les stratégies de subsistance des Néanderthaliens du Kabazi II étaient très spécialisées et principalement axées sur la chasse des petits groupes de Equus hydruntinus mais aussi, à l’occasion, sur la chasse d’autres espèces. Ces
comportements ont persisté malgré les changements climatiques et technologiques à travers l’histoire d’occupation du site.
Cette étude présente l’analyse des assemblages fauniques encore inédits des niveaux II/1,II/2-1, II/2, II/3, II/4, II/5, II/7, II/8, II/9, II/13, II/13A de Kabazi II. Nos résultats sont en accord
avec ceux obtenus parles d’études antérieures ; cependant, des différences par rapport à la fonction du site ont été constatées et un lien possible avec Kabazi V, un abri sur roche tout près
de Kabazi II, a été établi. On croit que la persistance des activités de subsistance des
Néanderthaliens de Kabazi II pendant presque 100 000 ans de présence est due à la polyvalence des ânes asiatiques tels que Equus hydruntinus, au contexte géographique et géologique de la région ainsi qu’aux caractéristiques du site elles-mêmes.Kabazi II is an open-air site situated within the second chain of the Crimean Mountains. Discovered in 1986, and intensively excavated from 1987 to the mid 1990’s, Kabazi II served as a kill and butchery site for Neanderthal groups in the area. Previous faunal analyses at Kabazi II (Patou-Mathis 2003, 1999, 2005, 2006a,2006b) indicate that the subsistence strategies of the Neanderthals at Kabazi II were highly specialized and were primarily focused on hunting small groups of Equus hydruntinus as well as occasional encounter-based hunting of other mammal species. This practice had apparently remained unchanged in spite of changes in lithic industry, climate, and local vegetation cover. This study presents the analysis of previously unexamined faunal assemblages from Levels II/1, II/2-1, II/2, II/3, II/4, II/5, II/7, II/8, II/9, II/13, II/13A. The results obtained here concur with those of the previous analyses however differences in the use of Kabazi II have been observed and a possible link with the nearby rock-shelter, Kabazi V has been determined. It is believed that the persistence of the hunting practices of the Neanderthals at Kabazi II throughout its nearly 100 000 year sequence of occupations is due to the versatility of wild asses such as Equus hydruntinus, the geography and geology of the study area, in addition to characteristics of Kabazi II itself.
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Huang, Hsin-yee Cindy. "Tracing Ice age artistic communities: 3D modeling finger flutings in the Franco-Cantabrian." Thesis, 2018. https://dspace.library.uvic.ca//handle/1828/10498.
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Finger flutings are lines and markings drawn with the human hand in soft cave sediment in caves and rock shelters throughout southern Australia, New Guinea and southwestern Europe, dating back to the Late Pleistocene. Analysis of these markings can reveal characteristics of the creators, such as age, sex and group sizes. However, despite a comprehensive method of study, data collection is still reliant on in field measurements and is often constrained by physical challenges within the caves. Advances in technology allow us to record archaeological data in three dimensions. Creating 3D models of finger fluting panels would allow for off-site measurements and other forms of detailed analysis. In this thesis, I test three different 3D scanning techniques, photogrammetry, tripod structured light scanning, and handheld structured light scanning, to determine the most appropriate method for the documentation of finger flutings based on factors such as portability, cost, efficiency, accuracy, as well as other challenges present in cave and rock shelter settings. I created replica fluting panels in three different media and created 3D models of them. I then compared measurements taken from the panels in person to measurements taken from the 3D-scanned models to see if there is statistically significant difference between the models and the panel. The results of my experiment show that 3D models of finger fluting panels are accurate representations of the experimental panels and that photogrammetry is the technique that best meets the requirements of finger fluting research.Graduate
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Bushozi, Pastory. "Lithic technology and hunting behaviour during the Middle Stone Age in Tanzania." Phd thesis, 2011. http://hdl.handle.net/10048/1744.
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In this dissertation, I examine the representation of projectile points in the Middle Stone Age (MSA) and Later Stone Age (LSA) of Tanzania, and the way in which such tools were used over time and space. This study reviews the different strategies used to produce points during the MSA and LSA. It also examines the mechanisms involved in raw material procurement, hafting technology, and the use of these tools as projectile weapons and how they evolved over time. It is clear that there were different kinds of multi-weapon systems in use in Tanzania during the MSA, LSA and the transition between them.
The points examined are from three archaeological sites: Mumba, Nasera and Magubike. They reveal that triangular blanks were preferred for the production of points. Most of them were modified on their proximal ends to provide a suitable binding portion for hafting and aerodynamic movement. Results from the Tip Cross Section Area (TCSA) and weight values suggest that spear and arrow projectiles coexisted in these sites during the MSA and MSA/LSA transition. Both local and exotic rocks were used for the production of points. In previous studies, the appearance of exotic rocks in the archaeological assemblages was correlated with trade and exchange. But here the use of exotics seems to be influenced by functional values such as durability, sharpness and brittleness.
Sharp and durable rocks such as chert and quartzite were needed for spears because of their high compression strength. This makes them better able to withstand unintentional breakage after being stressed by the force of impact. Points made of brittle rocks, such as quartz and obsidian, were mainly used for light duty projectiles such as throwing spears (darts) and arrows, because they penetrate the body of an animal better and sometimes break more easily. The presence of points made of exotic or local rocks shows that functional variables were important for projectile technologies. The overall morphological and technological patterns revealed in this study suggest that foragers who made and used points had elaborate technological skills, abstract thinking and developed behavioural capability similar to those of other modern foragers.
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Murray, John K. "Exploring handaxe function at Shishan Marsh – 1: combining qualitative and quantitative approaches using the edge damage distribution method." Thesis, 2017. https://dspace.library.uvic.ca//handle/1828/8462.
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Handaxes are some of the longest lasting and most iconic stone tools throughout human evolution. Appearing in the early Pleistocene, these bifacially flaked tools persisted around one and a half million years and span across all of the Old World, from Africa to eastern Asia. Despite their ubiquitous nature, relatively little is known about their function. Handaxes are often speculated to be multi-functional tools which were selected for due to their large cutting edge; however, only a handful of use-wear studies have attempted to elucidate their use in the archaeological record. The lack of experimental use-wear studies surrounding handaxe function is due to preservation issues and the fact that manufacturing and curating handaxes compounds the ambiguity of microwear signatures. The methodology undertaken in this research provides a pathway to overcoming these obstacles through experimental archaeology in conjunction with low powered microscopy, image-based GIS, and statistical hypothesis testing. In particular, this thesis investigates handaxe function at an assemblage scale (n = 56) in a late Lower Paleolithic to Middle Paleolithic archaeological site called Shishan Marsh – 1 (SM-1) in al-Azraq, Jordan. Experimental handaxes (n = 22) were replicated and used in various activities such as butchery, plant processing, woodworking, shellfish processing, and digging. The results of this research corroborates the idea of handaxes being used as multifunctional tools. These results have implications for handaxe function, hominin tool use in a desert refugia, and provides a new pathway to investigate inter-site variability in handaxe use.Graduate
2018-08-01
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Von, Petzinger Genevieve. "Making the abstract concrete: the place of geometric signs in French upper paleolithic parietal art." Thesis, 2009. http://hdl.handle.net/1828/1402.
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In Paleolithic cave art, geometric signs tend to outnumber figurative images and yet, they remain relatively understudied. To address this gap in our knowledge, I compiled a digital catalogue of all known geometric signs found in parietal art in France, and then trended the results looking for patterns of continuity and change over time and space. I focused on parietal art, as I could be certain of its provenance, and picked France as my region due to its abundance of decorated sites and its natural boundaries of water and mountain ranges. The database is searchable by a variety of criteria such as sign category, method of production, date range, site type, geographical coordinates and region. It is now being converted into an online resource. To provide a visual dimension, it includes a selection of linked photographs and reproductions of the different signs. In this thesis, I detail the chronological and regional patterning in sign type and frequency and the implications of these patterns for understanding where, when and why the making of these signs was meaningful to the Pleistocene peoples who created them.
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Lippé, Renaud. "Nature, culture et progrès : histoire comparative du concept de transition entre paléolithiques moyen et supérieur en archéologie préhistorique." Thèse, 2012. http://hdl.handle.net/1866/13599.
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Doctorat effectué en cotutelle Pour le département d'histoire de l'Université de Montréal, M.M. Jacques G. Ruelland et Othmar Keel, Pour le laboratoire P.A.C.E.A.– U.M.R. 5199. C.N.R.S., de l'École doctorale des sciences Terre-Mer, directeurs successifs, M. P.-Y. Demars, puis M. Michel Lenoir. Thèse soutenue à Bordeaux le 6 juin 2012.Cette thèse a pour objectif d’étudier sur le plan historique une controverse scientifique persistante en préhistoire : le problème de la transition entre Paléolithiques moyen et supérieur, en tentant d’en expliquer la durée en termes de construction et de transformation des modèles antagoniques, ainsi que le rôle de cette controverse dans l’acquisition de connaissances, afin d’élucider comment s’est produit le déplacement des enjeux que présente son état actuel. Il s’agit de dresser un historique de la controverse entourant la transition entre Paléolithiques moyen et supérieur afin de circonscrire sur le plan chronologique les persistances et l’évolution des positions antagonistes dans leurs composantes épistémologiques. Pour clarifier cette démarche, il faut d’abord caractériser ce qui constitue cette controverse particulière pour les préhistoriens à l’aide de l’apport de l’histoire des sciences, et quelle méthode d’analyse sera utilisée dans le présent travail. Il sera ainsi possible de relier ces éléments au problème scientifique choisi comme sujet d’étude, présenté dans ses caractères généraux et spécifiques, pour modéliser la définition structurale des modèles explicatifs protagonistes au débat sur la transition entre Paléolithiques moyen et supérieur. La méthodologie proposée sera ensuite appliquée à la controverse, pour découper son déroulement chronologique en trois phases historiques distinctes par leur axe de recherche spécifique, chacune des phases étant décrite sur trois niveaux structuraux (données et méthodologie, paradigmes opératoires, paradigme métaphysique), afin d’isoler les constantes et les inflexions, et d’établir un modèle explicatif de sa dynamique historique jusqu’à son état actuel. L’ambition de cette thèse est de s’appuyer sur l’histoire des sciences pour clarifier sur le plan théorique pour les préhistoriens la dynamique historique de cette controverse centrale à l’étude du changement culturel en préhistoire, et des modèles qui s’y confrontent toujours, et tenter, à partir de l’étude de ce problème d’archéologie préhistorique, d’ébaucher en retour un modèle historique et structural d’étude de cas d’une controverse spécifique et de son apport au niveau du changement conceptuel en science qui pourrait être utile à l’histoire des sciences.
This thesis’ main object is to study on an historical level a long-lasting scientific controversy in Prehistoric archaeology, the Middle to Upper Palaeolithic transition, by attempting to explain the persistence of that debate in terms of construction and transformation of antagonistic models of explanation, and by showing how that controversy had play a role on the acquisition of knowledge, to elucidate how the debate itself had change since its origin. On a chronological scale, the evolution of some epistemological elements inside the confrontation of opposed hypothesis could be contrasted with conservative notions. To make that process clear, it is necessary to characterize what constitute that specific controversy for prehistorians with the tool given by the history of sciences, and what kind of analytical methodology can be call upon for doing so. Then, it will be possible to link those elements with the scientific problem itself to establish a structural model of this debate’s theoretical positions of the protagonists. This methodology could then be use to separate the history of that debate in three sections, each with its specific research axis, each phase in three structural level (data and methods, paradigms, meta-paradigm) to create a general model of the evolution of that controversy. The ambition of that thesis is to use history of science’s contribution as a way to clarify on a theoretical level the goals of that debate, and its implication on the study of cultural change for prehistorical archaeologists community, and to initiate for science’s historians a historical and structural model of scientific controversies, and their weight on conceptual change base on a specific case study.