bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Shiqmim : A Chalcolithic village and mortuary centre in the Northern Negev
Authors: Levy Thomas Evan , Alon David
Published: October 2008

Des fouilles récentes ont été effectuées à Shiqmim, dans la partie septentrionale semi-aride du Néguev. Le plan de cette agglomération chalcolithique (9,5 ha) est remarquablement uniforme; des bâtiments de grandes et de petites dimensions, une allée, des magasins, des cours et des murs de clôture sont associés à des vestiges matériels caractéristiques de la culture chalcolithique de Beershéva. Près du village s'étend sur plus de 800 m une nécropole, à ce jour seul cimetière chalcolithique retrouvé dans le nord du Néguev. Les résultats obtenus mettent en lumière l'importance de Shiqmim comme centre régional dans le Néguev au chalcolithique.
La Taille du silex par pression à Mehrgarh, Pakistan. La tombe d'un tailleur ?
Authors: Inizan Marie-Louise , Lechevallier Monique
Published: October 2008

Following recent research in the Near East, débitage by pressure has been evidenced at Mehrgarh, Pakistan, from the VIIth to the IIIrd Millennium B.C. Various problems are raised: is there a relationship between geometric microliths, used then as sickle elements, and pressure débitage ? On the other hand, is this technique, as suggested by the material of a Neolithic grave, a sign of specialization, leading gradually to true workmanship, or not ?
Late Neolithic architecture from Jebel Abu Thawwab, Jordan
Authors: Kafafi Zeidan A.
Published: October 2008

Two seasons of excavations at Jebel Abu Thawwab (Jordan), a Late Neolithic site (Yarmukian) revealed two types of structures : rectangular rooms and round structures, both stone-built.
Rock Art in Eastern Jordan : 'Kite' Carvings ?
Authors: Betts Alison , Helms Svend W.
Published: October 2008

Recent surveys in the basalt region of eastern Jordan have located several rock carvings of a form which suggests that they might represent the "kites" (animal traps) common in the area.
Neolithic skeletal remains at Yiftahel, Area C (Israel)
Authors: Hershkovitz Israel , Garfinkel Yosef , Arensburg Baruch
Published: October 2008

The excavations carried out at the Pre-pottery Neolithic В village of Yiftahel (Area C) in the Lower Galilee, Israel, revealed seven human skeletons : two adult males, two young females and three infants. The present paper discusses the burial practices as well as the biological characteristics of the Yiftahel population.
Lake Beisan and the Prehistoric Settlement of the Northern Jordan Valley
Authors: Koucky Frank L. , Smith Robert H.
Published: October 2008

Alors qu'il est reconnu depuis longtemps qu'entre le lac de Tibériade et la Mer Morte un lac occupait aux temps préhistoriques la Vallée du Jourdain, une moindre attention a été prêtée à la partie nord de cette zone où une étendue d'eau douce, le lac Beisan, a perduré longtemps après l'assèchement de la partie sud. Les indices géologiques suggèrent que la ligne de rivage de ce lac se situait à la cote —100 m sous le niveau de la mer. La distribution des sites archéologiques étaye cette hypothèse et apporte des repères chronologiques plus précis que ne le sont ceux offerts par la géologie. Le lac aurait atteint son plus haut niveau vers 12 000-11 000 B.P., à la fin de l'Epipaléolithique, il aurait baissé graduellement pendant le Néolithique et le Chalcolithique et aurait totalement disparu au Bronze Ancien.
Upper Palaeolithic Assemblages from Wadi Sudr, Western Sinai
Authors: Baruch Uri , Bar-Yosef Ofer
Published: October 2008

A l'occasion d'une prospection d'urgence dans le wadi Sudr (Sinai occidental) six gisements du Paléolithique supérieur, dont un en place, ont été découverts et échantillonnés. Les analyses typologiques et technologiques montrent que tous les gisements de surface sont apparentés à « l'Aurignacien du Levant » alors que l'industrie en place semble appartenir à la tradition Ahmarienne avec un débitage laminaire et lamellaire. Faute de matériel organique, aucun gisement n'a pu faire l'objet de datation radiométrique.
Surface lithic finds from Kharaysin, Jordan
Authors: Edwards Phillip C. , Thorpe Sue
Published: October 2008

Kharaysin, a large PPNB site, was recently discovered on the banks of the Wadi Zarqa in Transjordan. With regard to regional settlement patterns of the PPNB. interest lies in the location of site about 25 km away from the major village site of Ain Ghazal. A variety of surface lithic finds indicate at least the partial contemporaneity of Kharaysin with that site.
The Desert "Kites" of the Badiyat Esh-Sham and North Arabia
Authors: Helms Svend W. , Betts Alison
Published: October 2008

Archaeological investigations into the steppic regions of the Near East have only recently been systematized in controlled surveys and excavations. Prior to this information regarding pastoral nomads and 'archaeological' remains came from travellers' accounts. One corpus of such data concerned extensive stone structures in the basaltic sub-region of the Badiyat esh-Sham, 'desert kites', which have received much speculative attention. Their function and date were not established in any empirical way until very recently, and even then, the nature of evidence is problematical; it is typical of what might be called steppic archaeology. This, the long debate regarding 'kites' and the new evidence to hand are presented here and set against the development of steppic hunting technology from the Neolithic up to more recent periods.
Technical Analysis of Scarlet Ware Pottery from Mesopotamia
Authors: Thuesen Ingolf
Published: October 2008

A multi-disciplinary research program, focusing on Early Dynastic Pottery from the Diyala Region in Iraq, has contributed both to culture historical and methodological aspects of the archaeological exploration of ancient Mesopotamia. Trace-element analysis is found to have great potential as a tool for discriminating pottery workshop traditions. Microscopic section analysis is suggested as an ideal sampling procedure for subsequent scientific analysis.
Des puits d'extraction du silex en Ouzbékistan
Authors: Mirsaatov T. M.
Published: October 2008

Présentation du site de Uçtut, en Ouzbékistan, où un vaste complexe de puits et de galeries de mines de silex, exploitées du Paléolithique Moyen au Néolithique, a été exploré. Les divers systèmes d'extraction et les outils utilisés sont décrits période par période.
L'Evolution géomorphologique du Bassin d'Azraq (Jordanie) depuis le Pléistocène Moyen
Authors: Besançon Jacques , Sanlaville Paul
Published: October 2008

A geomorphological study of the enclosed Azraq Basin has led the authors to propose a general scheme for the morphological evolution of the arid Near Eastern regions, in the context of cycles of four phases, the deposition offluviatile debris having occurred not only during humid phases but after them, in the catapluvial. They present a general correlation of the evolution in different parts of the basin since the Acheulean, which allows the prehistoric industries to be related to the morphoclimatic phases.
Prospections préhistoriques dans la région d'Afrin (Syrie)
Authors: Muhesen Sultan , Akazawa Takeru , Abdul-Salam Adel
Published: October 2008

Prehistoric investigations, which were carried out in 1987 along the Afrin Valley in north-west Syria, led to the discovery of a number of caves, rockshelters and open-air sites rich in archaeological and paleontological material, dating to the Middle and Upper Paleolithic. The most important are Houdeiriyeh II and Qartal VI for the Mousterian, and Houdeiriyeh I for the Kebaran.
The Biocultural Transition and the Origin of Modern Humans in the Levant and Western Asia
Authors: Clark Geoffrey A. , Lindly John M.
Published: October 2008

Au Proche-Orient, la paléontologie humaine et l'archéologie du Pléistocène Supérieur fournissent des témoignages attestant d'une continuité dans le passage du Paléolithique Moyen au Paléolithique Supérieur, ainsi que dans celui de l'Homo sapiens archaïque au moderne; mais ils établissent aussi que ces deux transitions ne se sont pas opérées en même temps. Les deux séries de données sont étudiées à la lumière des découvertes récentes de la biologie moléculaire, dont les défenseurs, en faveur de la théorie du remplacement, soutiennent que les humains morphologiquement modernes se développent (ou s'établissent) d'abord au Levant, co-existent avec Homo sapiens archaïque, et enfin, par la suite, les supplantent ou les exterminent. A ceux qui voudraient défendre le remplacement sans mélange génétique de démontrer comment il aurait pu survenir sans laisser de hiatus dans les aspects typologiques et technologiques des assemblages archéologiques du Levant, dans ceux du registre archéofaunique à l'origine de l'économie de subsistance, ou bien encore dans les études sur la distribution spatiale des sites.
The Epipaleolithic Sequence within the Ras En Naqb - El Quweira Area, Southern Jordan
Authors: Henry Don O.
Published: October 2008

Depuis 1977, les recherches en cours conduites au sud du plateau jordanien ont mis au jour plus de 40 sites épipaléolithiques dont 20 ont été fouillés. Au moins cinq grandes entités chrono/culturelles ont pu être identifiées (Qalkhien, Kébarien, Kébarien géométrique, Moushabien et Natoufien) qui représenteraient des segments de deux courants évolutifs.
Une Occupation khiamienne et sultanienne à Hatoula (Israël) ?
Authors: Lechevallier Monique , Philibert Denise , Ronen A. , Samzun Anaïck
Published: October 2008

The site of Hatoula, in western Judea, has been occupied at the recent Natufian. This level is followed by a Khiamian level characterized by an industry with microliths (lunates) and el-Khiam points. In another part of the site, the level following the Natufian can be attributed either to the PPNA (Sultanian) or to a recent Khiamian phase. The features of these occupations are discussed, as well as the meaning implied by the terms "khiamian" and "sultanian".
Early Blade Industries in the Levant : The Placement of Douara IV Industry in the context of the Levantine Early Middle Paleolithic
Authors: Nishiaki Yoshihiro A.
Published: October 2008

The third excavation at Douara cave in Syria yielded Early Middle Paleolithic assemblages from the geological level IV. The assemblages designated as Douara IV industry are characterized by a large amount of the blade blank production. This paper attempts a technological comparison between the Douara IV and other relevant blade industries such as Pre-Aurignacian, Amudian, Hummalian and Tabun D type of Mousterian. The result has emphasized the technological affinity of Douara IV with Tabun D type of Mousterian, and the author suggests that Douara IV is a regional or local variation of Early Levantine Mousterian blade industry.
Chalcolithic Sites in Beit Netofa Valley, Lower Galilee, Israel
Authors: Gilead I.
Published: October 2008

Description of two Chalcolithic assemblages recently found in the Lower Galilee (Israel). The assemblages found on the surface of what seems to be large open-air sites, include typical Ghassulian flint artifacts and pottery vessels, along with finds of Late Neolithic affinities. Until now, Chalcolithic sites from the Galilee were hardly known, and the recent finds suggest that a systematic study of the protohistory of this part of Israel is promising.
Tool blank selection, debitage and cores from Abu Hureyra 1, Northern Syria
Authors: Olszewski D. I.
Published: October 2008

An analysis of tool blank selection, debitage and cores from the Epipaleolithic levels at Abu Hureyra shows that several chronological changes occur. The most important of these is a reduction in the production of flakes, and consequently less use of flakes as tool blanks through time. The latest levels at Abu Hureyra 1, those of Unit 4, appear to be roughly contemporary with Phase la from Tell Mureybet, and point to similarities, as well as differences, in the occupations at these two sites at the end of the Epipaleolithic period in the Levant.
Palynological and sedimentological evidence for the historic environment of Khatouniye, Eastern Syrian Djezire
Authors: Rösner Ulrike , Schäbitz Frank
Published: October 2008

The upper Holocene development of vegetation, climate and the aeolian morphodynamic in the area of Khatouniye, East Syria, is discussed with the aid of results from sedimentological and palynological investigations from a closed depression. Pollen analyses indicate the dominance of steppe vegetation in the whole profile and thus arid to semiarid conditions. The general climatic character was modified in the Roman epoch by a period of about 300 years in which humidity was probably higher. Evidence for this is seen in an increase of tree pollen and in soil development. Two radiocarbon dates were used to calculate two quite different sedimentation rates for the aeolian filling : a relatively fast accumulation in the period before 2040 yr BP and another very slow one between 2040 yr BP and the present. The different sedimentation rates correlate quite well with the advance and retreat of the settlement and farming frontier within this region. The increasing abandonment of settlements and ploughed land took place primarily for political and economic reasons but also coincided with an increase in the aridity of climatic conditions.
Stabilité et évolution des pratiques funéraires néolithiques à Mehrgarh (Période I : ca. 7000-5800 B.C.)
Authors: Barthelemy De Saizieu Blanche
Published: October 2008

Les règles qui ont régi les pratiques funéraires de Mehrgarh, aux alentours de 6000 B.C., semblent résulter d'un héritage de prescriptions restées constantes et d'innovations par rapport aux règles funéraires dont témoignent l'ensemble des sépultures qui ont précédé celles de la fin du 7e ou du début du 6e millénaire B.C. Alors que les changements observés semblent refléter une évolution à la fois d'ordre socio-économique et d'ordre culturel (changements dans l'aménagement sépulcral, la nature et la répartition du mobilier), les constances relèvent plutôt du seul domaine culturel. La permanence dans l'orientation, le mode d'inhumation et la position des squelettes traduisent vraisemblablement un attachement à des institutions et à des croyances venues du passé.
Les Figurines humaines et animales du site néolithique de Ganj Dareh (Iran).
Authors: Eygun Guilmine
Published: October 2008

Anthropomorphic and z.oomorphic figurines of the early neolithic site of Ganj Dareh, Iran, exhibit unusual techno- stylistic characteristics. This proves, however, to be consistent with the somewhat marginal cultural elements of the site.
Karain 1991, Recherches paléolithiques en Turquie du Sud. Rapport provisoire.
Authors: Yalçinkaya Işin , Otte Marcel , Bar-Yosef Ofer , Kozlowski J. , Leotard Jean-Marc , Taskiran Harun
Published: October 2008

The following is a preliminary account of the recent excavations at Karain Cave (Turkey). The top of the sequence contains Epipalaeolithic industries that appear to be disturbed. Below these are various Mousterian levels containing prepared hearths, and which rest on a calcitic crust dated to approximately 120,000 BP. Beneath this crust, and continuing for about twelve more metres, are more industries which are very rich and of Middle Paleolithic aspect. As a group the Mousterian levels are technically similar to Zagros Mousterian assemblages and comparable typologically to fades from the Balkans. Toward the middle of the sequence the industry changes, with a disappearance of faceted platforms and Levallois technique. The base of the sequence is marked by « Clactonian » assemblages. Some human teeth that were found are apparently attributable to Neandertals.
Les Parures en pierre de Mundigak, Afghanistan
Authors: Barthelemy De Saizieu Blanche , Bouquillon Anne , Duval Alain
Published: October 2008

- Parmi les objets de parure en pierre mis au jour sur le site de Mundigak et conservés au Musée Guimet, la présence de pièces inachevées, de fragments de matière première brute et travaillée, de déchets de fabrication plaident en faveur d'un artisanat local. Ce dernier se distingue par une variété à la fois des matériaux exploités et des formes façonnées. Si la diversité des matières utilisées peut s'expliquer par la complexité géologique de la région, elle renvoie probablement aussi à une curiosité envers la transformation de différentes sortes de matériaux, sous des configurations variées; cette diversité implique des connaissances techniques adaptées aussi bien au travail de matières naturelles de dureté variable qu'au traitement de certaines d'entre elles avant ou au cours de leur transformation en petits éléments de parure.
L'Apport de l'étude taphonomique des restes humains à la connaissance des pratiques funéraires : exemple du site chalcolithique de Ben Shemen (Israël)
Authors: Le Mort Françoise , Rabinovich Rivka
Published: October 2008

At the Chalcolithic site of Ben Shemen (Israel). .J. Perrot and D. Lacliray have documented a series of secondary burials in ossuaries, placed in artificial caves. In order to better understand the complex funerary procedures, the human remains have been examined from a taphonomic point of view. This study is based upon the identification of categories of bones placed in the ossuaries and the analysis of the post-mortem modifications exhibited by these bones. This has allowed us to define the methods of de-fleshing the bodies as well as the mode of selecting the bones to be placed in the ossuaries, and to propose a reconstruction of the funerary activities.
Levantine Upper Palaeolithic - Early Epipalaeolithic burial customs : Ohalo II as a case study
Authors: Nadel Dani
Published: October 2008

The paper presents two kinds of evidence concerning the commonly held notion that the archaeological record of the Levantine Upper Palaeolithic/Early Epipalaeolithic period is the "poorest" in human skeletal remains. First, the details of the H2 grave at the well-dated site of Ohalo II (19,000 B.P.) point to a tradition of burying the dead in very shallow pits. This behaviour is probably a key factor in understanding the scarcity of preserved articulated skeletons. Second, a comparison of all prehistoric periods shows that when the relative numbers of sites (with skeletons) and skeletons are evaluated (by calculating them per time unit), the period in question is similar to the Middle Palaeolithic.
Remarques sur la Damascène et le Levant Sud au Néolithique
Authors: Contenson Henri De
Published: October 2008

Aswad appears from the PPNA onwards as a permanent settlement practizing full fledged agriculture. The introduction of Sheep breeding at Ghoraife PPNB does not seem linked with any new population groups. Ceramic Neolithic appears characterized by différenciation between several local contemporaneous patterns.

Key-words : Syria, Aswad, PPNA, PPNB, agriculture.
Large-Scale Production of Pottery at Gordion : Comparison of the Late Bronze and Early Phrygian Industries.
Authors: Henrickson Robert C. , Blackman M. James
Published: October 2008

Analysis of the pottery production technology has suggested large-scale production of pottery in both the Late Bronze Age (1400-1200 ВС) and Early Phrygian (ca 950-700 ВС) periods at Gordion (Turkey). Chemical characterization of both pottery and local clay samples has defined markedly different patterns of resource use in the two periods, suggesting a different geographic scale in the economy as Gordion s socio-political and economic roles changed from local center to royal capital city.
Le Moyen-Orient de 20 000 ans BP à 6 000 ans BP. Essai de reconstitution paléoclimatique.
Authors: Blanchet Guy , Sanlaville Paul , Traboulsi Myriam
Published: October 2008

Après un bref rappel des conditions climatiques et des régimes pluviométriques actuels du Moyen-Orient, de la mer Noire à l'Océan indien et de la Méditerranée au plateau iranien, et en s' appuyant sur un maximum de données paléoenvironnementales, les auteurs s'efforcent de reconstituer le climat du Moyen-Orient depuis le dernier maximum glaciaire jusqu'à l'optimum holocène. Vers 18 000 ans BP, les pluies de mousson n'affectent plus le sud de la péninsule arabique, qui ne connaît que de rares pluies de convection, les pluies cycloniques d'hiver ne pénétrant guère vers le sud. La situation devait être assez semblable lors du brusque refroidissement du Dryas récent. Au contraire, au cours de l'optimum holocène, les pluies cycloniques affectent la quasi totalité de la région, tandis que la zone de convergence intertropicale remonte très haut en latitude en Egypte et surtout en Arabie et en Mésopotamie, sans toutefois intéresser la région levantine. C'est une situation voisine qui avait commencé à s'établir lors du réchauffement tardiglaciaire.
'Ain Ghazal (Jordan) : ritual and ceremony III
Authors: Rollefson G. O.
Published: October 2008

Six excavation campaigns have been undertaken at 'Ain Ghazal since the last report on ritual and ceremony was published in Paléorient. Of particular importance have been the past four seasons, which have produced some architectural remains that are probably best interpreted as shrines and temples.
Settlement patterns, polities and regional complexity in the Southeast Arabian Iron Age
Authors: Magee Peter
Published: October 2008

Analysis of environmental and settlement data highlights the existence of a series of piedmont settlements with which are associated : irrigation systems, the potential for intensive agriculture and the ability to control and defend such resources. When combined with historical evidence, these are interpreted as a series of politically complex polities existing in a restricted environmental z.one. The focus of fieldwork in southeastern Arabia has led to an over-emphasis of the importance of these settlements in terms of regional hierarchies and polity interaction. An examination of settlements in other environmental zones in combination with distributional analysis of artefacts suggests that piedmont settlements did not economically and politically dominate the region as a whole.
Un dépôt de nucléus au Néolithique à Mehrgarh, Pakistan
Authors: Lechevallier Monique , Marcon Vincent
Published: October 2008

La découverte, dans un niveau du néolithique ancien de Mehrgarh, d'un ensemble de neuf nucleus au stade de préformes a permis l 'analyse de leur mise en forme, apportant ainsi un élément essentiel pour la reconstitution de la chaîne opératoire du débitage laminaire.
The Bronze Age of Highland Yemen : Chronological and Spatial Variability of Pottery and Settlement
Authors: Edens Christopher
Published: October 2008

Bronze Age occupation of highland western Yemen can now be documented over the nearly two millennia between roughly 2 800 and 1 200/1 000 ВС. An Italian project in К hawlan and an American project in Dhamar have studied regional settlement pattern, architecture and intra-site arrangement, and radiocarbon-dated cultural assemblages for two highland districts about 50 km apart. Comparison of excavated pottery from five sites reveals strong regional continuities (the Bronze Age tradition of the western highlands), but also a degree of contemporaneous regional variability and chronological change. More pronounced differences of site arrangement and architectural form distinguish the Khawlan and Dhamar settlements. Sites in the two areas describe divergent developmental trajectories and also essentially different economic orientations : Khawlan hosted an extensive and perhaps transhumant orientation that truncated soon after 2 000 ВС, while Dhamar witnessed the growth of town life and modest agricultural intensification, setting a course toward complex societies of the Iron Age that arose indigenously in the highlands after 1 000 ВС.
New Discovery of a Neanderthal Child Burial from the Dederiyeh Cave in Syria
Authors: Akazawa Takeru , Muhesen Sultan , Ishida Hajime , Kondo Osamu , Griggo Christophe
Published: October 2008

Une seconde sépulture d'enfant néanderthalien a été mise au jour dans la grotte de Dederiyeh en Syrie lors de la campagne de fouilles 1997-1998. Les restes humains ont été déposés dans une fosse creusée dans un niveau moustérien. Des observations préliminaires indiquent que le squelette de cet enfant partage de nombreux traits anatomiques avec celui de l'enfant découvert en 1993 dans une première sépulture et que les deux individus relèvent de la même classe d'âge, ayant tous deux autour de deux ans. Bien qu'incomplètement préservé, le squelette nouvellement découvert est le premier provenant de Syrie qui apporte des informations sur la morphologie faciale.
Material Culture and Social Identity : the Evidence for a 4th Millennium BC Mesopotamian Uruk Colony at Hacinebi, Turkey
Authors: Stein G. J.
Published: October 2008

Archaeological analyses of interaction between colonies and host communities require an understanding of the relationship between material culture and alternative forms of social identity. Foreign material culture assemblages in indigenous settlements may reflect exchange, emulation, or actual ethnic differences between colonizing groups and local host communities. Establishing the presence of colonies and reconstructing the organization of cross-cultural interaction is especially important for the Uruk expansion - which has been termed the world's earliest known colonial network. This paper presents a cross-culturally applicable definition of colonies, and suggests ways to distinguish between the archaeological signatures of trade, emulation, and colonization. Based on these criteria, the available evidence indicates that the Uruk Mesopotamian art if actual materials at the site of Hacinebi in the Euphrates River valley of southeast Turkey result from the presence of an ethnically distinct colony inside the 4th millennium local Anatolian settlement.
Hacinebi Metal Production and Exchange
Authors: Özbal Hadi , Adriaens Annemie Mieke , Earl Bryan
Published: October 2008

Excavations from the pre-Uruk levels at Hacinebi yielded a complete repertoire of archaeometallurgical finds including ores, slags, crucible fragments with accretions, molds, a tuyere, metal artifacts, as well as a multi-furnace metal workshop. The highly advanced metal technology at Hacinebi is in accordance with other Late Chalcolithic local Anatolian sites. Anatolian metals may have aroused Mesopotamian interest and the Uruk trade networks may have been established to obtain this new exotic material. At Hacinebi, where Mesopotamians were living among local inhabitants with a well-established metal smelting tradition, there is strong evidence for metal production.

Chemical and structural analyses of Hacinebi archaeometallurgical materials indicate that both oxide and sulfide ores were smelted. While excavations yielded no evidence for intentional alloying, experimentation with polymetallic ores is possible. The trace element distribution of Hacinebi metals, slags, crucible accretions and prills is consistent with ores from known sources in southeastern Turkey. Hacinebi appears to be a copper production and export center. While molds suggest that copper was cast into small ingots for export after smelting and refining, the intensive metal production workshop indicates that metallurgical production was practiced as a specialized craft.
Societal Evolution of Small, Pre-state Centers and Polities : the example of Tepe Gawra in Northern Mesopotamia
Authors: Rothman Mitchell S. , Peasnall B.
Published: October 2008

Des théories telles que celles qui sont offertes pour expliquer l'expansion supposée urukéenne ou le système colonial mis en place par les Urukéens du sud dans le nord et l'est de la Grande Mésopotamie ont mis l'accent à la fois sur le rôle du développement de l'état et de l'urbanisme dans la zone nucléaire méridionale et sur celui qu'aurait pu jouer le commerce entre les régions pauvres en ressources mais hautement développées du sud et celles de la périphérie riches en ressources mais encore peu développées ; elles en ont fait la raison d'être de cette expansion. Bien que les tenants d'une explication par le système mondial reconnaissent maintenant que les sociétés septentrionales étaient fort complexes avant même que les contacts avec le sud ne se soient intensifiés, notre compréhension des interactions des deux zones reste fondée sur un certain nombre de suppositions ; celles-ci concernent les raisons liées à l'impulsion donnée aux échanges régionaux, à la prééminence d'états et de centres de grande taille qui auraient été à l'origine de ces échanges et qui les auraient dirigés et à la place prise par le fonctionnement de ces centres et des systèmes mis en place pour le fonctionnement de ces réseaux. Dans cet article sont présentées de nouvelles perspectives liées à l'analyse du développement social et des réseaux d'interaction empruntées à des spécialistes de l'Amérique centrale. Si nous en retenons certaines, d'autres posent question. Ces perspectives nous conduisent d'une part à mesurer la variabilité qui existe aussi bien dans les raisons qui ont conduit les responsables, à l'intérieur de chaque système, à utiliser certains moyens et, d'autre part, à considérer les rôles qu'ont pu tenir, dans la structuration de la société, des personnes n'appartenant pas aux élites. Nous avons retenu celles qui, à notre avis, sont les plus adaptées à l'analyse de l'évolution d'un petit site de la Mésopotamie septentrionale et qui permettent de montrer comment cette évolution reflétait le rôle de ce site au sein de la région au sens large. Nous insisterons ainsi sur quatre aspects de Gawra : 1) sa situation géographique, géologique, écologique ; 2) les stratégies des divers acteurs, tant sur le site que dans son voisinage immédiat; et à quel degré celles-ci ont pu modifier la structure politique et sociale du système; 3) les mesures prises pour permettre à certains acteurs la construction d'identités sociales; 4) le rôle probable de Gawra dans un grand réseau d'échanges.
L'expansion urukéenne : notes d'un voyageur
Authors: Forest Jean-Daniel
Published: October 2008

L'expansion urukéenne attire, à juste titre, l'attention des chercheurs, et nous présentons ici de façon schématique notre point de vue sur la question, en soulignant à l'occasion notre désaccord avec certaines opinions courantes. L'arrivée d'Urukéens en Mésopotamie du nord ne nous paraît pas témoigner d'une entreprise unifiée, mais de la juxtaposition de réseaux concurrents, susceptibles d'adopter des stratégies diverses. Nous revenons ensuite sur la question du décalage culturel nord-sud, volontiers remis en cause à présent, pour soutenir que les arguments présentés en faveur d'un égal développement du nord ne sont guère tenahles. Nous soutenons enfin que l'expansion de la culture urukéenne en Susiane procède en revanche d'un phénomène de pure acculturation, et que la propagation en Iran de la culture d'Uruk est fondamentalement le fait de Proto-Élamites. Par ailleurs, nous attirons l'attention sur la nécessité d'adopter des stratégies de recherche qui, sur le terrain, privilégieraient la fouille extensive aux dépens des sondages et des prospections de surface, et qui au plan de l'interprétation impliqueraient de mobiliser un bagage particulier.
De la Mésopotamie urukéenne à l'Egypte prédynastique : commentaire sur les articles de G. Stein et al. et de B. Helwing
Authors: De Miroschedji Pierre
Published: October 2008

La thèse défendue par G. Stein et ses collaborateurs d'une colonie urukéenne ayant subsisté à Hacinebi pendant environ cinq siècles en n'entretenant avec la communauté hôte pratiquement aucun échange culturel est a priori peu crédible. Les faits présentés par B. Helwing invitent plutôt à considérer Hacinebi comme un avant-poste dans un lent mouvement ď expansion culturelle urukéen opéré en direction de régions dont les ressources - en particulier minières - étaient convoitées. Cette interprétation n 'est pas contredite par l'analyse d'un autre mouvement d'expansion territoriale contemporain, celui de l'Egypte en direction de la Palestine méridionale au Bronze ancien I. Illustrées par une documentation archéologique relativement abondante attestée dans les deux pays, les relations égypto-palestiniennes correspondent mieux, a priori, à la définition coloniale que les relations supposées entre la Mésopotamie du sud et la Syro-Anatolie. Pourtant, les colonies égyptiennes stricto sensu, au sens où l'entendent G. Stein et al., ne sont pas apparues d'emblée, mais seulement après quelques siècles de présence égyptienne.
Note préliminaire sur le quaternaire dans la vallée du nahr 'Afrin (Syrie).
Authors: Besançon Jacques , Geyer Bernard , Muhesen Sultan
Published: October 2008

Les observations présentées ici sont un premier pas dans l'étude physico-géographique de la vallée de l'Afrin et de son évolution au cours du Quaternaire. Elles apportent des informations concernant le cadre géographique dans lequel se sont opérées les premières implantations humaines de la région, notamment celles retrouvées dans la grotte de Dédériveh.
Middle Epipalaeolithic Sites in Wadi Ziqlab, Northern Jordan
Authors: Maher Lisa , Lohr Matthew , Betts Matthew , Parslow Carla , Banning Edward B.
Published: October 2008

L 'étude des outils microlithiques de deux sites épipaléolithiques de la vallée du Wadi Ziqlab, au nord de la Jordanie, résiste à l 'application simple des systèmes typochronologiques ordinaires. L 'examen systématique des caractères individuels, de ces typologies, permet d'attribuer les deux assemblages à l'Epipaléolithique Moyen, malgré les différences qu'ils présentent. Cette interprétation et l 'association de ces sites avec un paléosol distinct ont des implications importantes pour la compréhension du système des établissements à l 'aube de la sédentarisation.
Le Paléolithique en Arménie : état des connaissances acquises et données récentes
Authors: Fourloubey Christophe , Beauval Cédric , Colonge David , Liagre Jérémie , Ollivier Vincent , Chataigner Christine
Published: October 2008

There is certainly evidence for the Palaeolithic (Acheulean and Mousterian) in Armenia, in the plain of Ararat and in the foothills of the bordering mountains, where obsidian deposits are found ; but no new research has been carried out for 20 years. In collaboration with Armenian specialists, a French archaeological expedition has been endeavouring since 1999 to check data on the Palaeolithic in this southern part of the Caucasus, hut especially to look for new sites in the regions (in the north-west near Georgia, and in the south-east not far from Iran) which until now have remained terra incognita archaeologically. This research has made possible the discovery of traces of human occupation covering several periods from the pre-Acheulean at Eni-Ël (in the north-west) to the upper Palaeolithic at Pokr Sevkar (in the south-east). These promising sites, where trial trenches and excavation will be carried out in the near future, are very important for understanding the populations of the Caucasus during the Quaternary.
Temporal and Spatial Variation in Neolithic Caprine Exploitation Strategies : a Case Study of Fauna from the Site of Yiftah'el (Israel)
Authors: Horwitz Liora Kolska
Published: October 2008

Trois différentes stratégies d'exploitation animale ont coexisté durant la période du PPNB moyen dans le sud du Levant. La première caractérise les sites de la vallée du Jourdain et des régions adjacentes. Elle correspond à un proto-élevage de chèvres (morphologie identique à celle des formes sauvages) qui domine les assemblages fauniques. La seconde stratégie, qui correspond à une chasse à la gazelle ainsi qu 'une fréquence de chèvres sauvages moins élevée que dans la vallée du Jourdain, est localisée dans la partie occidentale de la région méditerranéenne. Comme dans le cas précédent, la morphologie des os de Capra ne se distingue pas de ceux des animaux sauvages. La troisième stratégie s 'observe dans les régions arides des déserts du Sinaï, de Judée et de la partie orientale de la Jordanie. Elle reflète une forte continuité des traditions épipaléolithiques de chasse et de cueillette, comprenant exclusivement des espèces sauvages. L'analyse de la faune néolithique de Yiftah'el (Basse Galilée, Israël) a été entreprise dans le but de tester si les variations des stratégies de subsistance inter-site reflètent une introduction de chèvres domestiques et leur dispersion graduelle ou, au contraire, une domestication autochtone. Les résultats montrent une évolution chronologique graduelle du spectre faunique, des âges d'abattage et de la taille des chèvres, trois facteurs qui, combinés, prouvent la domestication locale de Capra.
Dental Evidence for Dietary Practices in the Chalcolithic Period : The Findings from a Burial Cave in Peqi'in (Northern Israel)
Authors: Lev-Tov Netta , Gopher Avi , Smith Philip E. L.
Published: October 2008

Archaeological data mark the southern Levantine Chalcolithic as a period of great change at the economic and socio-political levels. At the economic level these include intensive cereal cultivation, the cultivation of fruit trees and the utilization of secondary animal products. At the socio-political level the changes include a higher level of socio-political complexity. The analysis of the human dentition has long been used by anthropologists as a tool for reconstructing life ways of past populations. When analyzed by age and social group, pathological, and other conditions of the dentition, provide valuable clues to dietary practices, cultural habits and subsistence strategies.

This study examines the dentition from 1 00 mandibles found at the Chalcolithic burial cave in Peqi 'in (northern Israel), in order to shed light on some dietary practices and the general health of this population in relation to the economic and socio-political changes that occurred during this time.

The results showed a high frequency ofhypoplasia (over 95 % in canines) pointing to the prevalence of physiological stress during infancy and childhood. Molar wear rate was rapid and oblique in pattern indicating an abrasive diet. The caries frequency for the M2 andM3 was 19.3 %, and with ante mortem tooth loss and abscessing points to a heavy reliance on cereals. The high frequency of hypoplasia in combination with other dental pathologies may be associated with a diet low in nutritional value and/or disease. The pattern of disease appeared to be similar in all individuals within the same age group, indicating that the population of Peqi 'in shared a similar life experience in that no one group or individual was more socially buffered from disease or enjoyed differential access to nutritional resources.
An examination of lithic technological variability at the site of Sheri Khan Tarakai, NWFP, Pakistan through experimental replication
Authors: Morris Justin C. , Ashton N. , Lee K.
Published: October 2008

In a previous paper Morris and Ashton suggested that the interpretation of the relationship between experimental and archaeological lithic datasets by Inizan et al. had resulted in misleading conclusions regarding levels of economic development at the site of Sheri Khan Tarakai, North- West Frontier Province, Pakistan. Morris andAshton questioned the use of copper in the lithic production strategy and suggested that the quality of the raw material bore greater effect on the choice of strategy. Since this publication a programme of experimental work has been conducted focussing on a range of lithic production techniques and their resulting technological attributes, utilising raw materials collected near the site of Sheri Khan Tarakai. The results of this experimental study are presented here. The study suggests that there is a clear differentiation, in terms of platform technical attributes, between the indirect percussion and pressure techniques, however, the type ofindentor used has little effect upon these attributes.
L'exploitation de coquillages sur le site de RJ2 à Ra's al-Jinz (Sultanat d'Oman, Néolithique et Âge du Bronze)
Authors: Martin Chloé , Cleuziou S.
Published: October 2008

The site ofRJ2 is located near the sea. It was occupied during the IVth millennium ВС (Neolithic) and during the Bronze Age, between 2 500 and 2 000 ВС (Umm an-Nar culture). Archaeozoological studies showed that fishes were widely consumed (66. 6 % of the NR) as well as the green tortoises (27.4 % of the NR). In addition to bone remains, it is necessary to add the shell. They indicate a consumption of the maritime molluscs by these populations. They consist mainly of mussels (Perna picta) but also Muricidae (Purpura Panama, Thaidinae, Hexaplex kuesterianus) and oysters ('Saccostrea cucculata). All these species live in rocky environment. The collection of these shells had to he made near the site, along the accessible rocky cliffs during the low tide.

During the IVth millennium ВС (Phase I), shell collection targeted Perna picta and the species of the family of Thaidinae. It does not seem, to have had a big impact on the environment. During the Umm an-Nar period, two major phases (Phase 2 and 3) can be distinguished. Phase 2 indicates a collection targeted on Perna picta with sometimes a collection on the species of the family of Thaidinae. During the phase 3, Perna picta is always the main species but the Thaidinae were replaced by Hexaplex kuesterianus and Saccostrea cucculata. The reasons of this change of species can be of an ecological order or from human exploitation (overexploitation or cultural phenomenon). In conclusion, during the IVth millennium ВС, shellfish collection was opportunistic and unspecialised, but during the Bronze Age it became targeted and specialised, on the mussel species Perna picta.
Building houses, framing concepts, constructing worlds
Authors: Watkins Trevor
Published: October 2008

The thesis proposed here is that architecture exploded in the early Neolithic of southwest Asia as a novel and powerful system of symbolic representation, the scaffolding of a pre-literate mode of external symbolic storage. The ability to construct settlements, houses and public buildings that represented constructs of the world that they inhabited allowed new kinds of human society to evolve. By comparing the long Epipalaeolithic period and the trend towards sedentary village life with the rich architectural symbolism of the early Neolithic, we establish the archaeological grounds on which the interpretations are to be founded. Contemporary architects, anthropologists and respected modern social thinkers agree that architecture is indeed a very powerful form of symbolic representation. However, we need to establish why the capacity of human societies to produce such concrete symbolic forms should arise at the end of the Pleistocene and the beginning of the Holocene period. The answer, it is argued, is to be found in theories of the evolution of the human mind, and particularly in the co-evolution of human cognitive faculties and culture. The work of the psychologist Merlin Donald is of fundamental importance in this regard, especially his ideas concerning external symbolic storage systems. Architecture as a mode of external symbolic storage allowed Neolithic communities to become the first humans to inhabit a "built environment " rich in symbolic meaning, making possible the emergence of new, larger and more complex forms of social organization.
Mousterian fauna from Dederiyeh Cave and comparisons with Fauna from Umm El Tlel and Douara Cave
Authors: Griggo Christophe
Published: October 2008

Currently, Dederiyeh Cave (in northwest Syria) is one of the key sites in the Middle East for better understanding Neanderthal behaviour. The stratigraphie sequence, based on excavations carried out to date, and the large quantity of faunal remains recovered make palaeoenvironmental and palaeoclimatic reconstructions possible. Comparisons with assemblages recovered from the sites of Umm El Tlel and Douara Cave (central Syria) illustrate the significant aptitude of Neanderthals for environmental adaptation.

Taphonomic and archaeozoological analyses show that humans alone are responsible for the bone accumulation in Dederiyeh Cave. Middle-sized mammals (wild goat, red deer, fallow deer and gazelle) were hunted by Neanderthals and carried whole into the cave. Large species, specifically wild ox and rhinoceros, are represented in Dederiyeh Cave by teeth, skull fragments and phalanges, and appear to have been scavenged.

Faunal studies carried out on collections from Dederiyeh Cave, Umm el Tlel and Douara Cave indicate elaborate behaviour and social organization for different groups present in Syria during the Middle Palaeolithic period.
Note sur l'exploitation des oiseaux "aquatiques"
Authors: Tomé Carine
Published: October 2008

Birds, and notably "aquatic " species, were exploited by human communities in the Levant (numerous Anatidae) and the Arabian Gulf shores (cormorants), since the beginnings of the prehistoric times. These birds were widely hunted for their flesh and sometimes their bones (used for industry and ornaments) and their feathers (used for ornamentation).
Marine Exploitation in the Third Millennium BC - the eastern coast of Pakistan
Authors: Belcher William R.
Published: October 2008

La pêche a joué un rôle significatif dans l 'économie de nombreuses sociétés. A l 'intérieur d 'un milieu sociopolitique complexe, celui de l'Indus (localisé aujourd'hui au Pakistan et en Inde occidentale), nous nous attachons à mettre en évidence quel rôle a pu jouer la pêche entre 6500 et 1 300 ВС. Cette étude s'appuie sur l'analyse des résultats obtenus sur deux sites côtiers du Pakistan, Balakot et Allahdino. Les restes de poissons recueillis à Balakot suggèrent le passage d 'une pêche destinée à la consommation locale à une pêche tenant sa place dans des échanges commerciaux lointains. Cette extension du marché correspond à celle de l 'influence harappéenne lorsqu'elle a dépassé sa région d'origine. Les restes de poissons récoltés à Allahdino suggèrent, en revanche, le maintien d'une pêche à usage local. Notons toutefois que la représentation squelettique paraît plus liée à la densité des os qu 'à un comportement humain.
L'extinction de la "viticulture pour tous" en Languedoc, 1945-1984
Authors: Gavignaud-Fontaine Geneviève
Published: October 2008

In the space of two generations and less than fifty years, the Languedoc's wine-based society has imploded. Under pressure from national measures since 1945 and European policy since 1 970, today low quality wine production has virtually disappeared. A historien 's viewpoint puts this change into a longer perspective than is often the case. From this angle, the article highlights the role of wine merchants in resisting a shift to quality production, in particular their practice of mixing local and Algerian wines. Changes in the practices of these merchants participated in the drive towards higher quality wine and thus to the sacrifice of less efficient producers out of step with the market's demands.. This shift brought an end not only to a form of production but to the way of life of an entire population.
Raoul Bayou, député du vin : les logiques de constitution d'un patrimoine politique
Authors: Dedieu Olivier
Published: October 2008

The ways of regulation of southern wine growing created a specific political role, namely the "wine deputy". To become one implies the cumulation of several political and wine-growing means. To remain one implies nevertheless a capacity of redeployement that allows to adapt to the evolution of this wine-growing.