L’architecture de l’épaule au sein du genre Homo : nouvelles interprétations

The morphology of human clavicles can be estimated by projecting them on two perpendicular planes in order to assess the shapes of their cranial and dorsal primary curvatures. In cranial view no differences in curvature appear within the genus Homo, which means the different species had similar arms elevation capacity, especially in protraction. On the contrary, in dorsal view two clavicles morphologies could be defined. The first one is characterized by two curvatures in dorsal view and is possessed by all Homo species, from Homo habilis to Neanderthal, including Homo ergaster, but not modern human, Upper Paleolithic and anatomically modern human remains, who possess clavicles of the second type, characterized by either one curvature, or two slightly pronounced ones in dorsal view. Clavicles displaying two pronounced curvatures in dorsal view are associated with scapula sitting high on the thorax in regard to modern human. However, shoulder with high scapula on the thorax displays two different kinds of architectures: (i) shoulder with short clavicles associated to scapulas sitting more laterally than those of modern human. This group includes earlier Homo like Homo habilis and Homo ergaster and (ii) shoulder with long clavicles associated to scapulas sitting more dorsally on the thorax, like those of modern human. This group includes Homoantecessor and Neanderthals. In other words, within the genus Homo, three shoulders would have existed. Evolution of the shoulder complex is far more complex than previously thought and the arrival of modern bipedalism was not associated to modern shoulder.     

Importance de la Mérione de Shaw Meriones shawii au sein des composantes trophiques de la Chouette effraie Tyto alba en milieux steppiques de l’Algérie

The study of the diet of the Barn Owl in two steppic regions (M'Sila and Djelfa) located in the Algerian highlands is based on the analysis of the pellets of rejections collected in six stations. The analysis of 706 pellets resulting from the various stations made it possible to count 1380 individuals, represented by seven classes, 12 orders, 32 families, and 76 species of preys. The mammals are consumed with variable abundance rates between 59.1 % and 90.0 % whose predominance is assigned to the rodents (relative abundance: AR > 58 %). The latter constitute the most advantageous preys in biomass (61.4 ≤ B % ≤ 99.2). The most consumed prey is Meriones shawii, with variable rates between 31.9 % and 76.6 %. Generally, Tyto alba presents a diversified diet in the majority of the stations (0.69 ≤ E ≤ 0.76), except the station of Ain El-Hadjel (E = 0.35), with a low diversity and dominance of M. shawii (AR = 76.6 %).     

Synthèse des données archéologiques récentes sur le peuplement à l’Holocène de la réserve de faune de la Lopé, Gabon

This article summarizes the results of archaeological research led from 1995 to 1998 in the fauna reserve of Lopé (Gabon). The excavated sites were dated from the Upper Pleistocene to the Post-colonial period. It is the longest and the most complete archaeological sequence presently known in Central Africa. These results show evidence of human presence in the reserve for over 40?000 years and that this greatly contributed to the preservation of the ecotone landscape of Lopé. In addition, these results offer the first systematic analysis of the sites and the ceramic artefacts produced and used in the centre of Gabon during the last three millennia. Supported by chronological, linguistic and palaeoenvironmental data, these results allow us to refine the ceramic typology and to prove the antiquity of husbandry, agricultural practices and iron production in this part of Africa. Finally, they allow us to clarify the various phases of settlement in the reserve and to reveal an important historic phenomena in connection with the expansion of the bantu languages and/or the bantu speaking peoples, who populate a third of the African continent.     

Note sur la position de la tubérosité deltoïdienne (tuberositas deltoidea) et ses conséquences fonctionnelles

This work presents a study related to the position of the humeral tuberosity in hominoids, spider monkeys and some cercopithecoids. Results show that the most distal humeral tuberosities are not associated to extreme brachiator behaviours, contrary to great apes and human. The shortest extension of the deltoid’s insertion area on the brachiator primates’ humerus can be associated to the need of those ones to develop a strong brachialis anticus. Indeed, this muscle is very important for arm movements when brachiating.     

Évolution temporelle de la diversité génétique de Chaerophyllum bulbosum : conséquences sur la gestion des ressources génétiques

To increase the germplasm necessary for varietal improvement of tuberous-rooted chervil, a food apiaceae of increasing importance, two successive surveys of wild populations were carried out in Germany, in the Rhine and the Weser River basins. These mainly riparian populations are likely to be shaped by changes in hydrographic networks that characterize their habitat. Molecular studies have shown a strong structuration between wild populations (G_ST ∼ 32 %), but did not reveal any structuring effect of the hydrographic network on diversity or any global phenomenon of genetic erosion. A discussion about the strategy for maintaining the diversity of this species on a long-term period is proposed.     

Les restes humains du Pliocène final et du début du Pléistocène inférieur de Dmanissi, Géorgie (1991-2000). I - Les crânes, D 2280, D 2282, D 2700

Since 1991, several human remains: 5 skulls, 4 mandibles and numerous postcranial fragments have been discovered on the Dmanissi prehistoric open site. It is an exceptional discovery due to the stratigraphical, paleontological and cultural context, which is well known and accurately well dated (Upper Pliocene-Early Pleistocene). Most of the hominids discovered in the level V and VI are dated between 1.81 My (level V) and 1.77 My (level VI) corresponding to a 40,000 years period. The assemblage of fossil human remains is peculiar due to (1) the quality of bone representation (distinct parts of the skeleton are preserved: skull, thorax, upper and lower limbs, belt), (2) the high degree of bone preservation (skulls and long bones are entire, rarely broken or crushed), (3) the diversity age at death estimated for each of the 5 individuals (3 adults, 1 young adult, 1 adolescent of both sexes). The study dealing with the first discovered mandibles and skulls has begun with Leo Gabounia since 1991 and represents several interests: 1) a paleoanthropological interest: the Dmanissi skulls are characterized by their small size; they are short, narrow and low. The skullcaps are less elevated than those of the Homo erectus group and even those of Homo ergaster. They are more elevated than those of Homo habilis and very close to Homo rudolfensis. The elevation and the transversal development of the middle part of the skull in the parietotemporal region are more significant: the Dmanissi specimens are intermediate between Homo habilis and Homo ergaster. In term of cranial capacity, a similar trend is observed. Generally speaking, the skull is slender. The vault is more flat than in Homo erectus, the frontal bone is less developed, divergent and the postorbital constriction is strong. The temporal bone is long, flat and the mastoid part is short. The upper part of the occipital bone is low and narrow. Crests are thin, less developed than in the Homo erectus group. The superior temporal crests are in a high position and a torus angularis is present on the adult-male specimen. The glenoid cavity is large with strong edges. The petrotympanic region is slender with a tympanic circle individualized and it shows a horizontal rotation in a posterior position, which is distinct from Homo erectus. The orthognathic trend of the face distinguishes the Dmanissi specimens from the early Pleistocene hominids (Homo habilis, Homo ergaster) and from the first Eurasian Homo erectus. Nevertheless, the subnasal region of the face is projected. The morphology of the mid-face, showing a developed pillar of the canine, an inframalar incurvation and an anterior position of the root of the zygomaticomaxillary crest, suggests strong masticatory stress. Considering the overall morphology, cranial and metrical features, the Dmanissi fossil skulls are intermediate to the Homo habilis-rudolfensis group and Homo ergaster while they are closer to the former and peculiarly to Homo rudolfensis (ER 1470). However, the Dmanissi fossil skulls are distinct from Homo rudolfensis by numerous features and among them: by their large maximum cranial width (Euryon-Euryon), the posterior rotation of their petrotympanic structure and the strong development of the pillar of their canine. Due to the gracility of their face, the narrowness of their occipital bone, and their cranial base pattern (mastoid region and petrotympanic structure), the Dmanissi fossil skulls are different from the Homo erectus group: 2) the abundance of the human fossils discovered in Dmanissi site provides information about the biodiversity of these hominids with the establishment of the morphological features related to either growth or sexual patterns: 3) compared to modern humans, the Dmanissi fossil skulls seem to follow a different growth pattern. The present study of the fossil skulls discovered is a pioneer step. Indeed, the Dmanissi site has yielded the oldest evidences of the first settlements in Eurasia, which were, until now, attributed to Homo erectus. The Dmanissi fossil skulls are close to the Homo habilis-rudolfensis African group. We attribute these hominids to Homo georgicus.     

Diaceratherium massiliae nov. sp. des argiles oligocènes de Saint-André et Saint-Henri à Marseille et de Les Milles près d’Aix-en-Provence (SE de la France), premier grand Rhinocerotidae brachypode européen

A revision of all previously collected mammalian fossils from the two Late Oligocene sites of Saint-André and Saint-Henri in Marseille (both from the MP 26 reference-level) allows us to identify three Rhinocerotoidea species: Protaceratherium albigense, Ronzotherium romani, Diaceratherium massiliae nov. sp., and maybe a fourth one, Eggysodon cf. gaudryi. Only the first two were previously known there. D. massiliae nov. sp. is found together with R. romani; it is the first case of sympatry ever known between the two genera. D. massiliae nov. sp. is then the most ancient Diaceratherium in Europe, where the genus was previously unknown before the MP 29 reference-level. It is a very large species whose limb bones proportions foreshadow these of the later species of the genus, especially D. lemanense from the Late Oligocene-Early Miocene. This suggests a possible phylogenetic link between D. massiliae nov. sp. and D. lemanense, and the coexistence of at least two different but partially contemporaneous lineages among the European Diaceratherium. In Les Milles near Aix-en-Provence, also from the MP 26 reference-level, the three species P. albigense, R. romani and D. massiliae nov. sp. were also found.     

Les industries acheuléennes de la France septentrionale

The excavations of several open air sites in Northern France and, especially in the Somme basin, have given numerous data concerning the age and the environment of the human occupations for the period from MIS 12 to MIS 8. The quality of the raw material and the function of the different sites have a great effect on the composition of the lithic assemblages as it has been seen for the different sites located near the confluence of the Somme and Avre (Cagny-la Garenne, Cagny-l’Épinette, Ferme de l’Épinette, Gentelles). The characteristics of the lithic industries of Gouzeaucourt show the complexity of the transition from Lower to Middle Palaeolithic.     

Position chronologique des sites de l’Homme moderne en Chine d’après la datation U-Th

The origin and evolution of modern Homo sapiens has been the subject of an intensive debate between exponents of two competing hypotheses, multiregional origins and “recent out of Africa”. This paper presents a synthesis of the chronological studies on seven hominid sites in China based on the U-series dating, five of them of intercalated speleothem calcites and other two of fossil materials. The results show that modern humans were present in China about 100 ka ago, much earlier than previously estimated, and that the so-called “temporal gap” of human presence in China between 40 and 100 ka is most probably nothing but an artifact caused by systematic errors of the dating methods. Further multidisciplinary studies on hominid sites in China may provide important evidence for resolving the hotly debated issues concerning the origin of modern humans.     

Le paléolithique supérieur au sud du Portugal : le site de Vale Boi

Before the 90s, data on Paleolithic human occupation of southern Portugal was very scarce. During the last decade, the knowledge of the Upper Paleolithic of Algarve increased substantially due to the work of a research team based at the University of Algarve. The present paper is a report on the recent results from Algarve, focusing specially on the site of Vale Boi. It will present the chronology and stratigraphy of different human occupations from the early Upper Paleolithic up to the early Neolithic. It will focus on aspects of zooarchaeology and the exploitation of large and medium mammals as well as on marine fauna. In addition, we will present new data on stone and bone tools. Finally, we will also refer to the social and symbolic aspects present at the site, base on shell and teeth pendants and to an engraved plaquette with animal motifs.     

Le bassin de l’homme du Pléistocène supérieur de Liujiang, Sud de la Chine : taille du corps, forme du corps et encéphalisation

The Late Pleistocene hominin fossil assemblage from Liujiang, South China include a fairly well-preserved cranium, a right os coxa, a complete sacrum, and other postcranial elements all belonging to a single individual. This rare discovery offers us a unique and singular opportunity in understanding this Late Pleistocene hominin's body proportion and relative cranial capacity (encephalization quotient [EQ]), and also pelvic morphology. Using the available right innominate and its mirror-imaged left side, we reconstruct Liujiang hominin's pelvis. Our analysis of the pelvis indicates that the Liujiang hominin has a very gracile and modern-like pelvic morphology. Indeed, all of the pelvic dimensions are smaller than those of other Pleistocene hominins. Moreover, the pelvic characteristics typical of Middle and Late Pleistocene hominins including Neanderthals cannot be identified in the Liujiang pelvis. In contrast, both Liujiang's metric and non-metric features indicate affinities to more recent human populations including our modern Chinese collections from Guangxi of south China. Further support of this assessment comes from the EQ value of 5.754 for Liujiang which is closer to Minatogawa 2 and modern Chinese populations than to Middle and Late Pleistocene fossil hominins. Our analysis of body shape shows that Liujiang has body proportion (i.e. body height relative to body breadth) typical of warm-adapted populations. Based on these findings, we reason that the modern physical characteristics of Liujiang may allude to a more recent geological age. Alternatively, its morphological “modernity” could also point to a much higher degree of skeletal variation within Late Pleistocene hominins in East Asia.     

Les récentes découvertes à Baerya dans le district de Bijie, au nord de la province de Guizhou (Chine)

Fauna associated with stone artifacts have recently been uncovered, in the course of a survey from a cave site named Baerya, town land of Bijie, Guizhou province. The first observations suggest a human occupation. In the absence of chrono-stratigraphic data, it is not possible to assess the age of the site. Nevertheless the presence of lower Pleistocene fauna suggests a very ancient age for this human occupation. Further field research will be necessary to determinate the age and nature of the site.     

Les principales étapes de l’occupation humaine en bordure de l’Himalaya occidentale

Lithic industries attest that Western Himalayas, Hindu Kush and Pamir as well as the sub-Himalayan belt that is the Siwalik range, were inhabited during the prehistoric times. However, in thin transition zone between plains and high mountains, distinction is to be kept between low-middle altitude regions and high altitude regions (above 2000 m). In the former regions, the first human occupation tenuously appears around 2 Ma. In the Middle Pleistocene, the Lower Palaeolithic industries belong to two technological facies, the Acheulian and the Early Soanian. In the North-Western Siwaliks, the Soanian occurs in plenty on the river terraces, which were all built after 0.4 Ma, and the Acheulian appears between 0.5 and 0.7 Ma. The Middle Palaeolithic is still rich in cobble tools and therefore named Late Soanian. The Upper Palaeolithic is missing, perhaps due to climatic factors and the Neolithic is characterised by polished axes/adzes, but actually many of the cobble tools usually considered as Early Soanian may well belong to the cobble tool technical tradition common in South-East Asia during the Late Pleistocene and Early Holocene. In the north of the mountain range, the entire Palaeolithic sequence yielded by the loess in Southern Tajikistan is characterised, right from the late Lower Pleistocene, by lithic industries mainly compose of flakes, sometimes with cobble tools. In the high altitude zones, prehistoric sites are unknown before the Holocene and therefore they are contemporaneous with the Neolithic but some technological facies display particular features. The question is to know whether the originality of the industries, observed at different periods of time, is linked to techno-cultural adaptations to particular environments or to the isolation of the mountain populations.     

Le Paléolithique Supérieur dans la moyenne vallée de l’Ebre

After 30 years of research, we begin to perceive an incipient outline of the Upper Palaeolithic in the central Ebro Valley. The assembled data permit us to speak of human occupation on the Southern face of the Pyrenees, but also on the borders of the Iberian Mountains and of the Ebro basin. All these sites seem to mark the passageways from and to the neighbour territories, emphasizing the communication pathway role of the Iberian basin.     

Utilisation du bois de feu par les chasseurs-cueilleurs de la « Cidade de Pedra » à partir de l’Holocène moyen (Brésil Central,Mato Grosso,Rondonópolis)

Located in the south-western Mato Grosso state (Central Brazil), the vast territory of the Cidade de Pedra was continuously occupied since the mid-Holocene by several groups of hunter-gatherers. Rock paintings, lithic industries, ceramics, ornaments, combustion remains (etc.) testify their passages in the many rock art sites discovered since 1983. In this paper are presented the results of the first anthracological analyzes conducted in four of these rock shelters. The studies were realized from macro-remains carbonized from hearths, embers and concentrations. From the taxonomic identification of charcoal, the objectives are to highlight the practices of hunter-gatherers related to the collection of wood and the environment in which they evolved for nearly 5000 years. The results indicate that they practiced an opportunistic collection mainly focused on dry wood available in the vegetation around the sites. They evolved in an environment similar to that currently characterizes the region, a typical flora of the Cerrado Biome and seasonal climate.     

La séquence anthracologique de la grotte du Parco (Alòs de Balaguer,Espagne) : paysages et gestion du combustible chez les derniers chasseurs-cueilleurs

The objective of this paper is to present the anthracological data of the Parco cave sequence. This cave, excavated since the last 25 years, shows a stratigraphic sequence from the Upper Palaeolithic to the Bronze age. The anthracological data that we are presenting correspond to the sequence corresponding to the Magdalenian and Epipaleolithic layers. The anthracological data show a dominance of Scots pine at the bottom and of junipers at the top of the deposit, suggesting a landscape transformation though time. From these results we discuss aspects related to the vegetal formations during this period. Moreover, this study has the intention of integration the anthracological record with the archaeological data already published concerning subsistence, technology and paleoecology to a better understanding to human behaviour during this period.     

Cancer de prostate métastatique résistant à la castration : le point de vue de l’oncologue médical

Most of patient suffering from a prostate cancer will develop a castration resistance. In this common and clinically challenging situation, chemotherapy was not considered very useful until mid 2000s. Docetaxel is now recognized as a standard of care, improving overall survival and quality of life. However, new drugs are needed. Two compounds (cabazitaxel and abiraterone) are now underway to official registration and an autologous vaccin strategy (Sipuleucel) demonstrated a benefit in survival. Based on a greater knowledge of biology, many other agents are currently under development, such as new specific peripheral anti-androgens, anti-angiogenic therapies, or proteasome inhibitors. All these new drugs are promising and may provide more efficient therapies against this incurable disease in the near future.     

Les kystes de dinoflagellés du Crétacé moyen de la marge atlantique brésilienne, le bassin de Santos

Organic dinoflagellate cysts are studied from the sedimentary sequence of hole 1-SPS-14A, drilled during oil exploration in the Santos Basin, Brazilian continental margin. The Ariri and Florianópolis Formations (Transitional sequence) do not contain any dinocysts. The oldest found dinocysts occur at the base of the Drift sequence in sediments, within platform carbonates of the Guarujá Formation. Continuous sea-level rise throughout the late Albian and Cenomanian submerged the carbonate platform with the terrigenous input of the Itanhaém Formation. The transgressive phase reached its peak during the Cenomanian/Turonian transition. Pelites were deposited during oceanic anoxic event (OAE-2), consisting the lower part of the Itajaí-Açu Formation. Normal oceanic conditions re-established in the late Turonian. The Brazilian dinocyst assemblage has tethyan affinities. Some species (i.e., Dinopterygium cladoides, Litosphaeridium arundum, Odontochitina rhakodes and Systematophora cretacea) suggest a middle Albian age for the carbonate platform of the Guarujá Formation. The lower part of the Guarujá Formation was not dated by other microfossils. An uppermost Albian or lower Cenomanian age is suggested for the base of the Itanhaém Formation on the basis of species Palaeohystrichophora infusorioides and Ovoidinium verrucosum. The Cenomanian-Turonian boundary cannot be characterized by dinocysts. Species Atopodinium iuvene, which is known from Turonian sediments in Europe, was found at the top of the Itajaí-Açu Formation. The observed dinocyst bioevents (i.e., last occurrence) are correlated with known foraminiferal, nannofossil and other palynological bioevents. The diversity of the assemblages remains constant throughout the various palaeoenvironments as these are reflected by the Guarujá and Itajaí-Açu Formations, but relative abundances of taxa are variable. Genera Coronifera, Florentinia, Ovoidinium, Spiniferites and Trichodinium are abundant in the carbonate platform assemblages (Guarujá Formation). Genera Cribroperidinium and Cyclonephelium are abundant in detrital sediments (Itajaí-Açu Formation). Only one species (Subtilisphaera guarujaensis n. sp.) is restricted to the carbonate platform environment.     

L’industrie en calcaire du site Paléolithique d’Isernia la Pineta : un modèle interprétatif de stratégie comportementale

The studies and the researches carried out in the last years on the Palaeolithic site of Isernia La Pineta have brought to consider in new way the activities realized by the human group that lived the basin of Isernia during the Middle Pleistocene offering an important key of interpretation of the behavioural strategies of the prehistoric man. The analysis of the exploitation of the raw material has confirmed the presence on the site of two different lithotypes: flint and limestone; the lithological dichotomy is related to the functional dichotomy of the raw material that seems to have conditioned the activities of the human group in different areas of the site. The necessity to deepen the study on the limestone has derived from the evidence brought to light in the last excavation campaigns of a remarkable concentration of the flaked limestone pebbles and the flake scars in some areas of the explored archeosurfaces, particularly on the 3a and on the overlooking layers. The present study has the purpose to explain the characteristics of the limestone finds both in reference to the raw material and to its state of preservation both to the technotypological evidences and its spatial distribution with the purpose to better understand the modalities of the exploitation of the raw material. The information collected until today have permitted to obtain a precise knowledge of the environmental context and the territorial resources exploited by the human group showing an opportunistic capability to find the most advantageous behavioural solution for the necessities of subsistence.     

Les occupations gravettiennes de Buran-Kaya III (Crimée) : contexte archéologique

Buran-Kaya III (Crimea, Ukraine) is a unique site, with a stratigraphy from Middle to Final Palaeolithic. The Gravettian layers 5-2, 6-1 and 6-2 of this site yielded numerous lithic and bone industries, ornaments from marine and freshwater shells, mammal teeth and mammoth ivory, human fossils and abundant faunal remains. Аccording to the stylistic indications of the lithic and bone inventories, the settlements of layers 5-2, 6-1 and 6-2 of Buran-Kaya III represent local variants of the Gravettian in Crimea and in mainland Ukraine and, therefore, the existence of separately social communities. Conversely, ornament objects and human remains (with specific mortuary practices) of Buran-Kaya III may suggest extensive social contacts of its Gravettian inhabitants with other human populations from mainland Ukraine. These hypotheses make necessary future investigations about the social organisation of the Epigravettian societies in Eastern Europe.