Papers by Magen O'Farrell
Palethnologie, 2009
Bookmarks Related papers MentionsView impact
PLOS ONE
Here we report on Neanderthal engravings on a cave wall at La Roche-Cotard (LRC) in central Franc... more Here we report on Neanderthal engravings on a cave wall at La Roche-Cotard (LRC) in central France, made more than 57±3 thousand years ago. Following human occupation, the cave was completely sealed by cold-period sediments, which prevented access until its discovery in the 19th century and first excavation in the early 20th century. The timing of the closure of the cave is based on 50 optically stimulated luminescence ages derived from sediment collected inside and from around the cave. The anthropogenic origin of the spatially-structured, non-figurative marks found within the cave is confirmed using taphonomic, traceological and experimental evidence. Cave closure occurred significantly before the regional arrival of H. sapiens, and all artefacts from within the cave are typical Mousterian lithics; in Western Europe these are uniquely attributed to H. neanderthalensis. We conclude that the LRC engravings are unambiguous examples of Neanderthal abstract design.
Bookmarks Related papers MentionsView impact
Grâce à sa situation géographique privilégiée et à ses vastes dimensions, la grotte d’Isturitz a ... more Grâce à sa situation géographique privilégiée et à ses vastes dimensions, la grotte d’Isturitz a très tôt attiré les populations préhistoriques qui fréquentaient les Pyrénées occidentales. De fait, les fouilles entreprises dans la première moitié du XXe siècle ont mis en évidence des stratigraphies témoignant de fréquentes occupations durant les Paléolithiques moyen et surtout supérieur. A partir de 1999, la reprise des recherches dans la salle de Saint-Martin s’est principalement concentrée sur son importante séquence aurignacienne. La base de celle-ci est constituée par de riches ensembles de l’Aurignacien archaïque avec une industrie lithique largement dominée par les supports lamellaires. Nous présenterons ici les premiers résultats des études tracéologiques qui leur attribuent des utilisations diversifiées, tout en insistant sur la nécessité de valider les hypothèses émises, notamment par l’expérimentation.
Bookmarks Related papers MentionsView impact
Palethnologie
Bookmarks Related papers MentionsView impact
Very early on, prehistoric groups in the western Pyrenees benefited from the favorable geographic... more Very early on, prehistoric groups in the western Pyrenees benefited from the favorable geographic situation and vast dimensions of Isturitz Cave. The excavations conducted there in the beginning of the 20th century revealed evidence of frequent occupations during the Middle, and especially Upper Paleolithic. Starting in 1999, new research in the Saint-Martin gallery has focused on its Aurignacian stratigraphic sequence. The base of this sequence is composed of rich Archaic Aurignacian assemblages with a lithic industry largely dominated by bladelets. In this paper, we present the first results of usewear analyses of these bladelets, which reveal diverse functions. However, we also insist on the need to validate our hypotheses through experimentation.
Bookmarks Related papers MentionsView impact
F. Le Brun-Ricalens (éd.), Productions lamellaires …, 2005
Bookmarks Related papers MentionsView impact
The Archaeology of Rock Art in Western Arnhem Land, Australia, 2017
Bookmarks Related papers MentionsView impact
Une collection de rennes du Canada (ou Caribou ; Rangifer tarandus groenlandicus), a la fois tres... more Une collection de rennes du Canada (ou Caribou ; Rangifer tarandus groenlandicus), a la fois tres importante et representative en terme d'âge, est analysee pour preciser la relation entre les differentes mesures de la hauteur de la couronne dentaire et l'âge des specimens, pour cette espece moderement hypsodonte. L'etude (1) recherche d'abord laquelle de ces dimensions offre la meilleure correlation avec l'âge ; (2) precise le degre de variabilite individuelle associee a cette dimension; (3) determine dans quelle mesure cette variabilite peut aller jusqu'a invalider la determination de profils d'âge basee sur des formules empiriques d'apres la regression de la couronne dentaire avec l'âge ; (4) enfin, alternativement, a la lumiere de ces donnees, evalue la pertinence de modeles theoriques de l'attrition dentaire dans le but d'une estimation de l'âge (en particulier la Quadratic Crown Height Method = QCHM). Nous decouvrons alors que l&#...
Bookmarks Related papers MentionsView impact
It is acknowledged the human evolution is related to biological responses to environmental pressu... more It is acknowledged the human evolution is related to biological responses to environmental pressures and constraints: the more humans evolve, the more they choose, select and transport, and the less they succumb to the domination of environmental constraints. Studies of raw material sources are nearly as old as the discipline of archaeology. The objective of the first authors was essentially to identify rare stones with a distant origin, such as polished stones and metamorphic or volcanic rocks (obsidian). The "mineral" or "lithic" parameter is therefore opposed to the mobility of human groups who, by definition, belong to the biological sphere. The mobility patterns of human groups must be replaced in the context of their schema operatoire(s). A permanent relationship is implied between the natural environment and the needs of the human group. In order to investigate the subject of raw materials there is already an agreement on the order of priorities: identific...
Bookmarks Related papers MentionsView impact
Situee dans les Pyrenees occidentales, au coeur de la zone de passage et de contact entre l'A... more Situee dans les Pyrenees occidentales, au coeur de la zone de passage et de contact entre l'Aquitaine et la corniche vasco-cantabrique, la grotte d'Isturitz a fait l'objet, dans la premiere moitie du XXe siecle, de fouilles qui ont livre un remarquable ensemble archeologique couvrant le Paleolithique moyen et la quasi-totalite du Paleolithique superieur. De nouvelles recherches menees dans la salle de Saint-Martin ont mis en evidence d'importantes occupations aurignaciennes attribuees aux phases archaiques et anciennes de ce technocomplexe. Nous ferons dans cet article une synthese des principales donnees qui font de la grotte d'Isturitz un site clef pour l'etude de celles-ci.
Bookmarks Related papers MentionsView impact
Quaternary International, 2016
Bookmarks Related papers MentionsView impact
Quaternary International, 2015
Bookmarks Related papers MentionsView impact
Bulletin de la Société préhistorique française, 2006
Bookmarks Related papers MentionsView impact
Quaternary International, 2015
Bookmarks Related papers MentionsView impact
Bookmarks Related papers MentionsView impact
Bookmarks Related papers MentionsView impact
Approches fonctionnelles en Préhistoire. Actes du …, Jan 1, 2005
Bookmarks Related papers MentionsView impact
It is acknowledged the human evolution is related to biological responses to environmental pressu... more It is acknowledged the human evolution is related to biological responses to environmental pressures and constraints: the more humans evolve, the more they choose, select and transport, and the less they succumb to the domination of environmental constraints. Studies of raw material sources are nearly as old as the discipline of archaeology. The objective of the first authors was essentially to identify rare stones with a distant origin, such as polished stones and metamorphic or volcanic rocks (obsidian). The "mineral" or "lithic" parameter is therefore opposed to the mobility of human groups who, by definition, belong to the biological sphere. The mobility patterns of human groups must be replaced in the context of their schéma opératoire(s). A permanent relationship is implied between the natural environment and the needs of the human group. In order to investigate the subject of raw materials there is already an agreement on the order of priorities: identification of RM sources, generally outcrops; estimation of the quantity or density of this RM and whether the outcrops can be qualified as numerous, rare, variable, monotonous, etc. It is then necessary to determine the conditions of their accessibility, which could have varied in function of marine or lake regressions and transgressions, the advance of continental or alpine glaciers, the sedimentation or erosion of valleys and slopes or variations in the vegetal cover. Though these factors are well known, they are difficult to define and evaluate.
Bookmarks Related papers MentionsView impact
Mémoire de DEA, Université Bordeaux, Jan 1, 1996
Bookmarks Related papers MentionsView impact
F. Le Brun-Ricalens (éd.), …, Jan 1, 2005
Bookmarks Related papers MentionsView impact
Uploads
Papers by Magen O'Farrell