Spatial analysis; Human activity area; Middle palaeolithic; Northern France; Faunal remains; Geographic information systems
Abstract :
[en] The detection of Middle Palaeolithic human activity areas represents a methodological challenge at the boundary between two disciplines: archaeology and spatial analysis. During the course of the past decades, with the democratisation of tools such as Geographic Information Systems (GIS), prehistorians have developed a wide diversity of methods for the study of the spatial organization of occupation levels. We must now choose the best adapted method to our spatial problems, our archaeological contexts, but also our set of geographic data, from the existing methods. In this context, we devised a new spatial analysis protocol, highlighting archaeological and spatial criteria that constrained our choice of methods and estimating their reproducibility. The construction and application of our protocol is based on the Middle Palaeolithic open-air sites of Caours and Beauvais, situated in the North of France. On account of the ideal preservation conditions at these sites, they are propitious candidates for spatial analysis. In addition, these sites rank among those with the most abundant faunal remains of the region and our study focuses on this category of remains. The combined use of two methods of spatial analysis – K-means clustering and Kernel Density Estimation – enables us, on one hand, to effectively detect human activity areas, their number and their distribution. On the other hand, this protocol contributed to their characterisation and the description of their role for the functioning of the occupation level. For both of the studied sites, we brought to light several areas of butchery activities organized around a combustion zone. In the case of Caours, areas of specific butchery activities, devoted to one or two species, were identified.
Alperson-Afil, N., Spatial Analysis of Fire: Archaeological Approach to Recognizing Early Fire. Curr. Anthropol. 58:S16 (2017), S258–S266, 10.1086/692721.
Alperson-Afil, N., Sharon, G., Kislev, M., Melamed, Y., Zohar, I., Ashkenazi, S., Rabinovich, R., Biton, R., Werker, E., Hartman, G., Feibel, C., Goren-Inbar, N., Spatial Organization of Hominin Activities at Gesher Benot Ya'aqov, Israel. Science (80-.) 326:5960 (2009), 1677–1680, 10.1126/science:1180695.
Anselin, L., 1999. Interactive techniques and exploratory spatial data analysis. In: Geographical Information Systems: Principles, Techniques, Management and Applications. pp. 251–264. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.0801201105.
Antoine, P., Limondin-lozouet, N., Auguste, P., Locht, J.-L., Galheb, B., Reyss, J., Escude, É., Carbonel, P., Mercier, N., Bahain, J., Falguères, C., Voi, Le tuf de Caours (Somme, France): mise en évidence d ’ une séquence eemienne et d ’ un site paléolithique associé. Quaternaire 17 (2006), 281–320, 10.4000/quaternaire.880.
Auguste, P., 2012. L'Homme et l'Animal au pléistocène en France Septentrionale un quart de siècle de recherche paléontologiques et archéozoologiques dans le Nord de la France. University of Lille 1.
Binford, Lewis R., Nunamiut ethnoarchaeology, 1978, Academic Press, New York.
Böhner, U., Serangeli, J., Richter, P., The Spear Horizon: First spatial analysis of the Schöningen site 13 II-4. J. Hum. Evol. 89 (2015), 202–213, 10.1016/j.jhevol.2015.10.001.
Bracco, J.-P., 2001. De quoi parlons-nous? Réflexions sur l'appréhension des territoires en Préhistoires Paléolithique, in: Actes Des Congrès Nationaux Des Sociétés Historiques et Scientifiques, 126e Toulouse, 2001 “Territoires, Déplacements, Mobilité, Échanges Durant La Préhistoire.” Toulouse, pp. 13–16.
Bracco, J.-P., 2000. Fonction et fonctionnement du gisement épigravettien de Saint-Antoine à Vitrolles (Hautes-Alpes): données et propositions., in: XXVe Congrès Préhistorique de France - Approches Fonctionelles En Préhistoire. Nanterre, pp. 335–340.
Cheng, Y., Mean shift, mode seeking, and clustering. IEEE Trans. Pattern Anal. Mach. Intell. 17 (1995), 790–799, 10.1109/34.400568.
Clark, Amy E., From activity areas to occupational histories: new methods to document the formation of spatial structure in hunter-gatherer sites. J. Archaeol. Method Theory 24:4 (2017), 1300–1325, 10.1007/s10816-017-9313-7.
Clark, Amy E., Time and space in the middle paleolithic: Spatial structure and occupation dynamics of seven open-air sites. Evol. Anthropol. Issues, News, Rev. 25:3 (2016), 153–163, 10.1002/evan.21486.
Cziesla, E., 1990. On refittings and stone artifacts. In: Cziesla, E., Eickhoff, S., Arts, N., Winter, D. (Eds.), In The Big Puzzle: International Symposium on Refitting Stone Artefacts, Studies in Modern Archaeology. Bonn, pp. 9–44.
Cziesla, E., L'analyse des raccords ou le concept du dynamisme en préhistoire. Société Préhistorique Luxemb. 9 (1987), 77–111.
Domínguez-Rodrigo, M., Cobo-Sánchez, L., The spatial patterning of the social organization of modern foraging Homo sapiens: A methodological approach for understanding social organization in prehistoric foragers. Palaeogeogr. Palaeoclimatol. Palaeoecol. 488 (2017), 113–125, 10.1016/j.palaeo.2017.06.008.
Flannery, Kent V., Winter, Marcus C., Analyzing Household Activities. The Early Mesoamerican village, 1976, Flannery, Kent V., 34–47.
Gabucio, Maria Joana, Cáceres, Isabel, Rivals, Florent, Bargalló, Amèlia, Rosell, Jordi, Saladié, Palmira, Vallverdú, Josep, Vaquero, Manuel, Carbonell, Eudald, Unraveling a Neanderthal palimpsest from a zooarcheological and taphonomic perspective. Archaeol. Anthropol. Sci. 10:1 (2018), 197–222, 10.1007/s12520-016-0343-y.
Gabucio, Maria Joana, Fernández-Laso, María Cristina, Rosell, Jordi, Turning a rock shelter into a home. Neanderthal use of space in Abric Romaní levels M and O. Hist. Biol. 30:6 (2018), 743–766, 10.1080/08912963.2017.1340470.
Gatrell, A.C., Bailey, T.C., Diggle, P.J., Rowlingson, B.S., Spatial point pattern analysis and its application in geographical epidemiology. Trans. Inst. Br. Geogr. 21 (1996), 256–274, 10.2307/622936.
Harpole, J.K., Woods, C.M., Rodebaugh, T.L., Levinson, C.A., Lenze, E.J., How bandwidth selection algorithms impact exploratory data analysis using kernel density estimation. Psychol. Methods 19 (2014), 428–443, 10.1037/a0036850.
Hilbert, K., Fieldler, L., 1990. Rejoining artefacts from a Middle Palaeolithic habitation in Buhlen, Hessen. In: The Big Puzzle. International Symposium on Refitting Stone Artefacts. Bonn, pp. 297–305.
Jaubert, J., Delagnes, A., 2007. De l'espace parcouru à l'espace habité au Paléolithique Moyen. In: Vandermeersch, B., Maureille, B. (Eds.), Les Néandertaliens. Biologie et Cultures. Paris, pp. 263–281.
Jayalath, K.P., Gunst, R.F., Meltzer, D.J., Spatial point pattern identification of an apparent Ice-Age house structure. Spat. Stat. 14 (2015), 563–580, 10.1016/j.spasta.2015.09.003.
Kintigh, Keith W., Ammerman, Albert J., Heuristic Approaches to Spatial Analysis in Archaeology. Am. Archaeol. 47:1 (1982), 31–63.
Leroi-Gourhan, A., Brézillon, M., 1972. Fouilles de Pincevent. Essai d'analyse ethnographique d'un habitat magdalénien. Gallia-Préhistoire VIIe suppl, 331.
Lee Lyman, R., Bone frequencies: differential transport, in situ destruction, and the MGUI. Journal of Archaeological Science 12:3 (1985), 221–236, 10.1016/0305-4403(85)90022-6.
Leroi-Gourhan, André, Brézillon, Michel Nacu, L'habitation magdalénienne n° 1 de Pincevent près Monterau (Seine-et-Marne). Gall. préhistoire 9:2 (1966), 263–385, 10.3406/galip.1966.1264.
J.-L. Locht Locht, J.-L., 2004. Le gisement paléolithique moyen de Beauvais (Oise). Université des Sciences et Technologies de Lille 1.
Locht, J.-L., Bettencourt-Saint-Ouen (Somme)-Cinq occupations paléolithiques au début de la dernière glaciation. Editions d. ed., 2002, Documents d'Archéologie Française, Paris.
Locht, J.-L., Modalites d'implantation et fonctionnement interne des sites. L'apport de trois gisements de plein air de la phase recente du paléolithique moyen dans le nord de la France (Bettencourt-Saint- Ouen, Villiers-Adam et Beauvais). Conard, N.J., (eds.) Settlement Dynamics of the Middle Palaeolithic and Middle Stone Age, 2001, Verlag, Kerns, Tübigen, 361–394.
Locht, J.-L., Antoine, P., Auguste, P., 2010. Caours « Les Prés » Rapport intermédiaire de fouille (2010). Amiens.
Locht, J.-L., Antoine, P., Auguste, P., Limondin-Lozouet, N., 2009. Caours « Les Prés » Rapport triennal de fouille programmée. Amiens.
Locht, J.-L., Antoine, P., Dabkowski, J., Sévêque, N., Moreau, G., 2016a. Caours - Rapport de fouille programmée 2016. Amiens.
Locht, J.-L., Dabkowski, J., Antoine, P., Auguste, P., Sévêque, N., Moreau, G., Vialet, A., Bertrand, B., 2017. Caours - Rapport triennal de fouille programmée 2015-2017. Amiens.
Locht, J.-L., Hérisson, D., Goval, E., Cliquet, D., Huet, B., Coutard, S., Antoine, P., Feray, P., Timescales, space and culture during the Middle Palaeolithic in northwestern France. Quat. Int. 411 (2016), 129–148, 10.1016/j.quaint.2015.07.053.
Locht, J.-L., Patou-Mathis, M., 1998. Activités spécifiques pratiquées par des Néandertaliens: le site de “la Justice” à Beauvais (Oise, France), in: Facchini, F., Palma di Cesnola, A., Piperno, M., Peretto, C. (Eds.), XIII U.I.SP.P. - Forli, 8 - 14 September 1996. A.B.A.C.O., pp. 165–187.
Locht, Jean-Luc, Swinnen, Colette, Antoine, Pierre, Auguste, Patrick, Patou-Mathis, Marylène, Depaepe, Pascal, Falguères, Christophe, Laurent, Michel, Bahain, Jean-Jacques, Mathys, Pascal, Le gisement paléolithique moyen de Beauvais (Oise). Bull. la Société préhistorique française 92:2 (1995), 213–226, 10.3406/bspf.1995.10007.
Merril, Michael, Read, Dwight, A new Method using graph and lattice theory to discover spatially cohesive sets of artifacts and areas of organized activity in archaeological sites. American Antiquity 75:3 (2010), 419–451.
Metcalfe, Duncan, Jones, Kevin T., A Reconsideration of Animal Body-Part Utility Indices. American Antiquity 53:3 (1988), 486–504.
Neruda, P., GIS analysis of the spatial distribution of Middle Palaeolithic artefacts in Kůlna Cave (Czech Republic). Quat. Int. 435 (2017), 58–76, 10.1016/j.quaint.2015.10.028.
Oron, M., Goren-Inbar, N., Mousterian intra-site spatial patterning at Quneitra, Golan Heights. Quat. Int. 331 (2014), 186–202, 10.1016/j.quaint.2013.04.013.
Pettitt, P.B., High resolution Neanderthals? Interpreting middle palaeolithic intrasite spatial data. World Archaeol. 29:2 (1997), 208–224, 10.1080/00438243.1997.9980374.
Rigaud, J.P., Simek, J.F., 1991. Interpreting Spatial Patterns at the Grotte XV. In: The Interpretation of Archaeological Spatial Patterning. Boston, pp. 199–220.
Schiffer, Michael B., Archaeological Context and Systemic Context. Am. Antiq. 37:2 (1972), 156–165.
Scott, D.W., 1992. Multivariate Density Estimation, Wiley Series in Probability and Statistics. John Wiley & Sons, Inc., Hoboken, NJ, USA. https://doi.org/10.1002/9780470316849.
Schiffer, Michael B., Behavioral Chain Analysis: Activities, Organization, and the Use of Space. Fieldiana. Anthropology 65 (1975), 103–119.
Sévêque, N., Variabilité des comportements alimentaires au Paléolithique moyen en France septentrionale - Apports des études archéozoologiques. Lille3 - Charles de Gaulle., 2017.
Simeck, J., Larick, R.R., The recognition of multiple spatial patterns: a case study from the French Upper Palaeolithic. J. Archaeol. Sci. 10 (1983), 165–180.
Soriano, S., L'impact des facteurs taphonomiques sur la connaissance du Paléolithique supérieur ancien du Bassin parisien. Mémoire la Société préhistorique française LVI, 2013, 21–34.
Spagnolo, V., Marciani, G., Aureli, D., Berna, F., Toniello, G., Astudillo, F., Boschin, F., Boscato, P., Ronchitelli, A., 2018. Neanderthal activity and resting areas from stratigraphic unit 13 at the Middle Palaeolithic site of Oscurusciuto (Ginosa - Taranto, Southern Italy). Quat. Sci. Rev. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.quascirev.2018.06.024.
Speth, John D., Les strategies alimentaires des chasseurs-cueilleurs. La Recherche 190:18 (1987), 894–903.
Stapert, D., Middle Palaeolithic Dwellings: Fact or Fiction? Some Applications of the Ring and Sector Method. Palaeohistoria 32 (1990), 1–19.
Thacher, D., Milne, S.B., Park, R., Applying GIS and statistical analysis to assess the correlation of human behaviour and ephemeral architectural features among Palaeo-Eskimo sites on Southern Baffin Island. Nunavut. J. Archaeol. Sci. Rep. 14 (2017), 21–30, 10.1016/j.jasrep.2017.05.004.
Vaquero, M., Chacón, M.G., García-Antón, M.D., Gómez de Soler, B., Martínez, K., Cuartero, F., Time and space in the formation of lithic assemblages: The example of Abric Romaní Level. J. Quat. Int. 247 (2012), 162–181, 10.1016/j.quaint.2010.12.015.
Vaquero, M., Fernández-Laso, M.C., Chacón, M.G., Romagnoli, F., Rosell, J., Sañudo, P., Moving things: Comparing lithic and bone refits from a Middle Paleolithic site. J. Anthropol. Archaeol. 48 (2017), 262–280, 10.1016/j.jaa.2017.09.001.
Vaquero, Manuel, Pastó, Ignasi, The Definition of Spatial Units in Middle Palaeolithic Sites: The Hearth-Related Assemblages. J. Archaeol. Sci. 28:11 (2001), 1209–1220, 10.1006/jasc.2001.0656.
Whallon, R.J., Spatial Analysis of Occupation Floors II: The Application of Nearest Neighbor Analysis. Am. Antiq. 39 (1974), 16–34.
Whallon, Robert, Spatial Analysis of Occupation Floors I: Application of Dimensional Analysis of Variance. Am. Antiq. 38:3 (1973), 266–278.
Yvorra, Pascale, The management of space in a Palaeolithic rock shelter: defining activity areas by spatial analysis. Antiquity 77:296 (2003), 336–344.