21 Result(s)
within
Marie-Hélène Moncel
-
Article
What function(s) for Palaeolithic polyhedrons, spheroids and bolas? Cases from France and North Africa
Polyhedrons, spheroids and bolas (PSBs) have been found in lithic series spanning two million years, but their purpose remains largely unknown. In this study, we propose a functional analysis of PSBs from nine...
-
Article
Open AccessWith Impressions Chosen from Another Time: Core Technologies and Debitage Production at the Lower Palaeolithic Site of Notarchirico (670–695 ka; layers F to I2)
The earliest evidence of bifaces in western Europe is dated to the initial phase of the Middle Pleistocene (la Noira, Notarchirico, Moulin Quignon, 700–670 ka), with the findings of Barranc de la Boella (1.0–0...
-
Article
A taphonomic and spatial distribution study of the new levels of the middle Pleistocene site of Notarchirico (670–695 ka, Venosa, Basilicata, Italy)
New excavations in the lower part of the sequence dated between 670 and 695 ka by 40Ar/39Ar and ESR-U-Th at Notarchirico revealed layers with lithic and bone remains attesting several phases of human occupations....
-
Article
Revealing Evolutionary Patterns Behind Homogeneity: the Case of the Palaeolithic Assemblages from Notarchirico (Southern Italy)
Notarchirico is at a nodal point in time and space for understanding the settlement of Europe in terms of migration or in situ evolution. Former technological analyses have not shown significant differences be...
-
Article
Innovations in Acheulean biface production at la Noira (France) during Middle Pleistocene in Western Europe
The archaeological sequence of la Noira (Centre region, France) yielded two phases of occupation: ca 700 ka (stratum a) and ca 450 ka (stratum c). No site between these two dates has yet been discovered in the...
-
Article
From the Earliest Occupations of Europe to Recent Bifacial Productions
During the XVIII UISPP congress at Paris in 2018, we organized sessions devoted to the first peopling of Europe (chronology, behaviour and environment) and the question of bifacial sha** over time and space....
-
Article
Open AccessAn ecological niche shift for Neanderthal populations in Western Europe 70,000 years ago
Middle Paleolithic Neanderthal populations occupied Eurasia for at least 250,000 years prior to the arrival of anatomically modern humans. While a considerable body of archaeological research has focused on Ne...
-
Article
Late Neanderthal short-term and specialized occupations at the Abri du Maras (South-East France, level 4.1, MIS 3)
Level 4.1 from the Abri du Maras (Ardèche, France) is chronologically attributed to the beginning of MIS 3 and is one example of late Neanderthal occupations in the southeast of France. Previous work on the fa...
-
Article
The WEAP Method: a New Age in the Analysis of the Acheulean Handaxes
This paper presents a unified methodology to describe critical features in lithic assemblages, in order to better interpret the Middle Pleistocene hominin occupation of western Europe, in the context of the We...
-
Article
Open AccessThe implications of thumb movements for Neanderthal and modern human manipulation
Much research has debated the technological abilities of Neanderthals relative to those of early modern humans, with a particular focus on subtle differences in thumb morphology and how this may reflect differ...
-
Article
La Noira Site (Centre, France) and the Technological Behaviours and Skills of the Earliest Acheulean in Western Europe Between 700 and 600 ka
New fieldwork and the revision of lithic collections during the past decade have renewed our interpretation of the timing and characteristics of the earliest Acheulean techno-complexes in western Europe. The l...
-
Article
Open AccessThe origin of early Acheulean expansion in Europe 700 ka ago: new findings at Notarchirico (Italy)
Notarchirico (Southern Italy) has yielded the earliest evidence of Acheulean settlement in Italy and four older occupation levels have recently been unearthed, including one with bifaces, extending the roots o...
-
Article
Emergence of regional cultural traditions during the Lower Palaeolithic: the case of Frosinone-Ceprano basin (Central Italy) at the MIS 11–10 transition
Decades of fieldwork in the Frosinone-Ceprano basin (Latin Valley, Latium, central Italy) have shed light on numerous open-air Lower Palaeolithic localities, delivering a human fossil calvarium, thousands of s...
-
Article
Between new and inherited technical behaviours: a case study from the Early Middle Palaeolithic of Southern France
The beginning of the Middle Palaeolithic in Western Europe is traditionally associated with the emergence of new, more complex and standardised debitage technologies, such as Levallois technology. These change...
-
Article
Towards an understanding of hominin marrow extraction strategies: a proposal for a percussion mark terminology
Percussion marks have been studied in the field of archaeology for more than a century. Researchers have identified, characterized and analysed them in order to distinguish them from traces of environment modi...
-
Article
Open AccessThe earliest evidence of Acheulian occupation in Northwest Europe and the rediscovery of the Moulin Quignon site, Somme valley, France
The dispersal of hominin groups with an Acheulian technology and associated bifacial tools into northern latitudes is central to the debate over the timing of the oldest human occupation of Europe. New evidenc...
-
Article
Conditioning of the raw materials on discoid exploitation strategies during the Early Middle Palaeolithic: the example of Payre level D (South-East France)
In the last decades, a growing attention was paid toward the exploitation of other lithic raw materials than flint. In this context, the lithic assemblage of Payre level D, dated to the end of the MIS 6, offer...
-
Article
Microwear study of quartzite artefacts: preliminary results from the Middle Pleistocene site of Payre (South-eastern France)
Preliminary functional results obtained from the quartzite assemblage of the Early Middle Palaeolithic site of Payre (South-eastern France) are presented. In an area rich in flint, hominins at Payre also colle...
-
Chapter
From 800 to 500 ka in Western Europe. The Oldest Evidence of Acheuleans in Their Technological, Chronological, and Geographical Framework
This paper focuses on the early evidence of assemblages with bifacial , in particular their technology within the context of chronology and geography, focusing on the sites of , levels P and Q and I–II i...
-
Article
Open AccessNew dating evidence of the early presence of hominins in Southern Europe
The first “Out of Africa” migrations represent a seminal event in the history of humankind. At the gates of Europe, the first appearance of Hominins is recorded in Georgia, 1.8 million years ago (Ma); however,...
