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  • Pétroglyphes anciens représentant une girafe, une autruche et un bœuf à longues cornes conduits par un humain, gravés dans la roche du désert du Gilf Kebir, en Égypte.

    Between Crisis and Progress: Adaptation Strategies and Non-Strategies in the Face of Holocene Aridification in the Sahara

    En ligne
    Séminaire

    Emmanuelle Honoré (Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne University, UMR 8068 TEMPS – Technology and Ethnology of Prehistoric Worlds) will speak on Tuesday, June 2nd at 5:00 PM as part of the Seminar on the History and Epistemology of Prehistory of the UMR "Natural History of Prehistoric Humanities": "Between Crisis and Progress: Adaptation Strategies and Non-Strategies in the Face of Holocene Aridification in the Sahara".

    At the end of the Middle Holocene (7000–4000 BP), the Sahara underwent dramatic environmental changes, including the rapid aridification of the "Green Sahara." While archaeological records reveal a dynamic of human groups retreating toward the massifs, material culture shows no major changes. However, the study of the repertoire and practices of rock art from the same period offers a starkly contrasting picture, documenting the emergence of pastoralism—a new practice long described as an adaptation strategy in the face of environmental change.

    To join: https://teams.microsoft.com/meet/37692497491554?p=hRrI5UxrLAZsXdaMs2
    Meeting ID: 376 924 974 915 54
    Passcode: Ad9PW78x

  • annonce soutenance de thèse d'Alexandre Cantin

    Attribution, Characterization, and Localization of Mesolithic Rock Engravings in the Sandstone Chaos of Southern Île-de-France” PhD Defense Announcement – Alexandre Cantin

    Salle Doucet, Institut d'art et d'archéologie 3 rue Michelet, Paris, France

    This thesis was conducted under the supervision of Boris Valentin and will be presented before a jury composed of:

    François BÉTARD, Professor at Sorbonne Université (examiner)
    Federica FONTANA, Professor at the University of Ferrara (reviewer)
    Colas GUÉRET, CNRS Research Fellow at UMR 8068 (examiner)
    Jacques JAUBERT, Professor at the University of Bordeaux (reviewer)
    Esther LÓPEZ-MONTALVO, CNRS Research Fellow at UMR 5608 (examiner)
    Frédéric SÉARA, Heritage and Architecture Inspector at the French Ministry of Culture (examiner)
    Boris VALENTIN, Professor at Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne (thesis director)

    The attribution of some rock engravings observed in the sandstone shelters of southern Île-de-France to Mesolithic hunter-gatherer societies was first proposed in the mid-20th century. This hypothesis is based on the repeated discovery of lithic industries from this period—including engraving tools—at the base of engraved walls, as well as in thick archaeological layers formed by the use of the most spacious shelters as habitats. However, the last excavations in these engraved shelters date back to the 1980s, and questions remain about which types of motifs can be attributed to the Mesolithic.

    This thesis aims to address this gap. It draws on a critical review of past archaeological research and a new field operation we conducted at a key site for contextualizing the engravings in Larchant (Seine-et-Marne). For the first time, absolute dating was performed on layers containing engraving tools. This work refined previous chronological hypotheses, confirming that rock art practice dates to the 8th millennium BCE while pushing its origins back to the late 9th millennium BCE. Thus, a significant part of the Early Mesolithic is involved.

    In the seven engraved shelters where occupations from this period are clearly attested, our study identified the types of motifs carved by the last hunter-gatherers. A coherent iconography emerges, based on the multiplication of parallel or orthogonal grooves, which may cover two distinct graphical phases. Furthermore, the spatial distribution study of this Mesolithic iconography across southern Île-de-France demonstrated that this was a regional-scale phenomenon, with rock art sites forming a dense network—such as in the 5 km² micro-region where the excavated site is located.

    The paleoethnographic and paleohistorical implications of these rock art practices are discussed in the conclusion.

    Registration for the defense:

    This thesis was conducted under the supervision of Boris Valentin and will be presented before a jury composed of:

    François BÉTARD, Professor at Sorbonne Université (examiner)
    Federica FONTANA, Professor at the University of Ferrara (reviewer)
    Colas GUÉRET, CNRS Research Fellow at UMR 8068 (examiner)
    Jacques JAUBERT, Professor at the University of Bordeaux (reviewer)
    Esther LÓPEZ-MONTALVO, CNRS Research Fellow at UMR 5608 (examiner)
    Frédéric SÉARA, Heritage and Architecture Inspector at the French Ministry of Culture (examiner)
    Boris VALENTIN, Professor at Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne (thesis director)

    The attribution of some rock engravings observed in the sandstone shelters of southern Île-de-France to Mesolithic hunter-gatherer societies was first proposed in the mid-20th century. This hypothesis is based on the repeated discovery of lithic industries from this period—including engraving tools—at the base of engraved walls, as well as in thick archaeological layers formed by the use of the most spacious shelters as habitats. However, the last excavations in these engraved shelters date back to the 1980s, and questions remain about which types of motifs can be attributed to the Mesolithic.

    This thesis aims to address this gap. It draws on a critical review of past archaeological research and a new field operation we conducted at a key site for contextualizing the engravings in Larchant (Seine-et-Marne). For the first time, absolute dating was performed on layers containing engraving tools. This work refined previous chronological hypotheses, confirming that rock art practice dates to the 8th millennium BCE while pushing its origins back to the late 9th millennium BCE. Thus, a significant part of the Early Mesolithic is involved.

    In the seven engraved shelters where occupations from this period are clearly attested, our study identified the types of motifs carved by the last hunter-gatherers. A coherent iconography emerges, based on the multiplication of parallel or orthogonal grooves, which may cover two distinct graphical phases. Furthermore, the spatial distribution study of this Mesolithic iconography across southern Île-de-France demonstrated that this was a regional-scale phenomenon, with rock art sites forming a dense network—such as in the 5 km² micro-region where the excavated site is located.

    The paleoethnographic and paleohistorical implications of these rock art practices are discussed in the conclusion.

    Registration for the defense:

    This thesis was conducted under the supervision of Boris Valentin and will be presented before a jury composed of:

    François BÉTARD, Professor at Sorbonne Université (examiner)
    Federica FONTANA, Professor at the University of Ferrara (reviewer)
    Colas GUÉRET, CNRS Research Fellow at UMR 8068 (examiner)
    Jacques JAUBERT, Professor at the University of Bordeaux (reviewer)
    Esther LÓPEZ-MONTALVO, CNRS Research Fellow at UMR 5608 (examiner)
    Frédéric SÉARA, Heritage and Architecture Inspector at the French Ministry of Culture (examiner)
    Boris VALENTIN, Professor at Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne (thesis director)

    The attribution of some rock engravings observed in the sandstone shelters of southern Île-de-France to Mesolithic hunter-gatherer societies was first proposed in the mid-20th century. This hypothesis is based on the repeated discovery of lithic industries from this period—including engraving tools—at the base of engraved walls, as well as in thick archaeological layers formed by the use of the most spacious shelters as habitats. However, the last excavations in these engraved shelters date back to the 1980s, and questions remain about which types of motifs can be attributed to the Mesolithic.

    This thesis aims to address this gap. It draws on a critical review of past archaeological research and a new field operation we conducted at a key site for contextualizing the engravings in Larchant (Seine-et-Marne). For the first time, absolute dating was performed on layers containing engraving tools. This work refined previous chronological hypotheses, confirming that rock art practice dates to the 8th millennium BCE while pushing its origins back to the late 9th millennium BCE. Thus, a significant part of the Early Mesolithic is involved.

    In the seven engraved shelters where occupations from this period are clearly attested, our study identified the types of motifs carved by the last hunter-gatherers. A coherent iconography emerges, based on the multiplication of parallel or orthogonal grooves, which may cover two distinct graphical phases. Furthermore, the spatial distribution study of this Mesolithic iconography across southern Île-de-France demonstrated that this was a regional-scale phenomenon, with rock art sites forming a dense network—such as in the 5 km² micro-region where the excavated site is located.

    The paleoethnographic and paleohistorical implications of these rock art practices are discussed in the conclusion.

    Registration for the defense: https://framaforms.org/soutenance-dalexandre-cantin-1778446926 Attribution, Characterization, and Localization of Mesolithic Rock Engravings in the Sandstone Chaos of Southern Île-de-France" PhD Defense Announcement – Alexandre Cantin

  • Illustration Colloque SPF 2026

    Identify, characterize, and represent constraints by studying past and present societies’ use of resources.

    Clermont-Ferrand

    Proposed papers should present case studies that illustrate how the concept of constrained space has been addressed by scientific disciplines studying human groups and environments in prehistory. How have the various possible forms of constraints (physical, climatic, ecological, cultural, etc.) been assessed in terms of research, movement and resource management (mineral, plant, animal)? The expected papers could, for example, discuss the parameters to be taken into account when studying relief constraints and the shortest routes: relief, physical or biophysical parameters, types and sizes of human groups, etc. Papers may draw on examples from ethnographic literature illustrating the adaptation of populations to spaces perceived as ‘constrained’ but nevertheless frequented. They may also present experiments conducted by the researchers themselves, comparing the direct practice of these spaces, considered a priori to be ‘constraining’ to their study, with work in lithic technology that has taken advantage of experimental cutting. Finally, particular attention may be paid to the relativity of the notion of constraint, in relation to the importance of the sites concerned (size, frequency of occupation and settlement, capacity, etc.) and their function in the use of the territories, particularly in relation to the resources studied (isolated temporary stop, permanent settlement or network of settlements). Contributions will also be invited to report on their reflections and choices regarding the modes of representation of constrained spaces at the different scales of time and space studied, as the mapping of these constraints is not always straightforward. Certain topographical features perceived today as barriers (large rivers, inlets) may not have been so during prehistory. The representation of these spaces cannot therefore be based on our contemporary perceptions or on the traditional representation schemes to which we are accustomed.