Souhila Merzoug - Academia.edu (original) (raw)

Papers by Souhila Merzoug

HAL (Le Centre pour la Communication Scientifique Directe), Sep 5, 2018

International audienceSince the beginning of the 20th century, certain works (e.g. Debruge and Me... more International audienceSince the beginning of the 20th century, certain works (e.g. Debruge and Mercier, 1912, Debruge, 1910) have mentioned the presence of terrestrial snail shells pierced in archaeological sites of eastern Algeria. These sites are locally called “rammadiyat” (or “escargotières”). After about a century, new studies are interested in this phenomenon (Hutterer et al., 2011, 2014, Saafi et al., Submitted). Although the appearance of perforated gastropod has been identified since the Aurignacian (in the Iberian Peninsula). and the Iberomaurusian (in North Africa), they are more abundant in recent periods (Mesolithic / Capsian). In the North African sites the percentage of pierced shells does not exceed 20% of the malacological assemblage at each site. Generally, the perforations are similar in shape, size and position. However, thanks to an ethnographic study, an experimentation program and a traceological analysis some differences can be highlighted and we have been able to identify the techniques used to make the perforations and their function. Some of the perforations were made pierced by human canine teeth or by a cutting tool (blades or slats for example). In most of the cases when the perforations are located in the upper part of the spire they are used to facilitate the extraction of the animal from its shell when the latter resists in the upper part of the shell. The perforations at the last body whorl (behind the peristome) are fewer. They are related to the production of ornaments (necklaces) and, up to now, they are only present on the Maghreb. This is an example of the new role of continental malacofauna in the daily life of human groups. Moreover, due to the limited presence at a few sites, these perforated terrestrial snail shells are considered to be markers of the mobility of human groups in the western Mediterranean

Azania: Archaeological Research in Africa

Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports

The rammadiya of Medjez I, located near El Eulma (eastern Algeria), is one of the best known site... more The rammadiya of Medjez I, located near El Eulma (eastern Algeria), is one of the best known sites of the Upper Capsian. The discovered terrestrial malacofauna comes from two excavations (2013 and 2017). The majority of the shells belong to two species: Helix melanostoma and Xerosecta sp. (more than 90% of the total malacofauna). The high proportion of young individuals of Xerosecta sp., the small size of its shell and the presence of faunal remains highlight the negligible - secondary or complementary - role of the terrestrial malacofauna in the diet of the occupants of Medjez I. The molluscs could be cooked on heated stones, a technique that will preserve the structure of the shell. The presence of systematic (or regular) anthropogenic perforations is due, for a large part, to the methods of extraction of the animal from its shell for consumption: piercing by human canines and/or by a flint or bone tool. However, certain types of perforation, located just behind the peristome at the level of the last whorl of the shell, could have had the objective of manufacturing collars or other ornamental objects. The collection season for the land snail species identified in the site could have taken place during several periods of the year depending on the adaptation of each species to climate change.

Presses universitaires de Provence eBooks, 2021

HAL (Le Centre pour la Communication Scientifique Directe), Jun 1, 2016

HAL (Le Centre pour la Communication Scientifique Directe), Nov 10, 2015

Le genre Oryx appartient à la famille des bovidés et à la sous-famille des hippotraginés. Les ory... more Le genre Oryx appartient à la famille des bovidés et à la sous-famille des hippotraginés. Les oryx portent des cornes longues et droites, pointant vers l'arrière. Ce sont de grandes antilopes qui vivent dans les steppes et plaines herbeuses à graminées.

Le Centre pour la Communication Scientifique Directe - HAL - SHS, 2016

Nouvelles données sur le contexte taphonomique et environnemental des occupations néolithiques de... more Nouvelles données sur le contexte taphonomique et environnemental des occupations néolithiques de la grotte de Gueldaman GLD1 (Algérie) d'après l'étude des microvertébrés New data on the taphonomic and environmental context of the Neolithic occupations of Gueldaman cave GLD1 (Algeria) based on microvertebrate data.

Le Centre pour la Communication Scientifique Directe - HAL - memSIC, 2020

International audienceThe resumption of excavations in the known site of Medjez II has brought to... more International audienceThe resumption of excavations in the known site of Medjez II has brought to light new cultural and economic elements testifying to the existence of a Neolithic occupation at the top of the archaeological deposit. The main finds are the remains of domesticated species, goats and sheep, as well as ceramic shards. The lithic industry also attests to a technological change between the unmodified upper layers and the lower layers attached to the Upper Capsian (faciès Sétifien) ; the production of flakes becoming the majority. At least two Neolithic levels have been identified on the basis of stratigraphicpositioning: NA1 an upper level that consists of a residual layer with a pit deposit of a domestic sheep (Ovis aries) dated 5651 - 5580 cal BP. A second level, NA2 (Phase A) positioned below the previous one, corresponds to a habitat soil arranged with well-preserved anthropic structures that we relate to a probable phase of Neolithization.La reprise des fouilles da...

Le Centre pour la Communication Scientifique Directe - HAL - Diderot, Nov 15, 2017

XV Congress of the Pan-African Archaeological Association (PanAf), Sep 10, 2018

International audienceDans le cadre d’un projet de recherche sur l’origine et le devenir des dern... more International audienceDans le cadre d’un projet de recherche sur l’origine et le devenir des derniers chasseurs-cueilleurs-collecteurs d’Afrique du Nord-Ouest, nous avons entamé, dès 2011, des recherches et travaux de terrain dans plusieurs régions des Hauts-Plateaux algériens, dont celle d’El Eulma. Cette région a été sélectionnée en raison d’une forte densité d’occupations holocènes dont les sites les plus connus sont les escargotières de Medjez I et Medjez II.Les récentes fouilles archéologiques menées entre 2014 et 2017 dans le site de Medjez II, ont révélé un matériel riche et varié : des pièces d’industries lithique et osseuse, du mobilier d’art, des fragments de céramique, des macro-restes végétaux, des fragments de charbon, des restes humains et fauniques isolés, mais également une sépulture d’enfant et fait exceptionnel, la sépulture d’un animal. Ces divers vestiges archéologiques ont été recueillis dans différentes unités stratigraphiques témoins d'occupations successives holocènes, associées à des structures anthropiques d'habitat. L’analyse des industries lithique et osseuse a permis d’attribuer certaines de ces occupations au Capsien supérieur, toutefois, l’identification d’animaux domestiques dans les couches supérieures de Medjez II suggèrerait la présence d’un niveau archéologique d’âge Néolithique

Quaternary International, 2016

Pathways to food production in Holocene north Africa are complex and varied and, for the human gr... more Pathways to food production in Holocene north Africa are complex and varied and, for the human groups living there, are likely heavily influenced by varying factors such as local ecosystems and available resources. Molecular and isotopic analysis of absorbed food residues from 140 pottery vessels from Neolithic Gueldaman Cave site confirms that the exploitation of domesticated animals (sheep and goat), for their carcass fats, and their secondary products, e.g. dairy, began in Mediterranean north Africa in the 5 th millennium BC. Findings from organic residue analyses are confirmed by the slaughter profiles from the faunal assemblage which suggest a mixed meat/milk economy.

La caractérisation des pigments picturaux montre l’absence d’éléments organiques pouvant indiquer... more La caractérisation des pigments picturaux montre l’absence d’éléments organiques pouvant indiquer l’emploi de liants. Le rôle négatif des méthodes anciennes de relevé se confirme, et, même si des liants avaient été découverts et datés, les nombreuses sources de pollution auraient rendu les datations suspectes. Dorénavant, les microprélèvements devront être effectués sur des peintures vierges de toute intervention humaine. Dans l’état des connaissances, les datations des dépôts archéologiques font remonter l’occupation holocène aux Vie-Viie millénaires CalBC. Le Bovidien est plus sûrement daté du Ve millénaire CalBC, mais ses caractéristiques sont celles des phases moyenne et récente de cette culture. Il se pose la question de l’absence d’un holocène ancien et de celle de la culture matérielle des auteurs des Têtes Rondes.

Quaternary International, 2014

The limestone Adrar Gueldaman ridges of the northwestern Babors Mountains of the Tellian region (... more The limestone Adrar Gueldaman ridges of the northwestern Babors Mountains of the Tellian region (Northern Algeria) contain a large karst network with several caves. Inside one of them (GLD 1), first excavated in the 1920s, an Early Neolithic episode was identified. Since 2010, new investigations by the Centre National de Recherches Préhistoriques, Anthropologiques et Historiques, Algeria (CNRPAH), at GLD 1 and other newly discovered caves have revealed well-preserved anthropogenic deposits. The GLD1 deposits are more than 5 m deep. Four sectors (S1eS4) have been spatially defined, of which two (S2 and S3) were partially investigated. Eight samples of wood charcoal from these sectors were radiocarbon dated by AMS giving median dates ranging from 1484 cal BP to 17,031 cal BP. The main human occupation sequence at GLD1 is situated around the VI and VII millennia BP with virtually all of the archaeological deposits coming from these layers. Deeper occupation levels have not yet been investigated. Bio-archaeological remains are well preserved (mammal bones, mollusc shells and plant-remains) and linked with cultural material (ceramics, ornaments, lithic and bone tools). Multidisciplinary analysis of this material is underway and here we report on the preliminary findings, which already bring new insights into the neolithisation process of this region. Evidence of sheep and goat domestication at more than 6 ka cal BP is particularly significant.

African Archaeological Review, 2008

... Abstract New analyses of faunal and lithic remains from stratigraphic Zone I (the top 15 laye... more ... Abstract New analyses of faunal and lithic remains from stratigraphic Zone I (the top 15 layers) of the Iberomaurusian site of Tamar Hat, provide new data for understanding the function of this site and various activities carried out there. ... Page 2. Keywords Iberomaurusian . ...