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Papers by Lauriane Bourgeon

Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports, 2021

The long-debated mammoth bone “core” and “flake” recovered from the Pleistocene loess deposit of ... more The long-debated mammoth bone “core” and “flake” recovered from the Pleistocene loess deposit of Bluefish Cave 2 (Yukon Territory, Canada) and previously described by Cinq-Mars and Morlan (1999) are re-analyzed from a full zooarchaeological and taphonomic perspective. The core and flake are characterized by an absence of carnivore tooth marks and the presence of fresh fracture patterns and two striae potentially attributed to cultural activities. After rejection of several hypotheses involving natural causes, we state that humans were more likely responsible for the bone modifications and we support the hypothesis that a proboscidean bone technology may have been present in eastern Beringia (Alaska/Yukon Territory) sometime between ca. 28,000 and 16,000 years BP.

Faculté des études supérieures Cette thèse intitulée : Histoire des premiers peuplements béringie... more Faculté des études supérieures Cette thèse intitulée : Histoire des premiers peuplements béringiens : Etude archéozoologique et taphonomique de la faune des Grottes du Poisson-Bleu

PaleoAmerica

A widely accepted model for the peopling of the Americas postulates a source population in the No... more A widely accepted model for the peopling of the Americas postulates a source population in the Northeast Asian maritime region, which includes northern Japan. The model is based on similarities in stone artifacts (stemmed points) found in North American sites dating as early as 15,000 years ago and those of comparable age in Japan and neighboring regions of Northeast Asia. Here we show, on the basis of data and analyses in biological anthropology, that the people who made stemmed points in northern Japan (labeled "Incipient Jomon" in the archaeological literature) represent an unlikely source population for the indigenous peoples of the Western Hemisphere.

Quaternary Science Reviews, 2021

Genetic data suggest that the Native American founder population diverged from its Asian parent p... more Genetic data suggest that the Native American founder population diverged from its Asian parent
population about 25,000 years ago and was geographically isolated during the Last Glacial Maximum
(LGM, ca. 21,000 years BP) before dispersing into North and South America as the ice sheets retreated.
Archaeological evidence in eastern Siberia and Beringia is scarce, however. Although stone tools and
cutmarks on bones dated to the LGM are reported at Bluefish Caves (Yukon Territory, Canada), the
stratigraphic integrity of the site and the interpretation of the bone modifications have long been
questioned by the scientific community. Here, we describe the results of a zooarchaeological study of the
faunal assemblages from Pleistocene loess deposits of Bluefish Caves 1 and 2. Taphonomic analyses
indicate that humans hunted a variety of prey at the site, including the Beringian horse (E. lambei), as
early as 23,500 years BP. We discuss the significance of the site in debates about the timing of the initial
peopling of North America and the role of human-hunters in megafaunal extinctions.

Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports, 2021

The long-debated mammoth bone “core” and “flake” recovered from the Pleistocene loess deposit of ... more The long-debated mammoth bone “core” and “flake” recovered from the Pleistocene loess deposit of Bluefish Cave 2 (Yukon Territory, Canada) and previously described by Cinq-Mars and Morlan (1999) are re-analyzed from a full zooarchaeological and taphonomic perspective. The core and flake are characterized by an absence of carnivore tooth marks and the presence of fresh fracture patterns and two striae potentially attributed to cultural activities. After rejection of several hypotheses involving natural causes, we state that humans were more likely responsible for the bone modifications and we support the hypothesis that a proboscidean bone technology may have been present in eastern Beringia (Alaska/Yukon Territory) sometime between ca. 28,000 and 16,000 years BP.

PlosOne, 2017

The timing of the first entry of humans into North America is still hotly debated within the scie... more The timing of the first entry of humans into North America is still hotly debated within the scientific community. Excavations conducted at Bluefish Caves (Yukon Territory) from 1977 to 1987 yielded a series of radiocarbon dates that led archaeologists to propose that the initial dispersal of human groups into Eastern Beringia (Alaska and the Yukon Territory) occurred during the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM). This hypothesis proved highly controversial in the absence of other sites of similar age and concerns about the stratigraphy and anthropogenic signature of the bone assemblages that yielded the dates. The weight of the available archaeological evidence suggests that the first peopling of North America occurred ca. 14,000 cal BP (calibrated years Before Present), i.e., well after the LGM. Here, we report new AMS radiocarbon dates obtained on cut-marked bone samples identified during a comprehensive taphonomic analysis of the Bluefish Caves fauna. Our results demonstrate that humans occupied the site as early as 24,000 cal BP (19,650 ± 130 14C BP). In addition to proving that Bluefish Caves is the oldest known archaeological site in North America, the results offer archaeological support for the “Beringian standstill hypothesis”, which proposes that a genetically isolated human population persisted in Beringia during the LGM and dispersed from there to North and South America during the post-LGM period.

The Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) was a global climate event, which had significant repercussions fo... more The Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) was a global climate event, which had significant repercussions for the spatial distribution and demographic history of prehistoric populations. In Eurasia, the LGM coincides with a potential bottleneck for modern humans and may mark the divergence date for Asian and European populations . In this research, the impact of climate variability on human populations in the Iberian Peninsula during the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) is examined with the aid of downscaled high-resolution (16 Â 16 km) numerical climate experiments. Human sensitivity to short time-scale (inter-annual) climate variability during this key time period, which follows the initial modern human colonisation of Eurasia and the extinction of the Neanderthals, is tested using the spatial distribution of archaeological sites. Results indicate that anatomically modern human populations responded to small-scale spatial patterning in climate variability, specifically inter-annual variability in precipitation levels as measured by the standard precipitation index. Climate variability at less than millennial scale, therefore, is shown to be an important component of ecological risk, one that played a role in regulating the spatial behaviour of prehistoric human populations and consequently affected their social networks.

Prehistoire Du Sud Ouest, 2011

Résumé/Abstract L'Abri Vidon est situé en Aquitaine, dans l'Entre-deux-Mers. Fouillé à la... more Résumé/Abstract L'Abri Vidon est situé en Aquitaine, dans l'Entre-deux-Mers. Fouillé à la fin des années 1950, ce gisement a livré des vestiges fauniques et lithiques caractéristiques du Magdalénien. Le trio commun des Ongulés de la période du Bölling-Alleröd-Renne/ ...

Journal of human evolution, 2014

The Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) was a global climate event, which had significant repercussions fo... more The Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) was a global climate event, which had significant repercussions for the spatial distribution and demographic history of prehistoric populations. In Eurasia, the LGM coincides with a potential bottleneck for modern humans and may mark the divergence date for Asian and European populations (Keinan et al., 2007). In this research, the impact of climate variability on human populations in the Iberian Peninsula during the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) is examined with the aid of downscaled high-resolution (16 × 16 km) numerical climate experiments. Human sensitivity to short time-scale (inter-annual) climate variability during this key time period, which follows the initial modern human colonisation of Eurasia and the extinction of the Neanderthals, is tested using the spatial distribution of archaeological sites. Results indicate that anatomically modern human populations responded to small-scale spatial patterning in climate variability, specifically inter-a...

Other by Lauriane Bourgeon

Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports, 2021

The long-debated mammoth bone “core” and “flake” recovered from the Pleistocene loess deposit of ... more The long-debated mammoth bone “core” and “flake” recovered from the Pleistocene loess deposit of Bluefish Cave 2 (Yukon Territory, Canada) and previously described by Cinq-Mars and Morlan (1999) are re-analyzed from a full zooarchaeological and taphonomic perspective. The core and flake are characterized by an absence of carnivore tooth marks and the presence of fresh fracture patterns and two striae potentially attributed to cultural activities. After rejection of several hypotheses involving natural causes, we state that humans were more likely responsible for the bone modifications and we support the hypothesis that a proboscidean bone technology may have been present in eastern Beringia (Alaska/Yukon Territory) sometime between ca. 28,000 and 16,000 years BP.

Faculté des études supérieures Cette thèse intitulée : Histoire des premiers peuplements béringie... more Faculté des études supérieures Cette thèse intitulée : Histoire des premiers peuplements béringiens : Etude archéozoologique et taphonomique de la faune des Grottes du Poisson-Bleu

PaleoAmerica

A widely accepted model for the peopling of the Americas postulates a source population in the No... more A widely accepted model for the peopling of the Americas postulates a source population in the Northeast Asian maritime region, which includes northern Japan. The model is based on similarities in stone artifacts (stemmed points) found in North American sites dating as early as 15,000 years ago and those of comparable age in Japan and neighboring regions of Northeast Asia. Here we show, on the basis of data and analyses in biological anthropology, that the people who made stemmed points in northern Japan (labeled "Incipient Jomon" in the archaeological literature) represent an unlikely source population for the indigenous peoples of the Western Hemisphere.

Quaternary Science Reviews, 2021

Genetic data suggest that the Native American founder population diverged from its Asian parent p... more Genetic data suggest that the Native American founder population diverged from its Asian parent
population about 25,000 years ago and was geographically isolated during the Last Glacial Maximum
(LGM, ca. 21,000 years BP) before dispersing into North and South America as the ice sheets retreated.
Archaeological evidence in eastern Siberia and Beringia is scarce, however. Although stone tools and
cutmarks on bones dated to the LGM are reported at Bluefish Caves (Yukon Territory, Canada), the
stratigraphic integrity of the site and the interpretation of the bone modifications have long been
questioned by the scientific community. Here, we describe the results of a zooarchaeological study of the
faunal assemblages from Pleistocene loess deposits of Bluefish Caves 1 and 2. Taphonomic analyses
indicate that humans hunted a variety of prey at the site, including the Beringian horse (E. lambei), as
early as 23,500 years BP. We discuss the significance of the site in debates about the timing of the initial
peopling of North America and the role of human-hunters in megafaunal extinctions.

Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports, 2021

The long-debated mammoth bone “core” and “flake” recovered from the Pleistocene loess deposit of ... more The long-debated mammoth bone “core” and “flake” recovered from the Pleistocene loess deposit of Bluefish Cave 2 (Yukon Territory, Canada) and previously described by Cinq-Mars and Morlan (1999) are re-analyzed from a full zooarchaeological and taphonomic perspective. The core and flake are characterized by an absence of carnivore tooth marks and the presence of fresh fracture patterns and two striae potentially attributed to cultural activities. After rejection of several hypotheses involving natural causes, we state that humans were more likely responsible for the bone modifications and we support the hypothesis that a proboscidean bone technology may have been present in eastern Beringia (Alaska/Yukon Territory) sometime between ca. 28,000 and 16,000 years BP.

PlosOne, 2017

The timing of the first entry of humans into North America is still hotly debated within the scie... more The timing of the first entry of humans into North America is still hotly debated within the scientific community. Excavations conducted at Bluefish Caves (Yukon Territory) from 1977 to 1987 yielded a series of radiocarbon dates that led archaeologists to propose that the initial dispersal of human groups into Eastern Beringia (Alaska and the Yukon Territory) occurred during the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM). This hypothesis proved highly controversial in the absence of other sites of similar age and concerns about the stratigraphy and anthropogenic signature of the bone assemblages that yielded the dates. The weight of the available archaeological evidence suggests that the first peopling of North America occurred ca. 14,000 cal BP (calibrated years Before Present), i.e., well after the LGM. Here, we report new AMS radiocarbon dates obtained on cut-marked bone samples identified during a comprehensive taphonomic analysis of the Bluefish Caves fauna. Our results demonstrate that humans occupied the site as early as 24,000 cal BP (19,650 ± 130 14C BP). In addition to proving that Bluefish Caves is the oldest known archaeological site in North America, the results offer archaeological support for the “Beringian standstill hypothesis”, which proposes that a genetically isolated human population persisted in Beringia during the LGM and dispersed from there to North and South America during the post-LGM period.

The Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) was a global climate event, which had significant repercussions fo... more The Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) was a global climate event, which had significant repercussions for the spatial distribution and demographic history of prehistoric populations. In Eurasia, the LGM coincides with a potential bottleneck for modern humans and may mark the divergence date for Asian and European populations . In this research, the impact of climate variability on human populations in the Iberian Peninsula during the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) is examined with the aid of downscaled high-resolution (16 Â 16 km) numerical climate experiments. Human sensitivity to short time-scale (inter-annual) climate variability during this key time period, which follows the initial modern human colonisation of Eurasia and the extinction of the Neanderthals, is tested using the spatial distribution of archaeological sites. Results indicate that anatomically modern human populations responded to small-scale spatial patterning in climate variability, specifically inter-annual variability in precipitation levels as measured by the standard precipitation index. Climate variability at less than millennial scale, therefore, is shown to be an important component of ecological risk, one that played a role in regulating the spatial behaviour of prehistoric human populations and consequently affected their social networks.

Prehistoire Du Sud Ouest, 2011

Résumé/Abstract L'Abri Vidon est situé en Aquitaine, dans l'Entre-deux-Mers. Fouillé à la... more Résumé/Abstract L'Abri Vidon est situé en Aquitaine, dans l'Entre-deux-Mers. Fouillé à la fin des années 1950, ce gisement a livré des vestiges fauniques et lithiques caractéristiques du Magdalénien. Le trio commun des Ongulés de la période du Bölling-Alleröd-Renne/ ...

Journal of human evolution, 2014

The Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) was a global climate event, which had significant repercussions fo... more The Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) was a global climate event, which had significant repercussions for the spatial distribution and demographic history of prehistoric populations. In Eurasia, the LGM coincides with a potential bottleneck for modern humans and may mark the divergence date for Asian and European populations (Keinan et al., 2007). In this research, the impact of climate variability on human populations in the Iberian Peninsula during the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) is examined with the aid of downscaled high-resolution (16 × 16 km) numerical climate experiments. Human sensitivity to short time-scale (inter-annual) climate variability during this key time period, which follows the initial modern human colonisation of Eurasia and the extinction of the Neanderthals, is tested using the spatial distribution of archaeological sites. Results indicate that anatomically modern human populations responded to small-scale spatial patterning in climate variability, specifically inter-a...