Dominique Bonjean | Université de Liège (original) (raw)
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Papers by Dominique Bonjean
EGU General Assembly Conference Abstracts, Apr 1, 2015
SSRN Electronic Journal
Ornaments and fragments of fluorite have been found at sixteen Neolithic sites in Belgium and Nor... more Ornaments and fragments of fluorite have been found at sixteen Neolithic sites in Belgium and Northern France, mainly Middle Neolithic sites associated with the Michelsberg culture and the Spiere and Chassean groups. These sites are located in a large geographical area representing different types of sites and various geological backgrounds. One of the aims of this study is to identify where this mineral could have been quarried in the Neolithic and compare the possible source(s) with those used during the Palaeolithic. A survey of some Neolithic fluorite occurrences in Belgium and Northern France was conducted and the origins of this mineral investigated by means of geochemical Rare Earth Elements and Sr-isotopic analysis. We also explore the limitations of isotopic 87 Sr/86Sr and REE ratios for analysis of fluorite. Results show that Neolithic fluorite originates from different local and regional sources, mainly the Dinantian limestones/dolostones of the Ardennes Allochthon, in contrast to the use of silicified Givetian limestones of the Calestian Band near Givet (France) during the Magdalenian. The Neolithic fluorite that is studied in this paper is found exclusively at settlement sites whereas elsewhere, fluorite comes exclusively from funerary contexts.
L'Anthropologie, 1995
The Okuzini cave in South Western Turkey yielded a Late Palaeolithic sequence. Four archaeologica... more The Okuzini cave in South Western Turkey yielded a Late Palaeolithic sequence. Four archaeological stages have been distinguished on the basis of technical evolution, animal remains and dates. Stage 1 (16 000-14 000 BC) is characterized by stemmed backed points and elongated triangles. The same material is found in stage 2 (14 000-13 000 BC) with numerous microliths in addition. Stage 3 (13 000-10 500 BC) is characterized particularly by geometric microliths and a quite important bone industry. Stage 4 (9 000-6 500 BC) corresponds to the Neolithic; the burial belongs probably to this stage.
Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology, Feb 1, 2022
The version presented here may differ from the published version or from the version of the recor... more The version presented here may differ from the published version or from the version of the record. Please see the repository URL above for details on accessing the published version and note that access may require a subscription.
Journal of Archaeological Science, Jun 1, 1999
Une étude isotopique d&am... more Une étude isotopique d'os de mammifères du Pléistocène supérieur interglaciaire de la couche 4 de la grotte Scladina (Sclayn, Belgique) a démontré la bonne qualité de conservation du collagène. Le protocole d'extraction a dû être modifié par rapport à la technique usuelle mais le collagène obtenu est conforme aux critères d'indigénéité isotopique. Les abondances isotopiques du carbone montrent que les herbivores analysés vivaient dans un environnement forestier, tandis que les carnivores analysés ...
Comptes rendus de l'Académie des sciences. Série 2. Sciences de la terre et des planètes, May 1, 1998
Nine Neandevtal remailzs. including a mandible. a maxilla yfragment and various teeth, have been ... more Nine Neandevtal remailzs. including a mandible. a maxilla yfragment and various teeth, have been discovered in recent years on Level 4A of the Scladina cave. They belong to a child around 10 years old or slight& older. The mandible presents a series of plesiomophic h-aits but shows only very&u: deerived characters '[@ical' of adult Neandertals. i'%e diet of this child appears to be stron& carnivorous 0 ,kad@m ie des sciences /I3evier, Paris
Journal of Human Evolution, Jun 1, 2001
Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology, 2022
The version presented here may differ from the published version or from the version of the recor... more The version presented here may differ from the published version or from the version of the record. Please see the repository URL above for details on accessing the published version and note that access may require a subscription.
Archaeological assemblage 1A at Scladina Cave, Belgium has yielded artefacts from a Middle Palaeo... more Archaeological assemblage 1A at Scladina Cave, Belgium has yielded artefacts from a Middle Palaeolithic occupation dating to between 40,000 and 37,000 BP. Fifty-two fragments of a black, friable rock with a black streak were found in association with approximately 200 burned bone fragments and several thousand lithic artefacts. This black material (silica-rich graphite-bearing siltstone) is interpreted as a pigment brought to the site by Neandertals. This is a very unique dis- covery, as European archaeological research has so far only recorded black pigments composed of manganese oxides from the Middle Palaeolithic. The pigment was analysed by petrography, X-Ray diffraction (XRD), X-Ray fluorescence (XRF), inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS), and Raman microspectrometry. Raman microspectrometry is a non-destructive method able to distinguish the attributes of black sili- ceous materials that originate from different tectono-sedimentary contexts. By measuring the d...
This article reports on the first three systematic excavation seasons at the Neolithic ossuary of... more This article reports on the first three systematic excavation seasons at the Neolithic ossuary of Grotte de La Faucille, Belgium. The site was dated on human bone to 4266 ± 40 14C BP (3011-2702 cal BC; 2 sigma), corresponding to the transition from the late to the final Neolithic. The area excavated to date is clearly reworked and the individuals are distributed across the site. Further excavation will focus on the inferior levels at the entrance and inside the cave. This report presents the preliminary analysis of the anthropological and archaeological evidence recorded to date. Five archaeological artefacts were discovered made on bone, tooth and flint. The site has produced skeletal and dental remains of at least 12 humans (MNI 6 juveniles and 6 adults) as well as a number of bone and lithic artefacts. The skeletal remains are fragmentary and some elements, such as the cranium, are highly underrepresented given the number of individuals. The potential to find the remainder of at ...
21 papers from Section 15 (African Prehistory), Acts of the XIVth UISPP Congress, University of L... more 21 papers from Section 15 (African Prehistory), Acts of the XIVth UISPP Congress, University of Liege, Belgium, 2-8 September 2001. French and English."
World Geomorphological Landscapes, 2017
Following a brief presentation of some geologic and geomorphologic specificities of Belgium in co... more Following a brief presentation of some geologic and geomorphologic specificities of Belgium in connection with Neandertals (e.g. caves, flint), we briefly focus on the changing environment in Neandertal times. Some historiographic aspects are then developed, recalling that in the nineteenth century, several Belgian sites played a key role in the emerging sciences of prehistory and palaeoanthropology. The first ever found hominin anatomically distinct from modern man was unearthed in 1829–1830 in Engis Cave, near Liege, while the world famous discovery of Spy in 1886 helped to definitively demonstrate the existence of Neandertal man. General information about Neandertals introduces the presentation of the caves of Spy and Scladina. The recent complete reassessment of the archaeological, anthropological, and faunal collections at Spy exemplifies the interest of re-examining ancient collections. As for Scladina, it illustrates the potential of new excavations where modern investigation techniques are applied directly in the field. In these two sites, modern interdisciplinary researches led to prominent results on topics such as ancient DNA, dental development, age at death, palaeodiet, or archaeology, complemented in the case of Scladina by site formation processes and detailed palaeoenvironmental and chronostratigraphic reconstructions. Finally, a few aspects related to territorial exploitation by Neandertals are exposed, focusing on lithic resource management.
The ancient preserved molecules offer the opportunity to gain a better knowledge on the biologica... more The ancient preserved molecules offer the opportunity to gain a better knowledge on the biological past. In recent years, bones proteomics has become an attractive method to study the animal biological origin, extinct species and species evolution as an alternative to DNA analysis which is limited by DNA amplification present in ancient samples and its contamination. However, the development of a proteomic workflow remains a challenge. The analysis of fossils must consume a low quantity of material to avoid damaging the samples. Another difficulty is the absence of genomic data for most of the extinct species. In this study, a proteomic methodology was applied to mammalian bones of 130,000 years old from the earlier Upper Pleistocene site of Scladina Cave (Belgium). Starting from 5 milligram samples, our results show a large majority of detected peptides matching collagen I alpha 1 and alpha 2 proteins with a sequence coverage up to 60%. Using sequence homology with modern sequences...
EGU General Assembly Conference Abstracts, Apr 1, 2015
SSRN Electronic Journal
Ornaments and fragments of fluorite have been found at sixteen Neolithic sites in Belgium and Nor... more Ornaments and fragments of fluorite have been found at sixteen Neolithic sites in Belgium and Northern France, mainly Middle Neolithic sites associated with the Michelsberg culture and the Spiere and Chassean groups. These sites are located in a large geographical area representing different types of sites and various geological backgrounds. One of the aims of this study is to identify where this mineral could have been quarried in the Neolithic and compare the possible source(s) with those used during the Palaeolithic. A survey of some Neolithic fluorite occurrences in Belgium and Northern France was conducted and the origins of this mineral investigated by means of geochemical Rare Earth Elements and Sr-isotopic analysis. We also explore the limitations of isotopic 87 Sr/86Sr and REE ratios for analysis of fluorite. Results show that Neolithic fluorite originates from different local and regional sources, mainly the Dinantian limestones/dolostones of the Ardennes Allochthon, in contrast to the use of silicified Givetian limestones of the Calestian Band near Givet (France) during the Magdalenian. The Neolithic fluorite that is studied in this paper is found exclusively at settlement sites whereas elsewhere, fluorite comes exclusively from funerary contexts.
L'Anthropologie, 1995
The Okuzini cave in South Western Turkey yielded a Late Palaeolithic sequence. Four archaeologica... more The Okuzini cave in South Western Turkey yielded a Late Palaeolithic sequence. Four archaeological stages have been distinguished on the basis of technical evolution, animal remains and dates. Stage 1 (16 000-14 000 BC) is characterized by stemmed backed points and elongated triangles. The same material is found in stage 2 (14 000-13 000 BC) with numerous microliths in addition. Stage 3 (13 000-10 500 BC) is characterized particularly by geometric microliths and a quite important bone industry. Stage 4 (9 000-6 500 BC) corresponds to the Neolithic; the burial belongs probably to this stage.
Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology, Feb 1, 2022
The version presented here may differ from the published version or from the version of the recor... more The version presented here may differ from the published version or from the version of the record. Please see the repository URL above for details on accessing the published version and note that access may require a subscription.
Journal of Archaeological Science, Jun 1, 1999
Une étude isotopique d&am... more Une étude isotopique d'os de mammifères du Pléistocène supérieur interglaciaire de la couche 4 de la grotte Scladina (Sclayn, Belgique) a démontré la bonne qualité de conservation du collagène. Le protocole d'extraction a dû être modifié par rapport à la technique usuelle mais le collagène obtenu est conforme aux critères d'indigénéité isotopique. Les abondances isotopiques du carbone montrent que les herbivores analysés vivaient dans un environnement forestier, tandis que les carnivores analysés ...
Comptes rendus de l'Académie des sciences. Série 2. Sciences de la terre et des planètes, May 1, 1998
Nine Neandevtal remailzs. including a mandible. a maxilla yfragment and various teeth, have been ... more Nine Neandevtal remailzs. including a mandible. a maxilla yfragment and various teeth, have been discovered in recent years on Level 4A of the Scladina cave. They belong to a child around 10 years old or slight& older. The mandible presents a series of plesiomophic h-aits but shows only very&u: deerived characters '[@ical' of adult Neandertals. i'%e diet of this child appears to be stron& carnivorous 0 ,kad@m ie des sciences /I3evier, Paris
Journal of Human Evolution, Jun 1, 2001
Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology, 2022
The version presented here may differ from the published version or from the version of the recor... more The version presented here may differ from the published version or from the version of the record. Please see the repository URL above for details on accessing the published version and note that access may require a subscription.
Archaeological assemblage 1A at Scladina Cave, Belgium has yielded artefacts from a Middle Palaeo... more Archaeological assemblage 1A at Scladina Cave, Belgium has yielded artefacts from a Middle Palaeolithic occupation dating to between 40,000 and 37,000 BP. Fifty-two fragments of a black, friable rock with a black streak were found in association with approximately 200 burned bone fragments and several thousand lithic artefacts. This black material (silica-rich graphite-bearing siltstone) is interpreted as a pigment brought to the site by Neandertals. This is a very unique dis- covery, as European archaeological research has so far only recorded black pigments composed of manganese oxides from the Middle Palaeolithic. The pigment was analysed by petrography, X-Ray diffraction (XRD), X-Ray fluorescence (XRF), inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS), and Raman microspectrometry. Raman microspectrometry is a non-destructive method able to distinguish the attributes of black sili- ceous materials that originate from different tectono-sedimentary contexts. By measuring the d...
This article reports on the first three systematic excavation seasons at the Neolithic ossuary of... more This article reports on the first three systematic excavation seasons at the Neolithic ossuary of Grotte de La Faucille, Belgium. The site was dated on human bone to 4266 ± 40 14C BP (3011-2702 cal BC; 2 sigma), corresponding to the transition from the late to the final Neolithic. The area excavated to date is clearly reworked and the individuals are distributed across the site. Further excavation will focus on the inferior levels at the entrance and inside the cave. This report presents the preliminary analysis of the anthropological and archaeological evidence recorded to date. Five archaeological artefacts were discovered made on bone, tooth and flint. The site has produced skeletal and dental remains of at least 12 humans (MNI 6 juveniles and 6 adults) as well as a number of bone and lithic artefacts. The skeletal remains are fragmentary and some elements, such as the cranium, are highly underrepresented given the number of individuals. The potential to find the remainder of at ...
21 papers from Section 15 (African Prehistory), Acts of the XIVth UISPP Congress, University of L... more 21 papers from Section 15 (African Prehistory), Acts of the XIVth UISPP Congress, University of Liege, Belgium, 2-8 September 2001. French and English."
World Geomorphological Landscapes, 2017
Following a brief presentation of some geologic and geomorphologic specificities of Belgium in co... more Following a brief presentation of some geologic and geomorphologic specificities of Belgium in connection with Neandertals (e.g. caves, flint), we briefly focus on the changing environment in Neandertal times. Some historiographic aspects are then developed, recalling that in the nineteenth century, several Belgian sites played a key role in the emerging sciences of prehistory and palaeoanthropology. The first ever found hominin anatomically distinct from modern man was unearthed in 1829–1830 in Engis Cave, near Liege, while the world famous discovery of Spy in 1886 helped to definitively demonstrate the existence of Neandertal man. General information about Neandertals introduces the presentation of the caves of Spy and Scladina. The recent complete reassessment of the archaeological, anthropological, and faunal collections at Spy exemplifies the interest of re-examining ancient collections. As for Scladina, it illustrates the potential of new excavations where modern investigation techniques are applied directly in the field. In these two sites, modern interdisciplinary researches led to prominent results on topics such as ancient DNA, dental development, age at death, palaeodiet, or archaeology, complemented in the case of Scladina by site formation processes and detailed palaeoenvironmental and chronostratigraphic reconstructions. Finally, a few aspects related to territorial exploitation by Neandertals are exposed, focusing on lithic resource management.
The ancient preserved molecules offer the opportunity to gain a better knowledge on the biologica... more The ancient preserved molecules offer the opportunity to gain a better knowledge on the biological past. In recent years, bones proteomics has become an attractive method to study the animal biological origin, extinct species and species evolution as an alternative to DNA analysis which is limited by DNA amplification present in ancient samples and its contamination. However, the development of a proteomic workflow remains a challenge. The analysis of fossils must consume a low quantity of material to avoid damaging the samples. Another difficulty is the absence of genomic data for most of the extinct species. In this study, a proteomic methodology was applied to mammalian bones of 130,000 years old from the earlier Upper Pleistocene site of Scladina Cave (Belgium). Starting from 5 milligram samples, our results show a large majority of detected peptides matching collagen I alpha 1 and alpha 2 proteins with a sequence coverage up to 60%. Using sequence homology with modern sequences...
