Le terme virú-gallinazo désigne au XXe siècle un style céramique puis caractérise une culture. Aujourd’hui, le consensus archéologique regroupe les vestiges virú-gallinazo sous la dénomination de « phénomène culturel » et cherche ainsi à le définir. Mais l’épistémologie montre l’aspect fragmentaire sur lequel se fondent ces interprétations.Cette thèse propose alors une approche plus complexe du phénomène. Elle se fonde sur les idées suivantes : l’art ne reflète pas l’intégralité des manifestations culturelles. Enfin la signification d’un objet peut varier selon les contextes dans lesquels il se trouve. Ce travail, en conséquence, entreprend une analyse contextuelle croisée des différentes catégories de vestiges. / During the XXth century, the viru-gallinazo term first refers to ceramic’s style and after it distinguishes a culture. Today, the archaeological consensus includes the viru-gallinazo remains as a"cultural phenomenon" and seeks to define it. But the epistemology shows the fragmented aspect on which are based those interpretations.This thesis proposes then a more complex approach of the viru-gallinazo "cultural phenomenon". It is based on the following ideas: art does not reflect the entirety of cultural events. Finally the meaning of an object may vary according to the context in which it is located. For that reason, this study sets out a crossed contextual analysis of the different categories of remains.

This thesis focuses on the Bronze Age in selected areas of Korea; Seoul, Incheon, and Gyeonggi province. Two forms of evidence - settlements and monuments - are taken into account to identify their relationship with landscape and the social changes occurring between ca. 1500 to 400 cal BC. Life and death in the Bronze Age in Korea has not been synthetically investigated before, due to the lack of evidence from settlements. However, since academic and rescue excavations have increased, it is now possible to examine the relationship between settlements and monuments on a broad scale and over a long-term sequence, although there are still limitations in the archaeological evidence. The results of GIS (Geographical Information Systems) analysis and Bayesian modelling of the radiocarbon dates from this region can be interpreted as suggesting that Bronze Age people in the mid-Korean peninsula had certain preferences for their habitation and mortuary places. The locations of two archaeological sites were identified and statistical significance was generated for their positioning on soil that was associated with agriculture. It was found that settlements tended to be located at a higher elevation with fine views and that monuments tended to be situated in the border zones between mountains and plains and also within the boundary of a 5km site catchment adjusted for energy expenditure, centring on each settlement. This configuration is reminiscent of the concept of the auspicious location, as set out in the traditional geomantic theory of Pungsu. It can be argued that Bronze Age people chose the place for the living and the dead with a holistic perspective and a metaphysical approach that placed human interaction with the natural world at the centre of their decision-making processes. These concepts were formed out of the process of a practical adaptation to the Bronze Age landscape and environment in order to practice agriculture as a subsistence economy, but they also exerted a profound influence upon later Korean peoples and their identities.

The present thesis provides and examination of the Greek imports from Al Mina dating from the end of the 9th to the end of the 7th centuries BC. Al Mina, located on the Orontes river in the Hatay province of Turkey, was excavated by L. Woolley in 1936 and 1937. In particular the large quantities of Greek imports recovered from the sites triggered a debate about the site’s function and it’s foundation date. In order to overcome past deficiencies the present thesis provides a detailed record of the Greek pottery recovered from the site. The fragments are analysed stylistically and dated in order to establish a local chronology. Further, a detailed statistical study of the whole assemblage, which comprises about 4800 pieces, reveals evidence for local consumption patterns and further sheds light on the ports external contacts during the 8th and 7th centuries BC. The study also entails a contextual analysis of specific Near Eastern sites in order to set Al Mina in its regional context. Three questions are of major concern in this respect: is it possible to identify the users of Greek pottery in the East in terms of their socio-economic background? Further, is Greek pottery better understood as a commodity or as a gift? Finally, What role does Greek tableware play within the trade with other commodities? The study illustrates that pottery primarily circulated within the lower social classes. It also highlighted a diverse pattern in which high quality products are circulating besides “mass ware”. This can be understood as a diversification process that was initiated in order to reach a wider range of consumers.

This thesis presents a comprehensive characterisation of the Palaeolithic occupation of the Thar Desert, which is located in western India and south-western Pakistan. This is achieved through a combination of extensive syntheses of existing palaeoenvironmental and archaeological evidence and the development of new, interdisciplinary evidence for Upper Pleistocene hominin occupation in the Thar Desert through surface survey and excavation. Patterns of environmental variability in the Thar Desert are described to identify when and where the Thar Desert may have been habitable to hominin populations. Evidence for over 900 Palaeolithic sites is synthesised to identify existing spatial, typological and chronological patterns in the Thar Desert. Typo-technological descriptions of new Palaeolithic assemblages are described, and placed within chronological and environmental contexts based upon associations with previously studied sediment formations. The results of chronological, environmental and archaeological analyses from a new excavated site, Katoati, are described, which presents a significant new benchmark for Palaeolithic studies, both for the Thar Desert and southern Asia. The excavated assemblages from Katoati indicate a Middle Palaeolithic occupation of the Thar Desert during episodes of enhanced humidity >91ka, and a further Middle Palaeolithic occupation 65-55ka. These Middle Palaeolithic assemblages indicate considerable cultural continuity and offer a chronometric framework for the results of the surface survey. The identification of a number of technologically and typologically distinct artefacts in both excavated and surface contexts indicate significant similarities with Middle Stone Age assemblages from Arabia and the Sahara and Middle Palaeolithic sites in South Asia. As a result, the Thar Desert can be identified as a pivotal location for investigating major changes in Upper Pleistocene hominin demography between Africa and across southern Asia.

This thesis is a comprehensive investigation of Roman African cookwares that examines their contribution to studies on the consequences of the incorporation of Africa into the Roman imperial economy. It aims to synthesise and analyse the most significant evidence and examines how the flow of capital, technical knowledge and people, between provinces and regions, affected production, trade and distribution trends. The technology and organisation of Roman African cookware production are examined first, in order to create a solid foundation for the following distribution study. Scientific analyses of African cookware samples from production and consumption sites offer important additions to our knowledge of the fabric composition, technical superiority, provenance and movement of these wares around the Mediterranean. The key discussion focuses on the commercial dynamics of Roman African cookwares from local, regional and Mediterranean-wide perspectives. Beginning at the production sites, the research investigates the management and transportation of these wares from major ports in Africa Proconsularis to Mediterranean ports, and beyond. A chronological assessment of the evolution of cookware production and trade in relation to periods of political and economic change reveals the significant contribution these wares can make towards tracing and even anticipating major stages in the evolution and eventual decline of Roman economic systems. Other key achievements include the creation of a new illustrated typology with profile drawings of all the cookware forms; a gazetteer of all known African cookware production sites and the forms they produced; and a synthesis and catalogue of African cookware fabrics. The importance of this research lies in the fact that although the abundance of Roman African cookwares on Mediterranean sites is well recognised, a catalogue and analysis of production and trade has never previously been attempted.

Through the case study of the Shijiahe site, Tianmen, Hubei, this thesis investigates the dynamics of enclosures along the Middle Yangzi River during the third millennium BC. During the early third millennium over a dozen of enclosures were constructed in this region, earlier than elsewhere in China during this millennium. All were abandoned and some re-settled around 2000 BC, followed by another episode of abandonment. The major theoretical paradigms dominating the field are culture history and social complexity. The thesis argues that these are insufficient to fully appreciate the actual details and dynamics of the developments at the Middle Yangzi sites. As an alternative, this thesis employs a combination of approaches. A detailed practice-based analysis of the biography of Shijiahe reveals dynamics of identity formation and changes to tradition not observed before. The techniques of enclosure construction, reasons for their construction and abandonment will also be discussed. The thesis acknowledges the central importance of religion and interaction as two essential underlying currents of prehistoric lives that, in the case of China, have largely been ignored. From this angle a series of objects, such as red pottery cups, pottery pointed-bottom vessels and jade ornaments, from Shijiahe are investigated and their religious significance established. They and the practices they were used in are also mapped according to their find spots, which show the connection of Shijiahe with regions even beyond the Middle Yangzi, such as the Yellow and Huai river regions. These interactions were probably also stimulated by religious practices. The northward connections are of particular importance, as they confirm that the Yangzi, and the giant swamp of the Yunmengze in the Jianghan Plain, were formidable barriers southwards. The usually posited direction of movements from the Yellow River into the south must be challenged on the basis of this thesis, which argues for multiple directions of interaction and transmission of objects and ideas.

This thesis tests models on the dispersal of hominin populations in the Upper Pleistocene, specifically in relation to the Arabian Peninsula. It does so by conducting a quantified comparison of lithic assemblages from northeast Africa and southwest Asia. Lithic data from new excavations at the Jubbah Palaeolake in northern Saudi Arabia is compared to assemblages from Ethiopia, Sudan, Egypt, Jordan, Iran, Oman and other localities in Saudi Arabia. This is the first detailed inter-regional study of this area for Marine Isotope Stages 5 to 3, a critical spatial and temporal context in debates on both early modern human and Neanderthal demography and dispersal. The spatial and temporal character of the rich Arabian archaeological record correlate with emerging evidence for environmental change in Arabia; in particular the repeated dating of archaeological contexts to periods of climatic amelioration suggests that demographic growth was associated with periods of increased precipitation. The various factors influencing lithic variability and the methodologies by which they can be elucidated are reviewed. In particular this highlights the need for quantified and comparative analyses. A variety of analytical approaches are applied in this thesis, including the use of Correspondence and Principal Components Analyses to develop a nuanced view of lithic variability. Variability in cores is shown to largely reflect the related factors of size and reduction intensity. With analyses of debitage and retouched lithics a broadly similar picture emerges: assemblages which are heavily reduced have small cores and blanks and higher levels of retouch, and elements of shape variation also change in relation to reduction intensity. Elements of residual variability may reflect cultural differences. While it is felt that the evidence presented broadly orientates the Upper Pleistocene Middle Palaeolithic of Arabia to dispersals from Africa, this suggestion is subsumed with a problematization of using lithic evidence to understand dispersals. Aside from the need for further dated archaeological material from Arabia and surrounding countries, lithic analyses need to more thoroughly consider factors such as reduction intensity if we are to make robust inferences on population dispersals.

The present thesis provides a methodological examination of Pyla-Kokkinokremos and Maa-Palaeokastro, two settlement-sites that were established in Cyprus during the transition from the Late Cypriot IIC (roughly the thirteenth century BC) to the Late Cypriot IIIA (roughly the twelfth century BC). These two settlements were extremely short-lived and persisted for merely a couple of generations before their eventual abandonment. The period under consideration is often referred to as the “Crisis Years”, and marks a time when the politically and economically powerful land-based polities of the eastern Mediterranean were brought to an end. The foundation of Pyla-Kokkinokremos and Maa-Palaeokastro coincides with these critical years for the eastern Mediterranean and the upheaval of the settlement pattern of Cyprus. Since their excavation, the two sites have been considered as two very controversial and intriguing phenomena. Their selected position on top of naturally fortified locations and the marked absence of perennial water sources in their vicinity suggested that they were established in order to fulfil a special purpose. The original suggestion put forward by the excavator that Pyla-Kokkinokremos and Maa-Palaeokastro represent the earliest establishments of refugees fleeing from the Aegean following the palatial collapse has been questioned by a number of scholars, who insist on the Cypriot character of the two sites, and therefore consider them as outposts established by local populations. This dissertation provides a re-examination of the topographical setting of the two settlements, their architectural characteristics and their material culture, mostly pottery, aiming to determine the series of events that led to their establishment, as well as the roles and functions fulfilled by the two sites. The objective of this study is not exclusively concerned with the detailed presentation of excavated architectural and artefactual remains from Pyla-Kokkinokremos and Maa-Palaeokastro. In extent, the aims of this thesis are to define the character of Cyprus during the years marking the transition from the thirteenth to the twelfth century BC, and examine transformations in the settlement pattern of the island, its socio-political landscape and provide a holistic approach of its material culture.

This research attempts to extend the application of spatial analysis to the investigation of human agency in social relations. Marcos Llobera's research framework on modelling daily experience and social space showcases great potentials of utilising Geographic Information Systems (GIS) to explore the perception and behaviour of individual agents. By expanding Llobera's work and incorporating Tim Ingold's wayfaring theory to explore the human agency in the context of social relations, this research proposes a new analytical method to investigate social relations through the accumulation of intimate interactions. Exemplified with detailed analysis on two settlements of Kaushi people in Taiwan, the proposed analytical method demonstrates great strength and yields fruitful insights into their social structure and transformation. In addition, this method is particularly instrumental in unravelling specific relations between individuals, as well as between social groups. The application of this method on Kaushi settlements yielded fruitful insights of their social structure and transformation. On the other hand, the side products of this approach can be further employed to investigate the visual structure and movement intensity of a site, as well as to experiment alternative 'what if' scenarios relating to visibility, movement, and interaction. In sum, this research augments the potential of spatial analysis to explore human agency in a social context and lays out a further platform for the investigation of social relations at a settlement scale.

Ao longo das últimas décadas, o ensino de Geografia vem orientando-se com maior ênfase por meio de diretrizes sinalizadas pelo construtivismo pedagógico e as pedagogias progressistas e psicológicas, cujas premissas partem de centrar no aluno a construção do conhecimento e partir do cotidiano e dos arredores escolares para que possa ser significativo o saber geográfico. No entanto, perguntar se o conjunto desses pressupostos foi sempre o mesmo, e como ele chegou a ser o que é, conduz-nos a realizar uma História do presente, ou seja, partir de uma problemática atual para compreender em que momento ela se tornou um problema. Esta tese aponta que o campo contemporâneo da Geografia escolar não é natural, tampouco neutro, nem esteve desde sempre aí. Para ser o que é, teve que passar por inúmeros processos que estabeleceram a ordem do discurso geoescolar. Criado nesta pesquisa, este conceito parte do princípio de que não se pode falar sobre o quiser no ensino de Geografia, nem qualquer um pode fazê-lo; é necessário seguir regras, normas e prescrições, que delimitam o certo e o errado, o verdadeiro e o falso e, portanto, dizem como a aula deve ser. O movimento investigativo aqui desenvolvido partiu dessas alavancas não para entender as ideias compartilhadas na didática geográfica, e sim as condições de possibilidade, relações de poder e saber, que a instituíram. Um trabalho arqueológico e genealógico; sobretudo, uma perspectiva de trabalho pós-estruturalista ancorada nas teorizações de Michel Foucault. Por intermédio da descrição de arquivos subjacentes ao ensino de Geografia na primeira metade do século XX, questionando de onde se fala, como se fala e quem fala sobre ensino de Geografia, identificamos um discurso capitaneado pelo que chamamos da tríade queda/resgate/redenção, isto é, um elevado número de textos sequenciados pela denúncia recorrente ao método tradicional de ensino e tudo que ele envolve; a celebração de um projeto renovador operacionalizado pela Pedagogia ativa e as psicologias escolares; um ideal de final de história, representando por uma nação evoluída, tecnologicamente desenvolvida e voltada para o constante progresso. No entanto, não bastou descrever a constituição da ordem do discurso geoescolar; fundamental também foi o entendimento das práticas de poder e saber que a moldaram. Com hegemonia, infiltrou-se nessa formação discursiva uma constelação maior de objetos e conceitos que, advindos da emergência da acumulação flexível do capital, alicerçavam-se na necessidade de maior investimento em capital humano, isto é, sujeitos flexíveis, individualistas e consumidores, para manter em funcionamento os jogos econômicos de inspiração neoliberal. Balizada pela pedagogia do interesse, a metodologia de projetos, a interdisciplinaridade e as didáticas ativas, e tendo, como pano de fundo, o fatalismo da extinção, pode-se afirmar que, muitas vezes, a ordem do discurso geoescolar foi um mecanismo a serviço da economia de mercado. / Over the last decades, Geography teaching has been guided with greater emphasis through directives signaled by pedagogical constructivism and progressive and psychological pedagogies, whose premises depart from focusing on the student the construction of knowledge and departing from everyday life and from the school surroundings so that geographic knowledge can be significant. However, to ask whether the set of these assumptions has always been the same, and how it came to be what it is, leads us to realize a history of the present, that is, starting from a current problematic to understand in which moment it has become a problem. This thesis points out that the contemporary area of school Geography is not natural, nor neutral, neither has it ever been there. To be what it is, it had to go through numerous processes that established the order of geoschool discourse. Created in this research, this concept assumes that you can not talk about what you want in Geography teaching, nor can anyone do it; it is necessary to follow rules, norms and prescriptions, which delimit right and wrong, true and false, and therefore say how the class should be. The investigative movement developed here was based on these levers not to understand the ideas shared in geographical didactics, but rather the conditions of possibility, relations of power and knowledge that instituted it. Archaeological and genealogical work; above all, a post-structuralism work perspective anchored in the theories of Michel Foucault. Through the description of the archives underlying to the teaching of Geography in the first half of the XX century, questioning from where it speaks, how it speaks and who speaks about Geography teaching, we identify a discourse headed by what we call the triad of fall / rescue / redemption, That is, a high number of texts sequenced by recurrent denunciation of the traditional method of teaching and all that it involves; The celebration of a renewal project operationalized by active pedagogy and school psychology; an end-of-history ideal, represented by an evolved nation, technologically developed and geared towards constant progress. However, it was not enough to describe the constitution of the order of geoschool discourse; fundamental was also the understanding of the practices of power and knowledge that shaped it. With hegemony, was infiltrated in this discursive formation, a greater constellation of objects and concepts that, stemming from the emergence of flexible capital accumulation, were based on the need for greater investment in human capital, that is, flexible, individualistic and consumers subjects, to keep economic games of neoliberal inspiration running. Bounded by pedagogy of interest, methodology of project, interdisciplinarity and active didactics, and having, as a background, the fatalism of extinction, it can be affirmed that, often, the order of geoschool discourse was a mechanism at the service of the market economy.