Cette thèse étudie le processus du changement démographique pendant la transition des chasseurs-collecteurs aux agriculteurs sur le plateau de Lœss, qui est la région de l’origine du millet cultivé, et dans la plaine du fleuve Yangszé, qui est la région de l’origine du riz cultivé en Chine. Ce travail de recherche doctoral collecte et analyse les données paléoanthropologiques des nécropoles des deux régions en Chine, et un signal similaire est détecté. Les données archéologiques, comme la densité des sites et la densité des dates au radiocarbone, sont aussi collectées et analysées, pour vérifier ce signal démographique en Chine. Suit à notre étude, nous représentons le contexte environnemental du signal de la TDA, incluant le changement climatique et la variation du paysage. L’amélioration de l’environnement naturel pendant la transition démographique est évidente, mais elle n’est pas une cause décisive de la TDA. Ensuite, nous représentons le changement de la stratégie de subsistance de la population du Paléolithique supérieur au Néolithique dans les deux régions, et son lien de causalité réciproque avec la transition démographique. Les données archéologiques montrent que la transition démographique et le changement de la stratégie de subsistance sont suivis de façon évidente par une modification de l’habitation, et l’arrangement des villages s'est modifié graduellement aussi au fil du temps. Celles-là indiquent probablement que l’augmentation de la taille de population est une cause importante de l’évolution sociale. / In this thesis, we study the process of the demographic change during the transition from the hunters-gatherers to the farmers on the Loess Plateau, which is the region of the origin of the cultivated millet, and in the Yangtze Plain, which is the region of the origin of the cultivated rice, in China. By collecting and analyzing the paleoanthropological data from the cemeteries of prehistorical hunters-gatherers and farmers of these two regions in China, we detect a similar signal of the ADT. This signal is also confirmed by the archaeological data, such as the density of the archaeological sites and the density of the radiocarbon dates. We represent the environmental context of the signal demographic in the following study, including the climatic change and the variation of le landscape. The improvement of the natural environment during the demographic transition is obvious, but it seems that this improvement is not a factor decisive of the ADT. Then we represent the change of subsistence strategy of the population from upper Paleolithic to Neolithic in the two regions, and its relationship of reciprocal causation with the demographic transition. The archaeological data indicate that the demographic transition and the change of the subsistence strategy were evidently followed by the modification of the habitation, and the arrangement of the villages have also varied overtime. These information probably suggest that the augmentation of the size of population is one of the main causes of the social evolution.

There are four goals to this study. The first is to investigate the diet of prehistoric dogs (Canis familiaris) in the Northeast region of North America using stable isotope analysis. The second goal of this study is to generate independent data concerning the presence or absence of C4 resources, such as maize, in the diets of dogs. Third, this study investigates the use of dog bone as a proxy for human bone in studies assessing the presence of C4 resources at archaeological sites. The fourth goal of this study is to provide a check on existing interpretations of the material, macro- and micro-botanical records as it concerns the presence or absence of C4 resources at the sites involved in this study. Stable isotope analysis is a science that allows the measuring of the abundance ratio of two stable isotopes of a particular element. Stable isotope analysis can differentiate C4 and C3 plants, as well as terrestrial and marine resources in material such as bone where the chemistry of diet becomes recorded. Given the importance of C4 plants to many prehistoric populations, in the absence of direct evidence identifying their presence at archaeological sites, an alternate method for identification is needed. Maize played an important role in changing human behaviors during prehistory including: decisions to increase sedentism, abuse of power structures, and stratification of gender roles within human populations. Additionally, an overall decrease in health is seen in prehistoric populations who focused their subsistence practices on maize. Dogs were chosen as the focus of this study because related research suggests that their diet tends to mimic human diet. Prehistoric dogs were scavengers, but they were also intentionally fed companions. The suggestion that dog diet in some way mimics human diet means that stable isotope ratios from their bone will reflect the type of resources available for consumption by their human counterparts. As such, this investigation may also indirectly inform on the diets of the American Indian inhabitants of the settlements in which these dog remains originate. Thirty samples of dog bone, dating from the Early Ceramic Period, ca. 3000 B.P. to the Late Woodland and Early Historic Period, were obtained from museum and personal collections, and from ongoing archaeological excavations throughout the Northeast region of North America. Stable isotope analysis was conducted at Notre Dame's Center for Environmental Science and Technology. The results of this analysis indicates that these prehistoric dogs consumed the types of resources represented in the archaeological record with one important exception: consumption of C4 resources, possibly maize, was occurring at several sites where no other evidence of C4 exploitation exists. Of the dogs sampled ten were from pre-agricultural sites in Maine and their stable isotope ratios indicated a diet of marine and terrestrial resources. Nineteen dogs were excavated from components dating to the Late Woodland or Historic Period. During the Late Woodland and Historic Period the C4 plant maize was exploited by many human groups in the study region. Interpretation based on stable isotopes from bone collagen indicates that six of these dogs had isotopic signatures within the range of significant C4 resource consumption. Stable isotope ratios from the remaining dogs indicate a smaller contribution of C4 resources to diet. According to 13C ratios from carbonate three dogs, two from New Jersey (DB2, DB8) and one from Maryland (DB11), had a significant C4 plant component to their diet. The remaining Late Woodland and Historic period dogs most likely consumed minor amounts of C4 resources. In addition to identifying C4 resources in the diet of dogs, the value of assessing isotope data from both collagen and carbonate is investigated. The sample size for this study was small in comparison to the size of the region assessed. Despite the small sample size, this analysis contributes to our knowledge of past dog and human subsistence patterns. Our understanding of the utility of stable isotope studies of human companion species has also expanded. In addition to investigating the presence of C4 resources in the diet of prehistoric dogs, this research provides an alternate line of inquiry to re-assess current interpretations, especially in areas where direct evidence of isotopically identifiable C4 plants, such as maize are currently lacking. The results of this study are applicable first and foremost to the consumption patterns of the individual animals sampled. However, that these dogs were consuming particular resources provides at least a clue of what was under consideration by their human counterparts. / Anthropology