This dissertation details and contextualizes the changing nature of obsidian circulation and use in the West Mediterranean from the sixth to second millennia B.C., with a particular focus on the reflexive relationship between obsidian consumption and long-term socio-economic processes. Central themes in this work include, a) the significance of exchange and long-distance relations in the creation and maintenance of social distinction, b) the specific role of obsidian circulation and consumption in these processes, and c) a longue durée investigation of the history of obsidian use and maritime activity in the West Mediterranean from the Neolithic through Bronze Age. Methodologically this is achieved through, a) the compilation and interrogation of a database of regional obsidian studies over the past 50 years, and b) the generation of new primary data via the typological analysis of 6,895 obsidian artifacts from 46 archeological sites in Sicily and Sardinia, 2,103 of which were also elementally characterized using X-ray fluorescence (XRF) spectrometry to determine their geological source. Central to this work is the idea that obsidian ‘characterization’ studies represent a powerful means of engaging with major social science questions, where a particular regional dataset can be used to contribute to debates of global significance. Thus, while the focus of this work is on obsidian consumption in the West Mediterranean, its implications are far-reaching. / Dissertation / Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

abstract: This dissertation examines the various factors and processes that have been proposed as explanations for the spread of agriculture in the west Mediterranean. The expansion of the Neolithic in the west Mediterranean (the Impresso-Cardial Neolithic) is characterized by a rapid spread of agricultural subsistence and material culture from the southern portion of the Italian peninsula to the western coast of the Iberian peninsula. To address this unique case, four conceptual models of Neolithic spread have been proposed: the Wave of Advance, the Capillary Spread Model, the Maritime Pioneer Colonization Model and the Dual Model. An agent-based model, the Cardial Spread Model, was built to simulate each conceptual spread model in a spatially explicit environment for comparison with evidence from the archaeological record. Chronological information detailing the arrival of the Neolithic was used to create a map of the initial arrival of the Neolithic (a chronosurface) throughout the study area. The results of each conceptual spread model were then compared to the chronosurface in order to evaluate the relative performance of each conceptual model of spread. These experiments suggest that both the Dual and Maritime Pioneer Colonization models best fit the available chronological and spatial distribution of the Impresso-Cardial Neolithic. For the purpose of informing agent movement and improving the fit of the conceptual spread models, a variety of paleoenvironmental maps were tested within the Cardial Spread Model. The outcome of these experiments suggests that topographic slope was an important factor in settlement location and that rivers were important vectors of transportation for early Neolithic migration. This research demonstrates the application of techniques rare to archaeological analysis, agent-based modeling and the inclusion of paleoenvironmental information, and provides a valuable tool that future researchers can utilize to further evaluate and fabricate new models of Neolithic expansion. / Dissertation/Thesis / Doctoral Dissertation Anthropology 2016

L’aérosol organique secondaire (AOS) est issu de processus d’oxydation des précurseurs gazeux, les composés organiques volatils (COV). Des lacunes persistent encore dans la connaissance des voies de formation et d’évolution de l’AOS et de sa composition chimique à l’échelle moléculaire. Ces différents aspects expliquent en partie la sous-estimation de sa concentration globale par les modèles. Pour apporter des éléments de réponse à ces problématiques, le bassin méditerranéen a été sélectionné comme région d’étude. Celui-ci est, en effet, caractérisé par une forte photochimie, notamment en été, et des sources de COV très intenses, à la fois biogéniques et anthropiques, réunissant ainsi les conditions favorables à la formation d’AOS dans l’atmosphère. Dans ce contexte, deux campagnes de mesures ont été réalisées dans le cadre des programmes Canopée et ChArMEx.Grâce au déploiement d’une méthode de prélèvement et d’analyse par TD-GC/MS, la caractérisation de la fraction organique a permis la détermination de plus d’une centaine de composés oxygénés de C2 à C18 en phases gazeuse et particulaire. La complémentarité des jeux de données obtenus avec des méthodes plus traditionnelles (PTR-MS, AMS) a permis d’apporter des éléments de réponse sur la réactivité des composés oxygénés vis-à-vis du radical OH, sur la composition de la matière organique sur deux sites aux caractéristiques contrastées et sur la propension de différents précurseurs biogéniques et anthropiques à former de l’AOS. La détermination des coefficients de partage théoriques et expérimentaux apportent également des éléments de réponse quant à la représentation de l’AOS dans les modèles / Secondary Organic Aerosol or « SOA » is formed in the atmosphere by oxidative process of volatile organic compounds (VOC). Gaps in knowledge of SOA formation and evolution pathways and of molecular characterization still exist. These aspects are an important source of uncertainties and can explain the underestimation of SOA budget calculated by models. In order to give new insights on these issues, the Mediterranean basin appears like an ideal area to study SOA. Actually, this region is characterized by high photochemistry, above all during summer season, and by intense VOC biogenic and anthropogenic emissions implying the formation of SOA in the atmosphere. In this context, two field campaigns have been performed in the frame of Canopée and ChArMEx projects.Thanks to a sampling and analyzing method by TD-GC/MS, the characterization of organic fraction enables one to determine more than one hundred compounds from C2 to C18 in gaseous and particulate phases. In combination with traditional datasets (PTR-MS, AMS), new insights were brought in reactivity of gaseous oxygenated compounds with OH radical, in chemical composition of organic material in particulate phase and about the contribution of various precursors to the capacity to form SOA. The determination of experimental and theoretical partitioning coefficients gives new information on SOA representation in models