Lake Hayq is a closed, freshwater basin on the eastern margin of the north-central highlands, Ethiopia. Using a sediment core extracted from the northern basin, this thesis aims to provide a high-resolution, detailed palaeolimnological reconstruction of changes to the environment and climate in the region since the late Pleistocene. A multi-proxy approach was applied, utilising diatoms, photosynthetic pigments and X-ray fluorescence (XRF) spectrometry. Lithological and chronological analyses were also performed, as well as the development of a transfer function to model diatom-inferred conductivity, and other quantitative analyses. Between ~ 15.6 15.1 cal kyr BP, Lake Hayq experienced a lowstand, synchronous with the timing of Heinrich Event 1 and an intense drought across East Africa. At ~ 15.1 cal kyr BP a lake began to develop at the core site in response to wetter, more humid conditions, most likely caused by the reactivation of the African-Indian monsoonal circulation. This was abruptly ended however at ~ 14.7 cal kyr BP, as the climate shifted back towards aridity and Lake Hayq shallowed, in contrast to the majority of other East African lakes, which continued to refill. This most likely reflects changes to the Indian Ocean monsoon system caused by variability in the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation at this time, in conjunction with site-specific mechanisms affecting the delivery of precipitation to Lake Hayq. At ~ 12.3 cal kyr BP the African Humid Period resumed over Lake Hayq and the lake refilled, reaching maximum water depth between ~ 12.0 10.0 cal kyr BP. The lake was dominated by planktonic diatom taxa and photosynthetic pigments indicate it was meromictic. Lake level gradually declined throughout the Holocene, culminating in the termination of the African Humid Period. A high-resolution study of the period tentatively suggests that climate flickering , in the form of oscillations between dominant diatom taxa, occurred in the build up to the major climatic shift. The termination spanned ~ 600 cal years between ~ 5.2 4.6 cal kyr BP. A lowstand occurred between ~ 3.9 2.2 cal kyr BP, during which the lake became occasionally subsaline. In the late Holocene, ~ 2.2 1.3 cal kyr BP, Lake Hayq became deep and fresh again, although there is evidence of lake level variability. The palaeo-record from Lake Hayq indicates that it broadly experienced the same high-latitude, glacial-interglacial dynamics and sub-millennial shifts in climate found in other palaeolimnological records from across East Africa. The precise timing and expression of these climatic events is not always synchronous between Lake Hayq and other East African waterbodies however, most likely caused by local, site-specific positive feedback mechanisms and variability in lake morphometry. This highlights the heterogeneous pattern of climate across the region and the significance of regional drivers. This palaeo-record, spanning the late Quaternary, will help bridge gaps in current knowledge and understanding of the underrepresented, climatically sensitive and vulnerable north Ethiopian highlands. This is vital for future climate change modelling and regional downscaling, and may also inform ethnographic-archaeological research in a region considered to be the cradle of humankind.

Dans le système climatique global, l’océan Atlantique Nord est considéré comme une région très sensible qui joue un rôle crucial pour la dynamique de l’hémisphère nord via la circulation méridienne de retournement de l'océan Atlantique (AMOC), dont fait partie le système de front/courant des Açores. La thèse a pour but d’analyser les interactions hydrographiques et climatiques complexes dans la région des Açores, pour le Pléistocène moyen­‐Holocène, par l’analyse des foraminifères planctoniques de deux carottes prélevées en 2013 (Oceanograflu 2013), dans le segment OH1 de la ride médio-atlantique. La thèse est structurée en trois chapitres/articles qui présentent les principaux résultats et leur interprétation. Le premier article a pour but d’établir le modèle d’âge le plus précis possible et de tracer l’histoire de la production/préservation des carbonates dans la région des Açores, au cours du dernier cycle glaciaire. Pour ce faire, les valeurs de carbonate et δ18OG.ruber des deux carottes ont été analysées à haute résolution. Par ailleurs, l’application de la «Modern Analog Technique» à l’analyse des assemblages des foraminifères planctoniques a permis d’estimer les variations de température des eaux de surface (SST-mat). Les courbes d’abondance des espèces résistantes et sensibles à la dissolution ont permis de mettre en évidence d’éventuels intervalles de plus forte dissolution. La partie supérieure de chaque carotte a été datée par spectrométrie de masse (AMS)14C sur les tests de foraminifères. Le modèle d’âge adopté se base également sur la corrélation entre les courbes de δ18OG.ruber et l’enregistrement haute résolution du δ18OG.bulloides de la carotte MD95-2042 (Shackleton et al. 2000) de la marge ibérique, récemment recalibrée en utilisant les données synthétiques LS16 de δ18O (Lisiecki and Stern 2016) relatives aux foraminifères benthiques. L’analyse spectrale a permis de démontrer que les oscillations des valeurs de carbonate et du δ18OG.ruber, lors des derniers 144ka, sont contrôlées par un forçage climatique (orbital et sub-orbital) dans la région des Açores. La comparaison des courbes de carbonate et celles des espèces résistantes à la dissolution, pour les deux carottes situées à des profondeurs différentes, a permis de montrer les variations verticales de la lysocline de la calcite, en particulier lors des évènements de refroidissement plus extrêmes, par exemple à 22,1 kyr avec une remontée de la lysocline de 1000m environ. Le deuxième article essaie de reconstituer la variabilité complexe de l’hydrographie et de la paléoproductivité de l’Atlantique centre Nord lors des derniers 144 kyr grâce à l’analyse des assemblages des foraminifères planctoniques combinée à celle des variations de la température des eaux de surface (SST­‐mat). Les fluctuations d’abondance d’espèces actuellement caractéristiques de masses d’eau et/ou des systèmes de front/courant dans l’Atlantique Nord ont été utilisées comme traceurs paléocéanographiques. Cette approche a permis d’évaluer la migration latitudinale/longitudinale du système de front/courant des Açores durant le Quaternaire récent ainsi que celle d’autres fronts et/ou courants caractéristiques de l’Atlantique centre Nord. Le troisième article se focalise sur la variabilité du groupe G. ruber gr. dans la région des Açores. G. ruber a été considéré comme un plexus regroupant plusieurs autres espèces et sous espèces. Plus récemment, des études moléculaires et géochimiques mis en évidence la présence de plusieurs génotypes au sein du plexus G. ruber, ce qui implique l’existence de plusieurs (sous­‐) espèces avec des modes de calcification et des préférences écologiques différentes. Malgré l’abondante littérature récente sur ce sujet, les liens entre ces différents génotypes, variants morphologiques, préférences écologiques, et modes de calcification ne sont pas encore très bien compris. (...) / In the global climatic system, the North Atlantic Ocean is considered as a highly sensitive region, which plays a crucial role in the Northern Hemisphere dynamics through the so­‐called Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC) system, of which the Azores Front/Current System represents an important part. The main aim of the thesis is to reconstruct the complex hydrographic and climatic interactions in such a climatically­‐sensitive area during middle Pleistocene to Holocene through the analysis of the planktonic foraminifera from two cores collected in the OH1 segment of the Mid‐Atlantic Ridge (MAR) south‐westward of the Azores archipelago during the Oceanograflu 2013 cruise. The manuscript is structured in three chapters presenting the major results and their interpretation (...)

The Atacama Desert (from Arica to Taltal, 18°-25° S), one of the driest environments on Earth, has been considered an inhospitable habitat and hence a major barrier for the hunter and gatherer groups that migrated to South America at the end of the Pleistocene. Recent paleoecological and geomorphologic data, summarized here, show that during the Pleistocene-Holocene transition (ca. 17,500-9500 cal BP) some sectors of the Atacama were much wetter and had greater bioproductivity than today, factors that increase the possibilities of finding early American sites. Here, we first describe the current environment of the Atacama and compare it to past environmental conditions. Second, we present our results that show archaeological evidence for the human colonization of the hyperarid coast (0-900 masl), the intermediate depression (900-2200 masl), the precordillera (2200-3500 masl) and the altiplano (>3500 masl). Finally we discuss some of the possible migratory routes for the peopling of South America. / El Desierto de Atacama (Arica a Taltal, 18°-25° S), uno de los ambientes más áridos del planeta, ha sido considerado un hábitat inhóspito y, por ende, una barrera importante para los grupos de cazadores- recolectores que migraron a Sudamérica a fines delPleistoceno. Recientes datos paleocológicos y geomorfológicos, resumidos aquí, evidencian que durante la transición Pleistoceno-Holoceno (c. 17.500-9500 cal AP) algunos sectores del Atacama fueron mucho más húmedos y tuvieron mayor bioproductividad que hoy, lo que incrementa las posibilidades de encontrar sitios tempranos. Aquí, en primer lugar, describimos el ambiente actual del Atacama y lo comparamos con sus condiciones ambientales pasadas. En segundo lugar, presentamos las evidencias arqueológicas que dan cuenta de la colonización humana de la costa hiperárida (0-900 metros sobre el nivel del mar), la Depresión Intermedia (900-2200 metros sobre el nivel del mar), la precordillera (2200-3500 metros sobre el nivel del mar) y el altiplano (>3500 metros sobre el nivel del mar). Por último, discutimos algunas de las posibles rutas migratorias para el poblamiento de Sudamérica.

Made available in DSpace on 2017-07-10T17:31:07Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Edson Bertoldo.pdf: 5608945 bytes, checksum: fd55c97dda4b7d20b2fa9438b702daf3 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2010-12-15 / This study identifies paleoenvironmental records in the remaining at planed surface VIII, in Pato Branco (SW PR), more precisely in conservation area (A.R.I.E. do Buriti) by analysis of palynomorphs in a bog, characterization of the surface formations and the 14C dating method. Throughout the testimony of 130 cm, 37 different taxa were identified, which were separated into five ecological categories (trees, shrubs, ground herbs, algae and fern spores). The dating estimated suggests that the base of the bog was formed approximately 13,700 years BP, a period related to the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM). At that time the head of drainage would not have a connection to the piped drainage waterway of Independence river, local base level. According to the data obtained, we can affirm that in the region of the study area during the transition from the Pleistocene / Holocene to the present, there are no records of savannah, only grassland areas in the Pleistocene, inferred by the presence of ground herbs, especially Borreria and Asteraceae found in 12,700 years BP 14C (estimated) and total absence of algae and pollen grains of tree species, suggesting drier hydrological regime. Occasionally, high precipitation phenomeno occurred on the slopes and promoted the degradation of soil horizons in the upper slope (nose), promoting the deposition of colluvial layers until the new water regime, wetter, allowing the establishment of a herbaceous vegetation accompanied by ferns, mainly in the lower areas. In about 10,600 years BP 14C (est.), maintenance of high humidity is established and high precipitation caused the water table surface in the hollow constantly accelerating the hidromorfization paleohorizonte A humic, and developing in the rainy seasons, a small pond in the central axis of the headboard. Fact evidenced by the presence of algae and a significant expansion of Araucaria angustifolia, which requires an annual rainfall exceeding 1,400 mm.yr-1, without a dry season. The predominant vegetation is replaced by the Araucaria Forest and Atlantic Rain Forest composed of genres trees, ground herbs and ferns. The maximum expansion of the Araucaria Forest is logged about 6,880 years BP 14C (est.), face the increase of all taxa recorded, mainly from Araucaria. The presence of algae was more pronounced, again suggesting the occurrence of a blade of water conserved by an abundant and regular rainfall. In the years that followed, probably to 1,060 years BP 14C (est.), a reduction of vegetation as a general rule, changing only in the present with the planting of araucaria after the creation of A.R.I.E. do Buriti. Sometime in this period, the hollow head of the drainage began to develop perennial drainage channels, allowing efficient drainage at the head of drainage, reducing moisture levels in the bog / O presente estudo identifica registros paleoambientais no remanescente de superfície aplainada VIII, no município de Pato Branco (SW PR), mais precisamente na Unidade de Conservação - A.R.I.E. do Buriti, através da análise de palinomorfos de uma turfeira, caracterização das formações superficiais e datação pelo método do 14C. Ao longo de um testemunho de 130 cm, foram identificados 37 táxons diferentes, os quais foram separados em cinco categorias ecológicas (árvores, arbustos, ervas terrestres, algas e esporos de pteridófitas). A datação estimada sugere que a base da turfeira formou-se à aproximadamente 13.700 anos A.P, período relacionado ao Último Máximo Glacial (UMG). Nessa época a cabeceira de drenagem não teria uma ligação canalizada com a rede de drenagem do rio Independência, nível de base local. De acordo com os dados obtidos, pode-se afirmar que na região da área de estudo, durante a passagem do Pleistoceno/Holoceno até o presente, não há registros de cerrado, apenas de áreas campestres no Pleistoceno, inferido pela presença de ervas terrestres, principalmente Asteraceae e Borreria encontrados em 12.700 anos A.P. (est.) e total ausência de algas e grãos de pólen de espécies arbóreas, sugerindo regime hidrológico mais seco. Eventualmente, fenômenos de alta precipitação ocorreram nas encostas e promoveram a degradação dos horizontes de solo na alta encosta (nose), promovendo a deposição de camadas coluviais até o novo regime hídrico, mais úmido, propiciando a instalação de uma vegetação herbácea acompanhada de pteridófitas, principalmente nas áreas mais baixas. Há cerca de 10.600 anos A.P. 14C (est.), a manutenção da elevação de umidade se estabelece e altos índices de precipitação fizeram com que o lençol freático aflorasse no hollow constantemente, acelerando a hidromorfização do paleohorizonte A húmico e desenvolvendo, nas estações chuvosas, uma pequena lagoa no eixo central da cabeceira. Fato evidenciado pela presença de algas e por uma expansão significativa de Araucaria angustifolia, a qual necessita de um regime pluviométrico superior a 1.400 mm.ano-1, sem estação seca definida. A vegetação predominante passa a ser de Floresta Ombrófila Mista e Floresta Pluvial Atlântica composta por gêneros arbóreos, ervas terrestres e pteridófitas. A máxima expansão da Floresta Ombrófila Mista é registrada a cerca de 6.880 anos A.P. (est.), face o aumento de todos os táxons registrados, principalmente Araucaria. A presença de algas ficou mais acentuada, sugerindo novamente a ocorrência de uma lâmina de água, conservada por um regime pluviométrico abundante e regular. Nos anos que se seguiram, provavelmente à 1.060 anos A.P. (est.), ocorreu uma redução da vegetação de modo generalizado, modificando-se apenas no presente com o plantio de araucárias após a criação da A.R.I.E. do Buriti. Em algum momento desse período o hollow da cabeceira de drenagem passou a desenvolver canais de drenagem perenes, que permitiram a drenagem eficiente na cabeceira, diminuindo os níveis de umidade da turfeira

Made available in DSpace on 2017-05-12T14:42:39Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Edson Bertoldo.pdf: 5608945 bytes, checksum: fd55c97dda4b7d20b2fa9438b702daf3 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2010-12-15 / This study identifies paleoenvironmental records in the remaining at planed surface VIII, in Pato Branco (SW PR), more precisely in conservation area (A.R.I.E. do Buriti) by analysis of palynomorphs in a bog, characterization of the surface formations and the 14C dating method. Throughout the testimony of 130 cm, 37 different taxa were identified, which were separated into five ecological categories (trees, shrubs, ground herbs, algae and fern spores). The dating estimated suggests that the base of the bog was formed approximately 13,700 years BP, a period related to the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM). At that time the head of drainage would not have a connection to the piped drainage waterway of Independence river, local base level. According to the data obtained, we can affirm that in the region of the study area during the transition from the Pleistocene / Holocene to the present, there are no records of savannah, only grassland areas in the Pleistocene, inferred by the presence of ground herbs, especially Borreria and Asteraceae found in 12,700 years BP 14C (estimated) and total absence of algae and pollen grains of tree species, suggesting drier hydrological regime. Occasionally, high precipitation phenomeno occurred on the slopes and promoted the degradation of soil horizons in the upper slope (nose), promoting the deposition of colluvial layers until the new water regime, wetter, allowing the establishment of a herbaceous vegetation accompanied by ferns, mainly in the lower areas. In about 10,600 years BP 14C (est.), maintenance of high humidity is established and high precipitation caused the water table surface in the hollow constantly accelerating the hidromorfization paleohorizonte A humic, and developing in the rainy seasons, a small pond in the central axis of the headboard. Fact evidenced by the presence of algae and a significant expansion of Araucaria angustifolia, which requires an annual rainfall exceeding 1,400 mm.yr-1, without a dry season. The predominant vegetation is replaced by the Araucaria Forest and Atlantic Rain Forest composed of genres trees, ground herbs and ferns. The maximum expansion of the Araucaria Forest is logged about 6,880 years BP 14C (est.), face the increase of all taxa recorded, mainly from Araucaria. The presence of algae was more pronounced, again suggesting the occurrence of a blade of water conserved by an abundant and regular rainfall. In the years that followed, probably to 1,060 years BP 14C (est.), a reduction of vegetation as a general rule, changing only in the present with the planting of araucaria after the creation of A.R.I.E. do Buriti. Sometime in this period, the hollow head of the drainage began to develop perennial drainage channels, allowing efficient drainage at the head of drainage, reducing moisture levels in the bog / O presente estudo identifica registros paleoambientais no remanescente de superfície aplainada VIII, no município de Pato Branco (SW PR), mais precisamente na Unidade de Conservação - A.R.I.E. do Buriti, através da análise de palinomorfos de uma turfeira, caracterização das formações superficiais e datação pelo método do 14C. Ao longo de um testemunho de 130 cm, foram identificados 37 táxons diferentes, os quais foram separados em cinco categorias ecológicas (árvores, arbustos, ervas terrestres, algas e esporos de pteridófitas). A datação estimada sugere que a base da turfeira formou-se à aproximadamente 13.700 anos A.P, período relacionado ao Último Máximo Glacial (UMG). Nessa época a cabeceira de drenagem não teria uma ligação canalizada com a rede de drenagem do rio Independência, nível de base local. De acordo com os dados obtidos, pode-se afirmar que na região da área de estudo, durante a passagem do Pleistoceno/Holoceno até o presente, não há registros de cerrado, apenas de áreas campestres no Pleistoceno, inferido pela presença de ervas terrestres, principalmente Asteraceae e Borreria encontrados em 12.700 anos A.P. (est.) e total ausência de algas e grãos de pólen de espécies arbóreas, sugerindo regime hidrológico mais seco. Eventualmente, fenômenos de alta precipitação ocorreram nas encostas e promoveram a degradação dos horizontes de solo na alta encosta (nose), promovendo a deposição de camadas coluviais até o novo regime hídrico, mais úmido, propiciando a instalação de uma vegetação herbácea acompanhada de pteridófitas, principalmente nas áreas mais baixas. Há cerca de 10.600 anos A.P. 14C (est.), a manutenção da elevação de umidade se estabelece e altos índices de precipitação fizeram com que o lençol freático aflorasse no hollow constantemente, acelerando a hidromorfização do paleohorizonte A húmico e desenvolvendo, nas estações chuvosas, uma pequena lagoa no eixo central da cabeceira. Fato evidenciado pela presença de algas e por uma expansão significativa de Araucaria angustifolia, a qual necessita de um regime pluviométrico superior a 1.400 mm.ano-1, sem estação seca definida. A vegetação predominante passa a ser de Floresta Ombrófila Mista e Floresta Pluvial Atlântica composta por gêneros arbóreos, ervas terrestres e pteridófitas. A máxima expansão da Floresta Ombrófila Mista é registrada a cerca de 6.880 anos A.P. (est.), face o aumento de todos os táxons registrados, principalmente Araucaria. A presença de algas ficou mais acentuada, sugerindo novamente a ocorrência de uma lâmina de água, conservada por um regime pluviométrico abundante e regular. Nos anos que se seguiram, provavelmente à 1.060 anos A.P. (est.), ocorreu uma redução da vegetação de modo generalizado, modificando-se apenas no presente com o plantio de araucárias após a criação da A.R.I.E. do Buriti. Em algum momento desse período o hollow da cabeceira de drenagem passou a desenvolver canais de drenagem perenes, que permitiram a drenagem eficiente na cabeceira, diminuindo os níveis de umidade da turfeira

This article presents key data and discussion about the initial peopling of northwestern South America, highlighting its strategic significance in the continental context, cultural variability and landscape change over time. In Colombia there is very little relevant information regarding occupations prior to 12,000 BP; in contrast, the information is abundant relative to a number ofearly contexts during the Pleistocene-Holocene transition. The variability among unifacial and bifacial lithic assemblages reported in different physiographic regions indicates alternative models on early settlement to regional level. Considering the importanceof the inter-Andean valley of the Magdalena River, this article emphasizes the archaeological contexts and paleoenvironmental information, highlighting environmental impacts associated not only to global climate change, but in particular of the effects ofvolcanism. The article stresses the findings and chronologies of bifacial lithic assemblages of the Magdalena Valley in relation to the early archaeology of northwestern South America. / En este artículo se presentan los principales datos y reflexiones asociados al poblamiento inicial del noroccidente de Sudamérica debido a su significado estratégico en el marco continental, se destacará la variabilidad cultural y se enfatizarán los cambios depaisajes en el transcurso del tiempo. En Colombia existe muy poca información relevante relacionada con las ocupaciones anterioresa 12.000 AP; en contraste, la información es abundante en cuanto al número de contextos tempranos durante la transición Pleistoceno-Holoceno. La variabilidad entre los conjuntos líticos unifaciales y bifaciales reportados en distintas regiones fisiográficas plantea propuestas de modelos alternativos sobre el poblamiento temprano a escala regional. Considerando la importancia del valle interandino del río Magdalena, se recalcan los contextos arqueológicos e información paleoambiental. Asimismo, se destacan los impactos ambientales que demuestran por qué no perduraron las evidencias del Pleniglacial, lo que podría deberse a efectos asociados no solo al cambio climático global, sino, en particular, a causa del vulcanismo. Este trabajo resalta los hallazgos y cronologías de los conjuntos líticos bifaciales del valle del Magdalena en relación con la arqueología temprana del noroccidente de Sudamérica.

Après une simplification significative des méthodes de débitage durant l'Azilien, rompant progressivement avec les normes magdaléniennes, le retour au cours du Dryas récent à des productions lamino-lamellaires élaborées marque un tournant abrupt dans la tradition lithique. Bien qu'un certain flou pèse sur la chronologie des événements, les recherches menées depuis quelques années autour des industries de la transition Pléistocène-Holocène permettent de bien cerner les transformations survenues dans les modalités et les objectifs des productions lithiques. En revanche, malgré le fait que les interrogations des chercheurs soient largement orientées vers des reconstitutions d'ordre palethnographiques, les finalités fonctionnelles des outils, leur modalité d'emploi et les chaînes opératoires dans lesquelles ils sont impliqués restent des thèmes de recherche très peu abordés. C'est afin de pallier ce manque que nous avons exploré ces questions à travers l'analyse tracéologique des industries lithiques de deux sites du nord-ouest de la France issus d'opérations récentes (Le Buhot à Calleville, Eure ; La Fosse à Villiers-Charlemagne, Mayenne). L'apport de ce travail est appréciable à différentes échelles spatio-temporelles. Sur le temps court, les résultats obtenus révèlent des contrastes saisissants entre les occupations, tant au regard des activités menées par l'intermédiaire des outils que de l'économie des produits des débitages, et enrichissent le modèle de complémentarité des sites déjà proposé. Sur le temps long, le croisement des données fonctionnelles acquises ces trente dernières années entre l'Azilien et le premier Mésolithique et les autres données du registre archéologique permet de discuter des inflexions dans les systèmes techniques et les économies préhistoriques. / After a significant simplification of the flint reduction methods during the Azilian period, which broke gradually with Magdalenian standards, the return to sophisticated laminar productions during younger Dryas marks a strong split in the lithic tradition. Beyond a state of uncertainty towards chronological boundaries, the research which have been conducted for thirty years gives a good understanding about changes in flint production methods and aims. Even though most research focuses on palethnographic reconstitutions, the functional purposes of the flint industry and the chaînes opératoires in which flint tools are implicated remain insufficiently studied. And yet, these questions are of prime importance to meet the expectation of the palethnographic reconstitutions that archaeologists covet. To overcome this deficiency, the functional analysis of two north-western France sites (le Buhot site at Calleville, Eure ; la Fosse site at Villiers-Charlemagne, Mayenne) attributed to the Pleistocene-Holocene transition were undertaken. The contribution of this doctoral research can be appreciated at different spatio-temporal scales. In the short-term, the results raise striking contrasts between sites, as much in regard to the activities performed as to the debitage products economy, and improve the current model of settlement patterns. In the long-term, the interplay of techno-functional results and other archaeological data gives food for thought about changes in the technical systems and prehistoric economies.

Despite ecological, anthropological, and archaeological debate surrounding their desirability as habitats for human occupation, tropical rainforests have received relatively little attention in discussions of Homo sapiens' Pleistocene dispersal. Sri Lanka has yielded some of the earliest dated fossil and material culture evidence (c. 38-35,000 cal. years BP) for our species in a modern rainforest context beyond Africa. Nevertheless, assertions in Sri Lanka, and elsewhere, regarding early human rainforest reliance have been largely based on coarse or 'off-site' palaeoenvironmental records, and the overall role of these environments in human subsistence strategies has remained uncertain. This study applies stable carbon and oxygen isotope analysis to Sri Lankan human fossil, and associated faunal, tooth enamel dated to between 36-29,000 and 3,000 cal. years BP, in order to directly test human rainforest resource reliance, reconstruct a stable isotope ecology, and develop 'on-site' palaeoenvironmental records for Late Pleistocene-Holocene Sri Lankan rainforest foragers. Stable carbon and oxygen isotope analysis of modern Sri Lankan primates, and stable carbon, oxygen, and nitrogen isotope analysis of modern plant samples from the Polonnaruwa Nature Sanctuary, are also performed to investigate the ecology of Sri Lankan primates on which Late Pleistocene-Holocene forager subsistence strategies were focused. The results demonstrate that Homo sapiens relied on rainforest resources in Sri Lanka from c. 36-29,000 cal. years BP until the Iron Age c. 3 cal. years BP, even when open environments, and their corresponding resources, were available. This remains the case through periods of evident environmental change at the Last Glacial Maximum and even upon the arrival of agriculture in the island's tropical forests. The primate stable isotope data prove difficult to interpret as ecological niche separation in the absence of observation data. Nonetheless, humans were evidently able to not only use but also rapidly specialise in the exploitation of South Asia's rainforests.

Dans ce travail de thèse, certaines étendues d’eaux continentales regroupant plusieurs types de système de dépôt comme les lacs, mers intérieures et lagunes ont été regroupées au sein d'un nouveau groupe de système sédimentaire mentionnés sous l'appellation de Wind-driven Water Body (WWB).Afin de caractériser l'évolution et l'enregistrement sédimentaire d'un exemple de WWB, une étude sédimentologique intégrée du bassin quaternaire du Lac Saint-Jean (Québec, Canada) a été menée à partir d'une approche intégrant géologie de terrain et imagerie géophysique très haute résolution (CHIRP 2D). A l'échelle du cortège sédimentaire, le régime glaciaire à paraglaciaire de la sédimentation et le rebond glacio-isostatique ont contrôlé au premier ordre, à la fois la succession lithologique et les architectures grandes échelles du bassin pour générer un Cortège de Régression Forcée (CRF) atypique. Au sein de ce cortège de régression forcée fini-glaciaire, une dynamique de système WWB s'est progressivement affirmée à partir de 8,5 cal. ka BP. Elle s'est exprimée par la mise en place d'une dynamique littorale importante occasionnellement associée à une circulation interne générant des courants de fonds lors d'épisodes de vents forts.Finalement, l'analyse sédimentologique du bassin du Lac Saint-Jean a permis de dégager plusieurs interprétations ayant attrait (1) à l'évolution des systèmes WWB et (2) aux séquences de déglaciation en domaine précédemment englacé. De plus, ce travail représente une contribution à l'échelle régionale pour les modalités de la dernière déglaciation du Sud-Est du Québec. / In this study, a certain number of continental enclosed basins including several depositional systems such as lakes, inland seas or lagoons have been grouped in a new sort of sedimentary system referred to as Wind driven Water Body. To characterize the sedimentary evolution and record of a WWB basin, an integrated sedimentological study has been carried out on the quaternary Saint-Jean basin (Québec, Canada) based on field onshore geology and offshore geophysics (CHIRP 2D).At the system-tract scale, the glacial to paraglacial sedimentation and the glacio-isostatic rebound controlled at first-order the lithofacies succession and large-scale architectures to generate an original Falling Stage System Tract (FSST). Within this FSST, since 8.5 cal. ka BP a WWB related sedimentary evolution overprinted the glacial to paraglacial evolution. This expressed in the form of the emplacement of an important coastal dynamics, occasionally accompanied by a lake-scale hydrodynamics at the origins of bottom currents during strong wind to storm events.Finally, the sedimentological analysis of the Saint-Jean basin brought numerous interpretations related to (1) the sedimentary evolution of WWB systems and (2) deglaciation sequences in previously glaciated domains. In addition, this work supplements the regional quaternary framework concerning the latest deglaciation evolution in southeast Quebec.

El objetivo de esta tesis doctoral es el análisis de las preferencias en la selección de los lugares de asentamiento por parte de las sociedades de cazadores-recolectores de la transición Pleistoceno Final - Holoceno (es decir, Magdaleniense y Aziliense) de la mitad oriental de la Cornisa Cantábrica. Más concretamente, se trata de de analizar, calculando una serie de características y variables, la localización de una serie de yacimientos asignados a este periodo, para tratar de identificar un patrón o patrones concretos en el tipo de lugares elegidos por las comunidades humanas para situar sus lugares de hábitat, si pueden diferenciarse distintos tipos de asentamientos en función de su localización, y si existe un cambio en las preferencias en la selección de los lugares de ocupación con respecto a momentos anteriores. Para llevar a cabo estos análisis, se emplea un Sistema de Información Geográfica. / The objective of this thesis is the analysis of preferences in the choice of settlement sites by the hunter-gatherers of Final Pleistocene - Holocene transition (i.e., Magdalenian and Azilian) from eastern Cantabrian coast. More specifically, the location of a number of sites is analyzed by calculating different characteristics and variables, to try to identify a specific pattern or patterns in the type of sites selected by human communities to bring their places of habitat, to differentiate different types of settlements based on their location, and whether a change in preferences in the selection of places of employment with respect to earlier periods. To perform these tests, a Geographic Information System is used to calculate the variables considered.