a b s t r a c tThe analysis of phytoliths, pollen, charcoal and other macroremains was carried out in the neolithic shelter of ''La Grande Rivoire'', Vercors massif (French Alps). The results show the predominance of tree species, in the form of phytoliths, clustered pollen, stomata, small branches charcoal, needles, bark, buds. The practice of leaf fodder is already known in the alpine and circum-alpine area from archaeological and historical sources. The analyses of the neolithic dung levels of ''La Grande Rivoire'' illustrate the use of leafy and flowering tree branches as fodder. The results also suggest that some species were used for special purpose in relation with the tending of livestock (litter, dietary supplement, veterinary practices).

International audienceMinimum rates of solid (SSY) and dissolved (DSY) sediment yield (SY) were evaluated in t/km 2 per yr from sediments stored in the Sarliève palaeolake (French Massif Central) for seven phases of the Lateglacial and Holocene up to the seventeenth century. The catchment (29 km2), mainly formed of limestones and marls, is located in an area rich in archaeological sites in the Massif Central. The respective impacts of human activities and climate on SY were compared by quantification of human settlements through archaeological survey and palynological data. During the Lateglacial and early Holocene up to about 7500 yr cal. BP, variations in SSY and DSY rates were mainly related to climate change with higher rates during colder periods (Younger Dryas and Preboreal) and lower rates during warmer periods (Bölling-Alleröd and Boreal). However, CF1 tephra fallout induced a sharp increase in SY during the Alleröd. During the middle and late Holocene after 7500 yr cal. BP, SSY and DSY greatly increased (by factors of 6.5 and 2.8, respectively), particularly during the Final Neolithic at about 5300 yr cal. BP when the climate became cooler and more humid. After this date, at least 75% of the SSY increase and more than 90% of the DSY increase resulted from human activities, but SSY rates showed little variation during Protohistoric and Historic Times up to the seventeenth century. SSY and DSY rates and DSY/SSY ratio indicate that catchment soils began to form during the Lateglacial and Preboreal, thickened considerably during the Boreal and Atlantic, finally thinning (rejuvenation) mainly as the result of human-induced erosion during the sub-Boreal and sub-Atlantic. Increased mechanical erosion during the late Holocene also induced an increase in chemical erosion

A very rich assemblage of ancient brown bears (Ursus arctos arctos Linnaeus, 1758) from Mont Ventoux caves (France) has been investigated using carbon and nitrogen isotopic composition of bone collagen. The isotopic data showed that these bears were feeding in an open environment and consumed mainly plant food items. The access to livestock meat appeared to have been much more limited for these ancient brown bears than for 20th-century Pyrenean bears, suggesting that husbandry patterns had kept bears away from domestic herds. The isotopic variations observed are large according to the ontogenic stage of the bears when they died, which could be accounted for by the isotopic changes that occur during hibernation of the lactating female bear and by different time periods averaged in bone collagen, and without the need to involve different food resources for cubs relative to adult bears.Résumé : Un très riche assemblage d'ours bruns (Ursus arctos arctos Linnaeus, 1758) anciens de grottes du Mont Ventoux (France) a été étudié en utilisant les compositions isotopiques du carbone et de l'azote du collagène osseux. Les données isotopiques montrent que ces ours se nourrissaient dans un environnement ouvert et qu'ils consommaient une majorité de nourriture végétale. L'accès au bétail domestique semble avoir été beaucoup plus limité pour les ours anciens que pour des ours pyrénéens du 20 ième siècle, ce qui suggère que les modes d'élevages maintenaient les ours éloignés des troupeaux. Les variations isotopiques observées selon le stade ontogénique au décès des ours sont importantes. Elles peuvent être liées aux changements isotopiques qui se produisent pendant l'hibernation de l'ourse allaitante et aux différentes périodes moyennées dans le collagène osseux, sans qu'il ne soit nécessaire de faire intervenir des sources alimentaires différentes pour les oursons et pour les ours adultes. Bocherens et al. 586

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Attempt at the palaecology of a landscape : the Valdain Basin (Drome, France) in the Holocene. The geoarcheological research conducted on the Valdain Basin, in the middle Rhone Valley, represents an attempt to systematically study a river basin. A systemic approach has enabled us to apply some ecological concepts to the different phases of the Holocene and to answer some questions about the spatio-temporal dynamics of soils, watercourses, plants and agropastoral practices. In each area of the basin, geomorphological phenomena caused by a complex combination of factors create, transform or destroy the paleoecological records representative of past bi¬ otopes. This taphonomic heterogeneity is added to the one inherent in the initial organisation of the landscape. To cope with them, cores have been set up in multiple areas of the basin. A contextual analysis is carried out on each lithostratigraphic unit which was identified in the field from the concepts of soil micromorphology. This makes it possible to hierarchise the informations which are grouped into one unit, due to the phenomena of erosion and/or accumulation. Lastly, a comparison of geomorphological, pedological, anthracological, malacological and palynological data obtained on each pedosedimentary sequence allows us to perceive the heterogeneity of landscape and its evolution over time. A few applications of this approach are presented in this article.

The results of pollen analyses of hyaena coprolites from the Early Pleistocene cave of Trlica in northern Montenegro and the Late Pleistocene cave of Baranica in southeast Serbia are described. The Early Pleistocene Pachycrocuta brevirostris, and the Late Pleistocene Crocuta spelaea are coprolite-producing species. Although the pollen concentration was rather low, the presented analyses add considerably to the much-needed knowledge of the vegetation of the central Balkans during the Pleistocene. Pollen extracted from a coprolite from the Baranica cave indicates an open landscape with the presence of steppe taxa, which is in accordance with the recorded conditions and faunal remains. Pollen analysis of the Early Pleistocene samples from Trlica indicate fresh and temperate humid climatic conditions, as well as the co-existence of several biotopes which formed a mosaic landscape in the vicinity of the cave

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