The impact of periglacial processes on Palaeolithic sites: The case of sorted patterned grounds

The open-air site of Tolbor 16 (Northern Mongolia): Preliminary results and perspectives

“…Sub-zero temperatures prevail from September to May and are then followed by a rainy season. This suggests that even at relatively low elevation, freeze-thaw and periglacial processes similar to those observed in higher elevation (Bertran et al, 2010) may have played a role in the site formation.…”

Autochthony and orientation patterns in Olduvai Bed I: a re-examination of the status of post-depositional biasing of archaeological assemblages from FLK North (FLKN)

“…Thus far, most of the experimental work carried out in this emerging discipline has been conducted in glacial environments, work dealing with the movement and orientation of objects on thawing slopes (Harris et al, 2001) or due to solifluction processes, which cause an anisotropic diffusion of materials (Harris et al, 1997;Todisco et al, 2000;Hugenholtz and Lewkowicz, 2002;Lenoble et al, 2008). Geomorphic observations and experiments in glacial contexts have also focused on sorted patterned grounds, regarding the formation of polygons, stripes and stone-banked solifluction lobes (Washburn, 1979;Williams and Smith, 1989;Harris et al, 1993;Todisco et al, 2000;Matsuoka et al, 2003;Kessler and Werner, 2003;Bertran et al, 2010), as well as on documenting these processes in archaeological contexts (Wilson and Clark, 1991;Lenoble et al, 2008;Bertran et al, 2010). The orientation of till fabric has received a substantial amount of attention in structural geological studies.…”

“…Since unimodal orientation patterns are documented under intense creep and solifluction, a bimodal longitudinal-oblique distribution of item orientation is not necessarily caused by downslope erosion or rainwash (Bertran et al, 2010). However, some downslope erosion processes (e.g., items lying on a slope exposed to wind and rain) are different from solifluction and debris flows and need not necessarily be intense.…”

Gravity and the formation of the archaeological record: Main concepts and methodological tools

“…For the last two decades, a French team has focused on long‐term experiments in periglacial environments resulting in the most systematic set of data concerning slope processes in extreme nonvegetated environments affecting the archaeological record (Bertran & Texier, ; Bertran & Texier, , ; Bertran et al., , Bertran, Bordes, Barre, Lenoble, & Mourre, , ; Bertran, Lenoble, Todisco, Desrosiers, & Sørensen, , ; Lenoble, ; Lenoble & Bertran, ; Lenoble et al., ; Texier et al., ). These actualistic studies found that, on slopes in periglacial settings, solifluction can create lobes that move irregularly at 1–10 cm/yr.…”