Inferring temporalities separating ancient fires by multi-method study of sooty speleothems

Résumé En

Speleothems are known to be very good paleoenvironmental archives and very good dating supports. When they trap anthropic traces (soot, pigments), they are also excellent archaeological archive of human activities, such as those left by prehistoric fires.Absolute chronology using the uranium-thorium method can be build, and in some cases an annual resolution can be achieved by using laminae counting. They can be formed over long periods of time and thus potentially record long fire sequences. High-resolution analysis of combustion residues in speleothems can shed light on the multiple visits to archaeological sites and on the occupation surfaces marked by the fires. Multi-methods analyse on sooty speleothems can allow to discuss the temporalities of fire uses (such as the timing and frequency of single or multiple occupation events).In this presentation, we will present practical cases, and combine several methods (fuliginochronology, U/Th dating, UV fluorescence, Trace elements analysis) to show the potential of sooty speleothems as an archaeological archive. This will allow us to address both relative and absolute temporalities of the anthropic use of fire and to discuss the archaeological implications of access to such data. Especially on the oldest contexts, we will discuss how this approach can inform archaeological questions such as the control of fire, including the ignition capacity of ancient populations.