Ambiance, Structure, Et Stratégie: Recherche Sur L'Appréciation Du Paysage Forestier Par Les Campeurs

L'utilisation efficace des espaces consacrés aux loisirs et l'optimalisation de la satisfaction des usagers exigent la compréhension des relations entre ceux-ci et leur environnement. Cet article explore les liens entre 1'attraction d'un site de camping en milieu forestier et I'ambiance qui y règne. On montre d'abord comment cette notion d'ambiance peut-être mise en ceuvre à travers le concept écologique de structure de la végétation forestière. L'étude montre ensuite le rôle important que jouent ces caractéristiques structurelles dans le choix d'un site pour l'usager. Ce choix est le résultat de stratégies qui, tout en s'adaptant aux particularités du milieu, visent la satisfaction de certaines préférences fondamentales du campeur.
The most efficient use of a recreational area as well as the optimization of user satisfaction require the elucidation of the relationships between recreationists and their environment. This article investigates the links between the attractiveness of camping sites in a forest environment and the ambiance which characterizes these sites. It is first shown how the notion of ambiance can be operationalized through the ecological concept of forest structure. Then the study points out the role of this structural dimension of a forest environment as a factor of the user's choice. This choice results from strategies which are aimed at the satisfaction of some of the camper's fundamental preferences while, at the same time, being adapted to environmental characteristics.     

Roman Rhine settlement dynamics evidenced by coin distribution in a fluvial environment (Oedenburg,Upper Rhine,France)

On the basis of archaeological and alluvial records, this paper presents the first spatial analysis of artefacts in relation to the evolution of the Rhine River, at the Gallo-Roman site of Oedenburg, during the first four centuries AD. The dataset consisted of several thousand Roman artefacts found by pedestrian prospecting over the last twenty years, over half of which were coins. This dataset was used together with high-resolution topography and geomagnetic mapping, to reconstruct settlement evolution, both on the terrace and in the floodplain. A comprehensive monetary chart has been compiled for the Oedenburg site, which highlights four major phases of settlement. These results provide a possible causal link connecting historical factors and alluvial events with intra-site evolution. Therefore, while changes observed during Phases I (until AD 68), II (AD 69 to AD 180) and III (AD 180 to AD 295) seem largely related to historical and societal events, Phase IV (AD 295 to AD 402) shows patterns of abandonment of the lower part of the floodplain that may well be related to an unusually humid period in the fourth century. These results are set in a broader context, from the Rhine catchment area to the Alps, and are in agreement with the wet conditions also documented in alluvial, lacustrine, geomorphological and palynological records in Germany (Lahn River, Lake Constance, Lake Nussbaumen, Kaisersthul area and the Black Forest). Studying the intra-site spatial distribution of artefacts with high temporal constraints, at a long-lived site with contrasted topography, opens new avenues for the detection of discreet events such as a higher water table, affecting only the lower zone.     

New evidence for Upper Palaeolithic small domestic dogs in South-Western Europe

Osteoarchaeology and genetics agree that the earliest dog domestications took place during the Upper Palaeolithic. However, they partially disagree about the process of domestication. The former indicated multiple origins, when some of the results of the latter suggested that dogs mainly came from a Chinese centre of domestication. In this study, we describe and discuss new evidence for Late Glacial small dogs in the South-West (Pont d’Ambon and Montespan) and North of France (Le Closeau). Special attention was paid to the possibility of miss-identification between small early dogs and dholes (Cuon alpinus), a middle-sized Canidae, the size of which can be similar to early small dogs. Detailed analyses of the archaeological contexts alongside that of taphonomy, morphoscopy, morphometry and pathology, identified 49 small canid remains from the three sites. They allowed us to exclude the presence of dholes and to conclude that they were all small Upper Paleolithic dogs. These, together with other more sparse discoveries, confirmed the presence of Western European Upper Paleolithic Small (WEUPS) dogs from, at least, the Middle Magdalenian to the end of the Epipaleolithic (i.e. 15,000–11,500 cal BP). As they are contemporaneous with the much larger Russian Upper Paleolithic dogs, they plea for several Euro-Asian origins for Late Palaeolithic dogs.