Date of death of domestic caprines assessed by oxygen isotopic analysis of developing molars: Implications for deciphering the calendar of pastoral activities in prehistory

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N. Lazzerini, A. Zazzo, A. Coulon, Ts. Turbat, C. Marchina, S. Lepetz, « Date of death of domestic caprines assessed by oxygen isotopic analysis of developing molars : Implications for deciphering the calendar of pastoral activities in prehistory », Journal of Archaeological Science, 120

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The assessment of the date of death (DOD) of animals found in archaeological sites provides insights into the exploitation of their environment by ancient mobile and sedentary populations. In an attempt to overcome the limitations of the traditional methods, we determine the DOD of domestic caprines using sequential oxygen isotope analysis of developing tooth enamel. We built a reference set composed of developing molars from 14 modern sheep and goats from Western and Central Mongolia with known DOD. The teeth were sequentially sampled, and δ18O sequences were modelled using a cosine function in order to position the lowermost δ18O value (δf) within the annual cycle. We found that δf values are strongly linearly correlated with the DOD (R2 = 0.88), allowing the use of this regression to estimate the DOD with a precision of about ±25 d (1σ). This method was applied to determine the DOD of caprines found in two graves in the Xiongnu necropolis of Egiin Gol, Mongolia. We determined a slaughter date of late July and late September for the two graves, respectively, suggesting that burial occurred during the warm season. By combining this information with age at death assessed using tooth eruption stages and tooth wear patterns, we were also able to determine that caprine birth occurred mostly in April and was strongly controlled within this seasonal window by the herders, much like in Mongolia today. (source)

Charlotte Marchina est maître de conférence et anthropologue à l’Inalco

Season of death of domestic horses deposited in a ritual complex from Bronze Age Mongolia: Insights from oxygen isotope time-series in tooth enamel

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N. Lazzerini, A. Zazzo, A. Coulon, C. Marchina, N. Bayarkhuu, V. Bernard, M. Cervel, D. Fiorillo, D. Joly, C. Noûs, Ts. Turbat, S. Lepetz, « Season of death of domestic horses deposited in a ritual complex from Bronze Age Mongolia : Insights from oxygen isotope time-series in tooth enamel », Journal of Archaeological Science : Reports, 32.

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The horse, as a domestic animal, had a strong impact on the organisation of ancient societies of the eastern steppes of Eurasia by enabling people to move faster and transport goods and people more efficiently. This newfound mobility was accompanied by profound changes in the expression of ritual practices, and horses are repeatedly found in funerary monuments of the Late Bronze Age in Mongolia. While recent advances in research have highlighted the link between the presence of horses in ritual monuments and their role in the pastoralist diet, little is yet known about their practical contexts – including the season in which the animals were slaughtered and the time of year when the funerary and ritual sites were visited. In modern Mongolia, horse meat is consumed during winter, but the antiquity of this practice is currently undocumented. Here, we use stable oxygen isotope variations (δ18O) recorded by developing molars of horses to estimate the season of slaughter of two horses deposited at the Late Bronze Age khirgisuur of Burgast (Bayan-Ölgii province, western Mongolia). The analysis of a modern reference set consisting of five horses from the same locality shows that it is possible to date the time of death with a resolution of the order of the season. Isotopic analysis of the two ancient horses suggests that they were slaughtered in early (November) and late (February) winter. Zooarchaeological evidence reveals that while the first horse was deposited shortly after death, the second was deposited several months after death, following open-air exposure. These preliminary results provide an important landmark to document the multi-dimensional aspects (economic, social, as well as cultural) of the role of horses in the ritual practices of Bronze Age Mongolia. They indicate that the timing of horse deposition is more complex than previously thought. They also demonstrate that winter slaughtering of horses dates back to the Late Bronze Age and was probably constrained by a combination of economic and practical decisions regarding meat preservation. (source)

Charlotte Marchina est maître de conférence et anthropologue à l’Inalco

Horse sacrifice and butchery in Bronze Age Mongolia

L’article dans la revue

William TAYLOR, Marcello FANTONI, Charlotte MARCHINA, Sébastien Lepetz, Jamsranjav BAYARSAIKHAN, Jean-Luc HOULE, Victoria PHAM, William FITZHUGH, “Horse sacrifice and butchery in Bronze Age Mongolia”, Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports, vol. 31, juin 2020

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Discussion autour de la notion de patriarcat, en Chine et en anthropologie

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CAPDEVILLE-ZENG Catherine. « Discussion autour de la notion de patriarcat, en Chine et en anthropologie », L’Homme, vol. 229, no. 1, 2019, pp. 99-134.

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Encens, fleurs et applaudissements Quelques théâtres chinois traditionnels dans la modernisation

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CAPDEVILLE-ZENG Catherine, « Encens, fleurs et applaudissements », L’ethnographie, 1 | 2019, mis en ligne le 02 septembre 2019

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Les clubs de presse au Japon : le journaliste, l’entreprise et ses sources

L’article dans le journal

CASTELLVI César, 2019, « Les clubs de presse au Japon : le journaliste, l’entreprise et ses sources », Sur le journalisme, Vol. 8, no 2, 124-137 pp.

With well over 100 million adherents, Buddhism emerged from near-annihilation during the Cultural Revolution to become the largest religion in China today. Despite this, Buddhism’s rise has received relatively little scholarly attention. The present volume, with contributions by leading scholars in sociology, anthropology, political science, and religious studies, explores the evolution of Chinese Buddhism in the post-Mao period with a depth not seen before in a single study. Chapters critically analyze the effects of state policies on the evolution of Buddhist institutions; the challenge of rebuilding temples under the watchful eye of the state; efforts to rebuild monastic lineages and schools left broken in the aftermath of Mao’s rule; and the development of new lay Buddhist spaces, both at temple sites and online.

Through its multidisciplinary perspectives, the book provides both an extensive overview of the social and political conditions under which Buddhism has grown as well as discussions of the individual projects of both monastic and lay entrepreneurs who dynamically and creatively carve out spaces for Buddhist growth in contemporary Chinese society. As a wide ranging study that illuminates many facets of China’s Buddhist revival, Buddhism after Mao will be required reading for scholars of Chinese Buddhism and of Buddhism and modernity more broadly. Its detailed case studies examining the intersections among religion, state, and contemporary Chinese society will be welcomed by sociologists and anthropologists of China, political scientists focusing on the role of religion in state formation in Asian societies, and all those interested in the relationship between religion and social change. (source : Sur le journalisme)

César Castellvi est postdoctorant, financé par la Fondation du Japon, et rattaché à l’IFRAE

Les Aphorismes de Sakya (XIIIe s.) : formes tibétaines, brèves et sages, leur histoire et leur usage au Tibet

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 Actes du XXXe colloque de la Villa Kérylos, 11-12 octobre 2019

Cet article propose de réfléchir aux raisons du succès du célèbre recueil tibétain de quatrains sapientiaux, Le trésor des précieux aphorismes (tib. Legs bshad rin po che’i gter), plus connu sous le nom des Aphorismes de Sakya (tib. Sa skya legs bshad). Rédigé par le maître bouddhiste Sakya Paṇḍita Künga Gyaltsän (tib. Sa skya Paṇḍita Kun dga’ rgyal mtshan, 1182-1251), l’un des plus éminents savants tibétains de son temps, il compte 457 aphorismes (tib. legs bshad, littéralement “belles paroles”), parfois condensés jusqu’à en être énigmatiques, répartis en neuf sections. Archétype du recueil de quatrains moraux, influencé par des modèles indiens et regorgeant de références culturelles à l’Inde, il conserve plus de huit cents ans après sa rédaction une immense popularité et ce, dans toutes les couches de la population. L’article passe en revue les recueils de type gnomique qui l’ont précédé au Tibet, puis décrit ces Aphorismes de Sakya dans leurs caractéristiques formelles tout en s’intéressant au contexte historico-religieux où ils ont émergé. Il replace ensuite cette œuvre dans la carrière intellectuelle et politique de son auteur, pour s’interroger enfin sur ses usages et son utilité. Il émet l’hypothèse que la bonne fortune de ces quatrains est due au prestige de leur auteur, à leur élégance formelle, à leur facilité de mémorisation, certes, mais aussi au fait qu’ils proposent à leurs lecteurs le double objectif d’une progression spirituelle et d’une connaissance fine de la société humaine. C’est un vade mecum à l’usage des laïcs, genre littéraire qui n’est pas si fréquent dans la production savante tibétaine, pléthorique mais très majoritairement réservée à l’usage des religieux. 

Françoise Robin is a professor of Tibetan language and literature at Inalco in Paris. She has done extensive research on Tibetan contemporary literature and filmmaking and has translated many novels and short stories from Tibetan into French and English.