Musée de l'Homme

Archaeological research conducted as part of the PCR and TerriFer project in the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté region has identified Puisaye as a major center of primary iron production, active from the Iron Age through to the end of the Middle Ages. A total of 110 slag heaps were investigated and sampled through surface surveys, excavations and waste collection. The bloomery slags were classified based on their morphology, chemical composition (by ICP-MS-AES), and mineralogical (by optical microscopy, SEM-EDS and XRD) characteristics. These data were cross-referenced with 120 radiocarbon dates, allowing us to associate specific slag types with distinct periods of activity and to track technological changes over time. For the early periods, changes are mostly characterized by an evolution of the architecture of the furnaces. The late Iron Age and Antiquity are periods of experimentation with new practices, and a time of major innovation in the way that techniques were conducted. For the Middle Ages, a new uniformity in the smelting production is documented. This makes Puisaye a key region for studying the long-term evolution of iron smelting techniques in Western Europe.

Cranial morphological analysis and foramina of the skull base in a cohort of 75 patients with Moyamoya disease.A comparative study with fossil populations of Homo sapiens scanned from different regions Analyse de la morphologie crnienne et des foramens de la base du crne sur une cohorte de 75 patients souffrant de la maladie de Moyamoya.

Abstract Pathogenic spillovers from animals into humans have catalyzed epidemics throughout history. They result from multiple factors. One such factor, human-animal contact, remains poorly understood. Current studies often neglect variability in human-animal engagements across ecological zones and the broader processes bringing people, animals, and pathogens into engagement. We investigated factors and longer-term processes shaping human-animal contacts and risks of zoonotic spillover in a region experiencing landscape fragmentation. We conducted our mixed-methods investigation in three villages along an ecological gradient of forest fragmentation in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), a hotspot of biodiversity and disease emergence. Among 24 village participants, we collected daily activities and contacts with highly diverse animal species to evaluate the types and frequencies of these contacts. We developed a cluster analysis to categorize classes of animals according to type and frequency of contact. We also conducted transects to estimate animal species abundance according to village proximity. We tested the influence of animal species abundance, human activities, gender, and village on human-animal contact frequency. We conducted ethnographic and ethnohistorical interviews and observations to explore changing human-animal relations. Participants had physical and environmental contact with 61 different animal species. We found three classes of animal species with which participants had most frequent physical and environmental contact. Historical processes and human activities, avoidance toward some animal species, and relative abundance of species contribute to shape contemporary human-animal contacts, and more broadly, potential risks of exposures to zoonotic pathogens. Our modeling of gender, village, relative abundance and human activities on animals clustered by contact frequency, however, yielded few predictors of contact frequency. We identify factors and processes associated with human-animal contacts in an ecologically varied zone and its categorization of contact profiles. Future studies should explore a wider array of human-animal contacts and situate them in their historical contexts. Author Summary Pathogenic spillovers from animals into humans have catalyzed epidemics throughout history. These spillovers result from many factors, although one –– human-animal contact –– is poorly understood. The variability of human-animal interactions and historical changes shaping interactions between people, animals, and pathogens are not well addressed. Our mixed-methods study explored factors and longer-term processes affecting human-animal contacts and risks of spillover in a fragmented forest of the Democratic Republic of Congo. We found that participants had physical and environmental contact with 61 different animal species. We identified three classes of animal species with which participants had most frequent physical and environmental contact. These classes were shaped by three major factors: historical changes affecting human activities and ecologies; human preferences to avoid certain species; and relative abundance of animal species. More broadly, these classes reflected potential risks of exposures to zoonotic pathogens. Although our model to predict how gender, village, relative abundance and human activities influenced these animal classes clustered by contact frequency, it yielded few predictors. Our study did, however, identify factors and processes associated with human-animal contacts in an fragmented forest zone. We recommend that future studies explore a wider array of human-animal contacts, situating them in their historical contexts.

Crossover formation during meiosis generates genetic diversity. In many species most crossovers display interference, meaning they are spaced more evenly than expected by chance, and are called class I crossovers. Class II crossovers, a minority pathway, are believed to lack substantial interference. Here, using whole-genome recombination maps, we examine the impact of mismatch repair (MMR) on the formation and distribution of crossovers in Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Loss of the MMR protein Msh2 increases the uniformity of crossover distributions—an effect that is independent of changes in crossover frequency. Simulations indicate that this effect is driven by increases in the class I crossover proportion without any change in interference strength. Consistent with this view, distributions of Zip3 foci, specific markers of class I crossovers, are unchanged by MSH2 deletion. Notably, in wild-type cells, fewer crossovers arise in regions of higher polymorphism density—a skew that depends on both Msh2 and Zip3. Taken together, our results indicate a dual influence of Msh2 on recombination: suppression of class I crossovers in regions of higher polymorphism density, whilst unexpectedly promoting class II crossover formation. Our findings highlight how MMR shapes the landscape of genetic exchange, and links recombination to sequence divergence and its role in speciation.

Across human cultures and historical periods, women, on average, live longer than men, a pattern best understood from a comparative evolutionary perspective. Here, we analyzed adult life expectancy in 528 mammal and 648 bird species in zoos. Like humans, 72% of mammals exhibited a female life expectancy advantage, while 68% of birds showed a male advantage, as expected from the harmful effects of sex chromosomes described by the heterogametic sex hypothesis. Yet, sex differences varied widely. In zoos, we found strong evidence that this variation generally correlated with both the mating system and sexual size dimorphism. Although with weaker evidence, the patterns remained consistent in populations from the wild, with an even larger effect of the mating system. Thus, even in zoos, where environmental pressures are largely reduced, precopulatory sexual selection seems to play a fundamental role in shaping sex differences in life expectancy in mammals and birds.

Abstract The Col de Dio palaeontological site yields the first swimming trails of fishes from the continental Permian deposits of the Lodève Basin (southern France). Several morphologies of trails were distinguished, each of them including one, two or four thin, horizontal and sinusoidal grooves/ridges. Trails are ascribed to Undichna bina, Undichna britannica and Undichna unisulca. They co-occur with arthropod body remains (e.g. “conchostracans”, triopsids), invertebrate traces (cf. Cochlichnus, Diplichnites, and Diplopodichnus) and swimming tracks of tetrapods (Characichnos). The sedimentological analysis conducted at the Col de Dio tracksite indicates the presence of two orders of stratigraphic sequences that rule the alternation of humid and arid cycles in an endorheic terminal mud-dominated floodplain and playa-lake environment. Although body fossils of fishes remain unknown in the Salagou Formation, the presence of Undichna shows that ichthyofauna was an abundant component of the palaeoecosystem related to this formation. The diverse shapes of Undichna suggest a great diversity of fish morphologies and/or behaviours. This new discovery of fish trails co-occurring with tetrapod and arthropod tracks complements other coeval French tracksites, suggesting that such ichnofaunas were common in Permian terrestrial ecosystems from the Eastern Pangean intertropical zone.

Abstract Which animals do people fear most, and why? Exploring animal fears in humans is crucial for understanding reactions in the face of danger, addressing both innate and learned determinants. Because of the central role they are thought to have played in primate evolution, most studies have focused on the fear of snakes. Other studies that have looked at a wider range of animals have either focused on a limited number of species and/or sampled participants from a narrow range of geographical locations. To overcome these shortcomings, we developed an immersive online survey based on animal images matches, during which participants had to choose the animal they feared most. With responses from 17,353 participants from all continents, we were able to rank 184 species (mammals, reptiles, birds, arthropods and amphibians) on a fear scale. Our results showed that images of dangerous animals elicited frequent and rapid fear responses. However, danger alone was not sufficient to explain fear, as harmless animals also reached high fear scores. Fear responses varied with participants' age, geographical region of residence and level of declared biophobia. The discrepancy between actual levels of danger and declared fears in humans may be due to social transmission and increasing disconnection from natural environments. This study highlights the need to consider a wide range of animal species to identify and understand people's fear of certain species, integrating the complex relationship between ecological danger and socio‐cultural influences. Read the free Plain Language Summary for this article on the Journal blog.

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