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PHD THESIS DEFENSE – LEA D’OLIVEIRA – TUESDAY 5 MAY 2026

The PhD thesis defence of Léa d’Oliveira will take place on Tuesday 5 May 2026 at 2 pm on the subject “Quantification of Holocene palaeoclimates in the Central Mediterranean using a combined pollen and lipid biomarker (brGDGTs) approach”.

The defence will take place in the Louis Thaler Room – University of Montpellier, 2 Place Eugène Bataillon, CC065, Building 22, 1st floor, 34095 Montpellier Cedex 5, France.

A reception will be held at the end of the defense and will take place outside Building 22. The defense will also be accessible via videoconference.

Abstract:

Since the beginning of the Neolithic period (around 6000 years ago BCE), the Mediterranean Basin has seen the emergence of autumn lambing, a phenomenon unique to this region. The reasons for the establishment and development of this practice are unclear, but the seasonal characteristics of the Mediterranean climate may have been a determining factor. This thesis studies the spatio-temporal variability of the climate in the central Mediterranean at the end of the Late Glacial and Holocene periods (∼15,000 years ago), its characteristics and the forcing mechanisms at play, to provide a framework for understanding the relationship between past climate and the livestock farming practices of Neolithic communities. Quantitative reconstructions of palaeoclimate have been carried out for southern France and Italy using a multi-proxy approach that combines fossil pollen and GDGT (glycerol dialkyl glycerol tetraether) lipid biomarkers. A regional synthesis of the Holocene climate variability was conducted across 38 fossil pollen sequences using a multi-method approach. Case studies were then carried out on three sedimentary sequences – Lago Grande di Monticchio (southern Italy), Canroute (southern Massif Central) and Montady (Southern France lowlands) – for which fossil pollen and GDGTs were combined to reconstruct the Late Glacial and the Holocene palaeoclimates and palaeoenvironments of the sites. My results show the presence of highly contrasting spatio-temporal climate patterns in summer, with a strong north-south component, where latitudes 41-43 °N act as a climate transition zone, and a west-east component, where a climate gradient is present. The Mediterranean climate established itself around 8000 years ago and had a greater impact on southern regions than on northern regions. This study highlights that at the beginning of the Neolithic period (around 6000 years ago BCE), Mediterranean climatic conditions were favourable for the establishment of autumn lambing, but that they may have led to different regional adaptation behaviours among farmers in response to climatic constraints, i.e., autumn lambing, early winter lambing, or spring lambing only.

Composition of the examination board:
Nathalie DUBOIS, Professor, ETH Zurich – Reviewer
Gonzalo JIMÉNEZ-MORENO, Professor, University of Granada – Reviewer
Cécile BLANCHET, Senior Researcher, GFZ Helmholtz Centre for Geosciences Potsdam – Examiner
Pascale BRACONNOT, Director, of Research, LSCE–IPSL Paris-Saclay – Examiner
Vincent LEBRETON, Professor, National Museum of Natural History, Paris – Examiner
Odile PEYRON, Director of Research, University of Montpellier – Supervisor
Guillemette MÉNOT, Professor, École normale supérieure de Lyon – Co-supervisor
Sébastien JOANNIN, Research Fellow, University of Montpellier – Advisor
Nathalie COMBOURIEU-NEBOUT, Research Director, National Museum of Natural History, Paris – Guest

The thesis abstract is attached, and the defence will be conducted in French.




Amélie Duquesne
Amélie Duquesne
Associate Professor of Geography

OpenEdition suggests that you cite this post as follows:
Amélie Duquesne (April 25, 2026). PHD THESIS DEFENSE – LEA D’OLIVEIRA – TUESDAY 5 MAY 2026. AFEQ CNF-INQUA. Retrieved June 10, 2026 from https://doi.org/10.58079/164tx


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