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This paper presents novel models for the Integrated Procurement and Lot-Sizing Problem with multiple customers and backlogging. Since allowing backlog in a traditional cost minimisation model involves dealing with intangible costs of not fulfilling the demand on time, we propose optimising service-levels while keeping the costs minimal using a budget constraint. The motivation of this study emanates from a manufacturing company that assembles commercial and industrial refrigeration equipment, using both purchased materials and in-house products. Instead of considering an aggregate demand, we consider the specific demand from various customers. This allows us to incorporate demand fulfillment decisions into the model in case of stock-outs by deciding which customers will have their orders backlogged.The fill-rate, or β service-level, is considered both globally and for customers and products individually. Computational experiments show that the service-level-driven models improve service when compared to the traditional cost model and also end up enforcing service equity among different customers at the expense of a deterioration in the global fill-rate.

The study of stone artifacts can provide crucial insights into various aspects of past human adaptation. Knowledge of the geographic provenance of the raw materials, in particular, can inform us of the mobility and resource exploitation strategies employed by past human groups. However, it is difficult to reliably infer dynamic human behaviours from the frequencies with which different raw material are represented at archaeological sites, particularly when the latter reflect the activities of individuals belonging to an extinct human species whose cognitive and physical abilities may have been markedly different from our own.This dissertation provides a new approach for understanding aspects of human adaptation in the Middle Palaeolithic on the basis of toolstone provenance. The approach centers on computer simulations and it is designed to maximize the potential of toolstone provenance information while minimizing reliance on possibly unfounded assumptions about human behaviour derived from studies of present-day societies. The approach is applied to the French Middle Palaeolithic site of the Bau de l’Aubesier, revealing, amongst other things, that the Neanderthal occupants of the site possessed excellent spatial memory and navigational abilities, regularly exploited a surprisingly large area, and appear to have treated stone resources in a strictly utilitarian manner.

Kammern-Grubgraben is among the few stratified Upper Palaeolithic sites in Central Europe dating to the Last Glacial Maximum which provided not only substantial amounts of archaeological materials but also extensive preserved occupational structures. Although the site has been known since the last quarter of the 19th century, systematic excavations didn’t start until the 1980’s. These were carried out subsequently by two different teams providing partly incongruent observations and interpretations. Renewed field investigations commenced in 2015 and aim at reassessing stratigraphy and chronology, settlement structures and occupational sequence, as well as mobility and economy. First results provide a robust multimethod chrono-stratigraphic bracket for occupation between Greenland Stadials GS-3 and GS-2.1. Artefact technology and typology point at supra-regional contacts to both the west and east on a more general scale while a high degree of mobility is specifically demonstrated for the hunter-gatherer groups occupying the site by displaying procurement patterns for various raw materials targeting not only local, but also regional and far-distance sources. Furthermore, the new investigations have been able to almost double the previously established site extent, and targeted excavations show that the diversity and complexity of stone constructions considerably exceeds what has previously been observed.

Application of Brantingham's (2003) neutral model of stone tool raw material procurement to a real landscape with real stone source locations, and the location of a known archaeological site.

International audience; Since 2004, new research has been conducted at Gargas, a decorated cave site located in the center of the Pyrenees mountain chain. Based on combined studies of the raw materials used to manufacture lithic and bone tools and personal ornaments, along with a zooarchaeo-logical analysis of the faunal remains, we have obtained a more thorough understanding of the resources used by the Gravettian groups that occupied the cave from 28,000 to 25,000 BP. This economic strategy was practiced in a foothill environment between the mid-mountain zones and large alluvial plains of the Garonne and Neste rivers, in order to procure both animal (hunted fauna, collection of shed cervid antler) and lithic (alluvial quartzites, Flysch and Petites Pyrénées flints) resources In this particular context, we will address the flint procurement strategies employed by the Gravettians, given the absence of this raw material within a range of 25-45 km around the cave. While this economic model existed mainly in this foothill environment, we nonetheless observe an extension of the Gravettian economic and social spheres into the Atlantic and Perigord regions, represented by the materials used for personal ornaments (perforated shells) and some allochthonous flints.; Situado en el centro de la cadena de los Pirineos, la cueva de Gargás – complejo de arte parietal y sitio de hábitat- ha sido objeto de nuevas investigaciones desde 2004. A partir de estudios interdisciplinares sobre las materias primas utilizadas en las series óseas, líticas y de adornos personales, además del análisis arqueozoológico de los vestigios de fauna, se ha podido percibir mejor el panel de recursos movilizados por los grupos gravetienses que ocuparon el yacimiento entre 28 000 y 25 000 BP. El marco económico se inscribe en un contexto de valle, entre la media montaña y las llanuras aluviales del Garona y la Neste, tanto en lo relativo a los recursos bióticos (fauna cazada, recogida de astas de desmogue) como los minerales (cuarcitas aluviales, silex del Flysch y de las sierras de Petites Pyrénées). En este medio natural particular, se abordan las estrategias de abastecimiento en sílex adoptadas por los Gravetienses, dada la carencia de esta materia prima en un radio entre 25-45 km alrededor de la cueva. Si el modelo económico de los Gravetienses de Gargás se desarrolla de forma prioritaria en el entorno del valle próximo, se pude apreciar una ampliación de los ámbitos de explotación / intercambio de recursos hasta el Atlántico y la región del Périgord, perceptible a través del origen de los elementos de adorno sobre conchas perforadas y de ciertos sílex alóctonos.; 2004tik zenbait ikerketa egin dira Gargas, Pirinioetako mendikatearen erdialdean dagoen koba gune apainduan. Litiozko eta hezurrezko tresnak eta pertsonentzako apaingarriak egiteko erabiltzen zituzten lehengaiei buruz egindako azterlan konbinatuetan oinarrituta eta fauna-hondakinen azterketa zooarkeologikoak ere aintzat hartuta, ezagutza sakonagoa dugu orain Gravettiar kulturako taldeek erabiltzen zituzten baliabideen inguruan. Estrategia ekonomiko hori mendiaren erdialdeko eremuen eta Garonne eta Neste ibaien lautada alubialen arteko mendiegaletan gauzatzen zuten, animalia-baliabideak (fauna ehizatua, basahuntzen adarrak) eta baliabide litikoak (kuartzita alubiala, Flysch eta Petites Pyrénées xilexak) eskuratzeko. Testuinguru berezi horretan, Gravettiarrek silexak eskuratzeko zer estrategia erabiltzen zituzten aztertuko dugu, ez baitzegoen lehengai hori haitzulotik 25-45 km-ko tartean. Eredu ekonomiko hori, batez ere, mendi-hegalean izan zuten arren, ekonomia Gravettiarra eta eremu soziala eskualde Atlantikora eta Perigord eskualdera hedatu zela ikusi dugu. Hala erakusten du apaingarritarako (zulatutako oskolak) erabiltzen zituzten materialek eta silex aloktono batzuek.; Situé au centre de la chaîne des Pyrénées, le site de Gargas – grotte ornée et habitat – fait l’objet de nouvelles recherches, depuis 2004. A partir des études croisées des matières premières utilisées pour les assemblages lithiques, osseux et les parures, ainsi que de l’analyse archéozoologique des vestiges de faune, nous avons obtenu un meilleur aperçu des ressources mobilisées par les groupes gravettiens ayant fréquenté cette grotte entre 28 000 et 25 000 BP. Le cadre économique s’inscrit dans un environnement de piémont, entre moyenne montagne et grandes plaines alluviales (celles de la Garonne et de la Neste) tant dans les ressources vivrières (faune chassée, ramassage des bois de chute des cervidés) que lithiques (quartzites alluviaux, silex du Flysch et des Petites Pyrénées). Dans ce contexte particulier, nous aborderons les stratégies d’approvisionnement en silex mises en œuvre par les Gravettiens, étant donné l’absence de cette matière première aux alentours de la grotte dans un rayon de 25-45 km. Si le modèle économique des Gravettiens de Gargas se développe principalement dans la zone de piémont, on perçoit toutefois un élargissement des sphères économiques et sociales jusqu’à l’Atlantique et le Périgord, à travers l’origine des supports des parures (coquillages percés) et de certains silex allochtones.

Based on the evidence of a recently excavated, sealed site, situated at Ruien "Rosalinde" in the Belgian Scheldt valley, the response of hunter-gatherers to changing climate at the transition from the temperate Allerod to the cold Younger Dryas is discussed. Radiocarbon dated to the end of the Allerod or the very beginning of the Younger Dryas, the site of Ruien provides the earliest evidence of a refined lithic technology characterized by the use of a soft stone hammer and the production of straight and regular blade(let)s from intensively prepared cores with two opposite platforms and sharp striking angles. In the course of the Younger Dryas and Early Pre-boreal this 'mapping method will become standard all over Europe, from the Tanged Point Technocomplex in the North to the (Epi)Laborian in the South. It contrasts sharply with the knapping style of previous lithic traditions, such as the late Federmesser/Azilian and Bromme Technocomplexes, which was much less elaborated and mainly oriented towards the knapping of short irregular blades with a hard stone hammer. This apparently abrupt technological change was also accompanied by increased raw material procurement networks, extending over up to 250 km, and a marked microlithisation of the hunting equipment. Finally, the site of Ruien is also important as it demonstrates the limited archaeological visibility of Younger Dryas sites, explaining the scarcity of such sites within western Europe. (C) 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Este trabajo presenta la relación entre una potencial fuente de suministro de sílex (Casal dos Matos) y un yacimiento neolítico-calcolítico (Cabeça Gorda 1) ubicado en su entorno inmediato. La comparación macroscópica entre la materia prima utilizada para los artefactos de piedra tallada en Cabeça Gorda 1 y la que ocurre en Casal dos Matos sugiere una relación, al menos espacial, entre un área de suministro local y un contexto de consumo específico – reforzando así la evidente continuidad entre sitios de suministro local, producción y consumo en la Prehistoria de las antiguas comunidades campesinas en la Estremadura portuguesa, entre el Neolítico final y el Calcolítico inicial (3100-2600 cal ANE). Este trabajo no pretende presentar el estudio exhaustivo de la industria de la piedra tallada de Cabeça Gorda 1, pero sí establecer un marco conceptual, basado en los datos actualmente disponibles, para un modelo específico de explotación de materias primas mediante la comparación con otros casos de suministro de sílex en la misma región. Este marco conceptual puede utilizarse, no sólo para el área donde estos sitios se incluyen, sino también para otras regiones donde se pueden identificar contextos similares. This paper presents the relationship between a potential flint procurement source (Casal dos Matos) and a Neolithic- Chalcolithic site (Cabeça Gorda 1) located in its immediate surroundings. The macroscopical comparison between the raw material used for flaked stone artifacts in Cabeça Gorda 1 and the raw material that occurs in Casal dos Matos suggests at least a spatial relationship between a local procurement area and a specific consumption context – thus reinforcing the evident continuity between local procurement, production and consumption sites in the Prehistory of the ancient peasant communities in the Portuguese Estremadura, between the Late Neolithic and Early Chalcolithic (3100-2600 cal BCE). This paper is not intended to present the exhaustive study of the flaked stone industry of Cabeça Gorda 1, but to set a conceptual framework, based on the currently available data, for a specific model of raw material exploitation by comparing with other instances of flint procurement in the same region. This conceptual framework can then be used not only for the area where these sites are included but also for other regions where similar contexts can be identified.