A l'UM la science [S03-ep23]: Fossils under a rocket
This week in A l'UM la science Pierre-Olivier Antoine, paleontologist at the Montpellier Institute of Evolutionary Sciencestells us how tens of thousands of fossils discovered beneath the Ariane rocket launch site shed new light on the history of French Guiana. A program co-produced with Divergence FM and broadcast every Wednesday at 6pm on 93.9.

And today we're heading for French Guiana, and more precisely for Kourou. Sorry, space exploration enthusiasts, but we're not inviting you on a journey into space, but rather into time. An international consortium of paleontologists, geologists and biologists came up with the idea of digging at the Ariane rocket launch site, and to say the least, they had a nose for it. Between 2017 and 2021, the scientists, coordinated by the Montpellier Institute of Evolutionary Sciences, unearthed tens of thousands of fossils covering a period of 130,000 years.
A discovery that tells us a great deal about the plant and animal biodiversity of Pleistocene andHolocene Guyana, but not only that. The time travel I've been talking about is to be taken in its two occurrences, as this assemblage of fossils also tells us a great deal about the Earth's climate, past and future.
We tell you more with our guest, Pierre-Olivier Antoine, paleontologist at Isem, who coordinated this study. In the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the USA, he is the author of the article we're focusing on today.
To find out more :
- Read the press release A rich 125,000-year-old coastal ecosystem discovered under Ariane 6 in French Guiana
- Read the publication A Late Pleistocene coastal ecosystem in French Guiana was hyperdiverse relative to today
- Also listen to the programs Des fossiles de rongeurs antillais à la salle de sédimentation de l'Isem and Du paresseux géant à la plateforme de sclérochronologie with Pierre-Olivier Antoine
In the second half of the show, we invite you to discover an episode of Lumlu, Lum magazine's podcasts, by listening to Le sanglier de la discorde. Raphaël Mathevet, researcher at the Center for Functional and Evolutionary Ecology, talks about the delicate cohabitation between man and animal.
- Read the article The wild boar of discord
At UM la science you've got the program, let's go!
Coproduction: Divergence FM / Université de Montpellier
Animation: Lucie Lecherbonnier
Interviews : Aline Périault / Lucie Lecherbonnier
Production : Alice Rollet
Listen to the program "A l'UM la science" on Divergence FM 93.9

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