The over-representation of faunal remains, the particularity of the carcass processing and the li... more The over-representation of faunal remains, the particularity of the carcass processing and the lithic industry suggest that the Les Pradelles Mousterian site was used as a task specific location dedicated to the exploitation of reindeer, killed in large number during their migrations. This study focuses on Facies 4a, where almost 500 retouchers were recovered. We discuss the place of retouchers in the technical equipment of the hunter-gatherers of Les Pradelles and the significance of their abundance in the context of a site involving short-term occupations for secondary butchery activities. The relatively stringent selection of blanks is most likely related to constraints caused by the use of reindeer bones whose intrinsic qualities were not necessarily optimal for use as retouchers. Despite the high number of available bone remains, some types of bones were routinely exploited, which leads us to suggest a selection of some blanks during the butchery stage rather than a selection of appropriate remains among the butchery waste. Based on comparisons with published experimental data, three major groups of retouchers have been identified and their roles in the preparation of lithic equipment have been established. The over-representation of retouchers compared to the number of abandoned scrapers in the cave attests to the exportation of a significant proportion of the scrapers. The "exported" tools were used either for activities carried out near the site or were part of the toolkit taken away during travel to other locations. These results demonstrate how retouchers help in characterizing the interconnections between the animal exploitation and the lithic tool production technical subsystems .
The boundaries of the different facies of the Charentian Mousterian defined on typological and te... more The boundaries of the different facies of the Charentian Mousterian defined on typological and technological bases are far from being obvious. For each observed criterion, the variations which have been primarily observed on a few selected series most often turn ...
This paper focuses on the question of the existence of collective hunting in Neanderthal populati... more This paper focuses on the question of the existence of collective hunting in Neanderthal populations. While many Mousterian sites from Western Europe exhibit faunal assemblages clearly dominated by a particular taxon, faunal spectrum alone is not enough to discuss the hunting strategies developed for their acquisition and the relative importance of the prey in Neanderthal diet. Therefore, Neanderthal hunting strategies are examined using different proxies such as prey selection and carcass exploitation in two Late Pleistocene sites: Mauran and Les Pradelles. These sites share all the characteristics (high quantity of faunal material, specialized faunal spectrum, large number of prey, catastrophic mortality profile, seasonal slaughter, possible selective transport of the richest elements) usually recognized in communal hunting assemblages. The conclusions underline that the subsistence economy of the hunter-gatherers in question involves the planned procurement of animal resources with the intention of storing surplus in anticipation of future food needs. It demonstrates that Neanderthal populations in Southwestern Europe already possessed the necessary technical and cognitive capacities.
This paper focuses on the question of the existence of collective hunting in Neanderthal populati... more This paper focuses on the question of the existence of collective hunting in Neanderthal populations.
While many Mousterian sites from Western Europe exhibit faunal assemblages clearly dominated by
a particular taxon, faunal spectrum alone is not enough to discuss the hunting strategies developed for
their acquisition and the relative importance of the prey in Neanderthal diet. Therefore, Neanderthal
hunting strategies are examined using different proxies such as prey selection and carcass exploitation in
two Late Pleistocene sites: Mauran and Les Pradelles. These sites share all the characteristics (high
quantity of faunal material, specialized faunal spectrum, large number of prey, catastrophic mortality
profile, seasonal slaughter, possible selective transport of the richest elements) usually recognized in
communal hunting assemblages. The conclusions underline that the subsistence economy of the huntergatherers
in question involves the planned procurement of animal resources with the intention of storing
surplus in anticipation of future food needs. It demonstrates that Neanderthal populations in Southwestern
Europe already possessed the necessary technical and cognitive capacitie
"Kebara Cave (Israel) is a well studied archaeological site. It contains abundant visible hearths... more "Kebara Cave (Israel) is a well studied archaeological site. It contains abundant visible hearths. Ash derived minerals are a major component of the Mousterian sediments and are present in varying states of preservation. Furthermore, archaeobotanic information is available from charred remains. Kebara Cave is thus an ideal location to study the potential of phytoliths to provide information on the mode of fire use in the cave, to assess the input of other plant" "materials, as well as to determine the effects of diagenesis on phytolith preservation." "Twenty samples were analysed in terms of their mineralogy, phytolith contents per unit weight of acid insoluble fraction, and phytolith morphologies. In general the preservation of the phytoliths is good, except for the two samples in which the mineral component associated at present with the phytoliths is mainly ash-derived calcite. The cave sediments contain about ten times more phytoliths than those present in the four samples analysed from outside the cave. The major source of plant material input into the cave is clearly from the wood and bark used for the fuel for fires. The grass phytoliths present in the samples are also thought, in part, to have been brought into the cave associated with the wood/bark fuel. Sediments from the hearths, as well as those between the hearths, contain abundant wood/bark phytoliths. The two samples of the latter contain appreciable amounts of phytoliths not known to be present in wood and bark, as do other hearth derived samples. Plant materials other than those used as fuel were thus also brought into the cave." "This study shows that phytolith analyses, in conjunction with detailed mineralogical, stratigraphic, archaeobotanic" "and field information, can provide a more complete understanding of the use of plant materials in prehistoric caves for fuel."
The over-representation of faunal remains, the particularity of the carcass processing and the li... more The over-representation of faunal remains, the particularity of the carcass processing and the lithic industry suggest that the Les Pradelles Mousterian site was used as a task specific location dedicated to the exploitation of reindeer, killed in large number during their migrations. This study focuses on Facies 4a, where almost 500 retouchers were recovered. We discuss the place of retouchers in the technical equipment of the hunter-gatherers of Les Pradelles and the significance of their abundance in the context of a site involving short-term occupations for secondary butchery activities. The relatively stringent selection of blanks is most likely related to constraints caused by the use of reindeer bones whose intrinsic qualities were not necessarily optimal for use as retouchers. Despite the high number of available bone remains, some types of bones were routinely exploited, which leads us to suggest a selection of some blanks during the butchery stage rather than a selection of appropriate remains among the butchery waste. Based on comparisons with published experimental data, three major groups of retouchers have been identified and their roles in the preparation of lithic equipment have been established. The over-representation of retouchers compared to the number of abandoned scrapers in the cave attests to the exportation of a significant proportion of the scrapers. The "exported" tools were used either for activities carried out near the site or were part of the toolkit taken away during travel to other locations. These results demonstrate how retouchers help in characterizing the interconnections between the animal exploitation and the lithic tool production technical subsystems .
The boundaries of the different facies of the Charentian Mousterian defined on typological and te... more The boundaries of the different facies of the Charentian Mousterian defined on typological and technological bases are far from being obvious. For each observed criterion, the variations which have been primarily observed on a few selected series most often turn ...
This paper focuses on the question of the existence of collective hunting in Neanderthal populati... more This paper focuses on the question of the existence of collective hunting in Neanderthal populations. While many Mousterian sites from Western Europe exhibit faunal assemblages clearly dominated by a particular taxon, faunal spectrum alone is not enough to discuss the hunting strategies developed for their acquisition and the relative importance of the prey in Neanderthal diet. Therefore, Neanderthal hunting strategies are examined using different proxies such as prey selection and carcass exploitation in two Late Pleistocene sites: Mauran and Les Pradelles. These sites share all the characteristics (high quantity of faunal material, specialized faunal spectrum, large number of prey, catastrophic mortality profile, seasonal slaughter, possible selective transport of the richest elements) usually recognized in communal hunting assemblages. The conclusions underline that the subsistence economy of the hunter-gatherers in question involves the planned procurement of animal resources with the intention of storing surplus in anticipation of future food needs. It demonstrates that Neanderthal populations in Southwestern Europe already possessed the necessary technical and cognitive capacities.
This paper focuses on the question of the existence of collective hunting in Neanderthal populati... more This paper focuses on the question of the existence of collective hunting in Neanderthal populations.
While many Mousterian sites from Western Europe exhibit faunal assemblages clearly dominated by
a particular taxon, faunal spectrum alone is not enough to discuss the hunting strategies developed for
their acquisition and the relative importance of the prey in Neanderthal diet. Therefore, Neanderthal
hunting strategies are examined using different proxies such as prey selection and carcass exploitation in
two Late Pleistocene sites: Mauran and Les Pradelles. These sites share all the characteristics (high
quantity of faunal material, specialized faunal spectrum, large number of prey, catastrophic mortality
profile, seasonal slaughter, possible selective transport of the richest elements) usually recognized in
communal hunting assemblages. The conclusions underline that the subsistence economy of the huntergatherers
in question involves the planned procurement of animal resources with the intention of storing
surplus in anticipation of future food needs. It demonstrates that Neanderthal populations in Southwestern
Europe already possessed the necessary technical and cognitive capacitie
"Kebara Cave (Israel) is a well studied archaeological site. It contains abundant visible hearths... more "Kebara Cave (Israel) is a well studied archaeological site. It contains abundant visible hearths. Ash derived minerals are a major component of the Mousterian sediments and are present in varying states of preservation. Furthermore, archaeobotanic information is available from charred remains. Kebara Cave is thus an ideal location to study the potential of phytoliths to provide information on the mode of fire use in the cave, to assess the input of other plant" "materials, as well as to determine the effects of diagenesis on phytolith preservation." "Twenty samples were analysed in terms of their mineralogy, phytolith contents per unit weight of acid insoluble fraction, and phytolith morphologies. In general the preservation of the phytoliths is good, except for the two samples in which the mineral component associated at present with the phytoliths is mainly ash-derived calcite. The cave sediments contain about ten times more phytoliths than those present in the four samples analysed from outside the cave. The major source of plant material input into the cave is clearly from the wood and bark used for the fuel for fires. The grass phytoliths present in the samples are also thought, in part, to have been brought into the cave associated with the wood/bark fuel. Sediments from the hearths, as well as those between the hearths, contain abundant wood/bark phytoliths. The two samples of the latter contain appreciable amounts of phytoliths not known to be present in wood and bark, as do other hearth derived samples. Plant materials other than those used as fuel were thus also brought into the cave." "This study shows that phytolith analyses, in conjunction with detailed mineralogical, stratigraphic, archaeobotanic" "and field information, can provide a more complete understanding of the use of plant materials in prehistoric caves for fuel."
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While many Mousterian sites from Western Europe exhibit faunal assemblages clearly dominated by
a particular taxon, faunal spectrum alone is not enough to discuss the hunting strategies developed for
their acquisition and the relative importance of the prey in Neanderthal diet. Therefore, Neanderthal
hunting strategies are examined using different proxies such as prey selection and carcass exploitation in
two Late Pleistocene sites: Mauran and Les Pradelles. These sites share all the characteristics (high
quantity of faunal material, specialized faunal spectrum, large number of prey, catastrophic mortality
profile, seasonal slaughter, possible selective transport of the richest elements) usually recognized in
communal hunting assemblages. The conclusions underline that the subsistence economy of the huntergatherers
in question involves the planned procurement of animal resources with the intention of storing
surplus in anticipation of future food needs. It demonstrates that Neanderthal populations in Southwestern
Europe already possessed the necessary technical and cognitive capacitie
"materials, as well as to determine the effects of diagenesis on phytolith preservation."
"Twenty samples were analysed in terms of their mineralogy, phytolith contents per unit weight of acid insoluble fraction, and phytolith morphologies. In general the preservation of the phytoliths is good, except for the two samples in which the mineral component associated at present with the phytoliths is mainly ash-derived calcite. The cave sediments contain about ten times more phytoliths than those present in the four samples analysed from outside the cave. The major source of plant material input into the cave is clearly from the wood and bark used for the fuel for fires. The grass phytoliths present in the samples are also thought, in part, to have been brought into the cave associated with the wood/bark fuel. Sediments from the hearths, as well as those between the hearths, contain abundant wood/bark phytoliths. The two samples of the latter contain appreciable amounts of phytoliths not known to be present in wood and bark, as do other hearth derived samples. Plant materials other than those used as fuel were thus also brought into the cave."
"This study shows that phytolith analyses, in conjunction with detailed mineralogical, stratigraphic, archaeobotanic"
"and field information, can provide a more complete understanding of the use of plant materials in prehistoric caves for fuel."
While many Mousterian sites from Western Europe exhibit faunal assemblages clearly dominated by
a particular taxon, faunal spectrum alone is not enough to discuss the hunting strategies developed for
their acquisition and the relative importance of the prey in Neanderthal diet. Therefore, Neanderthal
hunting strategies are examined using different proxies such as prey selection and carcass exploitation in
two Late Pleistocene sites: Mauran and Les Pradelles. These sites share all the characteristics (high
quantity of faunal material, specialized faunal spectrum, large number of prey, catastrophic mortality
profile, seasonal slaughter, possible selective transport of the richest elements) usually recognized in
communal hunting assemblages. The conclusions underline that the subsistence economy of the huntergatherers
in question involves the planned procurement of animal resources with the intention of storing
surplus in anticipation of future food needs. It demonstrates that Neanderthal populations in Southwestern
Europe already possessed the necessary technical and cognitive capacitie
"materials, as well as to determine the effects of diagenesis on phytolith preservation."
"Twenty samples were analysed in terms of their mineralogy, phytolith contents per unit weight of acid insoluble fraction, and phytolith morphologies. In general the preservation of the phytoliths is good, except for the two samples in which the mineral component associated at present with the phytoliths is mainly ash-derived calcite. The cave sediments contain about ten times more phytoliths than those present in the four samples analysed from outside the cave. The major source of plant material input into the cave is clearly from the wood and bark used for the fuel for fires. The grass phytoliths present in the samples are also thought, in part, to have been brought into the cave associated with the wood/bark fuel. Sediments from the hearths, as well as those between the hearths, contain abundant wood/bark phytoliths. The two samples of the latter contain appreciable amounts of phytoliths not known to be present in wood and bark, as do other hearth derived samples. Plant materials other than those used as fuel were thus also brought into the cave."
"This study shows that phytolith analyses, in conjunction with detailed mineralogical, stratigraphic, archaeobotanic"
"and field information, can provide a more complete understanding of the use of plant materials in prehistoric caves for fuel."