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Britton K, Jimenez EL, Le Corre M, Pederzani S, Daujeard C, Jaouen K, Vettese D, Tütken T, Hublin JJ, Moncel MH. Multi-isotope zooarchaeological investigations at Abri du Maras: The paleoecological and paleoenvironmental context of Neanderthal subsistence strategies in the Rhône Valley during MIS 3. J Hum Evol 2023; 174:103292. [PMID: 36455403 DOI: 10.1016/j.jhevol.2022.103292] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/28/2021] [Revised: 10/21/2022] [Accepted: 10/21/2022] [Indexed: 12/03/2022]
Abstract
The exploitation of mid- and large-sized herbivores (ungulates) was central to hominin subsistence across Late Pleistocene Europe. Reconstructing the paleoecology of prey-taxa is key to better understanding procurement strategies, decisions and behaviors, and the isotope analysis of faunal bones and teeth found at archaeological sites represent a powerful means of accessing information about past faunal behaviors. These isotope zooarchaeological approaches also have a near-unique ability to reveal environmental conditions contemporary to the human activities that produced these remains. Here, we present the results of a multi-isotope, multitissue study of ungulate remains from the Middle Paleolithic site of Abri du Maras, southern France, providing new insights into the living landscapes of the Rhône Valley during MIS 3 (level 4.2 = 55 ± 2 to 42 ± 3 ka; level 4.1 = 46 ± 3 to 40 ± 3 ka). Isotope data (carbon, nitrogen) reveal the dietary niches of different ungulate taxa, including the now-extinct giant deer (Megaloceros). Oxygen isotope data are consistent with a mild seasonal climate during level 4.2, where horse (Equus), bison (Bison), and red deer (Cervus elaphus) were exploited year-round. Strontium and sulfur isotope analyses provide new evidence for behavioral plasticity in Late Pleistocene European reindeer (Rangifer) between level 4.2 and level 4.1, indicating a change from the migratory to the sedentary ecotype. In level 4.1, the strong seasonal nature of reindeer exploitation, combined with their nonmigratory behavior, is consistent with a seasonally restricted use of the site by Neanderthals at that time or the preferential hunting of reindeer when in peak physical condition during the autumn.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kate Britton
- Department of Archaeology, University of Aberdeen, Aberdeen AB24 3UF, United Kingdom; Department of Human Evolution, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, 04103 Leipzig, Germany.
| | - Elodie-Laure Jimenez
- Department of Archaeology, University of Aberdeen, Aberdeen AB24 3UF, United Kingdom; Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences, 29 Vautier Street, 1000 Brussels, Belgium
| | - Mael Le Corre
- Department of Archaeology, University of Aberdeen, Aberdeen AB24 3UF, United Kingdom
| | - Sarah Pederzani
- Department of Human Evolution, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, 04103 Leipzig, Germany; Instituto Universitario de Bio-Orgánica Antonio González, Universidad de La Laguna, Avda. Astrofísico Francisco Sánchez 2, 38206 La Laguna, Tenerife, Spain
| | - Camille Daujeard
- UMR 7194, Histoire Naturelle de l'Homme Préhistorique (HNHP), CNRS, Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle, Département Homme et Environnement, Institut de Paléontologie Humaine, 1 Rue René Panhard, 75013 Paris, France
| | - Klervia Jaouen
- Department of Human Evolution, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, 04103 Leipzig, Germany; Géosciences Environnement Toulouse, Observatoire Midi Pyrénées, UMR 5563, CNRS, 14 Avenue Edouard Belin, 31400 Toulouse, France
| | - Delphine Vettese
- UMR 7194, Histoire Naturelle de l'Homme Préhistorique (HNHP), CNRS, Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle, Département Homme et Environnement, Institut de Paléontologie Humaine, 1 Rue René Panhard, 75013 Paris, France; Universita degli Studi di Ferrara, Dipartimento degli Studi Umanistici, Sezione di Scienze Preistoriche e Antropologiche, Corso Ercole I d'Este 32, 44121 Ferrara, Italy; Grupo de I+D+i EVOADAPTA (Evolución Humana y Adaptaciones Económicas y Ecológicas durante La Prehistoria), Dpto. Ciencias Históricas, Universidad de Cantabria, Av/Los Castros 44, 39005 Santander, Spain
| | - Thomas Tütken
- Arbeitsgruppe für Angewandte und Analytische Paläontologie, Institut für Geowissenschaften, Johannes Gutenberg-Universität Mainz, J.-J. Becherweg 21, 55128 Mainz, Germany
| | - Jean-Jacques Hublin
- Department of Human Evolution, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, 04103 Leipzig, Germany; Collège de France, 11, Place Marcelin Berthelot, 74005 Paris, France
| | - Marie-Hélène Moncel
- UMR 7194, Histoire Naturelle de l'Homme Préhistorique (HNHP), CNRS, Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle, Département Homme et Environnement, Institut de Paléontologie Humaine, 1 Rue René Panhard, 75013 Paris, France
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