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Objectives: The analysis of prehistoric human dietary habits is key for understanding the effects of paleoenvironmental changes on the evolution of cultural and social human behaviors. In this study, we compare results from zooarchaeological, stable isotope and dental calculus analyses as well as lower second molar macrowear patterns to gain a broader understanding of the diet of three individuals who lived between the end of the Late Pleistocene and the Early Holocene (ca., 17-8 ky cal BP) in the Eastern Alpine region of Italy. Materials and methods: We analyze individuals buried at the sites of Riparo Tagliente (Verona), Riparo Villabruna, and Mondeval de Sora (Belluno). The three burials provide

Partant du principe selon lequel les pratiques funéraires représentent le résultat de l'interaction entre plusieurs facteurs -symbolique, social, environnementalcette étude ne se limite pas à décrire la seule variabilité des rites dans le temps, mais s'efforce de rechercher les relations possibles entre l'organisation sociale des groupes de chasseurs-cueilleurs et les pratiques funéraires au Paléolithique supérieur et au Mésolithique dans la péninsule italienne. L'étude a été conduite sur l'ensemble des sépultures de cette période, soit un total de 20 sites et de 77 inhumations, en utilisant une base de données relationnelle permettant de comparer les informations issues de l'analyse des différents dépôts funéraires selon leur contexte chronostratigraphique, les données biologiques et les caractéristiques du rite. Les résultats mettent en évidence une variabilité dans le temps et dans l'espace avec des transformations majeures entre le début et la fin du Paléolithique supérieur, et cela jusqu'au Mésolithique. La comparaison de ces résultats avec les informations provenant de l'analyse des autres témoignages archéologiques nous pousse à interpréter ces transformations comme le reflet d'une nouvelle structuration sociale des groupes humains. Cette structuration peut être mise en relation avec des phénomènes de réorganisation territoriale se mettant en place à partir du Tardiglaciaire, à la suite de mutations géographiques et environnementales. Pour citer cette revue : Bull. Mém. Soc. Anthropol. Paris 23 (2011). Mots clés Pratiques funéraires · Organisation sociale · Paléolithique supérieur · MésolithiqueAbstract Assuming that the burial practices are the result of the interaction between several factors -symbolic, social and environmental -this study aims not only at describing the variability of rituals in time but also at tracing possible relationships on the social organisation of Upper Palaeolithic and Mesolithic hunter-gatherer groups of the Italian peninsula. Analyses have been carried out on the entire sample of burials in this period, amounting to a total of 20 sites and 77 inhumations, using a relational database; this database allows elaborating and comparing the information collected and organised according to three different levels: chronostratigraphic context, anthropological data and elements of the ritual. The results show a high variability of rituals in both time and space with some major changes between the most ancient phase of Upper Palaeolithic and the most recent one including the Mesolithic. Comparing these results with information from the analysis of archaeological record led us to interpret these changes as the reflection of a new social organisation of human groups. This organisation appears to be linked with the territorial rearrangements that took place from the Late Glacial, due to geographic and environmental changes. To cite this journal: Bull. Mém. Soc. Anthropol. Paris 23 (2011).

Stable isotopic data (δ 13 C; δ 15 N) were obtained from Mesolithic human and faunal remains from northeastern Italy in order to document the human diet and provide information on the relationship between landscape use and subsistence strategies. The bone samples were from an adult female individual (Early Mesolithic, Late Sauveterrian) buried at Vatte di Zambana (Trento), an adult male (Late Mesolithic, Castelnovian) buried at Mondeval de Sora (Belluno), and an adult female from Mezzocorona Borgonuovo (Trento). For the latter, the stratigraphic position of the burial pit and evidence of the associated ritual suggest a Mesolithic attribution. Carbon ( 13 C/ 12 C) and nitrogen ( 15 N/ 14 N) stable isotope compositions of human bone collagen were compared with those of animal remains from different taxa found in stratigraphic association with the burial. The isotopic data and the Bayesian model developed from the latter and from data in the literature indicate a very significant proportion of terrestrial resources in the protein fraction of the human diet, particularly from red deer compared to other ungulates and potentially from freshwater fish and small mammals. These results add to the information provided by zooarchaeological studies and reopen the debate on the role of secondary resources such as chamois, ibex, small mammals and fish, such as pike, in the diet of these mobile human societies. However, as this is a preliminary study based on a very small sample size, interpretations should be considered with caution.