Adults only. Reindeer hunting at the Middle Palaeolithic site Salzgitter Lebenstedt, Northern Germany

Gaudzinski, Sabine; Roebroeks, Wil

doi:10.1006/jhev.1999.0359

Cited by 252 publications

(128 citation statements)

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“…Studies of animal remains from Neanderthal sites in Europe have repeatedly shown that Neanderthals consistently hunted large herbivores (51,52), including seasonal use of reindeer (53). Yet, there is little evidence for the use of small game such as birds or fish (4,51,54).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Isotopic evidence for the diets of European Neanderthals and early modern humans

Richards

Trinkaus

2009

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

314

168

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We report here on the direct isotopic evidence for Neanderthal and early modern human diets in Europe. Isotopic methods indicate the sources of dietary protein over many years of life, and show that Neanderthals had a similar diet through time (Ϸ120,000 to Ϸ37,000 cal BP) and in different regions of Europe. The isotopic evidence indicates that in all cases Neanderthals were top-level carnivores and obtained all, or most, of their dietary protein from large herbivores. In contrast, early modern humans (Ϸ40,000 to Ϸ27,000 cal BP) exhibited a wider range of isotopic values, and a number of individuals had evidence for the consumption of aquatic (marine and freshwater) resources. This pattern includes Oase 1, the oldest directly dated modern human in Europe (Ϸ40,000 cal BP) with the highest nitrogen isotope value of all of the humans studied, likely because of freshwater fish consumption. As Oase 1 was close in time to the last Neanderthals, these data may indicate a significant dietary shift associated with the changing population dynamics of modern human emergence in Europe.Europe ͉ isotopes ͉ collagen ͉ fishing

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Isotopic evidence for the diets of European Neanderthals and early modern humans

Richards

Trinkaus

2009

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

314

168

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“…Several thousand bones and bone fragments were recovered from the two excavations, the most important published work concentrating on those from the 1952 excavation (Gaudzinski 1996(Gaudzinski , 2006Gaudzinski and Roebroeks 2000). …”

Section: The Salzgitter Lebenstedt Faunal Assemblagementioning

confidence: 99%

“…2006; papers in Burke 2000 andRodriguez-Hidalgo et al, 2015). The taxa involved are diverse and include equids (Conard and Prindiville 2000., Patou-Mathis 2004, Schild et al 2006, rhinoceros (Bratlund 1999), reindeer (Gaudzinski and Roebroeks 2000), bovids (Farizy et al 1994;Jaubert et al 1990;Gaudzinski 1996Gaudzinski . 2006, red deer (Conard and Prindiville 2000; Fiore et al 2004;Steele 2004;Valensi 2000;Valensi and Psathi 2004), caprids (Fiore et al 2004) and gazelle (Rabinovich and Hovers 2004).…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…adult male reindeer at Salzgitter-Lebenstedt -it is further assumed that Neanderthals were deliberately targeting and selectively taking specific individuals within the group (e.g. Patou-Mathis 2000; Gaudzinski and Roebroeks 2000). The resulting picture is of a selective hunting strategy, involving tactical planning about the seasonal availability of certain taxa at specific points in the landscape, and regular 'on the spot' decision making about which specific individuals were to be targeted, presumably in order to maximise gain rather than to minimise risk.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

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Shoot first, ask questions later: Interpretative narratives of Neanderthal hunting

White

Pettitt

Schreve

2016

Quaternary Science Reviews

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Use policyThe full-text may be used and/or reproduced, and given to third parties in any format or medium, without prior permission or charge, for personal research or study, educational, or not-for-prot purposes provided that:• a full bibliographic reference is made to the original source • a link is made to the metadata record in DRO • the full-text is not changed in any way The full-text must not be sold in any format or medium without the formal permission of the copyright holders.Please consult the full DRO policy for further details. Using palaeolandscape reconstructions and animal ethology as our context, we adopt a multifaceted approach that views hunting as a chaîne opératoire involving the decisions and actions of both the hunter and the hunted, which together help reconstruct a forensic picture of past events as they unfolded. Our conclusions indicate that Neanderthals did not necessarily pre-select individuals from a herd, who they then isolated, pursued and killed, but rather ambushed whole groups, which they slaughtered indiscriminately. There is strong evidence, however, that Neanderthals were highly selective in the carcasses they then chose to process. Our conclusions suggest that Neanderthals were excellent tacticians, casual executioners and discerning diners.

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“…The actions of carnivores, trampling by large herbivores and even modern pressure from quarry plant can create spiral fractures but the fact that the breakage occurs in only two taxa (both of which are known food resources for Middle Palaeolithic hominins, e.g. Gaudzinski and Roebroeks, 1999;Conard and Prindiville, 2000) is considered to be significant.…”

Section: Direct Evidence Of Exploitation Of Other Herbivoresmentioning

confidence: 99%

The taphonomy of a Middle Devensian (MIS 3) vertebrate assemblage from Lynford, Norfolk, UK, and its implications for Middle Palaeolithic subsistence strategies

Schreve

2006

J Quaternary Science

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The association of a rich lithic assemblage with a Middle Devensian mammalian assemblage at Lynford was initially thought indicative of a mammoth butchery locality, a rare occurrence for a European Middle Palaeolithic open site. However, taphonomic analyses suggest that the specimens have very different depositional histories and were incorporated into a palaeochannel in several stages. Most specimens are extremely fragmentary, probably the result of extensive trampling, and signs of weathering and root-damage provide further indications of exposure before burial. Carnivore damage is minimal but establishing the degree of interaction between the mammal fauna and alternative predators, such as Neanderthals, is problematic. Direct evidence of butchery is not present and the best indication of any form of mammoth exploitation lies in more circumstantial evidence such as the virtual absence of long bones from the main channel deposit and the mammoth age profiles. Instances of pathologies are also unusually common in the mammoths, implying that their greater vulnerability may have led to an accelerated demise either naturally or at the hands of a predator. The best evidence for direct faunal exploitation at the site is from green bone fractures and broken teeth that suggest marrow extraction in horse, reindeer and woolly rhinoceros.

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Adults only. Reindeer hunting at the Middle Palaeolithic site Salzgitter Lebenstedt, Northern Germany

Cited by 252 publications

References 18 publications

Isotopic evidence for the diets of European Neanderthals and early modern humans

Isotopic evidence for the diets of European Neanderthals and early modern humans

Shoot first, ask questions later: Interpretative narratives of Neanderthal hunting

The taphonomy of a Middle Devensian (MIS 3) vertebrate assemblage from Lynford, Norfolk, UK, and its implications for Middle Palaeolithic subsistence strategies

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