Habitat et mode de vie des chasseurs paléolithiques de la Caune de l'Arago (600 000–400 000 ans)

Seasonality and intra-site variation of Neanderthal occupations in the Middle Palaeolithic locality of Payre (Ardèche, France) using dental wear analyses

“…They suggest similar conclusions related to a high and diversified mobility of the human groups in relation to seasons and environmental context since the MIS 12 (de Lumley et al, 2004;Foltyn et al, 2005;Roebroeks, 1988). Payre data suggest short occupations associated with domestic activities (no evidence of butchery activity; mobile large and small tools suggest anticipating activities).…”

Points and convergent tools in the European Early Middle Palaeolithic site of Payre (SE, France)

“…Sites such as Lehringen and Schö ningen with wooden spears are extremely rare (Thieme, 1997(Thieme, , 1998 but provide evidence to consider. Although hunting practices obviously demanded a specific technology long before MIS 5, as indicated by data from Lower and Early Middle Palaeolithic sites such as the Caune de l'Arago (Gaudzinski, 2002;Lumley et al, 2004), the use of stone points was rare during the Middle Palaeolithic in Europe (Villa and Lenoir, 2006;Villa et al, 2009b). Thus, stone-tipped throwing or thrusting spears were not a necessary component of the hunting practices of the Neanderthals or their Middle Pleistocene precursors.…”

“…Zooarchaeological studies have shown that as early as MIS 14, specialized hunting and systematic butchering of carcasses were already being practiced at the Caune de l'Arago (Lumley et al, 2004) and hunting became more intensive and standardized from MIS 5 onwards in Europe (Stiner, 1994;Speth and Tchernov, 1998;Bratlund, 1999;Gamble, 1999;Turner, 1999;Gaudzinski, 1999Gaudzinski, , 2002Auguste et al, 2005). The change in subsistence practices at the beginning of the Upper Palaeolithic is considered by some authors as evidence of both late and frequent use of projectiles (Shea, 1988(Shea, , 1998(Shea, , 2006.…”

On Neanderthal subsistence strategies and land use: A regional focus on the Rhone Valley area in southeastern France

“…The first traces of hunting in Europe apparently appear as early as Marine Isotopic Stage (MIS) 12 at Caune de l'Arago (France; de Lumley et al, 2004;Moigne et al, 2005) and are demonstrated by MIS 11 at Schöningen (Germany; Thieme, 1997) and at Clacton-on-Sea (England; Oakley et al, 1977). Although the scientific concensus is that Neanderthals can be described as ''good hunters", the 'modern' characteristics of subsistence strategies, such as seasonal predatory planning, herbivore mass killing, conscious selection of one species and flexible adaptive behaviour, are still debated (Binford, 1981(Binford, , 1983(Binford, , 1988Stiner, 1991Stiner, , 1994Chase, 1986Chase, , 1988Marean, 1998;Mellars, 1989Mellars, , 1996Lieberman and Shea, 1994;Shea, 1998;Marean and Assefa, 1999;McBrearty and Brooks, 2000;Grayson and Delpech, 2002;d'Errico, 2003;Costamagno et al, 2006;Rendu, 2007).…”