Occupational Patterns and Subsistence Strategies in Level J of Abric Romaní

Rosell, Jordi; Blasco, Ruth; Huguet, Rosa; Cáceres, Isabel; Saladié, Palmira; Rivals, Florent; Bennàsar, María; Bravo, Pilar; Campeny, Gerard; Esteban-Nadal, Montserrat; Fernández-Laso, María Cristina; Gabucio, Maria Joana; Ibáñez, N. Ibarra; Martín, Patricia; Muñoz, Laura; Rodríguez-Hidalgo, Antonio

doi:10.1007/978-94-007-3922-2_8

Cited by 17 publications

(11 citation statements)

References 94 publications

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“…However, the faunal spectrum was more varied and specialized hunting behaviors focused on particular species were absent, with the only exception of the red deer exploitation at Lazaret Cave (MIS 6; Valensi, ). Mousterian faunal assemblages of southern regions are commonly composed of cervids, bovids, and equids (Pérez Ripoll, ; Martínez Valle, ; Fiore et al, ; Valensi and Psathi, ; Brown et al, ; Blasco and Fernández Peris, ; Daujeard et al, ; Rosell et al, ; Salazar‐García et al, 2013). The exploitation of dangerous taxa is evidenced by cut marks and processing activities on several species including straight‐tusked elephants at Ambrona (MIS 9; Villa et al, ), Aridos 1 (MIS 9; Soto, ), Bolomor Cave layer XII (MIS 8; Blasco and Fernández Peris, ) and Arriaga IIa (MIS 6; Rus and Vega Toscano, ); mammoths at Edar Culebro 1 (MIS 6/5; Yravedra et al, ) and Preresa (MIS 5; Yravedra et al, ); cave bears at Fate Cave (MIS 5) and Madonna dell' Arma (MIS 5) and brown bears at Manie Cave (Valensi and Psathi, ); lions in Gran Dolina TD10‐1 (MIS 9) (Blasco et al, ); and Iberian dholes in Cova Negra (MIS 5d‐b; Pérez Ripoll et al, ).…”

Section: Technological and Zooarchaeological Evidencementioning

confidence: 99%

To meat or not to meat? New perspectives onNeanderthal ecology

Fiorenza

Benazzi

Henry

et al. 2014

American J Phys Anthropol

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Neanderthals have been commonly depicted as top predators who met their nutritional needs by focusing entirely on meat. This information mostly derives from faunal assemblage analyses and stable isotope studies: methods that tend to underestimate plant consumption and overestimate the intake of animal proteins. Several studies in fact demonstrate that there is a physiological limit to the amount of animal proteins that can be consumed: exceeding these values causes protein toxicity that can be particularly dangerous to pregnant women and newborns. Consequently, to avoid food poisoning from meat-based diets, Neanderthals must have incorporated alternative food sources in their daily diets, including plant materials as well. In this manuscript, we review traditional as well as more recent approaches for reconstructing the diet in past human populations, and we show how new archaeological discoveries and innovative methods are changing our views of Neanderthal ecology and behavior. We further underline the importance of reconstructing Neanderthal environments derived from palaeoecological data to better understand and interpret the dietary evidence obtained by these methods. Finally, since the intake of specific foods can be invisible to certain techniques and detect by others, we suggest using a more holistic approach by integrating the findings of more than one method. Such comprehensive analyses would enable the reconstruction of the whole dietary spectrum, which is particularly important for species like Neanderthal, who lived under severe and unstable climatic conditions. Neanderthals are undoubtedly the most studied and best-known group in the human fossil record. Despite that, for more than 100 years since their discovery, research on Neanderthal ecology, subsistence strategies, and diet have received remarkably little attention (Ready, 2010). It is only with the emergence of new archeological disciplines and development of innovative analytical approaches in the 1960s, that scholars began to look at Neanderthal behavior and adaptations to their environment. Methods such as faunal analysis, lithic technology, and taphonomic studies progressively led to a general portrait that defined Neanderthals as a homogenous group, with similar nutritional needs typified by a reliance on the consumption of terrestrial animals. This idea was reinforced by the study of stable isotopes and Neanderthal anatomy. The general robusticity of Neanderthal skeletons, with relatively short limbs and heavy trunks, has been interpreted as adaptation to cold stress environments that follow the ecogeographic principles of Bergmann's and Allen's rules (e.g., Trinkaus,

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Section: Technological and Zooarchaeological Evidencementioning

confidence: 99%

To meat or not to meat? New perspectives onNeanderthal ecology

Fiorenza

Benazzi

Henry

et al. 2014

American J Phys Anthropol

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“…In the European Middle Palaeolithic, retouched bone artefacts were rarely investigated for taphonomic and technological traces (Bordes, 1961;Cabrera Valdes, 1984;Vincent, 1993) and, when this was done, a number of specimens can be considered as pseudo-artefacts (d 'Errico and Villa, 1997). More reliable evidence is represented by a bifacially retouched bone fragment from Vaufrey Cave (France) (Vincent, 1988), some denticulated diaphyses and a pointed tool on auroch mandible (Rosell et al, 2012) from Abric Romaní (Spain), and some trihedral picks on tibia of rhinoceros found at Gruta Nova de Columbeira (Portugal) (Barandiarán et al, 1971) dated to 87.1 ± 6.3 ka BP (Zilhão et al, 2011). To indicate that Neanderthals during the Middle Palaeolithic made use of a set of bone technologies, there are the rare tools worked by abrasion that are dated to the first half of MIS3 from Salzgitter-Lebenstedt, Germany (Gaudzinski, 1999) and the bone smoothers recovered from the Mousterian of Acheulean Tradition at Pech-de-l'Azé I and Abri Peyrony, France (Soressi et al, 2013).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A retouched bone shaft from the Late Mousterian at Fumane cave (Italy). Technological, experimental and micro-wear analysis

Romandini

Cristiani

Peresani

2015

Comptes Rendus Palevol

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This paper describes a retouched bone shaft found in a Late Mousterian layer at Fumane Cave, northern Italy. The interpretation of the anthropic nature of the retouch is based on the identification of specific morpho-technological markers through experimentation. An integrated taphonomic and technological analysis was applied to the archaeological artifact. The evidence suggests that the bone shaft modifications involved the use of direct percussion through a transfer of technical knowledge from flint knapping. However, this does not necessarily imply that this technique was used in the absence of a more effective one. Similar cases of the use of bone as raw material for tool manufacturing are documented in the Lower Palaeolithic, and might have been related to the lack of appropriate lithic raw material, although this is not the case for Fumane cave.

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“…Moreover, these strata are delineated by culturally sterile layers. The conspicuous dearth of carnivore remains observed in comparison to other sites in Spain, such as Abric Romaní (Rosell et al, 2012(Rosell et al, , 2019, L'Arbreda Cave (Estévez, 1987;Lloveras et al, 2010), and Moros de Gabasa (Blasco, 1995(Blasco, , 1997Blasco Sancho and Montes Ramírez, 1997), underscores the exceptional nature of the faunal assemblage at Abric Pizarro. In contrast to these sites, where the percentage of carnivore remains is considerably higher, Abric Pizarro and its neighbouring sites, including Cova Gran de Santa Linya and Roca dels Bous (Benito-Calvo et al, 2020;Samper Carro et al, 2020), exhibit a significantly lower prevalence of carnivore remains.…”

Section: Site Formation and Occupation Processesmentioning

confidence: 90%

“…Given the extensive deposition over thousands of years, it becomes challenging to formulate hypotheses regarding site use or seasonality. Observations from numerous other sites within the same spatiotemporal region, including Covalejos Cave (Sánchez-Hernández et al, 2019), Cova Gran de Santa Linya ( Samper Carro et al, 2020), Abric Romaní (Fernández-Laso et al, 2010Rosell et al, 2012), Cueva del Esquilleu (Yravedra Sáinz de los Terreros et al, 2014), El Castillo (Pike-Tay et al, 1999, Pié Lombard (Texier et al, 2011), and Abri du Maras (Daujeard et al, 2019;Moncel et al, 2021) indicate a general pattern of seasonal site use. However, the highly fragmented nature of the assemblage, along with potential biases in conducting age-at-death determinations, such as the greater ease in identifying very young individuals, presents challenges in confidently assessing occupation patterns at Abric Pizarro.…”

Section: Site Formation and Occupation Processesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Neanderthal resilience and adaptability: insights from the Abric Pizarro faunal assemblage during the MIS 4

Westbury,

Samper Carro,

Vega Bolivar

et al. 2024

Front. Environ. Archaeol.

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The examination of faunal assemblages through zooarchaeological analyses constitutes a fundamental approach for gaining insight into the intricate behaviours of Neanderthals. Previous investigations have primarily focused on periods of relative environmental stability, and this has provided a wealth of relevant archaeological data. However, our understanding of Neanderthal resilience during the MIS 4, a period presumably characterised by harsh environmental conditions, remains limited. This study presents the first comprehensive analysis of the faunal assemblages from Levels M and P at Abric Pizarro. The geographic location of Abric Pizarro in the southeast Pre-Pyrenees, combined with chronometric dating, offers a unique opportunity to explore Neanderthal behaviours during a poorly known chronological period. The detailed zooarchaeological analysis comprised taxonomic identification, taphonomic analysis and age-at-death profiling to explore the adaptability and flexibility in the Neanderthal diet. The findings indicate that Neanderthal groups incorporated a diverse range of protein resources from small herbivores (e.g., caprids) to very large herbivores (e.g., Bos/Bison). These results not only demonstrate an adaptability to changing environments in an area traditionally deemed unsuitable for long-term occupation, but also contributes significantly to our understanding of the complex behaviours exhibited by Neanderthals.

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Occupational Patterns and Subsistence Strategies in Level J of Abric Romaní

Cited by 17 publications

References 94 publications

To meat or not to meat? New perspectives onNeanderthal ecology

To meat or not to meat? New perspectives onNeanderthal ecology

A retouched bone shaft from the Late Mousterian at Fumane cave (Italy). Technological, experimental and micro-wear analysis

Neanderthal resilience and adaptability: insights from the Abric Pizarro faunal assemblage during the MIS 4

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