Rocks, teeth, and tools: New insights into early Neanderthal mobility strategies in South-Eastern France from lithic reconstructions and strontium isotope analysis

Abstract

Neanderthals had complex land use patterns, adapting to diversified landscapes and climates. Over the past decade, considerable progress has been made in reconstructing the chronology, land use and subsistence patterns, and occupation types of sites in the Rhône Valley, southeast France. In this study, Neanderthal mobility at the site of Payre is investigated by combining information from lithic procurement analysis (“chaîne evolutive” and “chaîne opératoire” concepts) and strontium isotope analysis of teeth (childhood foraging area), from two units (F and G). Both units date to the transition from Marine Isotope Stage (MIS) 8 to MIS 7, and show similar environmental conditions, but represent contrasting occupation durations. Level Gb (unit G) represents a long-term year-round use, in contrast to short-term seasonal use of the cave in level Fb (unit F). For both levels, lithic material and food were generally collected from a local to semi-local region. However, in level Gb, lithic materials were mainly collected from colluviums and food collected in the valley, whereas in level Fb, lithic procurement focused primarily on alluvial deposits and food was collected from higher elevation plateaus. These procurement or exchange patterns might be related to flint availability, knapping advantages of alluvial flint or occupation duration. The site of Payre is located in a flint rich circulation corridor and the movement of groups or exchanges between groups were organized along a north-south axis on the plateaus or towards the east following the river. The ridges were widely used as they are rich in flint, whereas the Rhône Valley is not an important source of lithic raw materials. Compared to other western European Middle Palaeolithic sites, these results indicate that procurement strategies have a moderate link with occupation types and duration, and with lithic technology. The Sr isotope ratios broadly match the proposed foraging areas, with the Rhône Valley being predominantly used in unit G and the ridges and limestone plateaus in unit F. While lithic reconstructions and childhood foraging are not directly related this suggests that the three analysed Neanderthals spend their childhood in the same general area and supports the idea of mobile Neanderthals in the Rhône Valley and neighbouring higher elevation plateaus. The combination of reconstructing lithic raw material sources, provisioning strategies, and strontium isotope analyses provides new details on how Neanderthals at Payre practised land use and mobility in the Early Middle Palaeolithic.

An ecological niche shift for Neanderthal populations in Western Europe 70,000 years ago

“…Other genetic analyses 16 , 17 suggest that Neanderthal groups were small and isolated, a hypothesis supported by low heterozygosity 18 . These findings indicate that the Neanderthal archaeological record reflects the activities of relatively small and regionally constrained populations—a pattern supported by isotopic evidence and patterns of lithic raw material transport 19 .…”

“…In light of inferred Neanderthal population structure, we focus on the archaeological record of a large area of Western Europe geographically constrained by the Pyrenees to the south, the Alps and Jura Mountains to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and the northern limit of observed sites. While terrestrial barriers would not have prevented movement between the study area and neighboring regions, genetic and archaeological evidence suggests that they did play a role in the definition of regional Neanderthal territories 17 – 19 , 21 , 22 , thus rendering our targeted region archaeologically pertinent. Archaeologists have conducted site investigations and surveys in the study area for well over a century, and we assume, especially considering the intensity of archaeological fieldwork paired with the large-scale, systematic surveys performed over the last few decades, that the samples of archaeological sites attributed to our periods of interest are representative.…”

Neanderthal faunal exploitation and settlement dynamics at the Abri du Maras, level 5 (south-eastern France)

“…The Middle Palaeolithic record from the south-eastern Rhône valley region has been widely studied, and Abri du Maras is one of the main reference sites (Daujeard et al, 2019;Daujeard and Moncel, 2010;Moncel and Daujeard, 2012;Moncel et al, 2019Moncel et al, , 2004. Daujeard and Moncel (2010) identified three main types of sites in the area: 1) Type I: Long-term residential camps characterized by recurrent human accumulation (high rate of anthropogenic modifications), seasonal selective hunting with a specialized hunting spectrum, transport of whole carcasses or best pieces, presence of bone retouchers, complete or mostly complete lithic sequences on local stones, a low percentage of tools; 2) Type II: Short-term regular camps, with recurrent human accumulation interspersed with carnivore visits, seasonal selective hunting with a varied herbivore spectrum, with scavenging events, particularly of very big animals, some retouchers, mostly complete lithic sequence on flint, exogenous flint, a moderate number of tools; 3) Type III: Brief stopping-places: natural or carnivore accumulations with some human occupations, very scarce or absent burnt bones, scarce or absent retouchers, mostly complete lithic sequences, high proportions of tools and low density of lithic remains.…”

Triangulating Neanderthal cognition: A tale of not seeing the forest for the trees

“…From big game and even bears through small game and birds to fish and other seafood including seals and dolphins, Neanderthal subsistence strategies were varied and systematic—and in contrast to common misconception also heavily relied on nuts, mushrooms, and a multitude of other vegetation, though heavy reliance on meat was highly prevalent during cold climatic phases (Bocherens et al, 2016; El Zaatari, Grine, Ungar, & Hublin, 2011; Estalrrich, El Zaatari, & Rosas, 2017; Finlayson & Finlayson, 2016; Hardy et al, 2013; Morin et al, 2019; Power et al, 2018; Romandini et al, 2018; Stringer et al, 2008; Trinkaus, Samsel, & Villotte, 2019; Zilhão et al, 2020). Exploiting these resources in a specialized way resembling “logistic behavior” (Marín et al, 2020, p. 22), Neanderthals implemented “complex land use patterns, adapting to diversified landscapes and climates” (Moncel, Fernandes, Willmes, James, & Grün, 2019, p. 1) and thereby demonstrate “a complex scenario of extensive knowledge and intensive exploitation of the landscape” (de Soler et al, 2020, p. 1). Further, Neanderthals not only cooked, but also purposefully used naturally occurring medications and maintained mouth hygiene through the use of toothpicks (Estalrrich, Alarcón, & Rosas, 2017; Hardy, 2018; Hardy et al, 2012; Weyrich et al, 2017).…”