The horse mandibles at Duruthy rockshelter (Sorde-l'Abbaye, Landes, France) and the identification of ontological systems in the Pyrenean Magdalenian

Birouste, Clément; Chauvière, François-Xavier; Plassard, Frédéric; Dachary, Morgane

doi:10.1016/j.quaint.2015.12.002

Cited by 8 publications

(1 citation statement)

References 10 publications

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“…Nous devons continuer à discuter des modes de perception et des manières de s'inscrire dans l'environnement. Bien que cela ne soit pas toujours aisé, les démarches en archéologie préhistorique convoquant l'anthropologie sociale se mettent en place progressivement ouvrant des champs des possibles tout à fait enrichissants et qui ne demandent qu'à être discutés et développés à l'avenir (Birouste 2018 ;Birouste et al 2016 ;Defrasnes 2013 ;Defrasnes et Fedele 2015 ;Fuentes 2010Fuentes , 2013Fuentes , 2015Fuentes et Pinçon 2016 ;Pesesse 2018 ;Sauvet et al 2009 ).…”

Section: Les Humains Réalistesunclassified

Essai d’une anthropologie des images paléolithiques du Roc-aux-Sorciers (Angles-sur-l’Anglin, Vienne, France) : entre continuités et discontinuités

Fuentes¹,

Pinçon²

2018

paleo

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Section: Les Humains Réalistesunclassified

Essai d’une anthropologie des images paléolithiques du Roc-aux-Sorciers (Angles-sur-l’Anglin, Vienne, France) : entre continuités et discontinuités

Fuentes¹,

Pinçon²

2018

paleo

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Human and Animal Individuals in the Middle Magdalenian

Birouste

2020

J Archaeol Method Theory

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The category of "animal species" is at the heart of traditional interpretations of Palaeolithic art. In this context, animal depictions have traditionally been conceptualized in terms of the "animal species" they are supposed to represent. Moreover, the relationships between humans and animals have been discussed in similar terms. In this paper, I examine some innovative ways in which this relationship can be considered. In particular, I explore the possibility of interpreting animal images as representations of individuals, rather than just of species. Focusing on a number of pieces of rock art and portable images, and examining other kinds of activities (animal butchery, body adornment, treatment of human corpses, etc.) from the Middle Magdalenian (19,000-16,000 cal BP), I seek to demonstrate how the concept of the "individual" offers a number of interpretive possibilities beyond the traditional category of "species". I argue that the focus on the head and face can reflect this interest in individualized animals. I also highlight the existence of practical techniques employed to create a relationship between human and animal individuals.

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Set in Stone: Human–Horse Relations as Embodied in Shaped Stone Balls

Assaf

2024

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The enigmatic presence of uniquely shaped, spherical stones attracted the attention of archaeologists at Oldowan sites in Africa as early as a century ago. Shaped stone balls (SSBs) are among the oldest implements used by humans. For nearly 2 million years, they accompanied ancient humans as a stable cultural anchor throughout the Lower Paleolithic period and beyond. These tools reflect techno-cultural processes and Lower Paleolithic human perceptions of their relationships with the non-human animal world. Nonetheless, the few techno-functional studies focussing on these items have only scraped the surface of their research potential. In this paper, I will explore evidence suggesting that SSBs embody the relations of ancient humans with a particular animal—the horse—and propose that they might have played an active role in the social and cosmological realms of Lower Paleolithic (LP) ontology. Several previous studies indicate that they were shaped through a meticulous process. Traces of use and organic residues of marrow/fat associate them with bone-breaking activities. Furthermore, a comprehensive contextual analysis points to a correlation, observed at various sites, between SSBs and large herbivores, specifically horses. This correlation supports the premise that early humans relied on SSBs to extract calories from horses and points to a possible link between the simultaneous disappearance of large horses and SSBs from the Levantine landscape at the end of the LP. The role of horses in Paleolithic diet and culture is well reflected in the archaeological record. Following recent anthropological views, I advocate that SSBs played an important role in the human–horse alignment, embodying within them the world of perceptions and relationships of ancient humans with this non-human animal who shared their habitat.

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The horse mandibles at Duruthy rockshelter (Sorde-l'Abbaye, Landes, France) and the identification of ontological systems in the Pyrenean Magdalenian

Cited by 8 publications

References 10 publications

Essai d’une anthropologie des images paléolithiques du Roc-aux-Sorciers (Angles-sur-l’Anglin, Vienne, France) : entre continuités et discontinuités

Essai d’une anthropologie des images paléolithiques du Roc-aux-Sorciers (Angles-sur-l’Anglin, Vienne, France) : entre continuités et discontinuités

Human and Animal Individuals in the Middle Magdalenian

Set in Stone: Human–Horse Relations as Embodied in Shaped Stone Balls

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