Human choices and environmental constraints: deciphering the variability of large game procurement from Mousterian to Aurignacian times (MIS 5-3) in southwestern France

Discamps, Emmanuel; Jaubert, Jacques; Bachellerie, François

doi:10.1016/j.quascirev.2011.06.009

Cited by 116 publications

(122 citation statements)

References 88 publications

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“…Finally, our results seem to confirm that Levallois assemblages associated with faunal remains including, in great proportions, forest-adapted species such as red deer and roe deer, but also reindeer, occurred during MIS 4 around 65-70 ka, as suggested by Discamps et al (2011) and Guérin et al (2012a).…”

Section: Implications For the Mousterian In Southwest Francesupporting

confidence: 87%

“…These ages suggested MIS 4 occupations for the lower layers (Layers 7,8 and 9). These ages fit well with data assembled by Discamps et al (2011) which show that composite spectra including red deer, roe deer and also reindeer could correspond to a period around 70 ka or MIS 4.…”

Section: Introductionsupporting

confidence: 84%

“…However, these assemblages are not Quina Mousterian. As a result, it seems that our newly obtained ages add variability to the MIS 3 lithic assemblages for the Middle Palaeolithic in southwest France, and contradict the strict succession models of Mellars (1967Mellars ( , 1969Mellars ( , 1996, Jaubert (2011), Discamps et al (2011), Morin et al (2014. To reconcile these issues and refine these statements, a proper chronological modelling of luminescence data, and in particular of the shared errors, would be necessary.…”

Section: Implications For the Mousterian In Southwest Francementioning

confidence: 70%

“…Despite the changing terms, an emerging consensus among some researchers is that, in fact, Mellars (1967Mellars ( , 1969Mellars ( , 1996 was essentially correct in his observation that the lithic and faunal assemblages of stratified Late Pleistocene Mousterian sites in southwest France vary in a systematic fashion such that a cultural-historical framework can be constructed from the combined sequences (e.g. Jaubert, 2011;Discamps et al, 2011;Morin et al, 2014). In the 1980s, Mellars and Grün (1991) and others (e.g.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…However, late ages such as these also strongly suggest that Quina Mousterian must overlap with other types of Mousterian, most notably the Mousterian of Acheulean Tradition (MTA; McPherron et al, 2012;Soressi et al, 2013). On the other hand, as the Roc de Marsal Quina assemblages are dominated by reindeer, this would fit better in a late MIS 4 or early MIS 3 paleoenvironemental context (Discamps et al 2011) and would be a better fit with the cultural-historical framework by avoiding chronological overlap with other late Mousterian technocomplexes.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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The complementarity of luminescence dating methods illustrated on the Mousterian sequence of the Roc de Marsal: A series of reindeer-dominated, Quina Mousterian layers dated to MIS 3

Guérin

Frouin

Tuquoi

et al. 2017

Quaternary International

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Located in southwest France, Roc de Marsal is a cave with a rich Mousterian stratigraphic sequence. The lower part of the sequence (Layers 9-5) are characterized by assemblages dominated by Levallois lithic technology associated with composite faunal spectra (including red deer, roe deer and reindeer) that shows a gradual increase in the frequency of reindeer. The top of the sequence (Layers 4-2) are characterised instead by Quina lithic technology (both in terms of technology and typology) with the faunal remains dominated by reindeer. Roc de Marsal thus provides a very interesting case study to place behavioural changes in a context of changing climates and environments in western Europe during the late Pleistocene. To link the occupations at Roc de Marsal with global and regional climatic conditions known independently, a robust chronology is needed. With this aim in mind, we applied three luminescence dating methods (TL, OSL and IRSL) on different minerals (flint, quartz and K-feldspar extracts). Here the results of two of these methods are presented in detail (TL and OSL) and compared with preliminary IRSL data. At Roc de Marsal, a comparison of methods was necessary to overcome a complex sedimentary history, with very heterogeneous dose rate distributions, both at the beta (mm) and gamma (dm) dose rate scales. The results indicate that the lower Levallois layers are dated to ~65-70 ka, while overlying Quina layers are dated to ~49 ka. These ages for the lower layers fit well with some models that place mixed faunal assemblages in the initial MIS 4; however, while the Quina ages overlap with several other Quina assemblages from the region, they place the reindeer dominated fauna well after the peak cold of MIS 4 and suggest a more extended and complex period of contemporaneous lithic techno-complexes than posited by some current models. AbstractLocated in southwest France, Roc de Marsal is a cave with a rich Mousterian stratigraphic sequence. The lower part of the sequence (Layers 9-5) are characterized by assemblages dominated by Levallois lithic technology associated with composite faunal spectra (including red deer, roe deer and reindeer) that shows a gradual increase in the frequency of reindeer. The top of the sequence (Layers 4-2) are characterised instead by Quina lithic technology (both in terms of technology and typology) with the faunal remains dominated by reindeer. Roc de Marsal thus provides a very interesting case study to place behavioural changes in a context of changing climates and environments in western Europe during the late Pleistocene. To link the occupations at Roc de Marsal with global and regional climatic conditions known independently, a robust chronology is needed. With this aim in mind, we applied three luminescence dating methods (TL, OSL and IRSL) on different minerals (flint, quartz and K-feldspar extracts). Here the results of two of these methods are presented in detail (TL and OSL) and compared with preliminary IRSL data. At Roc de Marsal, a comparison of metho...

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Section: Implications For the Mousterian In Southwest Francesupporting

confidence: 87%

Section: Introductionsupporting

confidence: 84%

Section: Implications For the Mousterian In Southwest Francementioning

confidence: 70%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 3 more Smart Citations

The complementarity of luminescence dating methods illustrated on the Mousterian sequence of the Roc de Marsal: A series of reindeer-dominated, Quina Mousterian layers dated to MIS 3

Guérin

Frouin

Tuquoi

et al. 2017

Quaternary International

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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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Chronological constraint of Neanderthal cultural and environmental changes in southwestern Europe: MIS 5–MIS 3 dating of the Axlor site (Biscay, Spain)

Demuro

Arnold

González‐Urquijo

et al. 2023

J Quaternary Science

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The cave site of Axlor (Biscay, Spain) preserves one of the most informative Middle Palaeolithic (MP) records for the North Atlantic Iberian region, though its age remains poorly known. Here we use single‐grain optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) and single‐grain thermally transferred OSL (TT‐OSL) dating of sediments to improve the age constraint of Axlor's MP succession (levels N–B). Our new ages are consistent with the previously published terminus ante quem 14C ages for the site (>42.9 cal ka bp), and suggest the sequence accumulated during a period of ~50 kyr. Axlor's levels N–F were deposited ~100–80 ka, probably during marine isotope stage (MIS) 5d–a, while levels D and B were deposited ~70 and ~50 ka, respectively, during MIS 4 and mid‐MIS 3. Our results indicate that major faunal and technological turnovers occurred towards the end of MIS 5, potentially coinciding with broader environmental and climatic changes. Axlor's Quina record, dated here to the onset of MIS 4, is one of the oldest in Europe. Comparisons with neighbouring sites point to complex regional chronologies and development for this particular behaviour, though detailed correlations with other MP sequences remain difficult due to their poor chronological attributes. The present study highlights the important role that single‐grain optical dating can play in elucidating the broader evolution of the MP across southwestern Europe.

show abstract

Human choices and environmental constraints: deciphering the variability of large game procurement from Mousterian to Aurignacian times (MIS 5-3) in southwestern France

Cited by 116 publications

References 88 publications

The complementarity of luminescence dating methods illustrated on the Mousterian sequence of the Roc de Marsal: A series of reindeer-dominated, Quina Mousterian layers dated to MIS 3

The complementarity of luminescence dating methods illustrated on the Mousterian sequence of the Roc de Marsal: A series of reindeer-dominated, Quina Mousterian layers dated to MIS 3

To meat or not to meat? New perspectives onNeanderthal ecology

Chronological constraint of Neanderthal cultural and environmental changes in southwestern Europe: MIS 5–MIS 3 dating of the Axlor site (Biscay, Spain)

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