Hunting fast-moving, low-turnover small game: The status of the snowy owl (Bubo scandiacus) in the Magdalenian

The Châtelperronian Neanderthals of Cova Foradada (Calafell, Spain) used imperial eagle phalanges for symbolic purposes

“…This is enforced when the same elements and evidence are found within MP/CP sites, such as the case of Foradada. Peculiarly, manipulated talons are not very abundant among UP assemblages, commonly found only in the Magdalenian (17/12 ka) (24). Furthermore, the cases documented during the early UP appear to be extremely rare.…”

“…Seashell beads, on the other hand, are in abundance. Currently, UP sites in the Iberian Mediterranean region and the rest of the Iberian Peninsula also fail to present similar finds, except for the case of Santa Catalina, Biscay (Spain), where snowy owl (Bubo scandiacus) talons were recovered associated with Magdalenian archeological layers (24).…”

Carbon, nitrogen and oxygen isotope fractionation during food cooking: Implications for the interpretation of the fossil human record

“…Indeed, a lot of different cooking processes not tested here such as cooking in earthenware oven or directly in the fire ashes, roasting with hot pebbles disposed inside animals, or baking on a hot stone surface (e.g., Graff & Rodríguez‐Alegría, ; Mee & Renard, ; Schneider & Everson, ) could induce different isotopic fractionations. In addition, the food used in this investigation does not cover the whole range of past hunter‐gatherer diets, which could contain vertebrates, invertebrates and vegetables (possible example amongst others: deer, snowy owl, pigeon, fox, badger, ground squirrel, mole‐rat, guinea pig, bat, turtle, frog, mollusk, nut ‐ Dupont & Marchand, ; Fiedler, ; Kelly, ; Laroulandie, ; Mallye, Soulier, & Laroulandie, ; Regnell, ; Royer, Laroulandie, Cochard, & Binder, ; Stiner, Munro, & Surovell, ; Val, de la Peña, & Wadley, ). The isotopic changes undergone by such items during cooking may be outside the range defined in our study.…”

A chicken-or-egg question. Feedback on the Magdatis project “the Magdalenian from the Atlantic facade facing environmental changes”

“…Une intensification de la consommation des petits gibiers, dont les racines sont néanmoins plus anciennes, est aussi perceptible dans l'espace considéré (e.g. Costamagno et al, 2008 ;Langlais et al, 2012 ;Laroulandie, 2016). Bien que cela reste à démontrer, il est envisageable que le développe-ment d'espèces végétales héliophiles et pionnières à la fin du Dryas ancien et au Bølling (e.g.…”