Husbandry and Herd Control in the Upper Paleolithic: A Critical Review of the Evidence [and Comments and Reply]

White, Randall; Bahn, Paul G.; Clottes, Jean; Cribb, Roger; Delpech, François; Kehoe, Thomas F.; Olszewski, Deborah; Straus, Lawrence Guy; Sturdy, Derek; Svoboda, Jiřı́

doi:10.1086/203789

Cited by 13 publications

(5 citation statements)

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“…), a peu d'équivalent en France. Une seule autre région montre cette récurrence du Renne au Badegoulien et au Magdalénien moyen, celle du Lot et de la Dordogne (Delpech, 1983 ;White, 1985White, et 1989. L'exploitation du Lièvre variable à Gazel est un fait encore plus singulier dans la mesure où ce statut de gibier de prédilection n'est pas documenté sur d'autres sites magdaléniens.…”

Section: Resultsunclassified

Mobilité et subsistance au Magdalénien dans le Bassin de l'Aude

Fontana¹

1999

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While the Magdalenian population of the Aude basin is fairly well known nowadays, the subsistence strategies of the groups of humans had not yet been studied. Examination of the faunal remains from five sites (Lassac, Gazel, Canecaude and Belvis, excavated by D. Sacchi and La Grande Grotte at Bize, excavated by A. Tavoso) occupied between 1 7 000 and 12 000 BP has shown that the reindeer was the preferred game for 5 000 years in the north of the Aude region (together with the varying hare at Gazel)-Fontána, 1998a. It has moreover revealed that all the northern sites were occupied (in the Badegoulian and Middle Magdalenian) during the same seasons (from late autumn to early spring) and that they were probably all living sites. Since only one period of the annual nomadic cycle was represented, I proposed that Ariège could correspond to the other part of the territory exploited by these groups. During the later Magdalenian, the sites (mainly in the south of the Pyrenean foothills) seem to testify to less extensive occupation and the Belvis cave was occupied in the summer months, probably intermittently, for hunting oriented towards ibexes, as part of a diversified spectrum. These data led me to envisage the hypothesis of greater mobility (during the summer months) in this region and for this period. Finally, research has shown that the possible seasonal movements of reindeer in no way resembled migrations and that the hypothesis of a temporary high altitude refuge after 12 000 BP (prior to the move towards the north) was not proved. Résumé Résumé Si le peuplement magdalénien du Bassin de l'Aude est aujourd'hui assez bien connu, les stratégies de subsistance des groupes humains n'avaient pas encore été étudiées. L'étude des restes fauniques de cinq sites (Lassac, Gazel, Cane-caude et Belvis, fouillés par D. Sacchi et La Grande Grotte de Bize, fouillée par A. Tavoso) occupés entre 17 000 et 12 000 B.P., a montré que le Renne avait été un gibier de prédilection durant 5 000 ans dans le Nord de l'Aude (avec le Lièvre variable à Gazel)-Fontána, 1998a. De plus, elle a mis en évidence que tous les sites septentrionaux ont été occupés (au Badegoulien et au Magdalénien moyen) aux mêmes saisons (de la fin de l'automne au début du printemps) et qu'ils étaient probablement tous des sites résidentiels. Une seule partie du cycle annuel de nomadisme étant visible, j'ai proposé que l'Ariège pouvait constituer l'autre partie du territoire exploité. Au Magdalénien supérieur, les sites (majoritairement dans le sud des piémonts pyrénéens) semblent témoigner d'occupations de moindre étendue et la grotte de Belvis a été occupée à la belle saison probablement de façon discontinue avec une chasse orientée vers le Bouquetin, au sein d'un spectre diversifié. Ces données m'ont amenée à envisager l'hypothèse d'une plus grande mobilité (durant la belle saison) dans cette région et pour cette période. Enfin, l'étude a montré que les éventuels déplacements saisonniers du Renne ne ressemblaient en rien à des migrations et que l'hypothèse d'un refu...

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Section: Resultsunclassified

Mobilité et subsistance au Magdalénien dans le Bassin de l'Aude

Fontana¹

1999

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“…Similarly, crib biting would not affect the LPM2 in this manner, as it is more focused on the incisors [ 42 , 45 , 90 ]. It is also unlikely that the beveling on the LPM2 was purposely caused by rasping, as suggested by Payne [ 91 ], since there is no evidence for the purposeful rounding, microscopic wear pattern and grooves associated with such rasping and the observed beveling is limited to the most superior segment of the surface which would be the first location to be worn down under the influence of a bit [ 72 , 92 ].…”

Section: Interpretations and Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Thus, the development of the bit becomes an essential part of the mechanism to control and ride an equid, whether horse, donkey or otherwise [ 38 – 41 ]. While some have tried to argue based on cave art for the presence of bridles (including cheek straps and potentially bits) on equids as far back as the Upper Palaeolithic [ 42 , 43 ], this perspective has not been accepted [ 44 , 45 ]. Instead, the weight of the evidence for bridles points toward the Eneolithic and Bronze Age of Kazakhstan and Russia, c. 3500 BCE for horses, not donkeys [ 38 , 40 , 46 – 50 ].…”

Section: Antiquity Of the Bit In The Near Eastmentioning

confidence: 99%

Earliest evidence for equid bit wear in the ancient Near East: The "ass" from Early Bronze Age Tell eṣ-Ṣâfi/Gath, Israel

et al. 2018

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Analysis of a sacrificed and interred domestic donkey from an Early Bronze Age (EB) IIIB (c. 2800–2600 BCE) domestic residential neighborhood at Tell eṣ-Ṣâfi/Gath, Israel, indicate the presence of bit wear on the Lower Premolar 2 (LPM2). This is the earliest evidence for the use of a bit among early domestic equids, and in particular donkeys, in the Near East. The mesial enamel surfaces on both the right and left LPM2 of the particular donkey in question are slightly worn in a fashion that suggests that a dental bit (metal, bone, wood, etc.) was used to control the animal. Given the secure chronological context of the burial (beneath the floor of an EB IIIB house), it is suggested that this animal provides the earliest evidence for the use of a bit on an early domestic equid from the Near East.

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“…Some critiques of these seasonality methods suggested that cementum increment analysis could be more reliable (especially Gordon, 1988) and constructed various scenarios of reindeer migration and human mobility patterns. Gordon's work has been harshly criticized (see Delpech, 1988;Clottes, 1988;White, 1989) due to the low number of samples, the unreliability of his methods and his erroneous analysis of archaeological data. Furthermore, not only Gordon's work, but nearly all of the studies arguing for reindeer migrations and suggesting their migration routes were carried out in a theoretical manner, rather than being based on data.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The four seasons of reindeer: Non-migrating reindeer in the Dordogne region (France) between 30 and 18 k? Data from the Middle and Upper Magdalenian at La Madeleine and methods of seasonality determination

Fontana¹

2017

Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports

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This paper presents a study of the reindeer hunting seasons represented in Magdalenian occupations (levels 25 & 27) at the site of La Madeleine where this game comprises between 87 and 95% of the identified remains. The method of reindeer hunting season estimations based on the analysis of archaeological antlers, cheek teeth and fetal long-bone diaphyses underlines that the combined use of antlers, teeth, and fetal bones is indispensable for determining all four seasons. It also shows that summer and winter hunts are the most difficult to identify and may go unnoticed in small or poorly preserved samples, and those without fetal long-bone diaphyses (for winter). The hunting seasons identified, deducted from the minimum number of identified moments, are similar for levels 25 (Upper Magdalenian) and 27 (Middle Magdalenian), providing evidence of reindeer hunting throughout the year, during all four seasons. These results confirm those of four other sites, all of which are located in the same area at distances between 2 and 60 km from La Madeleine, while they strongly contrast those of every other currently well documented region (Paris Basin, Massif Central, Aude Basin). This suggests that if these data reflect the reality of non-migrating reindeer, rather than a high instability of seasonal ranges, at least between 30,000 and 15,000 cal BP, this phenomenon is related to a specific area, temporarily bordered by the Dronne and the Vézère valleys. The author discusses the assumption that this zone (still to be delineated), with an Atlantic climate in the Mammoth Steppe biome, at least during the Upper Pleniglacial and Oldest Dryas, was a zone of varied landscapes where the living conditions of reindeer would have limited their mobility, perhaps up to the close foothills of the Massif Central.

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Husbandry and Herd Control in the Upper Paleolithic: A Critical Review of the Evidence [and Comments and Reply]

Cited by 13 publications

References 0 publications

Mobilité et subsistance au Magdalénien dans le Bassin de l'Aude

Mobilité et subsistance au Magdalénien dans le Bassin de l'Aude

Earliest evidence for equid bit wear in the ancient Near East: The "ass" from Early Bronze Age Tell eṣ-Ṣâfi/Gath, Israel

The four seasons of reindeer: Non-migrating reindeer in the Dordogne region (France) between 30 and 18 k? Data from the Middle and Upper Magdalenian at La Madeleine and methods of seasonality determination

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