Middle palaeolithic hunting economies in the Rhineland

Abstract

Until the 1980s, archaeologists routinely assumed that faunal material found in association with Middle Palaeolithic artifacts represented the remains of animals hunted by Neanderthals. Over the last two decades, most researchers have come to the conclusion that diverse anthropogenic and non-anthropogenic agents can lead to the co-occurrence of lithic artifacts and faunal remains. With this taphonomic problem in mind, this paper considers the evidence for Middle Palaeolithic hunting in the Rhineland. Special attention will be paid to the recent excavations at Ariendorf, Hummerich, Schweinskopf, To ¨nchesberg and Wannen in the Neuwied Basin, and Wallertheim in Rheinhessen. The analysis of the data from the faunal assemblages themselves form the basis of this paper, but emphasis will also be placed on the taphonomic contexts, the nature of the accompanying lithic assemblages, and the topographic and stratigraphic positions of the sites, in order to address the question of how hominids responded to changing environmental conditions during the Middle Palaeolithic. This paper discusses the diversity in patterns of prey selection, skeletal part transport, seasonality and occupation intensity documented at key sites in the region, and addresses their implications for interpreting Middle Palaeolithic behaviour.

Seasonality and intra-site variation of Neanderthal occupations in the Middle Palaeolithic locality of Payre (Ardèche, France) using dental wear analyses

“…Payre data suggest short occupations associated with domestic activities (no evidence of butchery activity; mobile large and small tools suggest anticipating activities). In contrary, in the Rhineland area (Germany), results suggest remains of large camps and sites with smaller groups for specific occasions (Conard and Prindiville, 2000). It is similar in Les Pradelles (southwestern France), in the lower levels dated to MIS 4 or 3, where the hypothesis of ''specialized hunting'' during Middle Palaeolithic is assessed with a very low density of artefacts associated to carcasses abandoned by Neanderthals.…”

New Neandertal remains from Cova Negra (Valencia, Spain)

“…Vanguard Cave in Gibraltar also shows a simple hearth associated with a reduced assemblage of molluscs and coprolites (Barton, 2000). In Germany, Conard and Prindiville (2000) emphasized the low density of lithic and osseous remains and the short duration of the human occupations, alternating with the presence of carnivores. Finally, a similar scenario of alternating human and carnivore occupations has been proposed for the Grotte Tournal in southeast France (patou-Mathis, 1994).…”

Stone tools for the hunt: points with impact scars from a Middle Paleolithic site in southern Italy

“…Data from many Middle Paleolithic sites prove that Neanderthals were capable of hunting a wide range of prey, from dangerous animals such as brown bears, elephants, woolly mammoths and rhinos (Auguste, 1995;Bratlund, 1999;Gaudzinski, 2004;Mussi and Villa, 2008 and references therein;Scott, 1986) to large, medium and small-size ungulates such as bison, aurochs, horses, red deer, reindeer, roe deer, wild goats, fallow deer and gazelles; the capture of smallsize animals such as leporids, birds, small carnivores and tortoises is also documented (Adler et al, 2006;Blasco, 2008;Conard and Prindiville, 2000;Costamagno et al, 2006;Fiore et al, 2004;Mü nzel and Conard, 2004;Rabinovich and Hovers, 2004;Tchernov, 2001, 2002). Some assemblages are heavily dominated by one taxon showing the ability to target a specific prey (Gaudzinski and Roebroeks, 2000).…”