Marie-Cécile Soulier

En Europe occidentale, le passage du Paléolithique moyen au Paléolithique supérieur voit la conjonction de plusieurs évènements majeurs parmi lesquels figure le développement de comportements dits « modernes ». Si la mise en place du Paléolithique supérieur est fréquemment discutée sous l’angle des cultures matérielles, les modalités d’exploitation du gibier ne sont, faute de données suffisantes, que rarement intégrées aux discussions. Dans ce travail, les restes fauniques de quatre gisements du Sud-Ouest de la France fréquemment intégrés dans les discussions sur l’émergence du Paléolithique supérieur (la Quina aval, Roc-de-Combe, les Abeilles, Isturitz) ont été analysés. Le corpus étudié se compose de plus de 37 000 pièces, issues de neuf séries, et documente les périodes du Châtelperronien, du Protoaurignacien et de l’Aurignacien ancien. Ce travail s’est intéressé à décrire les tratégies de chasse (profils de mortalité et saisonnalité discutés en regard de l’éthologie des espèces, modalités de transport du gibier) et les modalités de traitement du gibier (fréquence, localisation et signification des traces de boucherie et des traces techniques). Un changement important dans les modalités d’acquisition du gibier apparaît par rapport au Moustérien, remettant en cause les modèles précédemment avancés sur les stratégies de chasse. L’analyse des stries de découpe identifie, elle, des différences dans les gestes de boucherie par rapport aux phases plus récentes du Paléolithique supérieur. Avec le début du Paléolithique supérieur, l’exploitation de la faune se complexifie : le gibier ne répond plus seulement à des besoins alimentaires, mais également techniques et symboliques. L’analyse intégrée des déchets alimentaires et des pièces d’industrie et de parure montre que la sélection des supports d’industrie influe sur les choix d’acquisition et de traitement du gibier, attestant d’une forte imbrication des sphères alimentaire, technique et symbolique. Ces données, confrontées aux autres marqueurs de la culture matérielle, permettent d’esquisser les contours de plusieurs territoires et de discuter des systèmes de mobilité des groupes humains du début du Paléolithique supérieur. Ce travail offre ainsi une vision renouvelée des comportements de subsistance lors de l’émergence du Paléolithique supérieur.

Hydrogen stable isotopes (δ ² H) preserved in bone collagen have been proposed as a promising proxy for palaeoclimatic reconstruction, though empirical applications remain limited. To evaluate the reliability and scope of this approach, we performed a multiisotopic analysis (δ ¹³ C, δ ¹⁵ N, δ ³⁴ S, and δ ² H) on 50 herbivore bone samples collected from three archaeostratigraphic layers spanning the Aurignacian sequence of Isturitz Cave (France). This archaeological well-preserved, dated and studied site provides a robust framework for testing isotopic proxies across temporal and taxonomic gradients. Our results reveal a progressive δ ² H depletion over ∼3000-year interval, consistent with predicted increasing aridity. We also identified species-specific δ ² H differences, underscoring the need for taxonomic resolution in future applications and in general palaeoclimatic interpretations. While these samples reflect faunal remains accumulated through human activity—introducing potential ecological and sampling biases—they nonetheless provide valuable records of past local conditions. Overall, our findings support the potential of bone collagen δ ² H as a sensitive indicator of past hydrological conditions and a complementary tool for reconstructing both climatic trends and humanenvironment dynamics.

When foetal bones are preserved in archaeological sites, they are often used to identify the seasonality of prey acquisition by past human populations and, subsequently, to discuss their lifestyle, their management of food resources, nomadic cycles, etc. To do so, zooarchaeologists use charts to estimate foetal age based on the growth of their bones. For reindeer ( Rangifer tarandus ), a species that was widely exploited since the Palaeolithic throughout Eurasia, existing reference data are limited and require the measurement of complete bones, a procedure that is rarely applicable to archaeological contexts in which bones are often fragmented. In this study we present a wide range of measurements (9-10 measurements per bone) taken on the humerus, radius, metacarpal, femur, tibia and metatarsal of 31 individuals housed at the Zoological Museum of the University of Oulu (Finland). With this large data set, a more accurate estimation of the time of death of reindeer foetus can be achieved using skeletal measurements, even in the case of fragmented bones. To facilitate the use of this referential, an open-access web interface ( foetusmeteR ) was designed in RShiny. This interface allows for the direct estimation of foetal age and season of death by entering a single skeletal measurement, as well as the possibility of estimating if two bones might correspond to the same individual using two different measurements. This new tool should help to discuss in more detail the condition of reindeer herds hunted in the past, the hunting techniques and strategies that may have been used by human groups, and allow for a more detailed reconstruction of the seasonal nomadic cycle of past societies that focused their subsistence on Rangifer populations.

Understanding Palaeolithic hominin subsistence strategies requires the comprehensive taxonomic identification of faunal remains. The high fragmentation of Late Pleistocene faunal assemblages often prevents proper taxonomic identification based on bone morphology. It has been assumed that the morphologically unidentifiable component of the faunal assemblage would reflect the taxonomic abundances of the morphologically identified portion. In this study, we analyse three faunal datasets covering the Middle to Upper Palaeolithic transition (MUPT) at Bacho Kiro Cave (Bulgaria) and Les Cottés and La Ferrassie (France) with the application of collagen type I peptide mass fingerprinting (ZooMS). Our results emphasise that the fragmented component of Palaeolithic bone assemblages can differ significantly from the morphologically identifiable component. We obtain contrasting identification rates between taxa resulting in an overrepresentation of morphologically identified reindeer (Rangifer tarandus) and an underrepresentation of aurochs/bison (Bos/Bison) and horse/European ass (Equus) at Les Cottés and La Ferrassie. Together with an increase in the relative diversity of the faunal composition, these results have implications for the interpretation of subsistence strategies during a period of possible interaction between Neanderthals and Homo sapiens in Europe. Furthermore, shifts in faunal community composition and in carnivore activity suggest a change in the interaction between humans and carnivores across the MUPT and indicate a possible difference in site use between Neanderthals and Homo sapiens. The combined use of traditional and biomolecular methods allows (zoo)archaeologists to tackle some of the methodological limits commonly faced during the morphological assessment of Palaeolithic bone assemblages.

Artefacts made from stones, bones and teeth are fundamental to our understanding of human subsistence strategies, behaviour and culture in the Pleistocene. Although these resources are plentiful, it is impossible to associate artefacts to specific human individuals¹ who can be morphologically or genetically characterized, unless they are found within burials, which are rare in this time period. Thus, our ability to discern the societal roles of Pleistocene individuals based on their biological sex or genetic ancestry is limited^2–5. Here we report the development of a non-destructive method for the gradual release of DNA trapped in ancient bone and tooth artefacts. Application of the method to an Upper Palaeolithic deer tooth pendant from Denisova Cave, Russia, resulted in the recovery of ancient human and deer mitochondrial genomes, which allowed us to estimate the age of the pendant at approximately 19,000–25,000 years. Nuclear DNA analysis identifies the presumed maker or wearer of the pendant as a female individual with strong genetic affinities to a group of Ancient North Eurasian individuals who lived around the same time but were previously found only further east in Siberia. Our work redefines how cultural and genetic records can be linked in prehistoric archaeology.

Improving our knowledge of subsistence strategies and food processing techniques of past societies is of prime interest for better understanding human cultures as well as multiple aspects of human evolution. Beyond the simple matter of food itself, a substantial portion of socio-economic behavior is expressed in what, how, when, and with whom we eat. Over the last few decades, diverse methodologies for the analysis and interpretation of cut marks have progressively provided new insights for past butchery practices. For example, a recent study of the production of antelope biltong in South Africa concluded that the drying of meat generates high frequencies of longitudinal cut marks. This paper presents a cut mark analysis of faunal remains recovered by Lewis Binford from 8 campsites occupied by Nunamiut groups from the end of 19^thto middle of the 20^thcentury in the area around Anaktuvuk Pass, Alaska. The preparation of meat—primarily from caribou (Rangifer tarandus)–varied at these sites according to the season of occupation and was, depending on the site, either immediately consumed, processed after being stored in ice-cellars, or dried and stored. These faunal assemblages therefore provide a unique opportunity to explore the material traces of different meat preparation and preservation techniques in order to identify whether specific patterns can be identified and subsequently used to explore subsistence practices in the past. Binford’s Nunamiut faunal assemblages, which were produced by individuals using traditional techniques and methods, were analyzed in order to 1) further test the hypothesis that meat drying produces high frequencies of longitudinal cut marks, 2) explore the common assumption that skilled butchers leave smaller numbers of cut marks on bones compared to less experienced individuals, and 3) test whether cut mark patterns vary as a function of the processing techniques employed. The introduction of a %cutL index represents a quicker alternative to geo-referencing cut marks on bones when exploring meat processing techniques and methods and can easily be integrated in zooarchaeological analyses. While the results obtained support processing techniques linked to meat drying to leave high numbers of longitudinal cut marks, they are inconsistent with cut mark frequencies varying as a function of the butcher’s skill and experience. Analyzing cut mark patterns is therefore a reliable means for exploring food processing by past human societies and, by extension, their methods for safeguarding against unfavorable seasonal variations in both the abundance and condition of prey species. Identifying food storage in the archaeological record equally provides a unique window on to the social dynamics and potential inequalities of past societies.

The pooling of data from use-wear studies on the lithic industries with that obtained from the study of the faunal remains allows us to contribute to the discussion and offer certain answers to the following questions: Is the frequency of the activities identified by use-wear analysis an archaeological reality or is it the result of a methodological bias? What were the practices used by Neanderthals in exploiting plant and animal resources? Is it possible to identify any specializations in te...

1 – Introduction A - The benefits of an experimental approach Numerous researchers, archaeologists, anthropologists, and philosophers of science have examined the principle of actualism and its application in archaeology (ethnoarchaeology and experimental archaeology) from an epistemological or theoretical point of view (Ascher, 1961; Gould, 1965; Gallay, 1980, 2007, 2011; Binford, 1981; Gould, Watson, 1982; Wylie, 1982, 1985; Gifford-Gonzalez, 1989b; Testart, 2006; Roux, 2007). As emphasized...