Small prey exploitation during the final Gravettian in the northeast of the Iberian Peninsula: The case of Level D from Arbreda Cave
Abstract Arbreda Cave is one of the most important sites in the Reclau Caves complex (Serinyà, north‐east Iberian Peninsula). Its stratigraphy reveals that the cave was intensively occupied during the Upper Palaeolithic. As in other archaeological sites in the western Mediterranean regions, a shift...
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crwiley:10.1002/oa.2861 2024-09-09T19:43:30+00:00 Small prey exploitation during the final Gravettian in the northeast of the Iberian Peninsula: The case of Level D from Arbreda Cave Rufí, Isaac Lloveras, Lluís Soler, Joaquim Soler, Narcís Agència de Gestió d'Ajuts Universitaris i de Recerca Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad Generalitat de Catalunya 2020 http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/oa.2861 https://api.wiley.com/onlinelibrary/tdm/v1/articles/10.1002%2Foa.2861 https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1002/oa.2861 https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full-xml/10.1002/oa.2861 en eng Wiley http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/termsAndConditions#vor International Journal of Osteoarchaeology volume 30, issue 3, page 330-344 ISSN 1047-482X 1099-1212 journal-article 2020 crwiley https://doi.org/10.1002/oa.2861 2024-06-18T04:15:11Z Abstract Arbreda Cave is one of the most important sites in the Reclau Caves complex (Serinyà, north‐east Iberian Peninsula). Its stratigraphy reveals that the cave was intensively occupied during the Upper Palaeolithic. As in other archaeological sites in the western Mediterranean regions, a shift towards an intensification in small prey exploitation has been observed over the course of this period. This trend is indicated by the presence of large quantities of small mammal remains, mainly rabbits, in the archaeofaunal assemblages. However, the anthropogenic origin of these bone accumulations requires to be proved through the detailed taphonomic analysis because their presence in the archaeological record may be consequence of the activity of different agents. On this question, neotaphonomic studies have become a valuable tool with which to distinguish the taphonomic signatures produced by terrestrial carnivores, birds of prey, and humans. Although most researchers agree on the importance of small prey in the human diet during this period, this issue has not yet been resolved. Because data are still scarce, subsistence in some Upper Palaeolithic episodes, such as the final Gravettian, is not well understood. The aim of this paper is to establish the origin of the small mammal prey assemblages from Level D of Arbreda Cave and to assess the importance of these animals for the subsistence of humans in western Mediterranean regions. This level has been dated to ca. 25–20 kyr 14 C BP and is mainly contemporary with the palaeoenvironmental cold conditions derived from the Greenland Stadial 3. The results of this study indicate that Level D small mammal prey assemblages have a remarkable anthropogenic footprint. Rabbits were intensively exploited, but other small mammals, such as hedgehogs, were also part of the human diet. The animal carcasses were brought whole to the cave, where they were butchered, cooked, and consumed. In addition, marrow exploitation was also practiced in the case of the rabbits. Although at ... Article in Journal/Newspaper Greenland Wiley Online Library Greenland International Journal of Osteoarchaeology 30 3 330 344 |
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Open Polar |
collection |
Wiley Online Library |
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crwiley |
language |
English |
description |
Abstract Arbreda Cave is one of the most important sites in the Reclau Caves complex (Serinyà, north‐east Iberian Peninsula). Its stratigraphy reveals that the cave was intensively occupied during the Upper Palaeolithic. As in other archaeological sites in the western Mediterranean regions, a shift towards an intensification in small prey exploitation has been observed over the course of this period. This trend is indicated by the presence of large quantities of small mammal remains, mainly rabbits, in the archaeofaunal assemblages. However, the anthropogenic origin of these bone accumulations requires to be proved through the detailed taphonomic analysis because their presence in the archaeological record may be consequence of the activity of different agents. On this question, neotaphonomic studies have become a valuable tool with which to distinguish the taphonomic signatures produced by terrestrial carnivores, birds of prey, and humans. Although most researchers agree on the importance of small prey in the human diet during this period, this issue has not yet been resolved. Because data are still scarce, subsistence in some Upper Palaeolithic episodes, such as the final Gravettian, is not well understood. The aim of this paper is to establish the origin of the small mammal prey assemblages from Level D of Arbreda Cave and to assess the importance of these animals for the subsistence of humans in western Mediterranean regions. This level has been dated to ca. 25–20 kyr 14 C BP and is mainly contemporary with the palaeoenvironmental cold conditions derived from the Greenland Stadial 3. The results of this study indicate that Level D small mammal prey assemblages have a remarkable anthropogenic footprint. Rabbits were intensively exploited, but other small mammals, such as hedgehogs, were also part of the human diet. The animal carcasses were brought whole to the cave, where they were butchered, cooked, and consumed. In addition, marrow exploitation was also practiced in the case of the rabbits. Although at ... |
author2 |
Agència de Gestió d'Ajuts Universitaris i de Recerca Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad Generalitat de Catalunya |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Rufí, Isaac Lloveras, Lluís Soler, Joaquim Soler, Narcís |
spellingShingle |
Rufí, Isaac Lloveras, Lluís Soler, Joaquim Soler, Narcís Small prey exploitation during the final Gravettian in the northeast of the Iberian Peninsula: The case of Level D from Arbreda Cave |
author_facet |
Rufí, Isaac Lloveras, Lluís Soler, Joaquim Soler, Narcís |
author_sort |
Rufí, Isaac |
title |
Small prey exploitation during the final Gravettian in the northeast of the Iberian Peninsula: The case of Level D from Arbreda Cave |
title_short |
Small prey exploitation during the final Gravettian in the northeast of the Iberian Peninsula: The case of Level D from Arbreda Cave |
title_full |
Small prey exploitation during the final Gravettian in the northeast of the Iberian Peninsula: The case of Level D from Arbreda Cave |
title_fullStr |
Small prey exploitation during the final Gravettian in the northeast of the Iberian Peninsula: The case of Level D from Arbreda Cave |
title_full_unstemmed |
Small prey exploitation during the final Gravettian in the northeast of the Iberian Peninsula: The case of Level D from Arbreda Cave |
title_sort |
small prey exploitation during the final gravettian in the northeast of the iberian peninsula: the case of level d from arbreda cave |
publisher |
Wiley |
publishDate |
2020 |
url |
http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/oa.2861 https://api.wiley.com/onlinelibrary/tdm/v1/articles/10.1002%2Foa.2861 https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1002/oa.2861 https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full-xml/10.1002/oa.2861 |
geographic |
Greenland |
geographic_facet |
Greenland |
genre |
Greenland |
genre_facet |
Greenland |
op_source |
International Journal of Osteoarchaeology volume 30, issue 3, page 330-344 ISSN 1047-482X 1099-1212 |
op_rights |
http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/termsAndConditions#vor |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1002/oa.2861 |
container_title |
International Journal of Osteoarchaeology |
container_volume |
30 |
container_issue |
3 |
container_start_page |
330 |
op_container_end_page |
344 |
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1809912980394999808 |