Magdalenian dog remains from Le Morin rock-shelter (Gironde, France). Socio-economic implications of a zootechnical innovation

• Main Authors: Boudadi-Maligne, Myriam, Mallye, Jean-Baptiste, Langlais, Mathieu, Barshay-Szmidt, Carolyn
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: SAMRA 2013
• Subjects: domestication; late glacial; dog; wolf; Canis lupus; Canis familiaris; Magdalenian; Morin
• Online Access: http://paleo.revues.org/2465

We present in this paper new remains and direct radiocarbon dates of small canids from Le Morin rock shelter (Gironde, France) which constitute a major discovery with respect to the question of wolf domestication during the European Palaeolithic.In this study a multi-proxy approach has been employed, including species identification and a consideration of the archaeological and chronological context. The canids’ remains have all been studied regarding their morphology, biometry and surface attributes. All dental and postcranial remains of canids were attributed to a species by using a thorough biometric database built from fossil and modern data from Europe. The morphometry of seven remains is outside the size range variability of wolves and therefore can be securely attributed to dog (Canis familiaris). Nineteen are attributed to wolf (Canis lupus) and six could not not be securely attributed to one sub-species or the other (Canis sp.). More than 50 % of these Canisremains bear anthropogenic marks that demonstrate the utilization of both wolves and dogs by late glacial human groups. Two of the dog remains from Le Morin rock shelter were directly dated and indicate that Magdalenian groups lived with dogs. A discussion is therefore developed in this article regarding the development of this domestication through time and space.