Mesolithic landscapes and where to hunt big game: everywhere or???

• Main Authors: Vogt, David, Grøn, Ole, Peeters, Hans, J.H.M., Robert, Hernek, David, Éva
• Other Authors: Archéologies et Sciences de l'Antiquité (ArScAn), Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne (UP1)-Université Paris 8 Vincennes-Saint-Denis (UP8)-Université Paris Nanterre (UPN)-Ministère de la Culture et de la Communication (MCC)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Anthropologie des techniques, des espaces et des territoires au Pliocène et au Pléistocène (AnTET), Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne (UP1)-Université Paris 8 Vincennes-Saint-Denis (UP8)-Université Paris Nanterre (UPN)-Ministère de la Culture et de la Communication (MCC)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne (UP1)-Université Paris 8 Vincennes-Saint-Denis (UP8)-Université Paris Nanterre (UPN)-Ministère de la Culture et de la Communication (MCC)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Hans Peeters, Ole Grøn
• Format: Book Part
• Language: English
• Published: HAL CCSD 2022
• Subjects: [SHS]Humanities and Social Sciences; caribou
• Online Access: https://shs.hal.science/halshs-04085722

International audience As much as ‘hunting’ is a central theme in archaeological hunter-gatherer research, aslittle do we actually know about the specificities of hunting strategies and how this hasinfluenced the cultural structuring of landscapes. It is often assumed that game washunted anywhere, but the question is whether this was the case. Firstly, the archaeologicalpicture of hunting practices and technology is biased by the overrepresentation of sitescharacterised by quantities of knapped lithics – the interpretation of sites with no oronly little lithics is difficult, notably due to the fact that non-lithic materials are often notpreserved. Secondly, there is an underestimation of the importance of non-lithic materialculture directly or indirectly related to hunting and landscape exploitation. Thirdly,hunting can encompass various strategies, which are associated with different uses ofmaterials and structures in different parts of the landscape. Choices that have been madewill certainly have depended on the knowledge about animal behaviour and landscapestructure, with an important role for rivers, lakes and seashores. Taking differences ingeographical and environmental conditions, as well as variability in hunting strategiesand technology into consideration, this paper attempts to identify some tendencies withregard to the hunting of key species of big game (reindeer/caribou; elk/moose; red deer;roe deer; wild boar) in Mesolithic/Late Stone Age landscapes in north-western Europe.The most important aspects of the behaviour of these species are discussed, notablyseasonal variations with regard to group composition, occurrence in the landscape,and daily feeding and drinking patterns. Next, we discuss aspects of hunting, notablythe establishment of the presence of game, the spotting and approaching prey, and thewounding and following of prey. This is followed by a brief look at the archaeologicalevidence for big game hunting and aspects of landscape structure in the Mesolithic ofnorth-western Europe. In ...