Integrating Faunal and Lithic Data to examine Neandertal Subsistence at the Late Mousterian Site of Abri Peyrony, France

Summary

New excavations at the late Middle Paleolithic site of Abri Peyrony (also Haut de Combe-Capelle) in France yielded rich lithic and faunal assemblages, as well as pieces of manganese dioxide, bone tools, and much needed information about the site’s formation and antiquity. The site preserved only Mousterian material, which derives from three main layers of sediments. The site is best known for its Mousterian of Acheulian Tradition (MTA) assemblages, and Level L-3A can be attributed to the MTA. The underlying level L-3B and the upper terrace level U-3 demonstrate similarities to L-3A in blank production but are not MTA. The fauna from the three layers preserve distinct signatures of species diversity: reindeer dominate L-3B, large bovids and red deer form the majority of U-3, and L-3A has a more even species distribution, despite its smaller sample size. Thus, the Abri Peyrony faunal assemblage provides an opportunity to study the relationship between changes in lithic technology and subsistence. When comparing L-3B and U-3, technology appears to be consistent across changing environments, and then both change with L-3A. These results are explored in the context of recent discussions about the relationship between variation in lithic technologies and biostratigraphy in southern France.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for American Archaeology 82nd Annual Meeting, Vancouver, BC (2017)   •
• Connecting Middle Paleolithic Datasets: The Interplay of Zooarchaeological and Lithic Data for Unraveling Neanderthal Behavior

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Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 16162