The role of hunting/scavaneging from a European perspective

Abstract

The arrival to Europe of the main hypotheses on the marginal obligated scavenger in the 70s of the last century was supposed to be a significant salutary lesson for zooarchaeological methods related to the studies of Neanderthal (and precedent hominin) subsistence strategies. Since then, the discovery of new sites and the application of a more accurate and precise zooarchaeological approach have transformed and enriched the main perceptions of the behaviour of this human lineage. Currently, the scientific community accepts the hunting capabilities of these hominins, focusing studies on the diversity of methods used to obtain prey and the use of animals for food and other significant aspects, such as ornamental elements. From this perspective, a high variability in the hunting techniques and the obtained prey is observed, which can be related to the ecological conditions of the surrounding environment, the functionality of the site and occupational length (e.g., short-term occupations, seasonal occupations, long-term occupations, etc.). This work aims to highlight the diversity in the human strategies used to obtain animal resources among the Neanderthal lineage from its origin in the Middle Pleistocene and its disappearance during the Upper Pleistocene as a sample of its behavioural plasticity. The examples observed from the main European sites, which are located in different climatic and ecological contexts, show a significant capability of these hominins to obtain a high diversity of prey (from small vertebrates to pachyderms) using several techniques, among which scavenging is perceived a valid and compatible choice.