A wildcat (Felis silvestris) butchered by Neanderthals in Level O of the Abric Romaní site (Capellades, Barcelona, Spain)

Abstract

The most common prey of humans during the European Middle Palaeolithic was large and medium-sized ungulates. In contrast, evidence of human processing of small animals and carnivores is very scarce in this chronology. In Level O of the Abric Romaní site, dated to 55 ka, various evidence of human activity has been identified in Cervus elaphus, Bos primigenius and Equus ferus, but also in Felis silvestris. The present paper focuses on the specific case of this felid. The main aim is to explain the anthropogenic use of the wildcat, taking into account actualistic and archaeological studies. An analysis is undertaken of skeletal part representation, surface modifications (cutmarks), bone breakage pattern (one or both epiphyses missing from certain limb bones) and the spatial dispersion of the remains (clustered and unevenly distributed). The results indicate that all the remains belong to a nearly complete individual that was processed and consumed by Neanderthals inside the rock shelter. This case is compared with the other taxa identified in Level O, with other carnivores recovered from the Abric Romaní site and with other sites with a similar chronology. It is suggested that Neanderthals had a more diverse diet and more variable subsistence strategies than previously thought.