Fowling on the banks of the Scheldt river in the recent Neolithic (France, 3300-2900 cal BC)

Abstract

The site of Bouchain is the first recent Neolithic site excavated in northern France. The four excavation campaigns have revealed an activity zone on the bank of a palaeochannel of the Scheldt river. The fauna comprising 1892 bone remains buried in a waterlogged sediment is very well preserved revealing surface modifications including cutting, breakage and cooking. Wild mammals and birds are important components of the subsistence strategy summing up to 43% of vertebrate remains. Fowling constitutes 15% of exploited wild resources with a focus on waterfowl, primarily mallard. No equivalent pattern of fowling could be found in the final Neolithic nor in the middle Neolithic sites of the regional context. The closest subsistence strategies to the one of Bouchain was found in the Netherlands within contemporaneous sites where hunting for mammals and waterfowl played a major role in the diet.