Middle Palaeolithic Subsistence in the West Cave of “Le Portel” (Pyrénées, France)

Abstract

In this study, 87,054 bones and teeth from the West Cave at Le Portel (Pyrénées, France) were analysed. Eleven herbivore and 10 carnivore species were identified. A comparison of Le Portel cave fauna with well documented faunal associations from Late Pleistocene deposits in Southern France leads to the conclusion that the environmental conditions in which the mammalian community lived were those of arctic or cold open biotope, such as steppe and tundra, contemporaneous with oxygen isotope stages 5–3.The archaeozoological analysis included counts and distribution of anatomical remains, providing sufficient data on hunting strategies to reveal the opportunistic behaviour of Neanderthals. Nevertheless, the exploitation of the most abundant ungulates (reindeer, horse, bison and red deer) indicates sex- and age-selection patterns in the hunting strategy. It has been possible to prove that the cave was occupied alternately both by humans and carnivores. The area around Le Portel cave may have been used as a strategic hunting site. The topographical location associated with a small closed valley produced favourable conditions for animal kills, where animals were butchered in situ and consumed by Neanderthals using typical Mousterian tools.