The scene of spectacular feasts: Animal remains from Pavlov I south-east, the Czech Republic

Abstract

Gravettian culture arose about 30 thousand years ago and expanded into nearly the whole of Europe during the next millennia. Gravettian cultural levels are known from caves as well as open-air sites. Pavlov I belongs to the latter category, which is typical in Central and Eastern Europe. Excavations at this site were conducted from 1952 to 1971. We were able to study materials collected during excavations at the south-east part of the site in the years 1952–56. They yielded enormous numbers of archaeological artefacts (e.g., stone and bone tools, personal ornaments, clay figurines) and more than 47,000 animal bones. Remains of small (birds, hares and foxes) and medium sized animals (reindeer) dominate the bone assemblage. In contrast to other Gravettian sites, mammoth remains are not so numerous at Pavlov I. A characteristic feature of the site is a very large number of carnivore remains, especially from wolves and foxes. All stages of processing (skinning, dismembering and filleting) are evidenced for different mammal taxa. For the Pavlovian people, herbivores (reindeer, woolly mammoth, and horse), carnivores (fox, wolf, wolverine, bears, and cave lion), and small animals (hares and birds) were an important source of food as well as raw material for tool production and ornaments. All skeletal parts of small, medium, and large animals were found, which indicates that hunters transported whole bodies of killed animals to the site. More than 300 cut marks were found on the animal bones. Other signs of human activity are not so numerous. Because the site was occupied for relatively long periods of time, carnivores had limited access to the remains and only 23 bones have tooth marks.