Céline Bémilli

The creation of an archaeological park at the site of Solutré required a rescue operation in 2004 and two Aurignacian layers were discovered (Connet et al. 2005). The richest one (layer 2, presented here) yielded several thousands of large mammals remains very well preserved; Horse and Reindeer are the two main species. The presence of nearly complete skeletons indicates that the animals were transported to, prepared at, and probably, consumed at the site (or into close vicinity). Foetal bones and deciduous teethwould indicate that hunting took place at several occasions during the year, though more often, at the end of Autumn. That is why it is possible to assume that the site was occupied on several occasions, and that the duration of each occupation lasted several weeks to several months. The zooarchaeological analysis provides some evidence of bone industry (smoother, burnishers and retouching tools), bone and ivory ornaments, as well as a minimal exploitation of Reindeer antler...

In this paper, we will address the question of meat resources procurement during the Lower Paleolithic through faunal analysis of the Middle Pleistocene site of Soucy (Yonne). A brief historical review of this topic and related debates will allow us to show to what extent the hunting ability of an extinct humankind is still met with reserves. We will mostly explore the implications of hunting practice in terms of site occupation patterns, ways of life, and social organization

In 2004, after more than a century of research on the site of Solutré, a preventive excavation was conducted within the Aurignacian layers located next to the excavations carried out by J. Combier in the 1970s and 80s. Two archaeological units consisting of small, broken limestone slabs were excavated on a 160 sq. ft. surface. Layer 2, presented in this paper, is dated between 27,000 and 30,000 BP. With nearly 48,000 pieces, mainly Horse and Reindeer, it is particularly rich in faunal remains. These animals were slaughtered and then dismembered in the immediate vicinity, all year round, but in greater numbers in late autumn and in the winter. Animal processing was varied (butchering, cutting of raw material, production of bone objects) but took place on the site for the most part. The associated lithic assemblage mainly consists of retouched tools and a few debris closely related to animal processing. A bone industry composed of retouchers and a smoother is also represented, illustr...

Extrait de : Sandrine COSTAMAGNO (dir.), Histoire de l'alimentation humaine : entre choix et contraintes, Paris, Édition électronique du CTHS (Actes des congrès des sociétés historiques et scientifiques), 2014. Cet article a été validé par le comité de lecture des Éditions du CTHS dans le cadre de la publication des actes du 138 e Congrès national des sociétés historiques et scientifiques tenu à Rennes en 2013. La découverte du site paléolithique d'Alizay dans l'Eure (fig. 1) est exceptionnelle à plus d'un titre. Tant au niveau régional que national, les sites datant de la fin du Tardiglaciaire weichselien sont peu fréquents. Ceux comportant de la faune le sont encore moins. La conservation d'une telle occupation mise au jour sur la fouille d'Alizay est ainsi tout à fait inédite. De plus, les vestiges lithiques et fauniques apparaissent peu perturbés et bien structurés selon un espace parfaitement circulaire d'environ 38 m 2 prolongé au nord-est par une a...

Several hundred faunal remains were discovered since 2005 in the Solutrean‘s level at Rochefort cave (Mayenne, France). Reindeer and Horse are the main taxa identified and are the baseline of the Solutrean diet. We present here the preliminary results of the faunal analysis and discuss the exploitation of these two main taxa. A number of refits were possible. At the same time, the exceptional preservation of the artefacts together with well-defined cut marks allows to reconstruct procurement and use patterns of these animals as well as the season they were killed. Recently excavated and analysed Solutrean faunal assemblages are rare, which make the yet unreported Rochefort cave faunal assemblage even more important and unprecedented.