Specialized Early Upper Palaeolithic Hunters in Southwestern France?

Paul Mellars has long used cave and rockshelter ungulate faunal assemblages from southwestern France to argue that the early Upper Palaeolithic people of this region focused their hunting on reindeer (Rangifer tarandus), and that such specialized hunting distinguishes the Upper from the Middle Palaeolithic in at least this region. We examine this argument quantitatively, using a sample of 133 Mousterian, Châtelperronian, and Aurignacian ungulate assemblages. We show that only five Aurignacian assemblages, from three sites, stand out in terms of the degree to which their ungulate faunas are dominated by a single taxon. We also show that some Mousterian cave and rock shelter ungulate assemblages are more heavily dominated by large bovids than Aurignacian assemblages are dominated by reindeer, and that Mellars' argument is highly dependent on the exclusion of open sites from the analysis and on the numerical threshold he has selected to indicate hunting specialization.     

The estimation of body weight of the reindeer (Rangifer tarandus L.) from skeletal measurements: preliminary analyses and application to archaeological material from 17th- and 18th-century northern Finland

Abstract

In this study, a variety of postcranial skeletal measurements of reindeer (Rangifer tarandus L.) are used to predict the body mass. Regression equations for estimating the body weight of females as well as correction factors for estimating the weight of males are generated. These are applied to archaeological reindeer bones from 17th- and 18th-century Northern Finland. Predicted weights of archaeological reindeer correspond well with the weight of modern reindeer. Sexual dimorphism, however, caused problems in this analysis, since the criteria used for sex assessment affect the body weight prediction and thus the results of inter-assemblage comparisons.     

Hunting strategies in the Late Glacial of northern Europe: A survey of the faunal evidence

Presented here is a general overview of the evidence concerning the procurement strategies in the Late Glacial of northwestern Europe. Their rich faunal assemblages make Stellmoor and Meiendorf, in northern Germany, key sites in this respect. Both may be considered specialized reindeer hunting camps. A survey of the hunting techniques and exploitation patterns reflected by the material from these sites emphasizes the differences between the Hamburgian and the Ahrensburgian economies.     

The Scandinavian reindeer (Rangifer tarandus L.) after the last glacial maximum: time,seasonality and human exploitation

Antlers and bones of reindeer (Rangifer tarandus L.) are the most frequently found vertebrate remains from the Late Glacial deposits of Southern Scandinavia. The Danish collection now consists of more than 350 specimens and of these 47 have been radiocarbon dated extending the range of occurrence in the area with ca. 1300 ¹⁴C yr. Thus the first occurrence is pushed back to ca. 12?500 ¹⁴C yr BP (late Bølling chronozone) while the youngest date lies at ca. 9200 ¹⁴C yr BP (late Preboreal chronozone) establishing that the reindeer survives well into the Holocene. The seasonal dates of the reindeer indicate for the first human occupation (the Havelte group from the Bølling period) a summer, autumn and early winter occupation, with reindeer, as well as man, apparently being absent during the coldest winter months. Finally, it is shown that Southern Scandinavia acted as a calving area throughout the Late Glacial and Early Holocene thus discrediting the North–South model of reindeer groups moving from a wintering area in Southern Scandinavia to a calving area in the foothills of the North European plain.     

Large Mammal Fauna from the Pleistocene Deposits of Chagyrskaya Cave Northwestern Altai (based on 2007–2011 Excavations)

The article focuses on the results of analysis of more than 100 thousand animal fossils recovered from Chagyrskaya Cave in 2007–2011. Animal remains from strata 5 and 6a result mostly from the hunting activity of wolves and cave hyenas, which used the cave as a shelter or den for breeding their offspring. In contrast, fauna remains from strata 6b and 6c at the cave's entrance zone primarily accumulated due to the hunting activities of Paleolithic humans, who mostly hunted bison (Bison priscus). To a lesser extent, they also hunted the Ovodov horse (Equus (Sussemionus) ovodovi), reindeer (Rangifer tarandus), Siberian mountain goat (Capra sibirica), and argali (Ovis ammon). Animal bones representing common taxa point to the existence of steppe landscapes during the formation of stratum 6. The sediment deposition of stratum 5 supposedly proceeded under arid climatic conditions. However, small forested areas existed in river valleys and mountain gorges throughout the entire sedimentation period.     

Reindeer antlers and what they can tell us about the reindeer population

The form and size of reindeer antlers are due to the animals’ age, genetic constitution, and nutritional condition.

The antlers are shed once a year at different seasons depending on the animals’ age, sex, and, for females, whether they are pregnant or not.

Finds of subfossil antler‐fragments from Heisantj?nn and Sumtangen on Hardangervidda show that the hunting has taken place early in the autumn and that is has been selective for the males.

This article is based on studies of the reindeer, Rangifier tarandus L. on Hardangervidda today, and on a subfossil bone material.     

Entheseal Changes in Free‐Ranging Versus Zoo Reindeer—Observing Activity Status of Reindeer

We evaluate whether entheseal changes (EC) can be used to reconstruct activity among reindeer to study its domestication. Humans influence reindeer activity patterns through corralling, which renders them less mobile than free‐ranging reindeer and through use as draught animals, which can result in overuse of certain muscles. There is also variation within free‐ranging reindeer in baseline activity levels due to environmental factors. Other sources of variation at entheses include age, sex, pathology, size, and genetic disposition. Here we examine if there are differences in the entheses between zoo versus free‐ranging reindeer. We recorded the entheses of reindeer long bones using a modified EC scoring system. Weight effects were accounted for by performing analyses separately for specimens under and over 95 kg, but unfortunately age information was lacking. We found that several flexor muscle insertion sites in the ulna were more developed among free‐ranging reindeer. This difference is likely due to feeding behaviour. The free‐ranging animals were digging for lichen from under the snow whereas the zoo reindeer were fed by their keepers. This difference in entheses, however, was found to be significant only among the heavier reindeer. Among the zoo reindeer, the insertion for Subscapularis muscle was more developed, possibly due to increased time spent immobile with the shoulder‐bracing muscle apparatus activated. This difference was significant among the heavier deer and nearly statistically significant among the lighter weight reindeer. Domesticated Siberian draught reindeer fell between zoo and free‐ranging reindeer in several tibial entheses. According to these results, some forelimb entheses may be useful to study differences in mobility and feeding patterns between groups of reindeer. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Trade,tribute and household responses

During the Late Middle Ages the combined pressures from the stately tributary organizations of Novgorod and Norway, in cooperation with the capitalist organization of the German Hansa, seem to have driven the hunting population of Varanger in East Finnmark to exploit the wild reindeer resource heavily. The article deals with how a Saami household who lived in a turf house on a peninsula in the present municipality of Nesseby (Unjárgd) dealt with the situation.     

Den samiska handeln och dess roll som social differentieringsfaktor‐lule lappmark 1760–1860

English summary

During the beginning of the 17th Century, reindeer‐husbandry developed as the dominating economic form of the Sami in Swedish Lappland. Sami society was transformed from a hunting to a pastoralist society, with profound alterations in social and economic structures. In this paper the role of trade as an agent of change in reindeer‐pastoralist economies is studied with an emphasis on conditions in Lule lappmark during the period 1760–1860.

In the middle of the 18th Century, the Sami held a dominating position in the trade of Lule lappmark. Sami traded with the Swedish trading system on the coast of the Gulf of Bothnia, and with the Norwegian trading system on the Atlantic coast. Through this trade, the Sami both disposed of their own reindeer products and conducted important middle‐man trade between the two national trading systems. In addition they carried out a large local trade in Lapland with their own products and with purchased goods.

By the middle of the 19th Centuy. the picture is completely different. The dominating Sami position had been lost and trade with Norway all but disappeared. The initiative in the local trade had gone over to the settlers. All this had occured without any changes in the assortment of goods, trading‐patterns, the volume of trade or prices. The reasons where manifold. The most important ones, however, are to be found in the population development of Lapland and the increase in population and production on the coast of Bothnia.

In Lapland a strong population movement occured with the change from a traditional Sami way of life towards a more settled one based on agriculture. At the same time, the number of settlers with a Swedish ethnic background vigourosly increased. On the coast of Bothnia the population tripled between 1750 and 1850. During this period an important proto‐industrial development also took place based on wood and iron, wind‐ and water‐power. All this meant that the relative importance of traditional Sami goods received from reindeer‐husbandry diminished, even if actual supply and demand remained stable.

The great volume of trade with reindeer‐products and the many important goods received in return demonstrates the importance of trade for the reindeer‐pastoralist economy. The trading‐goods were to a large extent technically superior to the products produced within the frames of the reindeer‐pastoralist economy. The most important factor was, however, the fact that the surplus production left in exchange for these goods, only demanded a small increase in labor input.

Within the reindeer‐pastoralist society, trade has a role as promotor of property‐differentiation and social stratification. Through hoarding of silver the rich reindeer‐owner could withdraw a substantial part of his property from the eternal plague of reindeer‐pastoralism ‐ the ever occuring bad years with heavy losses of reindeer. After such a year, he could use the silver to buy food, saving his diminished herd from slaughter and quickly building it up again. The owner of a small herd, without any silver, had to slaughter the few reindeer that survived in order to live; hence social differences could be conserved over generations.     

Les Pradelles (Marillac-le-Franc, France): A mousterian reindeer hunting camp?

The site of Les Pradelles has an important mousterian stratigraphic sequence. In the lower levels, the very low density of artefacts as well as the carnivores scavenging of carcasses abandoned by the neanderthals point to short-term human occupations; the introduction of finished tools (made on non-local, good quality flint) later highly curated, together with an expedient strategy on strictly local flint, suggest a task-specific location, within a low mobility pattern. The large faunal sample (mainly reindeer) underlines the preponderance of hunting activities. A range of butchering activities took place on the site and the abundance of filleting marks may be an indication of the processing of meat for transport to another settlement. The hypothesis of “specialized hunting” during Middle Palaeolithic is assessed with this new data set.     

Mr Lumb and Masters Megatherium: an unpublished letter by Charles Darwin from the Falklands

In the history of nineteenth-century exploration, Charles Darwin has a niche only less important than that which he occupies in the history of science and ideas. His notebooks and journals are full of information of great use to historical geographers of the areas he visited, particularly to those of geological and ecological bent. From his notebooks he combined (often doing the writing the same evening) three different journals: a personal one, a geological one, and a biological one. Since he was a neophyte, only just graduated from Cambridge, there are frequent errors and misinterpretations—as with young Francis Parkman on the Oregon Trail—but the volume of information and ideas is almost startlingly impressive. The JHG is thus glad of the chance of being the first to publish this particular letter of Charles Darwin.     

Domestication,Reindeer Husbandry and the Development of Sámi Pastoralism

Abstract

A recurrent topic in ethnographic, historical and archaeological research has been the origins of Sámi reindeer pastoralism. The article discusses how prevailing theories have been influenced by general conceptual schemes, apriori constructed models and an extensive use of taxonomies. The debate has centered around how and when domestication took place, presupposing a paradigmatic change from hunting to pastoralism. However, there has probably never been an abrupt change; hunting and herding have both been parts of a multifaceted adaption existing up to the nineteenth century. What did change was the social organization of herding when a pastoral economy became the norm at that time. Such a change also had qualitative consequences in terms of new values and economic strategies.     

Reconstructing prey selection,hunting strategy and seasonality of the early Holocene frozen site in the Siberian High Arctic: A case study on the Zhokhov site faunal remains,De Long Islands

The Zhokhov site is one of the northern most archaeological sites in the world and a very ancient vestige of occupation of high latitudes by people, indicating that this territory was settled as early as about 8000 years ago. Investigation of the site began in 1989–1990 and then continued in 2000–2005. Here we consider the taphonomy, spatial distribution, species and age- and sex-related composition of the faunal remains from the Zhokhov site. These data allow conclusions regarding the subsistence strategy practiced by Zhokhov inhabitants, including the hunting tactics. This was a peculiar adaptation model based on reindeer and polar bear hunting in a 2:1 ratio. Reindeer hunting was all-seasonal, whereas polar bears were hunted mostly in winters at their dens. Mortality data for reindeer and polar bears depict the yearly subsistence cycle. The Zhokhov site is found to be a base camp occupied year-round with modest summer activities, while wintertime is characterised by intense polar bear hunting. Most reindeer were hunted in the fall. Subsistence strategy of the Zhokhov hunters was largely facilitated by the fact that at the time of occupation Zhokhov Island was still part of the coastal Siberian plain margin.     

Variability in Faunal Assemblages: The Influence of Hunting Skill, Sharing, Dogs, and Mode of Cooking on Faunal Remains at a Sedentary Kalahari Community

Variability in faunal assemblages from different sites and/or from different time periods is often attributed to economic or taphonomic factors. The role of sharing on faunal remain distributions is compared to other factors that have been suggested to influence these distributions, such as hunting skill. Faunal species and skeletal elements are compared among three hunter—gatherer camps that form a sharing network. These are contrasted with those of two other hunter—gatherer camps located at the same Kalahari community occupied by an unusual family that is a relative isolate in terms of sharing. The effect of sharing on equalizing variation in hunting success as reflected in the faunal remain inventory is explored from the five camps inventoried in 1990. Complicating factors which tend to affect faunal remain frequencies are also examined, such as cooking technique and dogs. All faunal remains visible on the surface of each camp were recorded according to species, element or fragment portion, age (mature or immature), and, when possible, side. At all but one camp, surface faunal remains were recorded both before and after ethnographic observations during the dry season of 1990. In addition to hunting success, all occurrences of sharing and consumption of meat were recorded during these observation periods and those conducted on and off between 1987 and 1992. Although participation in a sharing network obscures differences in hunting skill in the archaeological record, sharing impacts on faunal assemblages in interesting ways that are potentially archaeologically visible. Sharing in strongly egalitarian societies levels unequal hunting skill that could otherwise affect faunal remain frequencies, taxa richness, meat weight, and other indices measured here. In these societies, sharing reinforces social bonding between kin and friends in ways that help unit families from different camps.Zooarchaeologists have become accustomed to high levels of confidence in their inferences about the origins, functions, and responses to stress of animal remains. This confidence rests on the causal and functional links between attributes of these remains and the processes and contexts which generate them. Their investigations are presently moving toward wider inferences about the context and functions of bones in ancient hominids' behavioral systems… Zooarchaeologists now need a different set of inferential strategies than that which characterized their preceding phase of research. (Gifford 1991:215)     

“Random” hunting and the composition of faunal samples from archaeological excavations: A modern example from New Zealand

The ability of analyses of the age- and sex-composition of faunal samples from archaeological excavations to permit reliable inferences concerning prehistoric culling practices and, in particular, to distinguish between wild and domesticated animals is investigated by examining the demographic composition of 14 groups of red deer (Cervus elaphus) shot at random from a helicopter in the Southern Alps of New Zealand in early 1975. It is concluded that such “random” hunting can produce samples of bones that are apparently biased with respect to age and/or sex. The implications of these findings for prehistoric studies are discussed briefly with particular reference to the exploitation of red deer in Italy and Switzerland, and greater caution in excavating and analysing faunal samples is urged.     

Determining Age and Season of Death by Use of Incremental Lines in Norwegian Reindeer Tooth Cementum

Using incremental patterns in tooth cementum is a powerful tool for age assessment. Recent developments have shown that the method has a large potential as an indicator of the season of death of the individual in question. In this paper, the results of a study comparing thin sections of teeth of the modern Hardangervidda reindeer population to those of Iron Age, eleventh, and thirteenth century reindeer hunting stations from the same area are presented. The tooth wear stages were compared to the actual age of the individual (based on the number of incremental lines and the age at eruption). It was established that in the studied reindeer populations wear stages sometimes result in too low an age estimate. Having identified the start of the period of deposition for rest lines in the modern reindeer population as early autumn and winter, analysis of the outermost layer in the tooth cementum at the archaeological sites points to a prolonged hunting season in the thirteenth century, while in the earlier phases hunters were probably present on fewer and shorter visits.     

The Ethnoarchaeology and Field Archaeology of Grinding at Sukur, Adamawa State, Nigeria

A typology of artificial rock hollows and tentative identification of their functions is founded upon study of recent practices at Sukur. Five stages of development of equipment for grinding grain are identified and shown, using field archaeological evidence, to constitute a sequence of historical phases that extends from the Neolithic or early Iron Age to the present. The development of other types of hollows is related to this sequence. Ethnographic data are employed to estimate the use lives of grain grinding hollows, which are interpreted in terms of woman-centered familial grain-grinding units. The evidence suggests that prior to ca. AD 1600 the population density averaged two orders of magnitude less than in recent times—with important implications for regional culture history. This exploratory study demonstrates the potential of artificial hollows as evidence for the study of prehistory, culture and demographic history, and the history of landscape in Africa and beyond.     

Intra‐individual variation in stable carbon (δ13C) and nitrogen (δ15N) isotopes in mandibles of modern caribou of Qamanirjuaq (Rangifer tarandus groenlandicus) and Banks Island (Rangifer tarandus pearyi): Implications for tracing seasonal and temporal changes in diet

Intra‐individual variations in carbon (δ¹³C) and nitrogen (δ¹⁵N) isotope measurements of dentine collagen in ungulate teeth can be related to diet and environmental changes at different periods during the life of the animal. A protocol of serial sampling of first, second and third molar roots was applied to modern caribou (17–27 months old) of the Qamanirjuaq herd (Rangifer tarandus groenlandicus), Canada. Based on a previous study, we predicted that M2 would reflect winter, M3 summer and M1 a complete year in terms of the isotopic record. Relatively high δ¹⁵N values (ca. 6 to 8‰), previously attributed to winter stress, were found in different molars of different specimens, reflecting a period of growth between April 1966 to April 1967. Previous results on other teeth from the same population confirmed that a high δ¹⁵N_coll value signal corresponded to the winter of 1966/67. This temporary increase in δ¹⁵N value was probably linked to diet and/or environmental change. Collagen from M1 reflects the first winter whereas M2 and M3 reflect the second winter of life of young caribou. A longer time record including summer is represented by the bone collagen of the mandible. Results obtained on molar roots and mandible bone of the modern caribou of Banks Island herd (Rangifer tarandus pearyi) confirmed this seasonal record. Such collagen isotopic analysis on M1, M2 and M3 roots and jawbone can be applied to reindeer found in archaeological sites. Mandibles retaining deciduous premolars are preferable to avoid the possible loss of the winter tooth signal observed in animals older than 2 years. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Pre‐Soviet pasts of reindeer‐herding collectives: Ethnographies of transition in Murmansk region

This article summarizes observations from field studies with reindeer herders in northwest Russia (Murmansk Region) carried out between 1994 and 1999. The work has been done by living with reindeer‐herding crews at their seasonal tundra camps.

For a large majority of the herders and their families, the concept and practices of the Soviet State Farm (.sovkhoz) tend to represent not only the most desirable form of livelihood, but indeed the only conceivable, although now seriously shattered, reality. In the face of a grim present, new reinterpretations of the sovkhoz are constantly being tried out. The pool of options is found in pre‐Soviet traditions and tends to reveal links between the Sami pogost (siji) social organisation and practices and those of the Soviet and post‐Soviet reindeer‐herding crew (brigadd).The article pursues these connections and discusses the sovkhoz not as destroying all previous tradition, but as drawing from and incorporating pre‐Soviet pasts. The underlying continuity with such pasts may explain the tenacity of the sovkhoz concept in this particular Arctic setting and, possibly, in a variety of others.     

Athanaric the Visigoth: monarchy or judgeship. A study in comparative history

The decision to risk an attempt at functional comparison between two historical figures over a period of more than four hundred years proceded from etymological considerations of various types, but was first suggested by the contrast between Athanaric and Armimus as they are portrayed in modern historical literature. As in the case of the institutional analogy of the judge of the Goths with the vergobretos of the Celts, there exists no historical relationship between the life histories of the two Germanic chieftains, in the sense that Athanaric cannot have been influenced to act as he did by the story of Arminius, nor can we assume a direct dependence of the later institution on the earlier one, any more than we can accept the possibility of arriving at the name for the Gothic judge from Celtic, in a way in which this is possible for reiks. Such an observation, otherwise trivial in itself, serves to characterize the methods and limits of the functional comparison. This yields historical insights which apply to the individual case in question: along with new considerations concerning rex-reiks, an argument is developed against the opinion that Athanaric's judgeship was one of a lower rank than genuine kingship, before which the Gothic chief — for whatever reason — was supposed to have drawn back in fear. This makes his judgeship look more like an ‘institutionalized magistracy’, exercising royal power for a set term, than a mere ethnic dignity. Further, the comparison establishes that the Celtic, as well as the Gothic, judgeship was possibly held in dual fashion, or could be held that way, before the period under observation; however, the pairs to be dealt with here do not represent any ‘Dioscurian’ double chiefdom but rather pairs of chieftains rivalling each other. The archaic experience may serve in this instance only as a model for shaping the tradition.Finally, it is recognized — and this could well be our most important finding — that the judgeship is limited, not only in time but also in territory: it had valid jurisdiction only inside the tribal territory itself. It follows from this that the judge's duties comprised defense of the fatherland as well as the execution of judgments.Along with the ‘external’ comparison among Goths, Celts, and Cheruscans, an ‘internal’ functional comparison is drawn within fourth-century Gothic constitutional history. In so doing, the possibility is opened for reconstructing the family leadership of the Balts three generations before Alaric. Then, within Gothic tradition, we are able to arrive of the ruling and institutional function of the ‘wisdom’, which both the Gothicized Decaeneus and Theoderic, as well as Athanaric