Late Pleistocene prey mobility in southwestern France and its implications for reconstructing Neandertal ranging behaviors

Jamie Hodgkins; Alex Bertacchi; Kelly J. Knudson; Troy Rasbury; Julia I. Giblin; Gwyneth Gordon; Ariel Anbar; Alain Turq; Dennis Sandgathe; Hannah M. Keller; Kate Britton; Shannon P. McPherron

doi:10.1016/j.quascirev.2024.108610

Late Pleistocene prey mobility in southwestern France and its implications for reconstructing Neandertal ranging behaviors

Jamie Hodgkins^* (Corresponding Author), Alex Bertacchi, Kelly J. Knudson, Troy Rasbury, Julia I. Giblin, Gwyneth Gordon, Ariel Anbar, Alain Turq, Dennis Sandgathe, Hannah M. Keller, Kate Britton, Shannon P. McPherron

^*Corresponding author for this work

Archaeology

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

1 Downloads (Pure)

Abstract

As hunter-gatherers, Neandertal mobility and corresponding adaptations were influenced by the mobility of their prey; thus, it is critical to track how the movement patterns of each species varied over time at specific sites. Here, prey paleomobility is reconstructed by measuring radiogenic strontium isotope ratios (87Sr/86Sr) in herbivore teeth recovered from two archaeological sites (Pech de l’Azé IV and Roc de Marsal) in the Dordogne Valley (Aquitaine Basin) of southwestern France that span marine isotope stages (MIS) 5-3. These ratios are compared to a published isoscape as well as new environmental samples (soil, Helix shells, rodent teeth, water, and wine). Our results show that reindeer (Rangifer) likely moved within the sedimentary basins of France and did not venture into mountainous regions. Instead, reindeer, bison (Bison) and other prey species were available year-round in the Aquitaine and Paris basins. Red deer (Cervus) and horse (Equus) may have ventured into the mountains. These results suggest that Neandertals could find year-round faunal resources in these basins, at least during MIS 4 and 3.

Original language	English
Article number	108610
Number of pages	14
Journal	Quaternary Science Reviews
Volume	331
Early online date	2 Apr 2024
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1016/j.quascirev.2024.108610
Publication status	Published - 1 May 2024

Bibliographical note

We thank Sarah Barakat for consultation. We also thank Jenni Henecke, Jen Everhart, Carol Lee, Charisse Carver, and Hope Williams for assistance with 87Sr/86Sr sample preparation. Access to the Metal Geochemistry Center at Yale University was kindly granted by Noah Planavsky, and Dan Asael assisted with 87Sr/86Sr measurement there. Jiuyuan Wang provided important advice on 87Sr/86Sr data correction, and Alice Knaf shared insights into sample elution. We would also like to thank Curtis Marean, Kim Hill, David Strait, Caley Orr, and Ben Schoville for advice and comments on the manuscript. Two anonymous reviewers provided helpful comments that improved the quality of the manuscript. Finally, we thank the late Harold Dibble for access to the Roc de Marsal collections.

CRediT authorship contribution statement
Jamie Hodgkins: Conceptualization, Data curation, Formal analysis, Funding acquisition, Investigation, Methodology, Project administration, Writing – original draft, Writing – review & editing. Alex Bertacchi: Formal analysis, Methodology, Visualization, Writing – review & editing. Kelly J. Knudson: Conceptualization, Methodology, Writing – review & editing. Troy Rasbury: Conceptualization, Methodology, Writing – review & editing. Julia I. Giblin: Methodology, Resources. Gwyneth Gordon: Conceptualization, Methodology, Writing – review & editing. Ariel Anbar: Resources. Alain Turq: Resources. Dennis Sandgathe: Resources, Writing – review & editing. Hannah M. Keller: Visualization, Writing – review & editing. Kate Britton: Conceptualization, Methodology, Writing – review & editing. Shannon P. McPherron: Conceptualization, Methodology, Writing – review & editing.

Data Availability Statement

Data will be made available on request.

Keywords

Sr/Sr analysis
Neandertal prey mobility
Reindeer migration
Aquitaine
Dordogne
Pech de l’Azé IV
Roc de Marsal
Paleoecology

UN SDGs

This output contributes to the following UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

Access to Document

10.1016/j.quascirev.2024.108610Licence: Unspecified

Hodgkins_etal_2024_JQSR-D-23-00615_R1
This accepted author manuscript has been made open access under the University of Aberdeen Rights Retention Policy. It is available under a Creative Commons Attribution license https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ Final published version available at https://doi.org/10.1016/j.quascirev.2024.108610
Accepted author manuscript, 3.88 MBLicence: CC BY

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0277379124001112

Cite this

Hodgkins, J., Bertacchi, A., Knudson, K. J., Rasbury, T., Giblin, J. I., Gordon, G., Anbar, A., Turq, A., Sandgathe, D., Keller, H. M., Britton, K., & McPherron, S. P. (2024). Late Pleistocene prey mobility in southwestern France and its implications for reconstructing Neandertal ranging behaviors. Quaternary Science Reviews, 331, Article 108610. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.quascirev.2024.108610

Hodgkins, J, Bertacchi, A, Knudson, KJ, Rasbury, T, Giblin, JI, Gordon, G, Anbar, A, Turq, A, Sandgathe, D, Keller, HM, Britton, K & McPherron, SP 2024, 'Late Pleistocene prey mobility in southwestern France and its implications for reconstructing Neandertal ranging behaviors', Quaternary Science Reviews, vol. 331, 108610. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.quascirev.2024.108610

@article{04a24d9aa80540858c17c7f281e8c379,

title = "Late Pleistocene prey mobility in southwestern France and its implications for reconstructing Neandertal ranging behaviors",

abstract = "As hunter-gatherers, Neandertal mobility and corresponding adaptations were influenced by the mobility of their prey; thus, it is critical to track how the movement patterns of each species varied over time at specific sites. Here, prey paleomobility is reconstructed by measuring radiogenic strontium isotope ratios (87Sr/86Sr) in herbivore teeth recovered from two archaeological sites (Pech de l{\textquoteright}Az{\'e} IV and Roc de Marsal) in the Dordogne Valley (Aquitaine Basin) of southwestern France that span marine isotope stages (MIS) 5-3. These ratios are compared to a published isoscape as well as new environmental samples (soil, Helix shells, rodent teeth, water, and wine). Our results show that reindeer (Rangifer) likely moved within the sedimentary basins of France and did not venture into mountainous regions. Instead, reindeer, bison (Bison) and other prey species were available year-round in the Aquitaine and Paris basins. Red deer (Cervus) and horse (Equus) may have ventured into the mountains. These results suggest that Neandertals could find year-round faunal resources in these basins, at least during MIS 4 and 3.",

keywords = "Sr/Sr analysis, Neandertal prey mobility, Reindeer migration, Aquitaine, Dordogne, Pech de l{\textquoteright}Az{\'e} IV, Roc de Marsal, Paleoecology",

author = "Jamie Hodgkins and Alex Bertacchi and Knudson, {Kelly J.} and Troy Rasbury and Giblin, {Julia I.} and Gwyneth Gordon and Ariel Anbar and Alain Turq and Dennis Sandgathe and Keller, {Hannah M.} and Kate Britton and McPherron, {Shannon P.}",

note = "We thank Sarah Barakat for consultation. We also thank Jenni Henecke, Jen Everhart, Carol Lee, Charisse Carver, and Hope Williams for assistance with 87Sr/86Sr sample preparation. Access to the Metal Geochemistry Center at Yale University was kindly granted by Noah Planavsky, and Dan Asael assisted with 87Sr/86Sr measurement there. Jiuyuan Wang provided important advice on 87Sr/86Sr data correction, and Alice Knaf shared insights into sample elution. We would also like to thank Curtis Marean, Kim Hill, David Strait, Caley Orr, and Ben Schoville for advice and comments on the manuscript. Two anonymous reviewers provided helpful comments that improved the quality of the manuscript. Finally, we thank the late Harold Dibble for access to the Roc de Marsal collections. CRediT authorship contribution statement Jamie Hodgkins: Conceptualization, Data curation, Formal analysis, Funding acquisition, Investigation, Methodology, Project administration, Writing – original draft, Writing – review & editing. Alex Bertacchi: Formal analysis, Methodology, Visualization, Writing – review & editing. Kelly J. Knudson: Conceptualization, Methodology, Writing – review & editing. Troy Rasbury: Conceptualization, Methodology, Writing – review & editing. Julia I. Giblin: Methodology, Resources. Gwyneth Gordon: Conceptualization, Methodology, Writing – review & editing. Ariel Anbar: Resources. Alain Turq: Resources. Dennis Sandgathe: Resources, Writing – review & editing. Hannah M. Keller: Visualization, Writing – review & editing. Kate Britton: Conceptualization, Methodology, Writing – review & editing. Shannon P. McPherron: Conceptualization, Methodology, Writing – review & editing.",

year = "2024",

month = may,

day = "1",

doi = "10.1016/j.quascirev.2024.108610",

language = "English",

volume = "331",

journal = "Quaternary Science Reviews",

issn = "0277-3791",

publisher = "Elsevier",

}

TY - JOUR

T1 - Late Pleistocene prey mobility in southwestern France and its implications for reconstructing Neandertal ranging behaviors

AU - Hodgkins, Jamie

AU - Bertacchi, Alex

AU - Knudson, Kelly J.

AU - Rasbury, Troy

AU - Giblin, Julia I.

AU - Gordon, Gwyneth

AU - Anbar, Ariel

AU - Turq, Alain

AU - Sandgathe, Dennis

AU - Keller, Hannah M.

AU - Britton, Kate

AU - McPherron, Shannon P.

N1 - We thank Sarah Barakat for consultation. We also thank Jenni Henecke, Jen Everhart, Carol Lee, Charisse Carver, and Hope Williams for assistance with 87Sr/86Sr sample preparation. Access to the Metal Geochemistry Center at Yale University was kindly granted by Noah Planavsky, and Dan Asael assisted with 87Sr/86Sr measurement there. Jiuyuan Wang provided important advice on 87Sr/86Sr data correction, and Alice Knaf shared insights into sample elution. We would also like to thank Curtis Marean, Kim Hill, David Strait, Caley Orr, and Ben Schoville for advice and comments on the manuscript. Two anonymous reviewers provided helpful comments that improved the quality of the manuscript. Finally, we thank the late Harold Dibble for access to the Roc de Marsal collections. CRediT authorship contribution statement Jamie Hodgkins: Conceptualization, Data curation, Formal analysis, Funding acquisition, Investigation, Methodology, Project administration, Writing – original draft, Writing – review & editing. Alex Bertacchi: Formal analysis, Methodology, Visualization, Writing – review & editing. Kelly J. Knudson: Conceptualization, Methodology, Writing – review & editing. Troy Rasbury: Conceptualization, Methodology, Writing – review & editing. Julia I. Giblin: Methodology, Resources. Gwyneth Gordon: Conceptualization, Methodology, Writing – review & editing. Ariel Anbar: Resources. Alain Turq: Resources. Dennis Sandgathe: Resources, Writing – review & editing. Hannah M. Keller: Visualization, Writing – review & editing. Kate Britton: Conceptualization, Methodology, Writing – review & editing. Shannon P. McPherron: Conceptualization, Methodology, Writing – review & editing.

PY - 2024/5/1

Y1 - 2024/5/1

N2 - As hunter-gatherers, Neandertal mobility and corresponding adaptations were influenced by the mobility of their prey; thus, it is critical to track how the movement patterns of each species varied over time at specific sites. Here, prey paleomobility is reconstructed by measuring radiogenic strontium isotope ratios (87Sr/86Sr) in herbivore teeth recovered from two archaeological sites (Pech de l’Azé IV and Roc de Marsal) in the Dordogne Valley (Aquitaine Basin) of southwestern France that span marine isotope stages (MIS) 5-3. These ratios are compared to a published isoscape as well as new environmental samples (soil, Helix shells, rodent teeth, water, and wine). Our results show that reindeer (Rangifer) likely moved within the sedimentary basins of France and did not venture into mountainous regions. Instead, reindeer, bison (Bison) and other prey species were available year-round in the Aquitaine and Paris basins. Red deer (Cervus) and horse (Equus) may have ventured into the mountains. These results suggest that Neandertals could find year-round faunal resources in these basins, at least during MIS 4 and 3.

AB - As hunter-gatherers, Neandertal mobility and corresponding adaptations were influenced by the mobility of their prey; thus, it is critical to track how the movement patterns of each species varied over time at specific sites. Here, prey paleomobility is reconstructed by measuring radiogenic strontium isotope ratios (87Sr/86Sr) in herbivore teeth recovered from two archaeological sites (Pech de l’Azé IV and Roc de Marsal) in the Dordogne Valley (Aquitaine Basin) of southwestern France that span marine isotope stages (MIS) 5-3. These ratios are compared to a published isoscape as well as new environmental samples (soil, Helix shells, rodent teeth, water, and wine). Our results show that reindeer (Rangifer) likely moved within the sedimentary basins of France and did not venture into mountainous regions. Instead, reindeer, bison (Bison) and other prey species were available year-round in the Aquitaine and Paris basins. Red deer (Cervus) and horse (Equus) may have ventured into the mountains. These results suggest that Neandertals could find year-round faunal resources in these basins, at least during MIS 4 and 3.

KW - Sr/Sr analysis

KW - Neandertal prey mobility

KW - Reindeer migration

KW - Aquitaine

KW - Dordogne

KW - Pech de l’Azé IV

KW - Roc de Marsal

KW - Paleoecology

U2 - 10.1016/j.quascirev.2024.108610

DO - 10.1016/j.quascirev.2024.108610

M3 - Article

SN - 0277-3791

VL - 331

JO - Quaternary Science Reviews

JF - Quaternary Science Reviews

M1 - 108610

ER -

Late Pleistocene prey mobility in southwestern France and its implications for reconstructing Neandertal ranging behaviors

Abstract

Bibliographical note

Data Availability Statement

Keywords

UN SDGs

Access to Document

Fingerprint

Cite this