The exploitation of rabbits for food and pelts by last interglacial Neandertals

Abstract The exploitation of small game, especially rabbits, by Neandertals as sources of food or for utilitarian purposes is no longer a subject of debate given increasing evidence for such practices in Europe from the Middle Paleolithic onwards. Instead, focus is now on whether rabbits were an occasional prey or were fully integrated into the socio-economic system of these human groups. Here we address this issue based on a detailed analysis of rabbit remains from the Mousterian deposits of Pie Lombard (Tourrettes-sur-Loup, Alpes-Maritimes, France). Dated to the last interglacial period (Marine Isotope Stage 5), rabbit remains (Oryctolagus cuniculus) are the most abundant species throughout the site's Mousterian sequence. Our multi-aspect taphonomical analysis combining mortality profiles, skeletal-part representation, breakage patterns, and bone surface modifications revealed a high incidence of human involvement, demonstrating the rabbit assemblage from Pie Lombard to have been primarily accumulated by Neandertals. Multiple lines of evidence indicate a recurrent and optimised exploitation of carcasses directly on the site, both as sources of meat (preferentially eaten roasted) and marrow as well as for their pelts, which appear to have been transported away from the site. The high frequency of rabbits in the Pie Lombard Mousterian assemblage, comprising at least 225 individuals, is unique for this period and probably reflects the location and function of the rock-shelter. The capture of such a hight number of this small mammal potentially required sophisticated acquisition techniques formerly known only from Upper Palaeolithic contexts. Finally, our results shed new light on the subsistence practices, settlement systems and socio-economic behavior of Neandertals in Western Europe during MIS 5.