Category Archives: 2011 # 3

2011 # 3

2011-09–SIMONET

The Diversity of Hunting Camps
in the Pyrenean Gravettian

Aurélien SIMONET

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Abstract

In the Pyrenean Gravettian, several types of sites that vary in terms of their technical elements and/or the density of their assemblages can be interpreted as hunting camps. How can this archaeological diversity contribute to social and economic interpretations of the human groups that occupied these sites? It appears that in the context of a centralized organization of the Pyrenean territory, in which Brassempouy and Isturitz played key economic, social and spiritual roles, the concept of a hunting camp applies to several types of sites specialized in hunting related activities, and at which other activities sometimes also took place. “Simple hunting camps”, which best correspond to the accepted definition, would thus have coexisted with “complex hunting camps”, at which flint knapping activities were performed along with hunting and butchery activities. Finally, there are other potential hunting camps whose assemblages include artistic representations. The identification of hunting camps therefore contributes to our understanding of the occupation strategies of a territory. Their diversity, high degree of specialization and the significant difference that exists between the low density of their assemblages and the high density of those of certain large occupation sites, represents a socio-economic coherence that seems to traverse the European continent. In effect, this tendency of hunting camps toward diversification and ultra-specialization accompanies the appearance the first large habitatsanctuaries with numerous female statuettes, associated with Modern Humans, such as Brassempouy, Laussel, Les Balzi Rossi and Willendorf in Western Europe. Hunting camps thus constitute an important element in reflections on the nature of cultural identity since they corroborate the idea of a phenomenon of double-polarization of human communities between 28000 and 22000 BP, which characterizes the Gravettian: relative to the Aurignacian tradition, Gravettian occupations appear to be more oriented toward the plains and large alluvial basins. In addition, within these more densely occupied zones, certain sites themselves are more densely occupied, and it is these that are generally associated the large assemblages of female statuettes: Brassempouy, Laussel, Les Balzi Rossi, Willendorf, Dolní Vĕstonice, Pavlov, Předmosti, Kostienki, Gagarino, Avdeevo and Zaraisk.

To cite this article

Simonet A., 2011 – The Diversity of Hunting Camps in the Pyrenean Gravettian, in Bon F., Costamagno S., Valdeyron N. (eds.), Hunting Camps in Prehistory. Current Archaeological Approaches, Proceedings of the International Symposium, May 13-15 2009, University Toulouse II – Le Mirail, P@lethnology, 3, 183-210.
2011 # 3

2011-10–MARTÍNEZ-MORA

In the Kingdom of Ibex:

Continuities and Discontinuities in Late Glacial
Hunter-gatherer Lifeways at Guilanyà (South-Eastern Pyrenees)

Jorge MARTÍNEZ-MORENO, Rafael MORA TORCAL

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Abstract

Hunting camps play an essential role for investigating changing hunter-gatherer behavior during the Late Glacial. In the south-eastern Pyrenees, sites located in mountainous contexts, often interpreted as hunting camps, represent adaptations to demanding environments.

These sites form part of emergent strategies associated with specialized systems and are characterized by the presence of a hunting toolkit, monospecific faunal assemblages and the seasonal exploitation of mountain ecosystems. Taken together, these various aspects suggest profound transformations in subsistence practices and social organization.

Here we test the validity of such a scenario for the site of Balma Guilanyà in the western Catalonian Pyrenees. Comparisons of techno-typological trends and faunal assemblages are placed within their chrono-environmental context allowing the question of possible changes in systems developed by the Late Glacial hunter-gatherers who occupied the southern slopes of the Pyrenees to be addressed.

To cite this article

Martínez-Moreno J., Mora Torcal R., 2011 – In the Kingdom of Ibex: Continuities and Discontinuities in Late Glacial Hunter-gatherer Lifeways at Guilanyà (South-Eastern Pyrenees), in Bon F., Costamagno S., Valdeyron N. (eds.), Hunting Camps in Prehistory. Current Archaeological Approaches, Proceedings of the International Symposium, May 13-15 2009, University Toulouse II – Le Mirail, P@lethnology, 3, 211-227.
2011 # 3

2011-11–BODU-ET-ALII

Where are the Hunting Camps?

A Discussion based on Lateglacial Sites in the Paris Basin

Pierre BODU, Monique OLIVE, Boris VALENTIN,
Olivier BIGNON, Grégory DEBOUT

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Abstract

With its numerous, well preserved Lateglacial sites, the Paris Basin contributes useful elements to discussions of the notion of “hunting camps” in Prehistory. Several extensively excavated, and sometimes well preserved, stratified sites allow us to address questions concerning the settlement durations and site functions in greater depth than is possible in other contexts. Drawing on examples of Magdalenian and Azilian sites, we discuss the evolution and limits of interpretations of prehistoric occupations. It appears that regardless of the definition retained or its degree of strictness, the functional category of a “hunting camp” does not apply to the Lateglacial sites currently known in the Paris Basin. A broader interrogation, incorporating the Belloisian sites of the very end of the Lateglacial period and beginning of the Holocene, further demonstrates the difficulty of identifying this type of site.

To cite this article

Bodu P., Olive M., Valentin B., Bignon-Lau O., Debout G., 2011 – Where are the Hunting Camps? A Discussion based on Lateglacial Sites in the Paris Basin, in Bon F., Costamagno S., Valdeyron N. (eds.), Hunting Camps in Prehistory. Current Archaeological Approaches, Proceedings of the International Symposium, May 13-15 2009, University Toulouse II – Le Mirail, P@lethnology, 3, 229-250.
2011 # 3

2011-12–PERESANI-ET-ALII

Small Specialized Hunting Sites and their Role
in Epigravettian Subsistence Strategies

A case Study in Northern Italy

Marco PERESANI, Rossella DUCHES, Riccardo MIOLO,
Matteo ROMANDINI, Sara ZIGGIOTTI

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Abstract

This case study focuses on the debate concerning “hunting camps” (“halte de chasse”). Zooarchaeological, lithic and functional data lead us to interpret the Epigravettian site of Grotta del Clusantin as being linked with activities oriented toward the hunting of rodent colonies living near the site, along with a small number of ungulates. In the context of an advanced occupation of the highlands, this site appears to have been a specialized, perhaps intermittently occupied camp, oriented toward immediate consumption rather than being a part of a structured economic system involving a spatio-temporal division in the exploitation of marmot carcasses. In terms of ecological evolution, the Pradis Plateau can be thus viewed as one of the first hunting basins occupied during the middle Late Glacial interstadial and even shortly after, before the Epigravettian dispersion to other pre-alpine plateaus above 1000 m in altitude. The recent discovery of this marmot hunting camp contributes to our knowledge of hunter-gatherer behavior from the Late Glacial period until the beginning of the Holocene.

To cite this article

Peresani M., Duches R., Miolo R., Romandini M., Ziggiotti S., 2011 – Small Specialized Hunting Sites and their Role in Epigravettian Subsistence Strategies. A case Study in Northern Italy, in Bon F., Costamagno S., Valdeyron N. (eds.), Hunting Camps in Prehistory. Current Archaeological Approaches, Proceedings of the International Symposium, May 13-15 2009, University Toulouse II – Le Mirail, P@lethnology, 3, 251-266.
2011 # 3

2011-13–MARCHAND-ET-ALII

Hunting for Camps
at an Azilian Site in Western

Grégor MARCHAND, Nicolas NAUDINOT,
Sylvie PHILIBERT, Sandra SICARD

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Abstract

A preventive excavation conducted in the Chaloignes Valley (Mozé-sur-Louet, Maine-et-Loire, France) in 1999, over a surface of approximately 9200 m2, revealed ten homogeneous loci and a group of lithic scatters disturbed by post-depositional processes. Due to the absence of organic materials and the inclusion of all the loci within the same stratigraphic unit, we are forced to base nearly all hypotheses on the lithic remains alone. The challenge is to understand the economic organization and mobility strategies of human groups in the west at the end of the glacial period, obviously in association with their hunting practices. Several lines of evidence indicate frequent occupations by small groups, rather than base camps with complementary zones. An analysis of the usewear and fractures of weapon armatures show that these objects were used for hunting or war activities in all of the loci. Meanwhile, a techno-functional analysis of locus 1, where weapon elements were repaired, shows that other objects of material culture were also manufactured there. It appears that the notion of a hunting camp is inappropriate to describe Azilian activities that are apparently highly influenced by the mobility of the groups.

To cite this article

Marchand G., Naudinot N., Philibert S., Sicard S., 2011 – Hunting for Camps at an Azilian Site in Western, in Bon F., Costamagno S., Valdeyron N. (eds.), Hunting Camps in Prehistory. Current Archaeological Approaches, Proceedings of the International Symposium, May 13-15 2009, University Toulouse II – Le Mirail, P@lethnology, 3, 267-290.
2011 # 3

2011-14–FONTANA

From Season to Season:

a Revision of the Functional Status of Sauveterrian Sites
in the North Eastern Sector of the Italian Peninsula
and Implications for the Mobility of Human Groups

Federica FONTANA

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Abstract

In this paper, I reconsider the “classic” occupation model for the north eastern sector of the Italian peninsula during the Sauveterrian based on a re-evaluation of the functional status of the known sites. The analysis is based on research conducted with the goal of defining the notion of a hunting camp in order to revise the archaeological data available in this territory. As a result, two categories of organised occupations could be defined: 1) the numerous sites of the alpine sector located in varying topographical and altimetric situations (in valley bottoms, and in the mid and high mountain zones) and often characterised by restricted occupation areas, the frequency of the habitation structures and economic activities with a strong hunting bias, and 2) the rare sites on the plains, which cover larger occupation areas and for which we have almost no economic data. This context suggests, at the least, a nomadic system within the alpine territory involving small groups based in different valleys and who moved to higher ground during the summer in connection with hunting activities. It is also possible that these groups belonged to communities with varying compositions that moved within a larger territory extending towards the Adriatic, with the installation of aggregation camps on the plain in the winter.

To cite this article

Fontana F., 2011 – From Season to Season: a Revision of the Functional Status of Sauveterrian Sites in the North Eastern Sector of the Italian Peninsula and Implications for the Mobility of Human Groups, in Bon F., Costamagno S., Valdeyron N. (eds.), Hunting Camps in Prehistory. Current Archaeological Approaches, Proceedings of the International Symposium, May 13-15 2009, University Toulouse II – Le Mirail, P@lethnology, 3, 291-308.
2011 # 3

2011-15–MARCHAND-ET-ALII

Elusive Mesolithic Occupations
in the Pont-Glas Rock Shelter:

an Analysis of the Spatial Segmentation of Production Sequences
in Relation to the Mobility of Prehistoric Groups in Brittany

Grégor MARCHAND, Michel LE GOFFIC, Nancy MARCOUX

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Abstract

The Pont-Glas rock shelter (Plounéour-Ménez, Finistère), composed of granitic blocks, was entirely excavated in 2007 and 2008. Its stratigraphic sequence is 50 cm thick and shows clear disturbances in the upper levels. Composed of 998 elements, its lithic assemblage includes an early component (8th millennium BC) and a late component (6th millennium BC). Several factors differentiate this assemblage from others in Brittany, including diverse raw materials, the absence of the first phases of debitage, the importation of cores, abundant weapon elements and a high rate of destruction of these objects. These elements are characteristic of short occupations and debitage activities responding to immediate needs, mostly devoted to the repairing of hunting or war weapons. An anthracological analysis shows that the nearby vegetal environment was composed mainly of acidophilus oak groves with holly, which is typical of the western Armorican massif. This logistical station attests to the presence of human groups specialized in the use of weapons and engaged in actions with the intention to kill. The need to camp and to repair their weapons indicates that they circulated well beyond their usual procurement zone.

To cite this article

Marchand G., Le Goffic M., Marcoux N., 2011 – Elusive Mesolithic Occupations in the Pont-Glas Rock Shelter: an Analysis of the Spatial Segmentation of Production Sequences in Relation to the Mobility of Prehistoric Groups in Brittany, in Bon F., Costamagno S., Valdeyron N. (eds.), Hunting Camps in Prehistory. Current Archaeological Approaches, Proceedings of the International Symposium, May 13-15 2009, University Toulouse II – Le Mirail, P@lethnology, 3, 309-329.
2011 # 3

2011-16–VALDEYRON-ET-ALII

The Mesolithic Site of Les Fieux (Miers, Lot):

a Hunting Camp on the Gramat Karst Plateau?

Nicolas VALDEYRON, Thomas BRIAND, Laurent BOUBY,
Auréade HENRY, Rym KHEDHAIER, Benjamin MARQUEBIELLE,
Hélène MARTIN, Anna THIBEAU, Bruno BOSC-ZANARDO

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Abstract

The Mesolithic site located in the western entrance of the cave of Les Fieux (Miers, Lot), excavated in the 1970’s by F. Champagne, has often been interpreted as a hunting camp. This hypothesis is mostly based on features of the lithic industry, which is largely dominated by weapon elements. The results of a multidisciplinary study of the Mesolithic assemblages now provide an opportunity to question the validity of this hypothesis. While the data collected (in the fields of anthracology, zooarchaeology, carpology, lithic technology and usewear, bone technology, sedimentology, etc.), do not completely invalidate it, they do suggest a few nuances. The activities identified are more varied than would be expected for a simple hunting camp, as are the animal carcass exploitation strategies, indicating an in situ consumption of animal products and thus a functional complexity that is not fully compatible with this interpretation.

To cite this article

Valdeyron N., Briand T., Bouby L., Henry A., Khedhaier R., Marquebielle B., Martin H., Thibeau A., Bosc-Zanardo B., 2011 – The Mesolithic Site of Les Fieux (Miers, Lot): a Hunting Camp on the Gramat Karst Plateau?, in Bon F., Costamagno S., Valdeyron N. (eds.), Hunting Camps in Prehistory. Current Archaeological Approaches, Proceedings of the International Symposium, May 13-15 2009, University Toulouse II – Le Mirail, P@lethnology, 3, 331-341.
2011 # 3

2011-17–OTTE

Freedom of Expression
A Tribute to Free Men

Marcel OTTE

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Supposing that any human group was ever nourished by animal products alone, or supposing that this same group periodically split up solely for this purpose (which remains to be shown), or even supposing, in this fiction, that significant traces of such an action were preserved, the archaeologist would still need to understand them. On the contrary, fervent imaginations on a perpetual quest for such arguments have constantly run up against inverse scenarios, in which no nutritional reason can justify the power of human concepts over the natural environment. Despite persistent obstinacy, the categorization of a space by a human society is never defined by the search for prey alone, as if this form of nourishment was never just a consequence, rather than the cause, for the nets drawn by a human group over its environment.

To cite this article

Otte M., 2011 – Freedom of Expression. A Tribute to Free Men, in Bon F., Costamagno S., Valdeyron N. (eds.), Hunting Camps in Prehistory. Current Archaeological Approaches, Proceedings of the International Symposium, May 13-15 2009, University Toulouse II – Le Mirail, P@lethnology, 3, 343-346.
2011 # 3

2011-18–CONCLUSION

Conclusion

Nicolas VALDEYRON, François BON, Sandrine COSTAMAGNO

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Was the ambition of this meeting really a wolf in sheep’s clothing? Would we be capable of defining the criteria necessary to identify a “hunting camp” based on the different elements of the prehistoric and ethno-archaeological record – for the former, extending from the Middle Paleolithic to the Mesolithic and throughout most of western Europe and secondarily the Near East, and for the latter, reaching into Africa and the two extremities of the Americas? Judging by the difficulties experienced by the participants and authors when trying to respond to this question, this would be a logical first conclusion. But in fact, one of the most important, and probably (at least we hope) most productive, aspects of this meeting was the intellectual discomfort we all felt when attempting to determine the function of sites that we should, in principle, be able to consider as the most simple and banal for hunter-gatherers…

To cite this article

Costamagno S., Bon F., Valdeyron N., 2011 – Conclusion, in Bon F., Costamagno S., Valdeyron N. (eds.), Hunting Camps in Prehistory. Current Archaeological Approaches, Proceedings of the International Symposium, May 13-15 2009, University Toulouse II – Le Mirail, P@lethnology, 3, 347-354.