Subsistence practices in western Mediterranean Europe during the Final Gravettian. Zooarchaeological and taphonomic analysis of faunal remains from level D of Arbreda Cave (Serinyà, NE Iberian Peninsula)

During the Final Gravettian, the Reclau Caves (northeast Iberia) were intensively occupied by hunter-gatherer communities. The study of residential level D (c. 25.4–19.7 kyr bp) of Arbreda Cave offers a new view of subsistence strategies of communities which inhabited the northeast of the Iberian Peninsula, a transition region between the steppe-tundra and the Iberian wooded steppe biomes, during Greenland Stadial 3. Presented here are the results of the zooarchaeological and taphonomic analysis of ungulate and carnivore remains recovered from level D. The study confirms that the faunal assemblage of this level was mainly brought there by humans. The zooarchaeological analysis indicates selective hunting based on the exploitation of familial groups of horses and deer, while other ungulate taxa appear to be infrequent. Hunter-gatherers frequented the site throughout the year, but more intensive use in spring is indicated by subadult sensu lato horses. There was extensive exploitation of ungulate carcasses: various butchery activities, marrow extraction, the use of bone as fuel and ‘less elaborate tools’ are documented. Carnivore canines were exploited to produce ornaments. The great dominance of horses reveals cold conditions and the expansion of open environments related to the chronology span of Greenland Stadial 3.