Subsistance chez les Néanderthals à Bize (Aude) [Subsistence With the Neanderthals in Bize (Aude)].

Résumé

Tournal cave in Bize (Aude), close to the Pyrenees, opens onto the Massif of Corbieres, a few kilometers from the Mediterranean. The Mousterian level (II B) includes an abundant and well-preserved faunal material which is the object of this paper. The occupation of the cave by Neanderthals, which took place later than the occupation by Ursus spelaeus, occurred several times in alteration with that of Hyenae and other intrusive carnivores. Prehistoric people came there at the end of summer, at the beginning of winter and during spring, and for periods impossible to determine. The game, although varied: aurochs, ibex, boar, red deer, reindeer, elk, Merck rhinoceros, rabbit, was largely dominated by horse. Some species seem to have been replaced by others, seasonally by hunters, and even females with their young were replaced by males. Butchering of the killed animals was made outside the cave or on the very place of killing. The ensemble belongs to isotope stage 3. The climate was then cold enough and dry; the landscape was open.