In Search of the Broad Spectrum Revolution in Paleolithic Southwest Europe

"The people who inhabited Southwest Europe from 30,000 to 13,000 years ago are often portrayed as big game hunters - and indeed, in some locations (Cantabrian Spain, the Pyrenees, the Dordogne) the archaeological record supports this interpretation. But in other places, notably Mediterranean Iberia, the inhabitants focused their hunting efforts on smaller game, such as rabbits, fish, and birds. Were they less effective hunters? Were these environments depleted of red deer and other large game? Or is this evidence of Paleolithic people's adaptability? This volume explores these questions, along the way delving into the history of the "bigger equals better" assumption; optimal foraging theory and niche construction theory; and patterns of environmental and subsistence change across the Pleistocene-Holocene transition."--Site web de l'éditeur "The people who inhabited Southwest Europe from 30,000 to 13,000 years ago are often portrayed as big game hunters - and indeed, in some locations (Cantabrian Spain, the Pyrenees, the Dordogne) the archaeological record supports this interpretation. But in other places, notably Mediterranean Iberia, the inhabitants focused their hunting efforts on smaller game, such as rabbits, fish, and birds. Were they less effective hunters? Were these environments depleted of red deer and other large game? Or is this evidence of Paleolithic people's adaptability? This volume explores these questions, along the way delving into the history of the "bigger equals better" assumption; optimal foraging theory and niche construction theory; and patterns of environmental and subsistence change across the Pleistocene-Holocene transition."--Site web de l'éditeur The people who inhabited Southwest Europe from 30,000 to 13,000 years ago are often portrayed as big game hunters - and indeed, in some locations (Cantabrian Spain, the Pyrenees, the Dordogne) the archaeological record supports this interpretation. But in other places, notably Mediterranean Iberia, the inhabitants focused their hunting efforts on smaller game, such as rabbits, fish, and birds. Were they less effective hunters? Were these environments depleted of red deer and other large game? Or is this evidence of Paleolithic people's adaptability? This volume explores these questions, along the way delving into the history of the zbigger equals bettery assumption; optimal foraging theory and niche construction theory; and patterns of environmental and subsistence change across the Pleistocene-Holocene transition Front Matter....Pages i-ix Paleolithic People, Paleolithic Landscapes....Pages 1-8 Big Game, Small Game: Why It Matters....Pages 9-22 Climate and Environment in Late Paleolithic Southwest Europe....Pages 23-35 Human Subsistence and the Archaeofaunal Record of Late Paleolithic Southwest Europe....Pages 37-60 Archaeofaunal Diversity and Broad Spectrum Diets in Late Paleolithic Southwest Europe....Pages 61-78 Was There a Broad Spectrum Revolution in Southwest Europe?....Pages 79-84 Back Matter....Pages 85-91