Comparing neanderthal and modern human subsistence at Riparo Bombrini: an integrated archaeozoological, multivariate taphonomic, and zooMS analysis

Abstract

The Liguro-Provençal arc yields unique deposits documenting the Middle-Upper Paleolithic transition. However, interpreting shifts in subsistence strategies in this region has been challenging, mainly due to taphonomic processes and the scarcity of archaeological assemblages excavated with modern techniques. For instance, faunal assemblages from the Balzi Rossi Paleolithic site complex, dated to 43-36 ky cal BP, are notoriously fragmented, impeding morphology-based taxonomic identification and limiting the application of most conventional archaeozoological methods. Additionally, poor collagen preservation often hinders identification through proteomic techniques such as ZooMS. This study examines three assemblages documenting the transition at one of Balzi Rossi's sites, Riparo Bombrini, using an integrated approach that combines archaeozoological methods, multivariate taphonomic analysis, stable isotopic data, and FTIR-aided ZooMS. Despite the low frequency of identifiable faunal remains and readable bone surfaces, the results suggest that the Proto-Aurignacian faunal assemblages were primarily accumulated by anatomically modern human foragers, whereas the final Mousterian was accumulated as a result of brief, alternating site visits by Neanderthals and carnivores. A continuous exploitation of prime-aged cervids hunted near the site is observed through the final Mousterian and the Proto-Aurignacian levels. However, the faunal assemblages also suggest changes in the taxonomic richness, mortality profiles, carcass treatment, site function, and land-use, starting in the Proto-Aurignacian. These changes include prolonged occupations of the site, increased carcass curation for bone fuel, decreased carnivore activities on the site, and the diversification of bone tool types and raw materials to produce symbolic objects. In addition, the results align with previous hypotheses suggesting a hyperlocal adaptation of the very last Neanderthals to have occupied the site, followed by dense occupations of the site and shifting mobility strategies within a large territory associated with the overlying Proto-Aurignacian assemblages lasting through climatic instability. In spite of the challenging taphonomic context at Riparo Bombrini, this study provides the first detailed insight into human subsistence during the transition in this region and establishes testable hypotheses regarding the changing nature of hominin behavioral ecology during this period.