[Un article de The Conversation écrit par Thomas GARCIA-FERMET – Doctorant en Préhistoire et paléoenvironnements quaternaires, spécialité paléontologie des oiseaux, Université de Perpignan Via Domitia]
For several hundred millennia already, pigeons and corvids have abound in the regions of Mediterranean Europe, occupying the cavities dug in the vast limestone cliffs. Recent studies show that these birds have sometimes been consumed by their Neanderthal neighbors.
The exploitation of small vertebrates in the Paleolithic
If the hunt for means and large mammals by Neanderthal is an idea established for a long time, the integration of small agile prey (rabbits, birds …) in the diet of hominines was then associated with the upper Paleolithic (approximately 40,000 to 12,000 years before the present) and Homo sapiensin response to rapid population growth and allowed by the development of adequate technology.
Consequently, the remains of small vertebrates found in the levels of Neanderthal occupation (Middle Paleolithic) were the big forgotten of archaeozoological studies. Our gaze has changed over the past two decades, when new studies have demonstrated the consumption of small animals – rabbits, turtles, molluscs, birds – by Neanderthals and that they have illustrated all the plasticity of the diet of the latter. The exploitation of birds, not systematic and whose frequency remains to be specified, seems to cover an important part of the geographical distribution area of Neanderthal-from the Iberian Peninsula to the Middle East-and extend over a large chronological period. A study published in 2023 establishes that it stretches to the Mediterranean coasts in the south of France, where a remarkable deposit delivered traces of exploitation of several species by the Neanderthals.
The case of the Crouzade cave
The Gruzade cave in Gruissan (Aude), a large cavity dug in the limestone massif of the clap and located about 3 kilometers from the current Mediterranean shore, is an exceptional site that has recorded several levels of Neanderthal occupations (medium paleolithic) andHomo sapiens (Upper Paleolithic). Prehistoric humans have attended the cavity for more or less long periods, alternating with other animals, such as bears or hyenas.
The sedimentary filling of the cave delivered thousands of bird bones, mainly attributed to the Biset pigeon (Columba Livia), with a yellow spout (Pyrrhocorax rackelus) and with red spinning crave (P. Pyrrhocorax). These are grégary, rocky species, whose vast colonies most likely naked in the neighboring cavities of the cave.
The taphonomic analysis (study of the processes involved between the death of an organism and the excavation) of the Avian remains coming from the layers of the Middle Paleolithic (deposited about 40,000 years ago) proves that a large part of these birds was consumed by raptors like the Grand Duke of Europe (Bubo bubo) and by medium -sized carnivores (fox or badger). Indeed, many specimens display perforations, crenellated edges and digestion traces.
Cooking carcasses and cuts using tools
In addition, the microscopic examination of bird bones reveals much rarer human activity traces (less than 2 % of assigned remains). First, there are traces of heating located on the joint ends of the bones or on the fracture edges in the form of dark areas contrasting with the cream patina of the rest of the fossil. They attest to cooking partial carcasses previously disadvantaged. For example, traces of heating noted on one joint end of the coracoid bone made it possible to conclude in the cooking of a carcass or a portion of carcass whose wings were detached.
We then observe cutting streaks, which indicate that lithic tools (especially in flint) were used at least occasionally by the Neanderthals during the treatment of carcasses. Finally, some alterations observed on the humerus could correspond to the disarticulation of the elbow by forced overexiousness of the previous limb, but the origin of these marks remains uncertain.
At La Crouzade, anthropogenic traces focus on the three most abundant species: the Biset pigeon, the Chocard and the Crave. Foreign birds with caves (ducks, partridges, etc.) do not have anthropogenic modifications and seem to have been introduced into the cavity by other predators.
Neanderthal bird relations
The case of the Crouzade confirms that the exploitation of birds with the average paleolithic is no exception. However, he suggests that birds played a secondary role in the food of Neanderthals, complementing the protein intake provided by large mammals. In addition, it is possible that the involvement of neanderthal in bone accumulation is underestimated, because the treatment of carcasses of small vertebrates does not systematically leave traces on the bones: butcher's activities can be carried out with bare hands, without the help of tools.
This study shows that the Neanderthals, like other predators who have sporadically occupied the site, mainly exploited the avian resources at the local level. Is it the fruit of a selection? In this specific case, it is difficult to demonstrate it: the concentration of anthropogenic traces on pigeons and corvids can just as much translate an opportunistic hunt (or even charged) partly conditioned by the relative abundance of prey in the immediate vicinity of prehistoric humans. Scientific literature demonstrates, moreover, that the spectrum of consumed birds can vary from one site to another, ranging from the small passeau to the large raptor, illustrating the ability of the Neanderthals to take advantage of a great diversity of habitats and resources.
At La Crouzade, the location of certain streaks on elements covered with relatively abundant flesh attests to the exploitation of birds for food purposes. We have notably been able to observe stripes of decarnization on the femur, but also on the sternum, testifying to the recovery of the pectoral muscles (the equivalent of “chicken whites”). The streaks located under the joint end of the Scapula could correspond to the disarticulation of the wing.
A few streaks affecting corvids are raised on blessed bones such as ulna or carpometacarpe. Their location is compatible with the experimental streaks produced by certain researchers during the detachment of the Rémiges. These streaks make it possible to hypothesize that corvids have not only been exploited as food resources, but also as sources of raw materials.
The recovery of feathers for cultural purposes is, moreover, reported in other sites of the Middle Paleolithic like, [sur la péninsule Ibérique]the caves of Gibraltar (United Kingdom). Aesthetic, symbolic, utility concerns? The exact function of these materials remains mysterious. We know that Neanderthals sometimes collected the greenhouses of large raptors to convert them into ornaments. A study in progress suggests, moreover, that this was the case in an Audois deposit close to that of the Crouzade.
Far from the image of the brute concerned only by a difficult, Neanderthal survival is displayed as a formidable predator, capable of exploiting a great diversity of biotopes, and also as a refined, skillful being, whose creativity competes with that of his cousin and successor, Homo sapiens.
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