Beschreibung:
ABSTRACT Unusually well preserved animal bone accumulations, representing the refuse of single butchering episodes, have been found in Neolithic levels (Vth and IVth millennia b.c.) of a cave in Southern France. These bone clusters contain the remains of one or a few individuals, either domestic sheep or wild boars. The integrity of these features has been checked through conjoining of fragments, rearticula- tion of bones and horizontal and vertical plots of elements. Some bones were found in anatomical connection ; many have cutmarks for skinning, dismembering and filleting. The study of cutmarks indicate that most butchering operations were carried out in the cave. Meat was filleted from bones and long bones were broken for marrow. Bones were then discarded, uncooked, in shallow depressions 20- 70 cm wide. The absence of certain anatomical segments from all refitted skeletons is a constant feature of these clusters ; it is probably due to sharing with other members of the group, or to separate episodes of discard. Discard clusters of this kind have never been described from Paleolithic caves but excavation reports suggest that they existed at such sites.