Zooarchaeology and Modern Human Origins

Recent genetic data showing that Neanderthals interbred with modern humans have made it clear that deeper insight into the behavioral differences between these populations will be critical to understanding the rapid spread of modern humans and the demise of the Neanderthals. This volume, which brings together scholars who have worked with faunal assemblages from Europe, the Near East, and Africa, makes an important contribution to our broader understanding of Neanderthal extinction and modern human origins through its focus on variability in human hunting behavior between 70-25, 000 years ago-a critical period in the later evolution of our species.

1. Introduction. - 2. Exploring the Relationship Between Climate Change and the Decline of the Howieson s Poort at Sibudu Cave (South Africa). - 3. Middle Paleolithic Large-Mammal Hunting in the Southern Levant. - 4. Middle Paleolithic Prey Choice Inferred from a Natural Pitfall Trap. - 5. New Opportunities for Previously Excavated Sites. - 6. New Contributions on Subsistence Practices during the Middle-Upper Paleolithic in Northern Spain. - 7. Iberian Archaeofaunas and Hominin Subsistence During Marine Isotope Stages 4 and 3. - 8. Animal Exploitation Strategies During the Uluzzian at Grotta di Fumane (Verona, Italy). - 9. A Diachronic Evaluation of Neanderthal Cervid Exploitation and Site Use at Pech de l Azé IV, France. - 10. Neanderthal to Neanderthal Evolution. - 11. The Role of Fish, Fowl and Small Mammals in the Fauna of the Paleolithic Caves of the Swabian Jura, Southwestern Germany. - 12. Neanderthals and Cave Hyenas. - 13. Bone Grease Rendering in Mousterian Contexts. - 14. Foraging Goals and Transport Decisions in Western Europe During the Paleolithic and Early Holocene.