The study of Neanderthal-Environment interactions very often lacks precise data that match the chrono-geographical frame of human activities. Here, we reconstruct Neanderthals’ hunting grounds within three distinct habitats using dental microwear analysis combined with zooarchaeological data. The predation patterns toward ungulates are discussed in term of frequency (NISP/MNI) and potential meat intake (MAM). Unit IIIa of Teixoneres Cave (MIS 3, NE Spain) corresponds to a mosaic landscape, Unit IIIb was more forested, and, in the “Ensemble” II of Pié Lombard (MIS 4, SE France), forest cover dominated. At Pié Lombard, Neanderthals rely on a high diversity of taxa from closed and semi-open hunting grounds, mostly two ungulate species as well as rabbits and several bird taxa. At Teixoneres Cave, mainly open areas are exploited in summer with a predation mostly focused on large gregarious ungulates. The larger size of ungulate herds in open spaces may have allowed Neanderthals to restrict their subsistence behaviour only to very few species, in specific hunting strategies. In Unit IIIa, they do not appear to have made any selection within the most abundant species, while in Unit IIIb, they focused on aurochs and also opportunistically and heavily on newborn red deer. Neanderthal subsistence strategies seem, therefore, only partially linked to the hunting grounds they had access to. While it impacted the diversity of the prey they selected, Neanderthal groups were able to develop distinct hunting strategies within similar environments.

中文翻译：

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尼安德特人的狩猎场：Teixoneres Cave（西班牙）和 Pié Lombard rockhelter（法国）的案例


对尼安德特人与环境相互作用的研究常常缺乏与人类活动的时间地理框架相匹配的精确数据。在这里，我们利用牙齿微磨损分析结合动物考古数据重建了三个不同栖息地内的尼安德特人的狩猎场。有蹄类动物的捕食模式根据频率（NISP/MNI）和潜在肉类摄入量（MAM）进行讨论。 Teixoneres 洞穴（MIS 3，西班牙东北部）的 IIIa 单元对应于马赛克景观，IIIb 单元森林覆盖较多，而 Pié Lombard（MIS 4，法国东南部）的“Ensemble”II 单元则以森林覆盖为主。在皮埃伦巴第，尼安德特人依靠来自封闭和半开放狩猎场的高度多样性的类群，主要是两种有蹄类动物以及兔子和几种鸟类类群。在 Teixoneres 洞穴，夏季主要是开放区域，捕食者主要集中在大型群居有蹄类动物上。开放空间中较大规模的有蹄类动物群可能使尼安德特人能够在特定的狩猎策略中将其生存行为限制为极少数物种。在单元 IIIa 中，他们似乎没有在最丰富的物种中进行任何选择，而在单元 IIIb 中，他们重点关注野牛，并且也机会主义地大量关注新生马鹿。因此，尼安德特人的生存策略似乎仅部分与他们能够进入的狩猎场相关。虽然它影响了他们选择的猎物的多样性，但尼安德特人群体能够在相似的环境中制定独特的狩猎策略。