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Dolní Vĕstonice I and Předmostí I, two large and important Pavlovian sites in Moravia (Czech Republic), have yielded extraordinary assemblages of lithic artefacts as well as animal remains. In this paper, the bird remains from both these sites are analysed in terms of their species, anatomical representation and bone fragmentation. The large share of tetraonid and raven ( Corvus corax ) remains, and the overrepresentation of ulnas among the raven bones, are similarities shared by both sites included in the study, and by the other sites from Pavlovian times. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

New research affords new data on bird usage in the Pavlovian culture. This is the first article to report on bird remains excavated at Dolní Věstonice II and Pavlov II, and to discuss a small group of bones from Pavlov I. Although the two sites share a number of striking similarities, including the high frequency of Raven ( Corvus corax ), there are also some differences, e.g., in the ratio of the bird taxa. The former may be common for the whole Pavlovian culture; the latter may depend from specific usages of the sites by the Gravettian people. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: This is the first article that describes in detail the bird remains from the Gravettian mega-site Pavlov I in the Czech Republic. More than 1000 bird bones represent at least 19 taxa, of which the most numerous are tetraonids including black grouse (Tetrao tetrix), willow grouse (Lagopus lagopus) and ptarmigan (Lagopus muta), and ravens (Corvus corax). The archaeological and biological contexts indicate that most birds were hunted by people in the vicinity of the site, possibly with the help of knotted nets made from plant fibres. We suggest that ravens were killed while feeding on carcasses and/or food remains that may have been disposed of intentionally, and feathers may have been used for arrow fletching. Human-modified bones indicate that birds were used not only for food but also as raw material for tools and decoration. Although mammals were certainly more important in the subsistence of the Gravettian people, it is clear that birds played a role in their culture. The location of Pavlov I enlarges the explanatory scope of the Broad Spectrum Revolution hypothesis to include higher latitudes north of the Mediterranean. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]