Lloveras, Lluís, Garcia, Lluís, Marqueta, Mario, Maroto, Julià, Soler, Joaquim, and Soler, Narcís
Intensification in the procurement of small game, including different taxa of birds, has been proposed as one of the indicators of dietary shifts occurring in western Mediterranean regions during the Upper Palaeolithic as a consequence of both increased human hunting pressures and environmental change. In this paper, avian remains recovered from the Upper Palaeolithic levels of Arbreda Cave (Serinyà, northeast Iberia) are analysed. Our results evidence a high diversity of bird taxa in most levels, with the presence of a minimum of 50 species, including birds that inhabit a variety of biotopes such as cliffs, rivers and wetlands, and open grassland, along with coniferous and mixed forests. Taphonomic analysis of the bird bones from all levels indicates a mixed origin for the material, humans being one of the agents responsible for the accumulations. The results show that birds were caught for consumption. However, wing feathers and phalanges were also extracted, probably for ornamental or ceremonial purposes. A significant number of tooth/beak-marked bones and digested remains also evidence the participation of different species of raptors and, to a lesser degree, of small terrestrial carnivores in creating these assemblages. Finally, some birds died naturally and were then incorporated into the archaeological record. This study contributes to the discussion of the importance of the exploitation of birds by hunter-gatherers during the Upper Palaeolithic in the region. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]