Millennial-scale change in archaeofaunas and their implications for Mousterian lithic variability in southwest France

• The present paper reexamines the problem of Mousterian industrial variability.
• The Mousterian sequences that we compare show recurrent patterns.
• These patterns are consistent with a chronological succession of industries.
• Faunal correlations enable us to propose a new chronology for these industries.
• This new chronology spans the Late Pleistocene Mousterian of southwest France.

The problem of Mousterian interassemblage variability is fundamental because it affects our models about social, technological and economic organization of Middle Paleolithic hominins. Particularly controversial is the issue of whether this variability reflects a chronological succession of industries or differences in ethnicity, site function, tool curation or raw material use, among others. Here, the chronological hypothesis is examined by correlating faunal data in southwest France with independently dated climatic events. In agreement with this hypothesis, our data show consistent patterns in lithic and faunal composition between sequences that are incompatible with scenarios assuming a coexistence or alternation of industries. Our results imply that industrial variability during the Late Pleistocene Middle Paleolithic follows distinct chronological stages not unlike those in later periods. Building on correlations indicating that archaeofaunas were tuned to climatic change induced by orbital forcing, we assess the implications of a new independently-derived chronology for our understanding of the Mousterian of France.