Prey choice, mass collecting, and the wild European rabbit (Oryctolagus cuniculus)

Current hypotheses about changing diet breadth at the Pleistocene–Holocene transition in the Dordogne, southwestern France rest on the assumption that rabbits are lower in energetic value than large ungulates. However, mass collecting events may invalidate this assumption. This paper explores historical evidence for mass collecting of the European rabbit (Oryctolagus cuniculus), assesses the potential impact of this technique on assumptions about rabbit returns, and sets forth methods for identifying mass collecting in zooarchaeological assemblages. These methods are then applied to two sites from the Pleistocene–Holocene transition in southwestern France. While rabbits were hunted individually at one site (Moulin du Roc), the prehistoric inhabitants of the other site (Pont d’Ambon) took at least some rabbits in mass. This suggests that current hypotheses about changing diet breadth at the Pleistocene–Holocene transition in the Dordogne need to be re-evaluated.