Changes in reindeer body part representation at Grotte XVI, Dordogne, France

Foraging theory models are used to examine changes in reindeer body part representation in the Middle and Upper Paleolithic ungulate assemblages at Grotte XVI (Dordogne, France). Previous research suggests that climate change resulted in progressive increases in reindeer abundances throughout the region. If increased forager encounter rates with reindeer resulted in decreased transport distances and search times, central-place forager models predict that field processing at the kill site will decline and reindeer body part transport will become less selective. This prediction is supported, and reindeer skeletal element abundances are shown to become increasingly even and incorporate higher frequencies of low utility elements through time. The progressive shift in reindeer transport strategies operates across technological and hominin species boundaries including the Middle-to-Upper Paleolithic transition.