Hunting, Seasonality, and Site Functions during the Middle Palaeolithic: Cases of the Lazaret and Pié Lombard Sites (Alpes-Maritimes)

Among the several known Middle Palaeolithic sites in South-East of France, their concentration in the Liguro-Provençal zone, around the French Monegasque Italian borders, is particularly remarkable. The narrow coastal to sub-littoral strip between the Southern Alps and the shoreline has strongly constrained the movement of populations, both human and animal. This specific geographical configuration benefits a regional microclimate, characterised by temperate conditions, even during colder phases. Such geo-climatic factors have conditioned the nature and the composition of the archaeofaunas, whose study provides crucial information on settlement patterns and resource exploitation by prehistoric groups.The human-environment relationships in this area during the second half of the Middle Palaeolithic are analysed, based on research carried out over the past few decades and on new focused analyses of faunal remains. After a presentation of the regional contexts, we will question the subsistence strategies and exploitation of the territory through the archaeozoological and cementochronogical studies of two sites: one located closed to the seafront, the Lazaret cave (UA29, OIS6), the other in the hinterland, the rock shelter of Pié Lombard (OIS5). The results from the studies of seasonality of hunting activities and kill-off patterns of the major game will be highlighted by integrating all the available data. These results suggest trends in the patterns of the territory’s management. Despite a certain variability, the coastal sites seem to have experienced more often long term, multi-seasonal occupations, while the pre-Alpine sites appear to have been used for short term, seasonally circumscribed expeditions.