The study of the fauna from Roc-aux-Sorciers was entrusted to us by François Lévêque. Our thanks to Geneviève Pinçon, responsible for the site (Ministry of Culture and Communication) and Catherine Schwab (MAN) for authorizing and facilitating the study of the collections. We also wish to thank Christiane Denys and Jean-Philip Brugal, organizers of the 4^th Taphonomy colloquium WG of ICAZ, which took place in Paris from 7 to 10 September 2016. Thanks to Louise Byrne for the English translation.

1 - Introduction

1The Roc-aux-Sorciers site in Angles-sur-l’Anglin (Vienne department) extends over more than thirty meters and comprises two localities: Abri Bourdois, a rock shelter famous for its sculpted Middle Magdalenian frieze, and Cave Taillebourg, a decorated cave from the same cultural period (fig. 1). The frieze is composed of bison, horses, ibexes, felines, and Venus. In both these localities, the deposits contemporaneous with the rock art contained abundant archaeological material. Abri Bourdois also contains seasonal occupations with no rock art, related to the Upper and Late Magdalenian (Saint-Mathurin & Garrod, 1951; Saint-Mathurin, 1969, 1984; Pinçon, 2009).

2The multidisciplinary data (sedimentology, 14C dates, cultural periods) link the deposits to the Dryas I (Bertrand et al., 2000; Dujardin & Tymula, 2005; Pinçon, 2009; Bozet & Miskovsky, 2011). The faunal associations, which are studied elsewhere (Marquet, 2009; Valensi, 2009), indicate open environments with a very cold and dry climate. The Upper Magdalenian deposits record slight climatic warming and an increase in humidity up to the top of the sequence, announcing the Pre-Bölling. For more information on the site, refer to the internet link of the Réunion des Musées Nationaux (RMN) (www.catalogue-roc-aux-sorciers.fr). A monograph on the results of the former excavations at the Roc-aux-Sorciers is in press (CTHS Edition), under the direction of Geneviève Pinçon.

2 - Materiel and methods

3The archaeozoological study focuses on the large mammals from the Middle Magdalenian discovered during the excavations by S. de Saint-Mathurin from 1947 to 1964. The material is distributed in layers RSF to RSC of the Abri Bourdois and layers TCC and TCD of Cave Taillebourg. The worked hard animal matter (tools in bone and antler, decorative elements, etc.) is not included in this work. The number of remains (NR) corresponds to the number of identified specimens per taxon (NISP), plus the unidentified remains. The minimum number of individuals (MNI) was calculated per locality and level, taking account of age and size. The age of the horses is estimated from the dental material (Barone, 1996; Guadelli, 1998; Bignon, 2008), and the age of reindeer from teeth, fetuses and antler (Bouchud, 1959; Miller, 1974; Cho, 1998; Pétillon & Averbouh, 2012). The sex of the animals is obtained from antler and from the Variability Size Index (V.S.I) (Weinstock, 2002). The representation of skeletal elements (%MAU Minimum Animal Unit) (Binford, 1984), correlated with the standardized food utility indexes (SFUI) (Metcalfe & Jones, 1988; Outram & Rowley-Conwy, 1998), provide information on the transport and/or selective processing of carcasses (Lyman, 1994). The Spearman’s rank order correlation (rs) is calculated with the PAST software. The detailed observation of each bone remain resulted in the comprehensive analysis of alteration marks, animal and anthropogenic traces. The study of bone breakage (Villa & Mahieu, 1991) completes the observations concerning animal processing (see also Valensi et al., 2012, 2013). The seasonality data take into consideration the age of the ungulates, the seasonal behaviour of the species (regular migration or sedentarization, herd composition, size of the groups) and their annual biological cycle (cervid antlers, calving) (Bignon, 2008; Costamagno, 2001; Kuntz, 2011). Thus, these analyses enable us to assess the seasonal behaviour of the magdalenians and their subsistence systems and to evaluate the site function.

3 - Results

3.1 - Presentation of the osseous assemblage

4The Middle Magdalenian deposits contained 30,874 remains (NR Abri Bourdois = 18,656; NR Cave Taillebourg = 12,218). The rate of determination (NISPx100/NR) varies from 10 % to 20 % in Abri Bourdois, depending on the levels, and from 22 % to 37 % in Cave Taillebourg. Only layer RSD in Abri Bourdois shows a very low value (4 %) as it contained large quantities of non-identified burnt bones (over 16,000 remains), which were probably used as fuel for the hearths (Saint-Mathurin, 1969). Overall, the osseous material is very well conserved: less than 2 % of the bones from Abri Bourdois and 7 % of the bones from Cave Taillebourg bear alteration marks (type weathering).

5Seventeen large mammal species were identified (tab. 1). The horse and the reindeer are predominant in all the occupation levels, followed by the Saiga antelope and the bison. It’s interesting to note that Capra is identified by very few remains whereas the latter is largely represented on the carved frieze in Abri Bourdois.

3.2 - Study of the populations and seasonality data

6The Magdalenians slaughtered male and female horses of all ages, with predominant hunting of adults in their prime (5-10 years) and young animals. For each level, the seasonality indexes bring to light several hunting episodes during different seasons. The results do not point to two single slaughter periods which could correspond to the migration of herds. On the other hand, they indicate that these ungulates were present in the region all year long. Figure 2 illustrates the results obtained on the seasonality study of animal populations in layer RSD of Abri Bourdois and layer TCD of Cave Taillebourg.

7In the same way, in all the layers of the site, reindeer hunting took place practically all year round. VSI data show that adults are preferentially females (fig. 3). The abundant fœtus remains confirm that pregnant females were slaughtered during the winter (from January to March) (Cho, 1998). Some young animals were killed in the spring and summer. Lastly, in some layers (TCC and RSD), several one and two-year-old reindeer were killed during the autumn.

8At Abri Bourdois (layer RSE) and Cave Taillebourg (TCC, TCD), the exploitation of the Saiga antelope seems to be limited to the period before and during the winter. Bison milk teeth indicate spring hunts.

3.3 - Carcass transport and processing

9In Cave Taillebourg, all the horse skeletal parts are represented, independently of their fat, meat or marrow content, indicating that the slaughter of some animals must have occurred not far from the site. At Abri Bourdois (layer RSC), post-cranial remains are not abundant, which could result from selective transport as only the parts with a high nutritional value are represented (rs = 0.4, p > 0.05). In both localities, cutmarks and breakage linked to consumption are abundant. We also note an over-representation of cranial remains and in particular of isolated incisors, which can be explained by the fact that these elements were used for portable art and ornamental elements (Vercoutère, 2009).

10All the anatomical elements of the reindeer are represented, indicating that whole carcasses were brought back to the site. The recurrence of numerous anthropogenic marks (butchery striations, breakage) on specific remains indicates food processing (disarticulation, filleting and marrow extraction) and non-food related activities (skinning, recovery of tendons, use of antlers).

11The secondary species, the Saiga antelope and the bison, are represented by numerous cranial remains as the Magdalenians used labial teeth as ornamental elements (Vercoutère, 2009). Post-cranial elements are rarer and indicate selective transport. These bones mostly have high nutritional utility and bear many cutmarks which indicate that they were eaten.

12The wolf is the dominant carnivore; it is only represented by cranial remains. Its presence at the site is linked to the use of its teeth for ornamental purposes. Some mandibles bear marks resulting from tooth extraction. Among the rare taxa, we identified the musk ox (metatarsal), the arctic fox (cranial bones and canine), the wooly mammoth (mandible and molars), the steppe polecat (mandible), the cave lion (innombearinate bone and phalange with ochre) and the bears (teeth and phalanges).

4 - Discussion and conclusion

13Several activities took place at Abri Bourdois and Cave Taillebourg, including the processing and consumption of animals. Hard animal matter appears to have been worked mainly in Cave Taillebourg, as shown by the considerable quantity of reindeer antler waste and the over-abundance of isolated labial teeth from ungulates and carnivores. The seasonality indexes show the combined slaughter of horses, reindeer and other ungulates all year round. Therefore, these analyses clearly indicate long-duration occupations, particularly in layers RSC and RSD, which are contemporaneous with the frieze. This points to semi-sedentary Magdalenian populations with differential seasonal resource management, as has been described elsewhere (Fontana, 1998; Delage, 2012). The permanent presence of herds of reindeer and horses all year round provided most of the meat diet supply as well as an important source of antler raw material.