Marmot hunting during the Upper Palaeolithic: the specialized exploitation at Grotte di Pradis (Italian pre-Alps)

In the last few years several studies have reassessed the attraction and the role of small game in the subsistence economy of hunter-gatherers across Europe and the Mediterranean region since the Middle Paleolithic. The exploitation of small mammals intensified during the Pleistocene-Holocene transition, when some unusual faunal assemblages were recorded in the Alpine arch and the Prealpine belt. In this region marmot became a relevant resource during the Late Glacial, albeit the relative foraging systems were mostly focused on the exploitation of medium and large size herbivores. In this report we present zooarchaeological data from Grotte di Pradis (northeastern Italy) which displays a faunal assemblage composed of at least 637 marmot individuals, representing about the 99% of the total remains. Taphonomic evidence suggests a standardized processing of marmot carcasses finalized to the deferred consumption and utilization of different resources. The intensive exploitation together with the acquisition through repetitive hunting events and the ecological and ethological factors proper of this animal, substantially affected its definition of prey type and its ranking in terms of energy return balance. Hence, in this particular context marmot might be regarded as a high-ranked resource, seasonally exploited within a well-established logistical mobility system which reflects a repetitive regional phenomenon peculiar of the alpine area throughout the Late Glacial.