Migrations of the Massive: The Predictability and Perils of Woolly Mammoth Hunting in the Upper Palaeolithic of Northern Eurasia

在大约5万到2万年前的最后一个欧洲冰河时期，寻找食物是旧石器时代晚期人类面临的最大挑战之一。长毛猛犸象的肉，特别是关键的脂肪供应，似乎在这方面发挥了作用，因为它们的遗骸在中欧和东欧的遗址中被广泛发现，有时数量非常大。然而，狩猎采集者通常选择食物供应的可预测性，而不是简单地最大化回报，而猛犸象作为主食或食物补充剂的地位取决于它们作为猎物的可靠性。狩猎者是针对可预测的季节性迁徙路线，在一年中的特定时间可靠地产生大量食物，这表明存在食物储存经济，还是猛犸象的运动不太可预测，需要基于偶遇的狩猎方法，这种方法本身就不太确定，而且作为食物来源的风险更大，这意味着它们可能只是偶尔提供大量食物？这项研究将通过重建被格拉维特人捕食的猛犸象的季节性移动模式来回答这个问题，并在此过程中为重新解释猛犸象在旧石器时代生存中的作用提供了一个平台。这项研究将通过重建中欧和东欧地区格拉维特人捕食的猛犸象的季节性迁移模式，来调查猛犸象作为旧石器时代晚期食物资源的可预测性。目的是：*使用对长毛象牙釉质的配对锶和氧同位素分析来确定季节性变化模式。同位素分析的样品将在埃克塞特准备，并在南安普顿的国家海洋学中心进行分析。锶测量将使用LA-MC-ICPMS进行，从而产生能够检测快速运动的高分辨率数据。样本将来自博物馆收藏和正在进行的考古发掘。*利用现有的（必要时原始的）锶基图数据重建猛犸象猎物的季节性流动性*整理现有的关于猛犸象的生态和同位素数据，将本项目收集的新的流动性数据结合起来，扩大对这一灭绝物种行为的认识*重新解释猛犸象在旧石器时代生存中的作用，借鉴理论文献的最佳觅食策略，弹性理论，在狩猎采集社会中，机会主义的“偶遇”与有计划的“坐等”狩猎策略。选定的候选人将通过确定合适的分析地点，利用主管在中欧和东欧的现有联系和合作，帮助塑造项目。

The quest to find food was one of the biggest challenges facing Upper Palaeolithic humans during the last European ice age c.50,000-20,000 years ago. Access to woolly mammoth meat, and critical fat supplies in particular, appear to have played a role in this as their remains are found widely at sites in central and eastern Europe and sometimes in very large quantities. However, hunter-gatherers typically opt for predictability of food supply rather than simply maximising returns, and the status of mammoth as a food staple or food supplement hunted as-and-when depends critically on their dependability as prey. Could hunters have targeted predictable seasonal migration routes that reliably produced huge quantities of food at specific times of the year suggesting a food storage economy, or were mammoth movements less predictable, requiring encounter-based approaches to hunting that are inherently less certain and more risky as a source of food implying they may have provided only the occasional food bonanza? This research will answer this question by reconstructing the seasonal mobility patterns of mammoth preyed upon by Gravettian humans and, in-so-doing, provide a platform for reinterpreting the role of the woolly mammoth in Palaeolithic subsistence.This research will investigate the predictability of woolly mammoths as an Upper Palaeolithic food resource by reconstructing the seasonal mobility patterns of mammoth preyed upon by Gravettian humans at sites in central and eastern Europe. The aims are to:* Use paired strontium and oxygen isotope analysis of woolly mammoth tooth enamel to identify seasonal patterns of change. Samples for isotopic analysis will be prepared in Exeter and analysed at the National Oceanography Centre in Southampton. Strontium measurements will be made using LA-MC-ICPMS resulting in high resolution data capable of detecting rapid movements. Samples will derive from both museum collections and ongoing archaeological excavations.* Use existing (and where necessary original) strontium basemap data to reconstruct seasonal mobility of mammoth prey* Collate existing ecological and isotopic data on woolly mammoth to contextualise the new mobility data collected in this project and broaden knowledge of the behaviour of this extinct species* Reinterpret the role of the woolly mammoth in Palaeolithic subsistence, drawing on the theoretical literature for optimal foraging strategies, resilience theory, and opportunistic "encounter-based" vs planned "sit-and-wait" hunting strategies in hunter-gatherer societies.The selected candidate will help shape the project by identifying suitable sites for analysis, taking advantage of the supervisors existing contacts and collaborations in central and eastern Europe.