The Exploitation of Carnivores and Other Fur‐bearing Mammals during the North‐western European Late and Upper Paleolithic and Mesolithic

Abstract

The exploitation of large mammals, particularly large herbivores, has dominated perceptions of Upper Palaeolithic and Mesolithic subsistence behaviour in north‐western Europe. This paper critically reviews the evidence for the exploitation of a complementary resource which has received little attention within the archaeological literature — carnivores and other fur‐bearing mammals. Evidence for exploitation of individual species is described and discussed. A model is then developed to explain the apparent expansion of the subsistence base to include a wide range of fur‐bearing mammals during the Lateglacial and Mesolithic. This paper concludes by arguing that although the use of carnivore meat and pelts cannot be viewed as a dominant trend in European hunter‐gatherer subsistence practices, their contribution to hunter‐gatherer economies cannot be ignored.