Ricerc@Sapienza

Middle Palaeolithic studies are punctuated with academic debates and reflections on how to understand the behavioural similarities between Homo neanderthalensis and Homo sapiens. Many Anglo-Saxon researchers have argued that organized hunting could only be carried out by Anatomically Modern Humans (Rendu, 2007). Indeed, despite a growing number of archaeological data speaking in favour of controlled hunting, some authors are still believing that Neanderthals were mostly scavengers (Binford, 1985; Dibble, Mellars, 1992; Stringer, Gamble, 1994). The meat-rich diet of Neanderthals in western Europe is now firmly established: for example, isotopic analyzes have shown that their diet placed them amongst high-ranking carnivores (Bocherens et al., 1991; Richards, Trinkaus, 2009), but this information obviously does not allow saying if it is a food acquired by hunting or by scavenging. In fact, only archeozoological studies have shown that Neanderthal groups not only hunted but also had complex strategies, sometimes with game selection.