Abstract

A popular representation of reindeer-dependent Ice Age peoples has endured since the designation 'Age du Renne' was bestowed upon the Upper Paleolithic of Southwest France in 1877. In this paper we expand the discussion of French Upper Paleolithic subsistence and settlement activities to include other prey species and ask whether the apparent emphasis on Rangifer is (a) the result of strategic planning (i.e. specialization), on the part of hunters, or (b) a function of species availability. Seasonality studies and prey mortality patterns are used as a means of assessing the degree to which Upper Paleolithic hunter-gatherers in Southwest France relied on reindeer.