Seasonality and mobility of Epipaleolithic groups in the north-east of the Iberian Peninsula: tooth wear analysis of ungulates from Balma del Gai

Abstract

The aim of this work is to provide evidence about the mobility of hunter-gatherer groups from the north-east of the Iberian Peninsula during the Epipaleolithic, more specifically, those from the Balma del Gai site (Moià, Barcelona, Spain). To do so, a study of the dental meso- and microwear of ungulates hunted by the groups that occupied the Balma del Gai site during the Epipaleolithic was carried out with two main objectives. First, we aimed to determine the diet of the hunted ungulates to reconstruct the habitat in which they lived in the areas near the site through the comparison of the dental microwear patterns with those of extant populations of directly related taxa that inhabited different regions. Second, we aimed to study the variability in the diet of the hunted ungulates to determine the durations of the occupations, and therefore, to characterize the mobility model (forager vs. collector) of the hunter-gatherer groups at Balma del Gai during the Epipaleolithic. The results indicate that the rock shelter was occupied on a seasonal basis. The browsing dietary traits of the red deer at the time of death combined with archaeological evidence suggest that the occupation took place during late summer and especially autumn. This points to a forager mobility pattern for the hunter-gatherer groups of Balma del Gai that could have been present throughout other contemporary human groups of the Mediterranean coast and pre-coastal area.