HIGH-RESOLUTION NEANDERTHALS - INTERPRETING MIDDLE PALEOLITHIC INTRASITE SPATIAL DATA

Palaeolithic archaeologists have for some time been concerned with hig h resolution data, which is usually taken to mean intra-site spatial p atterning. This paper examines cases of such high resolution for the M iddle Palaeolithic? and assesses exactly what such 'flagship' sites re veal about Neanderthal behaviour. Although such cases are rare, and mo st Middle Palaeolithic sites are just as informative albeit of lower r esolution, an attempt is made to interpret what patterning is availabl e. It can be explained by recourse to nothing more that simple human b iomechanics, and, in enclosed sites, displays a simple spatial organiz ation that does not differ from that of non-human carnivores. The degr ee of repetition of such patterning suggests that simple spatial organ ization was an habitual element of the Neanderthal adaptation.