Mesolithic subsistence strategies in the Paris Basin during the late Preboreal and Boreal chronozones (10.3-9.0 ka) Isotopic insights from human and faunal remains in the Île-de-France region
Abstract
The end of the Preboreal and Boreal chronozones (ca. 10.3 to 9.0 ka) in northern France was marked by profound environmental changes triggered by warmer and more humid global conditions. These changes were reflected by a vegetation shift from open woodland of pine associated with birch and willow to denser forests composed of hazel and other deciduous trees. In this context, the range of available food resources may have expanded to include freshwater resources in addition to terrestrial ones. Four human individuals from this period, discovered in the Paris Basin (Mareuil-lès-Meaux, Etiolles, Les Closeaux, Verberie), were analyzed for stable isotope analysis (13C, 15N,34S) in bone collagen. Faunal remains from the same period and, partly from the same sites, were also examined. The results indicate that the protein part of the human diet could be derived exclusively from terrestrial sources, with forest-dwelling ungulates contributing as much as, or even more than, wild boar to the consumed meat protein. This finding aligns with the limited evidence for fishing during the Boreal period in northern France but contrasts with the archaeological and isotopic evidence of fish consumption during the early Atlantic period in the same region. Overall, forest ecosystems provided a sustainable basis for human subsistence in the Paris Basin from ca. 10.3 to 9.0 ka.
Related
- Women’s subsistence agricultural employment and its dual association with rural children’s food security in Iran
- Review article: Stable water isotopic evolution at the glacier surface
- Tracing missing copper: ultrapotassic rocks record isotopic evidence of crustal Cu depletion
- Diet and isotopic ecology of subantarctic fur seal at the subtropical Amsterdam Island
- An overlooked pool of hydrogen stored in humic matter revealed by isotopic exchange: implication for radioactive ³H contamination
BibTeX
@article{drucker2026mesolithic,
title = {{Mesolithic subsistence strategies in the Paris Basin during the late Preboreal and Boreal chronozones (10.3-9.0 ka) Isotopic insights from human and faunal remains in the Île-de-France region}},
author = {Dorothée Drucker and Anne Bridault and Thierry Ducrocq and Frédérique Valentin},
journal = {Bulletin de la Société préhistorique française},
year = {2026},
month = sep,
url = {https://hal.science/hal-05704997v1},
note = {CC BY-NC 4.0},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Mesolithic subsistence strategies in the Paris Basin during the late Preboreal and Boreal chronozones (10.3-9.0 ka) Isotopic insights from human and faunal remains in the Île-de-France region
AU - Dorothée Drucker
AU - Anne Bridault
AU - Thierry Ducrocq
AU - Frédérique Valentin
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/09/03
JO - Bulletin de la Société préhistorique française
UR - https://hal.science/hal-05704997v1
AB - The end of the Preboreal and Boreal chronozones (ca. 10.3 to 9.0 ka) in northern France was marked by profound environmental changes triggered by warmer and more humid global conditions. These changes were reflected by a vegetation shift from open woodland of pine associated with birch and willow to denser forests composed of hazel and other deciduous trees. In this context, the range of available food resources may have expanded to include freshwater resources in addition to terrestrial ones. Four human individuals from this period, discovered in the Paris Basin (Mareuil-lès-Meaux, Etiolles, Les Closeaux, Verberie), were analyzed for stable isotope analysis (13C, 15N,34S) in bone collagen. Faunal remains from the same period and, partly from the same sites, were also examined. The results indicate that the protein part of the human diet could be derived exclusively from terrestrial sources, with forest-dwelling ungulates contributing as much as, or even more than, wild boar to the consumed meat protein. This finding aligns with the limited evidence for fishing during the Boreal period in northern France but contrasts with the archaeological and isotopic evidence of fish consumption during the early Atlantic period in the same region. Overall, forest ecosystems provided a sustainable basis for human subsistence in the Paris Basin from ca. 10.3 to 9.0 ka.
SN - 0249-7638
SN - 1760-7361
ER -