Red deer vs. ibex hunting at a seasonal base camp in the Dolomites: Mondeval de Sora, site 1, sectors I and III

Mondeval de Sora (VF1) is a high-altitude camp-site located in the heart of the Dolomites (2150 m a.s.l., south eastern Alps, Italy). It has yielded two stratigraphic series which were explored under two opposite sides of the same erratic boulder (Sectors I and III). Thanks to its exceptional preservation, it represents a key-deposit for the study of human settlement and subsistence strategies in Alpine highland areas. In this paper results of archaeozoological analyses carried out on the osteological remains of the Sauveterrian (early Mesolithic) levels of sectors I and III will be presented. The faunal assemblages are characterized by a high variety of species which differ in their composition: in sector I the most represented species are red deer and ibex followed by chamois and roe deer, which are present in moderate proportions; in sector III the presence of wild caprines appears more important. Wild boar is scarce and carnivores (bear, wolf and fox) and rodents (marmot and hare) are rare in both sectors. The taphonomical analysis of faunal remains has highlighted that the processing of animal carcasses, particularly of red deer and ibex, was mostly carried out in the site. Hunting of these two species was favored by the strategic location of Mondeval de Sora at the transition zone between the forest and the Alpine prairie.