On pensait au début du 20ème siècle que les humains du Paléolithique chassaient l’ours en général, et l’ours des cavernes en particulier. Contestée ensuite, cette thèse était rejetée dans les années 1980-90. Qu’en disent les recherches récentes ?
At the beginning of the 20th century, it was thought that Paleolithic humans hunted bears in general, and cave bears in particular. This theory was later challenged and rejected in the 1980s and 1990s. What do recent studies say?
Toniato et al., A diachronic study of human-bear interactions: An overview of ursid exploitation during the Paleolithic of Germany, Quaternary Sciences Reviews, 2024 [Texte]
« In this work we present evidence for bear exploitation by hominins from five Paleolithic sites located in Germany. […] Our results show that during the course of the Upper Paleolithic interactions between hominins and bears developed to the detriment of bears, that were increasingly exploited by humans. Even though the location and morphology of butchering traces is consistent throughout the Paleolithic, during the Upper Paleolithic we detect a considerable increase in the frequency and variety of anthropogenic modifications on bear remains. […] Competition between hominins and bears increased and together with human predation led to the extinction of cave bears across Europe. »
Lateur et al., Evidence of bears exploitation by early Neanderthals at the middle pleistocene site of payre (MIS 8-6, Southeastern France), Quaternary Science Review, 2024 [Texte partiel]
« Recent discoveries during the reassessment of collections brought to light at least a dozen cave (Ursus spelaeus) and brown bear (Ursus arctos) remains bearing cut marks, indicating the in situ carcass processing (skinning, evisceration, dismembering, defleshing) of these large carnivores by early Neanderthals. This is just one of an increasing number of such examples throughout Europe, highlighting once again the diversity of food and non-food resources exploited by these hominins. »
Silvestrini et al., Hunting game: New data on the subsistence strategies during the Uluzzian in Italy, Journal of Archaeological Research: Reports, 2024 [Texte]
« [Riparo del Broion] The most represented taxon is Ursus sp. (11.1 %) (NISP = 32). Moreover, 2.8 % of the remains have been identified as Ursus spelaeus and 1 % as Ursus arctos. The fragments of Sus scrofa (4.9 %), and Cervus elaphus (2.8 %) are also relatively abundant. Moreover, we registered Cervidae (9 %) and indeterminate carnivores (17.7 %). On the contrary, caprines and mustelids are scarce. »
Verheijen et al., Early evidence for bear exploitation during MIS 9 from the site of Schöningen 12 (Germany), Journal of Human evolution, 2023 [Texte partiel]
« Middle Paleolithic sites, such as Biache-Saint-Vaast (France; ca. 175 ka) and Taubach (Germany; ca. 120 ka), yield evidence for the exploitation of both skin and meat from bear carcasses. Bear skins have high insulating properties and might have played a role in the adaptations of Middle Pleistocene hominins to the cold and harsh winter conditions of Northwestern Europe. »
Terlato et al., Chronological and Isotopic data support a revision for the timing of cave bear extinction in Mediterranean Europe, Historical Biology, 2019
« The data presented above demonstrate clear evidence for interactions between Epigravettian hunters and cave bears, which were used for the acquisition of hides, meat and possibly other resources. At that time, the bear was more susceptible to human hunting (Kurtén 1958; Grayson and Delpech 2003; Stiller et al. 2010; Münzel et al. 2011) and attacks by predators (Diedrich 2014) for meat acquisition as well as competition for the cave and denning space. This could be an important factor in its extinction, since the cave bear was dependent on caves for hibernation.«
Dominique Armand, L’exploitation de l’Ours au Paléolithique : un point sur la question, in Costamagno et al., Animal symbolisé, animal exploité : du paléolithique à la protohistoire, CTHS, 2018 [PDF]
« L’Ours des cavernes est le taxon le plus exploité et l’a été majoritairement par l’Homme de Néandertal. Des ours des cavernes mâles ont été chassés, notamment à Hohle Fels ainsi que des ours bruns de grande taille dans le site moustérien de Taubach (Bratlund, 1999). La chasse est démontrée, aussi bien pour Néandertal que pour l’Homme moderne, et concerne tant l’Ours brun que l’Ours des cavernes, remettant en cause les hypothèses de L. Binford (1997) sur l’incapacité des Néandertaliens à chasser des ours de grande taille. Toutefois, les exemples où la chasse est avérée sont encore rares, parce que la démonstration est difficile à faire notamment dans les cas de grottes où les ours ont hiberné. De plus, la question n’a pas toujours été abordée dans les différentes publications et les données disponibles ne permettent pas d’aller plus loin dans les conclusions«
Romandini et al., Bears and humans, a Neanderthal tale. Reconstructing uncommon behaviors from zooarchaeological evidence in southern Europe, Journal of Archaeological Science, 2018
« The data presented above demonstrate clear evidence for interactions between Neanderthals and cave and brown bears, which were targeted for the acquisition of fur, meat, bones, and possibly other materials that were considered plantigrade resources. »
Wojtal et al., Gravettian hunting and exploitation of bears in Central Europe, Quaternary international, 2015 [PDF]
« Since the time when mass accumulations of cave bear remains was rejected as specialized hunting by either Neanderthals or modern humans and this phenomenon became just a taphonomic
issue, it took some time until the human impact on cave bears was again recognized. During the last 20 years, more evidence of human exploitation of cave bears was documented in almost all regions of its former distribution. Although the genetic demise of U. spelaeus (sensu lato) can be recognized 25 ky earlier (Stiller et al., 2010, 2013), it seems likely that Palaeolithic hunters played a role in the extirpation of cave bears, especially if a growing Upper Palaeolithic human population was competing with cave bears for shelter during the cold seasons of the year, e.g. in the Swabian Jura.«
Stiller et al. Withering Away—25,000 Years of Genetic Decline Preceded Cave Bear Extinction, Molecular Biology and Evolution, 2010[Texte]
« Judging from the relative amounts of cave bear and brown bear remains in European caves, cave bears were more dependent on caves for hibernation (Kurtén 1976; Rabeder et al. 2000). Both modern humans and Neanderthals would have been strong competitors for these caves and might have forced cave bears into less suitable sites for hibernation (Grayson and Delpech 2003). Even with low human population density, this might have increased cave bear mortality by a small but steady and eventually fatal degree. »
Münzel & Conard, Cave bear hunting in Hohle Fels Cave in the Ach Valley of the Swabian Jura, Revue de paléobiologie, Genève, 2004 [PDF]
« The specimens with cut and impact marks as well as the vertebra with the embedded projectile show that cave bears played a role in the economy of the Ach Valley, and the active hunting occurred.
The annual cycle of human occupation in the Ach Valley (Fig. 14) included winter use of the region, as indicated by the wild horse hunting and spring use, as indicated by the mammoth hunting. The cut marks on cave bear cubs in the age of 3-4 months provide a link between horse and mammoth hunting season, and suggest that cave bear hunting probably took place during the transition from winter to spring. »
Patrick Auguste, 2003, La chasse à l’ours au Paléolithique moyen: mythes, réalités et état de la question, in Marylène Patou-Mathis et Hervé Bocherens, Le rôle de l’environnement dans les comportements des chasseurs cueilleurs préhistoriques, BAR, 2003
« L’analyse des trois cas ci-dessus mentionnés nous conforte dans la reconstitution du comportement des Néanderthaliens. Ceux-ci s’avèrent capables de s’organiser pour abattre des animaux trop dangereux pour un seul chasseur, de s’adapter en fonction des ressources alimentaires disponibles suivant les saisons. Leur gestion de ce gibier si particulier [l’ours] s’inscrit donc très bien dans le système écologique auquel ils semblent parfaitement intégrés durant des dizaines de milliers d’années. »
Marylène Patou, Consommation courante de l’ours des cavernes en Europe occidentale durant le paléolithique moyen: mythe et réalités, Anthropozoologica, 1988 [PDF]
« L’ours des cavernes se rencontre dans de très nombreux gisements du Paléolithique Moyen […] Malgré cette apparente abondance, bien que l’ours soit potentiellement un animal productif (environ 85kg de viande, peau, graisse, …) et d’une chasse qui semble, au regard des techniques utilisées par les peuples sibériens actuels, relativement facile, il n’a pas été un gibier de choix pour les paléolithiques. Jusqu’à présent, pour des sites en grotte, aucune preuve ne permet de supposer une consommation de l’ours des cavernes par les préhistoriques […] La chasse intensive de ce plantigrade, notamment par les Néandertaliens, semble donc être plus un mythe qu’une réalité. Pourquoi n’a-t-il pas été chassé ? La question reste posée. »
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Anthropogoniques 