Sulfur isotopes evidence spatial ecology of Late Pleistocene ungulates in southwestern France

Understanding prey species spatial behaviour is key to unravelling contemporary hunter-gatherer subsistence and movement patterns. Here, we use sulfur (δ34S), carbon (δ 13C) and nitrogen (δ 15N) isotope compositions of bone collagen extracted from Rangifer, Equus, Bovinae, Capreolus, and Cervus (n = 244) to explore isotope spatial and dietary niches of several key hunter-gatherer prey species from three Late Pleistocene sites in southwestern France between MIS 5 and MIS 3. Alongside morphological identification, Zooarchaeology by Mass Spectrometry (ZooMS) was used to confirm deer taxa (n = 125) allowing for a better interpretation of the isotopic data. δ34S analysis identifies differences in ranging sizes between ungulates with known large ranging sizes from those with small to medium size ranges. Rangifer, who, today, have large home ranges, have the largest range of δ34S values and lowest δ34S values with low to no overlap with other ungulate species through time. This indicates that Rangifer had a larger range size with a distinct isotopic area that is different to other ungulates, potentially farther inland and farther north. Bovines and Equus have largely overlapping δ34S values that are similar to the modern local δ34S value of the sites, and Cervus and Capreolus have δ34S values that overlap but are slightly higher than the modern δ34S values, potentially indicating a ranging area to the west of the sites. These results reveal that Neanderthals hunted three different groups of game who occupied different areas of the landscape.