Hunters tracked goat cycles 15,000 years ago
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Fifteen thousand years ago, hunters in Chaves, Spain, adjusted their hunting strategies to match the annual cycles of Iberian wild goats.
Researchers from the Universities of Zaragoza, Pisa, and the National Museum of Natural History of France studied goat remains found in the Chaves cave. They determined these Paleolithic hunter-gatherers didn’t hunt goats randomly, but instead targeted them during specific times of the year.
The team combined analysis of the animals’ ages with study of isotopes preserved in their tooth enamel. Tooth enamel acts as a natural record, preserving information about an animal’s environment and diet, allowing scientists to identify seasonal patterns and movements. This analysis revealed that goats reproduced at specific times and regularly moved between areas of the Serra de Guara mountains, likely following available resources.
The location of the Chaves cave offered hunters a vantage point to observe these movements and take advantage of them. Researchers concluded that these communities held detailed knowledge of the mountain environment and used flexible strategies to obtain resources. The cave continues to yield valuable information about life during the Magdalenense period, the final stage of the Upper Paleolithic.
