Eat what is there: Hunting and gathering in the world of Neanderthals and their neighbours

The current state of our knowledge of Neanderthal hunting and gathering is reviewed, with particular emphasis on the 'transition' from the Middle to the Upper Palaeolithic. It is argued that the zooarchaeological data do not support any general change in strategy during this transition, and that Middle and Upper Palaeolithic hunting and gathering was largely determined by what was available seasonally in the local environment. Copyright (C) 2004 John Wiley Sons, Ltd.