Space, time and movements: how bone refits can be used to reconstruct Neanderthal’s occupational models: the case of Abric Romani (Barcelona, Spain) and Riparo Tagliente (Verona, Italy)

Currently, one of the significant tasks and interests of archaeological and palaeoanthropological research is the comprehension of Neanderthal behaviour. The main problem lies in the variability of Middle Palaeolithic archaeological assemblages, whose multifactorial character is closely tied to economic strategies and daily activities. Approaching the complexity of human behaviour is the only way to explain changes in archaeological assemblages. Neanderthals play a central role in the ongoing debate on the evolution of behavioural capabilities, as they represent the last divergent branch of the human evolutionary tree. Refitting methods offer a glimpse at the temporal scale that define the basic units forming archaeological assemblages: the scale of each event. The study of the intra-site spatial distribution of refitted elements, the distance and direction of refitting lines, combined with a taphonomic analysis of post-depositional agents, allow for the identification of anthropic redistribution of tools and remains between different domestic units. This paper aims to identify Neanderthal subsistence patterns, in level I and sublevel Ja of Abric Romaní (Barcelona, Spain) and level 37 of Riparo Tagliente (Verona, Italy). Mainly between deposits which represented locations of human activity, from aggregated palimpsests of taphonomically sorted and redeposited collections, is a fundamental stage of archaeological research. Mainly, we need to identify those patterns referable to human as opposed to non-human agencies.