ABSTRACT
This chapter aims to improve the analytical approaches developed so far by taking into account cultural influences because they, too, have an impact on faunal exploitation strategies. In all cases, it is necessary to question the origins of such variation and their influence on Neolithic diffusion, given that several routes of colonisation may have coexisted. The chapter assesses these lines of the diversification of animal resources and their relationships with the cultural groups in order to understand the early Neolithic period in the Paris Basin. It highlights the fact that the modes of exploitation of animal resources on the Villeneuve-Saint-Germain culture (VSG) sites are comparable with the pastoral traditions of the Ruban de Basse-Alsace' and the Ruban du Sud-Ouest in Alsace, which may derive from a different origin. The biometric approach reveals a much higher variability amongst domestic pig populations on Linearbandkeramik culture LBK and VSG sites in comparison with cattle.
