Post-glacial human subsistence and settlement patterns: insights from bones

This paper is an introduction to the topical collection dealing with the Post-glacial human subsistence and settlement patterns: insights from bones. The context of the Lateglacial and Early Holocene (ca. 16,000–6000 cal BP) in Europe offers the possibility to examine the response of terrestrial ecosystems to dramatic climatic changes and the evolution of subsistence among hunter-gatherers facing phases of environmental instabilities. The contributors of this special issue developed and applied diverse approaches to provide regional and chronological elements to the knowledge of the available biotopes and their exploitation by human populations over the Lateglacial and Early Holocene in Europe. Their studies provide local information on animal recolonization of septentrional areas in Europe, change in habitat of large games, and human dietary adaptation to new biotopes.