Hunting large mammals and using water food resources in the early Paleolithic (a case study of the early Acheulian sites in the southern shore of the Sea of Azov)

The paper is dedicated to the issue of food sources and methods of obtaining food in the Early Paleolithic. This complicated and controversial issue is difficult to resolve due to a shortage of archaeological data. The paper provides and interprets materials originating from the sites attributed to the Taman Early Acheulian industry and dated to different periods. The sites are located in the southern shore of the Sea of Azov (~ 2,0-1,0 million years ago). The analysis of these materials helps the author conclude that the representatives of the Taman Early Acheulian industry hunted large mammals, mostly, southern elephants (Archidiskodon meridionalis tamanensis) and Caucasian Elasmotheriidae (Elasmotherium caucasicum). Specific natural conditions in the southern shore of the Sea of Azov and cognitive abilities of prehistoric people were conducive to emergence of active hunting of such mammals as a way of obtaining meat food. A special hunting strategy was developed such as hunting in calderas of mud volcanoes that were quite common in the region at that time...