Carrying on with Neanderthal mobility: a GIS-based approach to group movement in northern Spain

The composition of a social group will undoubtedly influence everyday decisions, including how tasks are divided and how a group moves. We know that 40-60% of Palaeolithic societies consisted of children, yet we rarely consider their presence in our interpretations. Carrying infants is a universal task for humans and ethnographic accounts demonstrate how this behaviour is intricately intertwined with subsistence activities and the division of labour, as well as key social behaviours such as cooperation and sharing. It is also a considerable investment and it is this energetic cost that provides a tangible route to looking at its impact in the past. This study develops a GIS-based approach to understanding how group composition, specifically carrying infants, could impact Neanderthal mobility. This is explored through a Middle Palaeolithic case study, using sites in northern Spain. It is argued that a reassessment of Neanderthal social organisation is needed, with group mobility and the social division of labour varying within a local and regional context.