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The Middle Pleistocene argali (Ovis ammon antiqua) assemblages at the Caune de l'Arago (Tautavel, Pyrénées-Orientales, France): Were prehistoric hunters or carnivores responsible for their accumulation?
Abstract
The argali (Ovis ammon antiqua) assemblages from the Middle Pleistocene site of the Caune de l'Arago (Tautavel, southern France) were studied in terms of zooarchaeology and taphonomy. It is possible to discern palaeobiological information lost during fossilisation, as well as the palaeoethology of the bone collector, by the observation of taphonomic details preserved on the bone assemblages. The observations leave no doubt that both humans and carnivores were involved in the accumulation of argali carcasses in the cave. In some assemblages, the type of bones found in articulation and the gnawing marks observed are characteristic of carnivores. In other levels, the intense fracturing of the major limb bones in relation to their marrow content and mineral density, and butchering marks found on specimens in the earlier levels, are in favour of human accumulation, the modalities of which are discussed. The results suggest that the degree of carnivore activity seems to have been higher in levels M, N and O than in level F.
... Caune de l'Arago long has been an important site for the construction of hominid behaviour of European Acheulean culture during MIS 14-12 (de Lumley, de Lumley, Merle des Iles, Moigne, & Perrenoud, 2014). Throughout the stratigraphy, eight large mammals were exploited and, in particular, horses (Bellai, 1995), argali (Ovis ammon antiqua; Moigne et al., 2006;Rivals, Testu, Moigne, & de Lumley, 2006), and beavers (Castor fiber; Lebreton, Moigne, Filoux, & Perrenoud, 2017) reveal clear evidence of hominid butchering of a variety of taxa. Hunting was demonstrated clearly for cervids, bovids, and equids (Moigne, 1983). ...
... A total of 423 rhinoceros specimens were identified, according to the diagnoses proposed by Lacombat (2005). Hominin occupation of Level F was recurrent and seasonal, indicated by the continuous proportion of faunal species and lithics in the three sublevels (Rivals et al., 2006). Hominin remains correspond to at least one child and one young adult based on the naturally shed deciduous teeth. ...
... Carnivore marks affected only two bones, a humerus and a fibula, which is 0.5% of NISP. The lateral epicondyle of the humerus presents are the main accumulators in this cave (Rivals et al., 2006). In sum, nonhuman modification is limited during the formation of the Arago F bone assemblage. ...
Caune de l’Arago is a Middle Pleistocene site in Southern France, where Acheulean artefacts and hominin fossils were excavated. Rhinoceros (Stephanorhinus hemitoechus) remains from Level F (MIS 12) were studied from a zooarchaeological and taphonomic perspective to investigate the potential human exploitation of this large taxon. The well‐represented butchering marks, as well as scarce carnivore marks, indicate primary access to rhinoceros carcasses by hominins. The juvenile‐dominated mortality profile further suggests aggressive scavenging or occasional opportunistic hunting. Furthermore, differential skeletal representation shows that humans selectively transported the nutrient‐rich body sections. In addition, thorough processing of the carcasses for consumption inside the cave is highlighted by the frequent cut marks, intensive fragmentation and regular spatial distribution. The analyses of the Arago Level F rhinoceros confirm the rhinoceros exploitation by humans during the Lower Paleolithic; however, the rhinoceros mortality profile differs from that of large mammals such as equids, argali and all other game species of this archaeological layer. Caune de l’Arago is the earliest hominin site where the systematic exploitation of rhinoceros has been documented.
... The majority of these sites are located in Spain (n ¼ 5e8, depending on how the Gran Dolina site is counted), with one each in Georgia, Germany, England, and France. From the stratigraphic point of view, 6 are pre-Jaramillo sites (Dmanisi, Venta Micena, Barranco Leon, Sima del Elefante, Fuente Rivals et al., 2004Rivals et al., , 2006Armand, 2006;Barsky and de Lumley, 2010 Nueva-3, and Untermassfeld), 2 are on the Jaramillo subchron (Gran Dolina TD3-TD4 and Gran Dolina TD5), and 4 are post-Jaramillo sites (Happisburgh 3, Vallparadís, Gran Dolina TD6, and Arago). ...
... The majority of these sites are located in Spain (n ¼ 5e8, depending on how the Gran Dolina site is counted), with one each in Georgia, Germany, England, and France. From the stratigraphic point of view, 6 are pre-Jaramillo sites (Dmanisi, Venta Micena, Barranco Leon, Sima del Elefante, Fuente Rivals et al., 2004Rivals et al., , 2006Armand, 2006;Barsky and de Lumley, 2010 Nueva-3, and Untermassfeld), 2 are on the Jaramillo subchron (Gran Dolina TD3-TD4 and Gran Dolina TD5), and 4 are post-Jaramillo sites (Happisburgh 3, Vallparadís, Gran Dolina TD6, and Arago). ...
... Although it is not possible to unequivocally explain this, it can be suggested that the exploitation of local resources was key. This is especially true for argalis, whose systematic exploitation was evident on some levels of the site, in contrast to their scarcity in other Western European localities (Rivals et al., 2006). This thus seems to be a sitespecific feature. ...
In the last few decades, some progress has been made towards a synthesis of the data on the presence of early hominins in Europe and their dispersals across the continent in the Early and Middle Pleistocene. The sites that have been documented present various datasets, including hominin fossils, large and small mammal remains, and archeological artifacts. In this paper, the main focus is on sites where clear evidence exists of the processing of large mammals by hominins, in the form of cut marks, percussion marks, and others. In this regard, the taxonomic diversity of the mammals is considered alongside the type of hominin activity. All these sites serve as background for the recent discovery of the earliest (MIS 11 or 9), and indeed the only Polish, example of Middle Pleistocene human butchering activity (at the Bełchat ow site). The study revealed that the filleting of meat, as found in Bełchat ow, was also the means of meat processing employed on the oldest site of those with evidence of butchery, which is located in fact in the transition zone of Europe and Asia. This means that processing, even in its simplest forms, could have been a strong influence on adoption of meat eating among members of the Homo genus, as has been discussed recently. This emphasizes the significance of human choice, and seems to have occurred regardless of the geographical setting of human activity. This paper also presents a paleogeographic synthesis of butchering for the European Early and Middle Pleistocene and summarizes our current understanding of food processing by hominins, by scrutinizing the data on large mammals affected by such processes.
... Finally, the faunal assemblage is characteristic of the Middle Pleistocene, with C. elaphus and Bison sp., and carnivorans like Panthera cf. pardus (Moigne et al., 2006; Rivals et al., 2006) (Table 3). Table 2List of the macrofauna species documented at the key Early and early Middle Pleistocene sites mentioned in the text (Alba et al., 2008; Carbonell et al., 2008; Filoux, 2007; Filoux and Moigne, 2007; Madurell-Malapeira et al., 2010; Moigne et al., 2006; Rivals et al., 2006; van der Made et al., 2003; Vallverdú et al., 2014 ...
... pardus (Moigne et al., 2006; Rivals et al., 2006) (Table 3). Table 2List of the macrofauna species documented at the key Early and early Middle Pleistocene sites mentioned in the text (Alba et al., 2008; Carbonell et al., 2008; Filoux, 2007; Filoux and Moigne, 2007; Madurell-Malapeira et al., 2010; Moigne et al., 2006; Rivals et al., 2006; van der Made et al., 2003; Vallverdú et al., 2014 ...
The Mode 1 to Mode 2 transition in Europe has become a key research debate on early hominins. In this paper, the available data are used to propose a new interpretation of the origin of the Acheulian by analysing the transition through the lithic industry at key circum-Mediterranean sites with Early-Middle Pleistocene chronology: Vallparadís, Gran Dolina TD6, Barranc de la Boella, and Caune de l’Arago ‘P’ levels. Regarding these lithic records, we propose here the hypothesis based on an evolution of new technological behaviours in Europe before 0.5 Myr carried out from autochthonous populations with Mode 1 industries, combined with external adaptive and technological influences. We interpret the chronology and lithic assemblages of these sites within the transition process towards Acheulian, in which structural continuity of Mode 1 is complemented with the gradual appearance of some foreign innovations (bifacial technology). This technological transition is envisaged as a historical process: the outcome of the cultural evolution resulted from contacts and exchanges between hominin groups from western Eurasia with different social and technological adaptations, in contact and competition with each other. This historical process would explain the time lag between Africa, Levant, and Europe in the spread of the Acheulian, as well as a technological evolution of the European Mode 1 and the gradual expansion of the Acheulian across Europe.
... Several referential frameworks have been built in order to infer site formation processes and bone assemblage properties (e.g., Brain, 1969Brain, , 1981Kroll, 1986, 1988;Cavallo, 1998;Domínguez-Rodrigo, 1993Hill, 1979;O'Connell et al., 2002;Potts, 1982Potts, , 1988Shipman, 1975;Tappen, 1995). Thus, a variety of biological agents have been identified as potential independent and interactive contributors to bone assemblage formation. ...
... Until the early 1990s, researchers on African early Pleistocene focused on skeletal elements frequencies to determinate carcassacquisition strategies by hominins (Brain, 1981;Binford, 1978Binford, , 1981Bunn, 1982Bunn, , 1983Bunn et al., 1988Bunn et al., , 1991Cruz-Uribe, 1991;Hill, 1975;Klein, 1975;O'Connell et al., 1988O'Connell et al., , 1990O'Connell et al., , 1992Potts, 1982Potts, , 1988Pickering, 2001Pickering, , 2002, but it was subsequently shown how different processes could potentially result in equifinality (see review in Lyman, 2004;. To overcome this equifinality, different behavioural models were proposed on the basis of bone surface modifications using tooth and percussion marks (e.g., Blumenschine, 1988Blumenschine, , 1995Blumenschine and Marean, 1993;Selvaggio, 1994;Capaldo, 1995) and cut marks (e.g., Bunn, 1981Bunn, , 1982Bunn, , 1986Bunn and Kroll, 1986;Domínguez-Rodrigo, 1997a, b) . ...
Traditional scavenging models have emphasized that a secondary intervention of hominins to carcasses previously consumed by carnivores should yield high tooth mark frequencies on long bone shafts. It has also been shown that the most feasible scavenging scenario for early Pleistocene African hominins would have been acquiring carcasses from felid kills and prior to hyenid intervention. Oddly, most experiments conducted in the past 20 years have been mostly based on bone modification patterns created by durophagous carnivores. Previous works emphasized that a felid-hominin model would be reflected in low frequencies of tooth-marked shaft specimens. The present work intends to put this hypothesis fully to test by replicating the complete felid-hominin scenario. Hammerstone breakage of bones from wild lion kills was simulated and the resulting anatomical and bone portion distribution of tooth mark frequencies was documented. Here, it is shown that wild lions inflict moderate damage to long bone ends. In contrast, hammerstone-broken shaft specimens bear very few tooth marks (usually <10% of fragments). It is shown that most damage inflicted by lions on carcasses during consumption occur on upper limb bones. Distal portions of radius-ulnae and tibiae are the least affected areas. This referential framework can potentially be applied to the archaeological record to reassert primary access to carcasses in some early Pleistocene African sites and unravel hominin-carnivore contribution to middle and late Pleistocene Eurasian palimpsests.
... Another important characteristic of big game hunting developed by Neanderthals and other hominids of the Middle Paleolithic is the seasonal exploitation of certain species (Gardeisen, 1999;Speth and Tchernov, 2001;Rivals and Deniaux, 2005;Rivals et al., 2004Rivals et al., , 2006Rivals et al., , 2009a. Annual reproductive cycles of the majority of mammals show concentrated birth periods. ...
... The two independent lines of evidences provided by the studies applied to the TD10.2 assemblage suggest that bison were slaughtered in two separate seasonal windows each followed by periods of low or non-anthropogenic activity in the site. Considering that the bone bed has a high level of specialization in hunting a particular species, the presence of seasonality in occupations can relate to mobility patterns of the hominins groups, as happens in other sites of similar or posterior chronology (Rivals et al., 2004(Rivals et al., , 2006(Rivals et al., , 2009a. Particularly the specialized hunt of large bovids is repeated throughout the European continent in other places as Coudoulous I (Brugal and David, 1993;Brugal, 1999), La Borde (Brugal, 1999), Mauran (Brugal and David, 1993;David and Farizy, 1994;Rendu et al. 2012), Wallertheim or Il'skaja (Gaudzinski, 1995(Gaudzinski, , 1999, often seasonally. ...
The middle Pleistocene assemblage of Gran Dolina TD10.2 bone bed level (Atapuerca, Spain) is composed primarily by bison remains (Bison sp.) belonging to a minimal number of individuals of 60. The mortality and taphonomical features suggest an anthropogenic origin product of mass predation. The large number of mandibles and mandibular teeth of a single species has allowed us to explore the nature of kill events and seasonality of occupations through two methods: eruption and wear-pattern and tooth microwear. Here we combine data obtained on young individuals from tooth eruption and wear and on prime and old adults from tooth microwear. Integrating the results from the two independent and non-destructive methods permits to combine data from the entire population found in the assemblage increasing the sample size. This approach permits to evaluate the seasonality to confirm if the seasonal pattern is similar in young and adults. The integration of the two methods has allowed the identification of two main periods of occupation rejecting a single kill scenario but also permitting to observe phases with low number of individuals which certainly correspond to moments of the year when the site was not occupied. Tooth wear and eruption patterns moreover permit to establish the time of the year when the principal events occurred — one in late spring/early summer and other in early fall. The preliminary results indicate a seasonal mortality pattern on TD10.2 bone bed bison population and a seasonal use of the Gran Dolina site for anthropogenic occupations.
... Combined biostratigraphical and sedimentological analysis have contributed to reconstructing climatic change throughout the cave's occupation during most of the Middle-Middle Pleistocene. This paper examines the main features of the industries from each of the different levels taking into account multidisciplinary studies in order to interpret subtle changes observed in the lithics over time (Barsky, 2001;Barsky and Grégoire, 2001; Barsky and de Lumley, 2004, 2010Filoux, 2007;Grégoire et al., 2006Grégoire et al., , 2008de Lumley, 1976ade Lumley, , 1976bMoigne et al., 2005Moigne et al., , 2006Pois, 1999;Quilès et al., 2004;Rivals et al., 2006Rivals et al., , 2009Wilson, 1988). ...
... The archaeological material is densely accumulated in sparse sands reaching up to 1 m thick. Faunal evidence represents slaughter in all seasons, suggesting year long occupations Moigne et al., 2006;Rivals et al., 2006Rivals et al., , 2009. The degree of palimpsest in the G levels accumulation remains to be determined. ...
Le complexe stratigraphique médian du site de la grotte de la Caune de l’Arago (Pyrénées orientales, France) date d’environ 690 000 à 400 000 ans. Le site comporte des niveaux archéologiques successifs, spatialement distincts. À la base de la séquence, l’unité I (OIS 14), où les niveaux P sont parmi les plus précoces parmi les assemblages de mode 2 actuellement connus en Europe occidentale, contient des bifaces finement façonnés et un hachereau. Au-dessus de cet ensemble, l’unité II (OS 13) révèle une série de niveaux à artefacts ne comportant ni biface, ni hachereau. Coiffant la séquence, l’unité III (OS 12) a fourni, en nombre, des assemblages lithiques et fauniques associés à des restes d’Homo heidelbergensis. L’article analyse les industries lithiques de chaque niveau d’artefacts, en prenant en compte la variabilité du matériau brut, et met en évidence des différences typologiques et technologiques subtiles. L’étude intrasite utilise une approche multidisciplinaire pour examiner les éléments communs et les différences entre niveaux, en considérant comment les facteurs d’impact externes pourraient avoir influencé les caractéristiques globales des assemblages. La longue séquence stratigraphique de la Caune de l’Arago offre une opportunité exceptionnelle d’observer à la fois le changement et la stabilité dans la fabrication d’outils lithiques de mode 2 sur une période couvrant environ 300 000 ans, dans un contexte de conditions paléoenvironnementales contrastées.
... Plusieurs sites indiquent en effet la chasse comme mode principal d'approvisionnement des groupes humains (La Caune de l'Arago [37] (Figure 4), Orgnac 3, Terra Amata). Les espèces animales sont choisies dans différents biotopes et les restes présents sur les sites démontrent des sélections par rapport au sexe et à l'âge, ou aux portions de carcasses. ...
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... Plusieurs sites indiquent en effet la chasse comme mode principal d'approvisionnement des groupes humains (La Caune de l'Arago [37] (Figure 4), Orgnac 3, Terra Amata). Les espèces animales sont choisies dans différents biotopes et les restes présents sur les sites démontrent des sélections par rapport au sexe et à l'âge, ou aux portions de carcasses. ...
... The comparison with animal marks was made in Paris using the 'Henri Martin collection' (Hyaenidae, Canidae, Ursidae) stored at the Department of Comparative Anatomy and Archeozoology of the Institute of Human Paleontology, Paris, (Dambricourt Malassé). This study benefits from many years of experience in taphonomy devoted to tens of thousands of fossils (Moigne), from la Caune de l'Arago, Terra-Amata, Orgnac 3 and Cagny l'Epinette in France (Moigne and Barsky, 1999;Moigne et al., 2005;Rivals et al., 2002Rivals et al., , 2006Sam and Moigne, 2011), from Zafarraya in Spain (Barroso Ruiz et al., 2003, the Sangiran dome and Song Terus in South East Asia (Bouteaux and Moigne, 2010;Bouteaux et al., 2007Bouteaux et al., , 2009Moigne et al., 2004), from Yunxian in China on Mainland Asia (Echassoux et al., 2008) and from South Korea . ...
The Indo-French research program ‘Siwaliks’ has been surveying the Late Pliocene Formation of the Chandigarh anticline (NW India) since 2008. These sub-Himalayan floodplain deposits are known for their Tertiary-Quaternary transitional fauna, especially those from the Quranwala zone in the Masol Formation, whose basal member is approximately 130 meters below the Gauss/Matuyama paleomagnetic reversal (2.588 Ma). About 1500 fossils have been collected in the inlier of Masol, most often on recently eroded outcrops, and sometimes in association with stone tools (choppers, flakes). Many bones were covered by a variety of marks (animal, bioerosion and tectonics) and among these traces a few were intentional cut marks. Different methods have been applied in Paris (France) to describe their topography on a micron scale, using the 3D Digital Video Microscope Hirox, and completed with binocular microscopy at the Center for Research and Restoration of Museums of France (C2RMF), and X-ray microtomography with the AST-RX platform, at the National Museum of Natural History, Paris. Experiments with quartzite cobbles collected near the fossils were carried out in India and in France. The mineralization of the traces is identical to the bone tissue, and comparison with our experimental cut marks confirms that the profiles are typical of the sharp edge of a flake or cobble in quartzite; their size and spatial organization testify to energetic and intentional gestures from an agile wrist acting with precision, and to a good knowledge of the bovid anatomy.
... In Europe, Ovis was first reported in early Pleistocene Sen eze (»2 Ma), France (Delson et al., 2006;Cregut-Bonnoure, 2007). By the middle Pleistocene, abundant materials of Ovis ammon antiqua were found in the Caune de l'Arago in southern France (Rivals and Deniaux, 2003;Rivals et al., 2006). European Ovis appears to be a later expansion of sheep from Central Asia. ...
Modern wild sheep, Ovis, is widespread in the mountain ranges of the Caucasus through Himalaya, Tibetan Plateau, Tianshan-Altai, eastern Siberia, and the Rocky Mountains in North America. In Eurasia, fossil sheep are known at a few Pleistocene sites in North China, eastern Siberia, and western Europe, but are so far absent from the Tibetan Plateau. We describe an extinct sheep, Protovis himalayensis, gen. et sp. nov., from the Pliocene of the Zanda Basin in western Himalaya. Smaller than the living argali, this new form shares with Ovis posterolaterally arched horncores and partially developed sinuses and possesses several transitional characters leading to Ovis. Protovis likely subsisted on C3 plants, which are the dominant vegetation in the Zanda area during the Pliocene. With the discovery of this new genus and species, we extend the fossil record for the sheep clade into the Pliocene of the Tibetan Plateau, consistent with our previous out-of-Tibet hypothesis. Ancestral sheep in the Pliocene were presumed adapted to high altitude and cold environments, and during the Ice Age, sheep became anatomically modern and dispersed outside of the Tibetan Plateau. Both this new fossil datum and the existing molecular phylogeny suggest that the Tibetan Plateau, possibly including Tianshan-Altai, represents the ancestral home range(s) of mountain sheep and that these basal stocks were the ultimate source of all extant species. Most sheep species survived along their Pleistocene route of dispersal, offering a highly consistent pattern of zoogeography. http://zoobank.org/urn:lsid:zoobank.org:pub:F2AEE746-0A5B-4F40-89B7-8EF0C04F21FD SUPPLEMENTAL DATA—Supplemental materials are available for this article for free at www.tandfonline.com/UJVP Citation for this article: Wang, X., Q. Li, and G. T. Takeuchi. 2016. Out of Tibet: an early sheep from the Pliocene of Tibet, Protovis himalayensis, gen. et sp. nov. (Bovidae, Caprini), and origin of Ice Age mountain sheep. Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology. DOI: 10.1080/02724634.2016.1169190.
... The comparison with animal marks was made in Paris using the 'Henri Martin collection' (Hyaenidae, Canidae, Ursidae) stored at the Department of Comparative Anatomy and Archeozoology of the Institute of Human Paleontology, Paris, (Dambricourt Malassé). This study benefits from many years of experience in taphonomy devoted to tens of thousands of fossils (Moigne), from la Caune de l'Arago, Terra-Amata, Orgnac 3 and Cagny l'Epinette in France (Moigne and Barsky, 1999;Moigne et al., 2005;Rivals et al., 2002Rivals et al., , 2006Sam and Moigne, 2011), from Zafarraya in Spain (Barroso Ruiz et al., 2003, the Sangiran dome and Song Terus in South East Asia (Bouteaux and Moigne, 2010;Bouteaux et al., 2007Bouteaux et al., , 2009Moigne et al., 2004), from Yunxian in China on Mainland Asia (Echassoux et al., 2008) and from South Korea . ...
The Indo-French research program ‘Siwaliks’ has been surveying the Late Pliocene Formation of the Chandigarh anticline (NW India) since 2008. These sub-Himalayan floodplain deposits are known for their Tertiary-Quaternary transitional fauna, especially those from the Quranwala zone in the Masol Formation, whose basal member is approximately 130 meters below the Gauss/Matuyama paleomagnetic reversal (2.588 Ma). About 1500 fossils have been collected in the inlier of Masol, most often on recently eroded outcrops, and sometimes in association with stone tools (choppers, flakes). Many bones were covered by a variety of marks (animal, bioerosion and tectonics) and among these traces a few were intentional cut marks. Different methods have been applied in Paris (France) to describe their topography on a micron scale, using the 3D Digital Video Microscope Hirox, and completed with binocular microscopy at the Center for Research and Restoration of Museums of France (C2RMF), and X-ray microtomography with the AST-RX platform, at the National Museum of Natural History, Paris. Experiments with quartzite cobbles collected near the fossils were carried out in India and in France. The mineralization of the traces is identical to the bone tissue, and comparison with our experimental cut marks confirms that the profiles are typical of the sharp edge of a flake or cobble in quartzite; their size and spatial organization testify to energetic and intentional gestures from an agile wrist acting with precision, and to a good knowledge of the bovid anatomy.
... The comparison with animal marks was made in Paris using the 'Henri Martin collection' (Hyaenidae, Canidae, Ursidae) stored at the Department of Comparative Anatomy and Archeozoology of the Institute of Human Paleontology, Paris, (Dambricourt Malassé). This study benefits from many years of experience in taphonomy devoted to tens of thousands of fossils (Moigne), from la Caune de l'Arago, Terra-Amata, Orgnac 3 and Cagny l'Epinette in France (Moigne and Barsky, 1999;Moigne et al., 2005;Rivals et al., 2002Rivals et al., , 2006Sam and Moigne, 2011), from Zafarraya in Spain (Barroso Ruiz et al., 2003, the Sangiran dome and Song Terus in South East Asia (Bouteaux and Moigne, 2010;Bouteaux et al., 2007Bouteaux et al., , 2009Moigne et al., 2004), from Yunxian in China on Mainland Asia (Echassoux et al., 2008) and from South Korea . ...
The Siwaliks came to be known worldwide since the discovery in 1830 of a great ape in the Miocene molasses of the Potwar. One century later, pebble tools, flakes and handaxes attracted Prehistorians. A re-reading of the Yale-Cambridge Expedition in India (1935), during which Ramapithecus brevirostris was discovered, reveals that stone tools were discovered in the Upper Pliocene gravels of the Soan Basin. Since 2003, the National Museum of Natural History (France) and the Society for Archaeological and Anthropological Research (India) have conducted fieldwork in the northwestern Indian Siwaliks. The Quranwala Zone of Masol, the core of the Chandigarh anticline (Punjab), is well known for its Late Pliocene fauna rich in Hexaprotodon, Cholossochelys, Stegodon, bovids and Hipparion with the occurrence of Equus and Elephas. Fifty hectares have been surveyed during eight field seasons (2008 to 2015) with the discovery of choppers and marks on bones of the Quranwala Zone faunal assemblage, all collected on recent outcrops of the Latest Pliocene. This paper presents the historical context and the rigorous scientific process, which has led to the acknowledgment that some bones, dating back to the Latest Pliocene, present intentional and precise cut marks made by sharp edges in quartzite and an intelligence, which knew the anatomy of the bovid carcasses. Our pluridisciplinary works support anthropic activities 2.6 Ma ago in the sub-Himalayan floodplain and the probability of finding hominin fossils in the Quranwala Zone. This discovery is of immense importance to maintain the efforts of numerous generations in order to develop the prehistory of the Siwaliks and its contribution to the understanding of the hominization process between the Indus Basin, High and East Asia.
... L'ensemble III du Complexe moyen a été daté autour de 450 ka BP (Yokoyama & Nguyen, 1981 ;Yokoyama et al., 1982 ;Falguères et al., 2004) et corrélé au SIM 12. L'accumulation osseuse, très riche, est le résultat de plusieurs occupations saisonnières par les Acheuléens qui ont exploité tous les biotopes à proximité du site (Moigne, 1983 ;Monchot, 1999Monchot, , 2000Bellai, 1995Bellai, , 1998Rivals, 2004 ;Moigne et al., 2006 ;Rivals et al., 2006 ;Rivals & Moigne, 2007). L'industrie est principalement composée de produits de débitage, notamment en quartz. ...
The long stratigraphic sequence of the Caune de l’Arago site (Tautavel, France) is contemporary of the Middle and Late Pleistocene. The Middle Complex, correlated to MIS 14-12, has yielded very rich large mammal assemblages. Concerning the Cervids, three species: Cervus elaphus, Rangifer tarandus and Dama clactoniana, were identified in the infilling. Although they are typical of the Middle Pleistocene faunas, these taxa show particular etho-ecological preferences and are of remarkable biochronological interest, notably because of the geographical position of the site, in southern France. The revision of the abundant material from the Middle Complex units I, II and III provides both a diachronic and synchronic approach of fossil series. Thus, comparative analyses show homogeneity of characters on the lower dentition of both Cervus and Dama which sets them apart from other fossil and present forms. Otherwise, Rangifer premolars (P2 and P3) are polymorphic compared to more recent series. The validity of a specific (or sub-specific) assignment is discussed concerning the genera Cervus and Dama. The results of morphometric studies are analysed in terms of palaeoenvironmental stress (geographical and ecological) in order to precise the phyletic position of each taxa and check their reliability as biochronological markers.
... In spite of its broad distribution, there are only a very few references to fossil sites at which the role of the leopard as an accumulator is an important one. At Gabasa 1 the leopard is a taphonomic agent, whose importance is less than that of the hyena or wolf [20,21]; at La Caune de l'Arago, in levels MNO of CM1, the leopard is one possible accumulator among other carnivores [22,23]; at Baumann's Cave, there are at least a tooth and metacarpus of subadult ibex that might refer to a leopard lair situation at the former second entrance [24]. The problem of European leopard lair sites is the abundant overlap with human camp and other carnivore dens in rock shelter positions [24].There are only two possibles sites which the leopard plays a major role Amalda VII and Allekoaitze, both are situated in the North of Spain geographically close to Los Rincones. ...
Eating habits of Panthera pardus are well known. When there are caves in its territory, prey accumulates inside them. This helps to prevent its kill from being stolen by other predators like hyenas. Although the leopard is an accumulator of bones in caves, few studies have been conducted on existing lairs. There are, however, examples of fossil vertebrate sites whose main collecting agent is the leopard. During the Late Pleistocene, the leopard was a common carnivore in European faunal associations. Here we present a new locality of Quaternary mammals with a scarce human presence, the cave of Los Rincones (province of Zaragoza, Spain); we show the leopard to be the main accumulator of the bones in the cave, while there are no interactions between humans and leopards. For this purpose, a taphonomic analysis is performed on different bone-layers of the cave.
... 6. Hunting was associated with opportunistic scavenging, such as in the Galeria site in Spain where the carcasses that fell into a sinkhole trap were processed (Ollé , Caceres, and Vergè s 2005). Neanderthal groups were in competition with carnivores, which was not the case in Lower Paleolithic sites (Brain 1981;Gaudzinski 1999;Moigne, Gré goire, and de Lumley 2005;Rivals et al. 2006;Turner 1998;Villa et al. 2005). Neanderthals gathered carcasses at the water edge, and cavities were alternately shared with ursids. ...
The archaeological sequence from the Orgnac 3 site presents the opportunity to observe behavioral aspects characterizing the beginnings of the main Neanderthal technological strategies employed in Europe until marine isotopic stage (MIS) 3. In this site, the Levallois debitage method appears in the middle of the sequence (MIS 9) and develops at about 300,000 BP at the top of the sequence (MIS 8). The Levallois method is best represented in level 1, making the site one of the oldest examples of Levallois technology. Orgnac 3 indicates the emergence of new technological behavior in southern France and Europe around the limit between isotopic stages 9 and 8. In order to provide new evidence on pre-Neanderthal behavior, new data from level 1 were obtained by comparing stone processing systems with faunal remains. Lithic and bone assemblages display evidence of one to several occupations by horse and bovid hunters during predominantly cool climatic conditions. Animal carcass processing is principally associated with standardized knapping, which produced most of the tool supports. Small and large flakes bear little retouch. Behavioral modifications appeared later than changes in human anatomical traits and did not follow a particular rhythm. New behavioral aspects emerged in Europe as early as MIS 12, as indicated by subsistence strategies, and specialized and selective hunting and butchering strategies. During MIS 10, new technological behavior (pre-Levallois knapping) appeared. However, at Orgnac 3, the archaeological record reveals several stages. From MIS 9–8 and until MIS 7, strategies adopted by Neanderthals became systematic, independent of climatic conditions. The results of this study contribute to a better understanding of early Neanderthal behavior, i.e., of human history.
... At French Middle Paleolithic sites, the high representation of a species in the archeological assemblages has been interpreted as a result of its abundance in the immediate surroundings. This is, for instance, the case of the mouflons of level F at the Caune de l'Arago (Monchot 1999;Rivals et al. 2006) or the red deer in the Grotte du Lazaret (Valensí 1996(Valensí , 2000Boyle 2000). However, at other sites with similar chronologies, the same phenomenon seems to be related to the specialized cynegetic skills of the human groups, for example, in the case of the horses of Schöningen in Germany (Thieme 1997(Thieme , 1998. ...
The faunal analysis of level J has been carried out using a zooarcheological method with some contributions from the field of Taphonomy. The data were obtained from the anatomical and taxonomical analysis and from the structural modifications of the bones. Red deer (Cervus elaphus) and horses (Equus ferus) are the most abundant animals, although they are accompanied by other herbivores like Bos primigenius, Stephanorhinus hemitoechus and Rupicapra pyrenaica. The data indicate that level J is an anthropic accumulation with a minimal incidence of carnivores. Carcasses were selectively transported into the site, where they were processed and consumed. The temporal dimension and the possibility that the faunal assemblage may be the result of different occupational events have been also considered.
... At French Middle Paleolithic sites, the high representation of a species in the archeological assemblages has been interpreted as a result of its abundance in the immediate surroundings. This is, for instance, the case of the mouflons of level F at the Caune de l'Arago (Monchot 1999;Rivals et al. 2006) or the red deer in the Grotte du Lazaret (Valensí 1996(Valensí , 2000Boyle 2000). However, at other sites with similar chronologies, the same phenomenon seems to be related to the specialized cynegetic skills of the human groups, for example, in the case of the horses of Schöningen in Germany (Thieme 1997(Thieme , 1998. ...
... Pre-Neanderthals hunted large game close to the cave (except for the largest game, Elephants and Rhinoceroses) and brought entire carcasses back to the cave for processing (such as in Acheulean sites; cf. Moigne and Barsky, 1999; Barsky et al., 2005; Moigne et al., 2005; Rivals et al., 2006). Numerous deep cut marks were located on all animal skeletal parts and bone breakage indicates systematic marrow extraction. ...
... Although carnivore fossils show no traces of human intervention, horse, reindeer, bison and red deer bones do show marks of intense butchery. On the other hand, small bovid bones (argali and thar) show traces of carnivore intervention only ( Rivals et al., 2006). The cave thus served alternately as a bear den or lair for other carnivores and also as a living space for short-term occupations by groups of Paleolithic hunters ( Quilè s et al., 2004). ...
The stratigraphical complex of the Caune de l'Arago cave site (France, Pyrénées-Orientales) has been systematically excavated for over 40 years. In 1981, foraging in the deposits revealed a 15 m thick Quaternary infill with artefacts present throughout the stratigraphy; all the way down to the basal stalagmitic floor (0.69 Ma). The infill, most of which is correlated to MIS 14, 13 and 12, has yielded numerous distinct occupation floors, exceptionally rich stone implements and animal fossils, while some of the levels have also yielded hominin remains attributed to Homo heidelbergensis. Over the years, intensive interdisciplinary studies have contributed to defining the characteristics of these Middle Pleistocene occupations. Recently, excavations have reached the so-called “P” levels, attributed to a series of occupation floors accumulated during short-term stays by hominin groups during a cold, dry phase of MIS 14. Artefact bearing levels are found intercalated between archeologically sterile sediments, relatively rich in carnivore remains. Among the numerous large Pleistocene mammals identified in the “P” levels, horse, reindeer and bison are most frequent in artefact yielding floors, while argali (brought into the cave by carnivores), bear and panther remains are common in intercalating levels. The study of the “P” levels’ stone assemblage provides new information about raw material selectivity, technological behaviour and typological characteristics for one of the oldest known Western European Mode 2 industries. It is interesting to consider the precise handiwork and care with which raw materials were selected for the confection of the fine quality instruments typical of the “P” levels’ assemblages, whose Acheulian character is underlined by a relative abundance of symmetrical and remarkably well-worked handaxes. The “P” levels industries seem to bear witness to long-acquired technological capacities, inherited perhaps from earlier African or Eurasian populations.
... These aspects have been intensively studied experimentally and ethnographically, and consequently, they are understood better than some enigmatic manifestations of symbolic behavior. The preservation biases usually found in Lower Paleolithic sites make the period predating the Misliya Cave habitation poorly known zooarchaeologically in Eurasia, although some cases of sizeable faunal assemblages both preserved and primarily accumulated by humans do occur (e.g., Goren-Inbar et al., 1994;Carlos-Diez et al., 1999;Rivals et al., 2004Rivals et al., , 2006Gopher et al., 2005;Chazan and Horwitz, 2006). The early Middle Paleolithic data from Misliya Cave join many later MP/MSA faunal studies indicating that middle and late Pleistocene foragers practiced ''modern'' and ecologically well-adapted hunting strategies, transport decisions, and butchery virtually indistinguishable from those of later groups in human prehistory. ...
Understanding the behavioral adaptations and subsistence strategies of Middle Paleolithic humans is critical in the debate over the evolution and manifestations of modern human behavior. The study of faunal remains plays a central role in this context. Until now, the majority of Levantine archaeofaunal evidence was derived from late Middle Paleolithic sites. The discovery of faunal remains from Misliya Cave, Mount Carmel, Israel (>200 ka), allowed for detailed taphonomic and zooarchaeological analyses of these early Middle Paleolithic remains. The Misliya Cave faunal assemblage is overwhelmingly dominated by ungulate taxa. The most common prey species is the Mesopotamian fallow deer (Dama mesopotamica), followed closely by the mountain gazelle (Gazella gazella). Some aurochs (Bos primigenius) remains are also present. Small-game species are rare. The fallow deer mortality pattern is dominated by prime-aged individuals. A multivariate taphonomic analysis demonstrates (1) that the assemblage was created solely by humans occupying the cave and was primarily modified by their food-processing activities; and (2) that gazelle carcasses were transported complete to the site, while fallow deer carcasses underwent some field butchery. The new zooarchaeological data from Misliya Cave, particularly the abundance of meat-bearing limb bones displaying filleting cut marks and the acquisition of prime-age prey, demonstrate that early Middle Paleolithic people possessed developed hunting capabilities. Thus, modern large-game hunting, carcass transport, and meat-processing behaviors were already established in the Levant in the early Middle Paleolithic, more than 200 ka ago.
In Europe, Quaternary karstic deposits yield commonly remains of Caprinae (Capra, Rupicapra, Hemitragus,
Ovis). A database is elaborated on rich-caprine sites, especially from France and Spain. Based on data dealing
with topography and morphology of karstic settings (sinkholes, horizontal galleries), and quantification of
faunal remains (NISP, skeletal elements) as well as taphonomic observations (age classes, sex-ratio, carnivore
activity), a typology of caprine sites is proposed. Questions are raised about deposit formation and agents of
such accumulations. Preliminary data suggest the importance of medium-sized felids (leopard) and canids
(wolf) as main predators of cliff-dwelling bovids and/or canids as a systematic secondary bone modifier.
Other types of sites concern natural traps and anthropogenic bone accumulations (rock shelters and caves)
mainly dated of Late Paleolithic.
Stratigraphic Unit D levels of the Caune de l'Arago (Pyrénées-Orientales, France), situated in the upper part of the depositional sequence of Ensemble Stratigraphique III (ES III), has yielded a rich Acheulian archeopaleontological record dated to the Middle Pleistocene. The site's infill, dated from 690 to 90 ka, encloses a thick cultural sequence comprising some of the oldest evidence of Acheulian documented so far in Western Europe (Unit P levels). The deposits contain successive occupation layers with abundant faunal remains, stone artifacts, and sometimes hominin remains attributed to Homo erectus tautavelensis. The Unit D levels are chronostratigraphically positioned at the top of the ES III sequence, accumulated at the end of Marine Isotope Stage (MIS) 12. The Unit D lithic assemblage shows no evidence of Levallois knapping strategies. Rather, its features indicate a trend towards microproduction that continues into subsequent occupational phases, apparently marking a local expression of the transition from the Lower to the Middle Paleolithic. Remarkably, tiny discoid and multidirectional type cores, predominantly knapped from small-sized quartz pebbles, characterize the Unit D lithic assemblage. Experimental work presented here demonstrates the likelihood that, despite the small size of the cores and the recalcitrant crystalline materials from which they were knapped, flake production can be carried out with free-hand hard hammer techniques. We explore behavioral aspects gleaned from Unit D cultural material, contrasting them with microlithic praxis observed elsewhere in Europe and the Near East in a similar timeframe.
This paper provides a background to Neanderthal presence in Western Mediterranean Europe. Habitual tool-use underpinned human survival in late Early Pleistocene western Mediterranean Europe. By the onset of the early Middle Pleistocene, early humans (descendants of Homo antecessor in all likelihood) were exploiting diverse biotopes, sometimes (perhaps often) attaining primary access to large game, and deploying a variety of stone artifacts and rock types, which implies not only manual dexterity but also technical competence and cognitive versatility. Late Early Pleistocene human behaviour foreshadowed that of Middle Pleistocene pre-Neanderthal humans whose background conceivably had deep regional roots. By the mid-Middle Pleistocene Homo heidelbergensis, some of whose anatomical features herald Neanderthal morphology, was exploiting a wide range of natural resources in western Mediterranean environments, including small game and plants. Neanderthal morphology began to emerge during the second half of the Middle Pleistocene, accompanied by increasing technological diversity and an expanding variety of small tools, conjecturally favoured by hafting, perhaps following development of wooden spears (or other tools) and adhesive and binding technologies, and generation and heat-control of fire (which undoubtedly was necessary for activities inside Bruniquel cave). By the onset of the last interglacial period, Neanderthal morphology and Mousterian artifacts are widespread, and there are indications of coordinated retrieval and treatment of body-parts of large ungulates.
The fossil record of Panlhera pardus in Europe in the Early and Middle Pleistocene is scarce and the origin of this species thus remains unclear. The re-examination of material from some late Pliocene to Early Pleistocene sites, formerly assigned to various species of pantherine cats, combined with new studies, shows the occurrence of Puma pardoides (Owen, 1846) during this period and leads to a reconsideration of medium-sized felids evolutionary and biogeographical patterns. Panlhera pardus was present in Europe during the early Middle Pleistocene, replacing Puma pardoides. The taxonomic status of the feline from the Caune de l'Arago lower levels here discussed completes the fossil record of Pleistocene medium-sized felids. Its particular morphology reflects the intraspecific variability of P. pardus, and could be a representative of an ancestral form. Its chronological position (MIS 14) provides key material for a better definition of Pleistocene felids biochronological frame.
The long stratigraphic sequence of the Caune de l'Arago site (Tautavel, France) is contemporary of the Middle and Late Pleistocene. The Middle Complex, correlated to MIS 14-12, has yielded very rich large mammal assemblages. Concerning the Cervids, three species: Cervus elaphus, Rangifer tarandus and Dama clactoniana, were identified in the infilling. Although they are typical of the Middle Pleistocene faunas, these taxa show particular etho-ecological preferences and are of remarkable biochronological interest, notably because of the geographical position of the site, in southern France. The revision of the abundant material from the Middle Complex units I, II and III provides both a diachronic and synchronic approach of fossil series. Thus, comparative analyses show homogeneity of characters on the lower dentition of both Cervus and Dama which sets them apart from other fossil and present forms. Otherwise, Rangifer premolars (P2 and P3) are polymorphic compared to more recent series. The validity of a specific (or sub-specific) assignment is discussed concerning the genera Cervus and Dama. The results of morphometric studies are analysed in terms of palaeoenvironmental stress (geographical and ecological) in order to precise the phyletic position of each taxa and check their reliability as biochronological markers.
Sediments deposited within caves and rockshelters have yielded much material
evidence pertaining to the nature and extent of human activity in the area of the
Mediterranean basin. Importantly, these sedimentary records also serve as unique
and rich repositories of evidence for Quaternary environmental change and
landscape dynamics which can elucidate the nature and extent of climatic oscillations
and/or human impact upon the local and regional environment.
This research examines two rockshelter sediment records located in the central
Mediterranean region (Sicily and Montenegro), to evaluate the utility of these
sequences as archives of environmental change – driven by both anthropogenic and
natural processes. The multi-proxy approach used for this research includes detailed
fieldwork logging and description, together with laboratory analyses including
sedimentological, mineral magnetic and micromorphological techniques.
An overview of the Mediterranean region, including the physiography, climate,
tectonics and history of human activity is given, which provides vital contextual
information on the region in which the study areas are situated. Caves and
rockshelters are considered in an extensive review of the processes of sedimentation
and nature of the sediments deposited in these environments.
At Riparo 1 rockshelter, a mid to late Holocene sequence, analyses show that the
sediments relate primarily to the keeping of animal livestock within the cave. These
sediments have a very strong anthropogenic signal, and it is thought that this signal
has overprinted any ‘natural’ or anthropogenic off-site signal which may have been
stored in the sediments. The results of the work at Riparo 1 are significant to our
ability to recognise sediments relating to early animal husbandry practices, and the
extensive database compiled of the key characteristics of such sediments will allow
for these sequences to be more easily recognised in settings where they are less well
preserved.
Crvena Stijena is a large limestone rockshelter situated in Montenegro, western
Balkan Peninsula. The deep sedimentary sequence preserved at the site has already
yielded a wealth of archaeological and palaeoenvironmental data. A high-resolution
sampling strategy developed for the present study has resulted in a very detailed
picture of the on- and off-site environment being generated, which has a very close
relationship to evidence of intermittent Neandertal occupation of the site during the
Middle Palaeolithic.
The results from both the field study areas has revealed evidence for environmental
change at a number of scales, driven by both human and natural mechanisms. The
research has also highlighted the benefits of using a multi-proxy approach to the
study of cave and rockshelter sediments.
The fossil record of Panthera pardus in Europe in the Early and Middle Pleistocene is scarce and the origin of this species thus remains unclear. The re-examination of material from some late Pliocene to Early Pleistocene sites, formerly assigned to various species of pantherine cats, combined with new studies, shows the occurrence of Puma pardoides (Owen, 1846) during this period
and leads to a reconsideration of medium-sized felids evolutionary and biogeographical patterns. Panthera pardus was present
in Europe during the early Middle Pleistocene, replacing Puma pardoides. The taxonomic status of the feline from the Caune
de l’Arago lower levels here discussed completes the fossil record of Pleistocene medium-sized felids. Its particular morphology
reflects the intraspecific variability of P. pardus, and could be a representative of an ancestral form. Its chronological position (MIS 14) provides key material for a better definition of Pleistocene felids biochronological frame.
The main results of a broad etho-archaeological research carried out in East Africa are succintly exposed. These provide an accurate explanation of the behavior exhibited by the main savanna and steppe predators with regard fo the process of carcass consumption, thereby creating a referential framework that can be useful for taphonomists. Carnivore behavior is accounted for in terms of its contextual variability, due to the changing selective pressure according to trophic dynamics. Therefore, the adaptive patterns of each predator are discussed and special emphasis is laid on the role played by ecology in shaping their behavior. Initial consumption strategies, bone accumulating agencies and contexts, the predatory range of each predator and bone modification patterns are the main subjects treated. As an innovative complement to these issues, the spatial analysis of bon
Se exponen los principales resultados de un amplio proyecto de investigación etoarqueológica llevado a cabo en África oriental. Estos sirven de base para la interpretación del comportamiento de los predadores de sabana y estepa, con respecto al proceso de consumo de sus presas, creando al mismo tiempo un marco referencial de gran utilidad para la Tafonomía. El comportamiento de los carnívoros se explica en términos de su variabilidad contextual, debida a la modificación de la presión selectiva según la dinámica trófica. Por consiguiente, se discuten los principales patrones adaptativos de estos predadores y se pone especial énfasis en el papel jugado por la ecología en la conducta que exhibe cada uno de ellos. Las principales cuestiones tratadas son las estrategias iniciales de consumo, los agentes y contextos que generan acumulaciones óseas, el espectro cinegético de cada carnívoro y los patrones de alteración ósea. Como complemento innovador a estos temas, se presenta también el análisis espacial de dispersión de restos debido a la acción de los predadores en la desarticulación y consumo de carcasas.
The paper describes diagnostic characteristics of damage inflicted by large felids, canids, ursids, and hyenids to femora and tibiae of large mammals (body mass 300 kg or larger). The information may be applicable to studies of fossil bone assemblages. An understanding of patterns in carnivore utilization of prey carcasses in the past may provide clues to prey availability or vulnerability.
Describes modern bone assemblages and their diagnostic characteristics that indicate significant aspects of predator or prey behavior and ecology. Similar characteristics can be found in fossil bone collections, and might be provisionally interpreted by reference to the modern analogues, discussed here. Interpretive study of the end effects of predation, scavenging, catastrophic die-offs, and other natural processes may provide guidelines for unusually detailed reconstructions of past biotic communities. It is hoped that with these methods we might learn more of the world that Pleistocene people entered about 11 000 years ago. after Author
The animal body-part utility indices developed by Lewis Binford have been used to interpret faunal assemblages ranging from Plio-Pleistocene sites in East Africa to a late prehistoric bison kill in the High Plains of North America. Little attention, however, has been placed on refining or further developing these scales of economic utility. We examine Binford's derivation of the modified general utility index (MGUI) and demonstrate that it is needlessly complex. A nearly identical index, the food utility index (FUI), is presented. It simply scales variation in the amount of meat, marrow, and bone grease associated with different caribou body parts. We then use the insights provided by this simple scale to explore relations among economic utility, differential body-part representation, and human decision making.
Online: http://www.unr.edu/Documents/liberal-arts/anthropology/gary-haynes/haynes-paleobiol80.pdf
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Based on inspection of gnawing damage done to bones of modern prey animals, sets of typical damage types or patterns are recognized for certain elements. The presence of these damage patterns suggests carnivore activity even when bones exhibit no identifiable tooth marks or other obvious sign of gnawing. Observations are made of these damage types on bones of Pleistocene and Recent North American mammals, including Bison, proboscidean, Alces, Equus, Cervus, and Rangifer. Damage to the following elements is briefly described: antlers, vertebrae, scapulae, humeri, ulnae, radii, femora, tibiae, metapodials, and innominates.
The thick Quaternary deposits of the Caune de l’Arago (Pyrénées-Orientales, France) are dated to between 690 000 and 90 000 years old. At least fifteen different archeostratigraphical units have been identified within these deposits, each corresponding to distinct prehistoric occupations. Numerous stone tools made from several different rock types, have been discovered in each unit. The tools present specific characteristics concerning the choice of raw materials, the typology, and the technology used to produce them. Morpho-technological study of the different components of the assemblage contributes to a better understanding of the debitage methods used for their production. Each raw material is considered individually in order to ascertain its origin in the environment, its typological role and the technology applied during its exploitation. Defining production systems leads to the characterisation of the assemblages from each unit. When compared, they reveal common elements, as well as differences, suggesting evolutionary trends. Some observations are also made concerning the extent to which changing uses of the site may have influenced the general morphology of each assemblage, therefore taking into account exterior factors. Analysis of this rich stone tool assemblage helps to situate the Caune de l’Arago industry within the larger evolutionary context of the Lower Paleolithic in Mediterranean Europe.
A detailed study of the exploitation of small bovine species based on faunal assemblages from eight sites in the east Pyrenees, the Languedoc region of France, southern Turkey and the Caucasus. Four main species are identified and analysed, with comparisons drawn between the sites in the study, and with a view to investigating the subsistence behaviour of people living in these areas during the Pleistocene. The effects of changing environmental conditions on species levels and human behaviour is also covered.
The Caune de l’Arago, a Lower Palaeolithic cave, contains several archaeological levels with a large assemblage of argali sheep and tahr. The study of bone remain spatial distribution was made possible by using a computer method. Three levels are individualised in the middle complex, the layers E, F and G, and the latter is subdivided into three archaeostratigraphical levels. Fossil remains from all identified levels were studied in order to determine the number of hunted animals, their age and sex, and the hunting season. These data characterize argali and tahr populations for each level. A comparative study of these populations helped to verify that hunting was selective and to better understand the behaviour and living mode of the Lower Palaeolithic hunters.
Were big Carnivores responsible of the argali accumulation in the lower levels of the Caune de l'Arago (Pyrénées-Orientales, France)? The MNO levels from the Caune de l'Arago, recently brought to light and dated about 550,000 years, delivered numerous argali remains (Ovis ammon antiqua) associated with eight species of carnivores (Ursidae, Felidae and Canidae). These bones are very well preserved and were mostly found in anatomical connection. The palaeodemographic study (age and sex profiles, estimation of the living animal weight) reveals a population made of strong size males exclusively. Bone surface examination doesn't show any mark resulting from human activities (cut marks or percussion marks). On the other hand, many carnivore tooth and gnaw marks were revealed. The skeletal part representation indicates that this accumulation was not produced by prehistoric hunters. All these elements tend to assess that the agent responsible for the accumulation of argali remains in the MNO levels was probably the big Carnivores.
The “Caune de l’Arago” is a Middle Pleistocene prehistoric site located at Tautavel, France. As a result of the excavation performed in this cave, a large number of fossils and stone tools were brought to light. Abundant wild sheep remains, discovered together with four complete crania, are attributed to Ovis ammon antiqua (Argali). The vertical distribution of the remains was studied and indicates that Ovis was present from 690,000 to 400,000 years ago. The fossil population was modified by the hunter-gatherer behaviour of Homo erectus. A study of distribution, age and sex parameters and pathologies was made possible by a very large number of bones and teeth in the F level (about 5,300 remains). This level, dating from 440,000 years, contains 75 % of Argali among the large Mammals. Individual age was determined from teeth. The age profile is of hunting mortality type and according to the Stiner method this profile is of catastrophic type i.e. a distribution close to a living assembly. Besides natural disasters, this structure can be the result of ambush hunting when prey selection is determined by chance. Crown height measurements are used to define cohorts among a population. We found cohorts that prove a seasonal periodicity in animal acquisition due either to the Argali behaviour or to Homo erectus movements. Determination of sex was possible on some bones. Pelvis bones give a 0.11 ratio (female/male). These proportions do not correspond to a natural ratio but to a herd of females with juvenile individuals during spring or summer. Our Argali population is composed of 27% juvenile, 64% adult females, and 9% adult males. Weight was estimated by measuring the first lower molar area or the talus area. Our measurements gave an average weight of 130 kg. Some pathologies were observed on teeth. Type and frequency allow to conclude on the good sanitary state of the fossil population. All these methods provide a first overview of this 440,000 year old population.
In archaeological studies, it is often important to be able assess sexual dimorphism and sex ratios in populations. Obtaining sex ratio is easy if each individual in the population can be accurately sexed through the use of one more objective variables. But this is often impossible, due to incompleteness of the osteological record. A mod-ern statistical approach to handle this problem is Mixture Analysis using the method of maximum likelihood. It consists of determining how many groups are present in the sample, two in this case, in which proportions they occur, and to estimate the parameters accordingly. This paper shows the use of this method on vertebrate fossil popula-tions in a prehistoric context with implications on prey acquisition by early humans. For instance, the analysis of mouflon bones from Arago cave (Tautavel, France) indicates that there are more females than males in the F layer. According to the ethology of the animal, this indicates that the hunting strategy could be the result of selective choice of the prey. Moreover, we may deduce the presence of Ante-neandertalians on the site during spring and summer peri-ods. © 1999 University of Washington.
Summary Feral sheep (Ovis) and goat (Capra) popula- tions are found scattered throughout the world. Although generally separable by their morphol- ogy and ecology, the social behavior of feral sheep and goats is very similar. It also appears to be little changed from related wild species. Social organization is quite variable, particularly group size and composition, varying more among populations than between the genera. Although definite dominance hierarchies devel- op among males, they are weak or absent among female feral and wild sheep. Maternal care is similar among species, although the neonate goat may sometimes show a brief hiding phase. Suckling rates are high and durations short, but the process of weaning is poorly understood. Fighting behavior of sheep and goats is closely related to their horn struc- ture, as is skull morphology. Horns are used both for overt fighting and as indicators of relative social rank. Many of the behavior patterns used by dominant male sheep and goats to subordinates in agonistic interactions are the same as those used by males courting estrous females. One of the major differences between feral sheep and goats is in their use of scent. Unlike sheep, male goats exhibit urine marking, possibly related to advertising a male's conditions, and to synchronizing estrus among l Presented at a symposium "Ethograms of feral livestock and their application to contemporary live- stock production and experimentation." 74th Annu. Meet. Can.-Amer. Soc. Anim. Sci., August 8--11,
Morphological criteria are described that were found to be the most successful for distinguishing between skeletal fragments of adult sheep (Ovis) and goats (Capra) in the Western European, early medieval sites of Haithabu and Oldenburg in Holstein. It is emphasized that a sufficiently large sample should be observed. In addition, methods are given for distinguishing sex in the pelvis, and body side in distal metacarpus and metatarsus ends.
In the beginning of the 1980s, the Caune de l'Arago was the focus of an interdisciplinary effort to establish the chronology of the Homo heidelbergensis (Preneandertals) fossils using a variety of techniques on bones and on speleothems. The result was a very large spread of dates particularly on bone samples. Amid the large spread of results, some radiometric data on speleothems showed a convergence in agreement with inferences from faunal studies.We present new U-series results on the stalagmitic formation located at the bottom of Unit IV (at the base of the Upper Stratigraphic Complex). Samples and splits were collaboratively analyzed in the four different laboratories with excellent interlaboratory agreement. Results show the complex sequence of this stalagmitic formation. The most ancient part is systematically at internal isotopic equilibrium (>350 ka) suggesting growth during or before isotopic stage 9, representing a minimum age for the human remains found in Unit III of the Middle Stratigraphical Complex which is stratigraphically under the basis of the studied stalagmitic formation. Overlaying parts of the speleothem date to the beginning of marine isotope stages 7 and 5.
Mortality patterns in archaeofaunas can be informative of prehistoric human foraging habits, land use, and, ultimately, evolutionary changes in hominid sociality and ecological niche. The analytical value of mortality patterns is only as great, however, as archaeologists' understanding of the full range of possible causes for patterns in these data. Here, the relationships between mortality patterns in death assemblages and their documented causes are examined. Interspecific comparisons reveal that, while mortality patterns alone cannot diagnose cause, these data are potentially powerful tools for studies of hominid subsistence if supported by taphonomic analyses of bone assemblage formation. Mortality analyses are particularly effective if age frequency data are divided according to life history characteristics of prey species. Comparisons of known modern cases to ungulate assemblages created by Holocene and Pleistocene hominids of westcentral Italy present new information on humans as predators and evolutionary changes therein. These data indicate significantly greater strategic variation in the Middle Paleolithic cases than for all subsequent cultural periods combined. The variation certainly corresponds to two or more distinct foraging/land use strategies, scavenging and ambush hunting—the latter of which became more specialized with time.
Humans have mixed emotions concerning carnivores. We admire them as beautiful hunters, cosset them as pets, and use their pelts and other products in clothing, medicines and cosmetics. However, they are also responsible for killing us and our livestock, carry disease and compete with us for space and food. While some advocate the conservation of predators such as wolves and tigers, others see them as vermin and want them gone. In this book, Hans Kruuk, a life-long naturalist with a passion for predators tells the fascinating story of carnivores and our intricate relationships with them. Illustrated with specially commissioned drawings, it deals with the wild beauty of carnivores and their conservation, but also with furs and medicine, man-eaters and sheep-killers, explaining in simple terms what the role of carnivores is in nature, how this impacts on human lives, our art and literature, how we instinctively respond to them and why.
Large cats, canids, bears, and hyenas create distinctive types of damage when they gnaw bones. This paper describes the diagnostic characteristics of damage done by each taxon to femora and tibiae of herbivores with body weights = or >300kg. Pleistocene and Recent fossil collections that include gnawed bones might provide data on the presence of carnivores whose own remains are not found in the collections. Information might also be gained about predator and scavenger utilization of prey carcasses, often a reflection of prey vulnerability or availability in past communities.-Author
We report quantitative paleoecologic data on the large mammal assemblage preserved in lower Pleistocene deposits at Venta Micena (Orce, Granada, southeastern Spain). Taphonomic studies show that bones were collected mainly by hyaenids, which transported and deposited them near shallow dens. Differential fragmentation of major long bones was produced by hyaenas as a function of their density and marrow content. Strong selection of prey by carnivores - which preferentially killed juveniles, females, and individuals with diminished locomotor capabilities among ungulate prey species of larger body size - is indicated by (1) the abundance of remains of juvenile ungulates in relation to the average weight of adult individuals in each species, (2) attritional mortality profiles for ungulate species deduced from crown height measurements, (3) the presence of many metapodials with different osteopathologies in their epiphyses, such as arthrosis, and (4) a biased intersexual ratio of large bovids. Comparison of the frequencies with which modern African carnivores kill and scavenge ungulates from various size classes with the abundance of these size categories in the assemblage suggests that the Venta Micena hyaena (Pachycrocuta brevirostris) was a bone-cracking scavenger that fed largely on carcasses of ungulates preyed upon and partially consumed by fresh meat-eating carnivores such us saber-toothed felids (Homotherium latidens and Megantereon whitei) and wild dogs (Canis falconeri).
Maps showing the locations of end-scrapers, carinated scrapers, and burins at the Sde Divshon site of the Avdat area are examined by statistical tests for evidence of spatial association in the co-occurrences of pairs of tool types. Contingency table and contiguity ratio tests do not detect the presence of spatial association. Substantial detail is provided on the application of these tests.
Patterns of cementum, tooth succession, and external and internal horn annuli were studied in 129 specimens of Dall sheep (Ovis dalli). Fluoromicroscopy of annually produced cemental layers may be used to estimate age of all sheep older than 1 year. During the first 4 years of life age can be determined from the sequence of incisor replacement. Counts of annual horn increments provide a means of estimating age, but may be difficult to distinguish in older animals, particularly females.
Intertaxonomic differences in skeletal element representation in archaeological faunas may reflect preferences in the procurement, processing, transport, and/or consumption of these species by prehistoric foragers. However, the possibility that they also may result from preservational bias must be addressed before behavioral attributes of human hunters may be inferred. For example, at many archaeological sires, the remains of equids exhibit a different pattern of skeletal skeletal element representation than those of bovids and cervids. To evaluate the significance of such differences, this study examines intertaxonomic variability in patterns of bone density, the attribute most commonly employed as a proxy measure of resistance resistance to destructive processes. Density data derived for a bovid (Connachaetes taurinus), a cervid (Rangifer tarandus), and two species of equid (Equus burchelli and E. przewalskii) exhibited very similar patterns, suggesting that values for one species may be used to interpret the survival patterns for other species of generally similar morphology. The differences in skeletal element representation between bovid, cervid, and equid species observed in archaeological faunas do riot correspond with bane density and thus likely indicate selective treatment by human or other biotic agents.
Mary Stiner uses ecological niche theory to analyze and interpret several Middle Paleolithic archaeological and paleontological sites in southern Europe. Her concern is with how the hunting, scavenging, and foraging behavior of Neandertals compared and contrasted with the subsistence behavior of other large predators living in the region at the time - lions, hyenas, and wolves, for example - and with how Neandertal subsistence behavior related to the behavior of the anatomically modern humans who subsequently came to dominate the area in the Upper Paleolithic. Her conclusion, very broadly stated, is that Neandertals entered the Middle Paleolithic in direct and successful competition with lions, hyenas, and wolves, but ended the period in direct and ultimately unsuccessful competition for the ecological niche that we came to occupy with our slightly more advanced technology and slightly more sophisticated ambush hunting strategies and techniques
Couche VIII, Grotte Vaufrey (Dordogne, southwestern France) provided a sample of nearly 1200 identifiable bones and teeth of ungulates and carnivores associated with artefacts assigned to the Typical Mousterian. Binford (Etude taphonomique des restes fauniques de la grotte Vaufrey, Mémoires de la Société Préhistorique Française19, 535-564, 1988) has argued that the Couche VIII ungulates were introduced either by carnivores or by human scavengers. We present a taphonomic reanalysis of the Couche VIII fauna and show that neither Binford's data nor ours support his interpretations.
La validité specifique dn Kouprey ou Boeuf gris du Cambodge, décrit en 1937 par Urbain, a été contested par difflrents auteurs. Les uns le considérent comme un hybride, tandis que d'autres admettent au contra ire qu'il constitue on genre original. Les études ostéologiques aboutissant à des conclusions dia-métralement opposées, selon les critéres adoptés par les tenants de l'une ou l'autre hypothése, cet article se contente de recourir aux arguments apportés par la morphologie externe et I'éologie du Kouprey. L'hypothése de Thybri-dation étant aisément réfutée et celle d'un Statut générique particulier ne paraissant pas justifiée, il conclut que le Kouprey n'est qu'une espéce du sons-genre Bibos au měme titre que le Gaur et le Banteng. II n'y a done pas de raison d'invalider le nom proposé par Urbain. (1) Chargé de Recherches au C.N.R. S. Laboratoire de Mammalogie, Muséum d'Histoire Naturelle de Paris. (2) Inspecteur des Chasses, Chef des Services de Protection de la Nature du Cambodge. Eaux et Forěts, Phnom-Penh.
Researchers have argued that Neanderthals and/or early modern humans scavenged the majority of the larger mammals represented in Middle Paleolithic/Middle Stone Age faunal assemblages at Combe Grenal, Grotte Vaufrey, Grotta Guattari, Grotta dei Moscerini, and Klasies River Mouth. If this is true, then these hominids practiced a pattern of faunal exploitation undocumented among modern hunter-gatherers. The evidence for this scavenging rests upon the presence of a head-dominated or headand-foot-dominated skeletal-element pattern. These are skeletal parts with little flesh. However, the sites where this pattern is found are either biased assemblages, shaft fragments having been discarded by the excavators, or unbiased ones in which shaft fragments were not included in the zooarchaeologist's analysis. An analysis of the Mousterian fauna from Kobeh Cave, Iran, in which the mid-shaft fragments of long bones typically considered nonidentifiable were refitted, identified, and entered into the estimates of element abundance produced a skeletal-element profile dominated by limb bones of the highest meat utility. If we remove these mid-shaft fragments we create a profile of the headand-foot variety. This suggests that the ubiquitous head-and-footdominated or head-dominated pattern is a methodological artifact resulting from ignoring shaft fragments and that there is no evidence that Neanderthals or early modern humans procured large mammals primarily from scavenging. Analysis of surface modification (cut marks, hammerstone percussion marks, and carnivore tooth marks) further substantiates a pattern of hunting by the Middle Paleolithic hominids that inhabited Kobeh Cave. © 1998 by The Wenner-Gren Foundation for Anthropological Research. All rights reserved.
In recent years archaeologists and paleontologists have become increasingly interested in how and why vertebrate animal remains become, or do not become, fossils. Vertebrate Taphonomy introduces interested researchers to the wealth of analytical techniques developed by archaeologists and paleontologists to help them understand why prehistoric animal remains do or do not preserve, and why those that preserve appear the way they do. This book is comprehensive in scope, and will serve as an important work of reference for years to come.
Information on the number of carnivore taxa that were involved with archaeological bone assemblages is pertinent to questions of site formation, hominid and carnivore competition for carcasses and the sequence of hominid and carnivore activity at sites. A majority of early archaeological bone assemblages bear evidence that both hominids and carnivores removed flesh and/or marrow from the bones. Whether flesh specialists (felids) or bone-crunchers (hyaenas), or both, fed upon the carcasses is crucial for deciphering the timing of hominid involvement with the assemblages. Here we present an initial attempt to differentiate the tooth mark signature inflicted on bones by a single carnivore species versus multiple carnivore taxa. Quantitative data on carnivore tooth pits, those resembling a tooth crown or a cusp, are presented for two characteristics: the area of the marks in millimetres, and the shape as determined by the ratio of the major axis to the minor axis of the mark. Tooth pits from bones modified by extant East African carnivores and latex impressions of tooth pits from extinct carnivore species are compared to those in the FLK Zinjanthropus bone assemblage. Data on tooth mark shape indicate greater variability in theZinj sample than is exhibited by any individual extant or extinct carnivore species in the comparative sample. Data on tooth mark area demonstrate that bone density is related to the size of marks. Taken together, these data support the inference that felids defleshed bones in the Zinj assemblage and that hyaenas had final access to any grease or tissues that remained.
M.C. Stiner's (J. Archaeol. Sci. 29 (2002) 979) recent defense of anatomical regions profiling (ARP) prompted this response, because conclusions drawn from a large body of actualistic research, generated by numerous zooarchaeologists over the past 30+ years, are consistent in highlighting the differential survivorship of intra-element portions of limb bone specimens. Further, these results argue for the rigorous identification of limb bone shaft specimens and their systematic inclusion in the analyses of archaeofaunas. Stiner's “flexible hunter-scavenger” model of Neandertal ecology in coastal Italy is based, in part, on results from ARP, a technique that we believe does not fully recognize and incorporate these important findings.
Tooth marks on bones have been used as a proof of carnivore involvement in carcass modification in archaeological assemblages. Recognition of the array of potential carnivores that may intervene in the consumption of carcass elements accumulated at archaeological sites may condition the way archaeologists reconstruct hominid–carnivore interaction and resource availability for both types of taphonomic agents. The development of techniques aimed at discerning carnivore taxa according to tooth mark location and size has proven problematic so far. The present work introduces new information, based on the use of tooth pit size, to determine the types of carnivores that have modified bone surfaces. It is concluded that tooth marks alone cannot be used to differentiate among specific taxa, unless the analysis of tooth pits is carried out taking into account their distribution and ranges of variation in large samples, together with other variables, such as the location of tooth marks according to bone section and element, and the anatomical distribution of furrowing. Even so, the attribution of specific bone damage to determined carnivores can only be confidently made when comparing small-sized versus large-sized carnivores.
For over a decade, palaeoanthropologists have pursued research in order to distinguish between the effects of early hominids and contemporary hyaenids on fossil bone assemblages. A number of recent studies examining the behaviour of modern hyaenas has provided specific criteria for determining their influence as taphonomic agents. While certain patterns of bone modification by hyaenas have been identified, the potential variation in hyaena activity has not been fully recognized. A faunal assemblage recovered from a spotted hyaena den located near Koobi Fora, Kenya, exhibited characteristics not previously documented in hyaena accumulations. It provided new insights both into hyaena foraging activities and into the conditions surrounding the formation of den assemblages.
Competing explanations of early human behavior concerning animal carcass acquisition and exploitation are currently some of the most debated topics in the study of human evolution. Various hypotheses depict hominids as either hunters and flesh-eaters, or as scavengers who mainly consumed marrow and brains. One of the main arguments advanced to support the scavenging hypothesis is that flesh-bearing medium-sized carcasses (weighing between 150 kg and 350 kg) at early sites could have been obtained from large felid kills. This paper presents the results of a preliminary study, in which I have analyzed lion-killed carcasses with respect to the availability and disposal of flesh and conspicuous carnivore-inflicted bone damage patterns, so as to have a reference that can be applied both to archaeofaunas and to actualistic experiments that try to model early human behavior. Bone damage made by lions overlaps the damage patterns caused by other carnivores, such as canids and hyenids, although it is not as intense. Scraps of flesh available after consumption are rare and show a typical anatomical distribution. The scavenging hypothesis is thus testable by comparing the distribution of cut marks on fossil archaeofaunas to the location of flesh in lions' kills. Comparisons between carcasses in different environments show that scraps of flesh can be obtained in open habitats. Carcasses consumed by lions in closed habitats are flesh depleted. The application of this referential framework to archaeological bone assemblages can help to identify hominid foraging strategies, and indirectly, trophic dynamics on savannas: scavenging in open habitats is only feasible in wet savannas with a slightly marked seasonality and lack of migratory biomass [M. Tappen (1992) Ph.D. Thesis, Dept. Anthropology, Harvard Univ., Cambridge, MA]; scavenging in closed habitats can only be made in semi-arid seasonal savannas whose biomass is subjected to migratory processes [R.J. Blumenschine (1986) B.A.R. Int. Ser. 283, Oxford].
This paper reports the results of a taphonomic analysis of 17 faunal assemblages from archaeological horizons of the Early Pleistocene 'Ubeidiya Formation (Israel), focussing in particular on two representative assemblages (I-15LF/I-16 and II-23). Cut-marks on bones show that hominids interacted with the fauna and point to meat exploitation. In contrast, traces for marrow bone breakage were not observed. The absence of marrow processing at 'Ubeidiya provides a marked contrast to the bone marrow focussed subsistence based on scavenging proposed by some researchers for African early hominids, and this question is discussed in a broader context.It is concluded that hunting of medium-sized mammals was probably one of the subsistence strategies available to Early Pleistocene Levantine hominids.
Wind-blown sand from Arago cave at Tautavel and beach sand from Terra Amata at Nice are studied for the dating by a quartz large grain technique using electron spin resonance (ESR). The signal intensity of Al center increased with artificial γ-ray dose, and total equivalent doses of 2030 ± 109 Gy and 1795 ± 103 Gy are obtained for Arago and Terra Amata samples respectively.A preliminary UV experiment shows that the Al center signal initially decreased under UV irradiation but approached a residual strength. ‘Zero age’ quartz samples taken from present beach sand near Terra Amata show a signal intensity corresponding to 18% of the saturated intensity of Terra Amata sample (this same proportion is 30% for the ‘zero age’ Arago samples). After the subtraction of this residual strength, paleodoses of 1010 ± 149 Gy and 750 ± 147 Gy and ages of 430 ± 85 kyr and 380 ± 80 kyr are deduced for Arago cave and Terra Amata, respectively. These ages are in good agreement with those estimated from the faunal studies of these sites.
In recent years, dental microwear analysis has been widely used as a method for reconstructing ancient diet. The current study reconstructs the diet of Ovis ammon antiqua, a 440 000 year old argali-like sheep fossil from the Pleistocene site of the Caune de l’Arago in Southern France. The microscopic wear was observed on second upper molars with an environmental scanning electron microscope, using a magnification of ×500. Data analysis was performed on the following microwear variables: feature density, pit density, striation density, pit/striation ratio, pit size, and striation length and width. The microwear pattern of O. ammon antiqua was compared with those of extant ruminant taxa. Fossil wild sheep have significantly lower pit densities but similar scratch densities. The fossil animal shows shorter and narrower striations than extant herbivores. Our results suggest that fossil argali was a typical grazer, more so than extant ruminants. As far as diet variations are concerned, the diet of extant Caprinae varies according to season and region. In our fossil record, diet variations reflect some of the climatic changes that occurred during the Quaternary. This study shows that microwear analysis is not only a good tool for determining diet adaptations, but that it also brings indirect evidence of climatic variations.
Ungulate body part representation in archaeological sites potentially reflects human foraging decisions. However, because mammal skeleton macrostructure is heterogeneous, its components may not uniformly resist mechanical causes of attrition. Techniques for analyzing vertebrate body part profiles must either address differential resistance among distinct skeletal density classes or compare skeletal representation within a narrower density range that is widely distributed in the vertebrate skeleton. This presentation concerns the benefits of the second approach as developed previously by the author (Stiner, 1991, Journal of Archaeological Science18, 455–482; 1994, Honor Among Thieves: A Zooarchaeological Study of Neandertal Ecology. Princeton; Princeton University Press). Recent attempts to dismiss the approach misuse available standards on variation in structural density, a point demonstrated using the control data said to invalidate the profiling technique. In fact the mid-points and ranges of variation in bone structural density among elements grouped into the cranial and four appendicular skeletal regions are very similar as measured by photon densitometry, and especially for the skeletal portions commonly used to estimate MNE in Mediterranean Palaeolithic archaeofaunas. Region-by-region anatomical comparisons require fewer assumptions than do analyses that focus on differential resistance (“survivorship”) among the full range of bone density classes and thus are limited by fewer unknowns.
