An experimental model of the timing of hominid and carnivore influence on archaeological bone assemblages

Abstract

Abstract Experiments were conducted to assess the timing of carnivore and hominid influence on archaeological bone assemblages. The results of disturbance by mainly spotted hyaenas to simulated archaeological assemblages of hammerstone-broken bovid limb bones show that assemblages accumulated and fed upon by hominids first will nonetheless still be attractive to bone-ravaging carnivores. Such experimental assemblages usually show a virtually complete deletion of epiphyseal fragments, and a maximum incidence of tooth-marked long bone fragments of 45%, with an average of approximately 15%. The results therefore provide for the first time a quantified explanation of how an archaeological bone assemblage can come to bear traces of both taphonomic agents. Assemblages accumulated and fed upon first by spotted hyaenas, in contrast, preserve an incidence of tooth-marked long bone fragments in excess of 67% and averaging approximately 82%. The different intensities of tooth marking are accompanied by equally distinctive incidences of features of hammerstone breakage. Within constraints imposed by physical taphonomic and other factors, these criteria provide a means for testing the primacy of hominids over carnivores in the accumulation of fossil bone assemblages.