Humans, bones and fire: Zooarchaeological, taphonomic, and spatial analyses of a Gravettian mammoth bone accumulation at Grub-Kranawetberg (Austria)

Abstract

The role of humans in the formation of Gravettian mammoth bone accumulations of central and eastern Europe is a heavily debated topic. Grub-Kranawetberg, a multi-layered Gravettian open-air site in eastern Austria, yielded a bone accumulation in the vicinity of a campsite. Zooarchaeological, taphonomic, and spatial analyses of this assemblage offer evidence on both human subsistence and formation of mammoth bone accumulations. The deposit is dominated by Mammuthus primigenius but also includes Coelodonta antiquitatis, Rangifer tarandus, Equus sp., Megaloceros giganteus, Canis lupus, Ursus cf. arctos and Lepus cf. timidus. The presence of butchery marks on remains of both megafaunal taxa indicates a human accumulated assemblage. The absence of carnivore gnaw marks suggests that humans had primary access to meaty skeletal parts. An indication that humans occupying the adjacent campsite interacted with the bones is seen in the rearticulation of a left upper first molar of a mammoth from the campsite with its matching right first upper molar found in the bone accumulation. The deposit is further characterized by various indications of fire evident in lenses of burned sediment and abundant traces of heating faunal remains. The varied colours of burned bone, as well as reddish burned loess show that the accumulation was subjected to a wide range of fire temperatures. The current results argue for the intentional use of fire as waste removal strategy.