Les faunes des sites du Pléistocène supérieur du Caucase méridional : Grotte de Sakažhia, Grotte d’Ortvala et Grotte du Bronze (République de Géorgie)

Abstract

The paleontological analysis of the fauna from three Late Pleistocene localities in Southern Caucasus (Sakažhia, Ortvala, and Bronze cave) confirmed the presence of Ursus spelaeus, Canis lupus, Equus ferus, Rhinocerotidae, Cervus elaphus, Capreolus capreolus, Alces alces, Bison priscus, Capra caucasica, Ovis ammon and Sus scrofa. The study also permitted the identification of new taxa for these localities. There may be the presence of reindeer ( Rangifer tarandus) at Sakažhia, however it has not yet been confirmed. Moreover, remains of aurochs ( Bos primigenius) were identified, in particular at Bronze cave where its abundance is exceptional. Indeed, Bos and Bison are generally very rare in Southern Caucasus. The analysis of the proportion of the different species in each locality revealed the two types of occupations of the caves, one dominated by hominids and the other by carnivores. At Sakažhia, where fauna is dominated by the presence of cave bear, the cave was seasonally occupied by Neanderthal groups. On the other hand, Bronze cave corresponds to a habitat of hunters, which occupied the site for longer periods.