Taphonomic comparison of bones in mountain lion scats, coyote scats, golden eagle pellets, and great-horned owl pellets

Abstract

Bones consumed by carnivores and raptors, and subsequently deposited on the landscape in scats and pellets, respectively, can make up a considerable portion of the faunal remains recovered by North American archaeologists, particularly in caves and rockshelters. This paper compares and contrasts bones recovered from the scats of the mountain lion and coyote, as well as from the pellets of the great-horned owl and golden eagle. Bones in lion scats, coyote scats, and eagle pellets all may be relatively large in size, and display considerable etching, corrosion, and polishing, although bones in coyote scats tend to be smaller in size compared to those in lion scats. Bones in great-horned owl pellets tend to be larger in size and show much less degree of corrosion and polishing compared to the scats and eagle pellet bones.