Faunal Evidence Research Articles

Irish Serpukhovian revisited

In this study of Mississippian rocks in Ireland, it is now recognized, based on faunal evidence, that several upper Viséan limestone formations which were previously excluded from the Serpukhovian now belong, in part, to the lower two substages of the Serpukhovian. A reassessment of previous foraminiferal determinations, together with new foraminiferal data, has confirmed that rocks equivalent to the Tarusian and Steshevian substages are present in several sections. In the Slievenaglasha Formation and Magowna Formation (County Clare) and Deer Park Formation (County Meath), Tarusian and Steshevian foraminiferal assemblages are thus recorded. In the Clogrenan Formation (County Carlow), Carganamuck Limestone Formation (County Armagh) and Rockdale Limestone Formation (County Tyrone), Tarusian foraminiferal assemblages are recorded in the upper beds of thick limestone successions. Key foraminiferal and algal taxa characterize each assemblage, which have been correlated with equivalent Serpukhovian strata in the north of England and Scotland. A three‐stage evolution is recognized in archaediscid foraminifers: from Neoarchaediscus gregorii, followed by Neoarchaediscus postrugosus form 1, and N. postrugosus form 2, with Neoarchaediscus postrugosus form 1 used to define the base of the Serpukhovian. The recognition of Tarusian and Steshevian foraminiferal assemblages implies that areas of shallow‐water platform carbonate sedimentation in Ireland during the upper Viséan (Brigantian) persisted into the Early Serpukhovian.

Urban to the bone: Isotopic and faunal dietary data from Formative-period Cerro Jazmín, Mixteca Alta, Oaxaca, México

We investigate the dietary impact of urbanism on the population of Cerro Jazmín, a Late and Terminal Formative urban center in the Mixteca Alta region of Mexico (300 B.C.-A.D. 300). We reconstruct the urban diet from faunal analysis and isotopic results from 24 individuals recovered from formal burials. Bone collagen and bone and enamel apatite isotopic data provide C, N, and O values describing diet and breastfeeding patterns. Carbon values suggest a narrow diet heavily based on maize and little animal protein. Individuals 0–3 years of age had significantly higher nitrogen and oxygen values than adults, suggesting that these infants may have still been breastfeeding at the time of death. Weaning likely occurred between 3 and 5 years of age when C3 foods, perhaps squash, supplemented maize atole in the weaning diet. Isotopic and faunal evidence suggest that the Cerro Jazmín population did not supplement their diet by hunting or trapping wild animals. Instead, animal protein came from domesticated animals, mainly dogs that were fed a C4 rich diet. The data suggest that urban dwellers had little dietary autonomy and may have fully relied on the urban food production and distribution system for the bulk of their diet.

The Koskobilo (Olazti, Navarre, Northern Iberian Peninsula) paleontological collection: New insights for the Middle and Late Pleistocene in Western Pyrenees

The destroyed site(s) of Koskobilo (Olazti, Navarre, Northern Iberian Peninsula) have yielded unique archaeo-paleontological evidence in the Western Pyrenees region. The quarry uncovered a karstic site with faunal remains in 1940, and fossils were recovered both in situ and from the quarry dump. Ten years later, while the quarry was still working, a new visit to the dump yielded a large lithic assemblage and additional fossil remains with a different taphonomic pattern, which has been interpreted as the remains coming from a different site or zone within the same karst system. Here we re-study the paleontological evidence and provide new dating on a speleothem covering a Stephanorhinus hemitoechus tooth, which has yielded a minimum date of c. 220 ka for part of the assemblage. In total, the fossil assemblage comprises 38 mammal and six avian taxa and three fish remains. The faunal evidence indicates that in 1940 a mix of taxa from both the Middle and Upper Pleistocene were recovered, and it is difficult to assign most of them to a concrete period. However, based on biochronological criteria some of the identified taxa (e.g., Ursus thibetanus, Ursus cf. deningeri, Cuon cf. priscus, Macaca sylvanus, cf. Megaceroides) could be roughly contemporaneous with the dated rhino tooth, which would provide a new window to the Middle Pleistocene of the region, with deposits from MIS 7d and/or older. Despite the difficulties in studying this collection, recovered without stratigraphic context and in a salvage operation, Koskobilo has yielded an important paleontological assemblage which helps to understand the paleoecology of the Middle Pleistocene human occupations in the Western Pyrenees.

Constraining the biotic transitions across the end‐Ordovician mass extinction in South China: Bio‐ and chemostratigraphy of the Wulipo Formation in the Meitan area of northern Guizhou

The richly fossiliferous succession of the Wulipo Formation in the Huangjiaba area near Meitan in northern Guizhou, SW China, represents one of the very rare records of shelly fauna across the Ordovician and Silurian transition worldwide. This area is therefore crucial for understanding the pattern and dynamics of the end‐Ordovician mass extinction (EOME). Historically, the Wulipo Formation was dated as middle Rhuddanian (early Silurian). However, its fauna shows a close affinity with Transitional Benthic Fauna 3 (TBF 3), now known to be confined within the late Hirnantian (latest Ordovician) in well‐constrained successions globally. Here we present for the first time, chemostratigraphic data from the Wulipo Formation which confirm the presence of the Hirnantian Isotope Carbon Excursion. A critical review of faunal evidence further indicates a late Hirnantian age for this formation, and thus the hitherto only known anomalous TBF 3 record documented from South China is convincingly redated. The important implication is that the substantial biotic recovery after the EOME commenced globally at the very beginning of the Silurian with an overall amelioration of physical conditions. The new findings also suggest a much wider distribution of postglacial warm‐water benthic faunas on the Yangtze Platform during the late Hirnantian than previously envisaged.

Bald eagles and the Thunderbird myth: Birds in pre-contact ceremonialism on Martha's Vineyard, USA

Ceremonialism is an integral part of human life but difficult to recover from archaeological remains. Among Native groups in Eastern North America, skins and feathers of birds were commonly used as part of ritual feast ceremonies, including those of the Thunderbird, a mythological creature associated with thunder, lightning, and the upper world. Physical evidence for the Thunderbird has been limited to ceramic, lithic, copper, and petroglyphic artifacts, but the recent discovery of a series of Bald eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus) wing bones from the Frisby Butler site may present the first faunal evidence for the myth in Native North America. Patterns of skeletal part representation within the assemblage and across the site suggest that the deposit is the remains of a ritual feast and the presence of multiple wings indicates intentional curation of eagles. If so, this is the earliest known Thunderbird association on the island of Martha's Vineyard, showing the spread of extant Algonquin cosmology to this area by at least 2,000 BP.

Palaeoenvironments of the Manych Valley at the End of Late Pleistocene Based on Rodent and Mollusk Data from Sanmanych (Rostov District, Russia)

A thorough consideration is given to the geological, palaeotheriological and malacological materials obtained from the Pleistocene Sanmanych locality, which is the only locality with mammal fauna in the Manych depression (46°24′53″ N, 42°36′25″ E). The brackish-water mollusk composition indicated that the bone-bearing series should be correlated to the Early Khvalynian transgression. The fossil record gives an insight into the palaeoenvironment at the time that the Caspian Sea water broke through the Manych depression into the Black Sea basin. The faunal evidence points to arid conditions and a cool climate. The rodent species composition is rather poor; it exclusively includes species indicative for an open environment, which suggests a wide spread occurrence of steppe and semi-deserts in the Manych valley during the Late Glacial (~16–12 ka BP).

The environment and subsistence in the lower reaches of the Yellow River around 10,000 BP ——faunal evidence from the bianbiandong cave site in Shandong Province, China

The Bianbiandong cave site in Shandong Province is the earliest Neolithic site found in the lower reaches of the Yellow River basin to date, with a maximum age of approximately 10,000 yr BP. Identifiable faunal remains include Unio, Fruticicolidae, Trionychidae, Turdidae, Phasianidae, Cervus nippon, Hydropotes inermis, Sus, Canidae, Felidae, Leporidae, and Rhizomyidae. Based on faunal remains, we infer that the people mainly relied on hunting wild animals to obtain meat and that the predominant mode of subsistence was hunting and gathering. Comparison with other sites in northern China indicates that both climatic conditions and methods of acquiring meat were similar at different sites during this period. The ancient environment as indicated from the fauna changed very little from 10,000 to 8000 BP in the lower reaches of the Yellow River basin, although subsistence practices changed greatly from a model dominated by hunting to one involving both hunting and fishing.

Colonial and modern fisheries in the Indian River Lagoon, Florida, USA

AbstractThe Indian River Lagoon is a narrow estuary extending 251 km (156 mi) along the Atlantic coast of Florida. One of the most biodiverse waterways in North America, this aquatic ecosystem is currently home to more than 4,000 plant and animal species, including approximately 700 fish species. According to archaeological faunal evidence from a mid‐18th‐century colonial settlement in the northern Indian River Lagoon region, this estuary also provided an abundance of wild animal resources in the past. The colonists relied heavily upon the lagoon as indicated by the predominance of ray‐finned fishes in the examined faunal samples. A comparison between particular fish species represented in the archaeological colonial record and those currently found in the lagoon today demonstrates that these fishes were comparable in relative frequency and size.

Zooarchaeological evidence for meat consumption at Zita, Tunisia, during the Punic to Roman occupations (2nd century BCE to 3rd century CE)

AbstractAlthough Roman North Africa is known for its production of cereals, faunal evidence from the Neo‐Punic urban mound of Zita in South East Tunisia shows that meat was an important part of the diet. Similarly to other North African sites, sheep and goat contributed the most to meat consumption in all time periods. The proportions of cattle, sheep/goat, and pig (the most common sources of meat in most Roman influenced sites) are closer to the nearby site of Meninx than to Carthage. This research uses the complete collection of faunal material from one feature at Zita to analyse pre‐Roman and Roman meat consumption. Because data from few comparable sites are available, this analysis adds new understanding to diet over time in the region, but further studies at Zita and in the region more broadly would help confirm these findings. Zooarchaeological remains show a diet heavily dependent on sheep and goat, with fish, molluscs, cattle, pig, and chicken also commonly consumed. Wild animals in the diet include hare and birds. Other fauna recovered were indirectly related to human activities; small terrestrial animals like amphibians, snakes, and rodents were likely attracted to refuse and increased as the site became more industrialised in the Roman period. The data show that the diet at Zita remains consistent across time, indicating a strong and ongoing local influence on cuisine despite transitions in the political infrastructure from Carthaginian to Neo‐Punic/Roman periods.

Late-latest Maastrichtian foraminiferal assemblage from the Angostura Platform, Chiapas, SE Mexico: Biostratigraphic, paleoenvironmental and paleobiogeographic significance

The carbonate platform deposits of the Angostura Formation are widely distributed in the central and eastern part of the Sierra de Chiapas, SE Mexico. The Angostura Formation contains a rich assemblage of foraminifera associated with mollusks (rudists, gastropods), corals, and dasycladacean green algae.A detailed foraminiferal study was carried out on samples from the El Coyol section of the Angostura succession. The studied section crops out in the El Coyol Hacienda located north of the Angostura dam, SE of the city of Tuxtla Gutiérrez in Central Chiapas. The foraminiferal assemblage consists mostly of benthic larger foraminifera but minor pelagic influence is represented by the presence of a number of planktic foraminifera.The benthic foraminiferal association is taxonomically diverse, being composed of Chubbina jamaicensis Robinson, Chubbina macgillavry Robinson, Caribealveolina michaudi Pêcheux, C. fourcadei Vicedo, Caus and Frijia, C. obesa (Fourcade and Fleury), Praechubbina breviclaustra Fourcade and Fleury, Omphalocyclus macroporus (Lamarck), Asterorbis rooki Vaughan and Cole, Vaughanina cubensis (Palmer), V. barkeri, Brönnimann, Sulcoperculina dickersoni (Palmer), S. globosa de Cizancourt, S. vermunti (Thiadens), Lepidorbitoides minima Douvillé, Orbitoides cf. O. apiculata Schlumberger, Planorbulina cretae (Marsson), Smoutina cruysi Drooger, and Nezzazatinella sp. In addition, the occurrence of Fleuryana adriatica De Castro, Drobne and Gušić, Rhapydionina cf. R. liburnica Stache, Cuneolina ketini Inan, Valvulina cf. V. triangularis d'Orbigny and Minouxia sp. is documented for the first time from the Angostura Formation.The planktic foraminifera are Rugoglobigerina macrocephala Brönnimann, R. cf. R. hexacamerata Brönnimann, R. rugosa (Plummer), Kuglerina rotundata (Brönnimmann), Muricohedbergella monmouthensis (Olson), Planoglobulina cf. P. carseyae (Plummer), Globotruncanita stuarti (de Lapparent), Globotruncanita pettersi (Gandolfi), Planoheterohelix globulosa (Ehrenberg), Pseudoguembelina sp., Macroglobigerinelloides prairielillensis (Pessagno) and the pithonellids Pithonella ovalis (Kaufmann) and P. sphaerica (Kaufmann). The age of the Angostura Formation in the studied section is late to latest Maastrichtian. A Chubbina jamaicensis Taxon Range Zone is proposed on the basis of the occurrence of the nominal taxon and foraminiferal association.The lithological and faunal evidence enable the paleoenvironment to be reconstructed. The microfacies (wackestone–packstone, wackestone–floatstone, wackestone, grainstone and packstone) as well as the foraminiferal assemblage suggest that the deposit was developed in a shallow water marine setting with low to moderate energy, with sporadic intercropping of an open platform deposit characterized by planktic foraminifera and pithonellids.The paleobiogeographical distribution of the foraminiferal association from the Angostura Formation contains cosmopolitan genera as well as endemic forms of the Caribbean Province from the Tethys Realm.

Subsistence strategies throughout the African Middle Pleistocene: Faunal evidence for behavioral change and continuity across the Earlier to Middle Stone Age transition

The African Middle Pleistocene (781–126 ka) is a key period for human evolution, witnessing both the origin of the modern human lineage and the lithic turnover from Earlier Stone Age (ESA) Acheulean bifacial tools to Middle Stone Age (MSA) prepared core and point technologies. This ESA/MSA transition is interpreted as representing changing landscape use with greater foraging distances and more active hunting strategies. So far, these behavioral inferences are mainly based on the extensive stone tool record, with only a minor role for site-based and regional faunal studies. To provide additional insights into these behavioral changes, this paper details a pan-African metastudy of 63 Middle Pleistocene faunal assemblages from 40 sites. A hierarchical classification system identified 26 well-contextualized assemblages with quantitative paleontological and/or zooarcheological data available for detailed comparative analyses and generalized linear mixed modeling. Modeling of ungulate body size classes structured around three dimensions (context, antiquity and technology) illustrates no one-to-one correlation between changes in lithic technology (Acheulean vs. MSA) and changes in prey representation. All assessed faunal assemblages are dominated by medium-sized bovids, and variations between smaller and larger body size classes are linked to site context (cave vs. open-air), with an increase in cave sites during the Middle Pleistocene. Current data do not signal a broadening of the hominin dietary niche during the Middle Pleistocene; no meaningful variation was visible in the exploitation of smaller-sized bovids or dangerous game, with coastal resources exploited when available. Proportions of anthropogenic bone surface modifications, and hence carcass processing intensity, do increase over time although more zooarcheological data is crucial before making behavioral inferences. Overall, this paper illustrates the potential of broad scale comparative faunal analyses to provide additional insights into processes of human behavioral evolution and the mechanisms underlying patterns of technological, chronological and contextual change.

Squamate reptiles from Kanapoi: Faunal evidence for hominin paleoenvironments

The squamate fossil record from Kanapoi reveals generic to higher-order similarities with modern East African herpetofaunas. The record is derived from surface collection and screen washing, and consists primarily of isolated vertebrae with a few maxillary and mandibular elements. The most abundant remains are vertebrae of large-bodied Python that are morphologically similar to extant Python sebae, and vertebrae of Varanus cf. (Varanus niloticus + Varanus exanthematicus). Additional cranial and vertebral remains indicate the presence of lygosomine skinks, indeterminate Varanus, Viperidae, cf. Atractaspididae, and multiple colubrine morphotypes in the Kanapoi ecosystem. Despite similarities with modern herpetofaunas, the Kanapoi record lacks taxa common to other East African records, including agamids, chamaeleonids, amphisbaenians, the elapid Naja, and typhlopids. The overall composition of the Kanapoi squamate record is consistent with paleoenvironments similar to modern shrub savanna habitats. There are no indicators of canopied forest environments in squamate faunal composition. The fossil record of Kanapoi suggests that assembly of squamate faunas of modern East Africa was well underway by the late Neogene.

Partial and complete deposits and depictions: Social zooarchaeology, iconography and the role of animals in Late Moche Peru

The advent of social zooarchaeology has stimulated a more in-depth conversation on the role of animals in society. Zooarchaeological methods provide the means to assess not just the subsistence strategies of past communities but the larger social, economic and political systems within which animals are situated. By addressing faunal assemblages within different contexts and in terms of the values and practices that may have structured these human-animal interactions, archaeologists can better interpret the representation of animals in different material media and by extension the social and ideological role certain species played in past cultures. This paper mobilizes faunal evidence from the Late Moche site of Huaca Colorada (AD650–850) in the Jequetepeque Valley of Peru and contextualizes these patterns in the Moche iconographic corpus. The iconographic record indicates that the Moche made a distinction between wild and domestic animals; wild species appear to have been understood as partible beings associated with supernaturals, while domesticated animals were socialized and viewed as integral to human affairs. The taxonomic differentiation of wild and domestic species is apparent in both animal use and representation and in different contexts of ceremonial practice. Moreover, domestic animals were interred as special offerings, comparable to human sacrifices, while wild species were deposited only as partial and distributed offerings.

New archaeozoological and taphonomic analysis on macro- and megafauna remains from the lower palaeolithic site of ficoncella (tarquinia, central italy)

The site of Ficoncella is located to the north of Rome (Central Italy). It is an alluvial context where animal bones and lithic remains were buried over a short space of time in a floodplain environment during the Lower Palaeolithic. The main faunal evidence is represented by parts of a straight-tusked elephant carcass, but remains belonging to other ungulate species were also identified e.g. cervid and equid bones, as well as diaphysis fragments belonging to small and middle-sized ungulates. The use-wear analysis of lithic implements revealed traces related to action on materials of soft to medium hardness. These could be the result of carcass processing, although direct interaction between hominins and animals has not as yet been established. New taphonomic and zooarchaeological data are presented in this paper. Cervids and equid bones, as well as diaphysis fragments belonging to small and middle-sized ungulates, were identified. A shaft portion shows green bone fractures and an impact notch. Some bone flakes were identified among the fragments attributed to megafauna. The current results show that the site of Ficoncella was buried over a short space of time in a floodplain environment. This new analysis allows us to identify a broader range of Hominin activities at the site.

A reassessment of the Montmaurin-La Niche mandible (Haute Garonne, France) in the context of European Pleistocene human evolution.

We here present a comparative study of the Montmaurin-LN Middle Pleistocene mandible (Haute-Garonne, France). This mandible, of which its right and left molar series are preserved in situ, was found in La Niche cave (Montmaurin’s karst system) in 1949, and was first attributed to the ‘Mindel-Riss’ interglacial (= MIS 9 to 11) based on its geological context. Later studies based on geological and faunal evidence have attributed the Montmaurin-LN mandible to MIS 7. Following a detailed morphological and metric comparative study of the mandible in the 1970s, it was interpreted in the light of a still limited fossil record and the prevailing paradigm back then. Waiting for geochronological studies in the forthcoming years, here we review the main morphological and metrical features of this mandible and its molars, which have been reassessed in the framework of a remarkably enlarged Pleistocene fossil record since the mandible was first described, and our current, more in-depth understanding of human evolution in Europe. Using a selection of mandibular features with potential taxonomic signal we have found that the Montmaurin-LN mandible shares only a few derived traits with Neandertals. Our analyses reveal that this mandible is more closely related to the ancient specimens from the African and Eurasian Early and Middle Pleistocene, particularly due to the presence of primitive features of the Homo clade. In contrast, the external morphology of the molars is clearly similar to that of Neandertals. The results are assessed in the light of the present competing hypotheses used to explain the European hominin fossil record.

A possible new Bronze Age period at Troy

AbstractStatistical analysis of Carl Blegen's pottery sequence using Correspondence Analysis (CA) suggests a gap of 100–200 years between his Troy III and IV periods. From the Manfred Korfmann excavations three stratigraphic sequences hitherto assigned to Troy IV and V appear to bridge it. This allocation is based on stratigraphic/architectural grounds and on the observable development in ceramic shapes and wares. Heinrich Schliemann's pottery sequence from 1870–1873 is also analysed by CA and found to compare well with Blegen's (with limited exceptions probably due to the larger scope of his excavations), but it does not exhibit the same gap. This suggests that during the ‘bridge’ period occupation shrank to the summit on the western end of the citadel mound. This ‘bridge’ period of seven or more building phases has a distinctive ceramic assemblage and may be called the Proto-IV period. It is broadly contemporary with Middle Helladic I, Beycesultan VIII–VI, Küllüoba II and the Tarsus Early Bronze to Middle Bronze transitional period. Careful re-evaluation of the radiocarbon evidence dates it to ca 2150–1990 cal. BC. Botanical and faunal evidence from the strata in question attests significantly drier climatic conditions which, together with the smaller size of the settlement, probably reflect the 4.2ka cal. BP climatic deterioration.

Presentation of the 2016 Paleontological Society Medal to Richard A. Fortey

Richard Fortey is one of the world’s leading paleontologists. His research is remarkable for its breadth, covering topics as diverse as Paleozoic biostratigraphy and biogeography (with a focus on the Ordovician), the evolutionary history and biology of trilobites and graptolites, and the diversification of major groups during the Cambrian explosion. He has made major contributions to the use of faunal evidence for reconstructing the former position of the Paleozoic continents. He has led efforts to correlate the Ordovician across the world. He is a leading authority on trilobites. He used arthropod relationships and morphology to quantify disparity following the Cambrian radiation and compare it to that today. He has published more than 200 scientific papers as well as numerous other articles and books, and his work continues to have a major impact on the development of biostratigraphy and paleobiology. He has served as president of the Palaeontological Association, the Geological Society of London, and the Palaeontographical Society. Richard Fortey led a revolution in trilobite systematics, providing new characters, particularly those relating to the hypostome, and generating …

Timing and pace of dairying inception and animal husbandry practices across Holocene North Africa

The timing and extent of the adoption and exploitation of domesticates and their secondary products, across Holocene North Africa, has long been the subject of debate. The three distinct areas within the region, Mediterranean north Africa, the Nile Valley and the Sahara, each with extremely diverse environments and ecologies, demonstrate differing trajectories to pastoralism. Here, we address this question using a combination of faunal evidence and organic residue analyses of c. 300 archaeological vessels from sites in Algeria, Libya and Sudan. This synthesis of new and published data provides a broad regional and chronological perspective on the scale and intensity of domestic animal exploitation and the inception of dairying practices in Holocene North Africa. Following the introduction of domesticated animals into the region our results confirm a hiatus of around one thousand years before the adoption of a full pastoral economy, which appears first in the Libyan Sahara, at c. 5200 BCE, subsequently appearing at c. 4600 BCE in the Nile Valley and at 4400–3900 BCE in Mediterranean north Africa.

Dental adaptations of Bronze Age Harappans: Occlusal wear, crown size, and dental pathology

Systematic study of dental attributes yields insights regarding diet and subsistence that cannot be gained from the archaeological record alone. This analysis documents occlusal tooth wear, tooth crown dimensions and dental pathology of an expanded dental sample from Harappa (2550–2030cal BC; Pakistan). New floral and faunal evidence of subsistence indicates a mix of agriculture and pastoralism that can be integrated with evidence of dental attributes and disease to reveal the impact of Harappan diet on oral health.An enlarged dental sample (58 specimens, 910 teeth) from mature phase Harappa was analyzed using Scott’s quadrant wear system, measures of crown size, and prevalence of seven pathological dental lesions. All data were collected by the author using standard methods. Sex differences were found in wear, tooth size and prevalence of dental diseases. Females exhibit greater caries prevalence and antemortem tooth loss than men, an attribute associated with higher rates of pulp exposure and abscesses in women. At Harappa antemortem tooth loss results from penetrating caries, while in foragers the cause is severe occlusal wear. In contrast to early Holocene foragers of north India (Damdama, 8800–8600 BP), Harappans have greater occlusal wear, smaller teeth, and a distinct dental pathology profile.

Regionally Constant but Societally VariedBeyond the Nasca Lines: Ancient Life at La Tiza in the Peruvian Desert. By Christina A. Conlee. Gainesville: University Press of Florida, 2016.

Regionally Constant but Societally VariedBeyond the Nasca Lines: Ancient Life at La Tiza in the Peruvian Desert. By Christina A. Conlee. Gainesville: University Press of Florida, 2016.