Taphonomic Analysis Research Articles

New perspectives on human subsistence during the Magdalenian in the Swabian Jura, Germany

The Swabian Jura of southwestern Germany is famous for its Paleolithic sites which have been studied since the 1860s. While there is a rich tradition of research on the Magdalenian, many of the best-known sites were not excavated using modern methods, and recently, few discoveries of new sites have been made. Thus, much of the information on this period comes from sites lacking data collected using modern standards. This has left open questions regarding the recolonization of the Swabian Jura and hunter-gatherer subsistence and settlement during the Magdalenian in the region. Langmahdhalde is a recently discovered rock shelter in the Lone Valley of the Swabian Jura that has intact, well-stratified horizons dating to the Magdalenian with associated lithic artifacts, faunal remains, and combustion features. In this paper, we present a study of the faunal materials from this new site. We use the macrofaunal remains to discuss human subsistence and a taphonomic analysis of the microfaunal remains to determine the spatial scale of our previously published paleoenvironmental interpretations. Our results on human subsistence support previous interpretations from other Magdalenian assemblages in Central Europe. Further, our taphonomic study of the microfauna suggests that our paleoenvironmental analyses are relatively local, within a maximum of 70 km2 from the rock shelter. We place these results within the larger context of human paleoecology in the region and suggest that the successful resettlement of the Swabian Jura by Magdalenian peoples during the Late Glacial was probably facilitated by the presence of a higher diversity of resources on the landscape compared to regions to the west.

Constructional and functional anatomy of Ediacaran rangeomorphs

AbstractEdiacaran rangeomorphs were the first substantially macroscopic organisms to appear in the fossil record, but their underlying biology remains problematic. Although demonstrably heterotrophic, their current interpretation as osmotrophic consumers of dissolved organic carbon (DOC) is incompatible with the inertial (high Re) and advective (high Pe) fluid dynamics accompanying macroscopic length scales. The key to resolving rangeomorph feeding and physiology lies in their underlying construction. Taphonomic analysis of three-dimensionally preserved Charnia from the White Sea identifies the presence of large, originally water-filled compartments that served both as a hydrostatic exoskeleton and semi-isolated digestion chambers capable of processing recalcitrant substrates, most likely in conjunction with a resident microbiome. At the same time, the hydrodynamically exposed outer surface of macroscopic rangeomorphs would have dramatically enhanced both gas exchange and food delivery. A bag-like epithelium filled with transiently circulated seawater offers an exceptionally efficient means of constructing a simple, DOC-consuming, multicellular heterotroph. Such a body plan is broadly comparable to that of anthozoan cnidarians, minus such derived features as muscle, tentacles and a centralized mouth. Along with other early bag-like fossils, rangeomorphs can be reliably identified as total-group eumetazoans, potentially colonial stem-group cnidarians.

Microscopic analyses of the effects of mechanical cleaning interventions on cut marks

In many cases, the study of archaeological fossil surfaces is not possible without prior intervention by conservation-restoration specialists. This is most notable in the required cleaning process that facilitates detailed analyses of osteological remains. This experimental study develops a methodology that can be used to evaluate the possible effects that mechanical cleaning applications and tools may have on the consequent study of cut marks. To confront these objectives, this study implements advanced 3D digital microscopy and statistical analyses to evaluate the before and after stages of mechanical cleaning processes of cut-marked bones. These techniques present a novel means of evaluating the degree of modification produced by mechanical cleaning processes. The obtained data allows for an initial assessment of the effects of conservation-restoration interventions on taphonomic analyses. The consequent conclusions advise caution on the use of some tools in mechanical cleaning, additionally supporting the need for interdisciplinary research in future archaeological research. Research of this nature is of great value to archaeology and palaeontology, presenting a new promising line of investigation for future research.

Live, dead, and fossil mollusks in Florida freshwater springs and spring-fed rivers: Taphonomic pathways and the formation of multisourced, time-averaged death assemblages

AbstractTaphonomic processes are informative about the magnitude and timing of paleoecological changes but remain poorly understood with respect to freshwater invertebrates in spring-fed rivers and streams. We compared taphonomic alteration among freshwater gastropods in live, dead (surficial shell accumulations), and fossil (late Pleistocene–early Holocene in situ sediments) assemblages from two Florida spring-fed systems, the Wakulla and Silver/Ocklawaha Rivers. We assessed taphonomy of two gastropod species: the native Elimia floridensis (n = 2504) and introduced Melanoides tuberculata (n = 168). We quantified seven taphonomic attributes (aperture condition, color, fragmentation, abrasion, juvenile spire condition, dissolution, and exterior luster) and combined those attributes into a total taphonomic score (TT). Fossil E. floridensis specimens exhibited the greatest degradation (highest TT scores), whereas live specimens of both species were least degraded. Specimens of E. floridensis from death assemblages were less altered than fossil specimens of the same species. Within death assemblages, specimens of M. tuberculata were significantly less altered than specimens of E. floridensis, but highly degraded specimens dominated in both species. Radiocarbon dates on fossils clustered between 9792 and 7087 cal BP, whereas death assemblage ages ranged from 10,692 to 1173 cal BP. Possible explanations for the observed taphonomic patterns include: (1) rapid taphonomic shell alteration, (2) prolonged near-surface exposure to moderate alteration rates, and/or (3) introduction of reworked fossil shells into surficial assemblages. Combined radiocarbon dates and taphonomic analyses suggest that all these processes may have played a role in death assemblage formation. In these fluvial settings, shell accumulations develop as a complex mixture of specimens derived from multiple sources and characterized by multimillennial time-averaging. These findings suggest that, when available, fossil assemblages may be more appropriate than death assemblages for assessing preindustrial faunal associations and recent anthropogenic changes in freshwater ecosystems.

Decomposition of dinosaurian remains inferred by invertebrate traces on vertebrate bone reveal new insights into Late Jurassic ecology, decay, and climate in western Colorado.

A survey of 2,368 vertebrate fossils from the Upper Jurassic Mygatt-Moore Quarry (MMQ) (Morrison Formation, Brushy Basin Member) in western Colorado revealed 2,161 bone surface modifications on 884 specimens. This is the largest, site-wide bone surface modification survey of any Jurassic locality. Traces made by invertebrate actors were common in the assemblage, second in observed frequency after vertebrate bite marks. Invertebrate traces are found on 16.174% of the total surveyed material and comprise 20.148% of all identified traces. Six distinct invertebrate trace types were identified, including pits and furrows, rosettes, two types of bioglyph scrapes, bore holes and chambers. A minimum of four trace makers are indicated by the types, sizes and morphologies of the traces. Potential trace makers are inferred to be dermestid or clerid beetles, gastropods, an unknown necrophagous insect, and an unknown osteophagus insect. Of these, only gastropods are preserved at the site as body fossils. The remaining potential trace makers are part of the hidden paleodiversity from the North American Late Jurassic Period, revealed only through this ichnologic and taphonomic analysis. Site taphonomy suggests variable, but generally slow burial rates that range from months up to 6 years, while invertebrate traces on exposed elements indicate a minimum residence time of five months for carcasses with even few preserved invertebrate traces. These traces provide insight into the paleoecology, paleoclimate, and site formation of the MMQ, especially with regards to residence times of the skeletal remains on the paleolandscape. Comprehensive taphonomic studies, like this survey, are useful in exploring patterns of paleoecology and site formation, but they are also rare in Mesozoic assemblages. Additional work is required to determine if 16.174% is typical of bulk-collected fossils from Jurassic ecosystems in North America, or if the MMQ represents an unusual locality.

Estudios arqueofaunísticos en un contexto estratigráfico de las llanuras interiores de Entre Ríos: el sitio Laguna del Negro 1 (departamento Gualeguay, Argentina)

Resumen Debido a la escasez de investigaciones en las llanuras interiores entrerrianas del Noreste argentino y la ausencia de estudios arqueologicos en contextos estratigraficos, la informacion zooarqueologica para este extenso contexto ambiental es virtualmente inexistente. A partir de la excavacion de Laguna del Negro 1, un sitio de actividades multiples correspondiente al Holoceno tardio, fue posible contar con una abundante muestra de especimenes oseos y malacologicos. En este trabajo se presenta el analisis taxonomico, anatomico y tafonomico del conjunto arqueofaunistico recuperado, con el objetivo de caracterizar la diversidad de recursos faunisticos que fueron explotados, comenzar a analizar las practicas vinculadas con su procesamiento y discutir los procesos tafonomicos involucrados en la formacion del conjunto oseo. A partir de estos estudios se propone que los cervidos de mediano porte fueron los principales recursos faunisticos consumidos en el sitio. Sin embargo, una gran diversidad de taxones, que incluyen roedores (cuises, coipo, carpincho), dasipodidos, carnivoros, lagartos, rheidos, peces y moluscos, tambien fueron aprovechados. La integracion de la informacion generada con la disponible a nivel microregional permite proponer un modelo de aprovechamiento de los recursos faunisticos vinculado a la explotacion de taxones disponibles en los diversos microambientes de las fajas aluviales y las llanuras altas del interior entrerriano.

Following white-tailed deer to the hilltop: A zooarchaeological and taphonomic analysis of deer hunting at Cerro Mangote, a Late Preceramic (7800-4600 cal yr BP) site in central Pacific Panama

The white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus Zimmermann 1780) was an apex species for Precolumbian subsistence in the anthropogenic savannas and tropical dry forests bordering Parita Bay on the central Pacific coast of Panama. This paper focusses on Late Preceramic Cerro Mangote, a multi-component site whose domestic occupation corresponds to a maximum time-period of 7900 and 4600 cal BP. At this time, this site's inhabitants developed mixed subsistence strategies including farming and hunting, along with coastal fishing and invertebrate collection. Communities across the seasonally dry and windy plains and foothills of the central Pacific practiced swidden agriculture – a variety of plant food production that would have favored “garden hunting” (sensu Linares 1976), which, in this region, most likely involved white-tailed deer because of this species' acknowledged attraction to cultivated plots. Zooarchaeological and taphonomic analyses of white-tailed deer bone, tooth and antler samples from Cerro Mangote are based on two sequential Late Preceramic occupation layers. Results reveal that the same strategies for white-tailed deer hunting and for the treatment of their carcasses continued without change throughout the Late Preceramic period at Cerro Mangote.

Post mortem fetal extrusion: Analysis of a coffin birth case from an Early Medieval cemetery along the Via Francigena in Tuscany (Italy)

Death was a common factor during pregnancy and childbirth in both past and recent societies. Nevertheless, the recording of women from archaeological contexts still featuring a fetus in the pelvic cavity or dystocia is very rare. Even less frequent are cases of post mortem fetal extrusion.At the archaeological site of San Genesio (San Miniato, Pisa), a stoppage point along the Via Francigena, the cemetery phases dating from the 6th to the 13th century were investigated. In one of the phases dating to the Early Medieval period, the skeleton of a female individual of about thirty years of age, deceased during the 32nd week of pregnancy, was documented. The fetus was positioned between the femurs, in the opposite orientation to that of the mother. Taphonomic analysis, comparative review of other forensic and archaeological cases and the anthropological study of the recorded skeletons suggest that, due to the accumulation of gas during the emphysematous phase of decomposition, the fetus would have been expelled from the mother’s pelvic cavity before the bodies were completely covered by soil. We can define this finding as one of those rare cases of “coffin birth” in an archaeological context.

Taphonomic Analysis of the Pleistocene–Holocene Transition Faunal Assemblage from Santa Marta Cave, Chiapas

ABSTRACT The taphonomic analysis of fauna associated with early human occupations of Santa Marta Cave shows a high incidence of anthropogenic activity in the formation of the cave deposits, although other accumulators contributed to the formation processes. Our findings support subsistence strategies consisting of the exploitation of small- and medium-sized mammals, and aquatic species such as freshwater snails (Pachychilus sp.), swamp turtles (Kinosternon sp.), and crabs, indicating humid conditions favorable for the formation of bodies of water close to the rock shelter. The presence of a bone artifact was recorded, pointing to a bone industry supplementing the use of stone tools in the everyday activities of hunter-gatherer groups. As part of the taphonomic analysis, we explored the use of non-invasive hand-held X-ray fluorescence (XRF) on compact bone, including remains of vertebrates recovered from the stratigraphic sequence of the site, as well as of other recent animals and Homo sapiens.

A Middle Pleistocene steppe bison find within the Dürnstein Castle (Wachau, Lower Austria)

Abstract In the course of foundation works in the Dürnstein Castle cervical and front leg bones of a large Bison priscus bull were discovered in fluvial sediments. The small city of Dürnstein with its medieval centre is part of the UNESCO Wachau Cultural Landscape and is built mainly on Palaeozoic basement rocks. The find location is completely overbuilt, but remnants of fluvial sediments on the bones together with the altitude of the site approximately 17 m above the Danube point to a Middle Pleistocene fluvial aggradation level not younger than ca. 240,000 years, and the maximum age is 400,000 years. The fossil bearing location is interpreted as a small sandy bay of the Pleistocene Danube, protected from later degradation and erosion. Morphometric comparisons and taphonomic analyses of the bones allow the reconstruction of a scenario in which the bison probably had drowned in a flood and its carcass was buried quickly before destruction by scavengers or erosion. The study includes a comparison with bison specimens of an unpublished small megafaunal assemblage from adjacent Krems-Kreuzbergstraße. Processing marks on parts of these bones point to an anthropogenic Middle Palaeolithic influence and translocation. In addition, a tentative chronological sketch of the regional Bison species succession (B. menneri, B. schoetensacki, B. priscus) from the Early to the Late Pleistocene is presented.

Earliest Utilization of Chicken in Upper California: The Zooarchaeology of Avian Remains from the San Diego Royal Presidio

The San Diego Presidio, established in AD 1769, was the first European settlement in Upper California. Very little is known about chicken husbandry in colonial America, which makes this study the first comprehensive analysis of chicken remains in North America. Chickens are scarcely mentioned in historical accounts describing early California, and information on their sex, age, or management is rare. The faunal assemblage from the San Diego Presidio yielded 20 avian and 14 mammalian species. Chicken remains were studied through a wide range of zooarchaeological methods, including taphonomy, biometry, medullary bone, epiphyseal fusion, butchering, and body-part representation. Taphonomic analysis indicates good preservation of the bone assemblage. The biometric study points to two breeds of chickens: a smaller (bantam) breed alongside a standard-size chicken. The percentage of juvenile chickens (23%), the rooster/hen ratio (1:8.5), and high proportion of medullary bone point to on-site chicken husbandry focusing on meat and egg production. The historical record suggests that California presidios were not self-sufficient and that they relied on food provisioned from Mexico and nearby missions. We argue that small-scale poultry production, likely managed by women and children, provided California presidios with a form of subsistence independence.

Taguatagua 1: New insights into the late Pleistocene fauna, paleoenvironment, and human subsistence in a unique lacustrine context in central Chile

The Laguna de Tagua Tagua has yielded two important late Pleistocene archaeological sites, Taguatagua 1 and Taguatagua 2, in which a clear early human exploitation of megafauna has been recorded. Particularly in Taguatagua 1 (TT-1), here re-dated around 12,600 cal yr BP, an abundant small faunal assemblage was also recovered, which had not been previously studied in detail. Here we report the first comprehensive taxonomic and taphonomic analysis of this site. We identified 28 different taxa, including mollusks, fish, anurans, reptiles, birds, marsupials, rodents, carnivores, gomphotheres, horses and cervids, making this the richest late Pleistocene site in Chile so far. Among these, sixteen taxa are new for the Chilean late Pleistocene. Birds are the richest group, with ten taxa, followed by rodents with eight taxa. Most of the species currently inhabit the area, but we identified some locally extirpated taxa, together with extinct taxa (exclusively megamammals). Taphonomic analysis suggests a very complex depositional scenario, mostly related to lake-level oscillations which covered and exposed a mainly natural deposited small faunal assemblage. So far, we detected human-made modifications exclusively in horse and cervid bones. Current habitat requirements of the extant fauna, as well as dietary reconstruction of extinct fauna, suggest a highly variable climate and vegetation during the formation of TT-1 since taxa with preferences from semiarid to humid/wooded environments were identified. These results can be related to the changes from cold/wet to dry/warm conditions documented during the Pleistocene - Holocene transition.

Spaces and species: The Rodrigo Botet Collection (Valencia, Spain) and the palaeoecological relationships of early Homo sapiens during their dispersal in the southern cone of South America

In this paper we present the taphonomic analysis of the Rodrigo Botet Collection, an assembly of fossil bones excavated from the Region of the Pampas (Argentina) which display evidence of having been subject to anthropic action. This collection of South America mammals is housed at the Natural Science Museum of Valencia (Spain), and is the most important of this type in Europa. In order to better comprehend the evidence found in this collection a palaeoecological framework was applied. This framework was linked to the relations established between Homo sapiens and the native megafauna, which may have implied new forms of niche construction or colonization in South America spaces. The distribution of the different species over the landscape, the general ecological characteristics of these mammals, and the presence of possible competitors were taken into account during the research. In this context we emphasise that human beings behaved as an invasive species in this continent during the first peopling of America. Special attention is also placed on comparing different early human dispersal events in different scenarios. America and Europe are exemplary case studies for making further discoveries on the several anthropic impacts that our species has exerted in different times and spaces

At the edge of the Cantabrian sea. New data on the Pleistocene and Holocene archaeological open-air site of Bañugues (Gozón, Asturias, Spain): Palaeogeography, geoarchaeology and geochronology

Located at the center of the Cantabrian coast in a sedimentary terrace currently at the sea shore, the site of Bañugues (Gozón, Asturias) is one of the key places for studying the first settlements of the Iberian North. In the present work, we show the results of the geoarchaeological study undertaken on the bay of Bañugues and on the stratigraphic sections of the site that still subsist. Likewise, we have included the palaeogeographic study of the coast from the Cape Peñas area; the OSL ages obtained; and the revision (technological and taphonomic analysis) of the archaeological materials coming from the diggings of the 1970s. The lithostratigraphic sequence of Bañugues is composed of two well differentiated units: (1) lower, on the alteration of the substrate formed by breccia and silty and sandy materials with Palaeolithic remains, deposited by solifluction; (2) upper, disconforming from the other, formed by intertidal beachlike silt and sands, with technological remains from the Mesolithic. Concerning the chronology of the lithic materials from the Middle Palaeolithic, the fact that it was part of a solifluction deposit prevents at this moment its precise comprehension.

Identifying the accidental‐natural mortality of leporids in the archaeological record: insights from a taphonomical analysis of a pitfall without evidence of human presence

ABSTRACTLeporids (Lagomorpha, Mammalia), especially the mountain hare (Lepus timidus) and the European rabbit (Oryctolagus cuniculus), have been among the most abundant small game in western Europe since the Pleistocene. These animals are preferred prey for more than 40 predators, which increases the chances of finding their skeletal remains at archaeological or natural sites, and in particular karstic formations alternately occupied by Palaeolithic human societies and other predators. Moreover, specific eco‐ethological characteristics for both species also offer the possibility to produce a substantial quantity of their bones accumulated by natural mortality without predation, making it more difficult to identify their origin in the fossil record. Despite this fact, the taphonomic signature of accidental‐natural accumulations of leporids in karsts, such as pitfalls, has never been properly characterised. In order to address these issues, we carried out a detailed taphonomic study of leporid remains in a pitfall without any evidence of human activity, namely at Coulet des Roches (Monieux, Vaucluse, south‐eastern France). At this site, leporids are the most abundant species throughout the Last Glacial Maximum sedimentary sequence. The bone accumulation was analysed in order to determine the most relevant criteria to identify a natural accumulation that results from the accidental fall of individuals in the pitfall. The relative proportions of each species are consistent with their current ethology, and their mortality profiles are compatible with the structure of a living natural population. The completeness rate of the different skeletal portions for both species is relatively high, bones are less fragmented and, unlike what might be expected, very few anatomical connections were preserved. The observed anatomical representation, breakage, and bone surface modification patterns are discussed and compared with available data concerning accumulations with predation. Taken together, the identified criteria contribute valuable help in the recognition of accidental mortality in the fossil record, as well as to evaluate the proportion of leporid bones accumulated naturally and those accumulated by predation, human or not, in a deposit.

El Castillo cave (Cantabria, Spain): Archeozoological comparison between the Mousterian occupation level (unit 20) and the “Aurignacien de transition de type El Castillo” (unit 18)

In Spain, the site of El Castillo is part of the emblematic cave system of Cantabria, famous for its cave art. They are registered as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO since 2008. This archaeological site is also important due its stratigraphic sequence, which spans several prehistoric occupation units and in particular the techno-complexes of the Middle to Upper Palaeolithic transition. These constitute the subject of this article. We carried out an archaeozoological / taphonomical analysis on the faunal skeletal remains of unit 20 (Mousterian) and unit 18 (Aurignacien de transition de type El Castillo), in order to study the evolution of subsistence strategies of the human populations between the end of the Middle Palaeolithic and the start of the Upper Palaeolithic, in the Iberian Peninsula.This research demonstrates that units 20 and 18 reflect differences in species acquisition. The humans of unit 18 targeted red deer specifically, whilst the Mousterian are less speciality and hunted red deer, horses, and bovines (auroch or bison). Level 18 shows a specialisation in deer acquisition, but it is worth noting that it is also the most important animal in level 20. Its prevalence in level 20 only appears lower because other species are present in greater proportions (horse, Bos/Bison).

Elucidating anuran accumulations: massive taphocenosis of tree frog Hyla from the Chalcolithic of El Mirador cave (Sierra de Atapuerca, Spain)

Anurans, such as frogs and toads, are occasionally very abundant in archaeo-paleontological sites and representing >80% of the remains. These accumulations have been linked mainly to human consumption in the European context, by the preferential selection of body parts and by the presence of burning, and to a lesser extent, cut marks (as in Chalain 3, Baume d’Ogens, Kutná Hora-Denemark). However, there are also records of accumulations attributed to natural catastrophic events (Bois-Roche). This research presents a taphocenosis of microvertebrates of reduced dimensions (7.8 × 2.7 × 2.4 cm) containing 2526 bones, from El Mirador cave of Atapuerca (Burgos, Spain) contemporaneous to an adjacent Chalcolithic burial (ca. 4500 BP). The taxonomical study has identified at least 12 different taxa, which include one urodele, two anurans, seven squamates and two rodents. Tree frogs, Hyla gr. arborea (Hyla molleri), constitutes 84% of the assemblage. Quantitative and qualitative taphonomic analyses are focused on Hyla bones and show the presence of breakage and digestion marks associated with animal predation, albeit in low percentages and in light or moderate degrees. Due to its characteristics, El Mirador accumulation has been identified as a pellet accumulation produced by a medium-large owl (category 2). The nocturnal raptor hunted its preys during a wet period in spring, when the reproduction of the tree frogs occurs, showing a possible evidence of opportunistic predation on a seasonal resource. These findings help to understand the importance of anurans in the trophic chains of Prehistoric times, not only among human groups but also among non-human predators.

Source of silica and silicification of the lowermost Cambrian Yanjiahe Formation in the Three Gorges area, South China

The rise of siliceous organisms is generally considered to have driven the abrupt decrease of silica in the ocean during the Ediacaran-Cambrian (E-C) interval, even if the exact timing and biological triggers of this event are still debated. Although Ediacaran-Cambrian chert depositions are widely distributed, multiple evidences converge to support their hydrothermal origin. In this study, we provide petrographic study supplemented by elemental concentration, SEM and Raman spectral data on the siliceous rocks from the Yanjiahe Formation (the Three Gorges area, South China), in order to ascertain the origin of included silica and discuss the involved processes of silica deposition. Contrary to most previous studies, our analyses suggest that studied cherts mainly resulted from biogenic silica, and subsidiary from abiotic precipitation influenced by surrounding hydrothermal activity and from detrital input. The deposition model of silica includes direct deposition of siliceous bioclasts, secondary replacement of carbonate by dissolved biosilica, and microbial induced silicification from seawater. The sink of silica recorded in the Yanjiahe Formation was characterized of a transition from typical Precambrian to Phanerozoic process. In addition, micropalaeontological and taphonomical analyses of the Yanjiahe Formation revealed two pulses of microfossil abundance and diversity in the Fortunian and Stage 2, respectively. They can be correlated with a regression and an enrichment in dissolved phosphate that probably derived from enhanced detrital flux.

Birds and Epipalaeolithic hunter-gatherers in northeast Iberia. The case of the Balma del Gai site

Balma del Gai (Moià, Barcelona) is an Epipalaeolithic archaeological site that provides one of the most significant archaeological records of hunter-gatherers living in the northeast of Iberia during the Pleistocene-Holocene transition. Its faunal record evidences a very diverse spectrum of hunted species and particularly an increase in the number of certain small prey that were exploited, such as rabbits and land snails. This study focuses on avian remains, which are also represented, albeit in lower numbers.Zooarchaeological and taphonomic analyses of the birds show a high diversity of taxa in the assemblage, with a predominance of specimens belonging to Perdicinae. Bone surface modifications show clear evidence of the anthropogenic origin of the sample, indicating an interest in birds as food. However, some taxa, mainly raptors, were also exploited to acquire wing feathers and claws for ornamental purposes.Our results, in conjunction with those from other sites from the same region and period, will contribute to establishing the role of avians within the broad-spectrum economy of the last hunter-gatherers from Iberia.

Small prey exploitation during the final Gravettian in the northeast of the Iberian Peninsula: The case of Level D from Arbreda Cave

AbstractArbreda Cave is one of the most important sites in the Reclau Caves complex (Serinyà, north‐east Iberian Peninsula). Its stratigraphy reveals that the cave was intensively occupied during the Upper Palaeolithic. As in other archaeological sites in the western Mediterranean regions, a shift towards an intensification in small prey exploitation has been observed over the course of this period. This trend is indicated by the presence of large quantities of small mammal remains, mainly rabbits, in the archaeofaunal assemblages. However, the anthropogenic origin of these bone accumulations requires to be proved through the detailed taphonomic analysis because their presence in the archaeological record may be consequence of the activity of different agents. On this question, neotaphonomic studies have become a valuable tool with which to distinguish the taphonomic signatures produced by terrestrial carnivores, birds of prey, and humans.Although most researchers agree on the importance of small prey in the human diet during this period, this issue has not yet been resolved. Because data are still scarce, subsistence in some Upper Palaeolithic episodes, such as the final Gravettian, is not well understood. The aim of this paper is to establish the origin of the small mammal prey assemblages from Level D of Arbreda Cave and to assess the importance of these animals for the subsistence of humans in western Mediterranean regions. This level has been dated to ca. 25–20 kyr 14C BP and is mainly contemporary with the palaeoenvironmental cold conditions derived from the Greenland Stadial 3. The results of this study indicate that Level D small mammal prey assemblages have a remarkable anthropogenic footprint. Rabbits were intensively exploited, but other small mammals, such as hedgehogs, were also part of the human diet. The animal carcasses were brought whole to the cave, where they were butchered, cooked, and consumed. In addition, marrow exploitation was also practiced in the case of the rabbits.Although at Arbreda Cave, ungulates were a primary resource in the subsistence of hunter–gatherers; small prey also played an important role in human diet during the final Gravettian.