Taphonomic Analysis Research Articles

Behaviour of the oyster Rhynchostreon suborbiculatum assemblages in a Cenomanian-Turonian river dominated marginal-marine environment: multidisciplinary study from the Pieniny Klippen Belt (Western Carpathians, Slovakia)

ABSTRACT The tens of metres thick shell accumulations within the Cenomanian-Turonian strata of Western Carpathians enabled a complex study of ecological and geochemical proxies in relation to behavioural patterns of oyster Rhynchostreon suborbiculatum. Integration of geological and palaeobiological approaches enabled comparisons between one of the most famous fossil oyster species and several Recent bivalves. The analysis of grain size (Qz) and major oxides, together with taphonomic and population analysis, reveals a high-energy marginal-marine environment in the sedimentation area of the Orlové Sandstone. The life conditions of the association of bivalves, gastropods and polychaetes were influenced by the fluctuating influx of freshwater due to climatic changes that occurred during a dynamic period of the Late Cretaceous. A shift in the prominent control of biological production caused a massive increase in α-diversity, in conjunction with a change in the trophic structure of the studied system. The ecological responses of organismal association were also analogous to Recent representatives inhabiting marginal-marine environments. Size and allometric analyses of oysters forming monospecific assemblages show that their high density correlates with smaller shell sizes, indicating that intraspecific competition for food and space most intensified at times of the lowest salinity.

A Tale of Two Taphonomies

The Kadruka concession represents an area of study grouping together a large number of funerary (as well as habitat) sites located in Upper Nubia in modern day Sudan. Five of these sites (KDK1, KDK2, KDK18, KDK21 and KDK23) served as the basis for a doctoral thesis that provided a new perspective on the identity and practices of these populations. These results are part of a larger and ongoing project, which aims to expand our understanding of the Kadruka area, how the different sites relate to one another and to the surrounding region more broadly. Initially excavated and studied by J. Reinold and C. Simon from the 1980s to the early 2000s, the vast documentation made available by this work served as an important means to perform a taphonomic analysis on this collection of burials a posteriori. Traditionally, the term taphonomy possesses two different meanings within its use in archaeology. On the one hand there is the widely used English language definition and on the other there is its meaning and scope in French. Both uses contribute significantly to an improved understanding of the diversity of methods of disposal of the dead, of deposition practices for grave-goods and of the way in which a cemetery may have functioned within a specific environment.

Prácticas ganaderas y minería neolítica: nuevos datos de las minas de variscita de Gavà (Barcelona)

Las prácticas ganaderas han jugado un papel importante en la organización socioeconómica de las sociedades mineras. Este trabajo presenta los resultados del análisis arqueozoológico y tafonómico de los restos de fauna recuperados en la Mina16 en Gavà (Barcelona). Los análisis de los restos de fauna se utilizaron para determinar la importancia ganadera en las prácticas de subsistencia, el origen y la dinámica de depósito del conjunto faunístico en el relleno de la Mina16. Las actividades mineras en Gavà no reemplazaron la producción especializada de subsistencia, sino que la complementaron. Los resultados sugieren que los restos de fauna encontrados en las minas fueron residuos de producción y consumo, lo que proporciona evidencia nueva y complementaria del asentamiento asociado con las estructuras mineras.

Taphonomic analysis of horse remains from Mousterianand Aurignacian Units from Bize-Tournal Cave(Aude, France)

The study of ungulate assemblages is essential to understand hominins and carnivore behavior and interactions. For this reason, many studies involve the taphonomic analysis of faunal remains, focusing on the identification of the various biotic actors. This study looks at the horse assemblages from Mousterian and Aurignacian Units I, II and III from Bize-Tournal cave with the aim to characterizing the nature of this accumulation. Here we show that the horse remains in these units are mainly the consequence of carnivoran activity. Unit II also clearly evidences the fact that the assemblage is the result of hyena activity. Our analysis indicates a predominance of cranial remains and lower long limb bones (metapodials). The mortality profiles of the three units are different, although two are classic of a cursorial predator. Taphonomical and statistical analysis indicated that carnivores were the main modifying agent at the three units. Our results demonstrate that hominins played a minor role in horse accumulation. Additionally, it seems that there was little difference in the exploitation in this specie by Mousterian and Aurignacian groups, and this probably took place during short, sporadic hominin occupations.

Neanderthal foraging in freshwater ecosystems: A reappraisal of the Middle Paleolithic archaeological fish record from continental Western Europe

The prevalence of large game found in association with Middle Paleolithic tools has traditionally biased our ideas of Neanderthal subsistence practices. Studies document the exploitation of small mammals, birds, and plants by Neanderthals, whereas data on aquatic resources are still scarce and data on fish are almost non-existent. This article presents a review of fish remains from 11 Middle Palaeolithic fish bone assemblages from well contextualized sites in Belgium, France and Spain. It explores the nature of the evidence in order to determine whether Neanderthal fished and if so, whether fishing was a casual, opportunistic activity or a systematic practice. The first issue to address is whether archaeological fish remains at any given site represent human activity or not. Our study tests that assertion while enhancing our understanding of the diversity of food alternatives available to Neanderthals at any given site, and their ability to adapt to them. Methodological protocols include quantification, body mass and length estimations, and, whenever possible, spatial distribution of fish remains, taphonomic analyses and inference of the season of death. This methodology constitutes an analytical protocol to assess the contribution of fish to the human diet during the Paleolithic and set apart human-generated fish deposits from those generated by alternative fish accumulators. The evidence gathered so far points essentially to circumstantial fishing by Neanderthals, and the question must necessarily remain open for the moment. Nevertheless, some of the evidence, in particular the presence of large (>1 kg) fish in anthropogenic deposits and the absence of animal digestive traces and gnawing marks on fish bones in such deposits, seems compelling and suggests that Neanderthals could have played a role in the accumulation of some of these remains.

Taphonomic Analyses of Cave Breccia in Southeast Asia: A Review and Future Directions

Karst-derived breccia is the most analysed deposit in fossil-bearing Southeast Asian caves due to its superior preservation potential for human, faunal, archaeological, and palaeontological data. The study of breccia can provide a better understanding of human and faunal histories, and an opportunity to investigate site taphonomy and insights into environments of deposition and post-depositional processes. We review the literature on approaches used to improve the taphonomic understanding of cave deposits in Southeast Asia and how these deposits fit into a cave’s life history. We discuss common methods used to extract taphonomic data retained in Southeast Asian cave deposits and the associated opportunities to discern the mechanisms of cave formation, depositional history, and faunal accumulation. While attempts have previously been made to discern the taphonomic characteristics of Pleistocene vertebrate remains in the region, there has been no comprehensive review outlining methods used to understand taphonomic histories and the biases introduced through these processes. We illustrate the challenges of researching cave breccias in Southeast Asia and the knowledge gaps brought about by conventional methodologies. Uncertainties exist about the extent to which breccia can be examined to infer the taphonomic history of a vertebrate assemblage. These uncertainties exist in part because of dating complexities. This review demonstrates that a taphonomic analysis of breccia in complex long-term accumulations requires a multi-disciplinary approach. We recommend using digital techniques to record spatial distribution data for a thorough interpretation of taphonomic characteristics.

TAFONOMÍA DE LOS CARBONATOS TEMPLADOS PLIOCENOS DE LA CUENCA DE ALMAYATE (MÁLAGA, S DE ESPAÑA)

Se analizan los procesos tafonómicos que afectan a las asociaciones de fósiles de los carbonatos templados del Plioceno que afloran en la Cuenca de Almayate (Málaga, S de España). El estudio tafonómico se ha realizado cuantificando varias propiedades tafonómicas. Los valores obtenidos han servido para realizar un análisis multivariante de agrupamiento de muestras, con objeto de establecer modelos de tafofacies. Los resultados obtenidos indican unas condiciones de depósito de alta energía donde los restos esqueléticos permanecieron durante prolongados períodos de tiempo en la zona tafonómicamente activa. En este contexto, durante los periodos de sedimentación normal se produjo un efecto combinado de destrucción tafonómica: 1) destrucción física, como consecuencia de la alta energía, 2) destrucción biológica, debido al efecto de los organismos bioperforadores, y 3) destrucción química, por disolución de las fases inestables del carbonato cálcico. Estos procesos tafonómicos son los que de forma habitual afectan a los carbonatos templados. Además de estos procesos normales, la acción esporádica de tormentas dejó señales sedimentológicas (presencia de niveles de tempestitas) y tafonómicas propias. En este sentido, el análisis cluster individualiza un conjunto de muestras tomadas en niveles de tempestitas. Finalmente, el análisis cluster separa un tercer grupo de muestras donde domina la presencia de moldes de organismos originalmente aragoníticos sobre restos que mantienen la mineralogía original de la concha. Una cementación temprana debió jugar un papel decisivo en la formación de esta asociación.

Actuotaphonomic model of the mollusk fauna of Laguna de Mandinga, Veracruz, Mexico

Introduction: The taphonomic attributes of a faunal assemblage provide information about which agents affect both, the distribution and preservation of ancient or newly-formed biogenic materials, during their depositional and post-depositional processes.
 Thus, actuotaphonomy is a valuable tool to the reconstruction of fossil communities, as it establishes analogies between observable processes in the present and those that happened in the past.
 Objective:The taphonomic attributes of a marginal marine environment were analyzed, in order to assess the origin of fragmentation, bioerosion and incrustation processes and the role of these characteristics in the deterioration of current sediment accumulations of mollusks (gastropods and bivalves), to generate an actuotaphonomic model that could be applyable to analogous ecosystems to Laguna de Mandinga (Mandinga Lagoon), in Veracruz, Mexico.
 Methods: The material came from a shell-remain accumulation called "El Conchal". A batch of 1,697.9 g was processed, selecting 1,165 complete specimens, of which 5 genera of bivalves and 4 genera of gastropods were identified. Results: The taphonomic analysis showed that fragmentation and bioerosion have a medium attribute, which may be due to energy, constant rework and exhumation of the remains at the lagoon's water-sediment interface; three biogeneous agents were identified: Entobia isp, Oichnus and Caulostrepsi, being Caulostrepsi the less abundant. The incrustation showed of poor degree since the ecosystem intrinsic conditions did not allow many encrusting organisms to grow properly, however, these organisms are represented by calcareous tubes of serpulid polychaetes, bryozoans with calcareous skeleton and barnacles.

From owl prey to human food: taphonomy of archaeological small mammal remains from the late Holocene wetlands of arid environments in Central Western Argentina

The present study analyses small mammal bone and tooth accumulations recovered in three open-air archaeological sites from northern Mendoza (Argentina) in the central Monte Desert, one of the most arid rangelands of South America. The sites, with radiocarbon dates between ca. 2100 and 400 years BP, are located on the margins of a now-extinct swamp that formed a more widespread wetland environment in the past. In order to recognize the agents responsible for such bone and tooth accumulations, a taphonomic analysis was conducted evaluating relative abundances of skeletal elements, breakage patterns, digestive corrosion, signs of anthropic activity and post-depositional processes. The taphonomic analysis allowed the detection of owls and humans as the agents responsible for small mammal accumulations. On the one hand, the low proportion and degree of digested diagnostic elements, among other taphonomic processes, suggest owl pellet-derived small mammal assemblages. On the other hand, the thermo-altered elements detected, some showing a differential burning pattern, the abundance of large-sized and gregarious small mammals and the identification of cut-marks on a caviid femur shaft are possibly due to human exploitation/consumption of small mammals.

Petrofacies and taphofacies analyses of coquinas as a tool for the establishment of a stratigraphic evolution model of the Morro do Chaves Formation (Sergipe-Alagoas Basin, NE Brazil)

Petrofacies and taphofacies defined for the Morro do Chaves Formation (Late Barremian/Early Aptian) outcropping in the Sergipe-Alagoas Basin (NE Brazil) enable the interpretation of the biostratinomic and fossil-diagenetic processes that acted on the abundant bivalve shells and enclosing sediments. Such processes played an important role in the circulation of fluids within the coquina deposits and therefore on the resulting porosity–permeability of the rocks. Ten taphofacies and four lithofacies are recognized, allowing 36 petrofacies to be defined, based on the nature of the sedimentary and taphonomic processes. Five of these petrofacies are distinguished for those showing almost total replacement of the original constituents. The relationship between petrofacies with the geometry of sedimentary bodies and their lateral and vertical variations, forms the basis of a stratigraphic model for the depositional system of the coquinas of the Morro do Chaves Formation that reflects the spatial and temporal distribution of the identified petrofacies. The integration of the evolutionary taphonomic analysis of the unit with the analysis of multiscale properties through the CAMURES Methodology allowed us to develop a theoretical model for the alteration and modification of taphonomic elements and coquinas, which reflect the rise and fall of the relative base level in a lacustrine to the restricted marine setting. This model leads to more accurate identification and classification of coquina reservoir facies, as well as the delimitation of reservoir zones for 3D geocellular modeling and flow simulation of hydrocarbon-producing reservoirs, thus improving predictive analyses.

Diet, mobility and death of Late Neolithic and Chalcolithic groups of the Cantabrian Region (northern Spain). A multidisciplinary approach towards studying the Los Avellanos I and II burial caves

This paper reconstructs the diet and lifeways of Late Neolithic and Chalcolithic farming groups in the Cantabrian Region (northern Spain) using human remains found at Los Avellanos I and II (Alfoz de Lloredo, Cantabria). A bioarchaeological study was conducted, alongside radiocarbon dating and stable isotope analyses (δ13C, δ15N, δ34S) of human (n = 7) and animal (n = 3) bone collagen. Both caves were used as a burial location between the 4th and 3rd millennium cal. BC. Taphonomic analysis of the human remains shows post-depositional activity within both sites after the burial. The δ13C and δ15N results show that the prehistoric individuals ate a predominantly terrestrial diet, with animal protein from meat and likely dairy products being an important resource. Despite the proximity to the coastline, the δ13C and δ15N values demonstrate that marine resources were not being consumed in any great quantity by these Late Neolithic and Chalcolithic individuals. The δ34S results show heterogeneity among the people buried in both caves. The majority of individuals had higher δ34S values typical of living in coastal areas, but three individuals had lower δ34S values, indicative of living further inland for at least some of their lives, suggesting human mobility between inland and coastal areas.

Power in Food on the Maritime Frontier: A Zooarchaeology of Enslaved Pearl Divers on Barrow Island, Western Australia

Use of Indigenous divers on nineteenth-century northwest Australian pearling luggers gave rise to a transregional apparatus of coercion, physical mistreatment, and arguably, slavery. Where accounts of conditions experienced by divers are limited to the documents of contemporary colonial men, our contribution explores a rare archaeological perspective. Zooarchaeological and taphonomic analysis of the Bandicoot Bay campsite, Barrow Island, evokes an exploitative labor relationship inherited from a wider colonial process yet actively renegotiated by its participants through subsistence practices. The operation’s pearlers selected a camp that advantaged concerns for labor organization and resource management while their divers seized opportunities for self-directed subsistence.

Human remains under the microscope of funerary taphonomy: Investigating the histological biography of the decaying body in the prehistoric Aegean

Funerary practices and especially the manipulation of the dead body have in the last decades become a central focus in prehistoric Aegean mortuary research. Variation in the character of human remains recovered from a rich array of mortuary contexts in varying state of articulation suggests that the dead were subject to a diverse range of mortuary rites. Taphonomic analysis of skeletal remains has been more recently employed by bioarchaeological research in the prehistoric Aegean with a view to understanding modes of pre- and post-burial treatment and reconstructing funerary activities. Recent studies of modern and archaeological bone have shown that bacterial bioerosion of internal bone microstructures is related to taphonomic processes which affect soft tissue decomposition and thus varies in ways which correspond to early post mortem funerary and corpse treatment. This paper presents the histotaphonomic analysis by thin section light microscopy of 108 human bones (107 individuals) from eleven Aegean human skeletal assemblages dating from the Neolithic to the Late Bronze Age. The results show variation in bacterial attack in different burial environments and often in the same deposit, which is more likely to reflect early taphonomic processes rather local soil circumstances. The microscopic analysis is combined with macroscopic (taphonomic surface modifications) and contextual information to discriminate between different formation mechanisms of skeletal assemblages and make inferences about funerary treatment and manipulation of the deceased. High levels of bacterial attack in Neolithic articulated and disarticulated samples suggest primary soil burial soon after death. Minoan bone assemblages provide evidence of considerable variation in levels of diagenesis, suggesting divergent taphonomic histories, whereas the results from Mycenaean sites are consistent with the deposition of fresh, intact bodies in chamber tombs, resulting in rapid skeletonisation by invertebrates and limited bone exposure to bacteria associated with soft tissue decomposition.

Multivariate taphonomic analysis of mollusk shell concentrations in Holocene deposits of southern Brazil: An integrated approach

Shell concentrations are one of the most distinctive features of the Holocene coastal stratigraphy in the southern portion of Santa Catarina State, southern Brazil. In this paper, we integrated stratigraphic, geochronological, geophysical, and taphonomic data to discuss the processes involved in the genesis of shell concentrations in a siliciclastic and subtropical setting, a useful analogy for ancient shell concentrations in semi-closed environments affected by storms. The data indicated the succession of three facies associations (FA): bay, lagoon, and back-barrier. This succession implies a grain size fining-upward trend that is representative of a gradual shallowing. Interpretation of GPR sections revealed that the passage from the bay to lagoonal deposits occurred by forming a laterally continuous, high-amplitude surface overlain by sigmoidal reflections, which characterized the progressive basinward backstepping of the lagoonal margin. Shell concentrations in bay deposits are an allochthonous product of storm flows in shallow waters. In contrast, accumulations of the bivalve Anomalocardia brasiliana had their valves reworked in the lagoonal margins and transported to the bottom, characterizing a parautochthonous accumulation. In this study, the correlation of taphonomy and grain size indicates that in bay FA, the loss of periostracum is correlated with increased gradients of fine sand, and part of the shell samples correlates to corrosion and abrasion in increased gradients of medium sand and decreased ones of fine sand. Additionally, in the lagoon FA, the loss of periostracum depends on the decrease in mud-enriched sediments and the increase in fine and medium sand, whereas brightness loss and color alteration are related to the increase in fine and medium sand, as well as margin modification. Corrosion was positively correlated to the mud-dominated fraction.

The role of birds in Upper Palaeolithic sites: Zooarchaeological and taphonomic analysis of the avian remains from Arbreda Cave (Serinyà, northeast Iberia)

Intensification in the procurement of small game, including different taxa of birds, has been proposed as one of the indicators of dietary shifts occurring in western Mediterranean regions during the Upper Palaeolithic as a consequence of both increased human hunting pressures and environmental change. In this paper, avian remains recovered from the Upper Palaeolithic levels of Arbreda Cave (Serinyà, northeast Iberia) are analysed. Our results evidence a high diversity of bird taxa in most levels, with the presence of a minimum of 50 species, including birds that inhabit a variety of biotopes such as cliffs, rivers and wetlands, and open grassland, along with coniferous and mixed forests.Taphonomic analysis of the bird bones from all levels indicates a mixed origin for the material, humans being one of the agents responsible for the accumulations. The results show that birds were caught for consumption. However, wing feathers and phalanges were also extracted, probably for ornamental or ceremonial purposes. A significant number of tooth/beak-marked bones and digested remains also evidence the participation of different species of raptors and, to a lesser degree, of small terrestrial carnivores in creating these assemblages. Finally, some birds died naturally and were then incorporated into the archaeological record.This study contributes to the discussion of the importance of the exploitation of birds by hunter-gatherers during the Upper Palaeolithic in the region.

The effects of prey size on carnivore tooth mark morphologies on bone; the case study of Canis lupus signatus

ABSTRACT Carnivore feeding behaviour is a valuable line of research of increasing value in taphonomic analyses. An interesting component of these studies lies in the differentiation of carnivore activity based on tooth marks left on bone. Among the methodological approaches available, a major protagonist in recent years has been the incorporation of hybrid geometric morphometric studies with artificially intelligent algorithms, reaching over 95% accuracy in some cases. In spite of this recent success, a number of methodological questions are still to be answered for wide scale application of these techniques into other applied fields of science. One of these questions lies in the possible variability induced by prey size on tooth mark morphologies. Here we compile data regarding these effects, using the Iberian wolf as a relevant case study in both contemporary and prehistoric European and North American ecology. The methodology employed opens new questions regarding carnivore tooth marks that should consider the effects of mastication biomechanics. While in most cases prey size is not a significant conditioning factor, caution is advised for future experimentation when considering small prey where some statistical noise may be present. Nevertheless, future experimentation into other carnivore case studies can be considered a valuable research goal.

The contextual taphonomy of middens at Neolithic Kfar HaHoresh

Middens are rich sources of evidence for changes in refuse management strategies during the transition to agriculture in the Southern Levant of southwest Asia. By the early Neolithic, more discrete middens were present at sites in the region, including the funerary site of Kfar HaHoresh. Here, faunal remains were repeatedly deposited in middens over several sub-phases of the Pre-Pottery Neolithic B period, when more organized site use practices arose. Yet, it is unclear how different site use behaviors may have formed the aggregated refuse repositories over time. Intra-site contextual taphonomic analysis was conducted to provide more detailed comparisons of faunal assemblages from several midden deposits across the site. The results reveal diverse depositional histories of the middens, reflecting a mix of some more sacred and other more mundane activities that were repeated over time. This continued ritual practice likely united generations of site visitors during the uneasy social transition to agricultural life-ways.

An assemblage of <italic>Stegodon orientalis </italic>fossils from the Yumidong Cave site in Wushan, Chongqing, with emphasis on the taphonomic analysis

<p indent="0mm">Stegodont fossils have been recovered from many paleoanthropological sites in South China and Southeast Asia, marking them as one of the most important constituents in Pleistocene mammalian faunas of Asia. Yet very limited taphonomic research has been conducted so far concerning the context of their present in paleoanthropological sites. Recently, a large number of stegodont fossils have been found at the Yumidong Cave site in Wushan County, Chongqing Municipality, providing us with opportunities not only for morphological observation, but also taphonomic analysis. The studied materials include 94 cranial remains (jaws and teeth) and 54 remains of the postcrania from both the upper and lower cultural layers at Yumidong, which make up about 18.5% of the total identified specimens. Morphologically, the ridge-crest formulae, the number of mammillae and the measurements of most these specimens conform to <italic>Stegodon orientalis</italic>. Taphonomically, traces of natural activities, such as water transportation and bite marks of animals, are very few on the surface of these <italic>Stegodon</italic> remains; meanwhile, these fossils are unearthed associated with paleolithic tools in the Yumidong Cave site, among which at least three bone tools are made of incisors of<italic> Stegodon orientalis</italic>. These observations indicate that ancient human activity was the dominant cause in the accumulation of this <italic>Stegodon</italic> fossil assemblage. Due to the peculiarity of tooth replacement and attrition of these proboscideans, we are able to attribute most of each individual specimen, except two fragments of M2/3, as belonging to a distinct individual animal. The analysis of mortality age profiles shows that neonate and juvenile individuals account for more than 85% among the <italic>Stegodon</italic> fossils, indicating a type of selective mortality of immature individuals. In the schematic typology of living and extinct proboscidean age profiles, the type B of Haynes is dominated by the youngest age group which may result from hunting either by carnivores or humans. The skeletal element profiles show that the cranial and foot elements are the most numerous category. This phenomenon is always considered as a resultant taphonomic effect of scavenger behavior. But given the unique anatomic structure of proboscidean, hunting behavior cannot be ruled out here; in other words, the ancient human might hunt immature stegodonts but take a strategy of transporting the cranial and foot parts of carcass to their base camp, for these parts of stegodont contain more fat than other animals and are easy to carry. Irrespective of scavenging or hunting, the ancient humans which occupied the Yumidong Cave site appear to have preferred neonate and juvenile stegodonts rather than the adults, which were not easy to hunt. Alternatively, meat from neonate and juvenile <italic>Stegodon</italic> may have had better taste and nutritional value. Perhaps, a combination of these two factors may have motivated the highly selective exploitation of juvenile Stegodon by early humans at the Yumidong site.

Economic and symbolic role of animals during the Late Chalcolithic period of Areni-1 Cave, Armenia

Areni-1 Cave in Armenia is a special-purpose site that provides a unique window into human-animal interactions in the Chalcolithic period (ca. 5200–3400 BCE) of the southern Caucasus. Areni-1 is known for its extensive funerary and votive practices characterised by exceptional preservation. But the people who used the cave also engaged in animal exploitation for subsistence-related purposes. We use contextual taphonomy to explore differences in the depositional history of bones in areas of the cave where symbolic ritual activities and domestic activities were most concentrated. Our contextual taphonomic analyses as well relative abundance measures confirm field observations about the ritual nature of activities deep inside the cave. We show that wild animals, such as canids and possibly wild cattle, were more common in these ritual contexts, and that bones from these contexts were buried relatively faster than in the areas of mixed domestic-ritual activities at the mouth of the cave. We also demonstrate that people who used the cave herded a mix of sheep, goat, and cattle for a range of their primary and secondary products. Finally, craft production activities inside the cave included manufacturing leather shoes from the hide of pigs and/or boars; but caprines, cattle, and possibly foxes were also skinned and processed for their hide and hair.

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.