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- Nuevas tecnologías aplicadas a la taxonomía: aportaciones desde las nuevas técnicas de reconstrucción tridimensional de alteraciones óseas(2020) Yravedra, José; Maté-González, Miguel Ángel; Courtenay, Lloyd A.; González-Aguilera, DiegoSince the publication of M. Pérez Ripoll’s book titled Los Mam.feros del Yacimiento Musteriense de Cova Negra (Játiva, Valencia) in 1977, the field of taphonomy has come a long way. In recent years taphonomic analyses have been growing in importance, with more sites including the work of specialists in this field fordifferent topics of investigation. Here, in tribute to the work of Pérez Ripoll, we present a brief overview of the most recent advances in taphonomic research applied to the Palaeolithic era of the Iberian Peninsula, incorporating new technologies that contribute greatly to solving specific taphonomic questions. Through these advances we present means of obtaining sufficient resolution for the identification of raw materials and tool types used to process animal carcasses, as well as the classification of carnivore agencies through the morphology of their tooth marks and the differentiation between naturally and anthropically produced microscopic traces.
- Estudio experimental del procesado de carcasas de aves. Interpretando el consumo de anátidas en contextos paleolíticos(2020) Lloveras, Lluís; Nadal Lorenzo, JordiThe importance of small prey exploitation in Palaeolithic and Epipalaeolithic hunter-gatherer communities is being re-evaluated thanks to the proliferation of experimental and neotaphonomic studies. A special interest has been devoted to leporid remains, what is evident from the significant number of new referential studies that have been recently published. However, despite their abundance in the archaeological record, fewer studies have been focused to establish the human taphonomic signature on avian assemblages. This paper presents the results obtained from an experimental study about the processing of carcasses of anatids, specifically wood duck (Aix sponsa Linnaeus 1758). The activities conducted include the skinning, feathers extraction, disarticulation and defleshing of the avian carcasses. These activities were performed using lithic tools of different quality and by people with different skills. The results show that the location, intensity and orientation of some marks are useful to discriminate between the different butchery activities performed, contributing to the interpretation of the ornithoarchaeological record in prehistoric sites.
- Measurements of bones of seven female Barrosãs and one male barrosão (Boy Taurus L. 1758): a baseline for zooarchaeologists with notes on the evolution of Portuguese aurochsen and cattle(2020) Davis, Simon J. M.; Semdim, AlfredoMeasurements of the bones of 7? and 1? Barros. cattle from Portugal are presented. These may serve as a baseline for osteometrical studies of Bos in Iberia. Sexual dimorphism varies: shaft width measurements show considerable dimorphism while those of the M3 and metapodial lengths show little. An osteometrical survey of late Pleistocene to modern Portuguese Bos reveals Pleistocene-Holocene (Magdalenian-Early Mesolithic) size reduction that accords with Bergmann’s rule. During the Mesolithic aurochsen dwarfed slightly possibly due to overhunting. Some large Chalcolithic Bos, probably aurochsen, had increased in size after the Mesolithic. Neolithic to Muslim period Bos were smaller and probably therefore domestic. Predator pressure relaxed during the Neolithic with the arrival of domesticated livestock allowing aurochsen to recover some of their former size – a scenario with parallels in the Near East and Denmark. After the reconquista, cattle increased in size. Modern Barros. are even more robust – reflecting selection for meat and power.
- Early development of the European rabbit (Oryctolagus cuniculus L. 1758): an osteometrical tool to address taphonomical and archaeozoological issues(2020) Ramón Martínez, David; Llorente Rodríguez, Laura; Morales Muñiz, ArturoThe skeletal development of the European rabbit during its first weeks of life is a poorly documented phenomenon whose potential applications reach to various fields of research. In this paper a table is provided to turn the lengths of seven skeletal elements (mandible, humerus, radius, ischium, ilium, femur and tibia) into weight and age equivalents. The database consisted of sixteen rabbits of known size and weight from the same population whose ages were previously estimated through the application of widely used age-weight regression equations. This reference should allow faunal analysts to recognize those size thresholds for each element below which rabbits are not able to leave the burrow, a feature that will help spot them as intrusive elements in archaeological deposits.
- Els micromamífers I la dieta del gènere Homo en la façana mediterrània de la península Ibèrica(2020) Guillem Calatayud, Pere Miquel; Martínez Valle, Rafael; Iborra Eres, María PilarSmall mammals enable paleoecological reconstruction of the general environmental conditions in the archaeological sequence analyzed from Early Pleistocene to Holocene age. Taphonomic analysis indicates that small mammals bones accumulation in caves and shelters not only was possible because the activity of predators (bird and carnivore). Nevertheless, the conducted study allows us to present a whole list of tooth and cuts marks as evidence of anthropic activity on the bones of small mammals.
- El consumo de conejo (Oryctolagus cuniculus sp.) en el estrato IVB del Alto de las Picarazas(2020) Martínez Valle, Rafael; Guillem Calatayud, Pere Miquel; Iborra Eres, María PilarThe European rabbit (Oryctolagus cuniculus) is the most frequent species in the Pleistocene archaeological sites of Mediterranean area. For the few past decades explaining his presence in these contexts has been a challenge for zooarchaeological studies. Field of research where highlight the studies of Prof. Manuel Pérez Ripoll characterizing consistent taphonomic indicators that allow distinguish the agent responsible for the lagomorph bone accumulation in the Upper Palaeolithic subsistence strategies. Through their work discerns that rabbit hunting played a crucial role in the economy of late Palaeolithic hunter-gatherers from Mediterranean area. That contrast with the economic strategy documented to middle Palaeolithic, with a lagomorph’s hunting and consumption less significant. This article presents a rabbit (Oryctolagus sp.) bones recovered from Alto de las Picarazas site of Lower Pleistocene chronology. Rabbit bones shows cut marks and human bites as consequence of processing and consumption. The article values the importance of lagomorphs capture and consumption by the first hominids.
- Quaternary cliff-dwelling bovids (Capra, Rubicapra, Hemitragus, Ovis): site's typology and taphonomic remarks(2020) Fosse, Philippe; Fourvel, Jean Baptiste; Madeleine, StephaneIn Europe, Quaternary karstic deposits yield commonly remains of Caprinae (Capra, Rupicapra, Hemitragus, Ovis). A database is elaborated on rich-caprine sites, especially from France and Spain. Based on data dealing with topography and morphology of karstic settings (sinkholes, horizontal galleries), and quantification of faunal remains (NISP, skeletal elements) as well as taphonomic observations (age classes, sex-ratio, carnivore activity), a typology of caprine sites is proposed. Questions are raised about deposit formation and agents of such accumulations. Preliminary data suggest the importance of medium-sized felids (leopard) and canids (wolf) as main predators of cliff-dwelling bovids and/or canids as a systematic secondary bone modifier. Other types of sites concern natural traps and anthropogenic bone accumulations (rock shelters and caves) mainly dated of Late Paleolithic.
- La fauna del Pleistoceno superior asociada a los restos humanos neandertales de la galería Lateral 1 de la Cova del Gegant (Sitges, Barcelona)(2020) Sanz Borràs, Montserrat; Daura Luján, JoanCova del Gegant (Barcelona, NE Iberian peninsula) is an Upper Pleistocene site that presents carnivore occupations with some sporadic human activity characterized by hearth remains, stone tools and human fossils during Middle and Upper Palaeolithic. We report the combined application of zooarchaeological and taphonomic analyses to determine the nature of the Galer.a Lateral 1 assemblage, evaluating the biological actors and the geological processes involved. The GL1 deposits are ascribed to Marine Isotopic Stage (MIS) 4 and 3 and faunal remains are associated with Middle Paleolithic stone tools and for Neanderthal fossils. Signs of human activities have not been observed on the GL1 bones. The evidence suggests that Cova del Gegant’s GL1 was a carnivore den, mainly used by hyenas (Crocuta crocuta), which had been occasionally visited by humans as demonstrated by the stone tools and the Neanderthal fossils.
- Una diversificación temprana de la dieta cárnica: el caso de la Cova del Bolomor (MIS 9-5e, Tavernes de la Valdigna, Valencia)(2020) Blasco López, Ruth; Fernández Peris, JosepThe exploitation strategies of faunal resources have taken a prominent place in discussions about the origin and nature of modern human behavior. Within these, the systematic use of small animals has been a central issue in recent years. Evidence of anthropogenic processing of small prey dates back to Plio-Pleistocene chronologies in Africa; however, its systematic exploitation is not detected in the archaeological record until more recent periods and linked to anatomically modern humans. Despite this, the evidence of consumption of these animals among Neanderthal lineage hominids has multiplied exponentially during last years, especially in the Mediterranean basin. In this study, we present the zooarchaeological data from four levels (XVII, XII, XI and IV) of the stratigraphic sequence of Bolomor Cave (MIS 9-5e, Tavernes de la Valldigna, Valencia, Spain) with the aim of providing a diachronic view of the meat diet in this site and contribute with specific data to the general debate on the diversification of the diet.
- Restos postcraneales de cuon en el Pleistoceno superior (MIS 3) de la Cova de les Malladetes (Barx, Valencia)(2020) Sanchis, Alfred; Villaverde Bonilla, ValentínThe presence of the genus Cuon (dhole) in Pleistocene deposits of the Iberian peninsula has been determined mainly from cranial and dental remains, where the differences with respect to Canis are more evident. However, there is very little information on the post-cranial skeleton of these canids. In this paper, we present the morphological and metric analysis of ten post-cranial dhole bones found in one Upper Pleistocene level (MIS 3) of Cova de les Malladetes. The determination of the remains has been carried out thanks to the application of a comparative morphological database, based on current wolf and dhole remains, together with the references on published fossil materials. The new identification of post-cranial dhole material allows us to better characterize the Pleistocene populations of these canids in the Iberian Peninsula. The taphonomical study reaffirm the existence of interaction processes between dholes and humans.
- Estrategias de caza en el Paleolítico superior de la Región Cantábrica. El caso de Aitzbitarte II (zna profunda de la cueva)(2020) Altuna, Jesús; Mariezkurrena, KoroThis paper describes a peculiar example of a specialist hunting strategy employed in the Cantabrian Region that presents two novel characteristics. Firstly, it was used during the Gravettian cultural stage, a very early stage for this strategy in comparison with that recorded in the region to date; and secondly, it focused on large bovids, for which no previous records of specialist hunting exist. Earlier findings provided evidence of this strategy only from the Solutrean phase onwards, continuing through to the Magdalenian, and in relation only to deer or mountain goats, depending on the biotype in which the cave is located. The paper also presents an important series of radiocarbon datings for this Gravettian period, with the aim of distinguishing between the specific hunting strategies used by the occupants of the inner sector of the cave and those living nearer the entrance.
- La dieta de los grupos humanos magdalenienses del Mediterráneo peninsular. Nuevos datos de la Cova de les Cendres (Teulada-Moraira, Alicante)(2020) Real Margalef, CristinaCova de les Cendres in a relevance site in the Upper Palaeolithic from de Iberian Peninsula, with a wide chronological sequence and a long research career. Since the last century, knowledge of Palaeolithic human subsistence in the Mediterranean area began to be develop, and Cendres has been providing data in this regard. However, today we still have information to find out about the economy of these hunter-gatherer groups. In this sense, this paper presents the results of the archaeozoological and taphonomic study of the fauna remains from three levels (XIIA, XI and IX) of Cova de les Cendres, corresponding to the Middle, Upper and Final Upper Magdalenian. Rabbits are the best represented species in number of remains, with processing and consuming patterns that seems to vary depending on the occupations. Among the ungulates, the red deer stands out as the main prey, although there is also consumption of other medium and large-sized species to a lesser extent. Relevant quantities of carnivores, especially lynx, have also been recorded, which are used not only by the skin, but also for consumption. The set of bones is well preserved, so it has been possible to carry out a good study of fractures and modifications, which point to an anthropic origin of the accumulations. These modifications show a complete processing, in which the bones are systematically fractured, and all available resources are used (meat, fat, bone marrow, fur, bones). Secondly, based on the archaeozoological and taphonomic data existing in the literature, and together with the latest results of the analysis of bone remains applied to the three Magdalenian sets of Cendres, the general characteristics of the economic model of the Mediterranean Magdalenian are reviewed and expanded.
- Avifauna de la Cueva de Nerja (30,5-7,2 ka cal BP. Tafonomía, taxonomía, paleoclimatología y contextualización arqueológica(2020) Morales Pérez, Juan Vicente; Alcover Tomás, Josep Antoni; Jordana Pardo, Jesús; Aura Tortosa, J. EmiliCueva de Nerja has provided a diversified assemblage of birds. In this work the avian bones recovered at the Upper Palaeolithic, Mesolithic and Neolithic levels in the excavations led by F. Jordá Cerdá is analyzed. The identification of 11 orders, including 14 families and 16 taxa, allows to link their variability with the paleoclimatology and paleogeography of the site, affected by changes in the position of the coastline between 30.5 to 7.2 ka cal BP. The trends are related to the general economic changes for terrestrial and marine resources. The study of the cut-marks and fractures on different bones and species indicates that the assemblage has an anthropic origin. The results obtained provide data on the exploitation of different ecological environments and contribute to the knowledge about the use of birds during the Upper Palaeolithic, Epipalaeolithic-Mesolithic and Neolithic phases in the Iberian Mediterranean region.
- Patrones de subsistencia de los grupos mesolíticos en la Cueva de El Mazo (Asturias)(2020) Marín-Arroyo, Ana Belén; Gutiérrez-Zugasti, Igor; Andreu Alarcón, Silvia; Cuenca Solana, DavidThe subsistence of hunter-gatherer-fisher groups during the Mesolithic in the Cantabrian coast is characterized by a wide diversity of exploited resources, including mammals (marine and terrestrial), birds, fishes, marine molluscs, crustaceans and echinoderms, but above all it is remarkable the intensification in the exploitation of some of these resources, such as the marine molluscs, in parallel to particular changes in the exploitation of terrestrial mammals, specifically ungulates. Recent excavations in the shell midden of El Mazo cave (Asturias), with a continuous stratigraphic sequence that covers most of the the regional Mesolithic (8.9 to 7.6 cal ka), have provided a significant amount of biological remains. Here, the archeozoological and taphonomic study of the macromammal remains from the stratigraphic units 100 to 107 is presented. The results show the palaeoconomic decisions adopted by those human groups, their diet and exploitation of different ecological environments, seasonality of the occupations and, also, reveal the different biostratinomic and diagenetic alterations that took part during the formation of the shell midden.
- Cráneos de équidos en contextos rituales de los ss. V-IV a. C. en el País Valencià(2020) Iborra Eres, María Pilar; Guillem Calatayud, Pere Miquel; Martínez Valle, RafaelIn this paper we present three ritual deposits performed in formal context in the central-east of the Iberian Peninsula during the 5th and the 4th centuries BC. The particularity concerns to the use of separate skulls. These burials have been preserved as reminders of specific actions in selected important contexts from the oppidum of El Puig d’Alcoi (Alcoi, Alacant); La Cervera site (Font de la Figuera, Valencia) and Ruaya site (València). All the studied assemblages appear to be ritual in character according to contextual information, taphonomic data and bioarchaeological analyses. The aim is showing the complex character and the versatility of ritual practices in these Iron Age societies and characterize through the morphometric study the type of equids used to perform these rituals.arqueología
- Estudio arqueozoológico de la fauna del "Alto de Castejón" (Navaridas, Álava)(2020) Castaños, PedroBone remains coming from the “Alto de Castejón” (Navaridas, Alava), a site dated on the Iron Age I, are studied on the present work. Predominance of domestic species is verified; to point out bovines cattle and followed by sheep/goat and pig. The faunal structure of this sample is compared to other contemporary sites on the northern Iberian Peninsula. The anatomic representation of bones, age and sex distribution of each domestic flock is also analysed to establish profit use and exploit patters of different livestock components.
