Evidence for bronze age cannibalism in El Mirador Cave (Sierra de Atapuerca, Burgos, Spain)

During excavations of the Bronze Age levels at El Mirador Cave, a hole containing human remains was found. Taphonomic analysis revealed the existence of cutmarks, human toothmarks, cooking damage, and deliberate breakage in most of the remains recovered, suggesting a clear case of gastronomic cannibalism. The piled distribution of the remains, the uneven skeletal representation, and the chronological difference between the pit and the remains suggest that these bones were subsequently buried by a human group that inhabited into the cave later in time. Evidence of gastronomic cannibalism has already been documented in Gran Dolina, another site in the Sierra de Atapuerca, on remains of Homo antecessor with an age of 800 ky (Fernández-Jalvo et al.: Science 271 (1996) 277-278; Fernández-Jalvo et al.: J Hum Evol 37 (1999) 591-622).     

Leftover prey remains: a new taphonomic mode from the Late Miocene Cerro Azul Formation of Central Argentina

The Cerro Azul Formation (La Pampa Province, Argentina) comprises a rich vertebrate fauna of small mammals dominated by notoungulates and rodents. The fauna pertains to the Late Miocene specifically to the Huayquerian Stage/Age. Taphonomic analysis of micro‐mammals from Estancia Ré locality evidenced that the faunal assemblage was accumulated by the activity of a predator. This assemblage was compared with others from the Cerro Azul Formation in Telén and Caleufú localities (La Pampa Province), previously interpreted as products of predator activities. These microfossil accumulations differ from assemblages attributed to pellets and faeces produced by modern predators (nocturnal and diurnal bird raptors and carnivore mammals). However, due to their anatomical representation, degree of bone breakage and presence of tooth marks, they are interpreted as accumulations of uneaten prey remains discarded by the predator. The predator involved could not be determined with certainty, although the presence of tooth marks in some skeletal remains and the presence of coprolites in Telén and Caleufú suggest that it could be a carnivore mammal. Similarities in the accumulation mechanism, patterns of preservation and sedimentary contexts in the three assemblages support the recognition of a new taphonomic mode, termed ‘leftover prey remains’.     

Zooarchaeology and taphonomy of Aurora Stratum (Gran Dolina, Sierra de Atapuerca, Spain).

In 1994 and 1995, a 7 m(2)area was excavated at Level 6 of the Gran Dolina site, Atapuerca. A 25 cm deep sub-level, named Aurora Stratum, contained a large number of human fossils, stone tools and faunal remains. The appearance of human remains as part of a butchered faunal assemblage in association with stone tools raises an interesting question relating to human behaviour. The main aim of this paper, therefore, is to evaluate the nature and function of the human occupation at this cave site with a view to understanding the purposes of cannibalism. The zooarchaeological and taphonomic analyses of the macrovertebrate remains focus on species composition, weight and anatomic groups, as well as breakage intensity, type of fragmentation, and surface damage (particularly tool-induced damage) in order to evaluate the faunal source, butchering techniques and economic strategies of the human groups involved. We also studied the distribution and fossil refitting at the site to establish depositional and postdepositional disturbance. Diagenetic breakage due to sediment compression plays an important role in the assemblage, but the most extensive modifications are those produced by human activity for nutritional purposes.     

Experimental Butchering of a Chimpanzee Carcass for Archaeological Purposes

Two archaeological assemblages from the Sierra de Atapuerca sites show evidence of anthropogenic cannibalism. These are the late Early Pleistocene level TD6-2 at Gran Dolina, and the Bronze Age level MIR4 in the Mirador Cave. Despite the chronological distance between these two assemblages, they share the common feature that the human remains exhibit a high frequency of anthropogenic modifications (cut marks, percussion pits and notches and peeling). This frequency could denote special treatment of bodies, or else be the normal result of the butchering process. In order to test these possibilities, we subjected a chimpanzee carcass to a butchering process. The processing was intensive and intended to simulate preparation for consumption. In doing this, we used several simple flakes made from quartzite and chert from quarries in the Sierra de Atapuerca. The skull, long bones, metapodials and phalanges were also fractured in order to remove the brain and bone marrow. As a result, about 40% of the remains showed some kind of human modification. The frequency, distribution and characteristics of these modifications are very similar to those documented on the remains of Homo antecessor from TD6-2. In case of the MIR4 assemblage, the results are similar except in the treatment of skulls. Our results indicate that high frequencies of anthropogenic modifications are common after an intensive butchering process intended to prepare a hominin body for consumption in different contexts (both where there was possible ritual behavior and where this was not the case and the modifications are not the result of special treatment).     

Improving bioregional frameworks for conservation by including mammal distributions

Large identifiable landscape units, such as ecoregions, are used to prioritize global and continental conservation efforts, particularly where biodiversity knowledge is inadequate. Setting biodiversity representation targets using coarse large‐scale biogeographic boundaries, can be inefficient and under‐representative. Even when using fine‐scale biodiversity data, representation deficiencies can occur through misalignment of target distributions with such prioritization frameworks. While this pattern has been recognized, quantitative approaches highlighting misalignments have been lacking, particularly for assemblages of mammal species. We tested the efficacy of Australia's bioregions as a spatial prioritization framework for representing mammal species, within protected areas, in New South Wales. We produced an approach based on mammal assemblages and assessed its performance in representing mammal distributions. Substantial spatial misalignment between New South Wales's bioregions and mammal assemblages was revealed, reflecting deficiencies in the representation of more than half of identified mammal assemblages. Using a systematic approach driven by fine‐scale mammalian data, we compared the efficacy of these two frameworks in securing mammalian representation within protected areas. Of the 61 species, 38 were better represented by the mammalian framework, with remaining species only marginally better represented when guided by bioregions. Overall, the rate at which mammal species were incorporated into the protected area network was higher (5.1% ± 0.6 sd) when guided by mammal assemblages. Guided by bioregions, systematic conservation planning of protected areas may be constrained in realizing its full potential in securing representation for all of Australia's biodiversity. Adapting the boundaries of prioritization frameworks by incorporating amassed information from a broad range of taxa should be of conservation significance.     

Human cannibalism in the Early Pleistocene of Europe (Gran Dolina, Sierra de Atapuerca, Burgos, Spain).

Human remains belonging to at least six individuals were found in an exploratory excavation made at the site of Gran Dolina (Sierra de Atapuerca, Burgos, Spain). These remains were recovered from the Aurora Stratum of Unit TD6. This stratum has a thickness of approximately 30 cm. The area of the exploratory excavation is about 7 m(2). According to palaeomagnetic analyses, Unit TD6 shows reversed polarity, which is considered to belong to the Matuyama chron. This unit is immediately below TD7, where the Matuyama-Brunhes boundary has been detected, indicating an age of around 780,000 years BP. There is no specific distribution, treatment, or arrangement of the human remains, which were found randomly mixed with abundant faunal remains and stone tools. Most of the faunal and human fossil bones from the Aurora Stratum have human induced damage. Stone tool cutmarks are frequent, and peeling (a type of fracture similar to bending a fresh twig between the hands) provides a specific breakage pattern together with percussion marks and chopmarks. Both nonhuman and human remains show similar intensive exploitation. Slight differences, however, have been observed between fauna and humans (e.g., peeling frequent in humans, rare in fauna), that appear related to different musculature, weight, and bone structure. The characteristics of this fossil assemblage suggest that it is solely the result of consumptive activities as there is no evidence of ritual or other intention. The possibility of distinguishing between dietary vs. survival cannibalism is discussed here.     

Beads, Bifaces, and Boats: An Early Maritime Adaptation on the South Coast of San Miguel Island, California

Terminal Pleistocene and Early Holocene sites on California's Channel Islands provide evidence for early maritime activity, including the use of seaworthy boats. Numerous early shell middens have been identified, but specific information on the maritime peoples who occupied them is limited. Our research at CA-SMI-608, a roughly 9,500-year-old shell midden on San Miguel Island, produced a relatively large assemblage of bifaces and other chipped stone artifacts, shell beads, worked bone, and well-preserved faunal remains. Food remains are dominated by mussels, abalones, and other shellfish from the rocky intertidal, but fish, sea mammal, and sea bird remains were also recovered. These data provide a detailed view of early maritime activities along an arid coastline previously considered marginal to human settlement.     

Not of African Descent: Dental Modification among Indigenous Caribbean People from Canímar Abajo,Cuba

Dental modifications in the Caribbean are considered to be an African practice introduced to the Caribbean archipelago by the influx of enslaved Africans during colonial times. Skeletal remains which exhibited dental modifications are by default considered to be Africans, African descendants, or post-contact indigenous people influenced by an African practice. Individual E-105 from the site of Canímar Abajo (Cuba), with a direct ¹⁴C AMS date of 990–800 cal BC, provides the first unequivocal evidence of dental modifications in the Antilles prior to contact with Europeans in AD 1492. Central incisors showing evidence of significant crown reduction (loss of crown volume regardless of its etiology) were examined macroscopically and with a scanning electron microscope (SEM) to determine if the observed alterations were due to deliberate modification or other (unintentional) factors considered: postmortem breakage, violent accidental breakage, non-dietary use of teeth, and wear caused by habitual or repeated actions. The pattern of crown reduction is consistent with deliberate dental modification of the type commonly encountered among African and African descendent communities in post-contact Caribbean archaeological assemblages. Six additional individuals show similar pattern of crown reduction of maxillary incisors with no analogous wear in corresponding mandibular dentition.     

Taphonomic study of leporid remains accumulated by the Spanish Imperial Eagle (Aquila adalberti)

Distinguishing leporid bones accumulated by different agents such as diurnal raptors, owls, mammals and humans is essential to gain an understanding of not only human subsistence activities but also past ecology. This is particularly relevant in Iberian Palaeolithic sites where leporid remains usually constitute the most abundant taxon. Among diurnal raptors the Spanish Imperial eagle (Aquila adalberti) has been one of the most important leporid predators throughout the Iberian Peninsula. In order to investigate the taphonomic signature of this raptor, rabbit remains from 79 pellets were examined. Results show a high proportion of distal elements of the limb bones and skull. Compared with other diurnal birds of prey, the assemblages produced by this species appear to show a higher degree of breakage and corrosion from digestion. These results place this predator within a category similar to the small mammal carnivores (category 5) in terms of skeletal element abundance, breakage and digestion. It is hoped that these data will enable analysts to identify leporid fossils accumulated by the Spanish Imperial Eagle in archaeological assemblages.     

Bone breakage in the Krapina hominid collection

The fragmentary condition of the Krapina Neandertal remains has been offered as one line of evidence for the hypothesis that these hominids were the victims of cannibals seeking marrow and brains. Two other hypotheses regarding the causes of the framentation have been raised: a substantial portion of the breakage in the Krapina collection is attributable to excavation damage; and the rest of the breakage is attributable to sedimentary pressure and to natural rock falls that occurred during the site's prehistory. The purpose of this paper is report on tests of these three hypotheses concerning the cause of breakage in the Krapina material. Microscopic inspection of all Krapina hominid specimens showed that 23% of the material was inadvertantly broken during excavation or during quarrying that took place at the end of the last century. The morphology of the prehistoric breakage is inconsistent with the cannibalism hypothesis and supports the hypothesis that prehistoric breakage was caused by sedimentary pressure and/or roof falls.     

Dating archaeobotanical remains: a cautionary tale from Port au Choix,Newfoundland

In this paper we report on the first ¹⁴C dated archaeological seeds from the island of Newfoundland, Canada. Ninety-three archaeobotanical specimens were recovered from a midden deposit adjacent to a small dwelling at Point Riche (EeBi-20), a large Dorset Palaeoeskimo site near Port au Choix, northwestern Newfoundland. These remains were collected from a seemingly secure context within the midden, but AMS ¹⁴C testing of a sample of specimens produced modern ¹⁴C dates, indicating that the remains are intrusive to the Dorset occupation. While the majority of Newfoundland-based research assumes antiquity of archaeobotanical remains, we recommend using AMS ¹⁴C dating and other proxy data in future archaeobotanical studies to confirm antiquity prior to making interpretations regarding human–plant interactions.     

Faunal remains from Porc-Epic: paleoecological and zooarchaeological investigations from a Middle Stone Age site in southeastern Ethiopia

The Middle Stone Age (MSA) sediments of Porc-Epic Cave near Dire Dawa, Ethiopia, have produced a large assemblage of archaeofaunal remains dating to the later periods of the Late Pleistocene. As one of the few MSA faunal assemblages from East Africa subject to detailed analysis, it provides rare insight into the foraging behavior of the early modern humans in this region. The MSA fauna include taxa that were not historically present in the area, with the occurrence of reduncines and alcelaphines indicating widespread grasslands and proximity to a perennial source of water. The faunal analysis examined several lines of evidence, including breakage patterns, surface modification, and skeletal-element representation. By incorporating comparisons with multiple actualistic data sets, the analysis of the assemblage demonstrates that, while the influence of carnivores and other biotic agents was evident, the faunal remains were accumulated primarily by hominid activity. The skeletal-element representation at Porc-Epic includes an abundance of high utility bones, in contrast to the predominance of "head-and-foot" elements documented at other MSA and Middle Paleolithic (MP) sites. The MSA occupants of Porc-Epic effectively exploited a wide range of prey with more emphasis on small- and medium-sized mammals.     

Methods to Reduce Avian Bycatch in Small Mammal Studies Using Snap Traps

ABSTRACT Avian bycatch, a common and undesired occurrence in small mammal studies, should be minimized by researchers. We examined effects of trap covering, treadle color (copper or yellow plastic), trap size (mouse or rat), and trap weathering (traps <1 yr or ≥ 1 yr old) on avian bycatch during 3 years. We found that covered traps caught 81% fewer birds and 70% fewer small mammals than did uncovered traps, that mouse traps caught 30% more birds and 38% more small mammals than did rat traps, and no capture differences for treadle color or trap weathering. Covered traps effectively reduced avian bycatch and should be used when reduced small-mammal capture rates are acceptable.     

Body size frequency distributions in African mammals are bimodal at all spatial scales

Aim  To examine frequency distributions of body sizes for mammal assemblages at several spatial scales and assess the generality of results heretofore obtained only for North and South America.
Location  Africa.
Methods  Terrestrial African mammals were allocated to major biomes, and regional and local assemblages were extracted from published and unpublished literature. We produced body size frequency distributions for local, regional, biomic and continental distributions, both for whole assemblages and for three foraging strata, and compared these with several standard metrics (e.g. mean and median size, interquartile range, skew, bimodality, etc.). Differences between distributions were quantified using t -tests and analysis of variance.
Results  African mammal faunas exhibit features in common with those of North and South America, most notably the gradual reduction in the modality and skew of body size distributions with decreasing spatial scale. Unlike other continents, however, the African mammal fauna exhibits a bimodal frequency distributions at all spatial scales. Our data suggest a role for competitive interactions in local assembly, as documented elsewhere, but further data on locally interacting assemblages are needed.
Main conclusions  The African fauna appears unique in the expression of bimodality at all spatial scales. The presence of a secondary mode at large body size may reflect co-evolutionary adjustments to proto-human hunters and consequent escape from anthropogenic Pleistocene extinctions, but the absence of species of intermediate body size ( c . 250–4000 g) remains anomalous and is not readily explained by either historical or modern (ecological) factors. For the African mammal fauna, a key question in understanding the role of history versus ecology may not be why there are so many large species, but why there are so few intermediate-sized species.     

Iberomaurusian funerary behaviour: evidence from Grotte des Pigeons, Taforalt, Morocco

Grotte des Pigeons at Taforalt, north-east Morocco, is well known for a large assemblage of Iberomaurusian (Epipalaeolithic) skeletons, possibly representing the earliest and most extensively used prehistoric cemetery in North Africa. New archaeological excavations carried out in 2005 and 2006 revealed further human remains in a largely undisturbed burial area in an alcove at the back of the cave. This discovery provides the first opportunity to report on Iberomaurusian human mortuary activity at this site. Reported here are a closely spaced and inter-cutting series of four burials. These contained the remains of four adults, of which three were buried in a seated or slightly reclining position facing towards the cave entrance and one was buried in a highly flexed position on its left side. The distribution of articulated and disarticulated bones suggested intensive use of the area, with earlier burials disturbed or truncated by subsequent burials, and displaced skeletal elements deliberately or unwittingly incorporated into later depositions. Through this process, parts of a single skeleton were redistributed among several discrete graves and within the surrounding deposit. Some aspects of the Iberomaurusian funerary tradition that are evident from the human remains excavated in the 1950s are absent in the newly excavated adult burials, suggesting a possible elaboration of funerary activity over time.     

Vocal communication of simulated pain

While evidence suggests that pain cries produced by human babies and other mammal infants communicate pain intensity, whether the pain vocalisations of human adults also encode pain intensity, and which acoustic characteristics influence listeners’ perceptions, remains unexplored. Here, we investigated how trained actors communicated pain by comparing the acoustic characteristics of nonverbal vocalisations expressing different levels of pain intensity (mild, moderate and severe). We then performed playback experiments to examine whether vocalisers successfully communicated pain intensity to listeners, and which acoustic characteristics were responsible for variation in pain ratings. We found that the mean and range of voice fundamental frequency (F0, perceived as pitch), the amplitude of the vocalisation, the degree of periodicity of the vocalisation and the proportion of the signal displaying non-linear phenomena all increased with the level of simulated pain intensity. In turn, these parameters predicted increases in listeners’ ratings of pain intensity. We also found that while different voice features contributed to increases in pain ratings within each level of expressed pain, a combination of these features explained an impressive amount of the variance in listeners’ pain ratings, both across (76%) and within (31–54%) pain levels. Our results show that adult vocalisers can volitionally simulate and modulate pain vocalisations to influence listeners’ perceptions of pain in a manner consistent with authentic human infant and nonhuman mammal pain vocalisations, and highlight potential for the development of a practical quantitative tool to improve pain assessment in populations unable to self-report their subjective pain experience.     

Cannibalism in prehistoric Europe

The key argument for the identification of prehistoric cannibalism is provided by analysis of close similarities in the treatment of human and animal remains. Such analysis requires precise data on depositional context, meticulous excavation records, detailed bone modification studies, a relatively large sample of human and animal postcranial bones, and data on local mortuary practices. With the exception of Fontbrégoua Cave, these necessary conditions are lacking at all Stone Age European sites where it has been hypothesized that cannibalism occurred. The alternative hypothesis of secondary burial practices has been proposed informally for some sites and, in a more formal and detailed way, for Krapina and Fontbrégoua. However, this hypothesis does not have a higher probability, is not justified by current data, and uses ethnographic analogies to prop up interpretations of materials for which contextual data are missing or have been neglected. At Fontbrégoua, cannibalism remains the simplest and most plausible explanation of the evidence; at Krapina and other sites the available evidence is insufficient to prove either secondary burial or cannibalism.     

Global patterns in the phylogenetic structure of island mammal assemblages

Assemblage-level phylogenies carry the signature of ecological and evolutionary processes, which may provide useful information on modes of assemblage formation. We present a global-scale analysis of the emergent phylogenetic properties of mammal assemblages on islands, in which we compared the structure of 595 island assemblages with null models constructed under four alternative definitions of regional source pools. Although most assemblages had a structure indistinguishable from random samples, for some mammal taxa, up to 40% of island assemblages were phylogenetically overdispersed. This suggests that in at least some cases, the processes that shape island faunas are not independent of phylogeny. Furthermore, measures of phylogenetic structure were associated in some cases with island geographical features (size, maximum elevation and habitat diversity). Our results suggest that part of the signal of assemblage formation processes is detectable in the phylogenies of contemporary island mammal faunas, though much is obscured by the complexity of these processes.     

Land use diversification may mitigate on-site land use impacts on mammal populations and assemblages

Land use is a major cause of biodiversity decline worldwide. Agricultural and forestry diversification measures, such as the inclusion of natural elements or diversified crop types, may reduce impacts on biodiversity. However, the extent to which such measures may compensate for the negative impacts of land use remains unknown. To fill that gap, we synthesised data from 99 studies that recorded mammal populations or assemblages in natural reference sites and in cropland and forest plantations, with or without diversification measures. We quantified the responses to diversification measures based on individual species abundance, species richness and assemblage intactness as quantified by the mean species abundance indicator. In cropland with natural elements, mammal species abundance and richness were, on average, similar to natural conditions, while in cropland without natural elements they were reduced by 28% and 34%, respectively. We found that mammal species richness was comparable between diversified forest plantations and natural reference sites, and 32% lower in plantations without natural elements. In both cropland and plantations, assemblage intactness was reduced compared with natural reference conditions, but the reduction was smaller if diversification measures were in place. In addition, we found that responses to land use were modified by species traits and environmental context. While habitat specialist populations were reduced in cropland without diversification and in forest plantations, habitat generalists benefited. Furthermore, assemblages were impacted more by land use in tropical regions and landscapes containing a larger share of (semi)natural habitat compared with temperate regions and more converted landscapes. Given that mammal assemblage intactness is reduced also when diversification measures are in place, special attention should be directed to species that suffer from land use impacts. That said, our results suggest potential for reconciling land use and mammal conservation, provided that the diversification measures do not compromise yield.