Distinguishing nonhuman predation on birds: pattern of damage done by the white-tailed eagle Haliaetus albicilla, with comments on the punctures made by the golden eagle Aquila chrysaetos

The study presents criteria to distinguish some of the nonhuman predation on birds whose remains may also be found at archaeological sites. Specifically, it deals with fragmentation patterns of bird bones in uneaten food remains of the white-tailed eagle Haliaetus albicilla and discusses perforations in victims' bones done by the white-tailed and golden eagles. The food remains show very low degree of fragmentation; bones of the pectoral girdle and wing predominate while head and leg elements are poorly represented. The proportion of perforated sterna differs between the two species of eagles and it is suggested that the differences are attributed to the species of prey rather than the way of handling them by the raptors.     

Taphonomic analysis of remains of mammals eaten by pumas (Puma concolor Carnivora, Felidae) in central Argentina

Prey remains recovered from puma (Puma concolor) scat were analyzed in order to identify taphonomic features produced on them by this predator. Mammal remains are abundant in puma scat, but recognition of bone remains decreases as prey size increases. Modifications produced by digestion are strong. However, micromammal bones show a gradation in preservation that includes well preserved specimens. Data presented here and their interpretation may possibly be extrapolated to zooarchaeological or paleontological assemblage.     

Feeding behaviour and taphonomic characterization of non-ingested rabbit remains produced by the Iberian lynx (Lynx pardinus)

The rabbit (Oryctolagus cuniculus) is usually the most abundant taxon found in the Palaeolithic and Epipalaeolithic archaeological sites of southern Europe and the Mediterranean Basin. These accumulations may be the result of different abiotic factors, biotic agents and/or the interaction of both. For these reasons, over the last decades actualistic research has been conducted on different predators of rabbits. Among them, the Iberian lynx (Lynx pardinus) is an excellent candidate for study because: 1) its diet is based almost exclusively on this leporids and 2) its historical distribution overlaps with one of the most interesting areas for small game research, the Iberian Peninsula and southern France. Here we present the taphonomical analysis of non-ingested rabbit remains collected from two Iberian lynx captive breeding centers located in southern Spain. Our results show: i) predominance of the distal segment of the appendicular skeleton; ii) variable breakage patterns, with a high proportion of whole bones of the autopodium and heavy breakage of the zeugopodium and stylopodium; iii) rare bone surface modifications. Comparison of these results with those obtained for other terrestrial carnivores, such as the fox, reveals great similarities, the only difference being the more abundant tooth marks present on fox non-ingested rabbit assemblages.     

Analysis of enamel ultrastructure in archaeology: The identification of Ovis aries and Capra hircus dental remains

Ultrastructural features of deep, intermediate and superficial enamel were quantitatively assessed for the mandibular first permanent molars of 10 specimens each of the domestic sheep (Ovis aries) and goat (Capra hircus). The means of a number of variables differed interspecifically at high levels of statistical significance, especially with regard to the enamel of intermediate depth. A canonical discriminant function analysis employing nine variables at all three enamel depths resulted in the correct taxonomic assignment of 95% of the specimens comprising the present sample. These results, coupled with the simple preparative and analytical methods presented here, may enable archaeozoologists to utilize enamel ultrastructure in order to discriminate between fragmentary dental remains of these caprine species.     

Macroscopic and microbiological alterations of bird and small mammal bones buried in a Cerrado biome (south western Brazil)

In this paper, we present the results of an experimental approach developed to study the macroscopic and microbiological alteration of bird and small mammal bones buried under a Cerrado biome. The first experiment evaluated the macroscopic alteration of cooked and fresh carcasses buried through the dry and rainy seasons. The second experiment analyzed the mycobiota associated to the decomposition of a complete bird that remained buried for almost a year. Results show that in tropical forest environments: 1) bone structure and pre-taphonomic factors determine its differential alteration by biochemical processes; 2) fungal populations associated to the decomposition of animal remains depend on soil chemistry and ecological dynamics; 3) even in a corrosive environment, bird bones are more capable of surviving to several mycological decomposition steps.     

Assessing the variability in taphonomic studies of modern leporid remains from Eagle Owl (Bubo bubo) nest assemblages: the importance of age of prey

The Eagle Owl (Bubo bubo) is an important leporid remains accumulator at archaeological sites. Taphonomical studies of modern leporid remains from nest assemblages of this nocturnal raptor aim to establish the main characteristics that define the taphonomic signature of Eagle Owls in order to distinguish them from that of other leporid predators, namely diurnal raptors, terrestrial carnivores and humans. However, analyses carried out so far have shown that the identification of diagnostic features of Eagle Owls leporid nest accumulations is not a straightforward issue – variability has been observed. Age and size of prey are pointed among others as accountable factors but little research has been done on the study of these variables. Here we present the analysis of two samples of modern leporid remains recovered from Eagle Owls nests with the aim of contributing new data to this subject. The high presence of juvenile individuals in both samples enables us to assess anatomical representation, breakage and digestion patterns of immature leporid remains and also to compare them with other assemblages richer in adult prey. Results show that the main characteristic features noted in previous works which recognise Eagle Owls as agents of leporid bones accumulations in the fossil record, are not significantly affected by the age of prey. Less variability than originally thought occurs which means other variables need to be further investigated.     

Fowling during the Gravettian: the avifauna of Pavlov I, the Czech Republic

This is the first article that describes in detail the bird remains from the Gravettian mega-site Pavlov I in the Czech Republic. More than 1000 bird bones represent at least 19 taxa, of which the most numerous are tetraonids including black grouse (Tetrao tetrix), willow grouse (Lagopus lagopus) and ptarmigan (Lagopus muta), and ravens (Corvus corax). The archaeological and biological contexts indicate that most birds were hunted by people in the vicinity of the site, possibly with the help of knotted nets made from plant fibres. We suggest that ravens were killed while feeding on carcasses and/or food remains that may have been disposed of intentionally, and feathers may have been used for arrow fletching. Human-modified bones indicate that birds were used not only for food but also as raw material for tools and decoration. Although mammals were certainly more important in the subsistence of the Gravettian people, it is clear that birds played a role in their culture. The location of Pavlov I enlarges the explanatory scope of the Broad Spectrum Revolution hypothesis to include higher latitudes north of the Mediterranean.     

Taphonomy of the bones of rodents consumed by Andean hog-nosed skunks (Conepatus chinga, Carnivora,Mephitidae) in central Argentina

The Andean hog-nosed skunks (Conepatus chinga) are generalized consumers. Rodents are a substantial part of their diet. In order to learn about the effects of this predator on the bones of the prey they consume, the bone remains from scats collected in La Pampa, Argentina, were analyzed from a taphonomic point of view. Analysis confirms that C. chinga produces severe destruction of bone remains, mainly during the chewing process. This allows inclusion of this predator in the category of extreme modifier of the bones of its prey. Data presented here and their interpretation provide criteria to identify the intervention of this predator in archaeological and paleontological sites.     

Disentangling long bones of foxes (Vulpes vulpes and Alopex lagopus) from arctic archaeological sites

To discern the presence of two anatomically close species within an archaeological assemblage is always a problem for the analyst. A particularly interesting case is the distinction between the red fox (Vulpes vulpes) and the arctic fox (Alopex lagopus), which is often determined using non-rigorous criteria and producing results that must be regarded with caution. Classical methods for separating these two species and determining sexual dimorphism, and eventually the sex ratio, such as analyses using uni- and bivariate plots, are based on arbitrarily fixed limits between sexes. In this text, a more robust statistical method termed mixture analysis (MA) is used to determine the species of limb bones from foxes. First, the MA is applied to a sample of each species using metric data taken from a collection of present-day fox skeletons. Afterwards, the MA is applied to archaeological samples dated to the Dorset period and retrieved from the Tayara site (near Salluit, South Hudson Strait, Nunavik). The results clearly demonstrate that the greatest length (GL) of long bones, especially the humerus and tibia, is the best measurement for distinguishing the species, followed by the distal breadth and the proximal breadth; and that GL is better suited for sexing foxes. The results of MA applied to the Tayara site collection lead to the conclusion that the red fox is present along with the arctic fox among the assemblage, and that there is no fox body size change during the last two millennia in the Eastern Arctic.     

The in situ preservation of archaeological remains: using lysimeters to assess the impacts of saturation and seasonality

Recent research has studied the effects of seasonal variability on waterlogged burial environments. In a new approach to the study of archaeological contexts, the use of controlled laboratory conditions via lysimeters has enabled new insights into the nature of short term fluctuations in saturation, and the impact that these can have on burial contexts. In addition, the protocols used have facilitated interesting insights into burial environments and the way in which fluctuations in saturation and seasonality can impact on the contained organic components within them.     

The Quaternary fossil record of the genus Testudo in the Iberian Peninsula. Archaeological implications and diachronic distribution in the western Mediterranean

This paper explores the presence of tortoise remains and its meaning in Palaeolithic archaeological contexts. We focus on two topics: (1) the presence or absence of the genus Testudo from the Early Pleistocene to the Holocene in SW Europe; and (2) the relationship between Testudo and the palaeoclimatic and palaeoenvironmental conditions diachronically. In order to address this objective, we collected published and unpublished data from different sites on the eastern Iberian Peninsula. The results obtained by this study demonstrate that Testudo hermanni was the only tortoise present in this area until recent times and its presence in archaeological sites is almost always related to anthropic activities. Finally, the disappearance of Testudo from archaeological sites in some areas is related to climatic changes and events that occurred during the last stages of the Pleistocene.     

Phytolith taphonomy: a comparison of dry ashing and acid extraction on the breakdown of conjoined phytoliths formed in Triticum durum

Durum wheat plants grown under optimum irrigation conditions in Jordan were processed in three different ways: 1) using a dry ashing method, 2) using acid extraction and 3) using both these methods, first dry ashing and then acid extraction. The aim was to determine if the laboratory processing method employed has an impact on the number of conjoined phytoliths recovered. This is important because it has been proposed that the number of conjoined phytoliths, or multi cells, can be an indication of water availability in arid and semi-arid regions (Rosen and Weiner 1994). The results showed that the processing method does have an impact on the resulting assemblage, with dry ashing producing a greater number of multi-cells than acid extraction. It is proposed that either the more violent oxidation of organic matter during acid extraction causes the breakup of conjoined phytoliths, or that the silica dehydrates during dry ashing resulting in a slight fusion between the individual phytoliths and hence more conjoined forms.     

Fast food/organic food: Reflexive tastes and the making of 'yuppie chow'

Organic food consumption is one of several new trends in eating read as active opposition to industrialized food provision. While fast food consumption is characterized by compulsive gluttony, manifest in fat bodies, alternative consumption practices are seen to be driven by conscious reflexivity, such that consumers monitor, reflect upon and adapt their personal conduct in light of its perceived consequences. The purpose of this paper is two-fold. One is to examine the evolution of organic food from what Belasco called the 'counter-cuisine' to what organic growers call 'yuppie chow', to show how organic salad mix was the carrier of major changes in the organic system of provision, thereby calling into question the notion that organic food is necessarily an antidote to industrialized food. The other is to problematize the facile dichotomies between fast and slow, reflexive and compulsive, fat and thin, and, hence, good and bad eaters, to show where there is slippage and instability in these categories, in addition to a troubling politics of class and gender. To these ends, I showcase the changing provision of a particular organic commodity (salad mix, or mesclun) in California.     

Anti-Jewish rhetoric in Guibert of Nogent's Dei gesta per Francos

When Guibert of Nogent, a Benedictine monk living in northern France, re-wrote the anonymous Gesta Francorum, an eyewitness chronicle of the First Crusade, he changed more than just the style and the title. One of Guibert's most significant additions to his model was vitriolic anti-Jewish rhetoric. The present article explains some of the reasons why Guibert felt the need to deride the Jews of the Old Testament, particularly the Maccabees, as part of his narrative of the First Crusade. It attempts to demonstrate that Guibert's playing down the achievements of Jewish warriors of the past was inseparable from his aim to present crusading, to quote Jonathan Riley-Smith, in ‘theologically acceptable terms’, as a spiritual enterprise.     

Dating of modified femora of extinct dwarf Hippopotamus from Southern Madagascar: Implications for constraining human colonization and vertebrate extinction events

Two significant events in the late Holocene history of Madagascar were (a) the arrival of people, and (b) the loss of nearly two dozen species of land vertebrates in the socalled “subfossil extinctions”. The consensus is that the faunal losses occurred shortly subsequent to human arrival, but the timing of these events is poorly constrained. The minimum age for initial human presence on the island may now be set at approximately 2000 bp, on the basis of AMS ¹⁴C dates for human-modified femora of extinct dwarf hippos from SW Madagascar. Assuming that this date also marks the beginning of deleterious human interactions with the subfossil fauna, and assuming that this fauna became completely extinct by 900 bp, the width of the anthropogenic “extinction window” may have been as long as c. 1000 a. This estimate, nearly twice the length of previous ones, is close to the unadjusted minimum for the duration of the terminal Pleistocene extinction event in the Americas. Whether or not this length of time comports with theoretical expectations of a “blitzkrieg” pattern of losses is uncertain, but greater refinement in dating the end of the subfossil extinctions is unlikely to produce radically shorter estimates of duration.     

Taphonomic analysis of rodent bone accumulations produced by Geoffroy's cat (Leopardus geoffroyi, Carnivora,Felidae) in Central Argentina

Rodent prey remains recovered from Geoffroy's cat (Leopardus geoffroyi) scats were analyzed in order to identify taphonomic features produced by this predator. The analysis includes a year-long sampling discriminated by the seasons. Modifications produced by digestion are heavy. Taphonomic variables in samples discriminated by the seasons did not show major differences with respect to the total sample; thus, scats collected in any season clearly show the modifications on the bones of prey rodents made by Geoffroy's cats. The results presented here and its interpretation could be extrapolated to an analysis of zooarchaeological or paleontological assemblages.     

On some remains of dog (Canis familiaris) from the Mesolithic shell-middens of Muge,Portugal

The dog has a unique relationship with humans. This is demonstrated by the number of breeds that exist today and the important role that dogs play in human society. The archaeological record also shows that this relationship began long ago when groups of hunter–gatherers domesticated the wolf probably in several parts of the globe.     

Presence of the African Saber-toothed FelidMegantereon whitei(Broom, 1937) (Mammalia, Carnivora, Machairodontinae) in Apollonia-1 (Mygdonia Basin, Macedonia, Greece)

We have made a multivariate morphometric study of the fossils ofMegantereonfrom the Apollonia-1 site at the Mygdonia Basin (Macedonia, Greece), using discriminant functions. Results obtained indicate that these specimens belong to the African speciesMegantereon whiteiBroom, which is also found in the Lower Pleistocene of Dmanisi (East Georgia, Caucasus) and Orce (Southern Spain). Morphofunctional studies ofM. whiteisuggest that this saber-toothed felid was an ambush predator with great killing capability in relation to its food requirements, thus leaving enough meat to be scavenged by both hyaenas and hominids.M. whiteimay have played an important ecological role making the first dispersal ofHomoto Eurasia the Lower Pleistocene possible.     

Starch grain characterization of Prosopis chilensis (Mol.) Stuntz and P. flexuosa DC,and the analysis of their archaeological remains in Andean South America

The fruit (pods) of Prosopis (Fabaceae) are frequently recovered from pre-Hispanic Argentinian archaeological sites, suggesting that this genus was of importance in ancient economies in this region. Yet it is only recently that archaeobotanists have begun to carry out systematic research into this genus. Therefore many questions remain to be addressed concerning the food value of Prosopis fruit, and its potential contribution. This paper examines starch from the pods of two species, Prosopis flexuosa and Prosopis chilensis, for the purposes of describing and classifying their morphological features and biometrical parameters. Pods of both species were gathered from two extremes (northern and southern) of the Hualfín Valley, Catamarca, Argentina. Starch abundance is estimated and compared with that of Zea mays, an economically important plant with high concentrations of starch. This paper reveals that Prosopis pods contain very low amounts of starch compared to starch-rich edible species. Despite this, the recovery of Prosopis starch grains can be successfully used to assess archaeological tool uses. Prosopis starch grains were found to be highly variable in shape. Grain size ranged between 10 and 20 μm. Granule irregularity and the high birefringence under polarized light are two of the most important diagnostic features. No significant statistical differences were found in the structure (morphology, size and hilum) of the starch of the same species from both localities. Finally, the implications for the role of this plant in past societies are discussed.