Carnivore competition, bone destruction, and bone density |
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| Authors: | J. Tyler Faith Curtis W. Marean Anna K. Behrensmeyer |
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| Affiliation: | 1. School of Geography, Archaeology and Environmental Studies, Evolutionary Studies Institute, University of the Witwatersrand, Private Bag 3, 2050, South Africa;2. Institute of Evolution in Africa (IDEA), Covarrubias 36, 28010 Madrid, Spain;3. Department of Prehistory, Complutense University, 28040 Madrid, Spain;4. Real Colegio Complutense at Harvard, 26 Trowbridge Street, Cambridge, MA 02138, USA;5. C.A.I. Arqueometry and Archaeological Analysis, Complutense University, Profesor Aranguren s/n, 28040 Madrid, Spain;6. Department of Cartographic and Land Engineering, Polytechnic School of Avila, University of Salamanca, Hornos Caleros 50, 05003 Avila, Spain;7. Museo Arqueológico Regional, Plaza de las Bernardas, Alcalá de Henares, Madrid, Spain;1. University of York, BioArch Environment, Wentworth Way, York YO10 5NG, UK;2. Sapienza Università di Roma, Dipartimento di Biologia Ambientale, Piazzale Aldo Moro 5, 00183 Rome, Italy;3. Istituto di Geologia Ambientale e Geoingegneria, CNR, Rome, Italy;4. Laboratory of Ion Beam Physics, ETH Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland;5. Università degli Studi Roma Tre, Dipartimento di Scienze, Largo San Leonardo Murialdo 1, 00146, Rome, Italy;6. Department of Archaeology, University of York, York YO1 7EP, UK;7. Department of History, Culture and Society, University of Rome ‘Tor Vergata’, Via Columbia 1, 00163 Rome, Italy |
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| Abstract: | In carnivore-modified archaeofaunal assemblages it is important to evaluate the degree to which carnivores have overprinted hominin behavioral signals. To examine the signals of increased competition for discarded bone, we present controlled experimental data on 33 simulated archaeological sites subjected to secondary consumption by spotted hyenas. We examine the relationship between competition, as measured by controlled numbers of hyenas and limb bones, and resultant levels of destruction and correlations between long-bone portion survivorship and bone density. Our results indicate that levels of destruction are equivalent regardless of the numbers of hyenas or long-bones included in the experimental assemblages. Correlations between long-bone epiphyseal and near-epiphyseal portions and bone density, however, do provide an indication of the level of competition. Results from the experimental study are used to highlight divergent levels of carnivore competition for hominin-discarded bone at the Plio-Pleistocene localities FLKN-Zinjanthropus and FLKN levels 1–2 from Olduvai Gorge, Tanzania. |
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| Keywords: | Carnivore competition Carnivore destruction Bone density Spotted hyena Taphonomy Olduvai |
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