Carnivores and Cave Sites in Cantabrian Spain
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 2959858 |
|---|---|
| Authors | L G Straus (0000-0003-0348-3338, corresponding author) |
| Year | 1982 |
| Volume | 38 |
| Issue | 1 |
| Pages | 75-96 |
| Publication date | 1982-04-01 |
| Open Access | No |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Journal of Anthropological Research (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0091-7710 • E-ISSN: 2153-3806 |
| Publisher | University of Chicago Press (PUBLISHER • US) |
| DOI | 10.1086/jar.38.1.3629949 |
| OpenAlex | W61093562 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 58 |
| References cited | 4 |
This paper tests the common assumption that faunal remains found in Paleolithic cave sites in northern Spain were the result of hominid hunting. Using the carnivore/ungulate ratio devised by R. G. Klein, a large number of Middle and Upper Paleolithic faunal assemblages are compared. Carnivore remains and species are extremely abundant in certain caves and in levels particularly pertaining to the Mousterian and early Upper Paleolithic, suggesting heavy canid, felid, and/or hyenid involvement in the accumulation of carcasses. In most late Upper Paleolithic levels, however, where cultural debris is much denser, carnivore remains are generally very scarce or absent, indicating the preponderant role of humans in carcass accumulation in caves. A number of caves in northern Burgos Province illustrate the opposite extreme. Besides serving as a cautionary tale, this article has implications for the evolutionary history of hominid hunting behavior in south-western Europe
Archaeology · Biology · Carnivore · Cave · Fauna · Faunal assemblage · Geography · Habitat · Mesolithic · Middle Paleolithic · Mousterian · Neanderthal · Pleistocene · Predation · Taphonomy · Ungulate · Upper Paleolithic · Zooarchaeology · Ecology · Evolution and Paleontology Studies · Geology · Paleontology · Pleistocene-Era Hominins and Archaeology · Wildlife Ecology and Conservation
Carnivore Diversity in the Late Quaternary of Israel
Bodies, Brawn, Brains and Noses
Hominins on the move
The Archaeological Record of Human Impacts on Animal Populations
Hunter-fisher-gatherers by the Cantabrian seashore
A GIS‐Based Approach to Modeling Carnivore Activity in the Pleistocene Site of Cova del Rinoceront (Iberian Peninsula)
Pleistocene Species Trends at Hayonim Cave
The Role of Hunting and Scavenging in Neandertal Procurement Strategies
New Contributions on Subsistence Practices during the Middle-Upper Paleolithic in Northern Spain
Neanderthal and Modern Human Diet in Eastern Europe
Iberian Archaeofaunas and Hominin Subsistence during Marine Isotope Stages 4 and 3
Occupying Cave-Sites
Short-Term Neanderthal Occupations and Carnivores in the Northeast of Iberian Peninsula
Feeding on giants
Being-with other predators
Modern Human Origins Faunal Perspectives
Iberia
Carcass damage and digested bone from mountain lions (Felis concolor)
A Spatial Distribution Study of Faunal Remains from Two Lower Magdalenian Occupation Levels in El Mirón Cave, Cantabria, Spain
The Excavations in Kebara Cave, Mt. Carmel [and Comments and Replies]
The Energetic Paradox of Human Running and Hominid Evolution [and Comments and Reply]
Rabbit exploitation in the Middle Paleolithic at Gruta Nova da Columbeira, Portugal
Taphonomic data from the transitional Aurignacian of El Castillo cave (Spain) reveals the role of carnivores at the Aurignacian Delta level
More on the Mousterian
Neandertal foraging during the late Mousterian in the Pyrenees
Microfaunal Research Design in the Cantabrian Spanish Paleolithic
Use of rockshelters by carnivores in the Puna. Implications for hunter-gatherer archaeology
Distinguishing Hyena from Hominid Bone Accumulations
The Neandertals and Modern Human Origins
Bears in the scene
Neanderthal and Homo sapiens subsistence strategies in the Cantabrian region of northern Spain
The evolution of Paleolithic hominin–carnivore interaction written in teeth
Ungulates and the Middle-to-Upper Paleolithic transition at Grotte XVI (Dordogne, France)
Mousterian hunting patterns in the northwestern Caucasus and the ecology of the Neanderthals
Highlighting the role of carnivores as a multifunctional resource among the Middle Magdalenian
Probable evidences of bone accumulation by Pleistocene bearded vulture at the archaeological site of El Mirón Cave (Spain)
Taphonomy at a Distance
Stone Tools in Carnivore Sites
Cave bears and paleolithic artifacts in Yarimburgaz Cave, Turkey
Hunting in the Middle Palaeolithic
Big Game and Small Prey
Carnivory, Coevolution, and the Geographic Spread of the Genus Homo
A mosaic of change
The middle‐upper paleolithic transition in Europe
Natural-trap ursid mortality and the Kurtén Response
Neanderthal exploitation of ibex and chamois in southwestern Europe
A Window into 40,000 Years of the Prehistory of Iberia
The Human Food Niche in the Levant Over the Past 150,000 Years
Cannibalism and burial at Krapina
Middle Palaeolithic burial is not a dead issue
Vanishing carnivores
Identifying the unidentified fauna enhances insights into hominin subsistence strategies during the Middle to Upper Palaeolithic transition
Large carnivore attacks on hominins during the Pleistocene
Eat what is there
Impact of Carnivore Ravaging on Zooarchaeological Measures of Element Abundance
Shellfish Feeders, Carrion Eaters, and the Archaeology of Aquatic Adaptations
Neandertal Archaeology-Implications for Our Origins
An Unshakable Middle Paleolithic
Paleoanthropological Implications of the Nonarcheological Bone Assemblage from Swartklip I, South-Western Cape Province, South Africa
The use of dental crown heights for constructing age profiles of red deer and similar species in archaeological samples
The Significance of Mammalian Faunas From Paleolithic Occupations in Cantabrian Spain
| Citations per year | 1.35 |
|---|---|
| Citation span | 1983 - 2026 (44) |
| Highly cited | No |