The Hyena ecology during the Late Pleistocene of the Levant: Manot Cave (Israel), a case study

Summary

Manot Cave is situated in the western Galilee hills of Israel. Excavations have been conducted since 2010 in 12 different areas, yielding a rich archaeological record attributed mainly to the Early Upper Paleolithic period (46-33ka). Area D is located in the main hall of the cave on top of the western talus less than 15 meters from the assumed cave entrance. The upper sedimentological layer is about 80 cm thick and contains flint items, bones, coprolites and stones. The Area D ungulate-dominated faunal assemblage was studied in detail to determine the accumulation agent/s and shed light on the occupation of the cave by humans and carnivores. No evidence of in situ human activities was identified, pointing to the presence of artifacts as a result of slope sliding. The accumulation of bones and coprolites seem to have occurred in situ by animal activities. Our taphonomic results match the Known criteria for a Hyena den:Crocuta crocuta bones with juveniles amongst numerous coprolites and high proportion of gnawing marks on ungulate bones. Therefore we suggest that Manot Cave served alternately as humans' shelter and hyena den. Following this, insights pertaining to the spotted hyena’s ecology in the late Pleistocene Levant will be described.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for American Archaeology 82nd Annual Meeting, Vancouver, BC (2017)   •
• Manot Cave: In Search of Modern Humans

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Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 14788