A Taphonomic Comparison of Two Late Pleistocene Zooarchaeological Assemblages in Northwest Italy and South Africa

Summary

This is an abstract from the "Human Origins Migration and Evolution Research Consortium Poster Symposium" session, at the 86th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology.

A driving question in paleoanthropology is the extent of behavioral divergence in hominin species, particularly Anatomically Modern Homo sapiens (AMH) and Neanderthals. Generally, direct comparisons are restricted to Europe, where both hominin species were interacting within the same environmental constraints. However, obtaining species-level site-use patterns should also consider non-European groups of AMH for comparison with Neanderthals. Coastal South Africa offers an optimal record for such a comparison—a human population that was likely among the most distantly related to contemporary AMH in Europe. This study compares the faunal taphonomy of two late Pleistocene cave sites: the Mousterian deposits at Arma Veirana (AV) in northwestern Italy (≥45,000 BP) and Knysna Eastern Heads Cave 1 (KEH-1) in coastal South Africa (46,000–19,000 BP). Both sites are located in temperate zones. Our goal is to understand how the different geological contexts of these two caves will impact faunal taphonomy, particularly bone surface visibility, and thus comparisons of behavior. Approximately 900 (AV) and 500 (KEH-1) faunal specimens from both assemblages were analyzed using standardized zooarchaeological methodologies. We assessed extent and frequency of acid destruction and fragmentation. Subsequent studies will compare anthropogenic taphonomy between the sites to identify potential species-wide behavioral divergences.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for American Archaeology 86th Annual Meeting, Online (2021)   •
• Human Origins Migration and Evolution Research Consortium Poster Symposium

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Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 32670