Foxes in Retrospect. Unraveling Human-Fox Relationships Through Fox Tooth Ornaments in the Swabian Jura

Summary

This is an abstract from the "SAA 2024: Individual Abstracts" session, at the 89th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology.

Personal ornaments play an important role in our understanding of human cultural and behavioral change during the Upper Paleolithic. Although small, ornaments are often well-preserved, occur in large quantities, vary across space and time, and can shed light on intangible aspects of human lifeways (e.g., identity, relationships, movement, status). However, some ornament forms are better studied than others, and fox tooth ornaments, despite their frequent occurrence and broad spatiotemporal span, are relatively under-addressed. Here we present the first comprehensive study of 40 perforated fox teeth from four cave sites in southwestern Germany. This region's rich symbolic record and evidence of long-standing human-fox relationships make the Swabian Jura an ideal case study. By applying a holistic approach, including geometric morphometrics and traceology coupled with experimental archaeology, we show that most teeth were perforated by bifacial scraping and grooving, and traces of polish and rounding indicate their use as ornaments. Ultimately, we discuss the role of foxes within human socio-symbolic and paleoenvironmental systems in the Swabian Jura and within the broader context of Upper Paleolithic ornamentation across Europe. Our study offers insight into the role of foxes during the Upper Paleolithic, especially regarding human subsistence, cultural expression, and ornament production.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• SAA 2024: Individual Abstracts   •
• Society for American Archaeology 89th Annual Meeting, New Orleans, LA (2024)

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Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 38518.0