Author, as appears in the article.: Blasco R; Arilla M; Domínguez-Rodrigo M; Andrés M; Ramírez-Pedraza I; Rufà A; Rivals F; Rosell J
Department: Història i Història de l'Art
URV's Author/s: Ramírez Pedraza, Iván / Rivals, Florent Joseph Louis / Rosell Ardévol, Jordi
Keywords: Toll cave Taphonomy Ribs Pleistocene Peeling Bear Axial bones Actualism
Abstract: © 2020 Elsevier Ltd Equifinality constitutes a challenge when interpreting agency in archaeological sites. The fact that a specific type of damage frequently cannot be linked to a single actor, behavior, or ecological context, handicaps correct interpretations of site formation processes. Actualistic studies have been used to address this type of problem by creating models and analogies to infer the processes that occurred in the past and explain the formation processes of fossil faunas found at archaeological sites. Here, we apply this approach using observational data from Arilla et al. (2014) describing the consumption of ungulate carcasses by wild brown bears (Ursus arctos arctos). We focus on a specific type of damage, peeling, which was observed to be one of the most significant modifications of axial skeletal elements of carcasses eaten by bears. This fact was especially relevant because the peeling damage was initially attributed to the feeding activities of primates (humans and chimpanzees—Pan troglodytes) and only anecdotally to other taphonomic agents. The observational data are then applied to Level 4 of Toll Cave (Moià, Barcelona, Spain), dated to >49,000 14C BP, which has been interpreted to be a hibernation lair with significant activity by carnivores and sporadic human presence. Rib and vertebral peeling have also been identified at Level 4 bone assemblage, casting doubt on the agent responsible for this damage (effector) in the cave. The aim of our study is to address the equifinality problems that involve peeling as a taphonomical signature in archaeological sites, taking the Pleistocene site of Toll Cave as a case study.
Thematic Areas: Interdisciplinar Historia y filosofía de la ciencia Historia Global and planetary change Geosciences, multidisciplinary Geosciences, interdisciplinary Geology Geography, physical Geociências Ecology, evolution, behavior and systematics Ciencias sociales Ciencias humanas Ciências biológicas i Ciências ambientais Ciências agrárias i Biotecnología Biodiversidade Archeology (arts and humanities) Archeology Archaeology
licence for use: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/es/
Author's mail: jordi.rosell@urv.cat florent.rivals@urv.cat ivan.ramirez@estudiants.urv.cat
Author identifier: 0000-0002-6758-6291 0000-0001-8074-9254 0000-0001-8673-212X
Record's date: 2023-06-17
Papper version: info:eu-repo/semantics/acceptedVersion
Link to the original source: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0277379120306235?via%3Dihub
Papper original source: Quaternary Science Reviews. 250 (106661):
APA: Blasco R; Arilla M; Domínguez-Rodrigo M; Andrés M; Ramírez-Pedraza I; Rufà A; Rivals F; Rosell J (2020). Who peeled the bones? An actualistic and taphonomic study of axial elements from the Toll Cave Level 4, Barcelona, Spain. Quaternary Science Reviews, 250(106661), -. DOI: 10.1016/j.quascirev.2020.106661
Licence document URL: https://repositori.urv.cat/ca/proteccio-de-dades/
Article's DOI: 10.1016/j.quascirev.2020.106661
Entity: Universitat Rovira i Virgili
Journal publication year: 2020
Publication Type: Journal Publications