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The Mani peninsula is regarded as a key area of Greece for Palaeolithic studies due to the large number of known excavated sites containing deposits with artifacts and skeletal remains from the Middle and Upper Palaeolithic, revealing the abundance of human occupation in the wider area during the Middle-Late Pleistocene. Melitzia Cave is one of several karstic cavities found on the western coast of Mani peninsula, used as a shelter by Late Pleistocene humans. The Upper Palaeolithic avifauna assemblage recovered from Melitzia Cave has been studied both taxonomically and taphonomically to identify the agent of accumulation, as each predator hunts and consumes its prey in a particular way. The results point to extensive human hunting of rock partridges. A broadening of the dietary sources for humans, known as the Broad-Spectrum Revolution hypothesis, occurred in the Mediterranean after the Last Glacial Maximum and is marked by the hunting of small game such as rabbits and birds. Surface modifications, such as cut marks, peeling and percussion marks, as well as fragmentation patterns indicating the disarticulation of bones, point to human occupants being involved in the modification and disposal of the remains, as they captured the Aves for consumption. Only a few of the bones, bearing digestion or tooth marks, were brought into the cave by non-human predators, indicating that carnivores played a small role in creating and modifying the assemblage as well. This phenomenon enchanted the fact that intensive human occupation and carcass processing lead to a deficiency of carnivores. This study provides further evidence of the exploitation of avian resources by humans during the Upper Palaeolithic in the Eastern Mediterranean. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]