Search

Middle Pleistocene unit TD10 of the Gran Dolina site is nearly four metres thick and is divided into four subunits (TD10.1, TD10.2, TD10.3, TD10.4). To date, the upper two subunits (TD10.1 and TD10.2) have been completely excavated and have been studied from zooarchaeological, taphonomic and occupational perspectives. The top of the sequence (Upper TD10.1), however, has not undergone these types of studies until now. In this paper we report the results of our analyses of the anatomical profiles, age, and the anthropogenic and carnivore-induced modifications in this assemblage. Methods employed to evaluate sequential scenarios (carnivore to hominin; hominin to carnivore; carnivore to hominin to carnivore) have led to contradictory results. We conclude that the formation of Upper TD10.1 is the product of the overlap of independent events (hominin only and carnivore only), with limited commensalism between the two agents. The type of accumulation is consistent with the characteristics of an accumulative palimpsest generated by different actors. Unlike those documented in the lower levels of TD10 (TD10.1BB and TD10.2BB), hominin occupations in this part of the sequence were very brief. This scenario completes the picture of the types of occupations that took place during the end of Middle Pleistocene at Gran Dolina. In short, level TD10 was the site of three types of occupation by Middle Pleistocene hominins: a kill/butchering site in TD10.2BB, a long-term residential camp in TD10.1BB, and finally, logistical and short-term occupations in Upper TD10.1. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Cut marks on fossils from Plio‐Pleistocene faunal assemblages can elucidate the timing and nature of hominin procurement of animal tissues. Although butchery experiments have great potential to enhance our ability to understand hominin butchery behaviours, studies that model variation in the timing of access to carcasses and butcher expertise have either yielded conflicting results or have not yet been undertaken. We conducted butchery experiments on 8 pig limbs with replicated Oldowan flake tools that varied the amount of flesh removed prior to butchery (simulating early or late carcass access) and butcher expertise. These experiments investigated the effects of these variables on resultant cut mark count, length, and number of tool strokes. The relationship between the number of tool strokes as a measure of butchery intensity and the number of cut marks produced was also explored. We also compared the length of experimental cut marks with those on 1.5‐million‐year‐old fossil bones from Koobi Fora, Kenya. Although the bones that were partially defleshed prior to butchery had a higher number and longer cut marks on average than fleshed bones, and the expert butcher created fewer and shorter cut marks than the novice butcher, none of these relationships were statistically significant. We found no relationship between the number of tool strokes and the amount of flesh removed prior to butchery or the number of cut marks produced during butchery, although the expert butcher used fewer tool strokes. Although not statistically significant, the length of cut marks created by the novice butcher is much more variable than those created by the expert butcher and the fossil cut marks, and fossil cut marks are much shorter than those created by both modern butchers. More work needs to be undertaken to identify cut mark attributes that may be influenced by behavioural or ecological variables that can be measured and manipulated during butchery experiments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The analysis of bone surface modifications (BSMs) is a prominent part of paleoanthropological studies, namely taphonomic research. Behavioral interpretations of the fossil record hinge strongly upon correct assessment of BSMs. With the significant impact of microscopic analysis to the study of BSMs, multiple authors have discussed the reliability of these technological improvements for gaining resolution in BSM discrimination. While a certain optimism is present, some important questions are ignored and others overemphasized without appropriate empirical support. This specifically affects the study of cut marks. A diversity of geometric morphometric approaches applied to the study of cut marks have resulted in the coexistence (and competition) of different 2D and 3D methods. The present work builds upon the foundation of experiments presented by Maté-González et al. (2015), Courtenay et al. (2017) and Otárola-Castillo et al. (2018) to contrast for the first time 2D and 3D methods in their resolution of cut mark interpretation and classification. The results presented here show that both approaches are equally valid and that the use of sophisticated 3D methods do not contribute to an improvement in accuracy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In a previous article, we presented an innovative method to analyze cut marks produced with metal tools on animal bones from a metrical and tridimensional perspective (Maté-González et al. 2015). Such analysis developed a low-cost alternative technique to traditional microscopic methods for the tridimensional reconstruction of marks, using their measurements and sections. This article presents the results of an experimental study to test this photogrammetric and morphometric method for differentiating cut marks generated with metal, flint, and quartzite flakes. The results indicate statistically significant differences among cut marks produced by these three types of raw material. These results encourage the application of this method to archeological assemblages in order to establish a link between carcass processing and lithic reduction sequences on different raw materials and also to define the kind of tools used during butchery. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Since the 1980s, several experimental analyses have been able to differentiate some lithic tool types and some of their raw materials according to the morphology of cut marks imprinted by such tools when used for butchering activities. Thus, metal tool use has been differentiated in contexts with an abundance of lithic tools, or even the use of hand axes has been documented in carcass processing, in contrast with simple unretouched or retouched flakes. As important as this information is, there are still other important aspects to be analysed. Can cut marks produced with different lithic raw material types be differentiated? Can cut marks made with different types of the same raw material type be characterized and differentiated? The objective of this study is to evaluate if cut marks resulting from the use of different flints and different quartzites are distinguishable from each other. In the present work, an experimental analysis of hundreds of cut marks produced by five types of flint and five varieties of quartzite was carried out. Microphotogrammetry and geometric–morphometric techniques were applied to analyse these cut marks. The results show that flint cut marks and quartzite cut marks can be characterized at the assemblage level. Different types of flint produced cut marks that were not significantly different from each other. Cut marks made with Olduvai Gorge quartzite were significantly different from those produced with a set comprising several other types of quartzites. Crystal size, which is larger in Olduvai Gorge quartzites (0.5 mm) than Spanish quartzites (177–250 μm), is discussed as being the main reason for these statistically significant differences. This documented intra‐sample and inter‐sample variance does not hinder the resolution of the approach to differentiate between these two generic raw material types and opens the door for the application of this method in archaeological contexts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cut marks left on animal bones are commonly found at archaeological sites, and the analyses based on certain differences within their micromorphological structure might help in the material determination of an artefact used in the butchery process. We present a new method for differentiating cut marks made with stone and metal tools by examining the morphoscopical characteristics using a light microscope at a low magnification. Additional goals are testing the soft tissues and cleaning medium impact on the specific cut mark characteristics. The replicas of six types of stone artefacts, together with a bronze knife replica were produced, and also one modern flat-edged steel knife was included for comparison. The experimental cutting on metapodials and ribs of a domestic pig was inflicted within four types of tissues – fresh bone, fibrous tissues, fleshed and roasted bone. The data show that the characteristics of cut marks display evidence of differences between individual materials used in tool production. The condition of bone and the presence of soft tissues lead to differences in cutting process obtaining to the variable structure of cut mark and needs to be considered in the following experimental studies. Moreover, discussion concerning material preference in butchery tool production dated to the Early Bronze Age in the Czech Republic might be supported with such osteological evidence. This study aims to describe cut marks recorded in archaeozoological material from the Pasohlávky site (South Moravia region, Czech Republic) dated to the Early Bronze Age. The methodology expresses enough efficiency in examination of butchery artefacts and the results could be applied in the following analyses within the context of Early Bronze Age South-Moravian sites. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Studies of bone surface modifications (BSMs) such as cut marks are crucial to our understanding of human and earlier hominin subsistence behavior. Over the last several decades, however, BSM identification has remained contentious, particularly in terms of identifying the earliest instances of hominin butchery; there has been a lack of consensus over how to identify or differentiate marks made by human and non-human actors and varying effectors. Most investigations have relied on morphology to identify butchery marks and their patterning. This includes cut marks, one of the most significant human marks. Attempts to discriminate cut marks from other types of marks have employed a variety of techniques, ranging from subjectively characterizing cut mark morphology using the naked eye, to using high-powered microscopy such as scanning electron microscopy (SEM) or micro-photogrammetry. More recent approaches use 3D datasets to obtain even more detailed information about mark attributes, and apply those to the fossil record. Although 3D datasets open promising new avenues for investigation, analyses of these datasets have not yet taken advantage of the full 3D surface morphology of BSM. Rather, selected cross-sectional slices of 3D scans have been used as proxies for overall shape. Here we demonstrate that 3D geometric morphometrics (GM), under the “Procrustes paradigm” and coupled with a Bayesian approach, probabilistically discriminates between marks caused by different butchery behaviors. At the same time, this approach provides a complete set of 3D morphological measurements and descriptions. Our results strengthen statistical confidence in cut mark identification and offer a novel approach that can be used to discriminate subtle differences between cut mark types in the fossil record. Furthermore, this study provides an incipient digital library with which to make future quantitative comparisons to archaeological examples, including contentious specimens that are key to understanding the earliest hominin butchery. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Previous zooarchaeological analysis at Koobi Fora indicates that Okote Member hominins were the primary agents of bone assemblage formation, gained early access to large and small mammal flesh, and consumed both high- and low-ranked carcass parts. The discovery of additional butchered specimens prompted the re-analysis presented here of three large and well-preserved zooarchaeological assemblages from the Okote member, GaJi14, FwJj14N and FwJj14S, to revisit paleoecological hypotheses about tool-assisted carnivory. Cow and goat limb butchery documenting the skeletal location of cut marks created by skinning, defleshing, and disarticulation was used to build an actualistic model to infer hominin consumption of distinct carcass resources. Archaeological specimens were assigned to early (defleshing limbs), middle (defleshing ribs, viscera, vertebrae, and head) and late (metapodial tendon removal, element disarticulation, long bone fragmentation) carcass consumption stages, and the incidence of these butchery behaviors was examined for specimens and minimum number of element and individual aggregates. Elbow specimens, where traces of defleshing, disarticulation, and percussion co-occur, offer a sequential view of carcass consumption behaviors that is free from fragmentation bias. Classification trees populated with actualistic data were used to identify defleshing and disarticulation cut mark clusters on archaeological elbow portions by their location, cut mark count, median length, and median cross-sectional width. Actualistically-informed configurational analysis offers high-resolution behavioral reconstruction of the butchered sub-assemblage and should be integrated with assemblage-scale zooarchaeological methods. These experiments highlight the bias for detecting butchery traces of early carcass access, because defleshing cut marks are abundant and introduced to dense midshaft portions, whereas disarticulation cut marks are rare and occur on epiphyseal portions, which are often deleted by density-mediated destruction. Butchery trace interpretation across multiple analytical scales confirms a flexible carnivorous paleoecological role for Okote hominins that included primary and secondary access to carcass resources from large and small mammals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A series of experimental cut marks have been analyzed by eleven taphonomists with the goal of assessing if they could identify similarly 14 selected microscopic variables which would identify those marks as cut marks. The main objective was to test if variable identification could be made scientifically; that is, different researchers using the same method and criteria making the same assessment of each variable. This experiment shows that even in researchers trained in the same laboratories and following the same protocols divergences in the perception of each variable are significant. This indicates that mark perception and interpretation is a highly subjective process. If this basic analytical stage is subjective, subjectivity permeates to a greater degree the higher inferential stages leading from mark identification to reconstruction of butchering behaviors based on mark frequencies, mark anatomical distribution, actor-effector-trace processes, and statistical interpretations of the stochastic mark-imparting butchering processes. Here, we emphasize that the use of bone surface modifications for behavioral interpretations remains a non-scientific endeavor because of lack of independent replicability of criteria and processes, divergences in how variables are selected and used and epistemologically flawed analogs. This constitutes a major call to taphonomy to engage in more scientific (i.e., objective) approaches to the study of bone surface modifications for taphonomic inference elaboration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent years, new techniques for the morphological study of cut marks have become essential for the interpretation of prehistoric butchering practices. Different criteria have been suggested for the description and classification of cut marks. The methods commonly used for the study of cut marks rely on high-cost microscopy techniques with low portability (i.e., inability to work in situ), such as the 3D digital microscope (3D DM) or laser scanning confocal microscopy (LSCM). Recently, new algorithmic developments in the field of computer vision and photogrammetry, have achieved very high precision and resolution, offering a portable and low-cost alternative to microscopic techniques. However, the photogrammetric techniques present some disadvantages, such as longer data collection and processing time, and the requirement of some photogrammetric expertise for the calibration of the cameras and the acquisition of precise image orientation. In this paper, we compare two low-cost techniques and their application to cut mark studies: the micro-photogrammetry (M-PG) technique presented, developed, and validated previously, and a methodology based on the use of a structured light scanner (SLS). A total of 47 experimental cut marks, produced using a stainless steel knife, were analyzed. The data registered through virtual reconstruction was analyzed by means of three-dimensional geometric morphometrics (GMM). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Taphonomic analysis is an essential component of zooarchaeology, but is employed in different ways within different research traditions. Within the Africanist Palaeolithic literature, there is a strong emphasis on quantitative comparison of proportions of different bone surface modifications to one another and to proportions observed on modern experimental collections. This work has been driven by debates about the taphonomic histories of Oldowan sites that document the subsistence strategies of early Homo , but this specific approach can be usefully applied to a range of contexts across many different time periods and geographic locations. One obstacle to the cross-fertilization of this taphonomic tradition with other zooarchaeological work is the restrictive manner in which data are selected from an assemblage for analysis. To ensure comparability between fossil and modern assemblages, analysts typically exclude specimens with evidence for post-depositional modification not modeled in the experimental data. Although this adds interpretive robustness, it can diminish sample size significantly, sometimes to the point of affecting statistical analyses, and results in much time invested in collecting data that ultimately are not used. Here, we describe a new method for maximizing the number of specimens that can be incorporated into analysis, thus resolving the persistent problem of poor sample sizes to make more statistically robust comparisons to actualistic datasets. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper describes human-modified bones originally from the Pampas region, and that form part of nineteenth-century fossil collections of native fauna. We describe the morphological and configurational features of the marks, relate them to the various stages in the butchering process, and discuss access type. An examination of various different American sites is used to interpret this evidence at a coarse-grained level. Although these collections are more biased than current archaeological materials with regard to their sedimentary origin and previous handling, the application of modern technology has allowed us to obtain new data. Therefore, despite their complex history, these artefacts can be incorporated into the broader body of modern archaeological research. This type of study adds new value to our historic heritage and underscores its usefulness in modern enquiries, in this case, related to the topic of how Homo sapiens interacted with the native fauna in the southern Cone of South America. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Untermassfeld has provided a butchered bone assemblage and a Mode 1 lithic record demonstrating hominin presence at a site which was classically viewed as paleontological. This archaeological record was found during fieldwork and surveying in fluvial river banks and low-to-medium energy channel erosion sediments. Paleomagnetism and biostratigraphy has yielded an age for this hominin occupation close to the onset of the Jaramillo subchron (ca. 1.07 Myr). In this paper we present new taphonomic data of the cut-marked and hammer-related bone material, corresponding mainly to large-sized herd species (i.e., Bison), but also from cervids (Eucladoceros giulii and Cervus s.l. nestii vallonnetensis) and megafaunal species (i.e., Stephanorhinus hundsheimensis and Hippopotamus amphibius antiquus). Distribution of skeletal elements and bone surface features suggests that this bone assemblage consists of animal remains with different taphonomic origins. The assemblage formed during at most two or three sediment-laden floods, transporting both lithic tools and remains of animals that died of natural causes or were killed by predators. The new taphonomic results presented here are important to analyze hominin colonization and adaptation to European mid-latitude environments at 1 Myr, in competition for meat resources with large carnivores (i.e., Pachycrocuta brevirostris and Panthera onca gombaszoegensis). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sand was a fortified settlement situated in a wooded area at a bend of the Thaya River in Lower Austria. The site was erected at around 930 AD and probably destroyed by the Magyars in the second half of the 10th century. The historical role of Sand remains enigmatic. The fact that the site had only a very short lifetime has the benefit that the material derives from a well-defined period. In this paper we investigate the excavated faunal remains and their archaeological context. The vast majority of the faunal material constitutes primary waste. According to the number of identified specimens the prevalent species in Sand is cattle (almost 35 %); wild taxa are surprisingly abundant (about 40 %), dominated by wild boar, red deer and wild Bovidae (especially European bison). The analysis of the animal bones yielded insights into many important aspects of the economy of Sand; one of them is evidence for skinning and skin/fur processing at the site, indicated by species representation, age profiles, cut marks and skeletal element representation. This interpretation is further supported by archaeological evidence. The indications for skinning are mainly concentrated in the Westwall area. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The most abundant evidence of Pampean Pleistocene human presence are modified bones, as lithic procurement sites located farther than 300 km away. Therefore, we focused on the study of bone modifications, in particular cut and percussion marks. We studied Pampean paleontological collections of Argentine and European museums as an alternative resource of previously unnoticed human modification evidences. We compared marks characteristics with those of archaeological collections from diverse climatic and cultural adaptations, from middle Pleistocene sites (Vallonet, Atapuerca, Lazaret, Arago and Terra Amata) to terminal Pleistocene ones (Abri Pataud, Isturiz and La Vache). Marks typologies were defined, leading to the identification of a particular cutmark that we named double parallel considered as highly diagnostic of anthropic use of lithic artifacts. We also propose that hafted artifacts were used on carcass processing. Perimortem bone modifications are classified in relation with mark morphology (e.g., percussion striae), inferred gesture or action (e.g., breakage of diaphysis), and inferred objective of that action (e.g., marrow extraction). The megafauna specimens analyzed from the historical collections (d'Angelis-Vilardebó, 1847, Muñiz-Dupotet, 1842 and Breton-Bonnement, 1881) present modifications compatible with dismemberment, defleshing, tongue and masseter extraction, and utilization as anvils. The lack of contextual data (location, stratigraphy) and the loss due to museum selection/collecting of accompanying material prevent paleoenvironmental and paleoecological inferences. Regional geology indicates that most of the historical collections were exhumed in riverbank cuts with ages between 70 and 13 ky BP. Preliminary direct dating presents evidence of a Pampean human occupation, at least, since OIS 2. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Se presentan los resultados del análisis de huellas de corte en restos óseos de pinnipedos provenientes de dos yacimientos loberos históricos, localizados en cabo Shirreff, isla Livingston, Antartica Chilena. Se describe la ubicación, disposición y características morfológicas de las huellas, con el objeto de establecer los modos de procesamiento llevados a cabo en los yacimientos estudiados. Los resultados indican que los cortes fueron hechos con instrumentos metálicos, en su mayoría orientados a la extracción de la piel, con un procedimiento muy estandarizadoThe paper presents the results of an analysis of cut marks on pinniped bones recovered at two historic age sites located in Cape Shirreff, Livingston Islands, Chilean Antarctica. The location, disposition and morphological characteristics of each mark are described in order to identify butchering patterns employed at the studied sites. The study concludes that the marks were made with a metal tool and generally followed a very standardized procedure geared towards the skinning of animals

Objectives Humanly induced modifications on human and non-human bones from four archaeological sites of known funerary rituals (one interpreted as cannibalism and three interpreted as funerary defleshing and disarticulation after a period of decay) were analyzed to ascertain whether macromorphological and micromorphological characteristics of cut marks can be used to distinguish cannibalistic from secondary burial practices. Material and methods Four collections were analyzed: the Magdalenian assemblage from Gough's Cave (UK) and the Mesolithic-Neolithic bone samples from Lepenski Vir, Padina and Vlasac (Serbia). A total of 647 cut marks (345 on human and 302 on non-human remains) were imaged and measured using an optical surface measurement system, the Alicona InfiniteFocus, housed at the Natural History Museum (London, UK). Results The frequency of cut marks at Gough's Cave exceeds 65%, while it is below 1% in the Serbian sites, and no human tooth marks and only one case of percussion damage have been observed on the three Serbian collections. The distribution of cut marks on human bones is comparable in the four assemblages. Cannibalized human remains, however, present a uniform cut mark distribution, which can be associated with disarticulation of persistent and labile articulations, and the scalping and filleting of muscles. For secondary burials where modification occurred after a period of decay, disarticulation marks are less common and the disarticulation of labile joints is rare. The micromorphometric analyses of cut marks on human and non-human remains suggest that cut marks produced when cleaning partially decayed bodies are significantly different from cut marks produced during butchery of fresh bodies. Conclusions A distinction between cannibalism and secondary treatment of human bodies can be made based on frequency, distribution and micromorphometric characteristics of cut marks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

New research and excavations at Bell Korongo (BK, Olduvai Gorge, Upper Bed II) have uncovered a dense concentration of megafauna that contributes to our understanding of Homo erectus subsistence strategies around 1.34 Ma. Recent work has yielded clear taphonomic evidence for the exploitation of large-sized animals. The frequency and distribution of cut marks, for example, indicates that hominins enjoyed early access to substantial amounts of meat. This degree of carcass processing, particularly megafauna, suggests that the human group(s) exploiting them were large and had significant nutritional needs. Here, we build upon this work by presenting the first comprehensive taphonomic analysis of the faunal material excavated by the Leakeys at BK between 1952 and 1957 corresponding to 24 Pelorovis oldowayensis. Leakey's assemblage was biased due to selective collection of the most readily identifiable specimens, among which long bone shafts were not included. The recent assemblage reflects the relevance of using long bone shafts to overcome the equifinality of the alternative scenarios proposed to explain the accumulation of Pelorovis. The analysis of The Olduvai Paleoanthropology and Paleoecology Project's (TOPPP) recent assemblage sheds light on the reconstruction of hominin strategies of carcass acquisition at BK. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Early Stone Age cut marks created during tool-assisted carnivory potentially offer inferences into hominin butchery behaviour and access to complete or defleshed carcasses. Actualistic butchery trials of 16 goat and cow half-carcasses were completed by an experienced butcher with replicated Oldowan tools to investigate how the geometric organisation of cut mark clusters reflects flake versus core tool use and bulk muscle versus scrap defleshing. A cluster of cut marks is defined as a series of adjacent cut mark striations that occur at an anatomical location and are bounded by unmarked cortical surface. Tool type and butchery action were predicted to differentially mark certain long bone portions and influence cluster attributes. Moulds of 613 cut mark clusters were photographed and measured using ImageJ software (National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland, USA) for cluster area, cut mark count, median cut mark length and standard deviation of cut mark length and angle. Analysis suggests the following results: (i) cluster attributes are correlated;(ii) changes in cluster geometry are related to increasing cut mark count and length but not tool type or defleshed muscle amount; (iii) large clusters occur on large animals; and (iv) long bone midshaft portions are cut-marked during both bulk and scrap muscle defleshing. Analysis of 179 cut mark clusters on long bone shafts of sizes 1-4 mammals from three Okote member assemblages at Koobi Fora, Kenya, shows that archaeological clusters have a similar number of marks when compared with experimental clusters but are significantly smaller, have shorter median marks and include less deviation in mark length and angle. Archaeological clusters corroborate that increasing area is positively correlated with cut mark count, median mark length and standard deviation of mark length and angle. A quantitative inferential model that links cut mark cluster geometry to tool type or the amount of muscle defleshed is not supported by these data. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Revista Chilena de Antropologia is the property of Universidad de Chile and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The Siwaliks came to be known worldwide since the discovery in 1830 of a great ape in the Miocene molasses of the Potwar. One century later, pebble tools, flakes and handaxes attracted Prehistorians. A re-reading of the Yale-Cambridge Expedition in India (1935), during which Ramapithecus brevirostris was discovered, reveals that stone tools were discovered in the Upper Pliocene gravels of the Soan Basin. Since 2003, the National Museum of Natural History (France) and the Society for Archaeological and Anthropological Research (India) have conducted fieldwork in the northwestern Indian Siwaliks. The Quranwala Zone of Masol, the core of the Chandigarh anticline (Punjab), is well known for its Late Pliocene fauna rich in Hexaprotodon, Cholossochelys, Stegodon , bovids and Hipparion with the occurrence of Equus and Elephas. Fifty hectares have been surveyed during eight field seasons (2008 to 2015) with the discovery of choppers and marks on bones of the Quranwala Zone faunal assemblage, all collected on recent outcrops of the Latest Pliocene. This paper presents the historical context and the rigorous scientific process, which has led to the acknowledgment that some bones, dating back to the Latest Pliocene, present intentional and precise cut marks made by sharp edges in quartzite and an intelligence, which knew the anatomy of the bovid carcasses. Our pluridisciplinary works support anthropic activities 2.6 Ma ago in the sub-Himalayan floodplain and the probability of finding hominin fossils in the Quranwala Zone. This discovery is of immense importance to maintain the efforts of numerous generations in order to develop the prehistory of the Siwaliks and its contribution to the understanding of the hominization process between the Indus Basin, High and East Asia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Indo-French research program ‘Siwaliks’ has been surveying the Late Pliocene Formation of the Chandigarh anticline (NW India) since 2008. These sub-Himalayan floodplain deposits are known for their Tertiary-Quaternary transitional fauna, especially those from the Quranwala zone in the Masol Formation, whose basal member is approximately 130 meters below the Gauss/Matuyama paleomagnetic reversal (2.588 Ma). About 1500 fossils have been collected in the inlier of Masol, most often on recently eroded outcrops, and sometimes in association with stone tools (choppers, flakes). Many bones were covered by a variety of marks (animal, bioerosion and tectonics) and among these traces a few were intentional cut marks. Different methods have been applied in Paris (France) to describe their topography on a micron scale, using the 3D Digital Video Microscope Hirox, and completed with binocular microscopy at the Center for Research and Restoration of Museums of France (C2RMF), and X-ray microtomography with the AST-RX platform, at the National Museum of Natural History, Paris. Experiments with quartzite cobbles collected near the fossils were carried out in India and in France. The mineralization of the traces is identical to the bone tissue, and comparison with our experimental cut marks confirms that the profiles are typical of the sharp edge of a flake or cobble in quartzite; their size and spatial organization testify to energetic and intentional gestures from an agile wrist acting with precision, and to a good knowledge of the bovid anatomy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Mio-Pleistocene Siwalik formations have been known worldwide since the 19th century for their fossil hominoids. Numerous paleomagnetic studies have contributed to build the chronological framework of the Siwalik Group subdivided into Lower, Middle and Upper Siwalik Subgroups. Our study concerns the Tatrot Formation (Late Pliocene) of the Upper Siwalik Subgroup located at Masol in the Chandigarh Siwalik Frontal Range (India), and is accessible by the Patiali Rao River. At Masol (district Mohali, Punjab), the erosion of the anticline structure has formed an inlier and exposed paleontological assemblages characterizing the Late Pliocene “Quranwala fossiliferous zone”. Since 2008, the Indo-French research program, “Siwaliks”, has conducted surveys in the Masol inlier and has collected stone tools on the surface of the outcrops among fossilized bones, a few with cut marks. The first cut-marked bone was discovered in 2009 at Masol 1 (M1). The study of the magnetic polarities of some stratigraphic units of M1 revealed that the deposits recorded a normal polarity. According to the paleontology and the previous magnetostratigraphy of the Patiali Rao, it appeared that the deposits of Masol 1 are older than the Gauss-Matuyama reversal, dated to 2.58 Ma. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The dismemberment of a corpse is fairly rare in forensic medicine. It is usually performed with different types of sharp tools and used as a method of concealing the body and thus erasing proof of murder. In this context, the disarticulation of body parts is an even rarer event. The authors present the analysis of six dismemberment cases (well-preserved corpses or skeletonized remains with clear signs of dismemberment), arising from different contexts and in which different types of sharp tools were used. Two cases in particular showed peculiar features where separation of the forearms and limbs from the rest of the body was performed not by cutting through bones but through a meticulous disarticulation. The importance of a thorough anthropological investigation is thus highlighted, since it provides crucial information on the manner of dismemberment/disarticulation, the types of tools used and the general context in which the crime was perpetrated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The act of scalping has long been associated with Native American conflict-related human body part trophy taking. Reasons for their removal were varied and often included communal and personal factors. Previous research has identified several different types of scalp removals based on the amount of soft tissue affected during the process of scalping. One of these types can involve the removal of the ears. Through reanalysis of known scalping victims within the middle Tennessee Valley of North Alabama, we have identified five cases where victims were both scalped and had their ears removed. These cases provide a unique understanding of the practice of human body part trophy taking. They support ethnographic accounts that indicate ear removal has great time depth and was geographically widespread. Although the five cases presented here are similar to total compound scalpings, they actually represent total simple scalpings. Unlike total compound scalpings, where the ears are removed attached to the skin of the scalp, these cases show evidence of secondary removal of the ears after the scalp was already detached. This secondary removal of the ears after the act of scalping supports the interpretation that the aggressors intended different purposes for each trophy. It is likely that the scalp and ears each had their own meaning. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Archivo de Prehistoria Levantina is the property of Museu de Prehistoria de Valencia and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

In recent years, new techniques for the morphological study of cut marks have become essential for the interpretation of prehistoric butchering practices. Different criteria have been suggested for the description and classification of cut marks. The methods commonly used for the study of cut marks rely on high-cost microscopy techniques with low portability (i.e., inability to work in situ), such as the 3D digital microscope (3D DM) or laser scanning confocal microscopy (LSCM). Recently, new algorithmic developments in the field of computer vision and photogrammetry, have achieved very high precision and resolution, offering a portable and low-cost alternative to microscopic techniques. However, the photogrammetric techniques present some disadvantages, such as longer data collection and processing time, and the requirement of some photogrammetric expertise for the calibration of the cameras and the acquisition of precise image orientation. In this paper, we compare two low-cost techniques and their application to cut mark studies: the micro-photogrammetry (M-PG) technique presented, developed, and validated previously, and a methodology based on the use of a structured light scanner (SLS). A total of 47 experimental cut marks, produced using a stainless steel knife, were analyzed. The data registered through virtual reconstruction was analyzed by means of three-dimensional geometric morphometrics (GMM).

Among taphonomical modifications during decomposition processes, little is known about the action of high or low pH to human tissues and bones. Moreover, acid or basic solutions are seldom used to ease decomposition and wrecking of the body. In this study a total of 60 samples of porcine bones on which two cut marks were produced before the beginning of the experiment, were put in six different solutions with different pH (1, 3, 5, 9, 12, 14) and analyzed every five days over a period of 70 days. Surveys were carried out macroscopically, with stereomicroscopy and with light microscopy on thin sections. Only the specimens exposed to extremely acid (<1) or basic (>12) pH showed evident modifications of the bone’s structure, as witnessed by the analyses with stereomicroscopy as well. Many samples showed a detachment of the periosteum; cut marks became soon unrecognizable with pH 14 but still detectable in all the other samples. The information gained from the present study can be of great help in detecting the exposure of human tissues to high or low environmental pH and in understanding the effects that these solutions can exert on human bones. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cuesta de la Bajada is a Middle Pleistocene site (MIS 8–9) in which some of the earliest evidence of Middle Paleolithic stone tool tradition is documented. The small format tool assemblage, dominated by simple flakes and scrapers, is associated to abundant remains of equids and cervids, in which both percussion and cut marks are well represented. The anatomical distribution of these bone surface modifications indicate primary access to fleshed carcasses by hominins. Hunting is further supported by the analysis of age profiles, in which prime adults are predominant both in equids and cervids. The taphonomic analysis of the site adds more information to human predatory behaviors as documented in other Middle Pleistocene sites and is one of the best examples of hunting documented in the Middle Pleistocene European archaeological record. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the last few years, the study of cut marks on bone surfaces has become fundamental for the interpretation of archaeological sites and prehistoric butchery practices. Due to the difficulties in the correct identification of cut marks, many criteria for their description and classifications were suggested. This article presents an innovative methodology which supplements the microscopic study of cut marks. Despite the benefits of using scanning electron microscopy (SEM) for the two-dimensional identification of these marks, it has a number of drawbacks such as the high costs and, consequently, the limited sample studied. In this article, a low-cost technique for the analysis of cut mark micromorphology from a tri-dimensional perspective is introduced. It provides a high-resolution approach to cut mark characterisation such as morphology, depth, width, and angle estimation as well as section determination, measured directly on the marks on bones. Macro-photogrammetry records quantitative and qualitative information which can be statistically processed with standard multivariate and geometric morphometric tools. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Two fossil specimens from the DIK-55 locality in the Hadar Formation at Dikika, Ethiopia, are contemporaneous with the earliest documented stone tools, and they collectively bear twelve marks interpreted to be characteristic of stone tool butchery damage. An alternative interpretation of the marks has been that they were caused by trampling animals and do not provide evidence of stone tool use or large ungulate exploitation by Australopithecus -grade hominins. Thus, resolving which agents created marks on fossils in deposits from Dikika is an essential step in understanding the ecological and taphonomic contexts of the hominin-bearing deposits in this region and establishing their relevance for investigations of the earliest stone tool use. This paper presents results of microscopic scrutiny of all non-hominin fossils collected from the Hadar Formation at Dikika, including additional fossils from DIK-55, and describes in detail seven assemblages from sieved surface sediment samples. The study is the first taphonomic description of Pliocene fossil assemblages from open-air deposits in Africa that were collected without using only methods that emphasize the selective retention of taxonomically-informative specimens. The sieved assemblages show distinctive differences in faunal representation and taphonomic modifications that suggest they sample a range of depositional environments in the Pliocene Hadar Lake Basin, and have implications for how landscape-based taphonomy can be used to infer past microhabitats. The surface modification data show that no marks on any other fossils resemble in size or shape those on the two specimens from DIK-55 that were interpreted to bear stone tool inflicted damage. A large sample of marks from the sieved collections has characteristics that match modern trampling damage, but these marks are significantly smaller than those on the DIK-55 specimens and have different suites of characteristics. Most are not visible without magnification. The data show that the DIK-55 marks are outliers amongst bone surface damage in the Dikika area, and that trampling is not the most parsimonious interpretation of their origin. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study uses a combination of digital microscopic analysis and experimental archaeology to assess stone tool cut marks on animal bones. We used two un-retouched flint flakes and two burins to inflict cut marks on fresh, boiled, and dry ungulate bones. The experiment produced three series of three engravings on each bone with each of the experimental tools. The first series involved one single stroke; the second, two strokes in the same direction; and the third, multiple strokes using a to-and-fro movement. We analyzed the striations using a Hirox 3D digital microscope (KH-7700) and collected metric and profile data on the morphology of the cut marks. In order to describe the shape of each cross section, we calculated the ratio between the breadth at the top and the breadth at the floor of cut marks. Preliminary results show that both the tool type and the method of creating the cut mark influence the shape of the resulting groove. In our experiment, morphological parameters can be used to differentiate between marks produced using un-retouched flint flakes and those produced using burins. However, neither morphological nor morphometric analysis allows us to identify the mechanical motion used to produce the cuts, nor the state of the bone (fresh, boiled, or dry) at the moment of marking. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Carnivore consumption has been identified in the Holocene levels of El Mirador Cave (Sierra de Atapuerca, Spain). Remains of domestic dogs, wild cats, badgers, and foxes, recovered from Neolithic to Bronze Age levels (sixth millennium to second millennium cal BC), present evidence of human consumption. This evidence includes cut marks, bone breakage, signs of culinary processing and human tooth marks. This is some of the oldest evidence documented either in the Iberian Peninsula or in Europe as a whole, and it is the first time that human tooth marks are used to confirm the human consumption of these carnivores. Dog consumption is sporadic but occurs repeatedly in time, whereas the consumption of small wild carnivores is more limited in time. These practices could be linked with the provision of extra food during periods of shortage and/or with meat of special consideration, especially dog meat. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]