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Stylistically unique black rock drawings have been discovered in Andriamamelo Cave in western Madagascar. Several image groupings comprise naturalistic scenes with anthropomorphic, zoomorphic, and ...

A new fossil site in a previously unexplored part of western Madagascar (the Beanka Protected Area) has yielded remains of many recently extinct vertebrates, including giant lemurs (Babakotia radofilai, Palaeopropithecus kelyus, Pachylemur sp., and Archaeolemur edwardsi), carnivores (Cryptoprocta spelea), the aardvark-like Plesiorycteropus sp., and giant ground cuckoos (Coua). Many of these represent considerable range extensions. Extant species that were extirpated from the region (e.g., Prolemur simus) are also present. Calibrated radiocarbon ages for 10 bones from extinct primates span the last three millennia. The largely undisturbed taphonomy of bone deposits supports the interpretation that many specimens fell in from a rock ledge above the entrance. Some primates and other mammals may have been prey items of avian predators, but human predation is also evident. Strontium isotope ratios (87Sr/86Sr) suggest that fossils were local to the area. Pottery sherds and bones of extinct and extant vertebrates with cut and chop marks indicate human activity in previous centuries. Scarcity of charcoal and human artifacts suggests only occasional visitation to the site by humans. The fossil assemblage from this site is unusual in that, while it contains many sloth lemurs, it lacks ratites, hippopotami, and crocodiles typical of nearly all other Holocene subfossil sites on Madagascar., Research at Beanka was supported by the National Geographic Society via Waitt Foundation grants W263-13 and W388-15 to DAB, and by the site-managing organization, Biodiversity Conservation Madagascar (BCM). EJdB was supported by a travel grant from the Society for Advancement of Research in the Tropics (Treub Maatschappij). The scientific study authorization was provided by the Bureau du Cadastre Minier de Madagascar with the reference 024/2015. Many thanks to faculty of the Université d'Antananarivo and staff of BCM and Association Vahatra for assistance with permits and logistics. To the staff of BCM and the people of the village of Ambinda, we extend special thanks for hospitality and assistance with fieldwork and information regarding sites and access. Bone specimens were identified from studies of comparative materials at the Field Museum of Natural History, the Université d'Antananarivo, Association Vahatra, Duke Lemur Center, Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle (Paris), the Natural History Museum (London), the Smithsonian Institution, the American Museum of Natural History, and the University of Massachusetts, Amherst. Species identifications were supported in part by NSF BCS-1750598 (to LRG). Isotopic and radiocarbon analyses were supported in part by NSF BCS-1749676 (to BEC).