Poskus ugotavljanja namembnosti kamenih artefaktov iz najdišca Divje babe I (Slovenija)

On the basis of a sample of 85 selected artefacts from the Divje babe I (Slovenia) site with Mousterian finds, we analysed the function of potential tools, exclusively on the macroscopic level, supported by experimental work. The sample is undoubtedly representative of the site, although it was not chosen at random but on the basis of the attributes of the edges, points and ventral faces of flakes. This is the first such research in Slovenia in which these attributes (angle and retouch of working edge, damage to the point and ventral face) are the main subject. The sample includes mostly artificially retouched but completely unusable artefacts which do not conform to any known concept of a working edge, and which are reminiscent of so-called pseudo-artefacts. However, they are certainly not such. We propose a very effective alternative method of use of some cutting and piercing tools, with "indirect percussion" as an alternative to a hafted tool. The proposed experimentally tested method of using tools has not been taken into account to date, despite its simplicity and effectiveness. We believe that the proposed method of using tools opens new possibilities in studying the function of retouched artefacts.V najdišču Divje babe I (Slovenija) z musterjenskimi najdbami, ki vključujejo tudi sporno koščeno piščal, smo na podlagi vzorca 85 izbranih artefaktov analizirali funkcije potencialnih orodij, in sicer izključno na makroskopskem nivoju, podprtim z eksperimentalnim delom. Vzorec je nedvomno reprezentativen za najdišče, čeprav je bil izbran naključno na podlagi nekaterih znakov na robovih, konicah in ventralni ploskvi odbitkov. Ti znaki (kot in retuša delovnega roba, poškodbe konic in ventralne ploskve) so bili glavni predmet prve tovrstne raziskave v Sloveniji. V vzorcu nastopajo med drugim izključno umetno retuširani, vendar popolnoma neuporabni artefakti, ki niso v skladu z nobenim poznanim konceptom delovnega roba in ki spominjajo na t. i. psevdoartefakte. Vendar to zagotovo niso. Za nekatera rezalna in luknjalna orodja predlagamo zelo učinkovit alternativen način uporabe orodij z "indirektno perkusijo" kot protiutež nasajenim orodjem. Predlagana, eksperimentalno preizkušena metoda uporabe orodij doslej ni bila upoštevana, kljub svoji enostavnosti in učinkovitosti. Menimo, da predlagani način uporabe orodij odpira nove možnosti v preučevanju funkcij retuširanih artefaktov

Divje babe I-novo paleolitsko najdišče in skupinsko grobišče jamskega medveda. Poskus tafonomske analize na podlagi vzorcev iz dveh sedimentnih in arheoloških kompleksov

The 1980-1986 excavations in the newly-discovered, as yet unpublished palaeolithic cave site Divje babe I in the Idrijca valley (Cerkno, Idrija District, Slovenia), yielded a vast number of remains of cave bear (Ursus spelaeus Rosenmiiller et Heinroth 1794). A portion of the remains has for the first time been studied systematically on the basis of standard samples from a sampling area of a specific cubic content (Figs. 1; 3). The cubic content of all sediments covered by the sampling is 20 m3. This volume, which comprises no more than 1/25 of all the sediments investigated, has yielded the remains of the cave bear as shown in Tables 2-3. The remains have been divided into seven arbitrary stratigraphic units of approximately the same thickness, with units representing individual bone and teeth samples from the homogeneous sampling area of a standard surface of 10 m2. The techniques applied in the analyses of samples have been made conformable to the technique of excavation and the degree of its exactitude, as well as to the nature of the osteoodontological material. Instead of subjecting the sediments to a systematic screening, all of the surviving finds have been taken in without exception. Any sort of selection of the material has deliberately been avoided. All the remains have been divided on the basis of clear-cut morphological differences into two groups, that of the juvenile and that of the adult specimens, with a further distinction in teeth between the left and the right. If necessary, parts of the skeletons and the slightly varying volumes of the sediments which were used for sampling have been loaded. All the samples derive from two sedimentary units of strata (Fig. 4) which, in turn, consist of two Moustčrian cultural levels of different quantities (Fig. 3). Sediments, which are diagenetically more or less changed, are composed of dolomitic gravels and fine sand. The upper unit represents the »phosphatic layer« (8) containing an average of 15.8 % of phosphates, while the lower unit consists of layers (10-14) containing some traces of phosphate incrustation made indistinct through some secondary mechanical agency, and averaging 13.2 % of phosphates. The line of demarcation between the two units is clear-cut, whereas those demarcating individual layers tend to be blurred. Typologically, diagenetically, and material-wise, there is no difference between the archaeological finds from the D- and E-level, or in fact from any other level. They all belong to the final stage of the Mousterian complex, and have been given an absolute date of over 38,000 B. P. (Zagreb 1981, Z-1033). In over 99%, the fauna is dominated by the cave bear. The finds of other animal species from the sampling area are shown in Tabic 5. All units have also been submitted to the palynological and anthracotomical analyses in several vertical series. However, only the results produced by the investigation of the units of the sampling area are given here. The pollen diagram (Fig. 5) indicates higher pollen values of herbs by comparison with those of the tree vegetation. This kind of pollen assemblage is typical of steppe vegetation, and indeed this had been one of the kind. It is only the question of how it is possible that a higher percentage of the pollen of entomophilous plants than of that of anemophilous plants had found its way to the cave, which gives occasion to doubts. Certainly not by force of wind. Obviously it had been brought here by some animals - either by solitary bees and other insects, or by the cave bears that must have been nibbling at the herbs on the grass-grown elevated plain over the cave, and their pollen is preserved in coprolites. However, the results of the pollen analyses admit of certain ecological conjectures about the cold climate vegetation (which is demonstrated by predominant coniferous trees) in the form of light forests associated with steppe vegetation (Compositae, Umbelliferae, Caryophyllaceae, and Gramineae). Nevertheless, the sporadic occurrence of the pollen and charcoal of mesophiles would seem to point to occasional, though slight rises of temperature. Since the radiocarbon dating of »over 38,000 years« establishes this segment of the profile as belonging to the middle Wiirm period, these results are found to be in perfect accordance with the results of the pollen analyses from other parts of Slovenia which have in a number of occasions established the heliophilous vegetation of conifers associated with a considerable prevalence of herbs, and always with the sporadic occurrence of the pollen of the mesophilous deciduous trees, mostly lime, oak, and elm. The common characteristic of the sediments and their archaeological, faunistic, and floristic contents is a high degree of homogeneity, which would seem to suggest a rapid and uninterrupted process of sedimentation. What we have here is probably a fairly perfect profile from a relatively short cold climate interval of time dating from the middle section of the Wurm glaciation, between the Br<6rup and Hengelo interstadials. All the remains of the cave bear have been analysed in terms of skeletal element and tooth representation, minimum number of individuals, determination of age, determination of sex, and fragmentation and specific damage on bones. The analysis of the parts of the skeleton has revealed a high degree of random dispersion and a strong intermixture of all remains. Both are accountable for by bioturbation. The samples display not one single anatomical arrangement in a group, and only few chaotic groupings of different long bones belonging to different individuals (the latter exclusively in E-level). The higher or lower degrees of disparity that have been established in terms of the skeletal element representation between individual samples are for the most part quantitative. Such disparities are found to be all the more conspicuous between sedimentary units and archaeological levels relative to the skeletal element representation of juvenile and adult individuals respectively. On the whole, the E-level exhibits a superior skeletal element preservation of both age profiles, which in turn suggests the exclusion of man as a predominant taphonomic agent prevailing upon the skeletal element representation (Figs. 6; 7). The teeth display a much smaller degree of dispersion and taphonomic loss by comparison with that in bones. For the purpose of a standard, similar pattern in pairs of isolated teeth (Fig. 11) and metapodials (Fig. 8) have been taken. By way of cumulative frequences of isolated teeth arranged according to the arbitrary stratigraphic units, surpluses of lower molars have, been established (Fig. 9), which is explainable in terms of the surplusage of mandibles, or the deficiency of cranial parts of the skulls. Additionally, more mandibles than maxillae have been recovered from the E-level (Fig. 10). The figures shown have been obtained through adding together individual adult and juvenile teeth, and then singling out maximum amounts for either upper or lower teeth which in turn represent the minimum possible numbers of all maxillae and mandibles respectively. The frequency of occurrence in individual isolated teeth in samples is, in spite of some interruptions, in general agreement with the sequence of the eruption of teeth (Fig. 13). (Couturier M. A. J., 1954, 145; Ehrenberg K., 1931, 675 ff.; Ehrenberg K., 1964.) The minimum number of individuals has been approximated on the basis of four pairs of upper (I3-M2), and five pairs of lower teeth (I3-M3) (Fig. 12). It has been found that this number adheres to certain regular recurrences relative to a higher degree of durability in certain teeth. Eventually, these teeth always act as the determining factor of the minimum number of individuals. All that is needed is a sample of ample size. In this case, it is the lower Ml and, M2 which have been singled out previously by help of cumulative frequences (Fig. 9). All available methods used for the determination of age profiles (Schmid E., 1972, 75; Watson J.P.N., 1978; Sergeant D.E., 1967; Klein R.G., Cruz-Uribe K., 1984, 41 ff.; Geiger G. e t al., 1977; Morris P. A., 1972) are practicable only under the condition that the bones and teeth are distinguishable according to their parent individuals. The reason is that there is a stage in ontogenesis in which some of the osteoodontological elements have already reached the stage of adulthood morphologically, whereas others, morphologically speaking, are still in their stage of juvenility. Thus, as a result of disintegration of skeletal and dental associations °f certain individuals which persist in diverse juvenile stages of their ontogenesis (which is the case in most of the sites with mass accumulations of cave bear bones), a highly heterogeneous sample is produced. This fact has unfortunately been completely disregarded up till now (cf. Biichler H., 1957; Kurt6n B., 1958), although K. Ehrenberg did pointed it out in passing (id., 1935, 105). In view of the morphological ambiguity at a certain juvenile stage of development, "igh mortality rate in present-day populations of bears at this very stage, and the fact that the frequences of most of the individual permanent teeth comply reasonably with the natural sequence of their growth, the following procedure, based on the method of minimum number of individuals, has been adopted for the purpose of determining the number of juvenile and adult individuals in the present samples. To begin with, left-left and right-right pairs of juvenile and adult teeth were selected for the purpose of investigation. To achieve by this was the avoidance of mixing several individuals in the instance of one and the same tooth, and the by-passing of the morphological ambiguity between several individuals. Left-right teeth clearly definable beyond any doubt were arranged according to the sequence of their growth, which l s Ml, M2, 13 for the upper, and Ml, M2, 13, M3 for the lower set. P4 was intentionally left out as it has no effect on the final result owing to the rare cases of its occurrence. On account of the bad state of their preservation, few cases of them being found, and low degree of their definability, canines, which are the last to grow and are therefore determinative for the number of adult individuals, were not taken into consideration either. In the case of a tooth which is the last to grow, the pair displaying a larger number of adult teeth was chosen invariably. The adult teeth of the final pair (in terms of eruption) represent the minimum number of adult individuals. In cases of all other teeth, pairs displaying the larger number of juvenile teeth were chosen in all instances. Out of these, the maximum number of juvenile teeth was adopted as the minimum number of juvenile individuals. By way of such procedure the results shown in T. 8 have been obtained. The combination of both maximum numbers was then selected as the minimum number of both the adult and juvenile individuals. In view of a high probability that all pairs of teeth selected in this way (3 upper, and 4 lower) do not derive from the same individuals, the numbers of both the adult and juvenile individuals may well be increased. However, the possibilities of the minimum number of adult individuals to increase will be decreased by an increase in the minimum number of juvenile individuals, and vice versa. A similar result has been obtained through a comparison of left-left and right-right juvenile-adult pairs of 4 upper and 5 lower teeth (Fig. 14). It has been established that there are very few individuals from the early stages of diphyodontia (all permanent teeth still have hollow roots; there are a number of deciduous teeth still present, mostly canines), or from an age under 8 months according to K. Ehrenberg (id., 1964, 217). This fact admits of an explanation in that the taphonomic losses were larger, or the mortality rate was lower, due to the presence of mother bears during the cubs' first months in the winter and spring seasons. It may well be that during a following winter an increasing number of cubs were compelled to hibernate on their own for various reasons, which presumably resulted in a higher mortality rate during the first years of their lives. Incidentally, this is roughly what is discernible from the present samples. Furthermore, there is a conspicuous difference between the D- and E-levels in terms of their age structures; namely, D-level display a relatively higher number of adult individuals. This fact becomes even more interesting if compared with those concerning the ratios between the sexes. Essays at sex determination of cave bear fossil remains have, in most instances, been performed on teeth, mostly canines (Koby F.-Ed., 1950; Kurtčn B., 1955). We have reason to believe that canines are not the most felicitous choice for the determination of ratios between the sexes, if at all we should accord recognition to the hypothesis of sexual dimorphism in teeth. The weight is on sex rations, not on the determination of sex. By reason of their specific status relative to other teeth, the canines were easily shown to exhibit high taphonomic losses (deficits) in most samples (T. 9). For this reason adequate ratios between the sexes would not be obtainable on the basis of canines. Molar teeth, on account of lower taphonomic losses, seemed to fit the purpose more adequately. The measurements (with an accuracy of 0.1mm) of three morphologically least variable molars and the third upper incisor have shown, in consideration of individuals, that D-level displays predominantly higher values (left-skewed histograms), whereas E-level displays predominantly lower values (right-skewed histograms (Fig. 13). From the viewpoint of sexual dimorphism this would argue for a higher number of males in D-level, and a higher number of females in E-level, on the supposition that the measured qualities have retained their normal distribution, and that the basic characteristics of the population (range of variation) have remained unchanged. A higher number of females (both young and old) suggests a variation in the use of den. Under natural conditions, approximately the same number of cubs of both sexes is born, with approximately the same mortality rate in both cases. Consequently the same number of cubs of both sexes is to be expected in the present samples. The mortality rate of adult subjects, on the other hand, is dependent upon the displayed number of either males or females in the den, i. e. upon the use of the den. An increase in the number of either males or females may therefore suggest a highly probable change in the utilization purpose of the den. For it is a well-known fact from the ethology of recent bears species that adult females with their young and adult males are definitely mutually exclusive, in dens and elsewhere (Manvill A.M., 1986). In the course of the study of the fragmentation of the material, consideration was given to its heterogeneous and multilayer character. The fact is that the analysed damage took its origin in different stages of the transition of samples from biosphere to lithosphere by cause of the activity of diverse biotic and abiotic agencies. This finally resulted in as much as 85 % of the bones being more or less damaged. Main sources of the damage thus produced are: - mechanical and chemical weathering, - predatory destruction for the purpose of consuming bones and marrow for food, - human destruction for the purpose of extraction of marrow and other purposes, - inattention during excavations. All fragments have been arranged into five groups according to their sizes (T. 11), and into sharp-edged and rounded-off according to the outline of their fractures (T. 12). The number of fragments smaller than 5 cm is a highly conservative one, since ca. 64 % of such have been overlooked due to the field-work technique. The average weights of individual osteoodontological finds have pointed to a relatively higher amount of smaller fragments at E-level by comparison with that of D-level (Fig. 16). Special attention should be paid to the fragments with edges of their fractures rounded off. This rounding of edges was in most instances caused mechanically, and is independent of the size of fragments. Rounded edges of such fragments testify to fractures which were obviously occasioned on death assemblages, and are attributable almost to none other than biotic agencies. There is a marked difference in roundness between the bone fragments of D-level and those of E-level (Fig. 18), which may have resulted from certain changes in rates of sedimentation (shorter hiatuses?) and general conditions before and during sedimentation. There are also significant differences in the fragmentation of individual skeletal remains between the juvenile and adult individuals. Some of the damage, such as cranial and long marrow bones of the adult individuals' broken open, are perhaps attributable to the palaeolithic men considering the facts such as rounded-off edges of fractures, small dimensions of fragments, and the impossibility of assembling these fragments. Some bones of juvenile individuals, on the other hand, display the kind of damage which makes it certain beyond any doubt that it was caused by predators (in view of significant traces such as gnawing and tooth marks). Specific kinds of damage in bones, such as leaching, tooth marks, burns, and cutmarks, are presented in T. 13. An interesting feature is the complete absence of cutmarks such as Would be attributable to the activities of palaeolithic hunters. Predatory marks, on the other "and, are in perfect agreement with the frequence of the skeletal remains of the wolf. A part °t predatory damage on bones could be also attributable to the cave bear which may have crushed the bones but did not leave many traces on them. Unfortunately, the role of ancient men in the den of his presumed game remains unaccounted t°r at the present stage of investigation. For this purpose a more detailed treatment of the samples is being prepared that will proceed through the application of non-parametric statistical methods

Divje babe I - poskus uporabe statistične analize množičnih živalskih ostankov v paleolitski arheologiji. II. Razbite dolge mozgovne kosti jamskega medveda

On the basis of the standardized sample containing all determinable long marrow bones of cave bear (T. 1), and consisting of 16 archaeologically fertile and 7 archaeologically sterile arbitrarily-chosen staratified units (cf. I. Turk, J. Dirjec, Fig. 1), the hypothesis has been tested that the antropogenic breaking-open of the long marrow bones of cave bear had once occured, presumably for the consumption or extraction of marrow, on the newly discovered palaeolithic cave site at Divje babe I, near Cerkno (Slovenia, Yugoslavia). Previously, the marrow of the recent brown bear had been analysed for the purpose of determining the marrow's nutritiousness and, above all, the content values of some of the essential substances. These had been found to be present in substantially larger quantities than e.g. in the analysed marrow of red deer (Tt. 2, 3). The bones from the sample have been classified as shown in T. 1 and Fig. 2. The classification has followed major quantitative differences between the marrow in the bones of adult (group I) and juvenile specimens (group II) (R.J. Blumenschine, 1986, 37, 132; D.C. Thomas. E. Broughton, 1978). These differences are also found to be observed by the now living predators and scavengers in the consumption of marrow in terms of a definite preference for the bones of adult animals (R.J. Blumenschine, 1986, 58). Furthermore, the classification has been made in adherence to the significant differences in the amount of marrow between the subgroup humerus-femur-tibia (Aa) and radius-ulna-fibula (Bb). These differences have been expected to produce some global differences between the two subgroups if the extraction of marrow had been confirmed. The distribution of the two subgroups into bones integral (A,B) and bones broken open (a,b) is irrelevant in the present case. The only thing that is relevant here is the number of fragments which will increase in direct proportion to the degree of fragmentation of bones. Since an increase in fragmentation tends to affect the proportion of determinable to indeterminable fragments, the decision has been made to additionally keep account of the proportions between the archaeologically fertile and archaeologically sterile units. This latter division has been made to conform to any of the possible global differences between the units expected to be detected if the palaeolithic visitors to the cave had indeed taken to extracting marrow. Freshly accumulated long marrow bones of adult cave bear subjects could only have been crushed by hyenas, bears themselves, and especially by ancient men. Since no osteoodontological or other remains of cave hyena, which are only rarely traced in the palaeolithic sites of Slovenia m general, had been unearthed at the site treated here, the only two biogenic agents left for consideration are man and cave bear. Yet the high degree of fragmentation so typical of the Divje babe I site can never be the result of mere intensive decomposition of bones caused by natural agencies because the bones in general are in a very good state of preservation, with most fragments displaying rounded adges of fractures that had mostly originated in the time prior to the final integration of the fragments into the sediment. This was the reason why all of the tests had been prepared so as to make it possible for any global differences that could be associated with the activities of man to become visible, as well as to bring down to the lowest possible degree various disturbances caused by other living and non-living agencies that should be taken into consideration as well. In testing the hypothesis concerning the anthropogenic causes for the fragmentary state of the long marrow bones of cave bear from Divje babe I, only non-parametric statistics has been used, since it is known to impose fewer tasks on the person analysing the data, although it usually yields rather rough results. The results of Friedman's Fc test for dependent samples, p=0. 05 (H. Biining, G. Trenkler, 1978, 217 ff.), which had been used to test the global differences between the (a) and (b) subgroups in the units exhibiting cultural remains and features, have proved different taphonomical features for the humerus-femur-tibia subgroup in comparsion with those of the radius-ulna-fibula subgroup, both in adult and juvenile specimens (Fig. 2). The homogeneous character of the bones containing larger amounts of marrow (humerus-femur-tibia) is above all significant with the adult specimens, since it has been testified to both between the bones and between the units. The results of the test are in agreement with the hypothesis of the extraction of marrow, however they fail to yield any further details on the fact. This leaves us room enough to make different alternative explanations, which, however, have nothing to do with the hypothesis proposed above. The results of Wilcoxon's one-sided test for dependent samples and the exact distribution, p=0.05 (H. Biining, G. Trenkler, 1978, 186 ff.), which had been used to test the differences between the (a) and (b) subgroups in the units exhibiting cultural remains and features, have shown significantly lower values in adult specimens' bones that contained larger amounts of marrow, whereas the analougous bones of juvenile specimens have displayed just the opposite results (Fig. 3). One way of explaining this fact is to seek the cause in the increased fragmentary state of the bones from certain subgroups within the two groups, and the minimized determinabilty of osteological fragments related to it. For this reason the proportion of determinable to indeterminable fragments in the 16 archaeologically fertile and 7 archaeologically sterile units have been put to Wilcoxon's one-sided test for independent samples, p=0.05, with the result of establishing that the proportions in the archaeologically fertile units are significantly higher than those in the archaeologically sterile units (cf. p. 36), which is direct opposition to the conjecture of a higher amount of indeterminable fragments in the archaeologically fertile units owing to the more intensive process of fragmentation. Another disturbing point is the complementarity of the results in both subgroups of long marrow bones of both the adult and juvenile specimens. One of the possible alternative interpretation of the given situation is the most direct one, i.e. that the fragments represent the natural state of affaires, which, of course, is in direct opposition to the hypothesis as it has been proposed above. The results of Wilcoxon's one-sided test for independent samples and the exact distribution, p=0.05 (H. Biining, G. Trenkler, 1978, 145 ff.), between the archaeologically fertile and archaelogically sterile units, have shown that the former will invariably yield more remains (T. 4). In addition to the absolute ones, a measure of qualitative aberrations between the two groups and further subgroups of the long bones would naturally be expected to be found in the course of testing the above hypothesis. Some inexplicable qualitative aberrations that had already been established in the analysis of skeletal elements (I. Turk, J. Dirjec, 1989) had completely blurred major absolute quantitative differences between the two groups of units. That is why the proportion of the humerus-femur-tibia to radius-ulna-fibula subgroups have additionally been tested both in adults and cubs. Wilcoxon's one-sided test for independent samples, p=0.05, has shown these proportions to be significantly higher in the archaeologically fertile units both in the juvenile and adult specimens, which means that, very likely, there are no relevant differences between the two groups. Both the ponderings of the naive intuitive and the formal quantitative techniques would suggest the following conclusions: The analysed remains of cave bear had been accumulating at the entrance to the cave most probably because of the natural dying-off subjects and the autopodal accumulation of their skeletal remains. The agency of early men in this process must have been negligible, if at all present. The fact that ancient men would break open the bones of cave bear, and even some of the human long marrow bones which resembled them (in their morphological and structural features) (P. Villa et al., 1986), has indeed been proven by a number of finds from later archaeological periods. The analyses of recent brown bear's marrow have confirmed the edibility and nutritional value of the marrow, and even the presence of some essential substances. However, the results of the executed statistical analysis do not admit of the hypothesis of the anthropogenic breaking-open of the long marrow bones of cave bear from the Divje babe I site on the basis of the criteria proposed above. Therefore, the conclusion can be drawn that the broken-open limb bones of cave bear reveal no solid evidence of any activities of the palaeolithic visitors to the Divje babe I cave. There are several alternative explanations for the fragmentary state of the bones with predatory animals as the principal agencies, especially the cave bear himself. There is also a very simple, and also very probable alternative: All the analysed remains represent the natural state of affairs, in which the bones that have been shattered by whatever reason to a higher degree always outnumber those which have been less shattered. Logically, such an explanation can only be accepted within the two groups (adult-juvenile) but not between them

Divje babe I - poskus uporabe statistične analize množičnih živalskih ostankov v paleolitski arheologiji

The contribution gives a presentation of all isolated teeth of the cave bear (Ursus spelaeus) originating from the Divje babe I cave, an Upper Pleistocene Palaeolithic site in Slovenia. All the as yet unpublished archaeological remains belong to the Mousterian (a number of layers) and to the Aurignacian (one layer). Permanent teeth were studied in terms of taphonomic, palaeoeconomic and palaeoecological analyses. In the course of the taphonomic analysis, results of different methods of fieldwork and deskwork were compared. The palaeoeconomic analysis discussed the question of the cave bear being hunted or not. The palaeoecological analysis studied the complex interrelationship between age and sex structures of the fossil populations of the cave bear through the passage of time. The interpretation of the results of the analysis drew on cthological studies and individual ecofacts obtained by means of pollen and sedimentological-stratigraphic analyses. For some of the clearly evident interrelated changes in age and sex structures, an interpretation alternative to the Bergmann rule has been proposed. This alternative interpretation is mostly based on how we answer the question, who made use of the cave-den at a specific period of time, i.e. whether the cave was exclusively used by dominant males or exclusively by cubs and females with cubs.Prispevek obravnava vse posamično najdene (izolirane) zobe jamskega medveda (Ursus spelaeus) iz mlajšepleistocenskega paleolitskega jamskega najdišča Divje babe I v Sloveniji. Se neobjavljeni arheološki ostanki pripadajo moustčrienu (več plasti) in aurignacienu (ena plast). Stalni zobje so bili obdelani s tafonomskega, paleockonomskega in paleoekološkega vidika. V tafonomski analizi smo primerjali predvsem rezultate različnih metod terenskega in kabinetnega dela. V paleoekonomski analizi smo se dotaknili vprašanja lova na jamskega medveda. V paleoekološki analizi smo obravnavali zapletene povezave med starostno in spolno sestavo fosilnih populacij jamskega medveda v času. Pri razlagi rezultatov analize smo si pomagali z etologijo in s posameznimi ekofakti, ki smo jih dobili s pomočjo pelodnih in sedimcntološko-stratigrafskih analiz. Za nekatere evidentno soodvisne spremembe v starostni in spolni sestavi smo predlagali alternativno razlago Bergmannovemu pravilu. Naša alternativna razlaga temelji predvsem na odgovoru na vprašanje, kdo je kdaj uporabljal jamski brlog: ali izključno dominantni samci ali izključno mladiči in samice z mladiči

45.000 let stare fosilne dlake jamskega medveda iz najdišča Divje babe I v Sloveniji

Imprints and fossilised remains of cave bear hair were found in a fossil den at the Palaeolithic site of Divje babe-I, in addition to a plethora of bones and teeth. The hairs from Divje babe-I are currently the only example of their kind found in cave deposits.V paleolitskem najdišču in fosilnem brlogu jamskega medveda Divje babe I so bili najdeni poleg številnih kosti in zob tudi odtisi dlak in njihovi fosilni ostanki, stari 45.000 let. Fosilizirane dlake iz Divjih bab I so zaenkrat edinstven primer v jamskem sedimentacijskem okolju

Ocena vlage v mlajšepleistocenskem kraškem okolju: Paleoklima in paleomikrookolje v jami Divje babe I, Slovenija / Assessing Humidity in an Upper Pleistocene Karst Environment: Palaeoclimates and Palaeomicroenvironments at the Cave Divje babe I, Slovenia

V članku je prikazan nov sedimentološki-klimatski model za razlago avtohtonih klastičnih sedimentov v mlajšepleistocenskem najdišču Divje babe I v Sloveniji. Analizirani sedimenti pripadajo kisikovi izotopski stopnji 1, 3 in 5 (OIS 1, OIS 3, OIS 5). Poudarek analize je na padavinah, ki smo jih razložili na podlagi količine avtigenih strukturnih agregatov v sedimentih. Ugotovitve smo podprli s kvantitativno analizo reliefno korodiranih klastov, ki pomenijo korozijo jamskega svoda, in izjedkanih kosti, ki pomenijo korozijo v jamskih tleh. Raziskali smo tudi odnos med klimo in jamskim medvedom ter neandertalcem in klimo, in sicer na podlagi množičnih fosilnih ostankov ter najdb artefaktov. Vse analize smo naredili na podlagi trodimenzionalnega vzorčenja, tj. v horizontalni in vertikalni smeri. Vzorčili smo 65 profilov na površini 65 m2. Vsak profil je imel 35 arbitrarnih stratigrafskih enot (režnjev) s podatki o agregatih, izjedkanih kosteh, fosilnih ostankih in artefaktih. Pri razlagi sedimentnih karakteristik, ki nakazujejo klimatske parametre, smo dosledno upoštevali holocenske standarde za najdišče. Ugotovili smo, da je bila klima v OIS 3 hladnejša in bolj vlažna kot v OIS 1 in OIS 5. Na klimatsko spremembo v OIS 3 so se z večjim obiskom jame odzvali ljudje in živali, vendar ne hkrati. Sprememba klime se je na mikrolokaciji jame domnevno pokazala predvsem v podaljšanem trajanju snežne odeje. The article presents a new sedimentary-climatic model for explaining autochthonous clastic sediment in the Upper Pleistocene site, Divje babe I, Slovenia. The sediment analysed here was deposited during Oxygen Isotope Stages 1, 3 and 5 (OIS, OIS 3, OIS 5). The stress is on precipitation, which we explained on the basis of the quantity of authigenic structural aggregates in the sediment. We supported the results with quantitative analysis of clasts with etched surface, which represent corrosion of the cave ceiling, and etched bones, which represent corrosion on the cave ground. We also analysed the relation between climate and cave bears, and Neanderthals and climate, on the basis of mass fossil remains and finds of artefacts. All analyses were made on the basis of three-dimensional sampling, i.e., in horizontal and vertical directions. We sampled 65 profiles over an area of 65 m2. Each profile had 35 arbitrary stratigraphic units (splits) with data on aggregates, etched bones, fossil remains and artefacts. In explaining the sediment characteristics that point to climatic parameters, we consistently took into account the Holocene standards for the site. We found that the climate in OIS 3 was colder and damper than in OIS 1 and OIS 5. People and animals responded to the climatic changes in OIS 3 with more visits to the cave, but not at the same time. The climatic change was presumably reflected in the microlocation of the cave mainly by the longer duration of snow cover.  

The Late Medieval and Early Post-Medieval site of Župnijski dom in Šentvid pri Stični. Analysis of the pottery and animal remains

V prispevku so predstavljeni izsledki arheoloških izkopavanj na najdišču Župnijski dom v Šentvidu pri Stični, kjer je bil dokumentiran arheološki zapis iz srednjega in novega veka. Za širšo arheološko sliko so pomembni sicer skromni sledovi zgodnje- in visokosrednjeveške poselitve. Glavnina najdb (17.284 odlomkov lončenine) sodi v pozni srednji oziroma zgodnji novi vek, ki sta med slabše raziskanimi področji v slovenski arheologiji. Analiza tega gradiva (tipologija lončenine in analiza namiznega posodja) daje najdišču posebno mesto v slovenski arheologiji kot izhodišče za temeljne raziskave tega obdobja.This paper presents the findings of archaeological excavations at Župnijski dom in Šentvid pri Stični, where Medieval and Post-Medieval archaeological finds were discovered. The otherwise modest remains of the Early and High Medieval settlement are significant archaeologically. Most of the finds (17,284 pottery fragments) belong to the Late Medieval or Early Post-Medieval periods, which are amongst the least researched periods in Slovenian archaeology. The analysis of these finds (pottery typology and tableware analysis), therefore makes the site particularly significant in Slovenian archaeology, because it can serve as a starting point for further research into these periods

Podmol pri Kastelcu - novo večplastno arheološko najdišče na Krasu, Slovenija

The paper concerns the results of trial excavation in the new Holocenc archaeological cave site at Podmol on the Petrinjc Karst in Slovenia. Stratigraphie sequence is 8 metres deep. Eleven Holoccnc layers yielded numerous finds from Ncolithic, Copper, Bronze, Roman and Mediaeval Age. This is the most complete archaeological stratigraphy of Holoccne period in Slovenia till now, especially for Copper Age and the Copper-Early Bronze Age transition. Radiocarbon dates do not exist. Many aspects of the site and its finds were analised: pcdological-scdimcntological, archaeological, palaeofaunistical and palaeobotanical.V prispevku so obdelana poskusna izkopavanja v novem arheološkem jamskem najdišču Podmol na Petrinjskem Krasu v Sloveniji. Ugotovljen je bil 8 m debel stratigrafski niz, obsegajoč obdobja neo- in eneolitika, bronaste dobe, antike l n srcdnjcga veka. Trenutno je lo najdišče z najpopolneje ohranjeno stratigrafijo za holocensko obdobje v Sloveniji. To velja še posebej za eneolitik in za prehod iz eneolitika v zgodnjo bronasto dobo. Najdišče radiokarbonsko ni datirano. Podmol je bil vzorčno kompleksno obdelan: narejene so bile pedološko-sedimentološke raziskave ter paleovegetacijske in paleofavnistične analize. Vse so dale prepričljive preliminarne rezultate

Divje babe I - poskus uporabe statistične analize množičnih živalskih ostankov v paleolitski arheologiji

The paper presents an in - depth analysis of the fragmentation processes of mass skeletal remains of the cave bear from the Palaeolithic site of Divje Babe I (Slovenia, NW Yugoslavia), with the application of statistical analyses and the principle of sampling. Focusing on the bones of the extremities. the author standardizes their fragment sizes, applying regression analysis. The agents of the intensive fragmentation vvere predators and other natural factors, rather than Palaeolithic inhabitants of the cave during the Middle Palaeolithic and the early stages of the Uppcr Palaeolithic.V prispevku je kompleksno obdelana fragmentarnost množičnih okostnih ostankov jamskega medveda iz paleolitskega najdišča Divje babe I (Slovenija, SZ Jugoslavija) z uporabo statistične analize in na principu vzorčenja. Poseben poudarek je na kosteh okončin in na standardiziranju velikosti njihovih fragmentov z uporabo regresijske analize. Veliko fragmentiranost vseh skeletnih delov so prej kot paleolitski prebivalci jame iz obdobja srednjega paleolitika in zgodnjega mlajšega paleolitika povzročile zveri in drugi naravni dejavniki

Divje babe I - an attempt to apply statistical analysis to the mass Animal remains from the palaeolithic site I. Determinable skeletal remains of cave bear

For the purpose of the analysis of skeletal elements, samples have been gathered from the sediments of specified surfaces (10 m2) and cubic contents (depending on the thickness of arbitrary stratigraphic units, with a range of 0.15 m) which, with minor aberrations, run in succession, one under another, to the unit (14) inclusive. Downward from this unit there comes a stratigraphic sequence of samples of almost the same surfaces and cubic contents but that it had been dislocated (Fig. 1). The sterile units (15-21) between the two sequences form a blank. A sample consisting exclusively of 70.5 m3 of gravel, sand and silt deposits has been investigated in its entirety by the present authors alone. In order to give the treatment as much uniformity as possible, all basic statistical forms comprising units of 1 m- each (Fig. 2) were filled in by one author alone according to previously fixed criteria. The samples include all taxonomically and anatomically determinable remains of bones, both integral and damaged, that have been found independently of the screening of sediments. All skeletal elements have been divided with morphological reliability into two groups of remains, one of juvenile and the other of adult specimens, yet with no division into the left and the right (Tt. 10-12). All anatomically determinable skeletal elements (labelled »n« in Tt. 10-11) have been loaded subsequently on account of the irregularity of their representation within the skeleton. The 'oaded values have not been entered. By use of different loadings (as designated in the leftmost column of Tt. 10 and 11) individual bones, as well as the remains of both age profiles, have been balanced out. The loaded data have then been sorted out into five classes (labelled »r« in Tt- 10-11) after D.R. Spennemann's method (Spennemann D R., 1985). In this way an adequate general account of skeletal remains has been achieved (Figs. 3; 5). The absolute figures from Tt. 10 and 11 (»n« values) were submitted to the two-sided non-parametric tests used for independent samples regarding the differences of the samples. Wi'coxon and Kruskal-Wallis's tests were applied for the purpose of comparing excavation units, and Mann-Whitney's U-test for the purpose of comparing individual skeletal elements from both archaeologically sterile and archaeologically fertile units (Mosteller F., Rourke R. K K., 1973; Weber E., 1972). The correlations have been calculated on the basis of the coefficient of rank correlation after Spearmann, and then put to the t-Test. By reason of the great significance of the relative relations between the arbitrary stratigraphic units and both age profiles, the overlooking diagram of the sums total of all skeletal remains as found in each of the units, with juvenile and adult specimens shown separately, has been produced in the ogarithmic scale (Fig. 4). The correlation between the units (1-30), cultural levels (A-H), and 'ay«rs (2-21) is presented in T. 1. There are two main factors apt to affect the outcome of the statistical analysis, namely the manner of sampling (excavation) and the size of samples. Since it is impossible to make an entry of each skeletal fragment in the coordinate system for practical reasons, the vertical - representing the dimension of time - may have a tendency to exhibit remarkable divergencies between the curve representing the actual (yet unknown) distribution of all skeletal remains and the curve representing the empirical distribution that had been arrived at in consequence of our adopted manner of sampling by sq. metres and by excavation units. In order to avoid further departure from the actual distribution of remains in the vertical, the analysis of samples was performed in strict adherence to the units, with deliberate omission of combining the units to form sedimentary and cultural units. Skeletal remains have been found to be of a fairly regular distribution throughout all the plan-view units, whether the latter be 1 or 10 m2 in surface. There are no major groupings, either anatomical or chaotic. Occasioned by the presence of individual rocks and a number of unpredictable modifications in the configuration of the cave, there is no complete overlap between the plane views of all the units. The percentage of overlapping between the units is clearly observable from T. 1. Allowing that the different thicknesses of the units (see T. 1) and the different intervals of time during which the samples had originated should not be taken into account, and judging from the flora, fauna, and the archaeological finds (all yet unpublished), the units conjointly represent a relatively homogeneous whole, which has been dated in absolute terms for a range of approximately 25.000 years (data not yet published). A discernible secondary perturbation of sediments had occurred only in units (2)—(5) which had been affected by cryoturbation. Bioturbation is traceable in all units. Since it has more or less synchronized with sedimentation, it has no substantial post-sedimentary effect on the homogeneity of the samples. These are taken to be statistically representative when all parts of the skeleton are found to be present in them. This is the case when a sample contains at least 500 skeletal elements. When not, a number of blanks appear, which has the effect of upsetting the statistics (see Tt. 10-11). This is the reason why only rare samples (in semibold type in T. 1) are representative in statistical terms. An increase in the extent of samples will, above all, tend to increase the number of the remains which have been most numerous in the first place, whereas the extremely rare parts of the skeleton will only rarely present themselves, which seems to fit in with the Neyman series (Weber E., 1972). The 8.90 m thick stratigraphic section displays considerable oscillation in the amount of skeletal remains (Fig. 4). The upper section of the stratigraphic series reveals several minor cycles of oscillation within one, or perhaps two periods, while the lower section exhibits a single period with two eminent culminations. Periodic oscillations indicate a slow process of alterations and stable conditions, while the cyclic aberrations in the upper part of the curve may be derived from rapid changes and unstable conditions, which is in perfect agreement with not entirely published results of pollen analyses (Turk I. et al., 1988). Extensive oscillations in amount stand in covariance with the archaeological remains (T. 5). Nevertheless, the correlation has been found to be significant only in the case of the remains of the adult specimens (r, = 0.858; a = 0.017). The amount of the skeletal remains of juvenile specimens has, in all probability, been conditioned by the use of the den - whether it was one of females with their cubs or one of solitary males - which was submitted to constant changes, which again, in the long run, seems to have occurred in connection with ecological changes. The frequency of occurrence of these remains seems to be in no relation with the repeated appearance of middle palaeolithic men in Divje babe I. There are no significant differences between the skeletal elements of the juvenile, and those of the adult specimens in the statistically representative samples (Kruskal- Wallis, P(H 5 12.00) = 0.10) (T. 4). The comparison between individual archaeologically fertile units containing statistically representative samples has yielded no such differences between individual units as it was expected (Tt. 6; 7). What is even more surprising, there are no differences in quality between the units of D- and those of E-level the two of which differ significantly in the amount of archaeological finds, and possibly also in the frequentation of middle palaeolithic hunters and food-gatherers (T. 7). This absence of differences may have resulted from the insufficiency of the amounts of individual skeletal elements in the samples. Due to the occurrence of substantial differences in amount between the archaeologically sterile units (2), (6), (24)-(26), (28), and the archaeologically fertile units (3)-(5), (7)-(14), (22), (23), (27), (29), (30) with their levels A, B, D, E, F, G, H, each part of the skeleton was submitted separately to Mann-Whitney's U-test, which is equivalent to Wilcoxon's test. The results of the two-sided test are exhibited in T. 9, and the results of the one-sided test in footnote 7. Statistically significant disproportions have been established between individual skeletal elements of both juvenile and adult specimens, which seems to be best accounted for by the activity of man and predatory animals. Most of the bones of the juvenile specimens may have been displaced by predators, while most of the long marrow bones and crania of the adult specimens seem to have been reduced to minute fragments until unrecognizable by man, in view of the total absence of the cave hyena. This is one of the possible explanations of the surplus number of some bones and the deficiency of others in units otherwise rich in cultural remains and features (Fig. 6). Since the entire "bone evidence found at Divje babe I, which includes approximately seven times the amount of the one presented here, produced no more than one or two cutmarks on bones due to butchery and the cutting away of flesh (Fig. 7), the only hypothesis that can justifiably be proposed at this point of investigation is one of the utilization of bone marrow for nutritional and other requirements. There is no evidence of whatever utilization of fleshy parts and skins by ancient men, however. In statistical terms, there is strong evidence suggesting a highly probable link between the occurence of middle palaeolithic man and that of the cave bear "at the site of Divje babe I. There are several conjecturable ways of accounting for such a link. For instance: hostility in the form of hunting the effectiveness of which, we believe, is highly improbable. Or: cumulative effects of a large number of separate visits to the cave by one and the other in terms of mutual avoidance, which merged eventually into a homogeneous integral whole. Or: confrontation and mutual tolerance owing to the occasional partial overlap of their trophic and habitat niches. Or: a combination of all three possibilities. The choice between the four admits of a minimal chance to select the correct explanation for the nature of such a link