Metrical analysis of bovine bone remains from the Neolithic to the Bronze Age at the El Portalón site (Atapuerca, Burgos) in the Iberian context

The discrimination of wild and domestic forms of animals is crucial to understanding the subsistence strategy of a site's inhabitants. In this study, a metrical analysis was carried out for the taxonomical identification of Bos taurus and Bos primigenius. Abundant bovine bone remains have been recovered from the El Portalón site's Neolithic, Chalcolithic, and Bronze Age levels. A metrical analysis and sex determination have been completed for these bone remains. The results of the metrical study suggest a significant decrease in bovine size during the transition from the Chalcolithic to the Bronze Age. The similar sex ratio (bulls/cows) among the levels and the similar mortality profile rule out management differences as a possible cause for this size change. The global trend towards aridification from the Middle Holocene onwards or the general climate event (4.2 Ka: transition Chalcolithic to Bronze Age) where social, demographic, and subsistence strategic changes occurred are considered probable causes of this decrease in cattle size

Long-term dog consumption during the Holocene at the Sierra de Atapuerca (Spain): case study of the El Portalón de Cueva Mayor site

Evidence of dog consumption at the El Portalón de Cueva Mayor site (Sierra de Atapuerca, Spain) from the Holocene is revealed for the first time. The taxonomical and taphonomical studies of the animal bones from the El Portalón site have been carried out. The morphological and metrical analyses indicate that 130 dog bone remains have been identified from the El Portalón site, including from the Neolithic (NISP = 23), Chalcolithic (Pre-Bell Beaker Chalcolithic and Bell Beaker Chalcolithic) (26), Early Bronze Age, Middle Bronze Age and Late Bronze Age (81). The anthropic evidence encompasses cut marks, fresh bone fractures, human tooth marks and fire modifications, thus constituting clear evidence of cynophagy, at least in the Chalcolithic and Bronze Age levels in different contexts (habitat and funerary) from the El Portalón site (Atapuerca, Burgos). Furthermore, the fire alterations on two bone remains from the Neolithic suggest likely dog consumption due to the domestic character of the stratigraphical units where these bone remains were found. The taphonomic evidence suggests that domestic dogs were, at least occasionally, part of the diet of the humans who inhabited the El Portalón site, a fact that might be caused either by food shortages and hunger or as dog meat was considered as a delicacy

Virtualización e impresión 3D de modelos anatómicos aplicados a la docencia y planificación quirúrgica IV

Depto. de Medicina y Cirugía AnimalFac. de VeterinariaFALSEsubmitte

Virtualización e impresión 3D de modelos anatómicos aplicados a la docencia en Anatomía y Cirugía Veterinaria III

Creación y aplicación de modelos anatómicos en 3D en la docencia de asignaturas de anatomía y cirugía en el grado de veterinari

Virtualización e impresión 3D de modelos anatómicos aplicados a la docencia en anatomia y cirugía veterinaria II

Este proyecto aplica las técnicas de virtualización de imágenes de piezas anatómicas normales y patológicas con fines de creación de modelos digitales y con impresión 3D para docencia en Anatomía y Cirugía Veterinarias

Ontogenetic dental patterns in Pleistocene hyenas (Crocuta crocuta Erxleben, 1777) and their palaeobiological implications

During the Pleistocene, humans and hyenas co‐occurred at sites, which included cavities and rock‐shelters, accumulating bone assemblages attributable to both the hominids and carnivores. Studies of these co‐occurrences have given rise to much debate about the relationships established, suggesting that an interpretation of the nature of the biological activities conducted could be useful for understanding predator behaviour and for reconstructing the palaeobiology of these sites. Dentition analysis is an effective technique, employed in zooarchaeological studies, to interpret the use of shared spaces. However, to date, tooth development studies aimed at determining the age of an archaeological assemblage are scarce. At Pleistocene sites, isolated hyena teeth are typically the most common elements. In Terrasses de la Riera dels Canyars (Gavà, Barcelona, NE Iberian Peninsula), a fluvial deposit dated at ̴39.6 ka cal Before the Present (BP) (Heinrich Stadial 4) with a sizeable record of large mammals and just a few lithic tools (Aurignacian), cranial and postcranial hyena bones are remarkably well‐preserved, exhibiting all their ontogenetic stages. Here, we conduct an analysis of dental ontogeny (employing X‐ray imaging techniques), wear and replacement, and propose four age categories for hyena juveniles and one category for subadults based on complete (or almost complete) mandibles and maxillae. By employing these five, more detailed, age clusters, the minimum number of individuals is found to increase. Application of the method to the site's isolated teeth confirms its validity. The hyena mortality pattern recorded at Canyars, together with descriptions of extant hyena behaviour, indicate that the site was used primarily as a communal den

The skull shape of Canis lupus. A study of wolf and dog cranial morphology

The aim of this research is to analyse craniomandibular features in contemporary wolves and dogs in order to study evolutionary changes that are assumed to be related to domestication. We compared these modern canids with four fossils from different Upper Pleistocene (Grotta Romanelli, Terrasses de la Riera dels Canyars) and Holocene (Portalón) sites of the Mediterranean region. The specimens were analysed using both traditional and geometric (2D) morphometric techniques. Our results characterise wolves’ greater mandible size (dental series), greater cranial width and length, and less elongated snout.Ministerio de Economía y CompetitividadDepto. de Geodinámica, Estratigrafía y PaleontologíaSección Deptal. de Anatomía y Embriología (Veterinaria)Fac. de Ciencias GeológicasFac. de VeterinariaTRUEpu

Distinguishing between Bos and Bison petrous bones. A case study: bovines from the Des-Cubierta Cave (Pinilla del Valle, Madrid)

The taxonomic identification of large bovine remains in archaeological and palaeontological sites is important in order to infer the palaeoenvironment of these sites and to know if their inhabitants were hunters of Bos or Bison. Their presence may also have biostratigraphic or archaeozoological implications. Although the petrous bone is one of the elements of the skeleton with the greatest preservation potential in prehistoric sites, due to its hardness and compactness, it is not frequently used by the palaeontologists to distinguish between Bos and Bison, the two genera commonly present at the sites during the Pleistocene. Due to the abundance of petrous bones at the Late Pleistocene layers of the DesCubierta cave, the aim of this work is to identify Bos and Bison in this site through the morphological features defined by Guadelli (1999) for this bone and using morphometric geometrics with material of Bos taurus, Bos primigenius, and Bison priscus in order to identify the diff erences among petrous bones of these species

Anatomía de vertebrados a través de imágenes 3D. Identificación de huesos actuales y fósiles de fauna salvaje, doméstica y extinta

La experiencia del pasado curso en contenidos docentes con una carga de prácticas de anatomía ha sido especialmente compleja. La dificultad que conlleva explicar anatomía de forma no presencial, sin disponer de huesos o réplicas que permitan la identificación de los elementos óseos o dentales, ha sido uno de los retos más difíciles a los que los profesores que enseñamos anatomía nos hemos tenido que enfrentar. Son varios los campos dentro de la paleontología, zoología y la anatomía veterinaria los que precisan impartir contenidos anatómicos en sus asignaturas, tanto en enseñanza de grado como de máster. Esto nos ha llevado a un equipo de las Facultades de C. Geológicas y de Veterinaria a diseñar un proyecto docente de anatomía virtual apoyado por modelos anatómicos 3D para impartir estos contenidos incluso cuando la docencia se lleva a cabo de forma online. Durante 3 años, un proyecto surgido desde las convocatorias de "Innova- docencia" (Fac. de Veterinaria) de desarrollo de tecnologías 3D, tanto virtuales como de impresión de modelos anatómicos y quirúrgicos acercó a estudiantes y profesionales, las ventajas de estas tecnologías. Esta experiencia ha llevado a un nuevo grupo de PDI, con acceso a una gran colección de huesos pertenecientes a fauna doméstica y salvaje, así como a fósiles de diferentes yacimientos de interés arqueo-paleontológico y científico, a plantear un proyecto que abarque objetivos docentes de la Universidad en formato online al servicio de la mejora de la enseñanza de contenidos prácticos de anatomía

Chemical immobilization of free-ranging and captive Sunda clouded leopards (<i>Neofelis diardi</i>) with two anesthetic protocols: medetomidine-ketamine and tiletamine-zolazepam

There is currently no available information regarding the veterinary management of Sunda clouded leopards (Neofelis diardi), either in captivity or in the wild. In this study, 12 Sunda clouded leopards were anesthetized between January 2008 and February 2014 for medical exams, and/or GPS-collaring. Seven wild-caught individuals were kept in captivity and 5 free-ranging animals were captured by cage traps. Two anesthesia combinations were used: medetomidine-ketamine (M-K) or tiletamine-zolazepam (T-Z). Atipamezole (0.2 mg/kg im) was used as an antagonist for medetomidine. Medetomidine (range: 0.039-0.054 mg/kg) and ketamine (range: 3-4.39 mg/kg) were administered during 5 immobilizations, resulting in median induction times of 7 min. After a median anesthesia time of 56 min, atipamezole was injected, observing effects of antagonism at a median time of 12 min. T-Z (range: 6.8-10.8 mg/kg) was administered on 7 occasions. Median induction times observed with this combination were shorter than with M-K (4 min vs 7 min; P=0.04), and anesthesia and recovery times were significantly longer (244 and 35 min vs 56 and 16 min, respectively; P=0.02). Lower heart rates were measured in the M-K group, while lower rectal temperatures were found in the T-Z group. Both combinations resulted in safe and reliable immobilizations, although given the favorable anesthesia and recovery times of M-K, we recommend this approach over T-Z for the veterinary handling of Sunda clouded leopards