Under the Skin of a Lion: Unique Evidence of Upper Paleolithic Exploitation and Use of Cave Lion (Panthera spelaea) from the Lower Gallery of La Garma (Spain)

ABSTRACT: Pleistocene skinning and exploitation of carnivore furs have been previously inferred from archaeological evidence. Nevertheless, the evidence of skinning and fur processing tends to be weak and the interpretations are not strongly sustained by the archaeological record. In the present paper, we analyze unique evidence of patterned anthropic modification and skeletal representation of fossil remains of cave lion (Panthera spelaea) from the Lower Gallery of La Garma (Cantabria, Spain). This site is one of the few that provides Pleistocene examples of lion exploitation by humans. Our archaeozoological study suggests that lion-specialized pelt exploitation and use might have been related to ritual activities during the Middle Magdalenian period (ca. 14800 cal BC). Moreover, the specimens also represent the southernmost European and the latest evidence of cave lion exploitation in Iberia. Therefore, the study seeks to provide alternative explanations for lion extinction in Eurasia and argues for a role of hunting as a factor to take into account

Micromammal taphonomy and site formation process of Nutria Mansa 1 archaeological site (Buenos Aires, Argentina)

This paper presents the results of the taphonomic analysis of the micromammal bone remains recovered from Nutria Mansa 1 (NM1), an archaeological site located in the Pampean plains, Argentina. This campsite was occupied by hunter-gatherers that processed and consumed Lama guanicoe during the Late Holocene. In NM1, there are taxa from different environments: mammals from arid and semiarid environments (Patagonic Phytogeographic Province) and humid and temperate environments (Pampean Phytogeographic Province). The main objective of the present study was to evaluate how the recorded small mammal species were incorporated into the archaeological site and which of them were exploited by humans. The micromammal assemblage shows traces of post mortem agents such as weathering, chemical action of sediments, and probably some evidence of predation. The micromammal bones in the archaeological record offer no clear evidence of human modification, and their presence can be the result of predation or other postdepositional agents such as the action of water on the flood plain.Fil: Gómez, Gustavo Norberto. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Tandil. Investigaciones Arqueológicas y Paleontológicas del Cuaternario Pampeano. Universidad Nacional del Centro de la Provincia de Buenos Aires. Investigaciones Arqueológicas y Paleontológicas del Cuaternario Pampeano; ArgentinaFil: Bonomo, Mariano. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - La Plata; Argentina. Universidad Nacional de La Plata. Facultad de Ciencias Naturales y Museo. División Arqueología; Argentin