albertonykus
Well-known member
Garcia-Fermet, T., A. Testu, A.-M. Moigne, T. Saos, and S. Grégoire (2023)
The bird remains from La Crouzade Cave (Gruissan, Aude): the mixed origin of a Middle Palaeolithic bone accumulation
Quaternary Environments and Humans (advance online publication)
doi: 10.1016/j.qeh.2023.100001
Avian remains are commonly found in Pleistocene cave sites. La Crouzade Cave (Gruissan, Aude, Southern France) is no exception, as it yielded thousands of bird bones recovered from the Middle and Upper Palaeolithic deposits. In Mousterian layers 8, 7 and 6 (MIS 3) the avifaunal spectrum is dominated by cliff-nesting taxa such as doves and corvids from the genus Pyrrhocorax. Some of these birds may have died naturally in situ but the presence of digestive damage on a great number of specimens indicates that most of the individuals were consumed by non-human predators (carnivorous mammals and raptors). Furthermore, the presence of a few cut-marked specimens suggests that Neanderthals took part in the accumulation. Striae located on wing bones such as ulna could be linked to feather removal. The bird assemblage from La Crouzade thus provides a new example of mixed accumulation in which Middle Palaeolithic human populations were involved.
The bird remains from La Crouzade Cave (Gruissan, Aude): the mixed origin of a Middle Palaeolithic bone accumulation
Quaternary Environments and Humans (advance online publication)
doi: 10.1016/j.qeh.2023.100001
Avian remains are commonly found in Pleistocene cave sites. La Crouzade Cave (Gruissan, Aude, Southern France) is no exception, as it yielded thousands of bird bones recovered from the Middle and Upper Palaeolithic deposits. In Mousterian layers 8, 7 and 6 (MIS 3) the avifaunal spectrum is dominated by cliff-nesting taxa such as doves and corvids from the genus Pyrrhocorax. Some of these birds may have died naturally in situ but the presence of digestive damage on a great number of specimens indicates that most of the individuals were consumed by non-human predators (carnivorous mammals and raptors). Furthermore, the presence of a few cut-marked specimens suggests that Neanderthals took part in the accumulation. Striae located on wing bones such as ulna could be linked to feather removal. The bird assemblage from La Crouzade thus provides a new example of mixed accumulation in which Middle Palaeolithic human populations were involved.
