Presence of the Asian origin Bovini, Hemibos sp. aff. Hemibos gracilis and Bison sp., at the early Pleistocene site of Venta Micena (Orce, Spain)

2011 ◽  
Vol 243 (1) ◽  
pp. 54-60 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bienvenido Martínez-Navarro ◽  
Sergio Ros-Montoya ◽  
M. Patrocinio Espigares ◽  
Paul Palmqvist
Keyword(s):  
Early Pleistocene ◽  
Asian Origin ◽  
Venta Micena

scholarly journals Geochemical and sedimentary constraints on the formation of the Venta Micena early Pleistocene site (Guadix-Baza Basin, Spain)

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Alejandro Granados ◽  
Oriol Oms ◽  
Pere Anadón ◽  
Jordi Ibáñez-Insa ◽  
Anu Kaakinen ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Critical Role ◽  
Freshwater Wetlands ◽  
Freshwater Wetland ◽  
Early Pleistocene ◽  
Bulk Rock ◽  
X Ray Diffraction ◽  
Marginal Areas ◽  
Invertebrate Fossils ◽  
Venta Micena ◽  
Lake Dynamics

AbstractDespite the paleontological relevance of the terrestrial Early Pleistocene Venta Micena bonebed (Baza Basin, Spain), it lacks a comprehensive geochemical/sedimentological study. Here, we demonstrate that the 1.5-m-thick Venta Micena limestone formed in a relatively small freshwater wetland/pond located at the periphery of the large saline Baza paleolake. Two microfacies are observed, with high and low contents of invertebrate fossils, and which originated in the centre and margin of the wetland, respectively. X-ray diffraction (XRD) mineralogy and paleohydrological characterization based on ostracod and bulk-rock geochemistry (δ13C and δ18O) indicate that the limestone reflects a general lowstand of the Baza lake, permitting the differentiation of freshwater wetlands that were fed by adjacent sources. Conversely, during highstands, the Baza lake flooded the Venta Micena area and the freshwater fauna was replaced by a saline one. Bulk-rock isotopic data indicate that the lower interval C1 of the limestone (bone-rich in marginal settings) displays general negative values, while the upper interval C2 (bone free) displays less negative values. The bones of predated mammals accumulated in the marginal areas, which were flooded and buried by recurring water-table fluctuations. Lake dynamics played a critical role in bone accumulation, which was previously considered as representing a hyena den.

scholarly journals A new species of dog from the Early Pleistocene site of Venta Micena (Orce, Baza Basin, Spain)

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bienvenido MARTINEZ-NAVARRO ◽  
Saverio BARTOLINI LUCENTI ◽  
Paul PALMQVIST ◽  
Sergio ROS-MONTOYA ◽  
Joan MADURELL-MALAPEIRA ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
New Species ◽  
Dietary Habits ◽  
Early Pleistocene ◽  
Large Mammals ◽  
Fossil Material ◽  
The Creation ◽  
Venta Micena ◽  
The Town ◽  
A New Species

The site of Venta Micena (Orce, Spain), c. 1.6 Ma, preserves one the best paleontological records of the early Pleistocene large mammals fauna in Europe. Here we describe the specimens of the genus Canis Linnaeus, 1758 in the context of the late Villafranchian and Epivillafranchian fossil dogs from Eurasia. Anatomical and metric data suggest that the Venta Micena Canis form differs from the classical records of Canis etruscus Forsyth Major, 1877 and Canis arnensis Del Campana, 1913, and that it forms part of the younger Canis mosbachensis Soergel (1925) lineage, also recorded in two slightly younger sites of the Orce site complex, Barranco León and Fuente Nueva-3, dated to c. 1.4 Ma. The anatomy of the Venta Micena fossil material shows features that resemble the Canis forms from the Caucasian site of Dmanisi, dated to 1.8 Ma, and Canis ex gr. C. mosbachensis. Nevertheless, dental peculiarities support the creation of a new chrono-species, Canis orcensis n. sp., from the town of Orce. Morphological and paleoecological data suggest that this species probably consumed more vertebrate flesh than other similar sized early Pleistocene canids (i.e., a trend to hypercarnivory), which had more omnivorous dietary habits.

Resource availability and competition intensity in the carnivore guild of the Early Pleistocene site of Venta Micena (Orce, Baza Basin, SE Spain)

2017 ◽  
Vol 164 ◽  
pp. 154-167 ◽  
Author(s):  
Guillermo Rodríguez-Gómez ◽  
Paul Palmqvist ◽  
Sergio Ros-Montoya ◽  
M. Patrocinio Espigares ◽  
Bienvenido Martínez-Navarro
Keyword(s):  
Resource Availability ◽  
Early Pleistocene ◽  
Competition Intensity ◽  
Se Spain ◽  
Venta Micena

scholarly journals Déjà vu: A reappraisal of the taphonomy of quarry VM4 of the Early Pleistocene site of Venta Micena (Baza Basin, SE Spain)

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paul Palmqvist ◽  
M. Patrocinio Espigares ◽  
Juan A. Pérez-Claros ◽  
Borja Figueirido ◽  
Antonio Guerra-Merchán ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Skeletal Remains ◽  
Small Sample ◽  
Early Pleistocene ◽  
Accumulation Process ◽  
Large Mammals ◽  
Mineral Density ◽  
Se Spain ◽  
Venta Micena ◽  
Taphonomic Analysis ◽  
Bone Accumulation

Abstract Venta Micena, an Early Pleistocene site of the Baza Basin (SE Spain), preserves a rich and diverse assemblage of large mammals. VM3, the main excavation quarry of the site, has been interpreted as a den of the giant hyaena Pachycrocuta brevirostris in the plain that surrounded the Baza palaeolake. Taphonomic analysis of VM3 has shown that the hyaenas scavenged the prey previously hunted by the hypercarnivores, transported their remains to the communal den, and consumed the skeletal parts according to their marrow contents and mineral density. In a recent paper, a small sample of remains unearthed from VM4, an excavation quarry ~350 m distant from VM3, are analysed. The authors indicate several differences in the taphonomic features of this assemblage with VM3, and even suggest that a different carnivore could have been the agent involved in the bone accumulation process. Here we make a comparative analysis of both quarries and analyse more skeletal remains from VM4. Our results indicate that the assemblages are broadly similar in composition, except for slight differences in the frequency of megaherbivores, carnivores and equids according to NISP values (but not to MNI counts), the degree of bone weathering, and the intensity of bone processing by the hyaenas. Given that VM4 and VM3 were not coeval denning areas of P. brevirostris, these differences suggest that during the years when the skeletal remains were accumulated by the hyaenas at VM3, the rise of the water table of the Baza palaeolake that capped with limestone the bones was delayed compared to VM4, which resulted in their more in-depth consumption by the hyaenas.

scholarly journals Déjà vu: a reappraisal of the taphonomy of quarry VM4 of the Early Pleistocene site of Venta Micena (Baza Basin, SE Spain)

2022 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Paul Palmqvist ◽  
M. Patrocinio Espigares ◽  
Juan A. Pérez-Claros ◽  
Borja Figueirido ◽  
Antonio Guerra-Merchán ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Skeletal Remains ◽  
Small Sample ◽  
Early Pleistocene ◽  
Accumulation Process ◽  
Large Mammals ◽  
Mineral Density ◽  
Se Spain ◽  
Venta Micena ◽  
Taphonomic Analysis ◽  
Bone Accumulation

AbstractVenta Micena, an Early Pleistocene site of the Baza Basin (SE Spain), preserves a rich and diverse assemblage of large mammals. VM3, the main excavation quarry of the site, has been interpreted as a den of the giant hyaena Pachycrocuta brevirostris in the plain that surrounded the Baza palaeolake. Taphonomic analysis of VM3 has shown that the hyaenas scavenged the prey previously hunted by the hypercarnivores, transported their remains to the communal den, and consumed the skeletal parts according to their marrow contents and mineral density. In a recent paper (Luzón et al. in Sci Rep 11:13977, 10.1038/s41598-021-93261-1, 2021), a small sample of remains unearthed from VM4, an excavation quarry ~ 350 m distant from VM3, is analysed. The authors indicate several differences in the taphonomic features of this assemblage with VM3, and even suggest that a different carnivore could have been the agent involved in the bone accumulation process. Here, we make a comparative analysis of both quarries and analyse more skeletal remains from VM4. Our results indicate that the assemblages are broadly similar in composition, except for slight differences in the frequency of megaherbivores, carnivores and equids according to NISP values (but not to MNI counts), the degree of bone weathering, and the intensity of bone processing by the hyaenas. Given that VM4 and VM3 were not coeval denning areas of P. brevirostris, these differences suggest that during the years when the skeletal remains were accumulated by the hyaenas at VM3, the rise of the water table of the Baza palaeolake that capped with limestone the bones was delayed compared to VM4, which resulted in their more in-depth consumption by the hyaenas.

scholarly journals The early hunting dog from Dmanisi with comments on the social behaviour in Canidae and hominins

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Saverio Bartolini-Lucenti ◽  
Joan Madurell-Malapeira ◽  
Bienvenido Martínez-Navarro ◽  
Paul Palmqvist ◽  
David Lordkipanidze ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Evolutionary Biology ◽  
First Record ◽  
Early Pleistocene ◽  
Mammal Species ◽  
Asian Origin ◽  
Adult Individual ◽  
Hunting Dogs ◽  
The Social ◽  
Hunting Dog ◽  
Group Members

AbstractThe renowned site of Dmanisi in Georgia, southern Caucasus (ca. 1.8 Ma) yielded the earliest direct evidence of hominin presence out of Africa. In this paper, we report on the first record of a large-sized canid from this site, namely dentognathic remains, referable to a young adult individual that displays hypercarnivorous features (e.g., the reduction of the m1 metaconid and entoconid) that allow us to include these specimens in the hypodigm of the late Early Pleistocene species Canis (Xenocyon) lycaonoides. Much fossil evidence suggests that this species was a cooperative pack-hunter that, unlike other large-sized canids, was capable of social care toward kin and non-kin members of its group. This rather derived hypercarnivorous canid, which has an East Asian origin, shows one of its earliest records at Dmanisi in the Caucasus, at the gates of Europe. Interestingly, its dispersal from Asia to Europe and Africa followed a parallel route to that of hominins, but in the opposite direction. Hominins and hunting dogs, both recorded in Dmanisi at the beginning of their dispersal across the Old World, are the only two Early Pleistocene mammal species with proved altruistic behaviour towards their group members, an issue discussed over more than one century in evolutionary biology.

scholarly journals Taphonomic and spatial analyses from the Early Pleistocene site of Venta Micena 4 (Orce, Guadix-Baza Basin, southern Spain)

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Carmen Luzón ◽  
Jose Yravedra ◽  
Lloyd A. Courtenay ◽  
Juha Saarinen ◽  
Hugues-Alexandre Blain ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Southern Spain ◽  
Early Pleistocene ◽  
Southern Europe ◽  
Spatial Analyses ◽  
European Origin ◽  
Stratigraphic Unit ◽  
Fossil Remains ◽  
Close Proximity ◽  
Unit Unit ◽  
Venta Micena

AbstractVenta Micena is an area containing several palaeontological sites marking the beginning of the Calabrian stage (Early Pleistocene). The richness of the fossil accumulation including species of Asian, African and European origin, makes Venta Micena a key site for the the palaeoecological and palaeoenvironmental study of southern Europe during the Early Pleistocene. Thus, research has been focused on Venta Micena 3, which was originally interpreted as a single palaeosurface associated with a marshy context, in which most of the fauna was accumulated by Pachycrocuta brevirostris. Recent excavations have unearthed a new site, Venta Micena 4, located in the same stratigraphic unit (Unit C) and in close proximity to Venta Micena 3. Here we show the first analyses regarding the taphonomic and spatial nature of this new site, defining two stratigraphic boundaries corresponding to two different depositional events. Furthermore, the taphonomic analyses of fossil remains seem to indicate a different accumulative agent than Pachycrocuta, thus adding more complexity to the palaeobiological interpretation of the Venta Micena area. These results contribute to the discussion of traditional interpretations made from Venta Micena 3.

scholarly journals Déjà vu: A reappraisal of the taphonomy of quarry VM4 of the Early Pleistocene site 1 of Venta Micena (Baza Basin, SE Spain"

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paul Palmqvist ◽  
M. Patrocinio Espigares ◽  
Juan A. Pérez-Claros ◽  
Borja Figueirido ◽  
Antonio Guerra-Merchán ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Skeletal Remains ◽  
Small Sample ◽  
Early Pleistocene ◽  
Accumulation Process ◽  
Large Mammals ◽  
Mineral Density ◽  
Se Spain ◽  
Venta Micena ◽  
Taphonomic Analysis ◽  
Bone Accumulation

Abstract Venta Micena, an Early Pleistocene site of the Baza Basin (SE Spain), preserves a rich and diverse assemblage of large mammals. VM3, the main excavation quarry of the site, has been interpreted as a den of the giant hyaena Pachycrocuta brevirostris in the plain that surrounded the Baza palaeolake. Taphonomic analysis of VM3 has shown that the hyaenas scavenged the prey previously hunted by the hypercarnivores, transported their remains to the communal den, and consumed the skeletal parts according to their marrow contents and mineral density. In a recent paper, a small sample of remains unearthed from VM4, an excavation quarry ~350 m distant from VM3, are analysed. The authors indicate several differences in the taphonomic features of this assemblage with VM3, and even suggest that a different carnivore could have been the agent involved in the bone accumulation process. Here we make a comparative analysis of both quarries and analyse more skeletal remains from VM4. Our results indicate that the assemblages are broadly similar in composition, except for slight differences in the frequency of megaherbivores, carnivores and equids according to NISP values (but not to MNI counts), the degree of bone weathering, and the intensity of bone processing by the hyaenas. Given that VM4 and VM3 were not coeval denning areas of P. brevirostris, these differences suggest that during the years when the skeletal remains were accumulated by the hyaenas at VM3, the rise of the water table of the Baza palaeolake that capped with limestone the bones was delayed compared to VM4, which resulted in their more in-depth consumption by the hyaenas.

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