Taphonomic Analysis of the Pleistocene–Holocene Transition Faunal Assemblage from Santa Marta Cave, Chiapas

PaleoAmerica ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 6 (3) ◽  
pp. 283-298
Author(s):  
Óscar R. Solís-Torres ◽  
Guillermo Acosta-Ochoa ◽  
Joaquín Arroyo-Cabrales ◽  
Fabio Flores Granados
Keyword(s):  
Faunal Assemblage ◽  
Taphonomic Analysis

Taphonomic Analysis of the Mammalian Fauna from Sandia Cave, New Mexico, and the “Sandia Man” Controversy

2008 ◽  
Vol 73 (2) ◽  
pp. 337-360 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jessica C. Thompson ◽  
Nawa Sugiyama ◽  
Gary S. Morgan
Keyword(s):  
New Mexico ◽  
Mammalian Fauna ◽  
Human Occupation ◽  
Faunal Assemblage ◽  
Unique Type ◽  
Large Mammal ◽  
Chipped Stone ◽  
Human Modification ◽  
Mammal Assemblages ◽  
Taphonomic Analysis

Sandia Cave in New Mexico was excavated in the late 1930s by Frank Hibben, who described a unique type of chipped stone artifact-the “Sandia point”-in association with a faunal assemblage that included extinct Pleistocene species. The site was interpreted as a late Pleistocene Paleoindian hunting station, making it the earliest human occupation known in America at the time. Despite the pivotal role the faunal assemblage has played in interpretations of the site, there was never a confirmed behavioral association between the artifacts and the fossils. A subsequent series of controversies about the age of the site and the integrity of the stratigraphy has since pushed Sandia Cave into obscurity. Results from a recent taphonomic study of the large and small mammal assemblages from the original excavations are reported here. These show that the majority of the fauna were accumulated by nonhuman agents (carnivores, raptors, and rodents), but that a small proportion of large mammal fragments retain human modification. The three major points of controversy are discussed in light of these and other findings, and it is shown that Sandia Cave remains an important datapoint in archaeological, paleontological, and paleoecological studies of the region.

scholarly journals A taphonomic analysis of the faunal assemblage from Yam Camp rockshelter, S.E. Cape York Peninsula

1990 ◽  
Vol 7 ◽  
pp. 57-72 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bernard M.J. Huchet
Keyword(s):  
Faunal Assemblage ◽  
Cape York ◽  
Taphonomic Analysis ◽  
The University

This paper presents the results of a taphonomic analysis of a part of the faunal assemblage recovered from Yam Camp shelter, a prehistoric Aboriginal site located on Shepherd creek, a tributary to the Little Laura River, S.E. Cape York Peninsula.  The site was excavated in July 1989 under the directorship of Dr. Mike Morwood, Department of Archaeology and Paleoanthropology, The University of New England.  Some aspects of the archaeology of this site have already been discussed by Morwood (1989; 1990) and Pearson (1989) and a full excavation report will be published in due course.  Due to the extremely fragmented nature of the faunal assemblage, a detailed reconstruction of the taphonomic history was considered necessary prior to the study of economic patterns at the site.

scholarly journals Taphonomic Analysis of the Faunal Assemblage Associated with the Hominins (Australopithecus sediba) from the Early Pleistocene Cave Deposits of Malapa, South Africa

PLoS ONE ◽  
2015 ◽  
Vol 10 (6) ◽  
pp. e0126904 ◽  
Author(s):  
Aurore Val ◽  
Paul H. G. M. Dirks ◽  
Lucinda R. Backwell ◽  
Francesco d’Errico ◽  
Lee R. Berger
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Early Pleistocene ◽  
Faunal Assemblage ◽  
Cave Deposits ◽  
Taphonomic Analysis

Context and Environment in Taphonomic Analysis: Examples from Alaska's Porcupine River Caves

1984 ◽  
Vol 22 (2) ◽  
pp. 201-215 ◽  
Author(s):  
E. James Dixon
Keyword(s):  
North America ◽  
Rangifer Tarandus ◽  
Human Occupation ◽  
Faunal Assemblage ◽  
Mammal Species ◽  
North Central ◽  
Field Investigations ◽  
Ovis Dalli ◽  
Taphonomic Analysis ◽  
Small Mammal Species

Field investigations of caves along Alaska's Porcupine River document three major mechanisms which modify bone in patterns similar to alterations produced by man: (1) carnivore fracture; (2) rodent gnawing; and (3) rock fall and rubble scarring. A late Wisconsin faunal assemblage composed of Equus sp., Rangifer tarandus, Ovis dalli, Bison sp., proboscidean, numerous small mammal species, birds, and fish is well documented. This faunal assemblage suggests a mosaic environment of grassland-tundra-forest in the immediate vicinity of these caves and implies that the late Wisconsin environment in north-central Alaska may have been characterized by a number of microenvironments and colder, dryer, steppe conditions. Taphonomic data which have historically been interpreted to support human occupation of eastern Beringia during the Pleistocene are critically examined and the context of these discoveries (not the specimens themselves) provides the test essential to document the antiquity of man in North America prior to 12,000 yr ago.

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