To den or not to den. Contributions to the taphonomic history of the Early Pleistocene site of Venta Micena 4 (Orce, Guadix-Baza Basin)

Yravedra Sainz de los Terreros, J. ; Luzón, C, ; Solano, J. A. ; Linares-Matas, G. J. ; Estaca-Gómez, V. ; Rodríguez-Alba, J. J. ; Courtenay, Ll. A. ; Herranz-Rodrigo, D. ; Serrano-Ramos, A. ; Cámara, J. ; Saarinen, J. ; Sánchez-Bandera, C. ; Blain, H.-A. ; Viranta-Kovanen, S. ; DeMiguel, D. ; Azanza, B. (Universidad de Zaragoza) ; Oms, O. ; Agustí, J. ; Fortelius, M. ; Jiménez Arenas, J. M.

Resumen: Venta Micena (Orce, Guadix-Baza Basin, Spain) is an Early Pleistocene locality renowned for the richness and quality of its palaeontological record. VM is spread over an area of 2.5 km2, where several exposed fossil outcrops are visible amidst its gorges and ravines. The best known of these sites, VM3, has been interpreted as a hyaena den. In addition, a new site, named VM4, has recently been the focus of fieldwork and taphonomic studies. The publication by Luzón et al. (2021) pointed out that VM4 presents a more complex history than VM3. First, two different sub-levels were identified: VM4-I and VM4-II. Secondly, the preliminary taphonomic analysis showed conspicuous differences with regard to VM3. Nevertheless, such interpretation has been challenged by Palmqvist et al. (2022) who proposed that VM3 and VM4 are both the result of a single depositional process, entailing the selective transport of skeletal parts by the giant extinct hyaena Pachycrocuta brevirostris back to its den. Using well-preserved faunal elements whose depositional context and provenance are reliable, in this paper we show that: 1) there are two clearly defined sub-levels in VM4 with some shared taphonomic characteristics as well as some notable differences; 2) VM3 and VM4 exhibit enough divergence to support differences in site formation processes; 3) The interpretation of both VM4-I and VM4-II is more consistent with their characterisation as open-air sites in which multiple agents and depositional processes contributed to its formation, rather than with hyaena dens. Nevertheless, excavations are still in progress at VM4 and therefore any results and interpretations ought to be considered as provisional.

Idioma: Inglés

DOI: 10.1016/j.quascirev.2023.108031

Año: 2023

Publicado en: QUATERNARY SCIENCE REVIEWS 308 (2023), 108031 [22 pp.]
ISSN: 0277-3791

Factor impacto JCR: 3.2 (2023)

Categ. JCR: GEOGRAPHY, PHYSICAL rank: 16 / 65 = 0.246 (2023) - Q1 - T1
Categ. JCR: GEOSCIENCES, MULTIDISCIPLINARY rank: 70 / 254 = 0.276 (2023) - Q2 - T1

Factor impacto CITESCORE: 7.5 - Archeology (arts and humanities) (Q1) - Archeology (Q1) - Geology (Q1) - Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics (Q1) - Global and Planetary Change (Q2)

Factor impacto SCIMAGO: 1.558 - Archeology (Q1) - Archeology (arts and humanities) (Q1) - Global and Planetary Change (Q1) - Geology (Q1) - Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics (Q1)

Financiación: info:eu-repo/grantAgreement/ES/AEI/PID2021-125098NB-I00
Financiación: info:eu-repo/grantAgreement/ES/AEI/PRE2020-094482
Financiación: info:eu-repo/grantAgreement/ES/DGA/E33-20R
Financiación: info:eu-repo/grantAgreement/ES/MICINN/CEX2019-000945-M-20-1

Tipo y forma: Article (Published version)

Área (Departamento): Área Paleontología (Dpto. Ciencias de la Tierra)