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Taphonomy, Osteometry and Archaeozoology of the Pleistocene Herbivores from the Third Horizon of the Goyet Cave, Belgium

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Taphonomy, Osteometry and Archaeozoology of the Pleistocene Herbivores from the Third Horizon of the Goyet Cave, Belgium FACULTEIT WETENSCHAPPEN Opleiding Master in de Geologie Taphonomy, osteometry and archaeozoology of the Pleistocene herbivores from the third horizon of the Goyet cave, Belgium Alexander Comeyne Academiejaar 2012–2013 Scriptie voorgelegd tot het behalen van de graad Van Master of Science in de geologie Promotor: Prof. Dr. J. Verniers Co-promotor: Dr. M. Germonpré Leescommissie: Prof. Dr. Dominique Adriaens, Prof. Dr. Achilles Gautier Acknowledgements Prof. Dr. J. Verniers For proposing this M.Sc. thesis subject and introduction to the Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences Dr. M. Germonpré For reading and contructively criticising the manuscript and answering my questions, as well as support in the practical research . Wilfried Miseur Fot taking photographs of selected specimens RBINS For the opportunity to work with its Goyet collection Summary 1 Introduction .......................................................................................................................................... 3 1.1 Localisation .................................................................................................................................... 5 1.2 Stratigraphy and archaeology ....................................................................................................... 7 1.3 Spatial distribution of Chamber A, Horizon 3 .............................................................................. 10 1.4 Herbivore species ........................................................................................................................ 11 1.4.1 Horse .................................................................................................................................... 11 1.4.2 Auroch/bison ........................................................................................................................ 13 1.4.3 Woolly mammoth ................................................................................................................. 13 1.4.4 Woolly rhinoceros ................................................................................................................ 13 1.4.5 Red deer ............................................................................................................................... 14 1.5 The prey of prehistoric humans and carnivores .......................................................................... 14 1.6 Traces .......................................................................................................................................... 15 1.6.1 Cut marks .............................................................................................................................. 15 1.6.2 Ochre traces ......................................................................................................................... 16 1.7 Problem statement ...................................................................................................................... 16 1.8 Goal ............................................................................................................................................. 17 2 Material en methods .......................................................................................................................... 18 2.1 The Dupont collections ................................................................................................................ 18 2.2 Identification and frequency distribution ................................................................................... 19 2.3 Measurements ............................................................................................................................ 19 2.4 Identification and ageing of the teeth ......................................................................................... 20 2.4.1 Horse .................................................................................................................................... 20 2.4.2 Woolly mammoth ................................................................................................................. 22 2.4.3 Woolly rhinoceros ................................................................................................................ 23 2.4.4 Red deer ............................................................................................................................... 23 2.5 Age distributions ......................................................................................................................... 24 2.5.1 Horse .................................................................................................................................... 25 2.5.2 Woolly mammoth ................................................................................................................. 26 2.5.3 Woolly rhinoceros ................................................................................................................ 26 2.5.4 Red deer ............................................................................................................................... 26 1 2.6 Sexual dimorphism ...................................................................................................................... 26 2.6.1 Woolly mammoth ................................................................................................................. 26 2.6.2 Red deer ............................................................................................................................... 27 2.7 Size reductions ............................................................................................................................ 27 2.8 List of the used abbreviations and categories ............................................................................. 28 3 Results ................................................................................................................................................ 29 3.1 General ........................................................................................................................................ 29 3.1.1 Tables.................................................................................................................................... 30 3.1.2 Graphs .................................................................................................................................. 37 3.2 Detailed results per species ......................................................................................................... 40 3.2.1 Equus ferus (Horse) .............................................................................................................. 40 3.2.2 Bos/Bison (Auroch/Bison)..................................................................................................... 77 3.2.3 Mammuthus primigenus (Woolly mammoth) ...................................................................... 88 3.2.4 Coelodonta antiquitatis (Woolly Rhinoceros) ...................................................................... 93 3.2.5 Cervus elaphus (Red deer) .................................................................................................. 106 3.2.6 Ovibos moschatus (Muskox) ............................................................................................... 111 3.2.7 Capra ibex (Ibex) ................................................................................................................. 111 3.3 Detailed representation of the different traces ........................................................................ 112 3.3.1 Ochre .................................................................................................................................. 112 3.3.2 Cut marks ............................................................................................................................ 115 3.3.3 Gnawing traces ................................................................................................................... 118 3.3.4 Impact traces ...................................................................................................................... 120 3.3.5 Tools ................................................................................................................................... 123 3.4 Age distributions ....................................................................................................................... 124 3.4.1 Horse .................................................................................................................................. 124 3.4.2 Woolly mammoth ............................................................................................................... 125 3.4.3 Woolly rhinoceros .............................................................................................................. 126 3.4.4 Red deer ............................................................................................................................. 127 4 Discussion ......................................................................................................................................... 127 4.1 NISP and MNI in the top three horizons of the third cave from Goyet .................................... 127 4.2 Taphonomy ................................................................................................................................ 128 4.3 Ratios ........................................................................................................................................
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