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Spatial Analysis of the Faunal Assemblage at Dmanisi, Georgia: a Look at Spatial

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Spatial Analysis of the Faunal Assemblage at Dmanisi, Georgia: a Look at Spatial Spatial Analysis of the Faunal Assemblage at Dmanisi, Georgia: A look at spatial analysis methods in theory and in practice A THESIS SUBMITTED TO THE FACULTY OF THE GRADUATE SCHOOL OF THE UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA BY Reed A. Coil N PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF MASTER OFARTS Martha Tappen (Adviser) December 2011 © Reed A. Coil 2011 Acknowledgements I have been helped by so many people over the course of my thesis writing; please forgive me if I forgot to name you. I would especially like to thank Martha Tappen for including me in this project and giving me the opportunity to work at such an amazing site and with such a wonderful team. This project would not be possible without her willingness and trust to pass over her database, which is many years in the making. I appreciate all of her guidance and help in planning and editing this thesis. I would also like to thank David Lordkipanidze for allowing me to study the Dmanisi material. I am deeply indebted to Reid Ferring for his invaluable knowledge on the past excavations and the geology of the site, as well as for the many late night conversations explaining the complex stratigraphy of Block 2. Also, the basalt and profile maps would not be possible without Dr. Ferring‟s meticulous data collection and dedication to drawing profiles, not to mention his compliance to share the information. Teona Shelia, Maia Bukhsianidze, and Giorgi Kopaliani also helped with figuring out the database and xyz coordinates, and recalling many years of excavations and locations of findings for clarifications. This database would still have thousands of holes if it wasn‟t for Maia and her team at the Georgian National Museum toiling for hours trying to figure out the missing data. Many other people contributed to the process of writing this paper and learning about the history of excavations at Dmanisi, and these people include: Gocha Kiladze, Abesalom Vekua, Jordi Agusti, Adam Van Arsdale, Giorgi Chochishvili, Sopho Panchuliadze, Nika Tsikaridze, Sopho Kiladze, Marc Furio, and many more. Didi madloba! Also, I would like to thank Steven Manson and Kieran McNulty for their input on my thesis and advice on some of the analysis methods. My thesis research was funded by a National Science Foundation grant awarded to Tappen and the University of Minnesota, Department of Anthropology Block Grants. Lastly, my family and friends have been so supportive and encouraging throughout my graduate career. I love you all. i Abstract This study represents the first steps taken to fully understand the spatial organization of the faunal assemblage at the archaeological site in Dmanisi, Georgia. Dmanisi is significant in that it is the oldest hominin site outside of Africa, dating from 1.85-1.76 million years. The rich faunal diversity, presence of hominins, and the abundance of stone tools make Dmanisi an important site with major implications regarding the first Homo migrations out of Africa. Many spatial analysis techniques are used in archaeology, but this study aims to determine the utility of the various techniques for the Dmanisi assemblage, including spatial autocorrelation, variance to mean ratio, point density, and quadrat analysis. By analyzing several different taphonomic aspects of the faunal assemblage, we can begin to understand the layout of the different sub- assemblages and potentially determine if there are any spatially interesting clusters of activity, whether it is hominin or carnivore. Two areas of the site, Block 2 and M6, are examined and have significant spatial clusters that are helping to unravel the taphonomic history of the site. ii Table of Contents Acknowledgements ................................................................................................. i Abstract .................................................................................................................. ii List of Tables ........................................................................................................ iv List of Figures ........................................................................................................ v Introduction ............................................................................................................ 1 Background of Dmanisi ................................................................................... 2 Types of Spatial Analysis ................................................................................ 6 Similar Studies .............................................................................................. 10 Early Studies ........................................................................................... 11 Recent Studies ......................................................................................... 15 Methods ............................................................................................................... 22 Divisions of Taphonomic Data ...................................................................... 24 Analysis ............................................................................................................... 29 M6 ................................................................................................................. 30 All Fauna................................................................................................. 31 Ungulate Bones ....................................................................................... 32 Carnivore Bones ..................................................................................... 34 Carnivore Modified Bones ...................................................................... 35 Hominin Tool Marks .............................................................................. 35 Notches ................................................................................................... 37 Long Bones and Weathering ................................................................... 37 Block 2 .......................................................................................................... 38 All Fauna................................................................................................. 39 Herbivores ............................................................................................... 41 Carnivore Bones ..................................................................................... 42 Hominin Bones ....................................................................................... 43 Carnivore Modified Bones ...................................................................... 43 Hominin Modified Bones ....................................................................... 45 Notches ................................................................................................... 46 Weathering Stages .................................................................................. 46 Bone Fragmentation ................................................................................ 47 Discussion and Conclusions ................................................................................ 48 Bibliography ........................................................................................................ 58 Appendix .............................................................................................................. 63 Tables ............................................................................................................ 63 Figures ........................................................................................................... 64 iii List of Tables 1. Carnivores and large herbivores at Dmanisi. Adapted from Lordkipanidze et al (2007) ..............................................................................................................63 2. VMR of different assemblages ............................................................63 3. Bone Counts of M6 per Square (N=1150) ...........................................63 iv List of Figures 1. Map of Georgia. (Created by Coil, 2010) ...............................................64 2. Site map of Dmanisi. Excavations in M5 and Block 2 are ongoing .......64 3. Block 2 east-west profile at the 62N wall by Reid Ferring (Unpublished map, adapted by Coil) ......................................................................................65 4. Notch on elk bone fragment created by hammerstone impact (Photo Taken by Coil) .................................................................................................................65 5. Left- Dmanisi Site Map adapted from Ferring et al., 2011. Right- M6 Layout .................................................................................................................66 6. Plan and profile maps of bone distribution and point density of M6. Map data based on field ID for bones with 3D coordinates..............................................66 7. Distribution and percentage of bones in each square based on entire assemblage. Map data based on field ID for bones with 3D coordinates ...................67 8. LISA of bones in M6 ..............................................................................67 9. Plan and profile maps of herbivore/ungulate bone distribution and point density of M6. Map data based on bones in taphonomic database, of which all have 3D coordinates. .............................................................................................68 10. Distribution and percentage
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