Who is who and why. Implications of tooth-marks identification at two sites in the Orce Basin Archaeological Zone (OBAZ; southern Spain) - 07/09/24

Doi : 10.1016/j.geobios.2024.05.003

José Yravedra ^a,^b,^c,^d,^⁎ , Darío Herranz-Rodrigo ^a,^b,^e, Verónica Estaca-Gómez ^a, Idoia Claver ^a,^c,^f, Gonzalo Linares-Matás ^f,^g, Alexia Serrano-Ramos ^e, Carmen Luzón ^e, Juan José Rodríguez-Alba ^a, José A. Solano ^e, Juan Manuel Jiménez-Arenas ^e,^h,^i,^j
^a Department of Prehistory, Ancient History and Archaeology, Complutense University of Madrid, Faculty of Geography and History, Edificio B, Calle Profesor Aranguren, Ciudad Universitaria, 28040 Madrid, Spain
^b C.A.I. Archaeometry and Archaeological Analysis, Department of Prehistory, Ancient History and Archaeology, Complutense University of Madrid, Faculty of Geography and History, Edificio B, Calle Profesor Aranguren, Ciudad Universitaria, 28040 Madrid, Spain
^c Research Group ‘Quaternary Ecosystems’, Department of Prehistory, Ancient History and Archaeology, Complutense University of Madrid, Faculty of Geography and History, Edificio B, Calle Profesor Aranguren, Ciudad Universitaria, 28040 Madrid, Spain
^d Research Group ‘Prehistoric Archaeology, Department of Prehistory, Ancient History and Archaeology, Complutense University of Madrid, Faculty of Geography and History, Edificio B, Calle Profesor Aranguren, Ciudad Universitaria, 28040 Madrid, Spain
^e Department of Prehistory and Archaeology, University of Granada, Faculty of Philosophy Humanities, Campus de Cartuja, 18071 Granada, Spain
^f Department of Geodynamics, Stratigraphy and Palaeontology, Complutense University of Madrid, Faculty of Geological Sciences, Ciudad Universitaria, 28040 Madrid, Spain
^g School of Archaeology, St. Hugh’s College, University of Oxford, St Margaret’s Road, Oxford OX2 6LE, United Kingdom
^h Research Unit of Excellence “Archaeometrical Studies. Inside the Artefacts & Ecofacts”, Campus de Cartuja, 18071 Granada, Spain
ⁱ The Orce Prehistory and Palaeontology Museum – ‘Josep Gibert’ (Museo de Prehistoria y Paleontología de Orce – ‘Josep Gibert’), Camino de San Simón, 18858 Orce, Granada, Spain
^j The Gibraltar National Museum, 20 Bomb House Lane, Gibraltar GX11 1AA, Gibraltar, United Kingdom

^⁎Corresponding author.

Sous presse. Épreuves corrigées par l'auteur. Disponible en ligne depuis le Saturday 07 September 2024

Abstract

The Orce Basin Archaeological Zone (OBAZ; Granada, Spain) is well known because it contains some of the most important Early Pleistocene archaeo-palaeontological sites for understanding the earliest human settlement in the westernmost part of Eurasia and its ecological context. Among those are Venta Micena (VM), Barranco León (BL) and Fuente Nueva 3 (FN3). The role played by the extinct Pachycrocuta brevirostris present at the OBAZ sites has long been recognised in the literature. However, little or nothing is known about the agency of the other documented carnivore species. Nevertheless, the development of technologies such as 3D modelling, geometric morphometrics, robust data modelling and artificial intelligence algorithms makes it possible to characterise a type of tooth mark (pits) and its assignment to a taxon. Moreover, such a combination of methodologies allows us to infer novel aspects related to the behaviour of carnivores, to establish interpretative differentiation between the carnivore agents at VM3 and BL, to point to the interactions among them and with Homo, and to review some proposals on the first human dispersal outside Africa.

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Keywords : Sabre-tooth cats, Homotherium, Pachycrocuta brevirostris, Out of Africa 1, 3D geometric morphometrics, Artificial intelligence