The Tor Hamar Fauna

Abstract

This report is based on an analysis of the 1988 faunal sample from Tor Hamar and a re-examination of the 1984 sample described by Garrard (Henry and Garrard 1988). The combined samples provided a total of 1854 pieces identified to skeletal part and taxon. Table 20.1 lists the Number of Identifiable Specimens (NISP) assigned to each taxon in each level, together with the Minimum Number of Individuals (MNI) from which these specimens must have come. The MNIs were calculated using the assumptions and computational algorithms described in Klein and Cruz-Uribe (1984, 1986). In the following sections the taxonomic identifications are explained and the implications of taxonomic abundance and skeletal part representation discussed. Potentially interesting topics like mortality (age) profiles or cut mark patterning have not been explored, because the assemblage contains too few ageable specimens (particularly measurable teeth) or visibly cut bones for meaningful analysis. A very small number of bones with macroscopic cut marks is common in stone age contexts (Lyman 1987), probably because stone age butchers tended to avoid contact with bone that might dull their tools. However, the especially small number from Tor Hamar (twenty-two) probably also reflects the relatively poor quality of bone surface preservation and the relatively high degree of fragmentation.