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Taphonomy and Site Formation of Azokh 1

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Azokh Cave and the Transcaucasian Corridor

Part of the book series: Vertebrate Paleobiology and Paleoanthropology ((VERT))

Abstract

This chapter aims to describe the complete scenario that existed during the Middle Pleistocene in Azokh Caves and the Lesser Caucasus area from the evidence provided by the fossil assemblages recovered from excavations between 2002 and 2009. In the case of Azokh 1, taphonomic studies are particularly relevant since there is no such information from the early phase of excavations (1960–1980), during which much of the sediment was removed. This study, based on the taphonomy of large mammals, has allowed us to distinguish two sources of the large mammal fauna. Cave bear remains accumulated as a result of hibernation, and some of the carcasses were butchered by hominins in situ. The other faunal remains, mainly herbivores, were brought by hominins, but butchering took place somewhere else, not at the rear of the cave where they have been found. There is no evidence for simultaneous occupation of the cave by bears and hominins. There is also no evidence of human occupation at the rear of the cave, and they may have occupied the mouth of the cave during summer time. Cave bears could enter in winter-spring and occupied the rear of the cave. When the cave sediments reached close to the cave roof, bats occupied areas previously inhabited by bears and visited by hominins. Minerals neo-formed in fossils and sediments indicate seasonal changes in humidity and temperature inside the cave during the Pleistocene. Bat guano and corrosive fluid percolation caused strong corrosion on fossils after burial, damaging bones to such an extent that some of them could not be recovered. Bat guano was especially harmful to collagen, which is not preserved in most bones. Finally, during the Holocene, the top of the sequence was eroded by high energy water that removed the upper part of the sediments and opened the cave again to humans and animals.

Резюме

Тафономия представляет собой исследование процессов фоссилизации и “истории жизни” окаменелостей. Она изучает, в частности, причины смерти житвотных, каким образом их останки сохранились до наших дней и как расшифровать информацию, находящуюся на поверхности костей, в тканях, гео- и биохимическом составе. Расшифрованная информация рассказывает нам об экологических условиях прошлого, о вымерших животных и растениях и, в целом, о природе и изменениях в древних экосистемах и климате. Таким образом, тафономия является наукой, которая использует закодированную информацию и сохранившиеся следы деятельности человека для описания естественной “жизни” окаменелостей и восстановления объективной палеобиолого-палеоэкологической и другой палеонтологической информации с целью детальной реконструкции прошлого.

Целью данной главы является, в частности, описание максимально полного сценария событий, имевших место в течение среднего плейстоцена в Азохской пещере. Тафономические исследования на данной стоянке направлены на восстановление исходной информации с ранних фаз раскопок (1960–1980 гг.), в течение которых бóльшая часть седиментов была перемещена из пещеры. Сегодня мы обладаем ограниченными данными (иногда они полностью отсутствует) для выяснения контекстовых и постседиментных процессов, а также о том, каким образом формировалась пещера. Данное исследование, основанное на тафономии крупных млекопитающих, позволило нам выделить два источника происхождения этих форм животных. Причиной многочисленных останков пещерных медведей является их спячка, и в ряде случаев их туши были разделаны in situ. Другие останки фауны, относящиеся главным образом к травоядным, были привнесены гоминидами, но разделка туш происходила не у задней стены пещеры, где были обнаружены кости. Никаких следов проживания человека не было найдено в тыльной части стоянки; люди, возможно, находились у входа в пещеру главным образом в летнее время. Гигантский пещерный медведь (Ursus spelaeus) проживал в пещере в зимне-весенний период, занимая ее тыльную часть.

После того как отложения достигли потолка пещеры, летучие мыши заняли пространство в ее задней части, ранее принадлежащее медведям и время от времени посещаемое человеком. Новые формы минералов в окаменелостях и седиментах указывают на сезонные изменения во влажности и температуре внутри пещеры в эпоху плейстоцена. Но гуано и просачивание едкой жидкости вызвало сильное разъедание останков после их погребения, и некоторые из них сегодня невозможно восстановить. Особенно вредным было воздействие гуано на коллаген. И наконец, в эпоху голоцена поверхность седиментной последовательности подверглась эрозии за счет высокой энергии водных потоков, которые вымыли верхние слои седиментов и снова открыли пещеру людям и животным.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    These modifications were not recognized in our initial classification because they were not present in the original classification by Andrews and Fernández-Jalvo 1997.

  2. 2.

    This category has been proposed in Fernández-Jalvo and Andrews 2011.

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Acknowledgements

This chapter is based in part on the PhD Thesis investigation by DMM. We are deeply grateful to the authorities of Nagorno-Karabakh for the support and permissions to work at Azokh Caves and to analyze these fossils. We are grateful to Manuel Nieto who has greatly helped with the statistical treatments of this extensive data base, as well as to M.D. Pesquero for taphonomic discussions. Thanks also to Jesús Muñoz and Fernando Señor of the Photo Unit of the Museo Nacional de Ciencias Naturales. We also thank the EMUnit, Laura Tormo, Marta Furió, and Alberto Jorge, as well as Rafael Gómez (XRD analyses) for their professional work and deep involvement in the analysis of some of these samples. The authors are grateful for constructive comments from the three anonymous reviewers and the editor in charge (Tania King) which greatly improved this chapter. These taphonomic investigations have been made possible through funded research projects by the Spanish Ministry of Science (BTE2000-1309, BTE2003-01552, BTE 2007-66231 and CGL2010-19825).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Museo Nacional de Ciencias Naturales (CSIC), José Gutiérrez Abascal, 2, 28006, Madrid, Spain

    M. Dolores Marin-Monfort & Yolanda Fernández-Jalvo

  2. Àrea de Prehistòria, Universitat Rovira I Virgili (URV), Avinguda de Catalunya 35, 43002, Tarragona, Spain

    Isabel Cáceres

  3. IPHES, Institut Català de Paleoecologia Humana I Evolució Social, Zona Educacional 4, Campus Sescelades URV (Edifici W3), 43007, Tarragona, Spain

    Isabel Cáceres

  4. Natural History Museum, Cromwell Road, London SW7 5BD, UK

    Peter Andrews

  5. Instituto de Historia (CCHS-CSIC), Albasanz 26-28, 28037, Madrid, Spain

    Ana C. Pinto-Llona

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  1. M. Dolores Marin-Monfort
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Correspondence to Yolanda Fernández-Jalvo .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Dept of Paleobiology, Museo Nacional de Ciencias Naturales, Madrid, Spain

    Yolanda Fernández-Jalvo

  2. Blandford Town Museum, Yerevan, Armenia

    Tania King

  3. Yerevan, Armenia

    Levon Yepiskoposyan

  4. Natural History Museum, London, United Kingdom

    Peter Andrews

Supplementary Information

Supplementary Information

S.I. Table 10.1 Anatomical elements per animal sized groups in Unit I, plus 20 unidentified fragments that cannot be even assigned to animal size. Two fossils of U. spelaeus (one incisor (I3) and a femur fragment) were recovered from the modern burrows in Unit I that originated from Unit II
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S.I. Table 10.2 Anatomical elements per animal sized groups in Unit II, plus 336 unidentified fragments that cannot be assigned to animal size
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S.I. Table 10.3 Anatomical elements per animal sized groups in Unit III, including 34 unidentified fragments that cannot be assigned to animal size
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S.I. Table 10.4 Anatomical elements per animal sized groups in Unit Vu, plus 18 unidentified fragments that cannot be assigned to animal size
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S.I. Table 10.5 Anatomical elements per animal sized groups in Unit Vm, plus 82 unidentified fragments that cannot be even assigned to animal size
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Marin-Monfort, M.D., Cáceres, I., Andrews, P., Pinto-Llona, A.C., Fernández-Jalvo, Y. (2016). Taphonomy and Site Formation of Azokh 1. In: Fernández-Jalvo, Y., King, T., Yepiskoposyan, L., Andrews, P. (eds) Azokh Cave and the Transcaucasian Corridor. Vertebrate Paleobiology and Paleoanthropology. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-24924-7_10

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