Who Killed the Small Mammals of Ittenheim (Northeastern France)? An Integrative Approach and New Taphonomic Data for Investigating Bone Assemblages Accumulated by Small Carnivores
Small carnivores are susceptible to regularly accumulating small- to medium-sized mammal remains in both natural and archaeological sites. However, compared to nocturnal birds of prey, these accumulations are still poorly documented and are generally based on a limited number of samples, including t...
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MDPI AG
2021-11-01
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| Series: | Quaternary |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2571-550X/4/4/41 |
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| author | Aurélien Royer Jean-Baptiste Mallye Maxime Pelletier Sylvain Griselin |
| author_facet | Aurélien Royer Jean-Baptiste Mallye Maxime Pelletier Sylvain Griselin |
| author_sort | Aurélien Royer |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Small carnivores are susceptible to regularly accumulating small- to medium-sized mammal remains in both natural and archaeological sites. However, compared to nocturnal birds of prey, these accumulations are still poorly documented and are generally based on a limited number of samples, including those of relatively small size. Here, we present an analysis of European hamster remains from a rescue excavation at Ittenheim (Bas-Rhin, Grand-Est, France), which were recovered from an infilled burrow, three meters below the current surface. The remains are well preserved and exhibit large proportions of tooth marks. Comparisons with a new and existing reference collection combined with an analysis of all recovered faunal remains suggest the accumulation reflects the action of young red foxes. This is supported by the fact that, although these young individuals leave teeth mark, they do not necessarily consume all parts of medium-sized prey species, including the European hamster. Conversely, the remains of smaller rodents, such as microtine, show distinct patterns of digestion and tooth marks. Carnivore bone accumulations from scats are generally poorly preserved; however, our results demonstrate prey size plays a major role, both qualitatively and quantitatively, in skeletal representation, bone preservation, and bone surface modifications. The present paper underlines the need for more diversified taphonomic reference collections based on an integrative approach designed to evaluate multi-taxa accumulations. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-10T03:13:45Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-8f1515e7645a41359c77c1aed9ba8315 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2571-550X |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-10T03:13:45Z |
| publishDate | 2021-11-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Quaternary |
| spelling | doaj.art-8f1515e7645a41359c77c1aed9ba83152023-11-23T10:20:59ZengMDPI AGQuaternary2571-550X2021-11-01444110.3390/quat4040041Who Killed the Small Mammals of Ittenheim (Northeastern France)? An Integrative Approach and New Taphonomic Data for Investigating Bone Assemblages Accumulated by Small CarnivoresAurélien Royer0Jean-Baptiste Mallye1Maxime Pelletier2Sylvain Griselin3Biogéosciences, UMR 6282 CNRS, EPHE, Université Bourgogne Franche-Comté, 6 Boulevard Gabriel, 21000 Dijon, FrancePACEA, UMR 5199, CNRS, 33615 Pessac, FranceArchaeology, History, Culture and Communication Studies, Faculty of Humanities, University of Oulu, P.O. Box 8000, FI-90014 Oulu, FinlandINRAP, UMR 7041, Centre Archéologique de Strasbourg, 10 Rue d’Altkirch, 67100 Strasbourg, FranceSmall carnivores are susceptible to regularly accumulating small- to medium-sized mammal remains in both natural and archaeological sites. However, compared to nocturnal birds of prey, these accumulations are still poorly documented and are generally based on a limited number of samples, including those of relatively small size. Here, we present an analysis of European hamster remains from a rescue excavation at Ittenheim (Bas-Rhin, Grand-Est, France), which were recovered from an infilled burrow, three meters below the current surface. The remains are well preserved and exhibit large proportions of tooth marks. Comparisons with a new and existing reference collection combined with an analysis of all recovered faunal remains suggest the accumulation reflects the action of young red foxes. This is supported by the fact that, although these young individuals leave teeth mark, they do not necessarily consume all parts of medium-sized prey species, including the European hamster. Conversely, the remains of smaller rodents, such as microtine, show distinct patterns of digestion and tooth marks. Carnivore bone accumulations from scats are generally poorly preserved; however, our results demonstrate prey size plays a major role, both qualitatively and quantitatively, in skeletal representation, bone preservation, and bone surface modifications. The present paper underlines the need for more diversified taphonomic reference collections based on an integrative approach designed to evaluate multi-taxa accumulations.https://www.mdpi.com/2571-550X/4/4/41burrowfossil recordmulti-taxa approachsmall carnivore accumulationssmall mammalsEuropean hamster |
| spellingShingle | Aurélien Royer Jean-Baptiste Mallye Maxime Pelletier Sylvain Griselin Who Killed the Small Mammals of Ittenheim (Northeastern France)? An Integrative Approach and New Taphonomic Data for Investigating Bone Assemblages Accumulated by Small Carnivores Quaternary burrow fossil record multi-taxa approach small carnivore accumulations small mammals European hamster |
| title | Who Killed the Small Mammals of Ittenheim (Northeastern France)? An Integrative Approach and New Taphonomic Data for Investigating Bone Assemblages Accumulated by Small Carnivores |
| title_full | Who Killed the Small Mammals of Ittenheim (Northeastern France)? An Integrative Approach and New Taphonomic Data for Investigating Bone Assemblages Accumulated by Small Carnivores |
| title_fullStr | Who Killed the Small Mammals of Ittenheim (Northeastern France)? An Integrative Approach and New Taphonomic Data for Investigating Bone Assemblages Accumulated by Small Carnivores |
| title_full_unstemmed | Who Killed the Small Mammals of Ittenheim (Northeastern France)? An Integrative Approach and New Taphonomic Data for Investigating Bone Assemblages Accumulated by Small Carnivores |
| title_short | Who Killed the Small Mammals of Ittenheim (Northeastern France)? An Integrative Approach and New Taphonomic Data for Investigating Bone Assemblages Accumulated by Small Carnivores |
| title_sort | who killed the small mammals of ittenheim northeastern france an integrative approach and new taphonomic data for investigating bone assemblages accumulated by small carnivores |
| topic | burrow fossil record multi-taxa approach small carnivore accumulations small mammals European hamster |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2571-550X/4/4/41 |
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