Taphonomic study of the cave bears (Ursus cf. deningeri and U. spelaeus) from the Sima I of the El Polvorín cave (Northern Iberian Peninsula)
Cave bears used caves for hibernation and giving birth. Caves maintain stable conditions of temperature and humidity, which facilitates the preservation of fossil accumulations. Causes of mortality in caves are related to starvation during hibernation, which affects mainly juveniles and old adults,...
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Elsevier
2024-01-01
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| Series: | Quaternary Science Advances |
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| Online Access: | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2666033424000091 |
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| author | Manuel Rodríguez-Almagro Asier Gómez-Olivencia Mónica Villalba de Alvarado Juan Luis Arsuaga Nohemi Sala |
| author_facet | Manuel Rodríguez-Almagro Asier Gómez-Olivencia Mónica Villalba de Alvarado Juan Luis Arsuaga Nohemi Sala |
| author_sort | Manuel Rodríguez-Almagro |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Cave bears used caves for hibernation and giving birth. Caves maintain stable conditions of temperature and humidity, which facilitates the preservation of fossil accumulations. Causes of mortality in caves are related to starvation during hibernation, which affects mainly juveniles and old adults, predation and accidents, affecting bears of all ages. The Iberian Peninsula is located in one of the extremes of the geographical range of this species and has yielded an abundant cave bear fossil record, particularly in karstic systems in the northern fringe. The origin of the accumulation of bear fossil sites in Iberia has been investigated mostly based on selected paleobiological variables (sex-ratio and age-at-death profiles) and qualitative taphonomic assessment. The objective of this paper is to delve into the origin of a bear accumulation with a large proportion of hyaena remains, the Sima I of El Polvorín cave (Biscay, Northern Iberian fringe, Spain). For that end a combination of quantitative paleobiological (age-at-death and sex) and taphonomic (bone fracture patterns and surface modifications) data is used. This analysis has ruled out humans and hyenas as the origin of the accumulation but, due to the limited number of fossil remains available it is not possible to ascertain whether the bear accumulation was the result of a natural trap within the cave, natural mortality during hibernation, or a combination of both causes. This study underscores the necessity of integrated methodological approaches and the potential of old paleontological collections to provide new important paleobiological and taphonomic information under these approaches. |
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| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-a0347acb07b2432d848013a36509ec5b |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2666-0334 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-25T01:41:16Z |
| publishDate | 2024-01-01 |
| publisher | Elsevier |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Quaternary Science Advances |
| spelling | doaj.art-a0347acb07b2432d848013a36509ec5b2024-03-08T05:19:31ZengElsevierQuaternary Science Advances2666-03342024-01-0113100171Taphonomic study of the cave bears (Ursus cf. deningeri and U. spelaeus) from the Sima I of the El Polvorín cave (Northern Iberian Peninsula)Manuel Rodríguez-Almagro0Asier Gómez-Olivencia1Mónica Villalba de Alvarado2Juan Luis Arsuaga3Nohemi Sala4Centro Nacional de Investigación Sobre Evolución Humana-CENIEH, Burgos, Spain; Corresponding author. Centro Nacional de Investigación sobre Evolución Humana-CENIEH, Paseo Sierra de Atapuerca 3, 09002, Burgos, Spain.Departamento de Geología, Universidad Del País Vasco-Euskal Herriko Unibertsitatea (UPV/EHU), Leioa, Spain; Sociedad de Ciencias Aranzadi, Donostia-San Sebastián, Spain; Centro Mixto UCM-ISCIII de Evolución y Comportamiento Humanos, Madrid, Spain; Corresponding author. Departamento de Geología, Facultad de Ciencia y Tecnología. Universidad del País Vasco-Euskal Herriko Unibertsitatea (UPV/EHU), Barrio Sarriena s/n, 48940, Leioa, Spain.Universidad Complutense de Madrid, Calle Del Dr. Severo Ochoa, 7, 28040, Madrid, Spain; Musée de L'Homme, 17 Pl. Du Trocadéro et Du 11 Novembre, 75116, Paris, France; Centro Mixto UCM-ISCIII de Evolución y Comportamiento Humanos, Madrid, SpainCentro Mixto UCM-ISCIII de Evolución y Comportamiento Humanos, Madrid, Spain; Departamento de Geodinámica, Estratigrafía y Paleontología, Facultad Ciencias Geológicas, Universidad Complutense de Madrid, C/José Antonio Novais, 28040, Madrid, SpainCentro Nacional de Investigación Sobre Evolución Humana-CENIEH, Burgos, Spain; Centro Mixto UCM-ISCIII de Evolución y Comportamiento Humanos, Madrid, SpainCave bears used caves for hibernation and giving birth. Caves maintain stable conditions of temperature and humidity, which facilitates the preservation of fossil accumulations. Causes of mortality in caves are related to starvation during hibernation, which affects mainly juveniles and old adults, predation and accidents, affecting bears of all ages. The Iberian Peninsula is located in one of the extremes of the geographical range of this species and has yielded an abundant cave bear fossil record, particularly in karstic systems in the northern fringe. The origin of the accumulation of bear fossil sites in Iberia has been investigated mostly based on selected paleobiological variables (sex-ratio and age-at-death profiles) and qualitative taphonomic assessment. The objective of this paper is to delve into the origin of a bear accumulation with a large proportion of hyaena remains, the Sima I of El Polvorín cave (Biscay, Northern Iberian fringe, Spain). For that end a combination of quantitative paleobiological (age-at-death and sex) and taphonomic (bone fracture patterns and surface modifications) data is used. This analysis has ruled out humans and hyenas as the origin of the accumulation but, due to the limited number of fossil remains available it is not possible to ascertain whether the bear accumulation was the result of a natural trap within the cave, natural mortality during hibernation, or a combination of both causes. This study underscores the necessity of integrated methodological approaches and the potential of old paleontological collections to provide new important paleobiological and taphonomic information under these approaches.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2666033424000091KarstAge-at-deathBone fracture patternsSurface modificationsCave hyenasPleistocene |
| spellingShingle | Manuel Rodríguez-Almagro Asier Gómez-Olivencia Mónica Villalba de Alvarado Juan Luis Arsuaga Nohemi Sala Taphonomic study of the cave bears (Ursus cf. deningeri and U. spelaeus) from the Sima I of the El Polvorín cave (Northern Iberian Peninsula) Quaternary Science Advances Karst Age-at-death Bone fracture patterns Surface modifications Cave hyenas Pleistocene |
| title | Taphonomic study of the cave bears (Ursus cf. deningeri and U. spelaeus) from the Sima I of the El Polvorín cave (Northern Iberian Peninsula) |
| title_full | Taphonomic study of the cave bears (Ursus cf. deningeri and U. spelaeus) from the Sima I of the El Polvorín cave (Northern Iberian Peninsula) |
| title_fullStr | Taphonomic study of the cave bears (Ursus cf. deningeri and U. spelaeus) from the Sima I of the El Polvorín cave (Northern Iberian Peninsula) |
| title_full_unstemmed | Taphonomic study of the cave bears (Ursus cf. deningeri and U. spelaeus) from the Sima I of the El Polvorín cave (Northern Iberian Peninsula) |
| title_short | Taphonomic study of the cave bears (Ursus cf. deningeri and U. spelaeus) from the Sima I of the El Polvorín cave (Northern Iberian Peninsula) |
| title_sort | taphonomic study of the cave bears ursus cf deningeri and u spelaeus from the sima i of the el polvorin cave northern iberian peninsula |
| topic | Karst Age-at-death Bone fracture patterns Surface modifications Cave hyenas Pleistocene |
| url | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2666033424000091 |
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