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Morphometric and taphonomic analysis of the Upper Pleistocene faunal assemblage from Hijenska pećina

Taxonomic, metric and taphonomic analysis of the Upper Pleistocene faunal assemblage found in Hijenska pećina („Hyena cave“), a fossil cave discovered through quarrying activities in 1972, that was excavated and briefly published by Mirko Malez (1973 ; 1975 ; 1986 ; Malez et al., 1974). The fossil material from Hijenska pećina consists of 453 bones, bone fragments and teeth plus eight hyena coprolites. There are 20 different taxa present in the assemblage, including large and small mammals and one reptile. Total number of identified specimens NISP is 278 which is 61, 4% of the whole assemblage. The remaining 175 specimens are unidentifiable. Taxonomic analysis of the faunal assemblage has confirmed the presence of some of the taxa determined by Malez (1986), but also it has added some new taxa and taken away some others (Table 1.). Bones and teeth belonging to Crocuta crocuta spelaea are the most abundant with 41% of the total NISP. The assemblage consists of mostly adult individuals, several infants and a few subadults and old individuals. Taphonomical analysis has shown that most of the bones, due to the microenvironmental coditions inside the cave, show some degree of weathering and 42, 1% of the bones are covered with calcium carbonate. Traces of gnawing, mostly rodent gnawing, are present on 59 bones. Bos primigenius tibia, displays interesting marks on one side of the diaphysis, which could be either cut marks, trampling marks or incisor marks produced by very young hyenas. Two main possible factors responsible for the accumulation were identified: hyenas as bone accummulators and/or the cave having a vertical opening and acting as a natural trap. However, we do not exclude the possibility of other factors contributing to the accumulation.

Upper Pleistocen; fauna; Hijenska pećina; Croatia

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