Use of meat resources in the Early Pleistocene assemblages from Fuente Nueva 3 (Orce, Granada, Spain)

Abstract

Over the last few decades, several types of evidence such as presence of hominin remains, lithic assemblages, and bones with anthropogenic surface modifications have demonstrated that early human communities inhabited the European subcontinent prior to the Jaramillo Subchron (1.07–0.98 Ma). While most studies have focused primarily on early European lithic technologies and raw material management, relatively little is known about food procurement strategies. While there is some evidence showing access to meat and other animal-based food resources, their mode of acquisition and associated butchery processes are still poorly understood. This paper presents a taphonomic and zooarchaeological analysis of the Fuente Nueva-3 (FN3) (Guadix-Baza, Spain) faunal assemblage, providing a more in-depth understanding of early hominin subsistence strategies in Europe. The present results show that hominins had access to the meat and marrow of a wide range of animal taxa, including elephants, hippopotami, and small- and medium-sized animals. At the same time, evidence of carnivore activity at the site suggests that these communities likely faced some degree of competition from large predators when acquiring and processing carcasses.

Unravelling Hominin Activities in the Zooarchaeological Assemblage of Barranco León (Orce, Granada, Spain)

“…The comparison of tooth mark data with actualistic frameworks suggests that carnivore access to carcasses was likely secondary to hominins. This assessment, and the data presented in Yravedra et al (2021) for Fuente Nueva 3, are actually in agreement with the conclusions reached by Espigares et al (2019:10) for these Orce localities: 'carnivore activity in these sites seems to have been residual compared to hominin activity'.…”

“…Barranco León (Guadix-Baza, Spain) is one of the oldest Early Pleistocene openair sites in Europe (1.4 Ma). This site, alongside the nearby locality of Fuente Nueva 3, presents evidence of hominin behaviour, including the earliest lithic assemblages documented in the Iberian Peninsula (Turq et al, 1996;Gibert et al, 1998;Barsky et al, 2010Barsky et al, , 2015Titton et al, 2019Titton et al, , 2020Titton et al, , 2021Toro-Moyano et al, 2009, 2010aYravedra et al, 2021). Barranco León has also produced hominin remains, specifically a mandibular left dm1 (Toro Moyano et al, 2013, although see also Gibert et al, 1999;Ribot et al, 2015).…”

The Significance of Subtlety: Contrasting Lithic Raw Materials Procurement and Use Patterns at the Oldowan Sites of Barranco León and Fuente Nueva 3 (Orce, Andalusia, Spain)

“…Over the years, specialists have pinpointed numerous flint outcrops and their detrital areas, also defining qualitative features (Toro-Moyano et al, 2007;Toro-Moyano et al, 2010, and references). During recent surveys we verified previously documented information; geo-localized significant findings; registered changes in environmental configurations, performed photographic documentation and collected lithic samples for experimental and didactic archeology (Barsky et al, 2018;Titton et al, 2018, Titton et al, 2020Yravedra et al, 2021). Experimental knapping/use contributes to knowledge about the mechanical qualities of the different kinds of stones found in the archeological samples.…”

“…Early on, a dichotomous use of these two materials was made evident, with the limestone items being significantly larger-sized and the flint component marked most notably by the-typically Oldowan profile of small-sized cores and flakes ranging on average between only 2 and 3 cm in maximal length. Cut marks and traces of percussion observed on some of the large mammal remains from the two sites (Espigares et al, 2019;Yravedra et al, 2021) confirmed the use of small-sized flakes for cutting meat off of the large mammal carcasses in a presumably scavenger-type subsistence patterning and the issues of primary access to carcasses have been raised in relation to interaction among which there would also be episodes of competition with other large carnivores present coevally at the sites (Espigares et al, 2013;Yravedra et al, 2021). Compared with the relatively easy readability of the flint items, the limestone pieces present in the assemblages pose more interpretative difficulties, especially due to their highly non-standardized morphologies and also to the alteration of their weathered surfaces.…”

Déjà vu: on the use of meat resources by sabretooth cats, hominins, and hyaenas in the Early Pleistocene site of Fuente Nueva 3 (Guadix-Baza Depression, SE Spain)

“…This article is a rebuttal to Yravedra et al (2021), who have recently published a reinterpretation of the taphonomy of the late Early Pleistocene archaeological site of Fuente Nueva 3 (FN3; Guadix-Baza Depression, SE Spain). In their paper, Yravedra et al (2021) challenge our previous inferences (Espigares et al 2013(Espigares et al , 2019 on the mode and time of access of sabretooth cats, hominins, and hyaenas to ungulate carcasses, favouring a model of primary access by the hominins to these resources.…”