Taphonomy and dispersion of bones scavenged by New World vultures and caracaras in Northwestern Patagonia: implications
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ORIGINAL PAPER
Taphonomy and dispersion of bones scavenged by New World vultures and caracaras in Northwestern Patagonia: implications for the formation of archaeological sites Fernando Ballejo 1,2 & Fernando J. Fernández 1,2 & Claudia I. Montalvo 3 & Luciano J. M. De Santis 1
Received: 30 January 2015 / Accepted: 21 July 2015 # Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2015
Abstract Scavenger birds can feed on large- to small-sized vertebrates and may contribute in the formation of archaeological sites. To evaluate the modifications and dispersal patterns of bones produced by New World vulture and caracara from Northwestern Patagonia, samples of adult sheep, young sheep, and hare carcasses were offered and subsequently analyzed. New World vultures and caracaras quickly fed on the samples. Taphonomic and bone dispersal patterns suggest two types of accumulations: (1) open-air sites with large and medium-sized vertebrates represented by complete, fractured, scratched, notched, and punctured elements and (2) rock shelter or cave sites dominated by small vertebrates represented by broken, corroded, fractured, and digested elements. Keywords Bone dispersal . Taphonomy . Carcass . Scavenger birds . Northwestern Patagonia
Introduction Archaeological sites frequently contain animal bone remains representing past human activity and interaction. For example, remains may reflect pack animals, assistance with prey * Fernando Ballejo [email protected] 1
Cátedra de Anatomía Comparada, Facultad de Ciencias Naturales y Museo, Universidad Nacional de La Plata, Calle 64 s/n (entre diag. 113 y calle 120), 1900, La Plata, Argentina
2
Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CONICET), Av. Rivadavia 1917, Buenos Aires, Argentina
3
Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales, Universidad Nacional de La Pampa, Uruguay 151, 6300 Santa Rosa, Argentina
capture, large predator defense, and most commonly food sources (Lyman 1994). However, faunal accumulations from archaeological sites are not always deposited by humans as at times, sites may not be occupied by humans and may be subject to animal burrowing or nesting (Andrews 1990; Mondini 1995, 2004). Discriminating the accumulating agent is necessary to interpret the relationship between humans and fauna. Studies are vital because they allow for understanding the taphonomic processes and histories of osseous remains from the death of the animal until their recovery. Researchers examining the disarticulation process of skeletal remains of different species in natural environments report the effects of transportation by different agents, weathering, corrosion by acidic soils, trampling, and modification (e.g., Cáceres et al. 2009; Yravedra et al. 2012). Studies of dispersal and disarticulation of carcasses and bone associations preserved at the site mostly focus on carnivore feeding, gnawing, and scavenging, rather than on the impact of birds (e.g., Binford 1981; Haynes 1982; Borrero et al. 2005; Álvarez et al. 2012). Scavengers and predators can disperse parts of
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