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| Titel |
Steppe bison paleobiology through the scope of stable isotopes and zooarchaeology |
| VerfasserIn |
Marie-Anne Julien, Dorothée Drucker, Herve Bocherens, Ariane Burke, Marylène Patou-Mathis, Alexandra Krotova |
| Konferenz |
EGU General Assembly 2010
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| Medientyp |
Artikel
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| Sprache |
Englisch
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| Digitales Dokument |
PDF |
| Erschienen |
In: GRA - Volume 12 (2010) |
| Datensatznummer |
250042677
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| Zusammenfassung |
| Bison are one of the most abundant and widely distributed species of large mammal during
the Late Pleistocene. In the southern steppes of Eastern Europe, steppe bison (Bison priscus)
is ubiquitous in zooarchaeological assemblages, particularly during the Upper Palaeolithic
when a model of economic "specialization" is proposed. Specialization, in this context,
implies the deliberate selection of a preferred species, which becomes the key food
resource. The applicability of a specialised hunting model for the Upper Palaeolithic of
Europe has recently been challenged, however (Grayson & Delpech 2002). In this
research, therefore we re-examine bison acquisition strategies during the Upper
Palaeolithic in the Ukrainian steppes in the light of biogeochemical and zooarchaeological
data.
The acquisition strategies used to procure a prey species are directly related to its social
and spatial behaviour. A synthesis of ethological information for contemporary bison (Julien
2009) demonstrates the behavioural diversity of this taxa, linked mainly to local
environmental variability, climatic conditions and population density. It is therefore necessary
to propose a paleoethological model for the steppe bison before attempting to identify the
acquisition strategies used by prehistoric hunters. In this research, we reconstruct the
behaviour of the steppe bison using a combination of zooarchaeological tools, stable isotope
analysis (intra-tooth isotope variation of carbon, oxygen and strontium ratios) and traditional
paleobiological approaches. The advantages of using a combined approach are
demonstrated through the examination of a case study: the site of Amvrosievka
(Ukraine).
Amvrosievka is a complex of Epigravettian sites composed of a camp and kill site, where
more than 500 bison are represented (Krotova & Belan 1993). Twenty-five permanent lower
teeth (M3) representing twenty-five individual bison were selected from the kill and camp site
for isotopic analysis. Intra- and inter-individual variations of δ18O from the enamel carbonate
were analysed in order to track seasonal temperatures changes; the 87Sr/86Sr ratio was
examined to determine the spatial behaviour of the animals and δ13C was used to examine
changes in diet. The relatively large number of individuals represented in this study
allowed us to interpret the resulting data in terms of intra-populational variability. In
addition to the isotopic analysis, zooarchaeological study of a recently excavated
portion of the kill site enabled us to determine the age at death and sex-ratio of the
kill-population as well as examine patterns of carcass treatment. We use the combined
information from the isotopic and zooarchaeological analyses to reconstruct the social
composition of the herds, their spatial behaviour, seasonality and the existence of
different sub-herds through the identification of different isotopic groups. Ultimately,
we are able to suggest that the site represents a palimpsest of different hunting
episodes.
Finally, the impact of steppe bison palaeoethology on the choice of hunting strategy and
subsistence economy of the Epigravettian occupants of Amvrosievka is examined. The non
migratory behaviour of steppe bison in the study region is shown to have affected the season
of acquisition as well as the hunting and butchering strategies developed by the
Epigravettians. The combined paleoethological and palethnographical reconstruction offered
here has direct implications for understanding the relative contribution of hunting pressure vs
climatic change in the demise of the "mammoth steppe" faunas at the end of the Late
Pleistocene.
Cited references:
Grayson D. & F. Delpech, 2002. Specialized Early Upper Palaeolithic Hunters in
Southwestern France ? Journal of Archaeological Science, 29, p. 1439-1449.
Julien M. A., 2009. Chasseurs de bisons - Apports de l’archéozoologie et de
la biogéochimie isotopique à l’étude palethnographique et paléoéthologique du
gisement épigravettien d’Amvrosievka (Ukraine), PhD Thesis, Université de Montréal,
Montréal (Canada) / Muséum national d’Histoire naturelle, Paris (France), 287
p.
Krotova A. & N. Belan, 1993. Amvrosievka: A unique Upper Palaeolithic site
in eastern Europe, in From Kostenki to Clovis. Upper Palaeolithic-Paleo-Indian
Adaptations, eds. O. Soffer & N. Praslov; New-York: Plenum Press, p. 125-142. |
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