Understanding the Impact of Trampling on Rodent Bones

Autores
Fernández Jalvo, Yolanda; Rueda, Lucía; Fernández, Fernando Julián; García Morato, Sara; Marin Monfort, María Dolores; Montalvo, Claudia Inés; Tomassini, Rodrigo Leandro; Chazan, Michael; Horwitz, Liora K.; Andrews, Peter
Año de publicación
2022
Idioma
inglés
Tipo de recurso
artículo
Estado
versión publicada
Descripción
Experiments based on the premise of uniformitarism are an effective tool to establish patterns of taphonomic processes acting either before, or after, burial. One process that has been extensively investigated experimentally is the impact of trampling to large mammal bones. Since trampling marks caused by sedimentary friction strongly mimic cut marks made by humans using stone tools during butchery, distinguishing the origin of such modifications is especially relevant to the study of human evolution. In contrast, damage resulting from trampling on small mammal fossil bones has received less attention, despite the fact that it may solve interesting problems relating to site formation processes. While it has been observed that the impact of compression depends on the type of substrate and dryness of the skeletal elements, the fragility of small mammal bones may imply that they will break as a response to compression. Here, we have undertaken a controlled experiment using material resistance compression equipment to simulate a preliminary experiment, previously devised by one of us, on human trampling of owl pellets. Our results demonstrate that different patterns of breakage can be distinguished under wet and dry conditions in mandibles, skulls and long bones that deform or break in a consistent way. Further, small compact bones almost always remain intact, resisting breakage under compression. The pattern obtained here was applied to a Pleistocene small mammal fossil assemblage from Wonderwerk Cave (South Africa). This collection showed unusually extensive breakage and skeletal element representation that could not be entirely explained by excavation procedures or digestion by the predator. We propose that trampling was a significant factor in small mammal bone destruction at Wonderwerk Cave, partly the product of trampling caused by the raptor that introduced the microfauna into the cave, as well as by hominins and other terrestrial animals that entered the cave and trampled pellets covering the cave floor.
Fil: Fernández Jalvo, Yolanda. Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas. Museo Nacional de Ciencias Naturales; España
Fil: Rueda, Lucía. Universite de Rennes I; Francia. Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas. Museo Nacional de Ciencias Naturales; España
Fil: Fernández, Fernando Julián. Universidad de Buenos Aires; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina
Fil: García Morato, Sara. Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas. Museo Nacional de Ciencias Naturales; España. Universidad Complutense de Madrid; España
Fil: Marin Monfort, María Dolores. Universidad de Valencia; España. Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas. Museo Nacional de Ciencias Naturales; España. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Bahía Blanca. Instituto Geológico del Sur. Universidad Nacional del Sur. Departamento de Geología. Instituto Geológico del Sur; Argentina
Fil: Montalvo, Claudia Inés. Universidad Nacional de La Pampa; Argentina
Fil: Tomassini, Rodrigo Leandro. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Bahía Blanca. Instituto Geológico del Sur. Universidad Nacional del Sur. Departamento de Geología. Instituto Geológico del Sur; Argentina
Fil: Chazan, Michael. University of Toronto; Canadá. University of the Witwatersrand; Sudáfrica
Fil: Horwitz, Liora K.. The Hebrew University of Jerusalem; Israel
Fil: Andrews, Peter. Natural History Museum; Reino Unido
Materia
BONE COMPRESSION
EXPERIMENTAL TAPHONOMY
MICROFAUNA
WONDERWERK CAVE
Nivel de accesibilidad
acceso abierto
Condiciones de uso
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/2.5/ar/
Repositorio
CONICET Digital (CONICET)
Institución
Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas
OAI Identificador
oai:ri.conicet.gov.ar:11336/196044
Acceder
id CONICETDig_1c52b5f3c0143eb95c4589787ba462ec
oai_identifier_str oai:ri.conicet.gov.ar:11336/196044
network_acronym_str CONICETDig
repository_id_str 3498
network_name_str CONICET Digital (CONICET)
spelling Understanding the Impact of Trampling on Rodent BonesFernández Jalvo, YolandaRueda, LucíaFernández, Fernando JuliánGarcía Morato, SaraMarin Monfort, María DoloresMontalvo, Claudia InésTomassini, Rodrigo LeandroChazan, MichaelHorwitz, Liora K.Andrews, PeterBONE COMPRESSIONEXPERIMENTAL TAPHONOMYMICROFAUNAWONDERWERK CAVEhttps://purl.org/becyt/ford/6.1https://purl.org/becyt/ford/6Experiments based on the premise of uniformitarism are an effective tool to establish patterns of taphonomic processes acting either before, or after, burial. One process that has been extensively investigated experimentally is the impact of trampling to large mammal bones. Since trampling marks caused by sedimentary friction strongly mimic cut marks made by humans using stone tools during butchery, distinguishing the origin of such modifications is especially relevant to the study of human evolution. In contrast, damage resulting from trampling on small mammal fossil bones has received less attention, despite the fact that it may solve interesting problems relating to site formation processes. While it has been observed that the impact of compression depends on the type of substrate and dryness of the skeletal elements, the fragility of small mammal bones may imply that they will break as a response to compression. Here, we have undertaken a controlled experiment using material resistance compression equipment to simulate a preliminary experiment, previously devised by one of us, on human trampling of owl pellets. Our results demonstrate that different patterns of breakage can be distinguished under wet and dry conditions in mandibles, skulls and long bones that deform or break in a consistent way. Further, small compact bones almost always remain intact, resisting breakage under compression. The pattern obtained here was applied to a Pleistocene small mammal fossil assemblage from Wonderwerk Cave (South Africa). This collection showed unusually extensive breakage and skeletal element representation that could not be entirely explained by excavation procedures or digestion by the predator. We propose that trampling was a significant factor in small mammal bone destruction at Wonderwerk Cave, partly the product of trampling caused by the raptor that introduced the microfauna into the cave, as well as by hominins and other terrestrial animals that entered the cave and trampled pellets covering the cave floor.Fil: Fernández Jalvo, Yolanda. Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas. Museo Nacional de Ciencias Naturales; EspañaFil: Rueda, Lucía. Universite de Rennes I; Francia. Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas. Museo Nacional de Ciencias Naturales; EspañaFil: Fernández, Fernando Julián. Universidad de Buenos Aires; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; ArgentinaFil: García Morato, Sara. Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas. Museo Nacional de Ciencias Naturales; España. Universidad Complutense de Madrid; EspañaFil: Marin Monfort, María Dolores. Universidad de Valencia; España. Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas. Museo Nacional de Ciencias Naturales; España. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Bahía Blanca. Instituto Geológico del Sur. Universidad Nacional del Sur. Departamento de Geología. Instituto Geológico del Sur; ArgentinaFil: Montalvo, Claudia Inés. Universidad Nacional de La Pampa; ArgentinaFil: Tomassini, Rodrigo Leandro. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Bahía Blanca. Instituto Geológico del Sur. Universidad Nacional del Sur. Departamento de Geología. Instituto Geológico del Sur; ArgentinaFil: Chazan, Michael. University of Toronto; Canadá. University of the Witwatersrand; SudáfricaFil: Horwitz, Liora K.. The Hebrew University of Jerusalem; IsraelFil: Andrews, Peter. Natural History Museum; Reino UnidoMDPI2022-03info:eu-repo/semantics/articleinfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersionhttp://purl.org/coar/resource_type/c_6501info:ar-repo/semantics/articuloapplication/pdfapplication/pdfhttp://hdl.handle.net/11336/196044Fernández Jalvo, Yolanda; Rueda, Lucía; Fernández, Fernando Julián; García Morato, Sara; Marin Monfort, María Dolores; et al.; Understanding the Impact of Trampling on Rodent Bones; MDPI; Quaternary; 5; 1; 3-2022; 1-192571-550XCONICET DigitalCONICETenginfo:eu-repo/semantics/altIdentifier/doi/10.3390/quat5010011info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccesshttps://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/2.5/ar/reponame:CONICET Digital (CONICET)instname:Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas2025-09-29T10:23:50Zoai:ri.conicet.gov.ar:11336/196044instacron:CONICETInstitucionalhttp://ri.conicet.gov.ar/Organismo científico-tecnológicoNo correspondehttp://ri.conicet.gov.ar/oai/requestdasensio@conicet.gov.ar; lcarlino@conicet.gov.arArgentinaNo correspondeNo correspondeNo correspondeopendoar:34982025-09-29 10:23:50.73CONICET Digital (CONICET) - Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicasfalse
dc.title.none.fl_str_mv Understanding the Impact of Trampling on Rodent Bones
title Understanding the Impact of Trampling on Rodent Bones
spellingShingle Understanding the Impact of Trampling on Rodent Bones
Fernández Jalvo, Yolanda
BONE COMPRESSION
EXPERIMENTAL TAPHONOMY
MICROFAUNA
WONDERWERK CAVE
title_short Understanding the Impact of Trampling on Rodent Bones
title_full Understanding the Impact of Trampling on Rodent Bones
title_fullStr Understanding the Impact of Trampling on Rodent Bones
title_full_unstemmed Understanding the Impact of Trampling on Rodent Bones
title_sort Understanding the Impact of Trampling on Rodent Bones
dc.creator.none.fl_str_mv Fernández Jalvo, Yolanda
Rueda, Lucía
Fernández, Fernando Julián
García Morato, Sara
Marin Monfort, María Dolores
Montalvo, Claudia Inés
Tomassini, Rodrigo Leandro
Chazan, Michael
Horwitz, Liora K.
Andrews, Peter
author Fernández Jalvo, Yolanda
author_facet Fernández Jalvo, Yolanda
Rueda, Lucía
Fernández, Fernando Julián
García Morato, Sara
Marin Monfort, María Dolores
Montalvo, Claudia Inés
Tomassini, Rodrigo Leandro
Chazan, Michael
Horwitz, Liora K.
Andrews, Peter
author_role author
author2 Rueda, Lucía
Fernández, Fernando Julián
García Morato, Sara
Marin Monfort, María Dolores
Montalvo, Claudia Inés
Tomassini, Rodrigo Leandro
Chazan, Michael
Horwitz, Liora K.
Andrews, Peter
author2_role author
author
author
author
author
author
author
author
author
dc.subject.none.fl_str_mv BONE COMPRESSION
EXPERIMENTAL TAPHONOMY
MICROFAUNA
WONDERWERK CAVE
topic BONE COMPRESSION
EXPERIMENTAL TAPHONOMY
MICROFAUNA
WONDERWERK CAVE
purl_subject.fl_str_mv https://purl.org/becyt/ford/6.1
https://purl.org/becyt/ford/6
dc.description.none.fl_txt_mv Experiments based on the premise of uniformitarism are an effective tool to establish patterns of taphonomic processes acting either before, or after, burial. One process that has been extensively investigated experimentally is the impact of trampling to large mammal bones. Since trampling marks caused by sedimentary friction strongly mimic cut marks made by humans using stone tools during butchery, distinguishing the origin of such modifications is especially relevant to the study of human evolution. In contrast, damage resulting from trampling on small mammal fossil bones has received less attention, despite the fact that it may solve interesting problems relating to site formation processes. While it has been observed that the impact of compression depends on the type of substrate and dryness of the skeletal elements, the fragility of small mammal bones may imply that they will break as a response to compression. Here, we have undertaken a controlled experiment using material resistance compression equipment to simulate a preliminary experiment, previously devised by one of us, on human trampling of owl pellets. Our results demonstrate that different patterns of breakage can be distinguished under wet and dry conditions in mandibles, skulls and long bones that deform or break in a consistent way. Further, small compact bones almost always remain intact, resisting breakage under compression. The pattern obtained here was applied to a Pleistocene small mammal fossil assemblage from Wonderwerk Cave (South Africa). This collection showed unusually extensive breakage and skeletal element representation that could not be entirely explained by excavation procedures or digestion by the predator. We propose that trampling was a significant factor in small mammal bone destruction at Wonderwerk Cave, partly the product of trampling caused by the raptor that introduced the microfauna into the cave, as well as by hominins and other terrestrial animals that entered the cave and trampled pellets covering the cave floor.
Fil: Fernández Jalvo, Yolanda. Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas. Museo Nacional de Ciencias Naturales; España
Fil: Rueda, Lucía. Universite de Rennes I; Francia. Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas. Museo Nacional de Ciencias Naturales; España
Fil: Fernández, Fernando Julián. Universidad de Buenos Aires; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina
Fil: García Morato, Sara. Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas. Museo Nacional de Ciencias Naturales; España. Universidad Complutense de Madrid; España
Fil: Marin Monfort, María Dolores. Universidad de Valencia; España. Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas. Museo Nacional de Ciencias Naturales; España. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Bahía Blanca. Instituto Geológico del Sur. Universidad Nacional del Sur. Departamento de Geología. Instituto Geológico del Sur; Argentina
Fil: Montalvo, Claudia Inés. Universidad Nacional de La Pampa; Argentina
Fil: Tomassini, Rodrigo Leandro. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Bahía Blanca. Instituto Geológico del Sur. Universidad Nacional del Sur. Departamento de Geología. Instituto Geológico del Sur; Argentina
Fil: Chazan, Michael. University of Toronto; Canadá. University of the Witwatersrand; Sudáfrica
Fil: Horwitz, Liora K.. The Hebrew University of Jerusalem; Israel
Fil: Andrews, Peter. Natural History Museum; Reino Unido
description Experiments based on the premise of uniformitarism are an effective tool to establish patterns of taphonomic processes acting either before, or after, burial. One process that has been extensively investigated experimentally is the impact of trampling to large mammal bones. Since trampling marks caused by sedimentary friction strongly mimic cut marks made by humans using stone tools during butchery, distinguishing the origin of such modifications is especially relevant to the study of human evolution. In contrast, damage resulting from trampling on small mammal fossil bones has received less attention, despite the fact that it may solve interesting problems relating to site formation processes. While it has been observed that the impact of compression depends on the type of substrate and dryness of the skeletal elements, the fragility of small mammal bones may imply that they will break as a response to compression. Here, we have undertaken a controlled experiment using material resistance compression equipment to simulate a preliminary experiment, previously devised by one of us, on human trampling of owl pellets. Our results demonstrate that different patterns of breakage can be distinguished under wet and dry conditions in mandibles, skulls and long bones that deform or break in a consistent way. Further, small compact bones almost always remain intact, resisting breakage under compression. The pattern obtained here was applied to a Pleistocene small mammal fossil assemblage from Wonderwerk Cave (South Africa). This collection showed unusually extensive breakage and skeletal element representation that could not be entirely explained by excavation procedures or digestion by the predator. We propose that trampling was a significant factor in small mammal bone destruction at Wonderwerk Cave, partly the product of trampling caused by the raptor that introduced the microfauna into the cave, as well as by hominins and other terrestrial animals that entered the cave and trampled pellets covering the cave floor.
publishDate 2022
dc.date.none.fl_str_mv 2022-03
dc.type.none.fl_str_mv info:eu-repo/semantics/article
info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion
http://purl.org/coar/resource_type/c_6501
info:ar-repo/semantics/articulo
format article
status_str publishedVersion
dc.identifier.none.fl_str_mv http://hdl.handle.net/11336/196044
Fernández Jalvo, Yolanda; Rueda, Lucía; Fernández, Fernando Julián; García Morato, Sara; Marin Monfort, María Dolores; et al.; Understanding the Impact of Trampling on Rodent Bones; MDPI; Quaternary; 5; 1; 3-2022; 1-19
2571-550X
CONICET Digital
CONICET
url http://hdl.handle.net/11336/196044
identifier_str_mv Fernández Jalvo, Yolanda; Rueda, Lucía; Fernández, Fernando Julián; García Morato, Sara; Marin Monfort, María Dolores; et al.; Understanding the Impact of Trampling on Rodent Bones; MDPI; Quaternary; 5; 1; 3-2022; 1-19
2571-550X
CONICET Digital
CONICET
dc.language.none.fl_str_mv eng
language eng
dc.relation.none.fl_str_mv info:eu-repo/semantics/altIdentifier/doi/10.3390/quat5010011
dc.rights.none.fl_str_mv info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/2.5/ar/
eu_rights_str_mv openAccess
rights_invalid_str_mv https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/2.5/ar/
dc.format.none.fl_str_mv application/pdf
application/pdf
dc.publisher.none.fl_str_mv MDPI
publisher.none.fl_str_mv MDPI
dc.source.none.fl_str_mv reponame:CONICET Digital (CONICET)
instname:Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas
reponame_str CONICET Digital (CONICET)
collection CONICET Digital (CONICET)
instname_str Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas
repository.name.fl_str_mv CONICET Digital (CONICET) - Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas
repository.mail.fl_str_mv dasensio@conicet.gov.ar; lcarlino@conicet.gov.ar
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score 13.070432

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