Porc-Epic Cave
Basic information
Sample name: Porc-Epic Cave
Reference: Z. Assefa. 2006. Faunal remains from Porc-Epic: Paleoecological and zooarchaeological investigations from a Middle Stone Age site in southeastern Ethiopia. Journal of Human Evolution 51(1):50-75 [ER 3725]
Geography
Country: Ethiopia
Coordinate: 9° 34' 17" N, 41° 53' 14" E
Coordinate basis: stated in text
Time interval: Late Pleistocene
Max Ma: 0.0432
Min Ma: 0.0337
Age basis: radiocarbon (uncalibrated)
Geography comments: "Porc-Epic Cave is located 3 km south of Dire Dawa, situated at the northeastern end of the Chercher Highlands within the Harar Plateau and adjacent to the Rift Valley". It is some "2.5 km northeast of Babo Terara at an elevation of close to 1450 m, near the top of a hill called Garad Erer which rises steeply on the eastern edge of the massive wadi Laga Dåchatu. It is 9 m below the top of the ridge and about 140 m above the wadi on a steep slope".
"AMS radiocarbon determinations for three gastropod samples from three different MSA levels yielded uncalibrated ages of 33,700 ± 300, 35,600 ± 350, and >43,200 BP. The calibrated ranges of the two finite ages are 37,396–35,493 and 39,664–37,861 cal. BP, respectively".
"AMS radiocarbon determinations for three gastropod samples from three different MSA levels yielded uncalibrated ages of 33,700 ± 300, 35,600 ± 350, and >43,200 BP. The calibrated ranges of the two finite ages are 37,396–35,493 and 39,664–37,861 cal. BP, respectively".
Environment
Lithology: breccia
Taphonomic context: cave,human accumulation
Archaeology: stone tools
Habitat comments: "The MSA assemblage came from a layer of calcareous breccia, which in some parts of the cave measures up to 1.5-m thick. The upper horizon of the breccia layer was cemented by lateral seepage. A major dripstone subsequently sealed the MSA-bearing breccia layer".
"Thousands of artifacts from the 1974 excavation documented diverse types of retouched and utilized stone tools, with high proportions of points and scrapers. These tools persist throughout the MSA sequence, indicating an absence of major changes in the techniques of stone tool production during the course of the MSA occupation".
"Considering its location high on a steep slope, Porc-Epic Cave cannot have been strategically suitable as a kill site or an ambush spot. More feasibly, the remains probably accumulated at the site through selected transport of nutritionally high-ranking elements to a residential base, which Porc-Epic Cave must have represented".
"Thousands of artifacts from the 1974 excavation documented diverse types of retouched and utilized stone tools, with high proportions of points and scrapers. These tools persist throughout the MSA sequence, indicating an absence of major changes in the techniques of stone tool production during the course of the MSA occupation".
"Considering its location high on a steep slope, Porc-Epic Cave cannot have been strategically suitable as a kill site or an ambush spot. More feasibly, the remains probably accumulated at the site through selected transport of nutritionally high-ranking elements to a residential base, which Porc-Epic Cave must have represented".
Methods
Life forms: carnivores,primates,rodents,ungulates,other large mammals,other small mammals
Sampling methods: quarry
Sample size: 172 specimens
Sampled by: J. D. Clark, K. D. Williamson
Years: 1974 -
Sampling comments: "In 1974, a team led by J. D. Clark carried out a 1 × 6 m test excavation with the purpose of clarifying the sedimentary history of the cave and conducting a pilot study on the archaeological remains. In the following years, K. D. Williamson pursued an exhaustive excavation of the cave in an area of more than 50 m2, producing a large sample of artifacts and faunal remains".
"There is no documentation that discusses the specific or general procedures of excavation that Williamson undertook at Porc-Epic. However, the excavation was likely dug in arbitrary 10-cm levels, with each grid square divided into four quadrants (50 cm × 50 cm). From a total of 1590 bone-bearing quadrants, more than 57,000 fragments of large mammal bone were recovered from the MSA levels".
"The excavators retained all concretions that contain bones, irrespective of size". Unfortunately, "due to the highly fragmented nature of the faunal assemblage, taxonomic identification could be based only on dental remains. At Porc-Epic, the representation of dental remains is remarkably low compared to postcranial bones and consists primarily of isolated and fragmented specimens".
"There is no documentation that discusses the specific or general procedures of excavation that Williamson undertook at Porc-Epic. However, the excavation was likely dug in arbitrary 10-cm levels, with each grid square divided into four quadrants (50 cm × 50 cm). From a total of 1590 bone-bearing quadrants, more than 57,000 fragments of large mammal bone were recovered from the MSA levels".
"The excavators retained all concretions that contain bones, irrespective of size". Unfortunately, "due to the highly fragmented nature of the faunal assemblage, taxonomic identification could be based only on dental remains. At Porc-Epic, the representation of dental remains is remarkably low compared to postcranial bones and consists primarily of isolated and fragmented specimens".
Metadata
Sample number: 3958
Contributor: Benjamin Carter
Enterer: Benjamin Carter
Created: 2022-08-06 12:24:23
Modified: 2022-08-06 02:27:53
Abundance distribution
24 species
4 singletons
total count 172
geometric series index: 38.2
Fisher's α: 7.584
geometric series k: 0.8537
Hurlbert's PIE: 0.8826
Shannon's H: 2.5926
Good's u: 0.9770
Each square represents a species. Square sizes are proportional to counts.
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