Chagyrskaya Cave (Layer 5)
Basic information
Sample name: Chagyrskaya Cave (Layer 5)

Reference: N. Rudaya, S. Vasiliev, B. Viola, S. Talamo, and S. Markin. 2017. Palaeoenvironments during the period of the Neanderthals settlement in Chagyrskaya cave (Altai Mountains, Russia). Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology 467:265-276 [ER 3736]
Geography
Country: Russia

State: Altai Republic


Coordinate: 51° 26' 34" N, 83° 9' 18" E
Coordinate basis: stated in text

Time interval: Late Pleistocene

Section: 3736

Unit number: 1

Unit order: above to below

Ma: 0.03376

Age basis: radiocarbon (uncalibrated)

Geography comments: "Chagyrskaya Cave is situated on the left bank of the Charysh River in the mountain branches of the Tigirek Range, Altai Mountains, Russia. The cave faces north and is elevated 25 m above the river level".
Layer 5 is radiocarbon dated to 33,760 ± 170 BP (38,690 – 37,670 cal. BP). This stratum "appears to reflect MIS3 (Karginski) interstadial".

Environment
Lithology: not described

Taphonomic context: cave,human accumulation

Archaeology: stone tools

Habitat comments: "The cave consists of two chambers of approximately 130 m2. There are seven lithological units in total containing Holocene (1-4) and Pleistocene strata (5–7). The upper part of the Pleistocene deposits is mostly composed of sub-aerial sediments including two layers of loess-like sediments (strata 5 and 6)".
"More than 70,000 artefacts were unevenly dispersed over the middle and upper Pleistocene sediments. The composition of the lithic industries is similar across strata, although the richest lithic assemblages were found in Layer 6".
"The main lithic categories are flakes, chips and tools. Blades, bifacial thinning chips, cores, and core and bifacial preforms are rare".
"The cave was used as a base camp for the butchering and processing of hunted game by Neanderthals".

Methods
Life forms: carnivores,primates,rodents,ungulates,other small mammals,birds,frogs,fishes

Sampling methods: quarry,screenwash

Sample size: 1765 specimens

Years: 2007 - 2013

Sampling comments: "The fossils from Chagyrskaya Cave were recovered over seven years of excavations (2007–2013) and consist of 195,800 specimens. Fossils that can be identified to the species, genus, or class level comprise only 3.4% of the total assemblage". No additional excavation details are given.

Metadata
Sample number: 3968

Contributor: Benjamin Carter

Enterer: Benjamin Carter

Created: 2022-08-13 11:35:28

Modified: 2023-05-30 01:18:24

Abundance distribution
38 species
3 singletons
total count 1765
geometric series index: 46.1
Fisher's α: 6.838
geometric series k: 0.8565
Hurlbert's PIE: 0.9075
Shannon's H: 2.7905
Good's u: 0.9983
Each square represents a species. Square sizes are proportional to counts.
Register
Homo neanderthalensis1
Talpa altaica76
"Asioscalops altaica"
Ochotona sp.3
Lepus timidus63
Lepus tolai47
Eutamias sibiricus1
"Tamias sibiricus"
Spermophilus sp.283
Marmota baibacina23
Allactaga sp.16
Cricetus cricetus8
Arvicola amphibius9
"Arvicola terrestris"
Myospalax myospalax308
also 347 Rodentia indet.
Canis lupus4343 kg carnivore
Vulpes vulpes655.3 kg carnivore-insectivore
Vulpes corsac30
Cuon alpinus3514 kg carnivore
Ursus arctos7156 kg frugivore-carnivore
Martes zibellina3
Mustela nivalis477.5 g carnivore
Mustela erminea5121 g
Mustela altaica5 carnivore
Mustela eversmanii1
Crocuta sp.33
"Crocuta crocuta spelaea": possibly C. ultima, see Lewis and Werdelin (2022)
Panthera spelaea5
Mammuthus primigenius49
Equus ferus8422 kg
Equus ovodovi30
also 56 Equus sp. "ovodovi/ferus"
Coelodonta antiquitatis17
Cervus elaphus18104 kg
Rangifer tarandus669 kg browser
Bison priscus44
Procapra gutturosa330 kg
"Gazella gutturosa"
Saiga tatarica928 kg
also 47 Antilopinae indet. "Saiga/Gazella"
Capra sibirica207
Ovis ammon10376 kg browser-grazer
also 138 Caprinae indet. "Capra/Ovis"
Pisces indet.19
Amphibia indet.2
Aves indet.176