Mezmaiskaya Cave (Layer 2B)
Basic information
Sample name: Mezmaiskaya Cave (Layer 2B)
Reference: G. Baryshnikov, J. F. Hoffecker, and R. L. Burgess. 1996. Palaeontology and zooarchaeology of Mezmaiskaya Cave (Northwestern Caucasus, Russia). Journal of Archaeological Science 23(3):313-335 [ER 3740]
Geography
Country: Russia
State: Adygea
Coordinate: 44° 10' N, 40° 5' E
Coordinate basis: stated in text
Time interval: Late Pleistocene
Section: 3740
Unit number: 3
Unit order: above to below
Max Ma: 0.0706
Min Ma: 0.0366
Age basis: ESR
Geography comments: "Mezmaiskaya Cave is located in the northwestern foothills of the Caucasus Mountains, approximately 50 km south of the city of Maikop in the Azish-Tau Range, which is part of the Lagonak Upland. The site overlooks the right bank of the Sukhoi Kurdzhips (a small tributary of the Kurdzhips River), and lies at an elevation of 1300–1350 m"
"Layer 2B yielded a conventional AMS radiocarbon date on bone of 40,660 ± 1600 BP"
JA: there are mean ESR dates on teeth from this layer ranging from 36.6 ± 3.0 ka (early uptake) to 70.6 ± 7.4 ka (late uptake) (Skinner et al. 2005)
"Layer 2B yielded a conventional AMS radiocarbon date on bone of 40,660 ± 1600 BP"
JA: there are mean ESR dates on teeth from this layer ranging from 36.6 ± 3.0 ka (early uptake) to 70.6 ± 7.4 ka (late uptake) (Skinner et al. 2005)
Environment
Lithology: claystone
Taphonomic context: bird accumulation,carnivore accumulation,cave,human accumulation
Archaeology: stone tools
Habitat comments: "Mezmaiskaya Cave contains a deep succession of rubble and clay deposits that span much of the Late Pleistocene". Layer 2B consists of "brown silt loam and silty clay loam with small to large angular rock fragments and numerous small rounded pebbles. Layers 2, 2A, 2B, and 3 yielded hundreds of Mousterian artefacts. The assemblages contain few cores and a high proportion of tools. In the lower levels (Layers 2B and 3), bifacial implements, including small triangular hand axes, bifacial side-scrapers and points, are relatively common, although the majority of tools comprise unifacial sidescrapers".
"Most of the faunal remains were deposited through biotic processes; they represent animals that either inhabited the cave or were brought to the cave by its inhabitants. The large quantity of microvertebrate remains were likely accumulated primarily by owls. Some of the macrovertebrate remains probably represent the prey of carnivores (particularly leopard). However, the bulk of the medium and large mammal remains in the Mousterian occupation layers match the characteristics of an assemblage accumulated by human hunters".
"Most of the faunal remains were deposited through biotic processes; they represent animals that either inhabited the cave or were brought to the cave by its inhabitants. The large quantity of microvertebrate remains were likely accumulated primarily by owls. Some of the macrovertebrate remains probably represent the prey of carnivores (particularly leopard). However, the bulk of the medium and large mammal remains in the Mousterian occupation layers match the characteristics of an assemblage accumulated by human hunters".
Methods
Life forms: bats,carnivores,rodents,ungulates,other small mammals,birds
Sampling methods: quarry,screenwash
Sample size: 3351 specimens
Years: 1987 - 1994
Sampling comments: "Excavations at the cave were conducted during 1987–1994, exposing a total area of approximately 30 m2".
"Cave sediment was excavated by natural stratigraphic layer (subdivided by 5 cm levels) with small knives, and water-sieved (mesh sizes of 3 and 1 mm)".
"Cave sediment was excavated by natural stratigraphic layer (subdivided by 5 cm levels) with small knives, and water-sieved (mesh sizes of 3 and 1 mm)".
Metadata
Sample number: 3974
Contributor: Benjamin Carter
Enterer: Benjamin Carter
Created: 2022-08-19 11:41:34
Modified: 2023-12-04 04:05:58
Abundance distribution
27 species
7 singletons
total count 3351
geometric series index: 42.7
Fisher's α: 4.013
geometric series k: 0.7440
Hurlbert's PIE: 0.5494
Shannon's H: 1.2909
Good's u: 0.9979
Each square represents a species. Square sizes are proportional to counts.
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Register
| †Marmota paleocaucasica | 11 | |
| Canis lupus | 1 | 43 kg carnivore |
| Vulpes vulpes | 5 | 5.3 kg carnivore-insectivore |
| †Ursus kudarensis | 5 | |
| "Ursus deningeri kudarensis": see Gimranov et al. (2021) | ||
| Martes sp. | 1 | |
| Sus scrofa | 1 | 54 kg herbivore |
| Cervus elaphus | 11 | 142 kg browser-grazer |
| †Bison priscus | 216 | |
| Capra caucasica | 13 | |
| Ovis sp. | 10 | |
| "Ovis orientalis": mouflon or urial; also 138 Caprinae indet. | ||
| Talpa caucasica | 6 | |
| Sorex sp. | 370 | |
| Crocidura sp. | 1 | |
| Apodemus sp. | 12 | |
| Spalax microphthalmus | 1 | |
| Nothocricetulus migratorius | 2 | |
| "Cricetulus migratorius" | ||
| Prometheomys schaposchnikowi | 1 | |
| Arvicola sp. | 10 | |
| Chionomys nivalis | 216 | |
| Chionomys gud | 13 | |
| Microtus sp. | 239 | |
| Microtus majori/daghestanicus "Terricola ex gr. majori-daghestanicus" | ||
| Microtus arvalis | 2184 | |
| Chiroptera indet. | 2 | |
| Falco sp. | 1 | |
| Columba livia | 2 | 369 g granivore |
| Pyrrhocorax pyrrhocorax | 9 | |
| Pyrrhocorax graculus | 8 | |