Mezmaiskaya Cave (Layer 3)
Basic information
Sample name: Mezmaiskaya Cave (Layer 3)
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: 4
Unit order: above to below
Max Ma: 0.0676
Min Ma: 0.0645
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 3 yielded a conventional AMS radiocarbon date on bone of > 45,000 BP"
JA: there are mean ESR dates on three teeth from this layer of 64.5 ± 6.2 ka (early uptake) and 67.6 ± 5.4 ka (late uptake) (Skinner et al. 2005)
"Layer 3 yielded a conventional AMS radiocarbon date on bone of > 45,000 BP"
JA: there are mean ESR dates on three teeth from this layer of 64.5 ± 6.2 ka (early uptake) and 67.6 ± 5.4 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 3 consists of "dark yellowish brown clay with occasional small to large angular rock fragments. 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: carnivores,primates,rodents,ungulates,other small mammals,birds
Sampling methods: quarry,screenwash
Sample size: 595 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: 3975
Contributor: Benjamin Carter
Enterer: Benjamin Carter
Created: 2022-08-19 11:56:37
Modified: 2023-12-04 04:06:48
Abundance distribution
23 species
10 singletons
total count 595
geometric series index: 48.8
Fisher's α: 4.755
geometric series k: 0.7698
Hurlbert's PIE: 0.6638
Shannon's H: 1.5837
Good's u: 0.9832
Each square represents a species. Square sizes are proportional to counts.
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Register
| Vulpes vulpes | 3 | 5.3 kg carnivore-insectivore |
| †Ursus kudarensis | 4 | |
| "Ursus deningeri kudarensis": see Gimranov et al. (2021) | ||
| †Panthera spelaea | 1 | |
| Rangifer tarandus | 1 | 69 kg browser |
| Cervus elaphus | 15 | 142 kg browser-grazer |
| †Bison priscus | 119 | |
| Capra caucasica | 8 | |
| Ovis sp. | 5 | |
| "Ovis orientalis": mouflon or urial | ||
| Talpa caucasica | 2 | |
| Sorex sp. | 56 | |
| Apodemus sp. | 1 | |
| Spalax microphthalmus | 1 | |
| Nothocricetulus migratorius | 3 | |
| "Cricetulus migratorius" | ||
| Prometheomys schaposchnikowi | 1 | |
| Arvicola sp. | 1 | |
| Chionomys nivalis | 29 | |
| Chionomys gud | 4 | |
| Chionomys roberti | 1 | |
| Microtus sp. | 21 | |
| Microtus majori/daghestanicus "Terricola ex gr. majori-daghestanicus" | ||
| Microtus arvalis | 316 | |
| Coturnix coturnix | 1 | 90.0 g frugivore-granivore |
| Pyrrhocorax graculus | 1 | |
| †Homo neanderthalensis | 1 | |
| complete Neanderthal infant skeleton: see also Skinner et al. (2005) | ||