Zooarchaeology and Taphonomy of the Middle-Upper Paleolithic in Bondi Cave, Republic of Georgia

Zooarchaeology and Taphonomy of the Middle-Upper Paleolithic in Bondi Cave, Republic of Georgia

R. Yeshurun, M.-H. Moncel, D. Pleurdeau, R. Pinhasi, N. Tushabramishvili, T. Agapishvili, and D. Lordkipanidze.

We present a detailed zooarchaeological and taphonomic study of Bondi Cave, western Georgia, containing Middle Paleolithic and Upper Paleolithic levels. The faunal assemblages are dominated by Caucasian tur (Capra caucasica) and European bison (Bison cf. bonasus). High proportions of specimens bearing cut marks and percussion marks indicate that human activity was the main depositional agent. Carcass transport was selective according to the animal’s size. Assemblage characteristics suggest short occupations of the cave by mobile Upper Paleolithic foragers. The general composition of the fauna probably refl ects a more open setting for the Upper Paleolithic human occupations in this region, compared to the Holocene.

Keywords: Late Pleistocene, Caucasus, hunting, paleoecology.