Abstract
We present new faunal data from Kotias Klde rockshelter, Republic of Georgia, where a substantial part of the faunalv assemblage consists of brown bear remains (Ursus arctos) found in clear association with Mesolithic artifacts. Bear remains are unusually well represented in comparison with other faunal assemblages from the Caucasus and Eurasia in general. The diversity of species, dominance of young individuals, full representation of skeletal elements, and skinning butchery marks indicate that bears were actively hunted. Such an endeavor of hunting denotes the complex network of relationships that linked the Mesolithic hunting societies with the animal world surrounding them.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 15-24 |
| Number of pages | 10 |
| Journal | Archaeology, Ethnology and Anthropology of Eurasia |
| Volume | 37 |
| Issue number | 1 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - Mar 2009 |
Bibliographical note
Funding Information:We thank the American School for Prehistoric Research (Peabody Museum, Harvard University) for the financial support of this project. We are grateful to our colleagues at the Georgia State Museum – D. Lordkipanidze, A. Vekua, N. Tushabramishvili – for their collaboration and assistance during our research in the Republic of Georgia. We thank R. Yeshurun (University of Haifa) for taking part in the excavations and the laboratory analysis during fieldwork in 2005–2006 and to D. Adler and R. Yeshurun for their thoughtful comments on earlier drafts.
Keywords
- Mesolithic
- The Caucasus
- bear hunting
- brown bear
- taphonomy
- zooarchaeology
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Archaeology
- Cultural Studies