Palaeontology and zooarchaeology of Mezmaiskaya Cave (northwestern Caucasus, Russia)

Over 6000 large mammal and numerous small vertebrate remains have been recovered from preliminary excavations at Mezmaiskaya Cave, situated at 1300-1350 m above sea level in the northwestern foothills of the Caucasus Mountains. Most remains were recovered from layers containing Mousterian artefacts that dale to the late Middle Pleniglacial (35,000 BP and older). The faunal assemblage reflects a very low degree of weathering, and many bones exhibit traces of stone tool cuts and carnivore modification. Steppe bison (Biron priscus), Caucasian goat (Capra caucasica), and Asiatic mouflon (Ovis orientalis) are the most common large mammals. The remains of reindeer (Rungifer tarandus) were encountered for the first time in the Caucasus. Although most of the smaller vertebrate remains appear to have been accumulated by nonhuman biotic processes (e.g. owl predation), the majority of the ungulate remains probably represent animals hunted by the Mousterian occupants of the cave. (C) 1996 Academic Press Limited