NEANDERTHAL SUBSISTENCE AND SPATIAL BEHAVIOR AT A PALEOLITHIC SITE OF BRONZE CAVE, GEORGIA

Abstract

This capstone project explores the diet and spatial behavior of the Homo neanderthalensis through the Middle Paleolithic faunal assemblage of the Bronze Cave site from the excavations held in the 1970s. Bronze Cave is a part of the Tsutskhvati Cave complex in the Imereti region in the western part of the Republic of Georgia. A rich archaeological record of Middle to Upper Paleolithic periods in western Georgia is important for studies in human evolution through the attempts to reconstruct the transition between Neanderthals to Homo sapiens. The focus of this study is to examine the faunal remains through data collection and analyzing methods, such as context information, quantifiable data and types of surface modifications, as well as breakage patterns in attempts to reconstruct the hominin subsistence and utilization of the site, as well as an insight into the types of animals that inhabited the Bronze Cave site. The assemblage consists of 376 faunal skeletal elements and fragments of eleven identifiable genera. Other caves from the region, such as Ortvale Klde, Bondi Cave and Dzudzuana were used as a comparison for methodology, analysis and results due to the similarity in the climate, faunal collection and time period with only micro differences, which in turn can help gain valuable insights into the future research focused on the hominin and faunal behavior. The results indicate that the site was used as a processing place for the transported limb bones due to the assemblage consisting of almost 70% by limb bones. Most of the cut marks refer to skinning, and the carnivore activity might indicate the animals’ access to the bones after the Neanderthals. The high number of Bison, Caucasian tur and Cave bear coincide with the results of the comparison sites. Lack of much weathering on the elements show that they were buried right after their death, which in turn point to the carnivore and hominins sharing the space. Spatial layout demonstrates that there was a somewhat designated place for processing of the bones by Neanderthals. However, any conclusions of this capstone is hindered by a small sample size and lack of piece plotting data.