This paper describes human-modified bones originally from the Pampas region, and that form part of nineteenth-century fossil collections of native fauna. We describe the morphological and configurational features of the marks, relate them to the various stages in the butchering process, and discuss access type. An examination of various different American sites is used to interpret this evidence at a coarse-grained level. Although these collections are more biased than current archaeological materials with regard to their sedimentary origin and previous handling, the application of modern technology has allowed us to obtain new data. Therefore, despite their complex history, these artefacts can be incorporated into the broader body of modern archaeological research. This type of study adds new value to our historic heritage and underscores its usefulness in modern enquiries, in this case, related to the topic of how Homo sapiens interacted with the native fauna in the southern Cone of South America.

No abstract

No abstract

Pleistocene South American megafauna has traditionally attracted the interest of scientists and the popular media alike. However, ecological interactions between the species that inhabited these ecosystems, such as predator-prey relationships or interspecific competition, are poorly known. To this regard, carnivore marks imprinted on the fossil bones of megamammal remains are very useful for deciphering biological activity and, hence, potential interspecific relationships among taxa. In this article, we study historical fossil collections housed in different European and Argentinean museums that were excavated during the 19th and early 20th centuries in the Pampean region, Argentina, in order to detect carnivore marks on bones of megamammals and provide crucial information on the ecological relationships between South American taxa during the Pleistocene. Our results indicate that the long bones of megafauna from the Pampean region (e.g., the Mylodontidae and Toxodontidae families) exhibit carnivore marks. Furthermore, long bones of medium-sized species and indeterminate bones also present punctures, pits, scores and fractures. Members of the large-carnivore guild, such as ursids, canids and even felids, are recognised as the main agents that inflicted the marks. We hypothesize that the analysed carnivore marks represent the last stages of megaherbivore carcass exploitation, suggesting full consumption of these animals by the same or multiple taxa in a hunting and/or scavenging scenario. Moreover, our observations provide novel insights that help further our understanding of the palaeoecological relationships of these unique communities of megamammals.Subjects Paleontology

Se describen seis especies de carnívoros del Aragoniense Inferior de Buñol (Valencia): Amphicyon olisiponensis Antunes y Ginsburg; Cynelos helbingi (Dehm); Ysengrinia valentiana nov. sp.; Hemicyon stehlini Hürzeler; Prosansanosmilus peregrinus Heizmann y Ginsburg; Pseudaelurus quadridentatus Blainville. Todas estas, excepto Ps. quadridentatus y C. helbingi, se citan por primera vez en nuestro país, entre éstas, se encuentra un nuevo cánido, Ysengrinia valentiana nov. sp. Su M2 es relativamente corto comparado al de Ysengrinia gerandiana (Viret) y el área protoconal del M1 más reducida. En estos caracteres, la nueva especie, es claramente intermedia en morfología entre Ysengrinia gerandiana y Thaumastocyon bourgeoisi (Stehlin y Helbing).