Differential Avian Skeletal Part Distribution: Explaining the Abundance of Wings

Late Pleistocene marine birds from southern Peru: distinguishing human capture from El Niño-induced windfall

“…If the carcasses accumulate near the water's edge, the cranium and cervical vertebrae are the least likely to be preserved [19], especially if they are subjected to scavenging by other vertebrates [46]. In contrast to the observations of Oliver and Graham [46], the pectoral girdle (sternum, furcula, clavicle, scapula) covered by the meaty breast remain intact ( [6]; my observation). Despite the high energy associated with aquatic settings, the wing elements (humerus, radius, ulna, carpals, carpometacarpus, phalanges) are often the least subject to disarticulation [6,19,46,58].…”

“…In the southernmost part of the continent both oceanic (e.g., albatrosses and shearwaters) and marine birds (e.g., cormorants and ducks) were exploited intensively in both the prehistoric past [62] and in modern times by nomadic Patagonians [38]. Outside of South America, marine and lacustrine birds have been an important component of human diet in both the prehistoric and historic past [4,6,24,26,36,48,59,60,63,68,69].…”

“…The role of birds in human diet and their preservation in the archaeological record has been investigated frequently from either taphonomic perspectives addressing the structural characteristics of bird bone itself (e.g., [6,23,28,39]) or from behavioral approaches emphasizing human action (e.g., [7,15,22]). Although researchers have investigated the taphonomy of non-anthropogenic ancient and recent catastrophic die-offs of birds from localized biotic and abiotic phenomena such as red-tide blooms [21,18,19] or freezing lake conditions [46], previous studies of marine bird use have not considered the role of short-term periodic climate change (less than 2 years) on human availability or access to marine birds.…”

Late Neandertals and the intentional removal of feathers as evidenced from bird bone taphonomy at Fumane Cave 44 ky B.P., Italy

“…Usually, striae located on the proximal humerus, the coracoid, and the scapula in the meat-rich pectoral portion, together with those on the pelvis and femur in the thigh portion, indicate a use of the birds for food. Furthermore, it should be taken into account that the overrepresentation of wing elements in archaeological sites has also been interpreted as a consequence of capture, butchery, and food use by humans, as well as of postdepositional natural causes and of differential preservation of the bones (39).…”

Ocupaciones Arcaicas Y Probables Evidencias De Navegación Temprana en La Costa Arreica De Antofagasta, Chile

“…De acuerdo con el análisis estadístico hay una presencia diferencial de elementos óseos apendiculares en las aves, con una sobrerrepresentación de especímenes de las extremidades anteriores, por sobre las inferiores. Este fenómeno, observado en múltiples estudios (Bovy 2002(Bovy , 2012, respondería principalmente a la actividad cultural y no a un fenómeno postdepositacional.…”