The Late Middle Pleistocene mammalian fauna of Oumm Qatafa Cave, Judean Desert: taxonomy, taphonomy and palaeoenvironment

Abstract

The Middle Pleistocene archaeological record of the southern Levant has proven key to understanding human evolution and intercontinental faunal biogeography. Knowledge of archaeological sites of that period in the southern Levant is biased, with most Middle Pleistocene localities in the Mediterranean areas in the north, despite the mosaic of environments that mark the entire region. A key Middle Pleistocene location in the Judean Deserton the eastern margin of the Mediterranean zoneis the site of Oumm Qatafa, excavated in the early 1900s, which yielded a faunal collection spanning an estimated time period of 600-200 kya. Here, we present a revised taxonomy of the macromammalian fauna from the site, discuss the palaeoenvironmental implications of this assemblage, and relate the finds to other Pleistocene sites from the Levant. These data enable a more precise palaeoenvironmental reconstruction which attests to an open landscape, but with the addition of a mesic Mediterranean component close by. In addition, detailed taphonomic observations on butchery marks and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy analysis of burnt bone link the fauna for the first time to anthropogenic activities in the cave.

Evolution of the Family Equidae, Subfamily Equinae, in North, Central and South America, Eurasia and Africa during the Plio-Pleistocene

“…The possible relationships of E. mauritanicus with plain zebras have been suggested by Eisenmann [ 295 ] and more recently from Bernor et al [ 14 ] by morphological analyses. Beside the type locality of Tighenif, E. mauritanicus is reported also in Oumm Qatafa (Juden Desert, Egypt, Middle Pleistocene [ 306 ]).…”

“…Eisenmann [ 236 ] reported E. melkiensis also from Morocco. This species has been identified also at Gesher Benot Ya’akov and Nahal Hesi (Israel; [ 87 , 301 ]) and Oumm Qatafa (Egypt, Middle Pleistocene, [ 306 ]).…”

Old World Fossil Equus (Perissodactyla, Mammalia), Extant Wild Relatives and Incertae Sedis Forms

“…In his remarkable review, Sam gave a list of north-western localities where Ass-like fossils, in particular E. (Asinus) melkiensis, have been found ( [48], Table S1). I will illustrate here some fossils morphologically similar to E. (Asinus) melkiensis from Filfila [58] and Aïn Benian [59], Algeria, from Bou-Knadel [60] and Mugharet El Alya [61], Morocco, and also from Yemen, Oumm Qatafa, Israel [62,63] and Petralona, Greece [39].…”

“…(B) p2, p3, p4, m1.A few badly preserved MTs from the Aterian of Aïn Tit Mellil[67] and Tihodaïne (ca 0.4 Ma, according to Van Couvering and Delson[69]), differ from E. (Asinus) africanus and E. (Asinus) asinus by their deep diaphyses (Figure33). From Aïn Metherchem, a slender MC preserved at the IPH has also a deep diaphysis ([63], FigureSupplement C). More detailed studies of North African Equids are needed to understand where these Ass-like forms belong.…”

Application of anisotropy of magnetic susceptibility to construct the palaeocurrent direction using slender fossil orientations

“…Recently, AMS has been used for verifying the weak dynamics, such as palaeowind directions in the aeolian loess (e.g., Gong et al, 2015; Lagroix & Banerjee, 2004; Xian & Zhang, 2020; Zhang et al, 2010; Zhu et al, 2004). Although AMS has been used regularly since the early 1960s, especially for tectonic studies, it has not been routinely applied in many studies of palaeocurrent reconstruction in stratigraphic geology that compare to fossil taphonomy (i.e., transport and burial of fossils) (Lazagabaster et al, 2022; Zhang et al, 2002; Zhang & Gong, 2003). In this study, we evaluate whether the palaeocurrent directions at fossil sites could be recorded by the magnetic fabric.…”