Journal
QUATERNARY INTERNATIONAL
Volume 431, Issue -, Pages 20-41Publisher
PERGAMON-ELSEVIER SCIENCE LTD
DOI: 10.1016/j.quaint.2015.10.053
Keywords
Venta Micena; Fuente Nueva-3; Barranco Leon; Ursidae; Early Pleistocene; Europe
Funding
- Consejeria de Educacion, Cultura y Deportes of the Junta de Andalucia [Exp. B090678SV18BC]
- Atapuerca Foundation
- Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness [CGL2010-15326/BTE, CGL2014-54373-P, HAR2013-48784-C3-1-P]
- Junta de Andalucia [P11-HUM-7248]
- Generalitat de Catalunya [GENCAT 2009 SGR 324, 2014 SGR 416 GRC]
- European Commission's Research Infrastructure Action via the SYNTHESYS Project [AT-TAF-4385]
- ICREA Funding Source: Custom
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Dental morphology and tooth microwear studies are used as analytical proxies for understanding the taxonomy, biochronology, paleobiology and ecogeographical context of Early Pleistocene Ursus species (U. etruscus) and other large carnivore taxa (Hyaenidae and Canidae) preserved in the Early Pleistocene (Calabrian) sites from Orce (Guadix-Baza basin, Andalusia, Spain), including Venta Micena (VM), Barranco Leon (BL-D) and Fuente Nueva-3 (FN-3). The results of this study suggest varied dietary habits and behavior among Ursus species and other carnivorous taxa. Morphologically, the bunodont dentition and microwear patterns of Ursus etruscus advanced forms from VM, BL-D and FN-3 indicate their omnivorous feeding ecology, in agreement with the dietary habits of extant brown bear, Ursus arctos (a purported descendant of U. etruscus). However, in the case of VM isotopic analyses of bioapatite and bone collagen suggest a significant contribution of fish in their diet, as in the case of some populations of modern brown bear, and also a regular consumption of plant tissues, as evidenced by the comparatively high delta N-15 and delta O-18 values in this extinct species, respectively. (C) 2015 Elsevier Ltd and INQUA. All rights reserved.
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