60 



P. ANDREWS AND Y. FERNANDEZ-JALVO 



1. Similar butchering techniques in human and animal remains. 

 Frequency, location and type of verified cut-marks and chop- 

 marks on human and animal bones must be similar, allowing for 

 anatomical differences between humans and animals. 



2. Similar patterns of long bone breakage that might facilitate 

 marrow extraction. 



3. Identical patterns of post-processing discard of human and ani- 

 mal remains. 



4. Evidence of cooking; if present, such evidence should indicate 

 comparable treatment of humans and animal remains. 



Previous work on Gough's cave material has come to contradictory 

 conclusions. Cook ( 1986) attributed cut-marks on human remains to 

 natural damage produced by trampling, with the exception of an 

 adult mandible (Gough's cave 6) that shows evidence for deliberate 

 human activity related to post mortem removal of the tongue. Apart 

 from this human fossil, Cook found equivocal cut-marks on animal 

 bones from the site that indicates dismembering activities. Cook, 

 therefore, concluded that cannibalism was absent at Gough's cave. 

 In contrast to this, Currant, Jacobi and Stringer ( 1989) consider that 

 there is no doubt about human processing of parts of the body at or 

 close to the time of death based on the new material from the 1 987 

 collections. Similarly, Charles (1998) suggests cannibalism was the 

 key factor based on the intermixing of human with animal bones in 

 the deposits. 



It is our intention here to show the results of a taphonomic analysis 

 of Gough's Cave fossil remains. Both human and animal bones will 

 be treated equally so that their modifications can be compared with 

 a view to seeing if the agents responsible for the animal bones are the 

 same as those responsible for the human bones. We will focus 

 particularly on the evidence of cut-marks, which are present on both, 

 to see if there is any difference in distribution and/or type of cut- 

 marks. In addition, we will examine features of bone fracture and 

 bone distribution that may contribute to the hypothesis of human 

 cannibalism at the site. 



METHODS AND MATERIAL 



The fossil material here analysed consists of 240 human and other 

 animal fossil bone fragments. These are in the collection of the 

 Natural History Museum in London. In addition, there are a number 

 of fossil bones at the local museum in Cheddar Gorge that we have 

 not had the opportunity of studying and have therefore not been 

 included. Both human and animal fossil bones have been examined 

 with the aid of a binocular microscope. Some specimens were 

 analysed using scanning electron microscopy (SEM), an ISI ABT55 

 SEM-fitted with an environmental chamber, operating in the back- 

 scattered electron emission mode at 20 kV, which is housed at The 

 Natural History Museum (London). This type of microscope enables 

 specimens to be directly analysed with no necessity for coating 

 (Taylor, 1986). 



Breakage has been analysed following the method of Villa and 

 Mahieu(1991): 



1. Number of fractures. 



2. Fracture angle: oblique/right/mixed (oblique and right). 



3. Fracture outline: transverse/curved- V-shaped/intermediate/ lon- 

 gitudinal. 



4. Fracture edge: smooth/jagged. 



5. Shaft circumference: 1, circumference is <Vi of the original; 2, 

 circumference is > ! /2of the original; 3, complete 



6. Shaft fragmentation: 1, shafts < l A of original length; 2, length 

 between l A and Vi of original length; 3, length between Vi and % 

 of original length; 4, length > 3 A of original length (complete). 



Unfortunately, most remains from the study collection had been 

 glued together and traits of fracture angle, fracture outline and 

 fracture edge could not always be identified and quantified. Other 

 fracture traits such as peeling (White, 1992), percussion pits 

 (Blumenschine & Selvagio. 1988), adhering flakes (White, 1992) 

 and conchoidal percussion scars (Blumenschine 1 988) were recorded 

 as present or absent. 



Bone surface modifications attributed to human action were iden- 

 tified as tool-induced modifications such as incisions, scrape marks, 

 chop-marks, hammer/anvil striations. Emplacement of cut-marks 

 and identification of the muscles or tendons affected by the cuts were 

 recorded. Post-depositional surface modifications were identified as 

 weathering, desquamation, trampling marks, polishing, rounding, 

 gnawing or tooth marks. Post-burial modifications recorded were 

 manganese oxide stains, concretion (cemented sediment heavily 

 attached to the fossil), soil corrosion or root-marks. 



Tooth marks were described and measured separately for all 

 anatomical items following Andrews and Fernandez-Jalvo (1997): 



a. Carnivore pits on bone surface (minimum dimension) 



b. Carnivore gnawing on bone surface (transverse measurement of 

 grooves) 



c. Carnivore pits on articular surfaces. 



d. Carnivore punctures on spiral breaks 



e. Carnivore punctures on transverse breaks 



f. Carnivore punctures on split shafts 



g. Multiple molar pits made by multi-cuspid teeth, 

 h. Carnivore punctures on intact bone edges 



RESULTS 



The results of the taphonomic analysis are displayed in Table 1 . The 

 main taphonomic modifications that affect these fossils is human 

 activity as seen at this table. 



Species represented 



The Gough's cave human material consists of both crania and 

 postcrania. The former indicate the presence of five individuals, two 

 adults, two adolescents and one child (Stringer 2000). The adults are 

 represented by a calotte, part of a second calotte and two maxillae 

 and two mandibles. The adolescents are represented by a cranium, 

 two maxillae and one mandible, again suggesting two individuals. 

 The child has a single calvaria. Depending on how the adolescent 

 material is associated, there is a minimum of five individuals in the 

 Gough's Cave deposits (Stringer 2000, Humphrey & Stringer 2002). 

 The taxonomic identification of the non-human collection analysed 

 here has been done by A. Currant, R.M. Jacobi and C. Stringer. The 

 species found are Equus ferns, Cervus elephas. Bos primigenius. Sus 

 scrofa, Lepus timidus. The most abundant species represented in the 

 study collection are the equids (Table 1 ), with 1 32 specimens, and this 

 compares with 88 human and 42 cervids. Only two bone fragments of 

 bovid, an astragalus and a tarsal, have been recovered from the study 

 collection, and one fragment each of rabbit (tibia) and suid (mandible) 

 species. The latter species have some impact marks, but they are too 

 few to come to any conclusions about their nature and origin, and so 

 our analyses here will concentrate on the modifications of the three 

 common groups, one of which of course are the humans. 



