Gazelle Cave (lower level)
Basic information
Sample name: Gazelle Cave (lower level)
Sample aka: Tamaris I
Reference: B. Bougariane, S. Zouhri, B. Ouchaou, A. Oujaa, and L. Boudad. 2010. Large mammals from the Upper Pleistocene at Tamaris I 'Grotte des gazelles' (Casablanca, Morocco): paleoecological and biochronological implications. Historical Biology 22(1-3):295-302 [ER 3777]
Geography
Country: Morocco
Coordinate: 33.52° N, -7.82° W
Coordinate basis: based on nearby landmark
Time interval: Late Pleistocene
Section: 3777
Unit number: 1
Unit order: below to above
Geography comments: "near the town of Dar Bou Azza about 20 km southwest of Casablanca" (coordinate based on Dar Bouazza)
"correlated with marine isotope stage 5e... Absolute radiocarbon dating of gastropod shells provides ages of 23,500 years BP (Rabat 256) for the lower level and 13,500 years BP (Rabat 258) for the upper level. These dates may be younger than the sedimentary filling as gastropods are burrowing animals and may be more recent than the deposit. It is therefore highly likely that the fossils are older"
"correlated with marine isotope stage 5e... Absolute radiocarbon dating of gastropod shells provides ages of 23,500 years BP (Rabat 256) for the lower level and 13,500 years BP (Rabat 258) for the upper level. These dates may be younger than the sedimentary filling as gastropods are burrowing animals and may be more recent than the deposit. It is therefore highly likely that the fossils are older"
Environment
Lithology: claystone
Taphonomic context: cave
Archaeology: stone tools
Habitat comments: "a dissolution pocket in marine calcarenite" with "sandy-clay deposits introduced through an opening"
"The fossils come from two different levels: a lower level with fine red and dark sediments and an upper level with blocks and pebbles embedded in lighter-coloured and coarser sediment, particularly rich in vertebrate bones and gastropod shells"
the lithic assemblage "consists of some poorly characterised cores and some debris, while retouched tools are very rare. The upper level yielded a retouched edge and a blade fragment"
there are "gnawing traces... chewed long bones and some coprolites" and the material is transported, but the accumulation is not interpreted as due to carnivore activity
"The fossils come from two different levels: a lower level with fine red and dark sediments and an upper level with blocks and pebbles embedded in lighter-coloured and coarser sediment, particularly rich in vertebrate bones and gastropod shells"
the lithic assemblage "consists of some poorly characterised cores and some debris, while retouched tools are very rare. The upper level yielded a retouched edge and a blade fragment"
there are "gnawing traces... chewed long bones and some coprolites" and the material is transported, but the accumulation is not interpreted as due to carnivore activity
Methods
Life forms: carnivores,ungulates
Sample size: 138 specimens
Sampling comments: "amphibians, reptiles and birds... Chiroptera, insectivores, lagomorphes and rodents" and Homo sapiens are present but not detailed
Metadata
Sample number: 4079
Contributor: John Alroy
Enterer: John Alroy
Created: 2023-02-22 19:52:04
Modified: 2023-05-30 04:42:57
Abundance distribution
7 species
2 singletons
total count 138
geometric series index: 13.7
Fisher's α: 1.557
geometric series k: 0.4478
Hurlbert's PIE: 0.1846
Shannon's H: 0.4980
Good's u: 0.9856
Each square represents a species. Square sizes are proportional to counts.
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Register
| Canis aureus | 2 | 9.9 kg carnivore-frugivore |
| Canis sp. | 3 | |
| large, not aureus | ||
| Vulpes vulpes | 4 | 5.3 kg carnivore-insectivore |
| Crocuta crocuta | 1 | 66 kg carnivore |
| Equus africanus | 1 | 287 kg |
| compared to "Equus asinus", but not domesticated | ||
| Alcelaphus buselaphus | 3 | 143 kg grazer-browser |
| Gazella sp. | 124 | |
| "G. atlantica, G. cuvieri and G. dorcas" | ||