The likely accumulators of bones: five cape porcupine den assembalges and the role of porcupines in the post-Member 6 infill at Sterkfontein, south Africa

• Autores: H. O'Regan, Kathleen Kuman, J. R. Clarke
• Localización: Journal of taphonomy, ISSN 1696-0815, Vol. 9, Nº. 2, 2011, págs. 69-87
• Idioma: inglés
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• Resumen

  • The Cape porcupine, Hystrix africaeaustralis, is an acknowledged accumulator of bones in southern Africa. Here we examine porcupine accumulated material from five localities in the Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park, including a re-analysis of the Nossob lair published by Brain (1981). These results are then compared to a Mid-Late Pleistocene assemblage (L/63) from Post-Member 6 at Sterkfontein. The taphonomic analyses indicate that porcupines are indiscriminate collectors of bones and other items. Unlike many other vertebrate bone accumulators porcupines do not appear to have a collection size bias, as the species represented in the assemblages range in body mass from >0.14kg to <940kg. Not all bones collected had been gnawed, and we propose a threshold of >60% gnawed bones is needed to establish that material has been collected by Cape porcupines rather than as a result of a number of other sources. Of the macrovertebrate component of the L/63 fossil assemblage, only 149 specimens exhibited porcupine gnawing (11%), while that number rose to 263 (6.97%) of the total NISP and fragment count (n= 3775). This is well below the threshold proposed in this analysis and in the published literature, indicating that porcupines are unlikely to have been a primary contributor to the L/63 assemblage. The possible role of porcupines in creating and maintaining mosaic environments through their foraging activities is also discussed.