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The archaeological data on the earliest hominin behavioral subsistence activities in North Africa are derived primarily from the Early Pleistocene site of Ain Boucherit (northeastern Algeria). Ain Boucherit consists of two archaeological layers, Ain Boucherit Upper (AB-Up) and Ain Boucherit Lower (AB-Lw), estimated to ~ 1.9 Ma and ~ 2.4 Ma, respectively. Cutmarked and hammerstone percussed bones associated with Oldowan stone tools were found in both layers, with AB-Lw yielding the oldest in North Africa. The faunal assemblages from both deposits are dominated by small-sized bovids and equids. Evidence of cutmarks and percussion marks in both assemblages shows that hominins exploited animal carcasses, involving skinning, evisceration and defleshing activities. The evidence of meat and marrow acquisition is more abundant at AB-Lw with carnivore activity being scarce. However, the AB-Up assemblage shows more carnivore damage and less hominin-induced tool marks. Ain Boucherit evidence, is similar, in type and chronology, to that provided by the Early Pleistocene sites in East Africa (e.g., the Gona sites), where the oldest evidence of stone tools used in faunal exploitation have been discovered. This paper reports on the ability of early North African Oldowans to compete successfully for accessing animal resources with other predators., Open access funding provided by Universitat Rovira i Virgili. Fieldwork and related research at Ain Boucherit were funded with grants awarded to MS by Centre National de Recherches Préhistoriques, Anthropologiques et Historiques (CNRPAH) (Algeria), MCIN ([PGC2018-095489-B-I00], and MINECO [HAR2013-41351-P]) (Spain), The L.S.B. Leakey Foundation (San Francisco, CA, USA), European Research Council (FP7-People-CIG2993581) (Belgium), and Stone Age Institute (IN, USA). This research is framed in the MICINN-PID2021-122355NB-C32, the 2021 SGR 01238 (AGAUR), and the 2019 PFR-URV-91 (URV) projects. The research at IPHES-CERCA was supported by the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation through the “María de Maeztu” excellence accreditation (CEX2019-000945-M)., With funding from the Spanish government through the "Severo Ochoa Center of Excellence" accreditation CEX2019-000945-M.

International audience; Bone breakage for marrow extraction is a common strategy in human groups and societies belonging to different chronological cultures. To understand long bone breakage, especially in Palaeolithic contexts, many studies use experimental archaeology as a mean to document these subsistence strategies. We have initiated new experiments on this topic, both to consider the morphological variability of marks and fractures, but also to document the interface between bone material and hammerstone types. The purpose of our study was to create a referential of fractured bovid long bones (humerus, radius-ulna, femur, tibia; n=80) according to a controlled protocol (Viallet et al., this conference) and to analyze the first sample of this corpus.The quantification of bone remains distinguishes large-size to small-size fragments (potentially non-determinable) on the 22 bones studied to evaluate the number of remains (NR) produced according to the element and percussion technique, their size distribution, but also to qualify the fractures types (spiral, longitudinal, oblique, transverse) and other characteristics (e.g. inner adhering flake). A precise morphological description and variations of the impact marks (completed: notch, or not) is given to demonstrate a potential correlation between the number of percussion marks, NR, hammerstone types, and bone structure. The first results show that the femur is the easiest bone to break (elongated and cylindrical diaphysis) with an optimization of the number of blows, and the production of a limited number of splinters of large dimensions. Conversely, the structure of the radio-ulna seems to influence its fracturing, involving the greatest number of percussion marks and production of more small-sized remains. Between these two extremes, the tibia and humerus show a differentiated spectrum (NR and size, percussion marks). Detailed plates, accompanied by photographs and a precise analysis are proposed in our contribution.

International audience; In many Paleolithic sites, the faunal remains are systematically broken by percussion, especially to recover the marrow. Indeed, the fact of yellow marrow was an important nutritional resource to many human groups, particularly during glacial and periglacial periods. Many studies highlighted the importance of percussion marks to identify and characterize anthropogenic occupations. Numerous studies based on experimental and ethnographical observations have focused on these percussion marks to recover the marrow of long bones both to understand the percussion techniques and to characterize their morphology. Currently, percussion marks are employed to approach the subsistence behavior of human groups during the Paleolithic. New methodologies are used for their analysis, for example, GIS or deep learning, which highlight the importance traces equally to the cutmarks. The lithic tools used for bone fracturing are subject to analysis. However, although this activity can be carried out with a simple raw pebble, choppers show traces of wear on their cutting edge, indicating their use for this activity. However, few experiments are interested in the link that may exist between the morphology of percussion marks and those of the hammerstone. We want to test the percussion mark variability depending on whether it is retouched or not and its raw material (basalt and quartzite). We performed an experiment focus on the long bone (bovids) breakage to extract marrow using the hammerstone on anvil technique to figure out this morphological relation. Four experimenters involved used the same tool each time to fracture 20 femurs, humerus, tibias and radio-ulnas (N=80 bones). This allowed comparison of both inter and intra element, and experimenter variations. Moreover, the use of an anvil and the systematization of the blow location made it possible to question both the formation and the morphology of the marks due to counterblow. Here we present the first results obtained concerning the suitability of raw or shaped edges for bone fracture. As well as the traces produced and their variability according to raw material. For the bone, our first results tend to show that there is a relationship between the morphology of the hammerstone and marks created during fracturing. The analysis of counterblow marks highlights the difficulty to characterize these marks. The results concerning bone fracturing are presented in more detail in an associated poster ("Justiniany et al." Poster title). This better characterization of percussion marks according to the type of tools used to provide a better understanding of the subsistence behaviors of Paleolithic populations. The future comparison with archaeological data will enhance.

Little is known about the subsistence practices of the first European settlers, mainly due to the shortage of archaeological sites in Europe older than a million years. This article contributes to the knowledge of the subsistence of the first Europeans with new zooarchaeology and taphonomic data from the Palaeolithic site of Barranco León (Orce, Granada, Spain). We present the results of the analysis of the faunal assemblages retrieved in the context of new excavations undertaken between 2016 and 2020. We have followed a standard methodology for the identification and quantification of species, mortality profiles, skeletal representation and taphonomic analysis. With regard to the taphonomic evidence, we have documented the extent of rounding, abrasion and other alterations. Finally, we examined traces from the activities of carnivores and hominins that led to the accumulation and alteration of the bone assemblages. Results indicate that the archaeo-paleontological deposits from Barranco León present a dual-patterned mixed taphonomic origin. The first phase primarily involved waterborne processes (BL-D1), which led to the accumulation of lithic raw materials, a few archaeological stone tools, and some faunal remains with percussion and cutmarks. The second phase (BL-D2) contains several stone tools associated with faunal remains with more anthropogenic alterations, such as cutmarks and percussion marks. After analysing the Barranco León zooarchaeological assemblage, the present study concludes that hominins had access to the meat and within-bone nutrients of animals of diverse sizes. However, the specific carcass acquisition mechanisms that hominins followed are less certain because the presence of tooth marks suggests that carnivores also played a role in the accumulation and modification of the Barranco León faunal assemblage., CRUE-CSIC agreement Springer Nature, Junta de Andalucia, Consejeria de Educacion, Cultura y Deporte: Orce Research Project `Primeras ocupaciones humanas y contexto paleoecologico a partir de los depositos pliopleistocenos de la cuenca Guadix-Baza: zona arqueologica de la Cuenca de Orce (Grana BC.03.032/17, Spanish Government PRE2019-089411 RTI2018-099850-B-I00, University of Salamanca, Arts and Humanities Research Council through a Baillie Gifford AHRC Scholarship (OOC-DTP program) at the University of Oxford AH/R012709/1, National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) of Australia PRE2020-094482, European Union-NextGenerationEU 2021URV-MS-03, Ministry of Universities and Recovery, Transformation and Resilience Plan, Generalitat de Catalunya 2017SGR-859 2017SGR-1666, Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation through the `Maria de Maeztu' program for Units of Excellence CEX2019-000945-M, Spanish Government CEX2019-000945-M-20-1

The essential relationship to fat in the Middle Paleolithic, and especially to the yellow marrow, explains the importance of addressing this issue of butchery cultural practices through the study of bone fracturing gestures and techniques. In view of the quasi-systematization of bone marrow extraction in many anthropized archaeological levels, this butchery activity had to be recurrent, standardized and counter-intuitive. Thus, the highlighting of butcher traditions made possible by the analysis of the distribution of percussion marks within fossil assemblages, in particular by opposition at patterns resulting from an intuitive practice. With this in mind, we carried out an experiment that focus on the intuitive way of fracturing bones to extract marrow, involving volunteers with no previous experience in this butchery activity. The objective of this experiment was to highlight the presence or absence of a distribution pattern for percussion marks in an intuitive context by comparing several long bones and individuals. Thus, we wanted to evaluate the influence of the morphological specificity of the element and the specific characteristics of volunteers on the distribution of percussion marks during marrow extraction. Indeed, a previous study was able to show the possible existence of intuitive patterns of distribution of these traces according to the elements (Stavrova et al. 2019). In addition, the comparison of the different behaviours of volunteers during bone fracturing with the production of remains and marks on bone surfaces highlighted the variables that most influence the creation of an intuitive model. We selected twelve from a larger experiment that resulted in the fracturing of more than 360 long bones. Each of the experimenters broke a series of ten long bones, always the same element. Subsequently, we compared the data collected during the experiment with the data from the laboratory study of the remains. Then, we applied an innovative GIS (Geographic Information System) method to analyze the distribution of percussion marks to highlight recurrent patterns. One of the most significant results of our article shows the existence of significant concentrations of percussion marks, regardless of the volunteers’ behaviour during bone fracturing. The predominance of two factors explains the distribution patterns that emerge from our analysis: for humerus, radio ulnas and tibias, the morphology of each element seems to constrain the location of percussion marks, while for femurs, individual choices have more weight in this distribution. In addition, we have observed that at different levels of our analyses, the bone response to fracturing may be totally opposite (quantity of bone marrow, marrow quality, number of blows, difficulty felt, number of fragments produced, type of marks registered), particularly regarding the results for radio-ulnas and tibias. Subsequently, it would be most interesting to compare the intuitive models that we were able to highlight through spatial analysis with the distributions of percussion marks registered in fossil assemblages. It would thus be possible to propose new hypotheses on butchering practices based on the results presented in this work.

International audience; Percussion marks have been studied in the field of archaeology for more than a century. Researchers have identified,characterized and analysed them in order to distinguish them from traces of environment modification to bone and reconstruct hominin subsistence strategies. The multiplicity of studies based on percussion marks in different languages has led to a proliferation of different terminologies used for the same marks, especially in English. In addition, as a result of numerous experimental studies or ethnological observations, it is possible to accurately identify the different steps of the butchery process and each of the related marks. We know from experimental studies that the morphology of percussion traces inflicted by the same tools can differ as their morphology dependson many factors (i.e. location and intensity of blows, intrinsic bone variables). In addition to this, carnivore and hominin traces can be superimposed, which sometimes renders their interpretation difficult. Renewed interest in these percussion marks owing to the emergence of new technical means highlighted the need to review their classificationand clarify the nomenclature. With this in mind, we reviewed the abundant scientific literature to propose a refined and descriptive nomenclature. The aim is to provide a coherent terminology for the description and analysis of impact fractures in different European languages. We also propose classifying percussion marks into three categories:(1) percussion marks sensu stricto, (2) traces consecutive to bone breakage and (3) striation marks related to marrow extraction.

The comprehension of cultural traditions during the Paleolithic based on the bone register is still an undeveloped approach, especially for older periods. During the Middle Paleolithic, the essential relationship of Neandertals to fat, particularly to yellow marrow, motivated our interest in testing the existence of traditional butchery practices through the gestures and techniques used to fracture bones. Analysis of the distribution of percussion marks left on long bones during marrow extraction in several series of the Middle Paleolithic from France (Abri du Maras, Saint-Marcel cave) and Italy (Riparo Tagliente) showed that there was probably standardized practices. In parallel, we carried out a very extensive experiment on the role of intuitiveness in the bone marrow extraction process. Using an original spatial analysis method applied to long bones (GIS), this experiment highlighted specific distribution models that were largely constrained by bone morphology.; Appréhender les traditions culturelles au Paléolithique sur la base du registre osseux est encore une approche très peu développée, notamment pour les périodes anciennes. Au Paléolithique moyen, le rapport essentiel des néandertaliens à la graisse, et en particulier à la moelle jaune, a motivé notre intérêt à tester l’existence de pratiques traditionnelles bouchères grâce aux gestes et aux techniques de la fracturation osseuse. L’analyse de la distribution des marques de percussion laissées sur les os longs lors de l’extraction de la moelle dans plusieurs séries du Paléolithique moyen de France (Abri du Maras, Grotte de Saint Marcel) et d’Italie (Riparo Tagliente) montre l’existence probable de pratiques standardisées. En parallèle, nous avons mené une vaste expérimentation portant sur la part de l’intuitivité dans le procédé d’extraction de la moelle. À l’aide d’une méthode originale d’analyse spatiale appliquée sur les os longs (SIG), cette expérimentation a permis de mettre en évidence des modèles de distribution spécifiques largement contraints par la morphologie des os.

Excavations at Bell Korongo (BK) have yielded important evidence to infer different behaviours of early hominins in several archaeological levels since 1935. The present study shows the results for a newly geological and archaeological of BK (Level U3.1). This paper describes the geology of this newly discovered level, along with a taphonomical analysis of the archaeological remains to better understand the assemblage formation processes. This new level was deposited at the base of LA Unit 3, in decantation facies over a point-bar. Although these facies, found throughout the site furnish ideal conditions for preservation, this is the first time in BK level U3.1 that any archaeological or paleontological remains have been found embedded within them. The taphonomic study suggests that the assemblage is the result of a short time span involving processes accumulating remains from different thanatocoenoses created over a time span of less than one year, consistent with a sedimentation process triggered by flooding of the channel during the annual heavy rains in the wet season. Furthermore, a large percentage of bones, including megafaunal remains, appear cutmarked, percussion marks and anthropgenic green fractures. Level U3.1 is the youngest level at BK, and adds to the evidence of the megafaunal exploitation behaviour of early Pleistocene hominins, which has already been extensively reported in BK Levels 4 and 5 and other African Lower Pleistocene sites., We thank COSTECH and the Antiquities Unit (Ministry of Natural Resources and Tourism) of Tanzania for permission to conduct researchat Olduvai. DMMP acknowledges an FPI postgraduate fellowship associated to Project CGL2015-68333-P. MSD acknowledges a postdoctoral fellowship under the program “Marie Sklodowska-Curie Individual Fellowships” (European Commission). We would like to thank the Spanish Ministry of Education, Culture and Sports, the general directionof Fine Arts and Cultural Heritage and the Spanish Institute of Cultural Heritage, with fellowships to archaeological projects overseas to project PR47/1720999: “La explotación de megafaunas en el Paleolítico inferior africano. Nuevas perspectivas desde BK (Bell Korongo, Olduvai Gorge, Tanzania)”. We would like to thank the PALARQ Foundation with fellowships to archaeological projects overseas to project: AY200818/01, “Estrategia de subsistencia y explotación de megafaunas durante el final de Pleistoceno inferior africano y su implicación en la dispersión de Homo erectus (Bell Korongo, Olduvai)- Tanzania ”Thesupport of the DST-NRF Centre of Excellence in Palaeosciences (CoE-Pal) towards this research is hereby acknowledged.

Received 22 January 2014, Accepted 16 March 2015, Available online 27 April 2015, Tianyuan Cave is an Upper Palaeolithic site, 6 km from the core area of the Zhoukoudian Site Complex. Tianyuandong (or Tianyuan Cave) yielded one ancient (though not the earliest) fossil skeleton of Homo sapiens in China (42–39 ka cal BP). Together with the human skeleton, abundant animal remains were found, but no stone tools were recovered. The animal fossil remains are extremely fragmentary, in contrast to human skeletal elements that are, for the most part, complete. We undertook a taphonomic study to investigate the circumstances of preservation of the human skeleton in Tianyuan Cave, and in course of this we considered four hypotheses: funerary ritual, cannibalism, carnivore activity or natural death. Taphonomic results characterize the role of human action in the site and how these agents acted in the past. Because of disturbance of the human skeleton during its initial excavation, it is not known if it was in a grave cut or if there was any funerary ritual. No evidence was found for cannibalism or carnivore activity in relation to the human skeleton, suggesting natural death as the most reasonable possibility., This taphonomic study has been supported by the projects CGL-2007 66231-BTE and CGL2010-19825 of the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation.