Dealing with age. Prey mortality profiles at the Early Pleistocene sites of Orce (Granada, Spain)

Taphonomic studies conducted thus far at Orce sites (Guadix-Baza Basin, Granada, Spain) have not provided definitive conclusions regarding early human subsistence strategies. Recent research has neither confirmed nor ruled out early human access to the carcasses of animals recovered at these sites. To expand the available evidence, this study proposes a comparative analysis of mortality patterns at these Early Pleistocene locations, alongside published data on modern and fossil accumulations. Mortality patterns have been widely used to analyse aspects of human and animal populations, including subsistence strategies, seasonal variations, and ethology. These patterns consider the proportional representation of different age cohorts to infer the accumulation processes and causes of mortality in fossil communities. In that sense, mortality profiles from Venta Micena-3 and Venta Micena-4 align with their respective interpretations of Pachycrocuta brevirostris den and mortality scenario where carnivores preyed. Also, Barranco León and Fuente Nueva-3 show an admixture of different situations, though their respective sample sizes are not decisive. In conclusion, while the results of this study are coherent with previous interpretations, they prove to need further analyses to increase the sample and open potential scenarios relevant to the Early Pleistocene sites of Orce. Zoobank ID: urn:lsid:zoobank.org:pub:5F55E469-38CC-46F4-8EFF-6A037E4D8B64