Quaternary ungulates of the Abismo Ponta de Flecha Cave, Ribeira of Iguape Valley, Southeast Brazil: Zooarchaeological and Paleoenvironmental aspects

Author(s)

Chahud, Artur ; Costa, Paulo Ricardo de Oliveira ; Figueiredo, Gisele Ferreira ; Okumura, Mercedes

• Document type: Journal article
• Source: Journal of South American Earth Sciences; v. 121, p. 12-pg., 2023-01-01.

Abstract

The Ribeira de Iguape Valley, located in the south of the state of Sa similar to o Paulo, presents a complex system of caves developed from Precambrian carbonate rocks. The presence of such karstic system favored the preservation of numerous fossilized remains of Quaternary mammals. The Abismo Ponta de Flecha Cave, located in the mu-nicipality of Iporanga, is a vertical cave divided into several lateral galleries with abundant vertebrate specimens. Among the most common are the ungulates, a clade of mammals characterized mainly by the presence of hooves, represented by the Holoarctic ungulates families Cervidae, Tayassuidae, Tapiridae, and the South American native ungulate Toxodontidae. The most common family in the deposit is Tayassuidae, with several individuals assigned to the species Tayassu pecari, Dicotyles tajacu, as well as an indeterminate large Tayassuidae. The Cervidae remains found in the cave have two species assigned to the genus Mazama; M. americana and M. gouazoubira. A specimen of the Tapiridae family, Tapirus sp., was also found. Only one species attributed to the extinct family Toxodontidae, Toxodon platensis, was recorded. Many specimens of Tayassuidae and Cervidae were subadults, and one individual of Tayassu pecari was very young. The origin of the specimens might be the result of the transport of individual bone parts, the death of accidently trapped animals as well as the disposal of such remains by human groups that inhabited the region in the past. (AU)

• FAPESP's process: 18/23282-5 - Change and continuity in prehistoric human groups from Ribeira de Iguape Valley (São Paulo and Paraná): applying evolutionary theory to bioarchaeology and material culture
• Grantee: Maria Mercedes Martinez Okumura
• Support Opportunities: Research Grants - Young Investigators Grants
• FAPESP's process: 21/05877-4 - The pleistocene-holocene vertebrate fauna of the Abismo Ponta de Flecha (Vale do Ribeira de Iguape, Iporanga, SP): the potential role of human groups in their formation and changes in their composition over time
• Grantee: Paulo Ricardo de Oliveira Costa
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Scientific Initiation