Hi,

Here is the reference to my paper on fossil mollusks found at Catalhoyuk, Turkey, and dating to the Miocene and Pliocene. If you need a PDF please let me know.

I think as a general rule we refer to Quaternary materials from archaeological sites as sub-fossils, and anything that pre-dates humans is a "real" fossil. Any thoughts on this?

Best wishes,

Daniella

   Bar-Yosef Mayer, D.E., Gümüş, B.A. and Y. İslamoğlu, 2010, Fossil hunting in the Neolithic: shells from the Taurus Mountains at Çatalhöyük, Turkey. Geoarchaeology 25(3): 375–392.  DOI:10.1002/gea.20311

On Jan 9, 2014, at 1:33 PM, Simon Davis wrote:

Dear Laura and Arturo,

 

I have found a fragment of pygmy hippopotamus metapodial at the Aceramic Neolithic site of Cape Andreas Kastros in Cyprus. It was very heavy – i.e., very fossilized and did not have any cut marks. I concluded that it had been picked up by Neolithic people as a souvenir – evidence for an early interest in vertebrate palaeontology. There are some 20 known geological sites on the island with remains of pygmy hippo. It is described and discussed in the following two reports:

 

Davis, SJM (1989) - Some more animal remains from the Aceramic Neolithic of Cyprus. In: Le Brun, A. Fouilles récentes à Khirokitia (Chypre) 1983‑1986. pp. 189‑221. Paris, ADPF, Editions Recherche sur les Civilisations

 

 

Davis, SJM (2003) - The zoo-archaeology of Khirokitia (Neolithic Cyprus), including a view from the mainland.In: Guilaine, J. and Le Brun, A. (eds.) Le Néolithique de Chypre; Actes du Colloque International organisé par le Département des Antiquités de Chypre et l’École française d’Athènes; Nicosie 17-19 Mai 2001. Athens, École française d’Athènes. Bulletin de Correspondance Hellénique, Supplément 43, 253-268

 

In addition I often found fossil (?Miocene) dentalium shells (with shell walls much thicker than contemporary Mediterranean or Red Sea dentalia) and shark teeth at a Natufian site in northern Israel (Hayonim Terrace) which I suspected at the time (this was 1975) were fossil. I think Daniella Bar Yosef can tell you more about these, or at least the scaphopods!

 

Best

Simon

 

 

 

 

 

De: Analysis of animal remains from archaeological sites [mailto:[log in to unmask]] Em nome de Laura Llorente
Enviada: quinta-feira, 9 de Janeiro de 2014 9:47
Para: [log in to unmask]
Assunto: [ZOOARCH] fossil faunas

 

Dear all,

 I write on behalf of Arturo Morales who is presently trying to address on three Spanish sites how to set apart ?fossils?, meaning faunas dating from long before an archaeological occupation, from  those essentially contemporaneous with it. The problem is not just one of how to define a fossil (not that easy, or so it seems) but also what kinds of criteria can one use to set apart ?modern? from ?old? in different groups, vertebrates and mollusks in particular. This is critical when dealing with specimens from species which are still alive (mollusks and shark teeth from coastal sites close to paleontological outcrops are a case in point).

 Does anyone  know  papers specifying such differences? Or papers that would provide protocols  one needs to apply to the specimens to set apart fossil from ?modern??

 We would also be grateful if people could point out regional reviews  on fossils from conventional  archaeofaunal assemblages especially from Europe OTHER than the ones cited below.

 Greetings,

Laura

 

REFERENCES

 

Banerjee A., López Padilla J.A., Schuhmacher T.X. (eds.) (2012), Elfenbeinstudien, Faszikel 1. Marfil y elefantes en la Península Ibérica y el Mediterráneo occidental. Iberia Archaeologica. Band 16. Faszikel 1.Verlag Philipp von Zabern

Bosinski, G., 1975. Ein fossiler Haifischzahn vom Magdalenien-Fundplatz Gönnersdorf. Heimat-Jahrbuch des Landkreises Neuwied, pp. 47-48.

Bosinski, G., 1981. Gönnersdorf. Eiszeitjäger am Mittelrhein. Führer zur Sonderausstellung des Landesmuseums Koblenz 1981, in: Schriftenreihe der Bezirksregierung Koblenz, Band 2.

Chase, P.G. & Dibble H. (1987) Middle  Paleolithic  Symbolism:  A  Review  of  Current. Evidence  and  Interpretations. Journal of Anthropological Archaeology 6/3: 263?296

Eriksen, B.V., 2002. Fossil Mollusks and Exotic Raw Materials in Late Glacial and Early Postglacial Find Contexts: A Complement to Lithic Studies Eriksen, in: Fisher, L.E., Eriksen, B.V. (Eds.), Lithic raw material economy in late glacial and early postglacial western Europe. British Archaeological Reports S1093, Oxford, pp. 27-52.

Gaudzinski, S., Turner, E., Anzidei, A.P., Álvarez, E., Arroyo, J., Cinq-Mars, J., Dobosi, V.T., Hannus, A., Johnson, E., Münzel, S.C., Scheer, A., Villa, P., 2005. The use of Prosbocidean remains in every-day Palaeolithic life. Quat. Int. 126-128, 179-184.

Goren-Inbar, N.; Lewy, Z.; Kislev, M.E. (1991) The taphonomy of a bead-like fossil from the Acheulian of Gesher Benot Ya?aqov, Israel.Rock Art Research 8(2): 83?87.

Mayor, A. (2010) The First fossil hunters. Dinousars, Mammoths, and Myth in the Greek and Roman World: Tracing the History of Human Curiosity about Fossils. Princenton University Press.

Oakley 1975. Decorative and symbolic uses of vertebrate fossils. Occasional Papers on Technology nº 12. Oxford, Pitt Rivers Museum.

Oakley K.P. (1979) Fossil coral artifacts from Niah Cave. Asian Perspective, vol. 20(1): 69-74.

Solounias N. & Mayor, A. (2004) ?Ancient references to the fossils from the land of Pythagoras?. Earth Sciences History 23(2): 283-296.

Taborin, Y., 1993. La parure en coquillages au Paléolithique. XXIXe Suppl. Gallia Prehist. CNRS, Paris