Karain Mağarası Mikrofauna Tafonomisi
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Date
2007
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Sosyal Bilimler Enstitüsü
Abstract
In this thesis, the microfaunal assemblages from Karain Cave (Antalya) unearthed during the archaeological excavations until the year 2000 are investigated with the object of gaining information about their accumulation processes. Bearing in mind that the archaeological microfaunal assemblages are in fact accumulated by the predators, and especially by the owls regarding the caves, possible predator biases and modifications are investigated. Some other taphonomic modifications are also investigated in order to reveal the other possible accumulation processes. The microfaunal remains from different geological units dating to Pleistocene Period are combined in order to gain parallel information with the previous faunal and typological studies. Therefore, microfaunal remains from ten geological units in Chamber E constituted four and seven geological units in Chamber B constituted three microfaunal assemblages. These are formed the basis for the present study. All of the microfaunal assemblages investigated in this thesis appeared to be prey assemblages of predators which are accumulated underneath the nestling or roosting place of an owl. In fact, the identified predators, European eagle owl (Bubo Bubo) and tawny owl (Strix aluco), are both opportunistic predators. Therefore, the species representations of the subjected assemblages are accurate representation of the small mammal communities present in the habitat. As a result, the archaeological microfaunal assemblages should always be considered as a prey assemblage and possible predator biases should be investigated before interpreting palaeoecology.
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Keywords
Mağara, Karain Mağarası, Antalya, mikrofauna