Taphonomy of Pleistocene large mammal remains in the deposits of river Raba, southern Poland

Abstract

An assemblage of 120 mammal remains of Pleistocene age has been collected from the fluvial deposits of river Raba at a gravel pit in the village of Targowisko, 30 km east of Kraków, southern Poland. Nearly 100 remains represent woolly mammoth Mammuthus primigenius. Other remains belong to four or five such mammal species as horse Equus ferus, woolly rhinoceros Coelodonta antiquitatis, red deer Cervus elaphus and steppe bison Bison priscus or aurochs Bos primigenius. Pleistocene coarse-grained deposits containing isolated bones, teeth and tusks occur in the lowermost part of the fluvial succession in the open pit, presently inundated by groundwater. The surfaces of the majority of bones and teeth show abrasion damages by fluvial transport, including their rounding and smoothing as well as scratches and grooves. Traces of carnivore activity are visible on mammoth and horse bones. The location, dimension and shape of these marks suggest wolf or cave hyena gnawing.