Mammalian fauna of the Upper Palaeolithic site Kostenki 17 (Spitsynskaya) in the context of human hunting and gathering

The multilayered Upper Palaeolithic site Kostenki 17 (Spitsynskaya) is located in the village of Kostenki in the Khokholsky District of the Voronezh Region. The site contains several cultural layers and find horizons, with the lower cultural layer II being of particular interest in terms of the initial dispersal of anatomically modern humans across northern Eurasia. This study presents a taphonomic and zooarchaeological analysis of the mammalian fauna found in cultural layers I and II. It demonstrates that the formation of bone assemblages is linked to human hunting and gathering activities. In both cases, the site was used by humans as a short-term camp. However, these occupation sites, which are chronologically distinct, differ in terms of seasonal use and duration of human habitation. Among the ungulates, the horse was the primary species hunted. Some mammoth bones were collected by humans and used as raw-material. A significant outcome of this study is the finding that the inhabitants of cultural layer II at Kostenki 17 were engaged in the specialised hunting of arctic foxes. The subsequent processing of the catch involved activities such as skin working and the manufacture of clothing, accessories (pendants, appliqués and adornments) and tools necessary for these tasks. All of these processes could have been carried out at the site, as indicated by the presence of bone and stone tools bearing traces of meat and hide processing within the archaeological assemblage.