Chagyrskaya Cave (Layer 6)
Basic information
Sample name: Chagyrskaya Cave (Layer 6)

Reference: N. Rudaya, S. Vasiliev, B. Viola, S. Talamo, and S. Markin. 2017. Palaeoenvironments during the period of the Neanderthals settlement in Chagyrskaya cave (Altai Mountains, Russia). Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology 467:265-276 [ER 3736]
Geography
Country: Russia

State: Altai Republic



Coordinate: 51° 26' 34" N, 83° 9' 18" E
Coordinate basis: stated in text

Time interval: Late Pleistocene

Section: 3736

Unit number: 2

Unit order: above to below

Max Ma: 0.050524

Min Ma: 0.045672

Age basis: radiocarbon (uncalibrated)

Geography comments: "Chagyrskaya Cave is situated on the left bank of the Charysh River in the mountain branches of the Tigirek Range, Altai Mountains, Russia. The cave faces north and is elevated 25 m above the river level".
The radiocarbon dates generated on samples from Layer 6 range from 50,524 ± 833 to 45,672 ± 481 years BP. These, together with the infinite dates of >49 and >52 kyr BP, relate this stratum to the end of MIS4 and the very early onset of MIS3".

Environment
Lithology: not described

Taphonomic context: cave,human accumulation

Archaeology: stone tools

Habitat comments: "The cave consists of two chambers of approximately 130 m2. There are seven lithological units in total containing Holocene (1-4) and Pleistocene strata (5–7). The upper part of the Pleistocene deposits is mostly composed of sub-aerial sediments including two layers of loess-like sediments (strata 5 and 6)".
"More than 70,000 artefacts were unevenly dispersed over the middle and upper Pleistocene sediments. The composition of the lithic industries is similar across strata, although the richest lithic assemblages were found in Layer 6".
"The main lithic categories are flakes, chips and tools. Blades, bifacial thinning chips, cores, and core and bifacial preforms are rare".
"The cave was used as a base camp for the butchering and processing of hunted game by Neanderthals".

Methods
Life forms: bats,carnivores,primates,rodents,ungulates,other small mammals,birds,frogs,fishes

Sampling methods: quarry,screenwash

Sample size: 2802 specimens

Years: 2007 - 2013

Sampling comments: "The fossils from Chagyrskaya Cave were recovered over seven years of excavations (2007–2013) and consist of 195,800 specimens. Fossils that can be identified to the species, genus, or class level comprise only 3.4% of the total assemblage". No additional excavation details are given.

Metadata
Sample number: 3969

Contributor: Benjamin Carter

Enterer: Benjamin Carter

Created: 2022-08-13 11:57:36

Modified: 2023-05-30 01:18:21

Abundance distribution
37 species
3 singletons
total count 2802
geometric series index: 45.3
Fisher's α: 6.021
geometric series k: 0.8270
Hurlbert's PIE: 0.8551
Shannon's H: 2.5308
Good's u: 0.9989
Each square represents a species. Square sizes are proportional to counts.
Register
Homo neanderthalensis56
Talpa altaica67
"Asioscalops altaica"
Chiroptera indet.6
Ochotona sp.3
Lepus timidus27
Lepus tolai23
Spermophilus sp.186
Marmota baibacina20
Castor fiber1
Allactaga sp.2
Cricetus cricetus7
Arvicola amphibius9
"Arvicola terrestris"
Myospalax myospalax203
also 174 Rodentia indet.
Canis lupus12243 kg carnivore
Vulpes vulpes1765.3 kg carnivore-insectivore
Vulpes corsac95
Cuon alpinus2714 kg carnivore
Ursus arctos4156 kg frugivore-carnivore
Martes zibellina1
Mustela nivalis377.5 g carnivore
Mustela altaica4 carnivore
Mustela eversmanii2
Crocuta sp.48
"Crocuta crocuta spelaea": possibly C. ultima, see Lewis and Werdelin (2022)
Panthera spelaea4
Mammuthus primigenius46
Equus ferus11422 kg
Equus ovodovi105
also 115 Equus sp. "ovodovi/ferus"
Coelodonta antiquitatis13
Cervus elaphus44104 kg
Rangifer tarandus1869 kg browser
Bison priscus931
Saiga tatarica628 kg
also 39 Antilopinae indet. "Saiga/Gazella"
Capra sibirica289
Ovis ammon11976 kg browser-grazer
also 167 Caprinae indet. "Capra/Ovis"
Pisces indet.4
Amphibia indet.1
Aves indet.119