Butchery activities associated with member 5 at Sterkfontein, South Africa

https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s12520-024-02135-w
Published: 01 February 2025
Abstract
The origin of animal tissue consumption
within the hominin lineage remains a central
question in palaeoanthropology and taphonomy.
This question is mostly addressed through the
study of bone surface modifications (e.g.,
butchery marks) observed on fossils from East
African sites. Albeit somewhat overlooked
compared to East Africa, South Africa
provides an additional body of evidence
regarding the evolution of hominin behaviours.
Here, we provide a comprehensive description
and analysis of a butchered bone assemblage
from the Sterkfontein Name Chamber and
Member 5 East Oldowan infill in South Africa,
dated conservatively to between 1.4 and
2.18 Ma. Based on the anatomical location and
morphology of the bone surface modifications,
we demonstrate that hominins using Oldowan
tools were capable of performing a complete
butchery sequence that included skinning,
disarticulation, defleshing and marrow
extraction. Furthermore, comparison with the
butchered bones from the neighbouring sites
of Cooper’s D and Swartkrans shows a
continuity, or the repeated emergence, of
similar butchery patterns through the Early
Pleistocene. The identification of distinct
butchery patterns, the range of exploited
animals, as well as the presence of bone
tools in many sites highlight the diversity
of hominin subsistence behaviours during the
Early Pleistocene, which we interpret as a
reflection of the likely non-linear
evolution of such behaviours. Finally, we
argue that the research focus of taphonomic
analyses should address how hominins
processed carcasses in addition to how and
when these were acquired. Such analyses
would help identifying the development of
complex butchery practices in the
archaeological record.