Cave fauna

Bocherens, H., Fogel, M.L., Tuross, N. and Zeder, M. 1995b Trophic structure and climatic information from isotopic signatures in a Pleistocene cave fauna of southern England. Journal of Archaeological Science 22 237-340. 

The type locality of the phase to be described here is rock shelter no. 1 of Pilis-szanto. This designation is well justified, since this is the richest cave fauna of the Upper Pleistocene so far found in Hungary and it will therefore be presented in detail. 

The Pleistocene-Holocene boundary is sharply defined only in the avifauna, according to the present state of knowledge the willow grouse and the ptarmigan (Lagopus) of the cave faunas were replaced by the hazel hen (Tetrastes) in the Holocene. 

Gascoyne M, Benjamin GJ, Schwarcz HP, Ford DC (1979) Sea-level lowering during the Illinoian glaciation evidence from a Bahama "Blue Hole. Science 205 806-808 Gascoyne M, Currant AP, Lord TC (1981) Ipswichian fauna of Victoria Cave and the marine palaeoclimatic record. Nature 294 652-4... 

The oldest loess-like sediments referable to the Lower Pleistocene have been found in Hungary at locality no. 5 at Vill ny, locality no. 4 imbedded in the freshwater limestone of Dunaalmds and locality no. 2 at Somssich Hill. These rocks, however, cannot be considered as typical loess because originally they were situated in cracks and crevices or deposited on freshwater limestone. They thus show a somewhat intermediate character, similar to cave loess. Similarly, we may refer the Lower Pleistocene material of the yellow layers of locality no. 8 at Villany to cave loesses (Kretzoi, 1956), in which the fauna elements indicate a cool, dry environment at the time of deposition. 

There is no published review of the faunas of cave sediments and karstic formations of Hungary apart from the fauna lists presented by Mottl (1941), the Upper Pleistocene cave finds given in Vertes s (1965) book and some smaller treatises on the faunas of local regions (Villdny mountains Kormos, 1937b Kretzoi, 1956 Osztramos locality complex Janossy and Kordos, 1976b). 

Locality no. 2 of Osztramos consisted of the filling of an enormous cave in the eastern portion of section XII of the quarry, 320 m a.s.l. The cave in question was opened in 1965 and totally blasted in 1969. The profile of the cave, filled entirely with red clay, was 20 m long by 14 m high at discovery. About 2.50-3.50 m above the basement, two layers sloping towards the north were found to contain extreme accumulations of bones, which we fully exploited and sedimented. The fauna list is as follows (Jdnossy and Kordos, 1976b) (lower layer the few large-mammal finds are from the mixed material of the waste rock). 

Discovery of the following finds is the result of a systematic collecting technique. E. Krolopp, from the Hungarian National Geological Institute, searched the cave cellars of Castle Hill in order to find new mollusc faunas and to obtain further material for revision. In the course of his search, at two localities he found bones and kindly gave them to me. 

Cave) of Budapest, up to the upper layers of the Uppony, there is an almost completely continuous sequence of faunal assemblages. Here, however, the series is disrupted and only with hiatuses of variable size may we reconstruct the faunistical lineage of fauna genesis (Janossy, 1969a Kretzoi, 1969, etc.). 

As I have already repeatedly mentioned, Upper Pleistocene sediments are the most widespread, both regionally and in caves, as in the whole of Europe and in Hungary, as well. Although the fauna of this phase is the best characterized of all the phases, and is described either as that containing mammoths, woolly rhinoceros , or cave bear, reindeer , or a faunal wave with ptarmigan and lemming , there are deficiencies in two respects ... 

The only fauna analogous to the Suttdian faunal substage so far known in Hungary is the modest, but nevertheless very characteristic fauna of the side entrance of the Esterhazy cave. The locality, the main entrance of which is known for its rich Hip-parion fauna, was found by Kretzoi (1954a description of the locality also given there) to contain the following finds (with number of specimens) ... 

The various layers of the material contained rather homogeneous fauna, the cave bear (Ursus spelaeus) being the predominant species throughout, a few arctic fox (Vulpes lagopus), reindeer (Rangifer) and, on the whole, more ungulate remains were found in the upper layers. The list of remains, with numbers of specimens, is after Kretzoi (1968) ... 

Noteworthy in this faunal assemblage is a tibia fragment of a markedly small animal ( Canis sp. ) beside the usual-sized cave wolf, which falls into the range of variation of Canis mosbachensis (ca. 37 mm proximal width). The overall composition of the fauna justifies allocation to the Subalyukian substage (and perhaps to the Varboian), but in the absence of suitable microfauna, this statement cannot be considered as definitive. The fauna is presented only for the sake of documentation. 

Because of its find of giant deer, the fauna of the Megyefai (presently Bukkosd) shaft, which contains no archaeological remains, can also be allocated here according to Kretzoi (1942) the cave wolf (Canis spelaeus) was dominant and the mammoth was common, but the cave bear was absent. 

I describe here in detail the nominate fauna of the Istallosko cave. The locality is a cave formed in Triassic limestone on the southwestern slope of Istdlldskd in the Biikk Mountains, at an altitude of 535 m a.s.l. The hollow itself is about 45 m long and 8-10 m wide. Hillebrand was the first to excavate in the cave (in 1912), then Kadic, Mottl, Saad, Hillebrand, Vertes and myself made collections on thirteen occasions. 

Seven different layers were exposed during the excavations, three of which provided substantial amount of fossils the upper yellowish stratum, the dark-brown layer with limestone rubble ( Upper layer of fireplace ) and the light-brown cave clay with fine rubble ( lower layer of fireplace ). The two above-mentioned cultural strata contained a rich material of chipped flint implements of Aurignatian type. Since the faunal remains of the various layers differ only in percentile composition, rather than fundamentally, I present the faunal list without numbers of specimens. The following composition of the fauna is based on Jfinossy (1955) (the cave bear was dominant by far, over 15,000 finds) ... 

On the basis of similar cultural remains of the Soloutreian-Szeletaian type from Pleistocene strata of the Szeleta cave, the fauna of the greenish-grey layers of the Balia cave, and finally the animal remains of the dark brown layers of the Tapoica cave, these localities can also be referred here. 

The Bivak cave, already mentioned above in connection with its lower strata, is situated on the other (northwestern) side of the Pilis Hill. Two Gravettian implements of non-cave nature (Vertes, 1965, p. 195) have been found in its upper loessy layer. The rodent fauna is very similar in composition to that of rock shelter no. 1 of Pilisszanto [arctic lemming Dicrostonyx), snow vole, and the narrow-skulled vole Microtus nivalis and gregalis) (twice as many specimens as the former two)], but in the large-mammal fauna the cave bear (U. spelaeus) predominates. Thus, since the two localities are so close geographically, the differences that exist between the two faunas are due to stratigraphical rather than facies differences. The yellowish stratum of the Bivak cave must certainly be dated as older than Pilisszanto no. 1. 

The first of these is layer B(l-2) of the Szelim cave. I re-identified this material, which is deposited in the collection of the Hungarian Natural History Museum (see Vertes, 1965, p. 345). In spite of similarities in the rodent species, because of the different proportions of the grouse species [willow grouse (Lagopus lagopus) ca. 70%, ptarmigan (Z,. mutus) ca. 30%] and the relative frequency of the cave bear Ursus spelaeus), the fauna must be somewhat older than that of Pilisszanto. 

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