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Taphonomic Analysis of the Mammalian Fauna from Sandia Cave, New Mexico, and the “Sandia Man” Controversy

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 January 2017

Jessica C. Thompson ,
Nawa Sugiyama  and
Gary S. Morgan
Jessica C. Thompson
Affiliation:
School of Human Evolution and Social Change, PO Box 872402, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ 85287-2402 (jcthoml@asu.edu)
Nawa Sugiyama
Affiliation:
Harvard University, Department of Anthropology, Peabody Museum, 11 Divinity Avenue Cambridge, MA 02138 (nsugiyam@fas.harvard.edu)
Gary S. Morgan
Affiliation:
New Mexico Museum of Natural History, 1801 Mountain Rd., NW, Albuquerque, NM 87104 (gary.morganl@state.nm.us)
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Abstract

Sandia Cave in New Mexico was excavated in the late 1930s by Frank Hibben, who described a unique type of chipped stone artifact-the “Sandia point”-in association with a faunal assemblage that included extinct Pleistocene species. The site was interpreted as a late Pleistocene Paleoindian hunting station, making it the earliest human occupation known in America at the time. Despite the pivotal role the faunal assemblage has played in interpretations of the site, there was never a confirmed behavioral association between the artifacts and the fossils. A subsequent series of controversies about the age of the site and the integrity of the stratigraphy has since pushed Sandia Cave into obscurity. Results from a recent taphonomic study of the large and small mammal assemblages from the original excavations are reported here. These show that the majority of the fauna were accumulated by nonhuman agents (carnivores, raptors, and rodents), but that a small proportion of large mammal fragments retain human modification. The three major points of controversy are discussed in light of these and other findings, and it is shown that Sandia Cave remains an important datapoint in archaeological, paleontological, and paleoecological studies of the region.

Résumé

Résumé

Sandia Cave en Nuevo Mexico fue excavado a fines de los años 1930 por Frank Hibben, quién describió un tipo de artefacto de piedra tallada, el llamado “Punto Sandia” en asociación con un ensemblaje de restos faunísticos que incluía especies Pleistocénicos extintos. El sitio fue interpretado como una estación de cacería Paleoindia del período Pleistocénico tardío, siendo la más temprana ocupación humana en las Américas entonces conocida. A pesar del papel vital que ha jugado el ensamblaje de restos faunísticos, nunca se ha confirmado una asociación entre los artefactos y los fósiles en términos de la conducta humana antigua. Una serie de controvérsias en torno a la antigüedad del sitio y la integridad de su estratigrafía han reducido al sitio Sandia Cave a la obscuridad. Aquí se publican los resultados de un reciente estudio tafonómico del ensamblaje de restos óseos de mamíferos grandes y pequeños, proveniente de las excavaciones originales. Estos demuestran que la mayoría de los restos fueron acumulados por agentes extrahumanos (animales carnívoros, aves rapáces y roedores). Una pequeña proporción retienen evidencias de modificación humana. Los tres puntos de controvérsia antes señalados se discuten a luz de estos y otros descubrimientos, y se demuestra que Sandia Cave retiene su importancia como punto dato en estudios arqueológicos, paleontológicos y paleoecológicos de la región.

Type
Reports
Information
American Antiquity , Volume 73 , Issue 2 , April 2008 , pp. 337 - 360
Copyright
Copyright © The Society for American Archaeology 2008

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