Zooarchaeology of Öküzini Cave

Introduction

Understanding Epipaleolithic hunter-gatherer lifestyles and changes in their subsistence patterns in relation to environmental fluctuations is pivotal in understanding one of the milestones in the human evolution, namely, the transformation from exploitation of wild plant and animal resources to the production of domestic variants of these resources.

Öküzini Cave was initially subject to limited and occasional investigation by Ismail Kılıç Kökten from the mid-1950s to 1973. Excavations were resumed by a short-lived Turkish-German collaboration in 1985. Large-scale and systematic excavations in Öküzini were conducted by a large international team under the direction of the Museum of Antalya and supervised by Işın Yalçınkaya between 1989 and 1999. The last project resulted in exhaustive studies including geology, lithic techno-typology, archaeobotany, archaeometry, malacology, and palynology of the site, and was published as a monograph. The new excavations revealed 13 discrete geological horizons (GH 0 through XII) within a 3.5-meter Epipaleolithic sequence including a mixed protohistoric or Neolithic/Chalcolithic level disturbed by human burials preceded by Epipaleolithic layers that have been subdivided into four cultural phases or archaeological units (AUs 1, 2, 3, 4) based on characteristics of the lithic assemblages. The designated AUs at Öküzini cover a temporal range from 16,460 to 12,000 uncalibrated years BP or from 19,790 to 12,900 calibrated years BP.

The primary focus of the zooarchaeological research at Öküzini was to examine a series of related topics such as: (1) Assemblage composition and characterization, (2) Changes in animal exploitation patterns and hunting strategies through time, (3) Mobility patterns, site function and inter-site variation, and (4) Periodicity in animal exploitation.

Methodology

The recording process involved two stages:

1. General documentation of the entire assemblage for the purpose of assemblage characterization (e.g., degree of fragmentation, skeletal part representation, etc.). This level included every element, element portion, and nonidentified fragments and splinters recovered.
2. Particular documentation of pre-determined attributes in relation to the particular questions that are being asked (e.g., kill-off patterns, seasonality, etc.). This level targeted selected elements and portions such as mandibles with teeth, loose mandibular teeth, pelvic acetabula, and all limb epiphyses.

Potential Applications of Data

These data add to the increasing body of evidence for epipaleolithic subsistence in western Anatolia.

Current Disposition of the Collections

The Öküzini Cave specimens included in this data publication are housed in the storage facility of the Karain Cave Project Dig House near Yagca Village, Antalya, Turkey.

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