Spatial analysis and neotaphonomy of two landscape bone assemblages in the Ngorongoro Conservation Area, Tanzania

Scatters of bones on modern landscapes result from, and thus reflect, the ecological dynamics of specific times and places. Landscape bone assemblages can therefore be used to track ecological change and reconstruct paleoenvironments. Here, we report on the spatial distribution and taphonomic characteristics of faunal assemblages recovered from two 100 x 200-meter survey blocks on the eastern edge of the Serengeti ecosystem in northern Tanzania. One block lies in a treeless section of shortgrass plain (OT1) and the other contains a stand of trees surrounding a seasonal waterhole (OT2). Based on pedestrian surveys, all visible skeletal material ≥ 2 cm in maximum dimension was plotted with a laser total station and collected. Analyses reveal that (1) bones are clustered in both blocks, (2) the spatial density of bones at OT2 is nearly twice that at OT1, (3) bone clusters are strongly associated with trees at OT2, and (4) tooth marks appear on bones from both blocks, but the OT2 bone assemblage preserves cut marks as well. Patterns in the use of space by humans and carnivores at OT2 provide a useful model for the formation of open-air Pleistocene sites in savanna ecosystems.