AMQ59 Farina Bianucci post 19102017.pub Available online http://amq.aiqua.it ISSN (print): 2279-7327, ISSN (online): 2279-7335 Alpine and Mediterranean Quaternary, 30 (1), 2017, 69-74 THE HOLOCENE URSUS ARCTOS FROM "ABISSO ORIANO COLTELLI" CAVE (APUAN ALPS, TUSCANY, CENTRAL ITALY) Simone Farina 1, Giampaolo Bianucci 2 1 Natural History Museum, University of Pisa, Calci (PI), Italy 2 Natural History Museum of the Mediterranean (honorary curator), Livorno, Italy Corresponding author: S. Farina ABSTRACT: The study of a prime adult female skeleton of brown bear, Ursus arctos, found in "Abisso Oriano Coltelli" cave is here re- ported. A new bone formation on the thoracic vertebrae was investigated by x-ray examination suggesting a longitudinal ligament injury caused by a circumscribed trauma, with ossified hematoma. The specimen was dated providing a conventional age of 6480 ± 40 14C ka BP (Holocene). The bear died from non-violent causes, probably during hibernation. The “Abisso Oriano Coltelli” mammal assemblage also includes Capra hircus, Martes foina and indeterminate small mammals. Standard archaeozoological parameters (NISP, MNI) have been used to calculate the relative frequency of each taxon identified in the faunal assemblage. Keywords: Mammals, Brown bear, Tuscany, Central Italy, Holocene 1. INTRODUCTION The fossil record of Ursidae from the Apuan Alps (northern Tuscany) includes the exception- ally rich amount of Late Pleistocene remains of Ursus spelaeus from Equi cave (Ghezzo et al., 2014) and from Wind cave (Piccini et al., 2003). The "Abisso Oriano Coltelli" cave (44°05'35,0 N, 10°14'47,0" E, labelled T/Lu 642 in the Tuscan register of caves) (Fig.1) opens 1209 m a.s.l on the western slope of "Monte Alto di Sella" (Apuan Alps). The cave was explored in 1976 to a depth of 730 m by the speleological and archaeological group of Leghorn and by the speleological group of Lucca. In the early 1990’s the speleological and archaeological group of Leghorn explored new branches of this cave and in July 1994 they found the mammal assem- blage studied in this paper. The topographic survey of "Abisso Coltelli" revealed that the extremity of one of its newly explored branches was very close to the exterior of the cave. This new branch was opened in 1998 at 1305 m a.s.l. (Fig. 2) and the fossil ma- terial was collected in the August of 1998. In this paper the study of the brown bear (Ursus arctos) remains retrieved from "Abisso Coltelli" is presented. Fig.1 - Map of the Tuscany. The symbol * represent the geographic posi- tion of the "Abisso Coltelli" cave 2. MATERIALS AND METHODS The material is housed at the Natural History Mu- seum of the University of Pisa and consists of 486 in- vestigated specimens, 127 of which belong to an indi- vidual skeleton of Ursus arctos. The lists of the studied specimens and of the measurements are reported in Tables (1-4). The number of specimens is reported in parenthesis. The tables report also the side of the bones (Right / Left) and the preservation (Complete / Incom- plete / Fragment). The measurements (in mm), with the exception of the ulna, tibia and fibula of the brown bear, have been taken on the right bones. The standard quan- tification units NISP (Number of Identified Specimens) and MNI (Minimum Number of Individuals) (Lyman, 1994; Lyman, 2008; Reitz & Wing, 2008) have been calculated to evaluate the relative frequency of each taxon identified in the faunal assemblage. MNI was as- sessed both on post-cranial and cranial specimens, taking into account age and size. The measurements of the mammal bones were taken adopting the measuring points indicated by von den Driesch (1976). The legend for abbreviations of the measurements are the following: Lcr: length of the cheektooh row; Lmr: Length of the molar row; Lrt: length of the tooth row from canine to the first molar; GB: greatest breadth; GL: greatest length; H: greatest height; LAPa: greatest length of the arch includ- ing the processus articulares caudales; LCDe: greatest length of the body including the dens; GLP: Greatest length of the processus articularis; HS: Height along the spine; Bp greatest breadth of the proximal end; Bd: greatest breadth of the distal end. In the 2000 a specimen of Ursus arctos was sent to Beta Analytic Inc. Laboratory (Miami, Florida, USA) for radiometric dating. The collagen was extracted using alkaline solutions. The specimen was subjected to Ac- celerator Mass Spectrometry (AMS) analysis. Both the conventional and the calibrated radiocarbon datings that were obtained are reported in the text. The conversion from conventional to calibrated ages was accomplished following Stuiver et al. (1998). To assess the ontogenetic age of the brown bear we used the age-scoring technique proposed by Stiner (1998). The age-scoring technique is an eruption and wear scheme based on cheek teeth. The scheme recog- nises nine successive stages of crown growth and wear. Stiner (1998) advised clustering the eruption–wear stages into three age categories, juveniles (stages I - Fig. 2 - Longitudinal section of "Abisso Coltelli" cave. The symbol * represent the point where the faunal assemblage was discovered. 70 Farina S. & Bianucci G. Tab. 2 - List of Martes foina specimens from "Abisso Oriano Coltelli" cave. Tab. 4 - NISP and MNI of identified taxa present in the "Abisso Coltelli" faunal assemblage. 71 The Holocene Ursus arctos from "Abisso Oriano Coltelli" cave (Apuan Alps, Tuscany, ... Tab. 1 - List of Ursus arctos specimens from "Abisso Oriano Coltelli" cave with the side, the state of pre- servation, and measurements (in mm) (explanation of the symbols in text). Metacarpals: II, IV and V right and II, III, IV and V left; Metatarsal: V right. Carpal bones: left trapezoid, left capitate, left pisiform, left pyramidal and left scapho-lunate bone, right trapezium, right and left uncinate. Tarsal bones: left navicular bone, right intermediate cuneiform bone. Tab. 3 - List of Capra hircus specimens from "Abisso Oriano Coltelli" cave. III), prime adults (stages IV - VII), and old adults (stages VIII - IX). The vertebral column of the brown bear studied here presents new bone formation on the 4th and the 11th thoracic vertebrae. The latter in particular shows two lesions, whose features were investigated with X-ray techniques. 3. RESULTS The mammal assemblage includes a single individual of Ursus arctos (Tab. 1), 4 individuals of Martes foina (Tab. 2), and a single individual of Capra hircus (Tab. 3). The NISP and MNI counts are reported in Tab. 4. Of the 486 specimens exam- ined here, 6 could be determined only anatomically. The indeterminate fragments are 166 and 88 of them belong to rodents. 3.1. Ursus arctos The sagittal crest of the brown bear skull is weak and limited to the nuchal region. The temporal windows are small in size and the zygomathic bones are slender. These characteristics are consistent with a female individual. Based on the dental wear stage, the individual is a prime adult (stage VI) (Figs. 3-4). The skull is fractured in the nuchal region, lacking part of the right frontal and parietal bones (Fig. 5). Based on the jagged edges of the fractures surface, the bones were broken in a dry state (Villa & Mathieu, 1991), suffering a post mortem damage. The postcranial bones are unaltered. The 11th thoracic vertebra shows two elon- gated, symmetrical lesions, located on the outer- ventral face of the vertebral body. There is evidence of an ossified hematoma (Fig. 6). Hence, there was ligament injury, caused by a circumscribed trauma. The X- ray examination (Figs. 7-8) also revealed bone thickening near the neighbouring vertebral endplates, which can be interpreted as a probable reparative bone sclerosis. Similarly to the other mammal remains from the cave, the skeleton of the female bear shows no evi- dence of carnivore ravaging. Hence, the animal was not killed during hibernation or transported into the cave by other predators. The specimen (Sample Beta-143383) sent for radiometric dating gave a conventional radiocarbon age of 6,480±40 14C ka BP (7445-7310 cal ka BP). The 13C/12C ratio was -20.3‰. 3.2. Capra hircus and Martes foina The most diagnostic bones that permitted to attested the presence of a single individual of Capra hircus are the right metatarsal and the right cal- caneus. The metatarsal is short and relatively broad (Tab. 3) and the sagittal ridges of the distal articular surface converge, whereas in the sheep they run practically parallel (Prummel & Frisch, 1986). In the right calcaneus, the corpus calcanei is straight to convex and between the sustentaculum tali and the medial articular surface of the processus anterior the Fig. 3 - Ursus arctos L. Ventral Dorsal view of the skull. The scale bar is 5 cm. Fig. 4 - Ursus arctos L. Dorsal view of the mandible. The scale bar is 5 cm. Fig. 5 - Ursus arctos L. Dorsal view of the skull. The scale bar is 5 cm. 72 Farina S. & Bianucci G. Fig. 6 - Ursus arctos L. Ventral A and posterolateral B and C views of the 10th- 12th thoracic vertebrae segment. The scale bar is 5 cm. Fig. 7 - Ursus arctos L. X-ray (ventral B and lateral A view) of the 10th- 12th thoracic vertebrae segment. Fig. 8 - Ursus arctos L. X-ray (ventral A and lateral B view) of the 11th thoracic vertebra. 73 The Holocene Ursus arctos from "Abisso Oriano Coltelli" cave (Apuan Alps, Tuscany, ... two articular surfaces are fused with each other (Prummel & Frisch, 1986). The identification of the beech marten was based on the postcranial bones (Baumann & Gornetzki, 2017). In particular the shape of the atlas, where both Proces- sus transversales were tapered cranially, the axis, where the processus spinosus is markedly thickened and the scapula, where the shape of the metacromion is significant thicker in comparison with the one of the pine marten. The postcranial bones of the goat and the beech marten individuals are unaltered. 4 - DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION Based on its radiocarbon dating the female prime adult brown bear carcass from "Abisso Coltelli" is of early Holocene age. Similarly to the Ursus spelaeus from Chiostraccio cave (Martini et al., 2014) the Abisso Coltelli bear died from non-violent causes, either trapped in the cave, as probably happened also to the other associated mammals, or during hibernation. In the first option, the absence of fractures in the postcranial bones of the bear as well as in those of the other asso- ciated species suggests that the animals did not fall into the cave and that the latter was easy to penetrate. The lesion on the 11th thoracic vertebra is an injury that the bear had sustained in the past, but healed before the death in the cave. It was therefore not caused by a fall from height. The absence of carnivore ravaging evi- dence on the bones gives weight to the second hy- pothesis, in spite of Stiner’s (1998) warning that hiber- nation-related deaths in wear stages V and VI are usu- ally rare. In this case the young bear would have died from starvation, or disease. The associated occurrence of Martes foina and Capra hircus indicates that the mammal association was probably accumulated attritionally over a certain period of time. In fact bears make considerable effort to keep secret their hibernation lairs to reduce the risk of intru- sion and any minimal disturbance will draw a bear away (Stiner, 1998). Under this perspective, the goat and marten individuals died the same way as the bear. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS We wish to thank Prof. Gino Fornaciari for the di- agnosis of the lesions on the vertebral column and the speleological and archaeological group of Leghorn for the recovery of the fossil material. REFERENCES Baumann C., Gornetzki K. (2017) - Postcranial differen- differences in sex and species of pine marten (Martes martes L., 1758) and beech marten (Martes foina Erxl., 1777). Palaeodiversity, 10(1), 7-23. Ghezzo E., Palchetti A., Rook L. 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