‘Avid Accumulators Of Bones’: Bone Loot Likely Collected By Hyenas Unearthed
Photo 177130113 © Mikhail Blajenov | Dreamstime.com
In a rather chilling discovery, archaeologists in southwestern Saudi Arabia have uncovered a large stash of bones, which they believe has been steadily growing over the last 7,000 years.
At least 40 species of animals, including cattle, rodents, and humans, had their remains discovered in the Umm Jirsan lava tube system, a lengthy network of tunnels formed by volcanic activity.
Researchers had been investigating the site, located in the Harrat Khaybar lava field, since 2007. However, only a few months ago did a team eventually enter the cavern’s depths. Experts who were there before had reported hearing growls coming from within, and avoided it for their own safety.
Mathew Stewart, lead author of the study, tells Gizmodo that the team was able to identify hyenas as the owners of this bounty after they analyzed the marks found on the bones, including bites. He also describes hyenas as “very avid accumulators of bones.”
Image via Stewart, M., Andrieux, E., Clark-Wilson, R. et al (CC BY 4.0)
He also said that a “telltale sign” that striped hyenas were behind this lays in the human crania discovered on the site. These predators are infamous for scouring human graves for meat; hence, the human remains.
“It’s always just the skullcap that survives,” he reports. “They seem to not really be interested in skullcaps. We found maybe five or six skullcaps with gnaw marks on them at the site, but only the skullcaps. Nothing else.”
Image via Stewart, M., Andrieux, E., Clark-Wilson, R. et al
Before their threatened status in Saudi Arabia, hyenas used to roam the lava fields in the country’s northwest largely around 439 to 6,839 years ago, the Smithsonian Magazine reports. This is the time period the bones were from, according to radiocarbon dating of more than a thousand samples.
When animal bones are discovered in Saudi Arabia, Stewart explains, they’re often not well-preserved due to their brittle nature. Little to no information can be gleaned from them when they’re in such a state.
However, now with the discovery of this rather pristine stash, researchers are hoping to get more information from the bones. This will allow us to discover more details of the past animals’ lives, diet, and migration habits, similarly to how scientists analyzed an ancient woolly mammoth tusk.
Stewart and his team’s findings were published in the Archaeological and Anthropological Sciences journal last week.
The assemblage includes a variety of animals, including cattle, caprids, horses, camels, rodents, and even humans! (3/n) pic.twitter.com/S7LF434psF
— Stewie Stewart (@StewieStewart13) July 21, 2021
[via The Smithsonian Magazine, images via various sources]
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