Chronological and Isotopic data support a revision for the timing of cave bear extinction in Mediterranean Europe

Abstract

The Cave Bear, Ursus spelaeus (sensu lato), was one of many megafaunal species that became extinct during the Late Pleistocene in Europe. With new data we revisit the debate about the extinction and paleoecology of this species by presenting new chronometric, isotopic and taphonomic evidence from two Palaeolithic cave bear sites in northeastern Italy: Paina Cave and Trene Cave. Two direct radiocarbon dates on well-preserved collagen have yielded ages around 24,200–23,500 cal yr BP, which make them the latest known representatives of the species in Europe. The carbon (δ¹³C) and nitrogen (δ¹⁵N) isotopic values of bone collagen exhibit values similar to those of older cave bears from Swabian Jura and France, suggesting that the feedings preferences of cave bears remained unchanged until the disappearance of this species in Europe. Several bear remains preserved traces of human modification such as cut marks, which enables a reconstruction of the main steps of fur recovery and the butchering process. The broad range of plant types available and the favorable location of Berici Hills may have played an important role in the range expansion of cave bears and their interaction with the Paleolithic hunters settled the same area.

Keywords:

• Cave bear
• extinction
• stable isotopes
• cave bear hunting
• paleoecology
• Northeast Italy

Acknowledgments

Previous fieldwork at Grotta Paina and Grotta Trene was carried out by Professors Piero Leonardi and Alberto Broglio in the 60ies and 80ies. This research has been promoted by the Ferrara University (FAR 2016) and supported by the Veneto Region – Department for Cultural Heritage, the Mossano Municipality and Foundations (Fondazione CariVerona). This study has been supported by the University of Ferrara. The authors are grateful to two anonymous reviewers for constructive suggestions and to Dober Chalal Aldana, Dorothée Drucker, Christoph Wißing, Martin Cotte and Susanne Münzel (University of Tübingen) for technical assistance in the preparation of the bone samples and for valuable suggestions. Blanca Mora Alvarez Tessa Plint and Fred Longstaffe assisted with stable isotope analyses performed in Canada.