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13: Bird Remains from the Post-Azilian Levels of El Mirón Cave
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| 243 | ChAPter thirteen bird remains from the Post-Azilian levels of el mirón Cave Mikelo Elorza Translated by Lawrence Guy Straus T his chapter analyzes the bird remains from Mesolithic, Neolithic, Chalcolithic, and Bronze Age levels in the Cantabrian site of El Mirón Cave. The sample is not very representative but indicates environmental surroundings very similar to those of the present on the edge of the Cantabrian Cordillera. The part of the site sequence studied here suggests a development toward denser deciduous forests in the region. El Mirón Cave is located at about 260 m above sea level at a distance of about 20 km from the present shore of the Bay of Biscay, near the town of Ramales de la Victoria. The cave, with a mouth measuring about 18 m wide and at least as high, faces the west from a vertical cliff-face. It is about 100 m above the valley floor and is surrounded by mountain summits at or around 1,000 m above sea level (González Morales and Straus 2000a, b). It is surrounded by a landscape that is presently dominated by pastureland and small thickets in the lower elevations and matorral on the higher, rocky slopes. The modern environment is characterized by a humid, temperate climate and vegetation defined by the presence of acidophilous deciduous woods that feature Quercus robur in the phytosociological series known as “Tamo communis-Quercetum roboris” within the Eurosiberian ecological province (Rivas Martínez 1987). The excavations conducted in El Mirón since 1996 have so far revealed a cultural sequence from the Mousterian to the Bronze Age, and even traces of medieval visits. One of the most important aspects of this site is indeed the length and relative continuity of its stratigraphy, with one of the most complete series of radiocarbon dates for the prehistory of the Cantabrian region (González Morales and Straus 2000a, b). The main excavations have been carried out in three areas of the cave vestibule: the Cabin (outer vestibule), Mid-Vestibule Trench, and Corral (vestibule rear). The latter area has no substantive post-Paleolithic deposits, so it is not dealt with here. The first two areas yielded culturally poor levels of Mesolithic age (Levels 10.1 and 304, respectively), rich early Neolithic levels (Levels 10–9 and 303.3–303, respectively), late Neolithic (Cabin Level 8), Chalcolithic (Cabin Levels 7–5 and possibly some of partially | 244 | Chapter Thirteen to wooded areas. It nests in trees from sea level up to the tree line in subalpine zones, both in conifers and in oaks, with a preference for mature woods broken by clearings (Cramp and Simmons 1980–1983). It is distributed widely across temperate and boreal regions of Eurasia and North America. Its possible existence in the present surroundings of the site has been suggested by Purroy (1997). Family Falconidae (Leach, 1819) Falco peregrinus (Tunstall, 1771) The peregrine falcon is represented by two cranial portions of coracoids and scapula in Levels 9 and 303. It is a poor environmental indicator as it is presently distributed across much of the world at all elevational ranges, although always associated with rocky cliffs and gorges. It does always avoid broad, dense forests (Cramp and Simmons 1980–1983). The surroundings of the site are presently populated by F. peregrinus (Purroy 1997). Order Galliformes (Temminck, 1820) Family Tetraonidae (Vigors, 1825) Tetrao tetrix (Linnaeus, 1758) The morphology and biometry of a distal portion of femur (Erbersdobler 1968) reveal the presence of the black grouse in Level 304 of the Mid-Vestibule Trench. This mondmilch level is culturally virtually sterile but almost certainly coincides with Level 10.1 in the Cabin, whichhastracesofMesolithicvisitstothecave(González Morales and Straus 2000a, b). The black grouse is a sedentary bird that currently occupies boreal, arctic, and alpine zones of the Palearctic province. Tetrao tetrix acts like a typical inhabitant of transitional zones between small open woods on the one hand and a variety of open habitats such as fallow fields, heaths, humid pastures, or even steppe on the other hand (Cramp and Simmons 1980–1983). The present-day population of black grouse closest to El Mirón is located in the Alps, where it is considered a glacial relict. during the Pleistocene T. tetrix has been cited in the Iberian Peninsula in the Magdalenian of Lamiñak II in Vizcaya (Hernández mixed Mid-Vestibule Level 302), late Chalcolithic– initial Bronze Age (Cabin Level 4), and early Bronze Age (Cabin Level 3). These...