https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/archaeologists-uncover-extensive-pile-animal-and-human-bones-saudi-arabia-cave-180978375/ * * * Accessibility Navigation Primary Navigation Content Toggle Share Search SUBSCRIBE (Left) RENEW (Left) GIVE A GIFT (Left) July/August 2021 magazine cover Smithsonian Magazine Subscribe (Mobile) Facebook Instagram Pinterest Twitter Google+ Newsletter Search Search Search [ ] Search SmartNews History Science Innovation Arts & Culture Travel This Gecko's Skin May Reveal Cancer Treatments Featured: This Gecko's Skin May Reveal Cancer Treatments History Archaeology U.S. History World History Video Newsletter 'Dragon Man' Might Be One of Our Closest Relatives Featured: 'Dragon Man' Might Be One of Our Closest Relatives Science Age of Humans Future of Space Exploration Human Behavior Mind & Body Our Planet Space Wildlife Newsletter Earth Optimism Summit Can Scientists Map the Entire Seafloor by 2030? Featured: Can Scientists Map the Entire Seafloor by 2030? 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(Stewart et al. / Archaeological and Anthropological Sciences, 2021) By Isis Davis-Marks smithsonianmag.com August 6, 2021 8:30AM Archaeologists in northwestern Saudi Arabia have unearthed a massive collection of bones likely stockpiled by striped hyenas over the past 7,000 years. Related Content * Remains of Nine Neanderthals Butchered by Hyenas Found in Italian Cave Found in the Umm Jirsan lava tube system--a sprawling network of tunnels formed by volcanic activity--the hundreds of thousands of bones belong to at least 14 kinds of animals, including cattle, caprids, horses, camels, rodents and even humans. The researchers' findings are newly published in the journal Archaeological and Anthropological Sciences. Lead author Mathew Stewart, a zooarchaeologist at the Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History in Germany, tells Gizmodo 's Isaac Schultz that the team identified hyenas as the culprits after analyzing cuts, bites and digestion marks found on the bones. "Striped hyena are very avid accumulators of bones," Stewart says. Researchers have been investigating the site, which is located in the country's Harrat Khaybar lava field, since 2007. But they only ventured into the cavern's depths a few months ago. (Per Gizmodo, another group of archaeologists reported hearing possible hyena snarls in the tubes, prompting them to keep their distance.) [screen_sho] [screen_sho] [screen_sho] Corroded bones found in the lava tube (Stewart et al. / Archaeological and Anthropological Sciences, 2021) [screen_sho] Examples of teeth found in the lava tube (Stewart et al. / Archaeological and Anthropological Sciences, 2021) For the study, the team analyzed 1,917 bones and teeth recovered from the lava tube. Radiocarbon dating of a small number of these samples found that they ranged in age from around 439 to 6,839 years old, suggesting "a long use of the lava tube system by carnivores," per the paper. In a Twitter thread quoted by Al Arabiya English's Joanne Serrieh, Stewart notes that hyenas transport bones "to dens to be consumed, fed to young or cached." The study adds that the carnivores engage in both hunting and scavenging activities, killing some animals while simply hoarding the remains of others. A key sign that hyenas were responsible for the huge pile of bones was the presence of human skull fragments. The mammals are notorious for rummaging through graves for grub. "It's always just the skullcap that survives," Stewart tells Gizmodo. "[Hyenas] seem to not really be interested in skull caps. We found maybe five or six skullcaps with gnaw marks on them at the site, but only the skullcaps. Nothing else." Lone hyenas typically snack on dead animals. But packs prefer to hunt, targeting prey like antelopes, hares, rodents and birds. Happy to introduce the Umm Jirsan lava tube, Saudi Arabia, in our new paper just out in AAS. This 1.5 km long lava tube is chock-a-block with hundreds of thousands of beautifully preserved animal remains. But why? (1/n) https://t.co/BMTYTxR4da pic.twitter.com/ubCTLHVyPX -- Stewie Stewart (@StewieStewart13) July 21, 2021 Umm Jirsan is far from the only example of hyenas stockpiling huge assemblages of bones. As Riley Black wrote for National Geographic in 2010, the Srbsko Chlum-Komin Cave in the Czech Republic contains more than 3,500 well-preserved large mammal bones collected by the carnivores. The new study took place as part of the Palaeodeserts Project, which seeks to track human and animal migration across the Arabian Peninsula. Saudi Arabia's harsh weather makes this task difficult: Hot conditions can make bones break down, and some ancient remains actually disintegrate when touched. "The most surprising thing comes down to just how well preserved the material is, and how much material there is, given that in Saudi we have no faunal remains, really," Stewart tells Gizmodo. In the Twitter thread, Stewart lauds the lava tube's "excellent conditions for preservation of bone." He adds, "Umm Jirsan (and other similar sites in the region) is likely to hold valuable insights into the ecologies and environments of Holocene Arabia. This study is just the tip of the iceberg." Like this article? SIGN UP for our newsletter [ ] [SIGN UP] Privacy Policy, Terms of Use About Isis Davis-Marks Isis Davis-Marks Isis Davis-Marks is a freelance writer and artist based in New York City. Her work has also appeared in Artsy, the Columbia Journal, and elsewhere. Website: isisdavismarks.com Read more from this author | Follow @IsisDavisMarks Tags Animals Archaeology Bones Cool Finds Death Hunting Middle East New Research Volcanoes Recommended Videos Comment on this Story Please enable JavaScript to view the comments powered by Disqus. comments powered by Disqus Photo of the day Taken in Tibet. Mt. Gang Rinpoche Photo of the Day>> Most Popular 1. Researchers Find Physical Evidence of Earthquake Described in Old Testament 2. Hyenas Hoarded Thousands of Human, Animal Bones in Saudi Arabian Lava Tube 3. 2,400-Year-Old Baskets Still Filled With Fruit Found in Submerged Egyptian City 4. Amateur Treasure Hunter in England Discovers Early Medieval Sword Pyramid 5. Who Was Nabonidus, Last King of Babylon? 6. Amber Fossil Shows 'Hell Ant' Was Unlike Anything Alive Today 7. Coronavirus Antibodies Detected in Wild White-Tailed Deer in Several U.S. States 8. The 1904 Olympic Marathon May Have Been the Strangest Ever 9. 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