Sharing food with hyenas: a latrine of Pachycrocuta brevirostris in the Early Pleistocene assemblage of Fuente Nueva‑3 (Orce, Baza Basin, SE Spain)

The Early Pleistocene archeological site of Fuente Nueva-3 (FN3) preserves some of the oldest evidence of hominin presence in Western Europe, including a huge assemblage of Oldowan tools and evidence of butchering and marrow processing of large mammal bones. Moreover, there is also evidence of the regular presence of carnivores at the site, including a small proportion of bones that show tooth marks, the majority of which can be attributed to the giant, short-faced hyena Pachycrocuta brevirostris, and there are 220 coprolites, most of them from the Upper Archeological Level. In order to identify the defecating agent, we analyze here the coprolites and compare them with other specimens from the literature and with scats from zoo spotted hyenas (Crocuta crocuta). The morphology, color, size, and chemical composition of the FN3 coprolites allow us to attribute them to the hyena P. brevirostris, which is also represented at the site by fossil specimens. In addition, we evaluate the origin of the accumulation of coprolites and discuss on the role played by the scavenging hyenas in the accumulation and modification of the bone remains unearthed at the site, which allows evaluating the contribution of the giant hyena to this Early Pleistocene site. Finally, based on the lithology of layer 5 of the Upper Archeological Level, fine sands and clays deposited in a salt-lake environment, we hypothesize that this layer may have acted as a quicksand where large-sized animals like elephants were trapped and their carcasses lured scavenging carnivores

Funding for open access publishing: Universidad Málaga/ CBUA. This research has been authorized by the “Consejería de Cultura” of the “Junta de Andalucía” (ref. EXP: BC.03.174/19 10153) and carried out with financial support of program FEDER ANDALUCÍA 2014–2020 (project reference: UMA18-FEDERJA-188), by Research Groups RNM-146 and RNM-199 from “Junta de Andalucía” and 2021SGR 01238 (AGAUR) from “Generalitat de Catalunya,” PAIDI 2020 postdoctoral grants from “Junta de Andalucía” to APR and IC, “Programa de Atracción de Talento” postdoctoral grant from “Comunidad de Madrid” to GRG and the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation through the “María de Maeztu” excellence accreditation (CEX2019-000945-M) to BMN.