The skeleton of a straight-tusked elephant (Palaeoloxodon antiquus) and other large mammals from the Middle Pleistocene butchering locality Marathousa 1 (Megalopolis Basin, Greece): preliminary results

In this article, we present thefirst results on the large mammal fauna from the new open-air LowerPalaeolithic locality Marathousa 1 (MAR-1) (Megalopolis Basin, Peloponnesus, Greece). MAR-1 belongs tothe Marathousa Member of the Choremi Formation and its large mammal faunal list (collection 2013e2016) includes the castoridCastorfiber, the mustelidsMustelasp. andLutra simplicidens, the felidFelissp., the canidsVulpessp. andCanissp., the elephantidPalaeoloxodon antiquus, the hippopotamidHippopotamus antiquus, the bovidBisonsp., and the cervidsDamasp. andCervus elaphus. This faunalassociation is common in the Galerian (Middle Pleistocene) mammal communities of Europe (ca. 0.9e0.4Ma). The MAR-1 fauna is consistent with a temperate climate and is indicative of a landscape withsubstantial woodland components with more open areas, close to permanent and large freshwaterbodies. Of particular interest are an elephant cranium and numerous postcranial elements, which werefound in close anatomical association and are attributed to a single individual of the straight-tuskedelephantPalaeoloxodon antiquus. The skeleton belonged to a male individual in its late adulthoodclose to or in its sixties, with live skeletal height around 3.7 m at the shoulder and body mass around 9.0tonnes. The good state of preservation of the MAR-1 bones allows the identification of taphonomicmodifications. Cut marks on the elephant skeleton, and on other elephant and mammal bones, indicatehuman exploitation by means of butchering activities, in accordance with the traits of the lithicassemblage and its spatial association with the bones. Carnivore activity is also recorded on someelephant and cervid bones. Marathousa 1 is among the oldest elephant butchering sites in Europe andthe only one known in Southeastern Europe.