Yes / The Covesea Caves are a series of later prehistoric sites located on the Moray Firth in north-east Scotland. Human remains have been recovered from several of these caves: the Sculptor’s Cave, Covesea Cave 1 and Covesea Cave 2 (Benton 1931; Shepherd and Shepherd 1979; Büster and Armit 2016), and display unusual characteristics that may indicate complex ritual and funerary practices (Shepherd 2007; Armit et al. 2011). However, there has been less attention given to the significant number of faunal remains from the Covesea Caves. These faunal assemblages are now the subject of research at the University of Bradford. Focused analysis of the taphonomic and processing characteristics observed on the faunal bones will examine the role of animals in the overarching narrative of the Covesea Caves, as well as further investigate the complex funerary treatments to which the human remains were subject. This paper outlines a method-driven pilot study undertaken on unstratified faunal remains from the ‘Wolf Chamber’ in Covesea Cave 2. Results from this study will be discussed and compared to select stratified remains from the main chamber of Covesea Cave 2; this will be accompanied by data collected from assessments undertaken on the main chamber faunal assemblage. Through this, the taphonomic nature of the cave environment and the role of caves in later prehistoric cosmology will be explored.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:BRADFORD/oai:bradscholars.brad.ac.uk:10454/19025 |
| Date | 22 March 2022 |
| Creators | Fitzpatrick, Alexandra L. |
| Source Sets | Bradford Scholars |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Conference paper, Accepted manuscript |
| Rights | (c) 2018 The Author., Unspecified |
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