Ursidae fossil, which had been excavated from Durubong Cave Complex, Cheongwon-gun, Chungcheongbuk-do, became the object of this study to classify the species of the fossil, and to analyze the cause of death and relation with human behaviors.
The f...
Ursidae fossil, which had been excavated from Durubong Cave Complex, Cheongwon-gun, Chungcheongbuk-do, became the object of this study to classify the species of the fossil, and to analyze the cause of death and relation with human behaviors.
The fossil was compared with the characteristics of morphology of ursidae fossil in the Pleistocene period to classify its species, and also, compared with U. deningeri, U. spelaeus and U. arctos in Europe and fossils of U. splaeus and U. arctos, which had been excavated from Upper Cave Site, Zhoukoudian, China, applying the measurement by each part through full system of measurements. After that, the relation between the cause of death and human behaviors was studied by considering whether there were elements of biological changes, which could appear at the surface of fossil, and the status of excavation.
The results of the analysis showed that ursidae fossil, which was male, from Cheonyeo-gul had permanent upper and lower teeth, and it was found the species was more than 15 years old by measuring abrasion of enamel and exposure of dentin. Moreover, it did not displayed characteristics of a certain species in morphology which usually appeared during evolution, and had bigger bone structure and teeth than those of U. arctos, which means that it might be an unidentified species or U. arctos var. Otherwise, there was a possibility as like as U. deningeri.
However, I think that there was a low possibility of a new species, because Cheonyeo-gul fossil had only one specimen in Minimum Number of Individuals (MNI), and there was no its autapomorphic features. Also, it exhibited differences from general U. deningeri.
This Cheonyeo-gul fossil had very similar characteristics in dental formula and teeth, which was considered to be the most important to classify species of ursidae fossil, to U. arctos, but there were differences from the size and sagittal crest of the skull, and most of bones including teeth were bigger than those of U. arctos. According to this, the most reliable opinion could be that it was U. arctos var. by individual variation.
It was analyzed that the Cheonyeo-gul fossil died during hibernation, and I could not find evidence of relation between its death and human behaviors.