Taphonomy of Late Pleistocene micromammalian fauna of Narmada valley, Central India

Taphonomical investigations of a micromammalian assemblage were undertaken in the vicinity of a prominent Homo erectus site around Jabalpur and Devakachar, Central India. The sediments consist of thin bedded floodplain deposits and the fauna contains micromammalian remains (teeth, jaws, and bones) in addition to numerous fossils of invertebrate genera. The taphonomical investigations were carried out only on the micromammalian remains by studying breakage pattern, digestion, weathering, gnawing marks, and charring traces. The breakage pattern of skeletal elements, intact small bone elements such as tarsals and metatarsals, and higher proportional representation of limb bones suggest that the fossil assemblage was initially accumulated by a predator and had gone through a significant amount of hydraulic sorting as well. Our results, although based on limited fossil material, may provide a baseline for recognition of owls as agents of accumulation of Narmada micromammal fossils.