http://hdl.handle.net/10900/114181 Tue, 12 May 2026 20:41:56 GMT 2026-05-12T20:41:56Z https://publikationen.uni-tuebingen.de:443/xmlui/bitstream/id/693527cd-6a54-4017-8f5a-55e175c3484e/ http://hdl.handle.net/10900/114181 http://hdl.handle.net/10900/118016 Human-elephant interactions: from past to present Konidaris, George E.; Barkai, Ran; Tourloukis, Vangelis; Harvati, Katerina In recent decades, a significant number of Pleistocene (ca. 2.6 million years–10,000 years ago) open-air and cave sites yielding elephant or mammoth bones in direct association with hominin remains and/or lithic artifacts have been discovered in Eurasia, Africa and America. Many of them show strong evidence of acquisition and processing of proboscidean carcasses by early humans, leading scientists to interpret them as “elephant butchering sites”. Indeed, proboscidean exploitation by early Homo has been proposed to have been critical for Palaeolithic human lifeways, influencing not only their subsistence, but also other aspects of early human evolution and adaptations. The nature and degree of interactions between humans and elephants comprises an important field in palaeoanthropological studies since decades, but many questions remain still unanswered or partially explored. By bringing together research papers from the fields of Palaeolithic Archaeology, Palaeoanthropology, Palaeontology, Zooarchaeology, Geology, Ethnography and Nutrition Studies, the book systematically covers a diverse array of perspectives on elephant-human interactions across the world from the Pleistocene times until today. The volume includes 19 contributions and is organized into four thematic sections: 1) The Palaeolithic record, 2) A view of the evidence, 3) Elephants in past human nutrition, and 4) Ethnography – Human-elephant interactions in recent Africa. Collectively, the volume not only showcases the current state of knowledge, but also intends to provoke renewed interest for current and further research, and build an interdisciplinary and synthetic understanding of the significance of proboscideans throughout human evolution. korrigierter Nachdruck, nur Änderungen im Impressum Thu, 19 Aug 2021 00:00:00 GMT http://hdl.handle.net/10900/118016 2021-08-19T00:00:00Z http://hdl.handle.net/10900/114229 Human-elephant interactions: from past to present Konidaris, George E.; Barkai, Ran; Tourloukis, Vangelis; Harvati, Katerina In recent decades, a significant number of Pleistocene (ca. 2.6 million years–10,000 years ago) open-air and cave sites yielding elephant or mammoth bones in direct association with hominin remains and/or lithic artifacts have been discovered in Eurasia, Africa and America. Many of them show strong evidence of acquisition and processing of proboscidean carcasses by early humans, leading scientists to interpret them as “elephant butchering sites”. Indeed, proboscidean exploitation by early Homo has been proposed to have been critical for Palaeolithic human lifeways, influencing not only their subsistence, but also other aspects of early human evolution and adaptations. The nature and degree of interactions between humans and elephants comprises an important field in palaeoanthropological studies since decades, but many questions remain still unanswered or partially explored. By bringing together research papers from the fields of Palaeolithic Archaeology, Palaeoanthropology, Palaeontology, Zooarchaeology, Geology, Ethnography and Nutrition Studies, the book systematically covers a diverse array of perspectives on elephant-human interactions across the world from the Pleistocene times until today. The volume includes 19 contributions and is organized into four thematic sections: 1) The Palaeolithic record, 2) A view of the evidence, 3) Elephants in past human nutrition, and 4) Ethnography – Human-elephant interactions in recent Africa. Collectively, the volume not only showcases the current state of knowledge, but also intends to provoke renewed interest for current and further research, and build an interdisciplinary and synthetic understanding of the significance of proboscideans throughout human evolution. Wed, 14 Apr 2021 00:00:00 GMT http://hdl.handle.net/10900/114229 2021-04-14T00:00:00Z http://hdl.handle.net/10900/114228 Human-elephant interactions from past to present: an introduction Konidaris, George E.; Barkai, Ran; Tourloukis, Vangelis; Harvati, Katerina In this introductory chapter of the interdisciplinary volume “Human-elephant interactions: from past to present”, we provide the background and the main questions of the archaeological, paleoanthropological and ethnographic studies that examine this field of ​​research. In addition, we describe the objectives and the thematic sections of the book, and for each section we present the current status of investigations. Finally, we conduct a brief description of the chapters, presenting their subject and their main research results. Wed, 14 Apr 2021 00:00:00 GMT http://hdl.handle.net/10900/114228 2021-04-14T00:00:00Z http://hdl.handle.net/10900/114227 An embarrassment of riches: the ontological aspect of meat and fat harvesting among subarctic hunters Tanner, Adrian If we hypothesize that Pleistocene hunters un- derstood animals to be self-aware other-than-hu- man persons, as contemporary hunter-gatherers tend to do, what evidence of this kind of rela- tionship might appear the material record? While the “turn to ontology” within anthropology has mainly used, as evidence, a group’s consciously held ideas, part of a people’s assumptions about reality are unconscious, and revealed only in be- havior. The chapter examines the potential of the ethnographic analogy, using the example of some contemporary North American subarctic hunters. In particular, I look at how their ontological as- sumptions are reflected in their material culture, such as in their treatment of animal bones, their pictographs and other decorations, their venera- tion of particular rocks, and the significance they attach to certain colors. Wed, 14 Apr 2021 00:00:00 GMT http://hdl.handle.net/10900/114227 2021-04-14T00:00:00Z