ULAS
University of Leicester Archaeological Services

Glaston Early Upper Palaeolithic Project: The Animals

Spotted Hyena (Crocuta crocuta)

Right, the hyena den at Glaston (© Jane Brayne). In the background a woolly rhinoceros is brought down by a hunting pack.

The prehistoric spotted hyena was larger than its modern African counterpart but had similar physical characteristics such as heavily set shoulders, strong forelegs and powerful jaw combined with large, sharp teeth. They are territorial animals that live in large groups. Although often thought of as scavengers, hyenas are efficient hunters and use their strong jaws and sharp teeth to crush and break open bones so they can eat the bone and marrow. Hyenas also have strong digestive systems enabling them to digest bones, teeth, hair, tough skin and horn.

The direct evidence for hyenas at Glaston consisted of several teeth (both from adults and younger individuals) and preserved droppings (coprolites).

left, one of the few horse bones to show signs of hyena attention. Note the scalloped edges of the bone at the flat end, evidence of hyena chewing. Most remarkable is the hyena tooth which was clearly lost during chewing. With the strong jaws of the hyena this seems an unlikely thing to have happened, but could this be an indication that the bone was frozen when the hyena found it?

Indirect evidence for the presence of hyenas was more plentiful and came from gnawing marks on the remains of species they had feasted upon.

Right, limb bones from a woolly rhinoceros providing direct evidence for hyena activity at Glaston. The bones would originally have been up to three times the length but have been gnawed down to these characteristic ‘napkin rings’ to reach the marrow, after which they were discarded. The gnaw-marks can be clearly seen around the foremost edges of the bones.

The presence of both adult and juvenile hyena at Glaston indicates that the site was used as a den, the first open air example found from Britain.

The archaeological evidence from the site has shown that the hyenas were digging into the soft sand beneath the flat rocks to create burrows.

Left is an image of a remarkably well-preserved cross-section through the hyena burrow revealed. The burrow ended only inches beyond this section, a matter of feet away from the former quarry face.

Left, image of the burrow during excavation. This revealed a well-preserved profile and also provided a good illustration of the twisted ‘raspberry ripple’-like geology.