Recovering data from historical collections: stratigraphic and spatial reconstruction of the outstanding carnivoran record from the Late Pleistocene Equi cave (Apuane Alps, Italy)
Section snippets
Introduction and previous studies
The Equi Cave1
Materials and methods
The distribution of fossil remains was studied and the possible reconstruction of the site was created using a database of the historical information from the original labels and early papers, and a grid of the possible distribution of features superimposed on the original drawing and sketch of the cave by De Stefani (1917). Two open source software products were used: LibreOfficeCalc (version 3.4.6.3), for distribution probability analysis, and Inkscape (version 0.48), for map rendering. We
Re-evaluating and organising the historical data
Until the last 30–40 years, palaeontological excavations were usually characterised by the lack of standardised methodologies. In many cases, the sediments were subdivided into single cuts or the field workers just collected fossils, ignoring information regarding the exact locations of findings, the context and/or many other characteristics of the deposit.
An exception in the Italian scenario was De Stefani's methodology. During the excavation, he trained his collaborators to take notes of the
Discussion
The Equi cave and shelter contain a rich deposit that yielded an outstanding record of a Late Pleistocene (MIS 3) vertebrate assemblage. Until now, the fossils and the information regarding the excavations early in the 20th century had not been integrated. Thus the context was essentially lost, and it was impossible compare the early 20th century work with the new research started in 2009. The present study demonstrates the success of the attempt to relocate various fossils in the excavated
Conclusions
In this study, we demonstrate the importance of reconsidering historical materials stored in museums and the importance of the Equi site in the Italian context in terms of its richness in predators and their interactions.
We highlight the importance of a careful analysis of archive data for historical collections. The old collection from the Equi cave (1911–1917) was excavated using a careful stratigraphic approach and attention to their stratigraphic positions of the collected specimen. Merging
Acknowledgements
The revision of the paleontological collection from the Equi cave, is framed within a wider project aimed to the re-evaluation and valorisation of the historical Paleontological collections of the Museum of Natural History, University of Florence.
We are particularly indebted to E. Cioppi and S. Dominici (Geology and Palaeontology section, Museum of Natural History, University of Florence) for access to collections and profitable discussions, and to E. Paribeni (Soprintendenza per i Beni
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The remarkable Panthera pardus (Felidae, Mammalia) record from Equi (Massa, Italy): Taphonomy, morphology, and paleoecology
2015, Quaternary Science ReviewsCitation Excerpt :Until a recent re-evaluation analysis of the historical collection (Ghezzo et al., 2014b), the context was virtually ignored and a comparison with the new research (started since 2009) could not have been possible. On the basis of the available information from original labels in the Florence museum collection Ghezzo et al. (2014b) proved that there are not very remarkable differences in the distribution of large carnivores' anatomical elements through the stratigraphic record. Wolves and leopards were the most numerous animals in the site (not considering bear remains) and their distribution increases in the uppermost layers.
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