{"id":189395,"date":"2025-04-17T18:33:14","date_gmt":"2025-04-17T18:33:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/peraltafinancing.com\/anthropology\/ritual-memory-and-the-decline-of-a-giant-bird\/"},"modified":"2025-04-17T18:33:14","modified_gmt":"2025-04-17T18:33:14","slug":"ritual-memory-and-the-decline-of-a-giant-bird","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=189395","title":{"rendered":"Ritual, Memory, and the Decline of a Giant Bird"},"content":{"rendered":"<p> <br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div dir=\"auto\">\n<p><span>In the shadows of the Beni-Snassen Mountains, tucked into a cave called Taforalt, archaeologists have been piecing together an unexpected story about the rituals of late Pleistocene humans. Not just about who they buried\u2014but what they buried with them. Among the artifacts and bones of those interred are the carefully butchered remains of <\/span><em>Otis tarda<\/em><span>, the great bustard, a bird that once roamed the open plains of North Africa in numbers.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Now, researchers say<\/span><span>, those bones tell a story not just about a species in decline, but about a species\u2014our own\u2014trying to make meaning of life and death.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>The great bustard is not an easy bird to ignore. Males can weigh up to 18 kilograms, placing them among the heaviest animals capable of flight. Their courtship displays are as elaborate as their plumage, and their preferred habitat\u2014open grasslands\u2014makes them conspicuous. Today, only a handful survive in Morocco, their population isolated and critically endangered.<\/p>\n<p>But 15,000 years ago, the bird was more than just a presence on the plains. In the archaeological layers of Taforalt, also known as Grotte des Pigeons, researchers have unearthed not only bustard bones, but strong evidence of their ritual use.<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p>\u201cThe repeated presence of butchered bustard remains in the graves suggests a deliberate and symbolic act,\u201d said ornithologist Joanne Cooper of the Natural History Museum in London. \u201cIt wasn\u2019t casual consumption. These birds were selected and prepared for something more meaningful.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>The burials at Taforalt are some of the oldest known in Africa, dating back nearly 15,000 years. Dozens of human skeletons have been found there, some seated, some accompanied by grave goods\u2014and, in certain cases, pieces of great bustards.<\/p>\n<p>One such grave, identified as Individual 14, contained a large male bustard&#8217;s sternum, bearing precise cut marks. It was laid beside the human\u2019s legs, likely placed there with intention. Another bustard bone from the cave carries what appears to be a human bite mark\u2014puncture wounds made by upper canines, with no matching indent from the incisors, a detail consistent with the local cultural practice of tooth evulsion.<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p>\u201cThe positioning of these remains, and the anatomical locations of the cuts, point to a specific way of processing and consuming the birds,\u201d said Cooper. \u201cIt resembles the kind of structured feasting we associate with ritual contexts.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<div class=\"captioned-image-container\">\n<figure><a class=\"image-link image2 is-viewable-img\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/substackcdn.com\/image\/fetch\/f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep\/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F7aecca7f-355c-4340-a4dd-1ef9806eeadb_1819x2590.jpeg\" data-component-name=\"Image2ToDOM\" rel=\"\"><\/p>\n<div class=\"image2-inset\"><picture><source type=\"image\/webp\" srcset=\"https:\/\/substackcdn.com\/image\/fetch\/w_424,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep\/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F7aecca7f-355c-4340-a4dd-1ef9806eeadb_1819x2590.jpeg 424w, https:\/\/substackcdn.com\/image\/fetch\/w_848,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep\/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F7aecca7f-355c-4340-a4dd-1ef9806eeadb_1819x2590.jpeg 848w, https:\/\/substackcdn.com\/image\/fetch\/w_1272,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep\/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F7aecca7f-355c-4340-a4dd-1ef9806eeadb_1819x2590.jpeg 1272w, https:\/\/substackcdn.com\/image\/fetch\/w_1456,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep\/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F7aecca7f-355c-4340-a4dd-1ef9806eeadb_1819x2590.jpeg 1456w\" sizes=\"100vw\"\/><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/substackcdn.com\/image\/fetch\/w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep\/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F7aecca7f-355c-4340-a4dd-1ef9806eeadb_1819x2590.jpeg\" width=\"1456\" height=\"2073\" data-attrs=\"{&quot;src&quot;:&quot;https:\/\/substack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com\/public\/images\/7aecca7f-355c-4340-a4dd-1ef9806eeadb_1819x2590.jpeg&quot;,&quot;srcNoWatermark&quot;:null,&quot;fullscreen&quot;:null,&quot;imageSize&quot;:null,&quot;height&quot;:2073,&quot;width&quot;:1456,&quot;resizeWidth&quot;:null,&quot;bytes&quot;:548220,&quot;alt&quot;:null,&quot;title&quot;:null,&quot;type&quot;:&quot;image\/jpeg&quot;,&quot;href&quot;:null,&quot;belowTheFold&quot;:true,&quot;topImage&quot;:false,&quot;internalRedirect&quot;:&quot;https:\/\/www.anthropology.net\/i\/161536815?img=https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F7aecca7f-355c-4340-a4dd-1ef9806eeadb_1819x2590.jpeg&quot;,&quot;isProcessing&quot;:false,&quot;align&quot;:null}\" class=\"sizing-normal\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/substackcdn.com\/image\/fetch\/w_424,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep\/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F7aecca7f-355c-4340-a4dd-1ef9806eeadb_1819x2590.jpeg 424w, https:\/\/substackcdn.com\/image\/fetch\/w_848,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep\/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F7aecca7f-355c-4340-a4dd-1ef9806eeadb_1819x2590.jpeg 848w, https:\/\/substackcdn.com\/image\/fetch\/w_1272,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep\/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F7aecca7f-355c-4340-a4dd-1ef9806eeadb_1819x2590.jpeg 1272w, https:\/\/substackcdn.com\/image\/fetch\/w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep\/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F7aecca7f-355c-4340-a4dd-1ef9806eeadb_1819x2590.jpeg 1456w\" sizes=\"auto, 100vw\" loading=\"lazy\"\/><\/picture><\/div>\n<p><\/a><figcaption class=\"image-caption\"><span>Multiple grouped cut-marks, indicated with arrows, on fossil Great Bustard <\/span><em>Otis tarda<\/em><span> proximal right humerus fragment TAF-13263 (cranial view). Cuts continue over articular surface. Scale in centimetres. Photo: J. H. Cooper.<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<p>The birds were not abundant in the mountains surrounding the cave. Early humans would have had to travel across the plains to hunt them, then haul their massive carcasses back up to the burial site. That effort suggests intentionality\u2014a ceremonial behavior involving food, memory, and perhaps, offerings to the dead.<\/p>\n<p>The evidence from Taforalt does more than document the diet of early North Africans. It helps resolve a long-standing question about the great bustard\u2019s status in the region. Some researchers had argued that the species was a relatively recent arrival in Morocco, perhaps crossing over from Iberia in historic times.<\/p>\n<div class=\"captioned-image-container\">\n<figure><a class=\"image-link image2 is-viewable-img\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/substackcdn.com\/image\/fetch\/f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep\/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F21cd77dc-8fd2-42de-8aad-1b9a06a72c70_1819x1392.jpeg\" data-component-name=\"Image2ToDOM\" rel=\"\"><\/p>\n<div class=\"image2-inset\"><picture><source type=\"image\/webp\" srcset=\"https:\/\/substackcdn.com\/image\/fetch\/w_424,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep\/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F21cd77dc-8fd2-42de-8aad-1b9a06a72c70_1819x1392.jpeg 424w, https:\/\/substackcdn.com\/image\/fetch\/w_848,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep\/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F21cd77dc-8fd2-42de-8aad-1b9a06a72c70_1819x1392.jpeg 848w, https:\/\/substackcdn.com\/image\/fetch\/w_1272,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep\/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F21cd77dc-8fd2-42de-8aad-1b9a06a72c70_1819x1392.jpeg 1272w, https:\/\/substackcdn.com\/image\/fetch\/w_1456,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep\/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F21cd77dc-8fd2-42de-8aad-1b9a06a72c70_1819x1392.jpeg 1456w\" sizes=\"100vw\"\/><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/substackcdn.com\/image\/fetch\/w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep\/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F21cd77dc-8fd2-42de-8aad-1b9a06a72c70_1819x1392.jpeg\" width=\"1456\" height=\"1114\" data-attrs=\"{&quot;src&quot;:&quot;https:\/\/substack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com\/public\/images\/21cd77dc-8fd2-42de-8aad-1b9a06a72c70_1819x1392.jpeg&quot;,&quot;srcNoWatermark&quot;:null,&quot;fullscreen&quot;:null,&quot;imageSize&quot;:null,&quot;height&quot;:1114,&quot;width&quot;:1456,&quot;resizeWidth&quot;:null,&quot;bytes&quot;:321306,&quot;alt&quot;:null,&quot;title&quot;:null,&quot;type&quot;:&quot;image\/jpeg&quot;,&quot;href&quot;:null,&quot;belowTheFold&quot;:true,&quot;topImage&quot;:false,&quot;internalRedirect&quot;:&quot;https:\/\/www.anthropology.net\/i\/161536815?img=https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F21cd77dc-8fd2-42de-8aad-1b9a06a72c70_1819x1392.jpeg&quot;,&quot;isProcessing&quot;:false,&quot;align&quot;:null}\" class=\"sizing-normal\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/substackcdn.com\/image\/fetch\/w_424,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep\/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F21cd77dc-8fd2-42de-8aad-1b9a06a72c70_1819x1392.jpeg 424w, https:\/\/substackcdn.com\/image\/fetch\/w_848,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep\/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F21cd77dc-8fd2-42de-8aad-1b9a06a72c70_1819x1392.jpeg 848w, https:\/\/substackcdn.com\/image\/fetch\/w_1272,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep\/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F21cd77dc-8fd2-42de-8aad-1b9a06a72c70_1819x1392.jpeg 1272w, https:\/\/substackcdn.com\/image\/fetch\/w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep\/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F21cd77dc-8fd2-42de-8aad-1b9a06a72c70_1819x1392.jpeg 1456w\" sizes=\"auto, 100vw\" loading=\"lazy\"\/><\/picture><\/div>\n<p><\/a><figcaption class=\"image-caption\"><span>Probable human upper canine punctures in Great Bustard <\/span><em>Otis tarda<\/em><span> proximal right humerus TAF-13330, cranial surface. Measurement distance (a) 36.0\u2009mm (b) 44.4\u2009mm. Scale in centimetres. Photo: J. H. Cooper.<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<p>Radiocarbon dating of the bustard bones\u2014many with signs of juvenile development, indicating year-round hunting\u2014places them squarely within the Late Pleistocene. The birds were not only present but breeding locally, and they appear to have been a familiar part of the landscape and cultural imagination.<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p>\u201cThis assemblage confirms that great bustards were a long-term, native part of Morocco\u2019s fauna,\u201d Cooper noted. \u201cThey weren\u2019t just hunted. They were known.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>Today, the Moroccan population of great bustards numbers fewer than 80 individuals, confined to a tiny range near Tangier. While the birds have survived for millennia, human pressures\u2014habitat loss, hunting, and more recently, collisions with power lines\u2014are pushing them toward disappearance.<\/p>\n<p>Ironically, their oldest known interaction with humans was one of reverence.<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p>\u201cUnderstanding that these birds held cultural and possibly spiritual meaning for our ancestors might help build modern conservation support,\u201d said Cooper. \u201cThey were part of people\u2019s identity, not just their subsistence.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>If early humans could expend energy to transport and prepare these birds for burial feasts, perhaps today\u2019s societies can mobilize to protect the last of them.<\/p>\n<ol>\n<li>\n<p><strong>Munro, N.D. &amp; Grosman, L. (2010).<\/strong><br \/><span>Early evidence (ca. 12,000 B.P.) for feasting at a burial cave in Israel. <\/span><em>Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences<\/em><span>, 107(35), 15362\u201315366.<\/span><br \/><span>https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1073\/pnas.1001809107<\/span><\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n<p><strong>Alonso, J.C., et al. (2009).<\/strong><br \/><span>Genetic diversity of the great bustard in Iberia and Morocco: risks from current population fragmentation. <\/span><em>Conservation Genetics<\/em><span>, 10, 379\u2013390.<\/span><br \/><span>https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1007\/s10592-008-9580-9<\/span><\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n<p><strong>Humphrey, L.T., et al. (2012).<\/strong><br \/><span>Iberomaurusian funerary behaviour: Evidence from Grotte des Pigeons, Taforalt, Morocco. <\/span><em>Journal of Human Evolution<\/em><span>, 62(2), 261\u2013273.<\/span><br \/><span>https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1016\/j.jhevol.2011.11.001<\/span><\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<\/div>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>In the shadows of the Beni-Snassen Mountains, tucked into a cave called Taforalt, archaeologists have been piecing together an unexpected story about the rituals of late Pleistocene humans. Not just about who they buried\u2014but what they buried with them. Among the artifacts and bones of those interred are the carefully butchered remains of Otis tarda, [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":189396,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11767],"tags":[3029,17971,2471,583,25122],"dealstore":[],"offerexpiration":[],"class_list":["post-189395","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-anthropology","tag-bird","tag-decline","tag-giant","tag-memory","tag-ritual"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v26.4 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Ritual, Memory, and the Decline of a Giant Bird - Som2ny Network<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=189395\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Ritual, Memory, and the Decline of a Giant Bird - Som2ny Network\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"In the shadows of the Beni-Snassen Mountains, tucked into a cave called Taforalt, archaeologists have been piecing together an unexpected story about the rituals of late Pleistocene humans. 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Som2ny Network","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=189395","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Ritual, Memory, and the Decline of a Giant Bird - Som2ny Network","og_description":"In the shadows of the Beni-Snassen Mountains, tucked into a cave called Taforalt, archaeologists have been piecing together an unexpected story about the rituals of late Pleistocene humans. Not just about who they buried\u2014but what they buried with them. 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