Distinguishing the taphonomic signature of wolves from humans and other predators on small prey assemblages

The study of human subsistence strategies in prehistoric hunter-gatherer communities is essential to understanding the evolution of human behaviour. An important topic of interest is the expansion of dietary breadth, resulting in the procurement of a larger number of small game species. However, to make accurate interpretations of human subsistence, the correct identification of the agents responsible for archaeofaunal assemblages is crucial, and actualistic studies that establish the taphonomic signature of the different predators are indispensable. Despite being one of the most ubiquitous carnivores in prehistoric archaeological sites, the role of wolves (Canis lupus) as agents responsible for small-prey accumulations has never been examined. The aims of this study are to analyse the taphonomic patterns left by wolves on rabbit remains and to put forward a series of criteria that can help distinguish assemblages produced by this carnivore from those accumulated by people or by other predators. Our results reveal that wolves ingest and consume the whole rabbit carcass, with the consequence that all rabbit remains accumulated by wolves come from the scats. The referential framework provided in this study will make it possible to discriminate wolves as agents of fossil rabbit accumulations.