Brown Hyena

The brown hyena (Parahyaena brunnea), the striped hyena (Hyaena hyaena), and the spotted hyena all belong to the subfamily Hyaeninae, which includes all of the extinct and extant bone-cracking hyenas.

From: Encyclopedia of Animal Behavior , 2010

Comparative Reproduction

Christine M. Drea , ... Stephen E. Glickman , in Encyclopedia of Reproduction (Second Edition), 2018

Striped Hyenas and Brown Hyenas

Striped and brown hyenas are the most closely related and, consequently, the most similar in their reproductive biology. They are of roughly equal size and longevity, and have similar lifestyles in that both are solitary foragers and scavengers. In contrast to the aardwolf, these two species are aseasonal breeders, with females being polyestrous. Neonatal mass in striped and brown hyenas is at least threefold that in the aardwolf, but cubs of all three species are born with their eyes closed. Although striped and brown hyenas have multiple pairs of teats, only the two caudal pairs are functional.

The most prominent differences in reproduction between striped and brown hyenas are evidenced by adult behavior. Although behaviorally solitary, for breeding purposes striped hyenas form short-term, pair bonds or even polyandrous groups of up to three adult males per single adult female. Multiple paternity is likely and the resulting 'family' unit may endure for several years. There is biparental care as both sexes provision the young. The 'single family' approach of striped hyenas contrasts with the 'cooperative venture' of brown hyenas. The latter occur in small social groups in which members are related to each other. Females mate with nongroup-living, nomadic males; nevertheless, resident males provide care for the young they did not sire. Mothers are also cooperative, suckling the cubs of other females along with their own. All clan members participate in provisioning of the cubs (see Fig. 3(B)).

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Volume 4

Marion L. East , in Encyclopedia of Animal Behavior (Second Edition), 2019

Brown Hyena

The reproductive behavior of the brown hyena has been described for one population in the southern Kalahari ( Mills, 1990) and another in the central Kalahari (Owen and Owen, 1996) in southern Africa. Brown hyenas mostly forage solitarily within a large area but several animals can gather to feed on a large carcass (Mills, 2013). Brown hyena clans are small, containing fewer than 14 animals (Mills, 1982a, 1983). Adult members of a clan scent mark their territory by frequently pasting anal scent gland secretions of two types on vegetation within their territory (Mills, 1990). There are also nomadic males and solitary females that are not associated with a clan (Mills, 1990, 2013; Owen and Owen, 1996). These are thought to be animals that have dispersed from their natal clan and are waiting for the opportunity to immigrate into another clan (in the case of males), or females looking for a vacant area in which they can settle and hence establish a new clan (Mills, 1990). The social structure of clans in the southern Kalahari differs from that in central Kalahari, possibly because of ecological differences between these areas (Mills, 2013). In the southern Kalahari there is no clear dominance relationships between members of a clan (Mills, 1990) whereas clans in the central Kalahari have separate male and female linear dominance hierarchies in which the top ranking female holds a similar status to the top ranking immigrant male (Owen and Owen, 1996). Generally, adult females either disperse to reproduce elsewhere or they remain in their natal clan. Hence adult females in a clan are likely to be close relatives (mothers and daughters) and indeed genetic profiling of brown hyenas in Namibia has revealed a closer degree of genetic relatedness among female clan members than between females from different clans (Knowles et al., 2009). Females within a clan rear their litters (of 1–4 cubs) together in the same den and mothers may nurse cubs that are not their genetic offspring. Furthermore, female clan members help provision young at the den with solid food whether or not they have cubs (Mills, 1982b, 1990; Owen and Owen, 1984). Male brown hyenas may remain in their natal clan for a long period after they attain adulthood and they too help provision cubs at the den. Adult males may emigrate from their natal clan to lead a nomadic existence or they may join another clan as an immigrant male. Microsatellite profiling of brown hyenas in Namibia revealed that the cubs within a clan are sired by more than one male, thereby providing evidence that the top-ranking male in a clan does not monopolize the paternity of offspring born in their clan (Knowles et al., 2009). Presumably, matings observed between clan females and nomadic males (Mills, 1982b) may result in offspring sired by males that are not clan members. It is possible that young clan females mate with nomadic males to reduce their chance of mating with their father, and if the ranges of nomadic male do not encompass their natal clan territory, adult females that mate with nomadic males will avoid the cost of inbreeding with dispersed older brothers.

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Hyaenidae

William Kirk Suedmeyer , in Fowler's Zoo and Wild Animal Medicine, Volume 8, 2015

Restraint

All species of hyena require chemical restraint for examination. In general, remote delivery systems work well, although smaller individuals may be hand-injected through the use of a standard restraint device. The drugs of choice when immobilizing hyenas are listed in Table 51-3. 4,7,10,14,15,20 Hyenas should be administered injections into the shoulders, forelimbs, or neck, whenever possible.

Field Immobilization of the Brown Hyena in Southern Namibia

Field immobilization techniques for the brown hyena are rarely reported in the literature. 15 A working knowledge of the natural history and behavior of this animal facilitates its successful capture. The brown hyena is a nocturnal, silent, solitary forager. 15 However, large carcasses attract several hyenas. As opposed to the spotted hyena, brown hyenas generally feed singly, rather than in groups, even on larger carcasses. Individuals wait in the distance until the conspecific finishes (Wiesel, personal communication). In most instances, black-backed jackals (Canis mesomelas) arrive at the bait first; vocalization of larger groups of jackals may attract hyenas to the site. Jackals will commonly signal a hyena's approach by nervously looking in the direction of the hyena.

Camouflage, a low-profile silhouette, and absolute stillness are required for success of immobilization of hyenas. Use of advanced lighting, in the form of infrared technology, facilitates darting. Commercially available remote delivery systems work well, and dart placement is paramount to success. A well-placed dart in the neck or shoulder affords consistent success. A combination of ketamine (2–3 milligrams per kilogram [mg/kg]) with medetomidine (0.035–0.045 mg/kg) is effective within 3 minutes and causes recumbency of the animal within 7 minutes on average. 22 This combination provides rapid smooth induction, good muscle relaxation, stable heart rate and rhythm, slight to moderate pytalism, and 40 to 50 minutes of stable anesthesia. Pulse oximetry trends are undetectable initially (Figure 51-4) but elevate to the mid-90th percentile 20 to 30 minutes after induction without supplementary oxygen, 22 although supplemental oxygen is advisable, if available. Regurgitation is common upon reversal in field situations; this is likely caused by ingestion of bait just prior to immobilization. Application of a bland ophthalmic ointment protects the eyes during times of blowing sand and debris. Covering the eyes and placing plugs in the ear canal also assists in providing consistent recumbency (Figure 51-5). On occasion, an anesthetized hyena may require 30 to 40 mg of supplemental ketamine administered intramuscularly to facilitate completion of medical procedures. Reversal is achieved with atipamezole at five times the dose of medetomidine. Atipamezole given intramuscularly produces reliable recovery within 5 to 10 minutes. Blepharospasm, followed by purposeful movement of the head and cervical spine, is an indication of impending recovery. In general, the hyena ambulates away with mild ataxia, which rapidly resolves to normal ambulation within an additional 3 to 5 minutes. It is important to wait at least 50-60 minutes from induction, if possible, before reversal to achieve an uncomplicated, smooth recovery. It is advisable to monitor the hyena until complete recovery as black-backed jackals (Canis mesomelas) or other brown hyenas may injure the hyena until it is fully recovered. 22 Recovery without reversal is prolonged, up to 90 minutes in undisturbed individuals.

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The Nervous Systems of Early Mammals and Their Evolution

S.T. Sakai , B.M. Arsznov , in Evolution of Nervous Systems (Second Edition), 2017

2.20.4.1 Family Hyaenidae

The four extant species in Hyaenidae vary in sociality ranging from the most social spotted hyena (Crocuta crocuta ), to the brown hyena ( Hyaena brunnea) noted for living in small groups of up to 14 individuals, to the sometimes solitary to small group living striped hyena (Hyaena hyaena), and lastly to the aardwolf (Proteles cristata) that pair-bonds during breeding season but is otherwise solitary. An interspecific analysis of the influence of social complexity on relative and regional brain size within the carnivore family Hyaenidae revealed that among the four extant species, the highly gregarious spotted hyena (C. crocuta) possesses the largest brain volume relative to body size and the greatest ratio of frontal cortex to total brain volume compared to the less social hyena species (Sakai et al., 2011a). Both relative brain size and relative frontal cortex volume increased with group size in the hyaenid species (Fig. 4).

Figure 4. Relative frontal cortex (AC) volume (to total endocranial volume) in four hyaenid species differing in sociality: aardwolf (pair-bonds), striped hyena (sometimes solitary or lives in small groups), brown hyena (group size of up to 14 individuals), and spotted hyena (clans of up to 90 individuals). Error bars indicate ±1 SEM. Relative AC volume is significantly greater in spotted hyenas compared to the other hyena species (p  =   .001). A lateral view of the endocast and skull for each species is shown above each bar.

These data in the Hyaenidae are consistent with the social brain hypothesis (Dunbar, 1998). It is notable that spotted hyenas share many similarities in social organization with cercopithecine primates (Holekamp et al., 2007). Spotted hyenas live in fission–fusion groups consisting of upward of 90 individuals. These groups, called clans, are both matrilineally and hierarchically organized. Members may form groups or remain solitary depending on resources and activities. In addition, individuals show the ability to recognize third-party relationships and discriminate between individual group members during coalition formation (Holekamp et al., 2007). The high degree of social complexity in the spotted hyena may impose greater cognitive demands and be associated with the relatively larger brain and expansion of frontal cortex. Although there are no studies on frontal cortex functions in the spotted hyena, frontal cortex has been implicated in behavioral inhibition in the dog (Brutkowski, 1965). Inhibiting a conditioned response by exerting impulse control is functionally linked to frontal cortex. Inhibitory control is especially important in negotiating a complex hierarchical society as that of the spotted hyena. Since access to food and mates is determined by rank, an individual may dominate over lower-ranking individuals but must also refrain from attacking a higher-ranking individual. Rank within the hierarchy is an important social information, and spotted hyenas retain this information throughout their life (Holekamp et al., 2007).

At the same time, these findings in Hyaenidae may also be explained by differences in cognitive complexity other than social information processing. Foraging strategies vary between hyena species in a manner consistent with these data. Spotted hyenas obtain most of their food by hunting medium to large size antelope (Kruuk, 1972). Striped and brown hyenas mainly forage for carrion and aardwolves forage for termites (Holekamp and Kolowski, 2009). The cognitive demands associated with predation on ungulates are expected to be greater than those related to either scavenging on carrion or foraging for termites. Whether increased brain size including frontal cortex volume is due to differences in sociality or cognitive complexity cannot be determined based on studies of this small carnivore family. Additional family-level comparisons will be helpful in determining the relationship of social complexity and brain variations.

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Volume 3

Jennifer E. Smith , Kay E. Holekamp , in Encyclopedia of Animal Behavior (Second Edition), 2019

Members of Hyaenidae and Their Ecological Niches

The four extant hyena species occupy three different feeding niches (Wilson and Russell, 2009 ). Aardwolves are strict insectivores, striped and brown hyenas feed mainly on carrion, and spotted hyenas are efficient predators that feed mainly on medium- and large-sized antelope they kill themselves. Although all four species may spend considerable time with conspecifics each day, all are strictly solitary foragers except for spotted hyenas, which may hunt alone or in large groups ( Kruuk, 1972; Mills, 1990; Holekamp et al., 1997). The spotted hyena is still widely regarded as a scavenger that picks up leftovers at the kills of other sympatric carnivores (e.g., cheetah, leopard, or lion) or feeds on carrion. However, this is incorrect. Although spotted hyenas do scavenge opportunistically, they are efficient hunters, and directly kill 60%–95% of the food they eat (Holekamp and Dloniak, 2010) (Fig. 1). Spotted hyenas are impressively versatile in their choice of prey and use a number of different hunting techniques (Kruuk, 1972; Mills, 1990; Holekamp et al., 1997).

Fig. 1

Fig. 1. Unlike their carrion-feeding ancestors, spotted hyenas are efficient hunters that directly kill 60%–95% of the prey they consume. These specialized hunters are capable of successfully capturing prey nearly three times their own size, by themselves, including this adult wildebeest (Photo by Heather E. Watts).

All three species of bone-cracking hyenas are capable of eating and digesting all parts of their prey except hair, hooves, and the keratin sheath on antelope horns (Wilson and Russell, 2009). Bones are digested so completely that only the inorganic components are excreted in the hyena's fecal material. In fact, the feces of the spotted hyena are usually bright white with powdered bone matrix when they dry (Kruuk, 1972; Mills, 1990). Bone-cracking hyenas, particularly the spotted hyena, can generate enormous bite forces (Tanner et al., 2008). In fact, wild spotted hyenas can even break open the leg bones of giraffe (Kruuk, 1972).

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Sarcocystidae

Donald W. Duszynski , ... R. Scott Seville , in The Biology and Identification of the Coccidia (Apicomplexa) of Carnivores of the World, 2018

Genus Hyaena Brisson, 1762 (2 Species)

Hyaena brunnea Thunberg, 1820 (syn. Parahyaena brunnea Werdelin and Solounias, 1991), Brown Hyena

Hammondia. No records in the literature, yet.

Neospora. Sedlák and Bártová (2006a) examined carnivores in zoos in the Czech and Slovak Republics using the IFAT and did not find antibodies to N. caninum in three brown hyenas (which they called P. brunnea) they examined.

Toxoplasma gondii. Sedlák and Bártová (2006a) examined carnivores in zoos in the Czech and Slovak Republics using the IFAT and found antibodies to T. gondii in 3/3 (100%) brown hyenas sampled.

Hyaena hyaena (L., 1758), Striped Hyena

Hammondia. No records in the literature, yet.

Neospora. No records in the literature, yet.

Toxoplasma gondii. Dubey et al. (2010a)surveyed the sera of many carnivores at the BCEAW, Sharjah, UAE, and found antibodies to T. gondii in 3/6 (50%) striped hyenas.

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Sexually Dimorphic Dispersal in Mammals: Patterns, Causes, and Consequences

Laura Smale , ... Kay E. Holekamp , in Advances in the Study of Behavior, 1997

A BIOLOGY OF THE SPOTTED HYENA

Spotted hyenas, which occur throughout sub-Saharan Africa, are members of the carnivore family Hyaenidae. This family also contains the striped hyena (Hyaena hyaena), the brown hyaena (H. brunnea), and the aardwolf (Proteles cristatus). Crocuta differ from the other members of this family in a variety of ways, many of which are related to the fact that only Crocuta regularly hunt ungulates larger than themselves. In contrast to other hyenas, Crocuta are generalists that exploit not only carrion or invertebrates, but also live ungulate prey (Kruuk, 1972). Compared to other Hyaenidae, Crocuta can thus live at extremely high densities, and the size of their social groups, called clans, can exceed 100 individuals in the prey-rich savannahs of eastern Africa. Crocuta live in fission–fusion societies in which all clan members recognize each other, defend a common territory against members of neighboring clans, and rear their cubs at a single communal den (Kruuk, 1972). Although individual hyenas spend much of their time alone or in small groups, particularly when foraging, they join together during territorial defense, interactions with lions and other competitors, and at kills. The carcasses of large ungulates represent extremely rich but ephemeral food patches that occur unpredictably in space and time. In dealing with these precious food resources within their social groups, Crocuta confront a problem not faced by other hyena species: intense competition over access to carcasses. The extraordinary intensity of Crocuta's feeding competition is undoubtedly responsible for many of the unique features of the biology of this species.

Each Crocuta clan is structured by a rigid linear dominance hierarchy (Kruuk, 1972; Tilson and Hamilton, 1984; Frank, 1986b). An individual's position in the clan's hierarchy influences virtually every facet of its existence, including access to food, association patterns, space-use patterns, and many aspects of reproductive performance (Frank, Holekamp, and Smale, 1995; Holekamp, et al., in press; Holekamp, Smale, and Szykman, in press; Mills, 1990). For example, high-ranking females bear their first litters at younger ages, experience shorter interlitter intervals, and enjoy longer reproductive life-spans than do lower ranking females. Female Crocuta are more aggressive than are males in a variety of contexts, particularly those associated with the acquisition or maintenance of social rank. Females are also approximately 10% larger than males, and their external genitalia are heavily masculinized, such that the clitoris is modified to form a fully erectile pseudo-penis, and the vaginal labia form structures closely resembling the male's scrotum (Matthews, 1939). This syndrome of behavioral and morphological masculinization of female Crocuta is associated with a unique pattern of exposure to androgens, both before and after birth (Glickman, Frank, Pavgi, and Licht, 1992; Licht et al., 1992). Males reach reproductive maturity at approximately 24 months, and most females first conceive in their fourth year. Life-span among free-living hyenas may exceed 18 years (Frank et al., 1995).

Crocuta clans contain two classes of individuals: natal animals and immigrants. Natal animals include adult resident females and their offspring, whereas immigrants are exclusively adult males. All males disperse from their natal clans, but female dispersal is relatively rare (Henschel and Skinner, 1987). Within a clan all natal animals are ranked above all immigrants (Smale, Frank, and Holekamp, 1993). Among natal animals, dominance is determined by maternal rank such that young animals are ranked just below their mothers (Holekamp and Smale, 1993; Smale et al., 1993). By the time they are 12–18 months old, youngsters' ranks, in relation to both peers and larger hyenas, are isomorphic with those of their mothers. A strict pattern of youngest ascendancy exists within matrilines, and young Crocuta outrank their older siblings by the time they are 9 months old (Holekamp and Smale, 1993). Both within and between matrilines, rank relations are importantly influenced by mothers' interventions on behalf of their cubs. Social rank among immigrant males is highly correlated with immigrants' tenure in their new clans, such that those arriving first dominate those arriving later (Fig. 1).

Fig. 1. Rank ordering of immigrant male hyenas present in Talek in 1993, as a function of their tenure in the clan. With few exceptions, those males that arrived earliest outranked later arrivals. Rank relations between two pairs of males were unknown, those ranked fourth and sixth. Results from 1993 were typical of results from all other years.

The maintenance of rank relationships within a clan is associated with high rates of low-intensity, ritualized aggression. More intense aggressive behavior is seen less frequently, and its occurrence is restricted to a few specific contexts. Unrestrained aggression occurs during the process of intralitter rank acquisition (Frank, Glickman, and Licht, 1991; Smale, Holekamp, Weldele, Frank, and Glickman, 1995), and on rare occasions when members of a low-ranking matriline join together to challenge members of a higher ranking matriline (eg., Mills, 1990). Rank reversals among immigrant males may involve similarly extreme aggression. Finally, unrestrained, high-intensity aggression often occurs during interactions between members of different clans (Kruuk, 1972; Holekamp, Ogutu, Frank, Dublin, and Smale, 1993). Clan wars can be deadly, and intense aggression directed toward outsiders may represent an important barrier to dispersal.

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Procyonidae, Viverridae, Hyenidae, Herpestidae, Eupleridae, and Prionodontidae

Molly E. Church , ... M. Kevin Keel , in Pathology of Wildlife and Zoo Animals, 2018

Introduction

This chapter covers the diseases and pathology of multiple taxonomic groups within the order Carnivora including Procyonidae and several of the Feliformia carnivores. There is also considerable overlap in disease susceptibility between these groups and with the Felidae and Canidae (See Chapters 9 and 10 9 10 ). Feliformia carnivores include the Hyenidae (spotted, striped, and brown hyenas as well as aardwolf), Viverridae (civets, binturongs, genets, and linsang), Prionodontidae (a monogeneric family of linsangs), Eupleridae (which includes fossa, civets, mongoose, and falanouc), and Herpestidae (which includes mongoose and meerkats) (Zhou et al., 2017). A notable feature of the feliform carnivores is a double chambered auditory bulla composed of two bones joined by a septum (Ewer, 1973). Many of these species are listed as vulnerable or endangered (see Supplemental Materials Table e1) due to habitat loss and hunting.

The procyonids include the raccoons, kinkajous, coatis, ring-tail cat, and olingos. These groups are characterized by masked faces and banded tails and are native to the western hemisphere. With the exception of the near threatened olinguito, procyonids exist in stable numbers. Raccoons have adapted to life within urban and suburban environments and population numbers in some regions are increasing (Frantz et al., 2005).

Hyaenidae are largely restricted to Africa, the Arabian Peninsula, and Asia as far east as India. Although they have a similar quadrupedal, digitigrade form to members of the suborder Caniformia in the family Canidae, modern taxonomic revisions place Hyaenidae in the suborder Feliformia. Hyenas have a powerful build with somewhat long forelimbs; this disparity in limb length is most pronounced in the brown hyena. Hyena fur is coarse and lacks an undercoat, unlike most of the canids.

The majority of knowledge about disease pathogenesis for these species has been biased toward studies of raccoons in part due to overlapping habitat and disease susceptibility with domestic dogs and cats (Klinkowski-Clark and Kutilek, 2010). For the feliform groups in this chapter, susceptibility to and potential reservoir status of several species for diseases, such as avian influenza virus and coronaviruses (e.g., SARS) have recently received renewed scientific interest (Wicker et al., 2017). Several species are commonly displayed in zoological facilities.

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Interpersonal violence among Southern African foragers

Susan Pfeiffer , in Osteobiographies, 2022

The skeletal evidence

Healed cranial trauma

It is not unusual to find a localized indentation on an adult skull from the Later Stone Age. There is no geographic or temporal pattern to where they are found (Fig. 11.1). It is in the nature of diploic cranial bone (see Box 11.1) to remain indented after healing from a blow that deformed the bone surface. Occasionally, there is enough context to reconstruct to some extent how the injury occurred. One example is provided in Fig. B11.1, in which perhaps the injury can be linked to rockfall. Another example is a small, sharp-edged fragment of stone still embedded in the skull of a man who lived about 3000   years ago, suggesting a nonfatal encounter with a weapon (Pfeiffer, 2016; Pfeiffer, Harrington, & Lombard, 2019). If the point had poison applied to its sides, as was the practice in preparation for hunting (Deacon, 1992), this was indeed a close call. If the man was the intended victim of violence, the attack was inept in both its target zone and its efficacy. The rest of the man's skeleton shows signs of osteoarthritis reflecting vigorous activity and a long life, but no other features that signal interpersonal violence.

Fig. 11.1

Fig. 11.1. Map of the southern African coastline. The skulls with premortem trauma described here are widely dispersed, while the skeletons with perimortem trauma come from a more limited area in the southwest.

 (Source: Fig. 1, p. 29, Pfeiffer, S. (2016). An exploration of interpersonal violence among Holocene foragers of Southern Africa. International Journal of Palaeopathology, 13, 27–38. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijpp.2016.01.001.)

Fig. B11.1

Fig. B11.1. (A) The top of a man's skull (viewed from the right side), dated to about 3000   years ago, shows partial healing from a single blow with radiating cracks. The roughened bone surface at the point of impact shows that healing was incomplete at the time of his death (Pfeiffer, 2016). His remains were found in a rock shelter, like that shown on the right (B).

A hunter-gatherer would have faced various hazards presented by animals, including venomous snakes, poisonous plants and carnivores. The skull of a woman who lived along the south coast about 1400 years ago shows multiple healed puncture wounds. Most notable are two large, smooth-edged holes, one on each side of the frontal bone. There is a depression near one of the holes. Taken together, the three wounds are consistent with three of the four canines of a predatory animal. The inter-canine space and lever arm of a brown hyena fit the cranial damage well ( Pfeiffer, 2012, 2016). On the side where the temporal muscles would have been most badly damaged, the woman's jaws show dental destruction. There is less tooth wear one the more damaged side than on the other side. This is notable because it reinforces the evidence from the healed bone. The woman survived the attack and lived for quite a long time thereafter, although with compromised chewing and probably compromised speech. Modern evidence from such injuries suggests that mental function, too, could have been affected (Pfeiffer, 2016). How might one survive, when one's head was clenched in the jaws of a powerful predator? Surely a rescue by one or more people is a highly plausible guess.

Not all the healed cranial wounds can be attributed to accidents and dangers in the environment. Alan Morris and colleagues noted two indentations on the skull of a man who lived about 2400   years ago. Each is roughly oval in shape and has healed edges, although the original breakage is still clear. They look like they were caused by an object with a rounded profile—like a rod—brought down on his head with substantial force. The wounds are located toward the front, along what would have been the man's hair line. Their similar appearance and their shapes led the authors to conclude that the lesions were caused by interpersonal violence, from which the man recovered (Gibbon & Davies, 2020; Morris, Thackeray, & Thackeray, 1987).

These are examples of cranial trauma from which the victims recovered. Such instances reinforce what we would expect, namely that people encountered hazards in their daily lives. Sometimes their fellow humans were the source of the hazard, and sometimes their fellow humans may have saved them from further harm. Because of their disparate dates and unique features, they are not of much relevance to the question of whether organized interpersonal violence was a part of this hunter-gatherer society.

Unhealed cranial trauma

It would take quite a bit of force for a bone projectile point to penetrate through skin and muscle and lodge in the bone of a vertebra. The presence of three points in the spine of the woman buried at Quoin Point suggests an attack from close range on an unmoving victim. These features of close range, multiple "blows" delivered to a victim who seems an improbable combatant also apply to other discoveries.

Two other discoveries have these same features. The skeletons of a woman and a teen-aged girl were found, limbs in disarray, in a pit that had been closed with a large rock. Their skulls showed trauma consistent with the delivery of perforating and slashing blows, one gash showing an uneven breakage pattern consistent with a percussive blow from a flaked stone artifact. The woman's skull has an indentation to the left side of the skull consistent with blows to the right side while her head was resting against a stationary surface (Pfeiffer, van der Merwe, Parkington, & Yates, 1999). Again, there are multiple blows delivered at close range.

A third example is of three children, found buried together in a sand dune near the mouth of a river. A snapshot taken by the beachgoers who found the skeletons suggests that they were positioned in their grave with some care. The two older children (ages 6 and 12   years) were back-to-back, legs and arms folded in close, and the baby was at their feet. All three have cranial trauma. In this case, at least one of the weapons was a tube of round cross-section, like a digging stick. The skulls of the older children had been perforated multiple times (Pfeiffer & van der Merwe, 2004) (Fig. 11.2). The baby took a blow to the lower back of the head. We studied the long bone growth and the tooth development of the children. Their growth pattern had been normal. They had experienced only a few instances of growth disruption during the development of their tooth crowns (Harrington & Pfeiffer, 2016). They were not unusual in any biological respect. Once again, these victims appear to have been subjected to more physical violence than would have been needed, if the sole goal had been to kill them.

Fig. 11.2

Fig. 11.2. Line drawings illustrating the penetrating wounds on the skulls of children buried in a dune at the mouth of the Modder River; the older child above, the younger below. Shaded areas indicate absent bone, numbers indicate perimortem wounds.

 (Modified from Fig. 3, p. 61, Pfeiffer, S., & van der Merwe, N.J. (2004). Cranial injuries to Later Stone Age children from the Modder River Mouth, Southwestern Cape, South Africa. South African Archaeological Bulletin, 59(180), 59–65.)

There are other examples of cranial trauma from which the victim did not recover. In two cases, Lagoon Beach and Faraoskop, skeletons with perimortem cranial trauma were found buried with other skeletons that are lacking that evidence. Circumstantially, it seems likely that their co-burial signals collective deaths from interpersonal violence. And then there are instances that are more difficult to interpret, where a skull from an undocumented context appears to show perimortem trauma, or where a skeleton is found in a grave with a bone point very near the body, such that it could have delivered poison that caused death.

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