Cave sites,faunal analysis,and Big-Game Hunters of the Great Basin: A caution

Deposits of inferred natural origin excavated at Mineral Hill Cave, north-central Nevada, exhibit a similarity to the reported evidence for “Big-Game Hunters” from cave sites in the Great Basin. Split bone and charcoal were observed throughout the deposits. In addition, the remains of a number of animal taxa including several Pleistocene genera, which are considered to have been of economic importance, were recovered from the deposits. These findings suggest that the role of natural processes in cave deposition is of crucial importance in understanding cave-site archaeology.