Late Pleistocene cave bear from Niedźwiedzia Cave (Poland): its fate and preservation inferred from taphonomy, pathology, and geochemistry

This comprehensive study examines bone remains from Niedźwiedzia Cave in the Eastern Sudetes, offering detailed insights into the palaeobiology and adversities encountered by the Pleistocene cave bear Ursus spelaeus ingressus in the Śnieżnik Massif. Emphasising habitual cave use for hibernation and a primarily herbivorous diet, the findings attribute mortality to resource scarcity during hibernation and habitat fragmentation amid climate shifts. Taphonomic analysis identifies prolonged cave use by successive generations without predation impact yet underscores alkaline cave conditions influencing post-depositional processes. Mortality patterns, notably among juveniles, imply dwindling resources, indicative of environmental instability. Skeletal examination reveals a high incidence of forelimb fractures, indicating risks during activities like digging or confrontations. Palaeopathological evidence unveils vulnerabilities to tuberculosis, abscesses, rickets, and injuries, elucidating mobi..., (a) Palaeobiology and taphonomy
The study analysed 2122 cave bear cheek teeth from Niedźwiedzia Cave across seven areas, merging data from three nearby excavation sites for statistical analysis. Six areas underwent detailed examination following a comprehensive protocol (figure 2; Palaeobiology and taphonomy in electronic supplementary material, table S1). The analysis involved:

Anatomical and taxonomic identification, using statistical tests to detect biases and categorise teeth by developmental stages and distribution patterns.
Employing the minimum number of individuals (MNI) for individual categorisation.
Identifying bone damage caused by different factors, distinguishing between carnivore and human-induced alterations .
Utilising Stiner’s [36] age-scoring technique to determine the demographic structure of the bear assemblage. Using tooth eruption and wear, this technique identifies nine developmental stages that approximate true ages, resistant to damage and forming crucial found..., , # Late Pleistocene cave bear from Niedźwiedzia Cave (Poland): its fate and preservation inferred from taphonomy, pathology, and geochemistry

[https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.jh9w0vtjf](https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.jh9w0vtjf)

## Description of the data and file structure

On Dryad, the file 'tables.xlsx' contains the underlying data for Tables 1-2 and Supplemental Tables S1-S3. Captions, units, and column headings are specified on each tab.

In the Supplementary information on the related Zenodo deposit (https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.10397280) are the images for the figures in the manuscript, PDF versions of the supplemental tables, and the Supplementary information provided in docx format. 

## Sharing/Access information

n/a

## Code/Software

n/a