Mammalian remains from Kiri-Ana cave (a limestone cave) and their radiocarbon ages in the eastern KII peninsula of southwest Japan (preliminary report)

We report taxonomic constituents and radiocarbon ages of mammalian remains obtained from Kiri-ana Cave (a limestone cave in the eastern KII Peninsula of Southwest Japan. Specific elements of mammalian remains recovered from the Cave are listed as Mogera sp., Macaca fuscata, Lepus brachyurus, Martes melampus, Nyctereutes procyonoides, Sus scrofa, Cervus sp. and Capricornis crispus. These are all recent living species in Mie Prefecture, eastern part of the Kii Peninsula. Radiocarbon ages of gelatin collagen fractions extracted from two Capricornis crispus remains are calibrated to be 6890-6750 cal BP and 6630-6470 cal BP, respectively. The two radiocarbon ages demonstrate that Kiri-ana Cave was connected to the ground surface through shafts or fissures by the Early Jomon Period. Although there are reports on sporadic occurrences of mammalian remains from limestone caves in the Kii Peninsula, they did not give precise descriptions nor radiocarbon ages. Thus, Kiri-ana Cave, in which many mammalian remains occur, is one of the very important targets for revealing spatiotemporal transition of mammalian fauna in the Kii Peninsula.