Vertebr. Hung. XVIII. 1978.

Some zoogeographical aspects of the NW African vertebrate fauna in historical times: archeologieal and cultural historical methods in the research

KÁDÁR, Zoltán Budapest

A B S T R A C T : A u t h o r , af ter zoo log ica l ly evaluat ing the Roman mosa ics (2nd to 4th c. A . D . ) f rom NW A f r i c a , points out the detai ls of zoogeo­graph ica l . changes , l i k e the ex t inc t ion of numerous A f r o t r o p i c a l e lements , e. g. l a rge m a m m a l s and the o s t r i c h , having taken place i n h i s t o r i c a l t i m e s .

The fact that a great number of a n i m a l species has a l ready become ext inc t i n h i s t o r i c a l t imes a r eg re t t ab le process cont inuing even today, urges the spec ia l i s t s to go beyond the b iogeograph ica l inves t iga t ions of the present state s tudying the d i spe r s ion of a s ingle species of a n i m a l . I t seems to be bey­ond doubt that areas , where the changes i n the ecosystem proceeded r e l a t i v e l y r a p i d l y : where n a t u r a l changes as w e l l as s o c i a l ones inc reased the dynamics of the process i n faunal changing, need a spec ia l i nves t i ga t i on .

Results

The mos t c r i t i c a l a rea i n the O l d W o r l d is the M e d i t e r r a n e a n , where three continents: Eu rope , A f r i c a and A s i a meet . Since a me thod ica l co l l e c t i ng of the fauna of this a rea has not begun sooner than the 18th century , whi le the conserva t ion and s c i e n t i f i c inves t iga t ion of the a n i m a l r ema ins (bones, etc. ), uncovered by a rcheo log iea l excavat ions , has a past of bare ly ha l f a cen tu ry , r e s ea r ch w o r k mus t employ other methods than m e r e l y zoo log ica l ones. A m o n g these zoo- archeology i s perhaps the mos t i m p o r t a n t one dealing w i t h the ex­amina t ion of a n i m a l r ep resen ta t ions , p r e s e r v e d on a rcheo log iea l monuments . In this respect the inves t iga t ion of p r e h i s t o r i c a n i m a l represen ta t ion on NW A f r i c a n r o c k engravings had some s ign i f i can t r e su l t s i n ou t l in ing the faunal h i s t o r y of this area ( L O T H E , 1966, 1971; fu r the r references at NISSEN, 1971). Though the monuments of c l a s s i c a l an t iqui ty were also subject of a s c ru t i ny i n the course of the las t 90 years ( K E L L E R , 1887, 1909-1913; recent ly TOY N -B E E , 1973), a syn the t ic , complex e labora t ion of the p r o b l e m is s t i l l l a c k i n g . Espec i a l l y for the NW A f r i c a n fauna of c l a s s i c a l t i m e s , there are f i r s t of a l l the con temporary i l l u s t r a t i o n s wh ich i n l ack of a sui table os teo log ica l m a t e r i a l may give a r e p l y . W h i c h were those c h a r a c t e r i s t i c a l ve r tebra tes of the NW A f r i c a n area, m o r e p rec i se ly of the A f r i c a n " M e d i t e r r a n e a n S c l e r o p h y l l " and the " A t l a s Steppe" (UDVARDY, 1975), which became a l ready ext inc t i n the f i r s t ha l f of the f i r s t m i U e n a r y A . D . ? I should l i k e to r e f e r he re , since i t con-

s t i tu tes a p r e l i m i n a r y study of a m o r e extensive monograph , only to a few mosa ics i l l u s t r a t i n g a hunt ing of the l o c a l fauna, based p a r t i c u l a r y on L A V I N ' s w o r k (1963) and some other publ ica t ions ( Y A C U B , 1970; F É V R I E R , 1971). I bel ieve that these alone may c l e a r l y prove the changes having taken place i n h i s t o r i c a l t i m e s , compared against the la tes t data concerning the diffusion of the big games of this r e g i o n ( H A L T E N O R T H - T R E N S E , 1975).

M A M M A L I A :

Panthera leo L . Caesa rea -Cherche l ( A l g e r i a ) , C u i c u l - D j e m i l a ( A l g e r i a ) , C i r t a - Constantine ( A l g e r i a ) , Hippo Regius-Hippone ( A l g e r i a ) , Car thago-Car thage (Tunis ia ) , K h é r e d d i n e (Tun i s i a ) .

Panthera pardus L . Caesa rea -Cherche l ( A l g e r i a ) , C u i c u l - D j e m i l a ( A l g e r i a ) , Hippo R e g i u s - H i p ­pone ( A l g e r i a ) , O r l é a n s v i l l e ( A l g e r i a ) , Thuburbo Majus Hench i r Kasbat (Tu­n i s i a ) , T h y s d r u s - E l Djem ( T u n i s i a ) .

Ursus a rc tos c r o w t h e r i SCHINZ L . Car thago-Car thage (Tun i s i a ) , Khanguet e l Hadja l (Tunis ia ) .

Loxodonta af r icana B L B Car thago-Car thage (Tunis ia ) , T h y s d r u s - E l D j e m (Tunis ia ) .

Equus (Asinus) asinus somal icus L . Caesa rea -Cherche l ( A l g e r i a ) , Hippo Regius-Hippone ( A l g e r i a ) , H e n c h i r - T o u n -gar (Tun i s i a ) , Thuburbo M a j u s - H e n c h i r Kasbat (Tunis ia ) .

Sus sc rofa L . C u i c u l - D j e m i l a (A lge r i a ) , O r l é a n s v i l l e ( A l g e r i a ) , C i n c a r i - H e n c h i r - Toungar (Tun i s i a ) , Hadrumetum-Sousse (Tun i s i a ) , Carthago-Carthage (Tunisia) , Uth ina -Udna (Tun i s i a ) , K h é r e d d i n e (Tun i s i a ) , T h y s d r u s - E l D jem (Tun i s i a ) .

Cervus elaphus barbarus L . Caesa rea -Cherche l ( A l g e r i a ) , C u i c u l - D j e m i l a ( A l g e r i a ) ? , Le Kef (Tunisia)?

O r y x beisa L . Hippo Regius-Hippone (A lge r i a )

Alcelaphus buselaphus L . Hippo Regius-Hippone (Alge r i a )

Bubalus (Syncerus) caffer L . Caesa rea -Cherche l ( A l g e r i a ) , Car thago-Car thage ( T u n i s i a ) ? , T h y s d r u s - E l D j e m (Tunis ia)

Capra ibex L . Car thago-Car thage (Tunis ia)

A V E S : St ru th io camelus L .

Hippo Regius-Hippone ( A l g e r i a ) , Le Kef (Tun i s i a ) .

F i g , 1. C h a r a c t e r i s t i c ve r t eb ra tes of NW A f r i c a accord ing to hunt ing mosaics f r o m the 2nd to 4th cen tury , 2 ex t inc t after the A n t i q u i t y (designed by G Y . SIPOS)

C l a s s i c a l authors also gave evidence of the d i f fus ion of the ve r tebra tes enumerated above ( F i g . 1). A m o n g the authors , i t i s P l i n i u s M a i o r ( A . D . 79), who ment ioned them s e v e r a l t imes i n his w o r k ( "Na tu ra l i s h i s t ó r i a " ) . P l in ius based his i n f o r m a t i o n on the w o r k " P e r i L i b y é s s y n g r a m m a t a " by Iuba I I , the scholar k i n g of N u m i d i a . F r o m the r i c h data of P l i n i u s , this t i m e we can r e f e r to those only , w h i c h specify r e l a t i v e l y p r e c i s e l y the l o c a l i t y of the p a r t ­i c u l a r species . Speaking of the A f r i c a n elephant, he ment ioned that they were to be found " u l t r a Syr icas Soli tudines et i n M a u r e t a n i a " ( N . H . V I I I . § . 32 ed. M A Y H O F F , 1906-1909) f u r t h e r m o r e , i n the steppe near the town Sala (today Wed Bu Raggar: N . H . V . § . ) , as w e l l as i n the v i c i n i t y of the r i v e r Ger i n Maure t an i a . P l in ius w r o t e also about the bear of N u m i d i a ( N . H . V I I I . § . 131), which i n a l l p r o b a b i l i t y mus t be the Ursus arc tos c r o w t h e r i (SCHINZ). R e f e r r ­ing to other c l a s s i c a l au thors , he gave i n t e r e s t i ng data on the s t rugg le , which the a r m y of the Roman leader Regulus had w i t h a python (in the p e r i o d of the Punic wars ) ( N . H . V I I I . § . 37). No Roman rep resen ta t ion on the hunt ing of this species of pythons, wh ich accord ing to GOSSEN-STEIER (1923) m u s t have been the assale (Python sebae G M ) , but on a mosa ic w i t h a hunting scene, found recen t ly near Carthago - which was exposed also i n Budapest (SZABO, 1973, c f r . S A L A M O N S O N - E N N A I F E R , 1973 "Mosa iques" , a python s t r u g g l i n g w i t h an A f r i c a n elephant, i s r epresen ted .

P l i n iu s gave a lso r e m a r k a b l e data on the d rough t - r e s i s t ance (xero-ph i ly ) of the o r y s : " O r y g e m perpetuo s i ten t ia A f r i c a e g é n é r a n t ex natura l o c i potu carentem et m i r a b i l i modo ad r e m e d i a s i t e n t i u m : namque Gae tu l i (ance­s tors of the today's T u a r e g s , Z . K . ) l a t rones eo duran t a u x i l i o , r e p a r t i s aper to co rpo ra c o r u m s a l u b e r r i m i l i q u o r i a v e s i c i s " ( N . H . V I I I . § . 131).

The map d i sp l ay ing the occur rence of big game represen ted on the ab­ove-mentioned monuments and the c l a s s i c a l authors at test that though the fau­na of the A t l a s area s t i l l shows a m i x t u r e of faunal elements t y p i c a l l y c i r c u m -Med i t e r r anean ( i . e . of European charac ter ) , and those of E th iop ian features, the number of E th iop ian ( A f r o t r o p i c a l : U D V A R D Y , 1975) faunal elements of a savannah charac te r mus t have been, accord ing to our inves t iga t ions , r e l a t i v e l y much l a r g e r i n the Roman i m p e r i a l p e r i o d , even as late as the 3 rd and 4th century , than i n our days.

These data, se lected at r a n d o m , indicate that i n h i s t o r i c a l t imes (most l i k e l y after the 7th century A . D . ) the southern faunal elements had a much m o r e s ign i f i can t ro l e i n the Med i t e r r anean area than i n our t i m e s . Since an a r e a l r e g r e s s i o n of the ve r t eb ra tes on a wide scale mus t have taken place.

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