Folia archeologica 54.

Vörös István: Pézsmatulok (Ovibos pallantis H. Smith) koponyalelet a zebegényi epigravetti vadásztelepen

4(3 VÖRÖS ISTVÁN A MUSK-OX (OVIBOS PALLANTIS H. SMITH) CRANIAL FROM THE EPIGRAVETTIAN HUNTER'S CAMPSITE AT ZEBEGÉNY Zebegény is a small settlement on the left bank of the Danube, sited at the western entrance to the Danube Bend. Mt. Kálvária-heg)' on the settlement's edge is the narrow loess projection of Mt. János-hegy, a ridge of Mt. Remete Kereszt-hegy (368 m) rising south-east of Zebegény (Fig. 1). Fragments of an ox-musk cranial (Ovibos pallantis H. Smith) came to light on József Gabula's plot in winter 1928 at the foot of the loess mountain. The finds, a splanchnocranium and the frontal bone with the horn-cores, were taken to the Hungarian National Museum by István Gaál who conducted the rescue excavation at the site. The finds perished in the fire which broke out when the museum was hit in October 1956. The finds were first published by István Gaál who described the remains as coming from Ovibos mackenzianus fossilis Kow. This species identification was later corrected by Miklós Kretzoi to Ovibos pallantis Hamilton Smith 1827. As reflected in its scientific name (Ovis-Bos), the musk-ox blends the external bodily features of sheep and cattle. Two sub-species of modern musk-oxen (Ovibos moschatus Zimmermann 1780) are known: Ovibos moschatus wardi Lydekker 1900 and Ovibos moschatus mackenzianus Kowarzik 1909, whose habitat is restricted to the arctic and sub-arctic dry tundra regions of Alaska, Canada and Greenland. Ovibos remains have been found at five sites in the Carpathian Basin. In contrast, countless Ovibos remains are known from the European Pleistocene, most of which date from the Upper Pleistocene (Würmian). The distribution of the finds from the Pleistocene indicates that musk-oxen migrated southward in a 100-200 km and 300-400 km wide zone in Western and Central Europe during the Würm glaciaton, while their occurrences in East Central Europe show a concentration north of the Sudetes and Carpathians, between the upper reaches of the Oder and Vistula, and in the Moravian Basin (a 200-300 km wide zone). During the last, strongest glaciation of the Würmian (Würm III), musk-oxen migrated to regions lying south of the 400 km zone and thus reached the Carpathian Basin. Zebegény-Kálvária-hegy lies on the boundary of the 500 km zone. Palaeolithic sites have been discovered on both sides of Mt. Kálvária-hegy. In addition to animal bones, the finds collected at these sites include various stone implements and charcoal. While the stratigraphy of the sites and the find contexts of the collected artefacts are not wholly clear, the available descriptions indicate finds of the following species. Zebegény, Kálvári-hegy (1928-1941) Species Cultural deposit Loess Equus sp. + + Rangifer tarandus L. + Cervus elaphus L. + A Ices alee s L. + Ovibos pallantis H. Smith + Bison priscus Boj. + Mammutlius primigenius Blumenbach +