Late Pleistocene to Early Holocene

Reef response to sea-level and environmental changes during the last deglaciation: Integrated Ocean Drilling Program Expedition 310, Tahiti Sea Level

by Elizabeth Abbey

Camoin G, Seard C, Deschamps P, Webster J, Abbey E, Braga JC, Iryu Y, Durand N, Bard E, Hamelin B, Yokoyama Y, Thomas A, Hendersone G, Dussouillez P. Geology. DOI: 10.1130/G32057

Marine geology of the Quaternary Bass Canyon system, southeast Australia: A cool-water carbonate system

by Stephen Gallagher

lio-Pleistocene tectonics and eustacy in southeast Australia: evidence from magnetic imagery and marine geological data

by Stephen Gallagher

Pleistocene-Holocene Transition in Northern Patagonia: Evidence from Huenul Cave (Neuquén, Argentina)

by Ramiro Barberena

R. BARBERENA, M.P. POMPEI, C. OTAOLA, G. NEME, A. GIL, K. BORRAZZO, V. DURÁN, R. HOGUIN
(Curr. Res. Pleist. 2010).

Northern Neuquén (Patagonia, Argentina) constitutes a void in our current knowledge of the early human peopling of... more Northern Neuquén (Patagonia, Argentina) constitutes a void in our current knowledge of the early human peopling of South America. This report stems from a regional survey project recently started in northern Neuquén that was intended to bridge this gap. In particular, new research being conducted at the Cueva Huenul 1 site provides stratified sequences of archaeological and paleontological remains spanning the late-Pleistocene/early-Holocene period.

Environmental Stability During the Pleistocene- Holocene Transition in Northwestern Patagonia? The Small Mammals of Cueva Huenul 1 as Evidence

by Ramiro Barberena

F. FERNANDEZ, U. PARDIÑAS, P. TETA, R. BARBERENA
(Curr. Res, Pleist. 2011)

Paleoenvironmental studies in northwestern Patagonia are mostly focused on forest and ecotone forest-steppe areas. The... more Paleoenvironmental studies in northwestern Patagonia are mostly focused on forest and ecotone forest-steppe areas. The obtained data indicate dry and cold conditions for the late-Pleistocene/Holocene transition. For the steppic and hilly ranges east of the Andes in northern Neuquén province there are no studied paleoclimatic records, despite the potential interest of this region, because it has the highest elevations in Patagonia (Domuyo system) and is situated near the western limit of the South American Arid Diagonal. Recent excavations at Cueva Huenul 1 (CH1; 36° 56′ 45″ S, 69° 47′ 32″ W, 1008 m, Neuquén province, Argentina, Figure 1) yielded a rich sequence spanning the late-Pleistocene/early-Holocene, and reaching the late Holocene. In this note we briefly address the taphonomy and paleoenvironmental significance of the micromammal remains
obtained in CH1.

Discordancias de correlación paleoclimática de diferentes proxys en torno al último ciclo glacial en la Península Ibérica: implicaciones para la arqueología prehistórica

by Fernando Colino

Realizado con: Paloma de la Peña Alonso y José Úbeda Palenque

XIII Reunión de Cuaternario (Andorra, 2011)

En este trabajo se presentan diversos casos de discordancia en la correlación paleoclimática en la Península Ibérica... more En este trabajo se presentan diversos casos de discordancia en la correlación paleoclimática en la Península Ibérica durante el último ciclo glacial, que según indica la curva SPECMAP estandarizada comenzó hacia 71+-5 ka BP y comprende los estadios isotópicos marinos MIS 2, MIS 3 y MIS 4. Con esta finalidad se analizan las correlación de proxys paleoclimáticos marinos continentales: paleotemperaturas de la superficie del mar, sucuencias limnéticas y cronologías claciares de recient publicación basadas en la acumulación de cosmonucleidos den la superficie de las rocas. Nuestro objetivo es resaltar las discordancias que se ponen de manifiesto cuando se conjugan fuentes paleoclimáticas de diferentes procedencias. En cada uno de los casos que se analizan se discute si las discordancias se deben a problemas metodológicos relacionados con la aplicación de técnicas de análisis (p.e. métodos de datación) o realmente están vinculadas con variaciones paleoclimáticas. En el contexto de este trabajo la paleoclimatología se concibe como una herramienta metodológica para la Arqueología Prehistórica, no sólo como un instrumento útil para contextualizar ambientalmente los yacimientos, sino también para asignarles cronologías.

Human subsistence change in the Late Pleistocene Mediterranean Basin: the status of research on faunal intensification, diversification and specialization

by Natalie Munro

Munro, N.D. and L. Atici.  2009.  Human subsistence change in the Late Pleistocene Mediterranean Basin: the status of research on faunal intensification, diversification and specialization.  Before Farming [online version] 2009/article 1.

Last Glacial mammals in South America: a new scenario from the Tarija Basin (Bolivia)

by Lorenzo Rook

The chronology, sedimentary history, and paleoecology of the Tarija Basin (Bolivia), one of the richest Pleistocene... more The chronology, sedimentary history, and paleoecology of the Tarija Basin (Bolivia), one of the richest Pleistocene mammalian sites in South America, are revised here based on a multidisciplinary study, including stratigraphy, sedimentology, geomorphology, paleontology, isotope geochemistry, and 14C geochronology. Previous studies have indicated a Middle Pleistocene age for this classic locality. We have been able to obtain a series of 14C dates encompassing all the fossil-bearing sequences previously studied in the Tarija Basin. The dated layers range in age from about 44,000 to 21,000 radiocarbon years before present (BP), indicating that the Tarija fauna is much younger than previously thought. Glacial advances correlated to marine isotopic stages (MIS) 4 and 2 (ca. 62 and 20
ka BP, respectively) are also documented at the base and at the very top of the Tarija–Padcaya succession, respectively, indicating that the Bolivian Altiplano was not dry but sustained an ice cap during the Last Glacial Maximum. The results of this multidisciplinary study enable us to redefine the chronological limits of the Tarija sequence and of its faunal assemblage and to shift this paleontological, paleoclimatological, and paleoecological framework to the time interval from MIS 4 to MIS 2.

Late Pleistocene survival of the saber-toothed cat Homotherium in Northwestern Europe

by Lorenzo Rook

Saber-toothed cats (Machairodontinae) were wide-spread, top predators of the Pleistocene terrestrial ecosystem. In... more Saber-toothed cats (Machairodontinae) were wide-spread, top predators of the Pleistocene terrestrial ecosystem. In Europe, they previously were known only from the early and middle
Pleistocene, and their fossils are always extremely rare. The previous youngest record was from Steinheim a/d Murr, Germany, where an upper canine of Homotherium was found in a stratum dated to ca. 0.3 Ma. In this paper, we describe a well-preserved dentary of Homotherium latidens dated by 14C to be late Pleistocene, ca. 28,000 yrBP.

Hypothesis on the cause of extinction of the South American mastodonts

by Lorenzo Rook

Paleontological, geomorphological and sedimentological investigations on the Cangahua Formation in the Interandean... more Paleontological, geomorphological and sedimentological investigations on the Cangahua Formation in the Interandean depression of Northern and Central Ecuador have provided information on the evolution of the Andean paleoenvironment during the Late Pleistocene. Pyroclastic and windblown sediments were deposited during cold and dry phases of the last glaciation, interrupted many times by the development of forest-steppe and steppe paleosoils during interstadials. An erosional phase which closed the Cangahua sedimentation was followed by the deposition of colluvial sediments, characterized by a high number of minor pedogenetic episodes. The colluviums are confidently referable to the Holocene. The upper part of the Cangahua Formation is rich in mammal fossils and is probably referable to the Last Glacial Maximum.

The fossiliferous sequences suggest that mastodonts disappeared before mylodonts and equids. We hypothesize that the increased cold and aridity of the Last Glacial Maximum, which deeply affected the Cordillera, caused the extinction of most of the megafauna and the mastodonts seem to have been the most sensitive to the environmental degradation.

The final history of South American mastodonts, represented by Haplomastodon and Stegomastodon, spans the latest Pleistocene and probably the earliest Holocene. Haplomastodon was dispersed in the highlands within the tropical belt and Stegomastodon in plains of the southernmost part of Brazil, in Paraguay, Uraguay, Argentine, central and northern Chile.

Both Haplomastodon and Stegomastodon suffered the same negative effects of the Last Glacial Maximum when their habitats underwent intense desertifications under dry and cold conditions. They disappeared in a mosaic way in the course of the latest Pleistocene, the last representatives probably surviving in favorable restricted areas where however the considerably increased selective pressure was in the long run devastating. In our opinion the human impact was not a determinant in causing mastodont extinction.

The North American Pleistocene overkill hypothesis and the re-wilding debate

by Steve Wolverton

Wolverton 2010

The conservation agenda to re-wild North America may or may not be realistic in terms of political ecology. However,... more The conservation agenda to re-wild North America may or may not be realistic in terms of political ecology. However, it represents a real conservation recommendation to re-wild North America with the extant megafauna most closely related to those that became extinct at the end of the Pleistocene. The recommendation is based on the presumption that society bears an ethical responsibility to re-wild because humans caused the extinctions. However, the extent to which Pleistocene megafaunal extinctions were the result of overkill is hotly debated. As a result, the ethical imperative for North American re-wilding should be questioned. It will not be questioned unless members of the conservation community read the extensive archaeological and geological literature concerning the North American Pleistocene extinctions. Overlooking the assumptions underlying this particular recommendation is costly to conservation science and to archaeology because it represents an over-simplified, unwieldy and troubling fusion of the two.

The Late Prehistoric–Early Historic Game Sink in the Northwestern United States

by Steve Wolverton

Lyman & Wolverton 2002

Historical data provide valuable information on ecosystem structure, function, and processes. The number of big game... more Historical data provide valuable information on ecosystem structure, function, and processes. The number of big game killed by the Corps of Discovery in 1805–1806 and recorded by Lewis and Clark suggests that ungulates were abundant in central and eastern Montana and rare in western Montana, central Idaho, and southeastern Washington during the early nineteenth century. Paleoecologists Paul Martin and Chris Szuter conclude that this difference was a function of human predation. They support their conclusion that ungulates would have been abundant in southeastern Washington had humans not hunted them by arguing that the nineteenth-century livestock industry was successful without supplemental feeding. The livestock industry was, however, not consistently successful until artificial feeding was initiated. Archaeological data from eastern Washington indicate that ungulates have been taken by human hunters more frequently than small-mammal prey throughout the last 10,000 years and that ungulates decreased relative to small mammals coincident with changes in climate. Bison ( Bison bison) and elk (Cervus canadensis) were present in eastern Washington throughout the Holocene, but bison were abundant there only during a cooler and moister period; elk have been abundant only in the twentieth century, subsequent to transplants and the extermination of predators. Geographic variation in the abundance of bison across Montana, Idaho, and eastern Washington has been influenced by human predation but has also been influenced by biogeographic history, habitat differences, and climatic change.

Measuring Late Quaternary Ursid Diminution in the Midwest

by Steve Wolverton

Wolverton & Lyman 1998

Paleobiologists generally agree that within the past 10,000 yr North American black bears (Ursus americanus) have... more Paleobiologists generally agree that within the past 10,000 yr North American black bears (Ursus americanus) have decreased in body and tooth size. Some researchers infer that diminution was gradual and continuous; thus, one might infer that a specimen is old if it is larger than an average-size modern bear. Ursid remains recovered in the 1950s from Lawson Cave, Missouri, that are larger than some modern bears have been reported to date to the late Pleistocene, but association with modern taxa, taphonomic considerations, and a radiocarbon date of 200 yr B.P. indicate that they are modern. Modern specimens from Lawson Cave and other parts of the American Midwest are relatively large compared to modern North American black bears from other areas, suggesting that many supposed late Pleistocene bears from the area might be modern also.

Reconstrucción paleoambiental del Pleistoceno Superior en la desembocadura del río Millars a través del análisis palinológico

by Mario Lopez Recio

Casas Gallego, M.; Valcárcel Estors, A.; Tapias Gómez, F.; Gimeno García, H.; Casabó i Bernad, J.A.; López Recio, M.; Morín de Pablos, J., published in "Saguntum (P.L.A.V.)", 42, 2010, 35-41.

Abstract

Pollen analysis of sediments from the Millars river mouth (Upper Pleistocene) has been conducted.... more Abstract

Pollen analysis of sediments from the Millars river mouth (Upper Pleistocene) has been conducted. Results are discussed on the basis of the percentage changes of Pinus, Juniperus, mesothermophilous taxa and stagnant water vegetation. It is inferred the occurrence of a cold episode and the original vegetation interruption.

Keywords: pollen analysis, Millars river, Upper Pleistocene, Paleovegetation, paleoenvironment.

Pleistocene Infilling of Guadeloupean Caves

by Alain Queffelec

Clima y vegetación durante el Holoceno reciente en El Calvero de la Higuera (Pinilla del Valle, Madrid). Nuevos datos polínicos

by Belen Marquez

Reconstruction of late Pleistocene climate in the Valsequillo Basin (Central Mexico) through isotopic analysis of terrestrial and freshwater snails

by Rhiannon Stevens

Human Adaptation to the Changing Northeastern Environment at the End of the Pleistocene: Implications for the Archaeological Record

by Brian Jones

1998 Ph.D. Dissertation, University of Connecticut, Storrs

Paleoindian and Early Archaic archaeological sites are of particular importance in the Northeast because they reflect... more Paleoindian and Early Archaic archaeological sites are of particular importance in the Northeast because they reflect a period of change from an earlier adaptation to a boreal environment to one focused on the resources of the temperate forest. Even slight changes in the subsistence base can have profound implications for hunter-gatherer social organization, group composition, and patterns of seasonal mobility. An early Holocene archaeological site (the Hidden Creek site) has recently been excavated in Ledyard, Connecticut. This site provides valuable information concerning human lifeways during this poorly understood period of time.
The focus of this dissertation is the effect of environmental change on hunter-gatherer populations in the Northeast between 11,000 and 8,000 years ago. Changes in the Northeast's environment between the late Pleistocene and the early Holocene periods would have had profound effects on the subsistence economy, hunter-gatherer social organization, and ultimately on the archaeological record of northeastern North America. Studies of human ecology and the paleoclimatic record are used to anticipate patterns in settlement, subsistence, group organization, and mobility. These expectations are then compared and contrasted to the archaeological record. Special emphasis is given to the Late Paleoindian Period through a detailed analysis of the Hidden Creek site. This site was occupied during the transition from a Paleoindian to Archaic pattern of life in the Northeast, and its better understanding may shed light on both of these periods.
While the recovered artifacts provide a rare opportunity to view the material culture of these people, the significance of the finds lies in their potential to inform us about past human lifeways and about the human species in general. The northeastern Native Americans of 11,000 to 8,000 years ago proved flexible and adaptive in the face of a rapidly shifting resource base. A detailed analysis of the archaeological material of this time period, investigation of the record of climate and vegetation change, and a careful assessment of models of human ecology illuminates the human capacity to respond to such significant environmental change.

The Late Paleoindian Hidden Creek site in southeastern Connecticut

by Brian Jones

Archaeology of Eastern North America, Vol. 25, (1997), pp. 45-80

This article presents a summary of the Late Paleoindian component at the Hidden Creek site (72-163), including site... more This article presents a summary of the Late Paleoindian component at the Hidden Creek site (72-163), including site geology, paleo-environmental reconstruction, artifact counts, descriptions of artifact attributes and spatial patterning. Preliminary analysis of the debitagefrom this site is also discussed. Temporally diagnostic attributes of the lithic artifacts place the Hidden Creek site at the end of the Paleoindian tradition. It is demonstrated that the fluted point knapping technology continued to be used, apparently into the early Holocene, to produce non-fluted, lanceolate projectile points. The southeastern location of this site in the Northeast distinguishes it from most comparable sites in the region.

Pastoral Nomadic Communities of the Holocene Climatic Optimum: Excavation and research at Kharimat Khor al Manahil and Khor Al Manahil in the Rub’ al-Khālī, Abu Dhabi, UAE

by Richard Cuttler

Cuttler, R., Beech, M., Zander, A., Kallweit, H. and Al-Tikriti, 2007

Proceedings of the Seminar for Arabian Studies 37, p.61-78.

Survey work in 2004 identified two extensive lithics scatters in the south-eastern desert of Abu Dhabi at Umm... more Survey work in 2004 identified two extensive lithics scatters in the south-eastern desert of Abu Dhabi at Umm az-Zumul. both scatters were within small interdunal areas to the south-east of large barchan dunes. At the first site (Khor al-Manahil) a controlled pick-up of lithics recorded almost 3000 fragments of flint and stone artefacts. The typology of the artefacts suggests the scatter belongs to the so-called Arabian Bifacial Tradition (ABT). This dates the scatter to the mid-Holocene, between the seventh and fifth millennia, when the climate was wetter and the conditions more favourable. A series of undated "burnt mounds" at Khor al-Manahil was also recorded and excavated.

The second scatter (Kharimat Khor al-Manahil) was again comprised of flints belonging to the Arabian Bifacial Tradition. OSL dating suggested that these must date later than 9,000 years ago. Two shell beads, found in association with the flint scatter resemble types well known from the Neolithic cemetery of Jebel al-Buhais 18, located in Sharjah emirate in the UAE.