Paleoecology

Ecology Needs a Paleontological Perspective

by Julien Louys

The Future of Mammals in Southeast Asia: Conservation Insights from the Fossil Record

by Julien Louys

Paleoecology and Conservation Paleobiology: Future Directions

by Julien Louys

Bishop, L. C. and Reynolds, S. C. (2000). Fauna from Twin Rivers. In The Middle Stone Age of Zambia: South Central Africa Barham, L. (ed). Bristol: Western Academic and Specialist Press pp 217-222.

by Sally Reynolds

Here we present results of an analysis of faunal remains from Twin Rivers, Zambia recovered during the 1999 field... more Here we present results of an analysis of faunal remains from Twin Rivers, Zambia recovered during the 1999 field season under the direction of Larry Barham. Animal remains from the locality were divided into three provenance groups - A Block, F Block and G Block - and examined for taxonomic and taphonomic information. This information is used to discuss the palaeoecology and site formation of these assemblages. This contribution examines the faunal remains from each assemblage in chronological order of the deposits. The identifications and characteristics ofthe bones from each recovered group of remains are described. The inferences about human behaviour and palaeoenvironment are discussed.

Stable isotope composition of Late Pleistocene-Holocene Eobania vermiculata (Müller, 1774) (Pulmonata, Stylommatophora) shells from the Central Mediterranean basin: Data from Grotta d’Oriente (Favignana, Sicily)

by Andre Carlo Colonese

Recent advances in the analysis and interpretation of sediment-charcoal records

by Paul Henne

Numerical models and statistical analysis aid interpretation of fire history from sediment-charcoal records, allowing... more Numerical models and statistical analysis aid interpretation of fire history from sediment-charcoal records, allowing inferences into the causes of past fire-regime shifts through quantitative analyses and data-model comparisons.

Morphological trends in the fossil pollen of Decodon and the paleobiogeographic history of the genus

by Fridgeir Grimsson

2012
Fridgeir Grimsson, David K. Ferguson, Reinhard Zetter
International Journal of Plant Sciences

Understanding the ancient habitats of the last-interglacial (late MIS 5) Neanderthals of central Iberia: Paleoenvironmental and taphonomic evidence from the Cueva del Camino (Spain) site

by Belen Marquez

The Cueva del Camino site (Pinilla del Valle, Madrid) represents the most complete MIS 5 record from the Iberian... more The Cueva del Camino site (Pinilla del Valle, Madrid) represents the most complete MIS 5 record from the Iberian Peninsula (away from the Mediterranean margin), including a large accumulation of fossilized remains of small and large vertebrates and two human teeth. The presence of carnivores (mainly hyenas) and humans suggests that the site should be interpreted as a spotted hyena den, a human occupation,
or both. During an earlier phase of excavation undertaken during the 1980s, an anthropic origin was suggested for the accumulation at the site. However, research was resumed in 2002, leading to an increase in the number of vertebrate remains recovered, as well as the recognition of new vertebrate
species. These have now been incorporated into the site’s list of fauna. In addition, new palaeobotanical, geochronological and stratigraphic data have been recorded and analysed, and the human teeth identified as being of Neanderthal origin. Floristic data (pollen and charcoal remains) obtained for the north
sector of this site indicate an open landscape with Pinus sylvestris-nigra as the main arboreal taxon. The available evidence suggests this accumulation to be the result of spotted hyena activity during a warm phase of Marine Isotope Stage 5 (MIS 5) in an environment in which fallow deer was the most abundant herbivore.

Archaeology in the south east of the Iberian Peninsula: a bridge between past and future social spaces

by Roberto Risch

CASTRO, P., CHAPMAN, R., GILI, S., LULL, V., MICÓ, R., RIHUETE, C., RISCH, R., SANAHUJA, Mª.E. y VERHAGEN, PH. (2002), "Archaeology in the south east of the Iberian Peninsula: a bridge between past and future social spaces", en Fairclough , G., Rippon , S. y Bull , D. (eds.), Europe's Cultural Landscape: archaeologists and the management of change . Exeter University Press, Exeter (2002), pp. 133-145.

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.

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.

Los ambientes de la Prehistoria. Génesis de modelos dinámicos del medio ambiente del Pleistoceno

by Fernando Colino

JIA 2008

El interés por el medio ambiente en el que vivió la humanidad ha constituido uno de los temas fundamentales de la... more El interés por el medio ambiente en el que vivió la humanidad ha constituido uno de los temas fundamentales de la investigación prehistórica, fundamentalmente la centrada en el mundo del Pleistoceno. La Paleoecología, ciencia encargada de las relaciones entre los seres vivos y el medio, había jugado tradicionalmente un papel secundario. Los cambios a los que esta parte de la investigación prehistórica se vio abocada a partir de la década de los ’80 parecen haber situado a la Paleoecología en una situación privilegiada. Por otro lado, el tradicional desarrollo de la investigación en esta disciplina ha limitado en buena medida su aportación, hecho que parece estar cambiando en los últimos años. Para concluir, se realizan algunas reflexiones sobre ese cambio además de algunas aportaciones.

(The interest by the environment on which the humanity lived has constituted one of the fundamental subjects of the prehistoric investigation, essentially the centered one in the world of the Pleistocene. The Paleoecology, science in charge of the relations of the alive beings and the environment, had played a secondary role traditionally. The changes which this part of the prehistoric investigation was led as of the decade of the '80 seem to have located to the Paleoecology in a privileged situation. On the other hand, the traditional development of the investigation in this discipline has limited largely its contribution, fact that seems to be changing in the last years. In order to conclude, some reflections are realised on that change besides some contributions.)

Simulating the long-term effects of agropastoral landuse decisions: a computational modeling approach to the Prepottery/Pottery Neolithic transition in northern Jordan.

by Isaac Ullah

Paper presented at the 2012 SAA conference in Memphis, TN., April 18-22. Part of the symposium "Socio-natural systems in pastoral and agro-pastoral societies: Archaeological investigations of pastoral landscapes." Organized by myself and Claudia Chang.

These are only the presentation slides. Please contact me if you would like to have a copy of the (very rough draft) paper that these slides refer to.

This paper uses a computational modeling approach to investigate a major shift in settlement and agropastoral landuse... more This paper uses a computational modeling approach to investigate a major shift in settlement and agropastoral landuse patterns that occurred in northern Jordan at the end of the PPNB/C period (~8250 ybp). Although no consensus exists, archaeological and geomorphological evidence suggests that the shift could have been prompted by human-caused landscape degradation around the early villages. I test this hypothesis by first conducting a series of simulation experiments exploring the long-term effects of a variety of agropastoral subsistence behaviors on Neolithic landscapes. These experiments produce testable hypotheses, which are then used to explore the existing evidence recovered from this period.

Rodent middens reveal episodic, long‐distance plant colonizations across the hyperarid Atacama Desert over the last 34,000 years

by Claudio Latorre

Interesting paper showing how climate change can facilitate long-distance dispersal events in extreme environments

Hydroclimate variability in the low-elevation Atacama Desert over the last 2500 yr

by Claudio Latorre

A 22,000-year record of monsoonal precipitation from northern Chile’s Atacama Desert

by Claudio Latorre

A Vegetation History from the Arid Prepuna of Northern Chile (22-23 Degrees S) over the last 13,500 Years

by Claudio Latorre

Inferring paleoecology in extinct tremarctine bears (Carnivora, Ursidae) via geometric morphometrics.

by Leopoldo Soibelzon

In this study, we explore the ecomorphological patterns of extinct tremarctine bears in
South America during the... more In this study, we explore the ecomorphological patterns of extinct tremarctine bears in
South America during the Great American Biotic Interchange (GABI). These patterns
are used to derive paleoautoecological inferences in extinct tremarctines and their
paleosinecological relationships within Plio-Pleistocene ecosystems. We used geometric
morphometrics of landmark data to recover the shape of the craniomandibular skeleton
of bears. The results reveal different ecomorphological adaptations in extinct
tremarctines during the Plio-Pleistocene of South America. Indeed, these bears could
have increased the percentage of plant matter in their diets accordance with the
increased diversity of large carnivores in South America after the GABI. Omnivorous
bears retain the ability to behave as carnivores or herbivores depending on resource
availability. This fact strongly supports that living and extinct bears are one of the most
ecologically and morphologically adaptable members of the large carnivore guild.
Moreover, their skull morphology could reflect ecological adaptations under different
selection pressures with the required evolutionary time.

First Report of a Short-Faced Bears’ den (Arctotherium angustidens). Palaeobiological and Palaeoecological implications.

by Leopoldo Soibelzon

Here we report the first example of associated short-faced bears from South America. The specimens represent three... more Here we report the first example of associated short-faced bears from South America. The specimens represent three individuals referable to the Ensenadan (early to middle Pleistocene) species Arctotherium angustidens (Ursidae, Tremarctinae) the giant South American short-faced bear. Although the fossil record of short-faced bears in South America is very rich, they have not previously been recorded in association. These three individuals were found in a cave during quarry exploitation. We suggest that these bears represent the first record of a family group and open the discussion about cave utilization and hibernation or torpor by South American short-faced bears.

Changing landscape and grazing: macroremains from the terp Peins-east, province of Friesland, the Netherlands

by Annet Nieuwhof

Published in: Vegetation History and Archaeobotany 15, 2006.

This article seeks to contribute some new
insights to the discussion about the colonisation of themore This article seeks to contribute some new
insights to the discussion about the colonisation of the
North-Netherlands coastal area in the Iron Age. The aim
of the study presented here was to investigate whether
archaeobotanical research can demonstrate the absence
or presence of grazing and the changes in vegetation that
follow the development of the salt marsh and that may
be related to activities connected with human occupation.
The material studied was sampled in the terp of Peins
in the Dutch province of Friesland during the 1999
excavation. The beginnings of this terp can be dated in the
first century A.D., although a small dike and two parallel
ditches preceded it. The macroremains from these ditches
proved useful in describing the changes in the salt marsh
vegetation. It was shown that the salt marsh was not used
for grazing cattle prior to habitation. Grazing only started
at the time the first terp podium was raised.