Late Pleistocene mammalian extinctions in North America: Taxonomy,chronology, and explanations

Toward the end of the Pleistocene, North America lost some 35 genera of mammals. It has long been assumed that all or virtually all of the extinctions occurred between 12,000 and 10,000 years ago, but detailed analyses of the radiocarbon chronology provide little support for this assumption, which seems to have been widely accepted because of the kinds of explanations felt most likely to account for the extinctions in the first place. Approaches that attribute the losses to human predation depend almost entirely on the assumed synchroneity between the extinctions and the onset of large mammal hunting by North American peoples. The fact that only two of the extinct genera have been found in a convincing kill context presents an overwhelming problem for this approach. Climatic models, on the other hand, are becoming increasingly precise and account for a wide variety of apparently synchronous biogeographic events. While a role for human activities in the extinction of some taxa is fully possible, there can be little doubt that the underlying cause of the extinctions lies in massive climatic change.     

Geochronology of vegetation stages of south-east Baltic coast (Kaliningrad region) during the middle and Late Holocene

The raised bog sediments that have been continuously accumulated over time represent the most suitable natural object which enables us to reconstruct Late Glacial and Holocene vegetation and palaeoclimates. Bog peat consists of organic carbon formed in situ. It contains moss, plant fragments and microfossils that are necessary for the study of palaeovegetation and palaeoclimate. However, a successful study of palaeoenvironment can be carried out on the basis of investigation of a great quantity of samples along the whole peatbog thickness. In the present paper, the authors present the results of palynological, botanical investigations and radiocarbon dating of 31 peat samples taken from the raised bog Velikoye, located in the eastern part of Kaliningrad Region. The data obtained have enabled us to reconstruct the palaeovegetation, reveal the evolution of the bog and determine rate of peat formation at different evolutional stages over the last 7500 cal BP.     

Human ecology and the early history of St Kilda,Scotland

It is 300 years since Martin Martin published hisVoyage to St Kilda, one of the most informative accounts ever published of a seventeenth-century community. Historical treatments of St Kilda have often dramatized its isolation, distinctiveness and «marginality» but Martin's writings suggest that the lifeways of the St Kildans were not very different from those of contemporary Hebrideans. The economy described by Martin was subject to a rigorous regime of communal self-management. This article argues that in late medieval climatic conditions, St Kilda's particular combination of resources—sheltered arable land, seals and sea-bird colonies, including a huge gannetry—would have made the archipelago a valued component of the MacLeod chiefdom and a good target for the annual predatory visit of the sub-chief and his retinue. St Kilda's history should be seen not in isolation, but in a context of regional interdependence, and the archipelago's «marginality» is best understood in a long-term historical perspective.     

Holocene Relative Sea-Level Change on the Isle of Skye,Inner Hebrides,Scotland

Holocene relative sea-level (RSL) changes are described for the Isle of Skye, based upon evidence from isolation basins and back barrier environments. RSL rose across low-lying coastal areas in the early Holocene, inundating isolation basins in the Sleat peninsula, and then fell back in the early-middle Holocene before a fluctuating rise occurred later in the middle and late Holocene. A short-lived marine inundation at one site may have been caused by an episode of rapid RSL rise after the discharge of Lakes Agassiz–Ojibway in North America and/or the Holocene Storegga Slide tsunami, generated by submarine landsliding off South-West Norway. The empirical evidence for RSL change on Skye is compared with a recent shoreline-based glacio-isostatic adjustment model, which includes Skye, showing altitudes for the Holocene Storegga Slide tsunami, Main Postglacial, Blairdrummond and Wigtown shorelines in the area. The empirical evidence is shown to be in accord with the altitudes predicted by the model.     

Holocene Ostracods from the Hang Hau Formation in Lei Yue Mun,Hong Kong,and their palaeoenvironmental implications

Wang. H., Zhang, H., Cao, M. & Horne, D.J., October 2018. Holocene Ostracods from the Hang Hau Formation in Lei Yue Mun, Hong Kong, and their palaeoenvironmental implications. Alcheringa 43, 320–333. ISSN 0311-5518.

The Holocene Hang Hau Formation is the youngest part of the Quaternary succession in Hong Kong and yields abundant and diverse ostracods. This study of ostracod assemblages from two cores in Lei Yue Mun identifies eight genera and nine species of marine Ostracoda that were previously unreported from the Hang Hau Formation, increasing the known diversity from 67 to 76 species. Among these species, Neocyprideis timorensis (Fyan 1916) is reported for the first time in China. The recovery of abundant juvenile and adult specimens has facilitated illustration and discussion of an ontogenetic series for Neomonoceratina delicata Ishizaki & Kato, 1976, extending from the A-5 instar (fourth moult after hatching) to the sexually dimorphic A (adult) instar. Palaeoenvironmental analysis of the ostracod assemblages supports and strengthens previous interpretations indicative of a warm, shallow, nearshore-marine environment.

He Wang [wang0701@163.com] State Key Laboratory of Palaeobiology and Stratigraphy, Nanjing Institute of Geology and Palaeontology and Center for Excellence in Life and Paleoenvironment, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 39 East Beijing Road, Nanjing 210008, PR China; Haichun Zhang [hczhang@nigpas.ac.cn] State Key Laboratory of Palaeobiology and Stratigraphy, Nanjing Institute of Geology and Palaeontology and Center for Excellence in Life and Paleoenvironment, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 39 East Beijing Road, Nanjing 210008, PR China; Meizhen Cao [mzcao@nigpas.ac.cn] Nanjing Institute of Geology and Palaeontology and Center for Excellence in Life and Paleoenvironment, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 39 East Beijing Road, Nanjing 210008, PR China; David J. Horne [d.j.horne@qmul.ac.uk] School of Geography, Queen Mary University of London, Mile End Road, London E1 4NS, UK. *Also affiliated with: University of Science and Technology of China, No. 96, JinZhai Road Baohe District, Hefei, Anhui 230026, PR China.     

Holocene vegetation of the Eastern Sahara: charcoal from prehistoric sites

This paper is dedicated to Prof. Dr K. U. Leistikow on the occasion of his 60th birthday.The investigation of 320 charcoal samples from prehistoric sites in the Eastern Sahara furnishes evidence for a fundamental change of vegetation during the early and middle Holocene. Two ecological regions can be distinguished. In Egypt desert formations prevailed, consisting of the same vegetation elements as today though with a wider distribution, while in the Sudan tropical savannas occurred. Around 7000 bp the Sahelian vegetation zones were 500–600 km north of their present range, and 300–400 km around 5700 bp. The Sudanian flora of Fachi-Dogonboulo in Niger, datedca 7000 bp, points to a simultaneous shift of the vegetation zones in the Eastern and in the Central Sahara. With increasing desiccation from 5200 bp onwards, the savanna formations retreated to the south until their present position was reached by 3300 bp.

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Résumé L'étude de 320 échantillons de charbons de bois provenants de sites préhistoriques du Sahara Oriental, met en évidence un changement important dans la végétation au cours de l'Holocène ancien et moyen. Deux régions écologiques peuvent être distinguées: en Egypte les formations désertiques étaient prédominantes, comprenant les mêmes éléments qu'aujourd'hui mais avec une plus large extension. A la même époche le Soudan connaissait une végétation de savanes tropicales. Autour de 7000 ans bp, la zone de végétation sahélienne se situait à 500–600 km plus au nord de sa limite actuelle, et vers 5700 ans bp elle était encore à 300–400 km. La flore soudanienne de Fachi-Dogonboulo, Niger, datée de 7000 ans bp, indique un déplacement simultané des zones de végétation au Sahara Oriental et Central. Sous l'effet d'un assèchement croissant à partir de 5200 ans bp, les formations de savane se sont retirées vers le sud, jusqu'à atteindre leur situation actuelle vers 3300 ans bp.

     

The possible role of humans in the early stages of machair evolution: palaeoenvironmental investigations in the Outer Hebrides,Scotland

Low altitude sandy plains (machair) are a distinctive feature of the Atlantic coasts of the Scottish Outer Hebrides. They formed as a result of shoreward movement of sediment consequent upon a rise in Holocene sea levels. During the long period over which machair has been forming, the earliest date proposed for their human occupation is the Neolithic. The natural origins of the machair are not disputed, but examination of deposits at sites in the islands of Benbecula and Grimsay encourages us to advance a possible anthropogenic role in the process of machair development, and also to suggest that human involvement may date from the Mesolithic period (pre-5000 BP [ca. 5730 cal BP]), a time for which archaeological evidence is lacking from the Outer Hebrides. The presence of charcoal might suggest that burning of the vegetation cover of the machair was an additional factor to the supposedly dominant marine and aeolian processes in sand mobility. Removal of shrub vegetation may also have left sand surfaces open to deflation. There remains a difficulty in separating natural from human causes in investigations of long-term coastal evolution.     

Combining pollen and charcoal: evaluating Holocene vegetation composition and dynamics

Pollen analysis reveals vegetation change on a local and regional level over (ideally) continuous time spans but with complications when it comes to the reconstruction of spatially precise species occurrence and composition. Wood charcoal analysis provides site-related information on species occurrence and woodland composition, especially when sediments containing pollen are lacking, but is normally discontinuously available and has the danger of human bias due to potential selection of certain species for e.g. fire making, house construction or charcoal making. Combining the two methods – assuming that suitable palaeoarchives are neighbouring – might compensate for their disadvantages and strengthen the interpretations on vegetation composition and dynamics on a local, extra-local and regional scale. Three examples are given where pollen analysis from “classical” archives – mires and lake sediments – was carried out, and where additionally species identification of wood charcoals was done on samples extracted from close-by archives. The first example (Kugelstattmoos, Bavarian Forest, Germany) combines a Holocene pollen diagram derived from a small mire with late medieval/early modern times charcoal spectra from charcoal production sites which are situated on the margin of the mire. Results show the local occurrence of the main woodland species Fagus sylvatica and Abies alba, and raises new questions on the montane species composition of the formerly natural forests in the Bavarian Forest. The second example (Bargstedter Moor, Schleswig-Holstein, Germany) combines Holocene pollen diagrams from a peat bog with late medieval/early modern times charcoal spectra from charcoal production sites in a woodland close to the bog. It shows the role of Quercus, Fagus, Alnus and Carpinus in medieval and early modern times woodlands and its use by man. The third example (Kleiner Tornowsee, Brandenburg, Germany) combines pollen data from sediments of a small lake with charcoal data derived from Holocene colluvisols and soils. The examples show that anthracological and palynological data complement one another to create a more detailed picture of woodland history and landscape change than one method alone would provide.     

Late Holocene human impact on the vegetation around Mizorogaike Pond in northern Kyoto Basin,Japan: a comparison of pollen and charcoal records with archaeological and historical data

Pollen and macroscopic charcoal analyses of AMS radiocarbon-dated sediment from Mizorogaike Pond, located near Japan’s ancient capital established in AD 794, were used along with archaeological and historical data to reconstruct vegetation change in the northern Kyoto Basin since 7300 cal yr B.P. Between ca. 7300 and 3400 cal yr B.P. (Early to Late Jomon period), the site was surrounded by warm-temperate forest composed of Quercus subgenus Lepidobalanus and Q. subgenus Cyclobalanopsis with Celtis/Aphananthe trees. With the occurrence of fire disturbance, Q. subgenus Lepidobalanus increased from ca. 3400 to 1400 cal yr B.P. (Late Jomon to Kofun periods). In the early seventh century (Asuka period), Pinus started to increase, coinciding with a significant charcoal peak, probably related to the operation of roof tile kilns near the site. Pinus continued to increase and Q. subgenus Cyclobalanopsis decreased through the seventh to tenth centuries (Asuka to Heian periods). Further increase of Pinus occurred in the eleventh century, possibly reflecting the establishment of the manor of Kamigamo Shrine. From the eleventh to seventeenth centuries (Heian to medieval periods), no significant vegetational change or fire disturbance took place. In the eighteenth century, the landscape became totally open, with poor vegetation and sparse Pinus woodland. The medieval and early modern landscapes reconstructed from the palaeoecological record are rather similar to those described from studies of ancient artwork and historical documents. This study demonstrates that late Holocene vegetation change in the northern Kyoto Basin was closely tied to anthropogenic activities, such as the pottery industry and fuel wood collection.     

Evidence of Trephinations among the Garamantes,a Late Holocene Saharan Population

The current communication examines three male individuals who belonged to the Garamantian civilisation, Fezzan, Libya. The individuals have been dated to ad 1–700 and exhibit signs of perforations on their crania, which appear to represent trephinations. The sophistication of the practice and its successful execution, as evidenced by traces of healing, indicate that the Garamantes possessed the knowledge of complex surgical procedures. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Man and Vegetation in Southeastern Brazil during the Late Holocene

Despite the great interest shown by archaeologists in the environment of Brazilian fisher–gatherer–hunter populations and their diet, little is known. Desiccated plant remains are rarely recovered in these archaeological sites, but charcoal, an invaluable source of palaeoenvironmental information, is usually abundant. Six shell-mounds from the southeastern coast of Rio de Janeiro State (Brazil) were studied. Anthracological analysis of over 15,500 charcoal fragments showed that this region was covered by different plant associations during the Late Holocene, and that no significant variations affected the vegetation during this period. Palaeoethnological observations suggest that the random gathering of dead wood supplied most of the wood fuel used by man. Gathering of plant food was certainly much more important to these populations than it has been previously thought. The great number of carbonized palm fruit shells, seeds and monocotyledon tubers found testifies to their importance on human diet.     

Testing micro-regional variability in the Holocene shaping of high mountain cultural landscapes: a palaeoenvironmental case-study in the eastern Pyrenees

Previous research acknowledges the ancient and complex land-use history of European mountainous areas, which are characterised by a remarkable regional variability in terms of human practices and patterns of occupation during the Holocene. However, the combined palaeoenvironmental and archaeological study of highland human management at a micro-regional scale remains a largely unexplored research field, especially in the Pyrenees. A combined pollen, stomata, non-pollen palynomorphs (NPPs) and macrocharcoal study was carried out at three nearby alpine and subalpine peat basins from a relatively small territory (ca.1700 ha) at the Madriu valley (Andorra, eastern Pyrenees), following a fine spatial-resolution strategy. The purpose was to test the suitability of high altitudinal palaeoecological sequences when reconstructing past small-scale land-use variability. The palaeoecological results of those peat records are compared and further integrated with archaeological local data, and together underline the marked complexity of high mountain land-use system over the Holocene period. Main phases of micro-regional land-use and landscape variability can be distinguished from the middle Neolithic to the early Bronze Age and from the Roman Period to the Modern Era. Conversely, several phases of homogeneous landscape management are distinguishable during the early Neolithic, and from the late Bronze to the late Iron Age. Results drawn from this study show that landscape variability is not necessarily connected to topographic or climatic parameters, and underline the role of social, economical and cultural parameters in the land-use organisation and the landscape shaping of high mountain spaces since Prehistory.     

Soils and vegetation history of abandoned enclosures in the New Forest,Hampshire, England

Soil profiles buried beneath earth banks of five abandoned enclosures, ranging in age from late Bronze Age to early 19th century AD, were compared with unburied profiles inside and outside the enclosures. Soil particle size analyses and micromorphological studies show that the banks were constructed of mixed topsoil and subsoil from adjacent ditches; on some banks the soil has begun to podzolize. At the two oldest sites (Dark Hat and Long Slade Bottom, which are late Bronze or Iron Age) the soils within the enclosures were homogenized, probably by occasional cultivation for cereal growing. At Dark Hat an ironpan has developed on the upper surface of a layer compacted by smearing during cultivation. The later enclosures, at Burley Moor (Anglo-Saxon), East Boldre (mediaeval) and Hatchet Gate (early 19th century AD), were probably used entirely for pasture. Pollen assemblages from the buried soils and overlying banks, and chemical comparisons of the buried soils with profiles inside and outside the enclosures together provide new evidence for a history of soil and vegetation changes over the past 2500–3500 years. Heathland vegetation associated with podzolic soils existed on plateau gravels before the late Bronze Age, but on other parent materials heath vegetation and acidic soils with incipient podzolization appeared only in later periods. The present patchy vegetation pattern of mainly deciduous woodland with open areas of ferny grassland and heath seems to have persisted since before the late Bronze Age. The most obvious human influences on the vegetation during the last 2000 years have been periodic temporary use of open areas and woodland clearings for protected grazing.     

Declines in Mammalian Foraging Efficiency during the Late Holocene, San Francisco Bay, California

Resource intensification models that have been posited for prehistoric California predict decreases in foraging efficiency during the late Holocene, Using implications of the fine-grained prey model of optimal foraging theory, I derive an index of the efficiency of vertebrate prey choice from the relative abundances of large- and small-sized prey items. I then test the intensification models with late Holocene mammalian faunas from San Francisco Bay shellmounds. Dramatic linear decreases in the relalive frequency of artiodactyls compared to the smaller sea otters (Enhydra lutris) throughout the occupational histories of particular localities strongly support the resource intensification models. The declines in artiodactyl abundances are not correlated with late Holocene climatic indices developed for this region, with changes in the seasonal use of shellmounds, or with technological innovations. An intra- and interregionally consistent pattern in declining abundances of large mammals in environmentally distinct regions throughout California suggests that resource depression driven by human predators may be the single most important cause of the declines. These patterns have far-reaching implications concerning the long-term human role in structuring prehistoric ecosystems.     

Late Holocene Changes in Shellfishing Behaviors From the Gulf of Carpentaria,Northern Australia

ABSTRACT

Dramatic changes in shellfishing behaviors occur across northern Australia during the late Holocene, marked most conspicuously by the cessation of large shell mound construction in some areas, and the reorganization of shellfishing behaviors towards more intensive production in the last 1,000 years. Excavations reveal rapid and widespread changes within coastal sites, an increasing diversification in overall subsistence resources, and patterns of increase in site establishment and use. Some of these changes have been argued to be associated with increasing climate variability and a trend towards increasing aridity during the late Holocene, thought to have transformed coastal ecosystems and mollusc availability. However, when these hypotheses are tested at the local level, more nuanced patterns of human-environment interaction emerge, which call into question interpretations based on broad-scale climate records. We suggest that disjunctions in the timing of the cessation of shell mound construction noted between the west and east Gulf of Carpentaria may be related, at least in part, to the timing and intensity of external cultural contacts with Macassan seafarers, associated with reorganization of mobility and production strategies, rather than as yet undemonstrated environmental changes impacting on shellfish availability.