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New Holocene refugia of giant deer (Megaloceros giganteus Blum.) inSiberia: Updated extinction patterns
... The latest records of giant deer are dated to around 7660 calendar years BP (cal. yr BP) in eastern Europe and western Siberia [4,5,8]. With the exception of the Irish Late Glacial population (approx. ...
... Comparative stable isotope analyses, used as palaeoecological indicators, suggest that competition for resources among giant deer and other cervid species during the Late Glacial in western and central Europe could have played a role in local extinctions [13]. Last records of the giant deer in Siberia are approximately contemporary with forest closure [5] but also with the arrival of the Neolithic [4][5]8], hence an anthropogenic contribution to the extinction of the giant deer cannot be ruled out [5]. ...
... Early modern human populations might have contributed to the decline in population size, and hence loss of genetic diversity, of giant deer. Some of the regions where giant deer remains have been dated to the Holocene (e.g. the Angara River basin, Siberia), were extensively used by Neolithic people [4,5,8]. Hence, a complex interaction between reduced habitat availability due to climate change and human activity could be the underlying driver for the extinction of the species, by leading to progressively smaller and fragmented populations, with reduced genetic diversity, and increased vulnerability to biotic and abiotic factors. ...
Late Quaternary climatic fluctuations in the Northern Hemisphere had drastic effects on large mammal species, leading to the extinction of a substantial number of them. The giant deer (Megaloceros giganteus) was one of the species that became extinct in the Holocene, around 7660 calendar years before present. In the Late Pleistocene, the species ranged from western Europe to central Asia. However, during the Holocene, its range contracted to eastern Europe and western Siberia, where the last populations of the species occurred. Here, we generated 35 Late Pleistocene and Holocene giant deer mitogenomes to explore the genetics of the demise of this iconic species. Bayesian phylogenetic analyses of the mitogenomes suggested five main clades for the species: three pre-Last Glacial Maximum clades that did not appear in the post-Last Glacial Maximum genetic pool, and two clades that showed continuity into the Holocene. Our study also identified a decrease in genetic diversity starting in Marine Isotope Stage 3 and accelerating during the Last Glacial Maximum. This reduction in genetic diversity during the Last Glacial Maximum, coupled with a major contraction of fossil occurrences, suggests that climate was a major driver in the dynamics of the giant deer.
... The giant deer antlers have been a subject of eco-morphological and physiological modelling studies focused upon the evolutionary importance and physiological limitations of the large antler size that could be one of the factors that caused the extinction of M. giganteus [4,7,9,10]. The causes, mechanisms, and chronology of extinction of M. giganteus were studied in the context of the Pleistocene megafauna extinction concept [11][12][13][14][15]. Currently, the giant deer is the only deer species whose extinction has been studied in detail. ...
... However, as the specimen from Grigorievka, the Dzhambul deer is distinguished by the relatively long upper and lower premolar series (71.6% and 67.3% respectively), the relatively short distance between the antler burr burr and the middle tine, and the somewhat shorter metacarpals ( Figure 5B). According to the 14 C date reported by Van der Plicht et al. [14], the giant deer from Dzhambul is geologically rather old (43,600 yr BP) and this circumstance perfectly explains the presence of the archaic morphological features in the giant deer from Kazakhstan. The giant deer from Dzhambul is less specialized and certainly is not identical to M. giganteus giganteus, but possibly is closely related to the origin of M. giganteus giganteus. ...
... Today, this zone is covered by temperate broadleaf forest in the north and temperate dry steppe in the south. In the easternmost part of giant deer distribution (Angara-Lena Plateau), the expansion of the taiga biome contributed to the extirpation of the giant deer in the Holocene [14,15]. ...
The article presents a preliminary morphological description of the holotype of Mega-loceros giganteus (Blumenbach, 1799) that serves for the description of the species. The article proposes a taxonomical and morphological revision of the nominotypical subspecies M. giganteus gi-ganteus and morphological comparison with other subspecies of M. giganteus. The cluster analysis of diagnostic craniodental and antler characters revealed the systematic position and phylogenetic relationships of M. giganteus with other cervid groups. The genus Praedama is regarded as a closely related phylogenetic branch that linked to the direct cursorial forerunner of Megaloceros that evolved in the middle latitudes of Western Siberia and northern Kazakhstan. The genus Dama has a distant relationship with Megaloceros and represents an earlier phylogenetic branch that evolved in the Ponto-Mediterranean area. The article discusses the secondary adaptations of M. giganteus forms to forest and woodland habitats in Europe and general paleobiogeographic features of the Megaloceros lineage.
... 12. of the Younger Dryas at the edge of its range in north-west Europe. In a subsequent contribution, van der Plicht et al. (2015) extended the early Holocene range further east to the region of Lake Baikal, although the very latest records remained in the Urals and western Siberia. The total number of Holocene dates was still relatively few, however, so refining the pattern of range shifts and extinction required further work. ...
... Three Siberian dates apparently fall within the Younger Dryas ( Fig. 2i)from Neviansk and Grotto Sikiyaz-Tamak in western Siberia (Stuart et al., 2004) and from Ust'-Tushama 1 in eastern Siberia (van der Plicht et al., 2015), the latter quite late in the interval. These form a plausible ancestral population for the Holocene records in the region. ...
... Two further specimens, from Chernigovo in the Kuznetz Basin (11805-11339 cal BP) and Grotto Bobylek in the Urals (11696-11242 cal BP), spanned the Pleistocene/Holocene boundary (Table S1; Fig. 2j-k). Further Holocene dates obtained by van der Plicht et al. (2015) at the Groningen laboratory have partially filled the chronological sequence and extended the geographical range: Sopka 2 (8979-8610 cal BP) and Preobrazhenka 6 (8973-8591; date corroborated by ourselves at ORAU) in western Siberia, and Sosnovy Tushamsky (11067-10558) and Ust'-Talaya (10520-10255 cal BP) in the Angara Basin, extending the range eastwards almost to Lake Baikal. The Sopka 2 specimen (van der Plicht et al., 2015, Fig. 2) is an isolated antler tine whose identity should ideally be corroborated by aDNA analysis, but its size (417 mm long) and flattened form render it very likely M. giganteus. ...
The giant deer, Megaloceros giganteus, is one of the most celebrated of late Quaternary megafaunal species. Here we present new radiocarbon data on the pattern of its extinction, and compare this, on a region-by-region basis, with evidence of environmental change and human occupation. Following strict auditing criteria for the acceptance of radiocarbon dates, 51 dates are published here for the first time, bringing the total number of accepted dates for the species to 134. For western Europe, extirpation around the start of the Younger Dryas stadial is corroborated. Previous early-to mid-Holocene records for the Urals and Siberia are augmented by new dates that together provide an almost continuous radiocarbon record from the late-glacial to the mid-Holocene. Newly-rediscovered skeletal material of giant deer from the Maloarchangelsk region of European Russia has provided the latest date for the species known so far, and extends the mid-Holocene range substantially westward almost to Ukraine. The relatively narrow overall distribution of M. giganteus through its history, and direct palaeoecological evidence, demonstrate the species’ requirement for a mixed, partially open habitat providing both graze and browse. Its extirpation from western Europe remains strongly linked to deterioration of climate and productivity in the Younger Dryas, while its disappearance from more eastern areas correlates chronologically with the spread of closed forest. However, these intervals also coincide with the arrival of (probably sparse) human populations in the regions occupied by giant deer in Ireland and across Russia. The pattern of distributional changes leading to the Holocene restriction of giant deer populations strongly suggests environmental causation, but a contribution of human hunting to the extirpation of terminal populations cannot be ruled out.
... This process probably led to the geochemical stress for mammoths, which is reflected by skeletal diseases (Leshchinskiy, 2006(Leshchinskiy, , 2009(Leshchinskiy, , 2012(Leshchinskiy, , 2015(Leshchinskiy, , 2017. Nevertheless, despite the degradation of Ca-Na geochemical landscapes as a whole, relatively favorable conditions for large herbivorous mammals existed in some parts of the Baraba Lowland at the very end of the Pleistocene and in the Early Holocene van der Plicht et al., 2015). The stability of ecological relationships and formation of the refugium in southern Western Siberia were due to the existence of mineral oases, and VG is a typical example of this. ...
... 6-5.5 14 C ka BP (Orlova, 1990;Levina and Orlova, 1993;Liss et al., 2001;Krivonogov et al., 2018). The domination of open landscapes with rich herb cover from the last glacial maximum to the mid-Holocene is confirmed by the remains of woolly mammoth, horse, bison, and other representatives of the megafauna found in the Baraba Lowland where, in addition to VG, such finds were made at other sites (van der Plicht et al., 2015;Puzachenko et al., 2017). ...
This paper describes the results of research at Volchia Griva, the largest site in Asia containing mammoth fauna in situ. It is situated in the south of the West Siberian Plain in the Baraba forest-steppe zone, and occupies an area of several hectares. Analysis of sediments and taphonomy of the site allows us to suggest that thousands of megafaunal remains were buried here in mud pits and erosional depressions. The favorable geochemical landscape of Volchia Griva attracted animals during periods of mineral starvation. This is reflected in the high mortality in two intervals, ca. 20–18 ¹⁴ C ka BP and ca. 17–11 ¹⁴ C ka BP. The results of palynological analysis of samples from the upper part of the Volchia Griva section made it possible to reconstruct the history of landscape changes of the Baraba Lowland during the MIS 2. Forb-mesophytic meadows were common at the beginning of this period, with taiga type forests. At ca. 20 ¹⁴ C ka BP, an abrupt and significant aridization of the climate occurred, which led to the degradation of forests. The mammoth steppe was widely developed, dominated by forb-grass association and with areas of alkali meadows and soils. Such conditions existed probably until the mid-Holocene.
... The abrupt climate and vegetation changes of the Last Glacial/Interglacial Transition strongly affected the ranges of mammalian species (Moen et al., 1999;Gonzalez et al., 2000;Stuart et al., 2004;Lister and Stuart, 2008;van der Plicht et al., 2015). Ancient DNA studies show that contraction of species ranges and abundances caused loss of genetic diversity and presumably loss of adaptive flexibility (Lister and Stuart, 2008). ...
... M. giganteus had disappeared from most of Eurasia by the onset of the Holocene, yet survived in the forest steppe of a relatively small area in the Urals/western Siberia until ca. 7700 cal a BP (Stuart et al., 2004;van der Plicht et al., 2015). Compared to the abrupt and intense Lateglacial changes of the Pleistocene/Holocene transition there were no major climatic changes during this period. ...
... It occupied Eurasia, where it appeared about 400,000 years ago [1], and is one of the megafauna species that disappeared during the Holocene. The last populations of Megaloceros have been found in Eastern Europe and Siberia and are dated around 7660 cal BP [2][3][4]. In Western Europe, the last populations have been confined to the North-Ireland, Scotland, Sweden, Germany and Denmark-and are dated between 13,900 and 12,800 cal BP [4]. ...
In this article we announce the discovery of the first remains of Megaloceros giganteus found in Catalonia (north-eastern Iberia) from the Late Pleistocene: a fragment of maxillary. Dated between 35,000 and 37,000 cal BP, it is also among the youngest occurrence of this taxon in the Iberian Peninsula, while its last known occurrence is dated to the Neolithic period. Through a comparison with the giant deer of the northern Pyrenees, we analyzed the herbivore guilds in which this taxon was associated to understand the context in which it was able to enter the Iberian Peninsula. By comparing its diet with those of specimens from Northern Europe, we detail the ecological adaptations of this taxon in this new environment. We suggest that Megaloceros accompanied the migrations of cold-adapted species by taking advantage of the opening of corridors on both sides of the Pyrenees during the coldest periods of the Late Pleistocene. The diet of the Iberian individuals, which is oriented towards abrasive plants, suggests an adaptation to a different ecological niche than that found in Northern European individuals. The northern Iberian Peninsula may have been an extreme in the geographical expansion of M. giganteus. More specimens will be needed in the future to establish the variability of the southern Megaloceros populations.
... mm), at the distance of 240.5 mm along the main beam from the supraorbital tine, the anterior margin of the antler starts projecting anteriorly, suggesting the area represented the base of the anterior tine. The general morphology and size of the antler corresponds to those present in the giant deer, Megaloceros giganteus, a large megacerine deer present throughout most of Eurasia during the Late Pleistocene, and, in some cold refugia, even until the Early Holocene (Lister 1994, Vislobokova 2011, Croitor et al. 2014, Plicht et al. 2015, Croitor 2018, Lister and Stuart 2019. The morphology of the palmation that usually exists at the distal end of the antlers, and the presence of additional tines attached to the palmation, features used in discerning between several giant deer subspecies (e.g., Croitor 2018) cannot be inferred, due to the distal part of the antler not being preserved. ...
This paper describes the first fossil remains discovered in the detritic deposits that crop out along the Burdea River, at Albeşti (Teleorman County). The specimens described in this paper are assigned to proboscideans (Mammuthus meridionalis) and to cervids (Megaloceros giganteus). Along with the specimens from Albeşti, two other specimens are presented, found in Upper Pleistocene deposits near Bucharest, that have never been described previously in scientific literature. The taxa from Albeşti indicate both Lower Pleistocene and Upper Pleistocene deposits are present in the sedimentary succession found along the Burdea River.
... Establishing the distribution and composition of Holocene faunal communities increases the accuracy of data extrapolated from species distributions that are commonly used for modern conservation management, that is, extent of biodiversity losses, species habitat tolerances, range expansions and contractions as well as ecology (Bilney, 2014;McDowell, 2014). Fossils can be used to distinguish between natural change and ecosystem disturbance events, for example, anthropogenic impacts (Dietl and Flessa, 2011;Lyman, 2012), define restoration baselines (Bilney, 2014;McDowell, 2014) and identify refugia (Byrne, 2008;Van der Plicht et al., 2015). Post-European faunas in particular regions may constitute up to as little as 20% of their pre-European former biodiversity (McDowell, 2014). ...
The arrival in Australia of Europeans and the species they brought with them initiated a sharp decline in native mammalian biodiversity. Consequently, one-third of the original or pre-European terrestrial mammal fauna is now extinct or threatened with extinction. Although the distributional ranges of many Australian mammals have contracted markedly, modern distributions are frequently used as baselines for conservation management and understanding ecological requirements. However, these often poorly reflect pre-European distributions, particularly in areas where biodiversity declines were rapid and occurred soon after European arrival. Here we analyse two late Holocene mammalian assemblages from Fleurieu Peninsula, South Australia, and reconstruct the pre-European terrestrial non-volant mammal fauna. The region was previously estimated to have lost perhaps 30% of its original terrestrial non-volant mammal fauna, but our results indicate a loss of almost 50%. We provide the first local records of the murids Mastacomys fuscus, Pseudomys australis, P. gouldii, P. novaehollandiae and P. shortridgei, and confirm the past occurrence of the now-extinct Conilurus albipes. Our study contributes new knowledge of species biogeography and ecology and will help refine restoration targets.
... It is quite possible that the giant deer continued to live in the region and in the early Holocene. Dates confirm finds as Holocene (Van der Plicht et al., 2015): in the Baraba Steppe (7865 ± 40 (GrA-56935), and others.) and in the Angara (9235 ± 40 (GrA-56936), and others.). ...
Twenty five species of large mammals are reliably established for the North-Minusinsk basin in the Last Glacial period. Another nine species of large mammal remains whose regular habitation is questionable are also known. The species biodiversity of mammals of open steppe landscapes is three times higher than the biodiversity of animals of closed and semi-closed forest biotopes. Species of closed and semi-closed forested landscapes are dominant in the modern fauna of the region. Most of the species who lived in open landscapes of the region became extinct. A possible reason for the extinction of large representatives of the mammoth fauna is the reduction of their migration ability. As a result of reduction of the area steppe landscapes beyond the depression, migration routes of large representatives of the mammoth fauna were disrupted. The steppe phytocoenoses, preserved in the territory of Minusinsk depression to the present, were not able to maintain the stability of the mammoth fauna. This may have led to the extinction of large animals. However, the stability of steppe ecosystems in the region promoted the preservation of most micro-mammals, as well as the later extinction of some large mammals in the region.
... Poor-quality undecorated pottery, flakes, scrapers, and horse, dog, bear and elk bones have also been discovered in these pits. One of the pits contained the upper jaw of an Early Holocene Megaloceros giganteus (van der Plicht et al. 2015). ...
This article presents the results of radiocarbon dating and a chronology of the Preobrazhenka 6 site of the Odino culture (Baraba forest steppe, western Siberia). Currently available 14 C data for the necropolis do not allow accurate determination of the presence or absence of reservoir effects, and as such, further research is needed. Accelerator mass spec-trometry (AMS) 14 C dating of paired samples of terrestrial faunal and fish remains from a Neolithic pit suggest the absence of a reservoir effect in fish bone collagen. Middle Bronze Age burials have therefore been estimated to date to the 23rd–20th centuries cal BC. Pits with fish remains are dated earlier than burials, to the 63rd–61st centuries cal BC. Stable isotope measurements of human bone collagen (high δ 15 N and low δ 13 C values) indicate diets based on С 3 plants and fish. Apparently, the role of animal protein in the diet was not significant. Dental paleopathology analysis has confirmed the important role of wild plants in human diet. Neolithic fish bones are elevated in δ 13 С [–13.5‰, average mean (n = 4)]. They are significantly different from the associated values of fish from the Late Bronze Age settlement of Chicha 1 [–22.5‰, average mean (n = 10)], which is also located in the Baraba forest steppe. The difference in δ 13 C values in fish bones may be determined by the origin of the samples, being derived either from lakes or rivers.
The fossils of giant deer Megaloceros giganteus (Blumenbach, 1799) are commonly found throughout Ireland in Late-glacial deposits, and less commonly in the Netherlands and the rest of Europe in both glacial and interglacial deposits predating the Last Glacial Maximum . The seasonal mobility behaviour of this species has been a topic of discussion in the literature as it may have implications for the plasticity of this species between warmer and colder periods over the last 400,000 years. Using new 87Sr/86Sr isotope data in conjunction with δ18O and δ13C data from a previous study, three giant deer from different locations in Ireland were analysed. One specimen from Ballybetagh, County Dublin may have been seasonally mobile, possibly due to the rapid change in climate which caused its preferred habitat to disappear around 12.8 ka ago. Perhaps the switch to increased mobility during colder periods was essential to the survival of giant deer over the climatic turbulence of the Mid-Late Pleistocene. However, given the uniqueness of the Late-glacial Irish giant deer population it is unclear how the results of this study can be applied to other populations.
The fossils of giant deer Megaloceros giganteus (Blumenbach, 1799) are commonly found throughout Ireland in Late-glacial deposits, and less commonly in the Netherlands and the rest of
Europe in both glacial and interglacial deposits predating the Last Glacial Maximum . The seasonal mobility behaviour of this species has been a topic of discussion in the literature as it may have
implications for the plasticity of this species between warmer and colder periods over the last 400,000 years. Using new 87Sr/86Sr isotope data in conjunction with δ18O and δ13C data from a
previous study, three giant deer from different locations in Ireland were analysed. One specimen from Ballybetagh, County Dublin may have been seasonally mobile, possibly due to the rapid change in climate which caused its preferred habitat to disappear around 12.8 ka ago. Perhaps the switch to increased mobility during colder periods was essential to the survival of giant deer over the climatic turbulence of the Mid-Late Pleistocene. However, given the uniqueness of the Late-glacial Irish giant
deer population it is unclear how the results of this study can be applied to other populations.
1. Terrestrial mammals shape their ecosystems, and mammalian community assemblages can be important indicators of ecosystem functioning and ecosystem changes over time. Numerous taxa of terrestrial mammals are currently threatened by habitat loss and face displacement to new geographical areas or systems to which they are less suited and where they may affect the original communities.
2. Understanding past ecosystem changes is important for predicting future responses of species assemblages to changes in their environments. Thus, ecological and evolutionary history, as well as adaptive capacity, are important predictors of future population viability. Genomic and metagenomic approaches using environmental or ancient DNA offer a wealth of information regarding genome-wide variation of changing communities or of taxonomic groups over time, which may help explain past changes and predict future responses of communities to changes in their environment; however, to date, such studies are relatively scarce.
3. We review studies on environmental DNA and environmental genomics of terrestrial mammals to assess the potential of such approaches regarding past, contemporary, and future terrestrial ecosystems, identify inherent challenges, and discuss potential applications. We elaborate on lessons to be learned from mammal genomics of past ecosystems and compare metabarcoding with general metagenetic and metagenomic techniques. We provide a comprehensive overview of current applications, challenges, and future potential of environmental DNA with regards to terrestrial mammals.
4. As current major challenges regarding mammalian eDNA we identify its scarcity and patchy distribution, along with the persistent necessity of genomic reference data. While the latter are steadily increasing, the former can only be tackled by explicitly mapping the environment to gain understanding of spatial eDNA distribution. Such understanding may facilitate informed choices of sample sites and substrates and, together with new sequencing techniques, this can allow mammalian eDNA to be maximally exploited as a source of biodiversity data.
Giant deer Megaloceros giganteus (Blumenbach, 1799) fossils are commonly found in Lateglacial deposits throughout Ireland. While their migrational behaviour has been suggested, it has never been researched. We hypothesise that giant deer underwent seasonal migrations, specifically during Late Pleistocene cold periods as a behavioural adaptation. Giant deer required a high nutrient uptake and were maladapted to the cold‐dry steppe of the Pleistocene glacials. Migration allowed for optimal nutrient uptake during summer, while avoiding the harsh winter conditions of the glacials by moving to sheltered, low‐lying areas. In this study strontium isotope analysis (87Sr/86Sr) of sequentially sampled dental enamel is conducted for the first time on giant deer that were previously sampled in the same manner for δ13C and δ18O, allowing correlations between the isotope data sets. One specimen from Ballybetagh, Dublin generated results indicating seasonal mobility behaviour. This individual was perhaps pushed to migrate at the Younger Dryas stadial onset as the vegetation giant deer depended on disappeared in Ireland. Adaptive mobility behaviour in response to climate was perhaps imperative to their survival through previous glacial periods, but other Eurasian populations would need to be analysed to make such a general conclusion.
Изучение древнего наскального искусства требует междисциплинарного подхода. Cотрудничество исследователей петроглифов и палеозоологов позволяет провести реконструкцию состава палеофауны региона, помогает в интерпретации териоморфных образов. Предметом изучения данной статьи являются похожие на быков изображения в наскальном искусстве р. Ангара. Многие изображения датируются эпохой неолита - ранней бронзы. Причины их появления в таежном наскальном искусстве могли быть различными: влияние художественной традиции окуневской культуры с юга; стилизация образа лося или оленя; мифологизация образов таежных животных; наличие для древнего художника реальной натуры - дикого быка. Согласно данным палеозоологии в эпоху голоцена на Ангаре обитали реликтовые животные - бизоны, туры. Возможно, они обитали и на Среднем Енисее. Это позволило высказать предположение, что в наскальном искусстве изображен дикий бык, на которого охотился древний человек.
The study of ancient rock art requires an interdisciplinary approach. Active cooperation of rock art researchers and paleozoologists makes it possible to reconstruct the composition of the paleofauna, to interpret theriomorphic images. The subject of the article is images similar to bulls in rock art on the Angara River. Many of the images date back to the Neolithic - early Bronze Age. The reasons for their appearance in taiga zone rock art could be diff erent: the infl uence of artistic tradition of the Okunev culture from the South; stylization of the image of an elk or a deer; mythologization of the images of taiga zone animals; the presence of a real animal in the nature - a wild bull. According to paleozoological data of the Holocene Epoch the Angara River valley was inhabited by relict animals - bisons, tours. Perhaps, they also lived in the Middle Yenisei. Therefore, we suggest that some petroglyphs depict a wild bull, which was hunted by an ancient man.
The potential for megafauna restoration is unevenly distributed across the world, along with the socio‐political capacity of countries to support these restoration initiatives. We show that choosing a recent baseline to identify species' indigenous range puts a higher burden for megafauna restoration on countries in the Global South, which also have less capacity to support these restoration initiatives. We introduce the Megafauna Index, which considers large mammal's potential species richness and range area at the country level, to explore how the responsibility for megafauna restoration is distributed across the world according to four scenarios using various temporal benchmarks to define species' indigenous range – current, historical (1500 AD), mid‐Holocene and Pleistocene. We test how the distribution of restoration burden across the world correlates with indicators of conservation funding, human development and governance. Using a recent or historical baseline as a benchmark for restoration puts a higher pressure on African and south‐east Asian countries while lifting the responsibility from the Global North, where extinctions happened a long time ago. When using a mid‐Holocene or Pleistocene baseline, new opportunities arise for megafauna restoration in Europe and North America, respectively, where countries have a higher financial and societal capacity to support megafauna restoration. These results contribute to the debate around benchmarks in rewilding initiatives and the ethical implications of using recent baselines to guide restoration efforts. We suggest that countries from the Global North should reflect on their responsibility in supporting global restoration efforts, by both increasing their support for capacity building in the Global South and taking responsibility for restoring lost megafauna at home.
The potential for megafauna restoration is unevenly distributed across the world, along with the socio-political capacity of countries to support these restoration initiatives. We show that choosing a recent baseline to identify species' indigenous range puts a higher burden for megafauna restoration on countries in the Global South, which also have less capacity to support these restoration initiatives. We introduce the Megafauna Index, which considers large mammal's potential species richness and range area at country-level, to explore how the responsibility for megafauna restoration distributes across the world according to four scenarios using various temporal benchmarks to define species' indigenous range - current, historical (1500AD), mid-Holocene and Pleistocene. We test how the distribution of restoration burden across the world correlates to indicators of conservation funding, human development, and governance. Using a recent or historical baseline as a benchmark for restoration puts a higher pressure on African and south-east Asian countries while lifting the responsibility from the Global North, where extinctions happened a long time ago. When using a mid-Holocene or Pleistocene baseline, new opportunities arise for megafauna restoration in Europe and North America respectively, where countries have a higher financial and societal capacity to support megafauna restoration. These results contribute to the debate around benchmarks in rewilding initiatives and the ethical implications of using recent baselines to guide restoration efforts. We suggest that countries from the Global North should reflect on their responsibility in supporting global restoration efforts, by increasing their support for capacity building in the South and taking responsibility for restoring lost biodiversity at home.
Museums hold millions of objects from all over the globe, offering a unique, unparalleled resource for researchers. They provide historical snapshots of data both geographically and through time, giving researchers rare access to huge amounts of information. Recent advances in analytical techniques have allowed for even more information to be obtained from collections, from radiocarbon dating to genetic sequencing. This entry provides some background on museums and their collections, along with key examples of research that has been undertaken using both nondestructive and destructive sampling methods. It also outlines details on how collections can be used, limitations in sampling, and how to search for objects in museums across Britain. The potential for collections to assist with research is enormous, and this applies not only to national museums but also to smaller regional museums.
Purpose. Based on the results of the study of materials of the Tartas-1 and Ust-Tartas-1 sites and radiocarbon dating, the article explores the Baraba culture of the early Neolithic era (VII thousand BC, entering the VIII and VI thousand BC). Results. The Neolithic parking lot, studied at Tartas-1, is represented by two structures, a smokehouse and a series of pits for storing fish. A significant number of finds from bone and stone have been found. The ceramic complex is of particular importance. These are flat-bottomed containers, made in the technique of orderly patchwork, using a molding cord on the top of the vessel, and roller-flow around the perimeter of the bottom. The ornament is represented by a complex plot of an asymmetrical composition. The stone industry is characterized as plate-like with a high value of linear technology. The absence of stone arrowheads is characteristic of this. Fish was harvested in pits. At different stages of operation, corpses of different animals were placed inside. The bones of Late Pleistocene fauna have been revealed. The original ritual complex was discovered on the monument of Ust-Tartas-1. Conclusion. In Baraba, the ceramics of Tartas-1 and Ust-Tartas-1 are similar to the ceramics of Autodrome-2/2, which is related to Boborykinskaya culture, direct dating of ceramics attributed to the last quarter 6th – mid 5th thousand BC. The early Neolithic sites of the North with complexes with flat-bottomed utensils date from the end of the 7th – first half of 6th thousand BC. Neolithic flat-bottomed utensils of Western Siberia should be assessed as a phenomenon of general historical and stage nature. The classification of Tartas complexes with flat-bottomed utensils to Boborykinskaya culture is inaccurate and incorrect. The latter appears to be much younger in time. The discoveries of sites with flat-bottomed ceramics allow a completely new idea of the dynamics of historical and cultural processes in the forest and steppe of the Irtysh area.
Drawing on current research in anthropology, cognitive psychology, neuroscience, and the humanities, Understanding the Human Mind explores how and why we, as humans, find it so easy to believe we are right—even when we are outright wrong.
Humans live out their own lives effectively trapped in their own mind and, despite being exceptional survivors and a highly social species, our inner mental world is often misaligned with reality. In order to understand why, John Edward Terrell and Gabriel Stowe Terrell suggest current dual-process models of the mind overlook our mind’s most decisive and unpredictable mode: creativity. Using a three-dimensional model of the mind, the authors examine the human struggle to stay in touch with reality—how we succeed, how we fail, and how winning this struggle is key to our survival in an age of mounting social problems of our own making.
Using news stories of logic-defying behavior, analogies to famous fictitious characters, and analysis of evolutionary and cognitive psychology theory, this fascinating account of how the mind works is a must-read for all interested in anthropology and cognitive psychology.
Britain's lynx are missing, and they have been for more than a thousand years. Why have they gone? And might they come back?
A mere 15,000 years ago, Britain was a very different place – home to lions, lynx, bears, wolves, bison and many more megafauna. But as the climate changed and human populations expanded, changing habitats and wiping out wildlife, most of the British megafauna disappeared. Will we ever be able to bring these mammals back? And if it's possible, should we?
In The Missing Lynx, palaeontologist Ross Barnett uses case studies, new fossil discoveries, biomolecular evidence and more to paint a picture of these lost species, and to explore the significance of their disappearance in ecological terms. He also discusses how the Britons these animals shared their lives with might have viewed them, and questions why some survived while others vanished.
Barnett also looks in detail at the realistic potential of reintroductions, rewilding and even of resurrection, both in Britain and overseas, from the innovative Oostvaardersplassen nature reserve to the revolutionary Pleistocene Park in Siberia, which has already seen progress in the revival of 'mammoth steppe' grassland.
With the world going through a 'sixth extinction' caused by widespread habitat destruction, climate change and an ever-growing human population, this timely book explores the spaces that extinction has left unfilled, in Britain and elsewhere. By understanding why some of our most charismatic animals are gone, we can look to a brighter future, perhaps with some of these missing beasts returned to the land on which they once lived and died.
The Volchia Griva is the largest site in Asia where the mammoth fauna remains are buried in situ. It is located in the Baraba forest-steppe (Western Siberia). In the 20th century, remains of at least 70 mammoths, 5 horses, 3 bisons and 1 wolf, as well as 37 stone artifacts were found here. The latest excavations of 2015–2017 on ~30 m2 revealed over 1500 bones and teeth, 95% of which belong to mammoths (at least 14 individuals), and the rest are from horses (3), bison, wolf, red fox, arctic fox, and rodents; associated artifacts – 23 items. With an average thickness of the bonebearing lens ~ 0.3–0.5 m, the local remain concentration exceeded 130/m2. The forty five crossed 14C dates were obtained from these materials, which reveal a burial period of ~20–10 ka BP. Obviously, there was the southernmost and one of the youngest mammoth refugia of Eurasia on this territory. The favorable Ca-Na geochemical landscape of the beast solonetz was the main reason for mammoth to visit the Volchia Griva. During the mineral starvation, the site attracted hundreds of large mammals, the remains of which were buried in mud baths and erosion forms. The main levels of the bone-bearing horizon have been forming for several thousand years, and that matched two waves of the megafauna’s geochemical stress in the Last Glacial Maximum and Late Glacial. Typical bone pathologies, such as exostoses, osteoporosis, erosion of articular surfaces, etc., characterize this process. These facts, together with the lack of strong evidence of hunting and butchering, indicate that the Volchia Griva was the natural mammoth death site, which was well known and used by Palaeolithic humans.
This paper sets out to analyse the economic activity of the inhabitants of an Early Neolithic settlement on the north-eastern coast of Lake Mergen (Lower Ishim River, south of Western Siberia) with the purpose of determining specific strategies of their adaptation to natural conditions (based on the materials of the Mergen 6 settlement). The initial data for the analysis were taken from studies characterizing the climate at the beginning of the Holocene, the paleolandscape characteristics of the territory, the geomorphological position of the settlement, the composition and conditions for the formation of the archaeozoological collection and hunting/fishing gear sets. A comprehensive analysis of these sources made it possible to develop an economic model describing the functioning of the settlement. The main features of the settlement functioning model involve the location of the settlement at the intersection of the so-called «feeding landscapes» (forest/steppe at the macro-level, lake/river at the micro-level); a probable year-round, stationary character of the settlement; the equivalence between two main economic sectors (hunting and fishing); reliance in the economic activity on ungulate hunting and fishing; a supposedly seasonal character of hunting and fishing certain fauna species. In our opinion, this model suitably reflects adaptation strategies used by the ancient population, whose main goal was to ensure the sustainability and productivity of their economy. In addition, the conducted historiography analysis has shown that the aforementioned elements of the model were common for all ancient societies with the appropriating type of economy that resided in Eurasian forest and forest-steppe territories in the Mesolithic-Neolithic periods.
Аннотация. На примере изучения видового состава голоценовых ориктоценозов и изо-
топного состава костных останков Alces americanus и Equus ferus археологического ме-
стонахождения Усть-Кеуль I (Северное Приангарье) проведена реконструкция условий
обитания древних животных. Изотопный состав δ
13C и δ15N коллагена зуба лошади из
культуросодержащего горизонта 10 (10–11 тыс. л. н.) свидетельствует о преобладании в
ее рационе питания травянистых растений преимущественно c типом фотосинтеза С3,
произрастающих в степи и/или лесостепи. В более поздние эпохи, от неолита до насто-
ящего времени, здесь доминировали таежные условия. Рацион питания лосей из гори-
зонтов 9–2 состоял из лесной (таежной) растительности, среди которой существенную
часть составляли мхи, лишайники, водные и полуводные растения и грибы, причем доля
их в диете животных возрастала в периоды голоценовых климатических минимумов.
An almost complete skeleton of the giant deer Megaloceros giganteus giganteus (Blumenbach, 1803) from the Dzhambul locality on the Irtysh River (Pavlodar Region, Kazakhstan) is described. About 80% of bones are intact, including the skull with well-preserved antlers. At present, the skeleton is mounted in the Pavlodar Local History Regional Museum. Comparative analysis of giant deer skulls varying in age from the southeastern West Siberian Plain has revealed stable characters distinguishing Middle and Late Neopleistocene specimens. These characteristics are considered to be of subspecies rank, allowing the identification of Megaloceros giganteus ruffi Nehring and Megaloceros giganteus giganteus (Blumenbach.) Changes in absolute and relative dimensions of the dentition and facial skull length are most indicative with reference to evolution.
Based on the stratigraphy of Paleolithic sites on the northern Angara, the Upper Pleistocene and Holocene history of the region is reconstructed. Findings of recent salvage excavations in the Boguchany flooding zone as well as the evidence of Quaternary geology, geomorphology, neotectonics, and archaeology jointly disprove the “young Angara” model proposed by G.I. Medvedev and other “geoarchaeologists.” The principal event postulated by that model – the alleged disastrous outburst of the Angara along the Baikal channel 12–7 ka BP is supported neither by the relief nor by the Upper Pleistocene and Holocene sedimentation record nor by the stratigraphy of the Paleolithic sites on the northern Angara.
This paper summarizes the results so far of our 'Late Quaternary Megafaunal Extinctions' project, focussing on an assessment of latest available dates for selected target species from Europe and northern Asia. Our approach is to directly radiocarbon-date material of extinct megafauna to construct their spatio-temporal histories, and to seek correlations with the environmental and archaeological records with the aim of establishing the cause or causes of extinction. So far we have focussed on Mammuthus primigenius, Coelodonta antiquitatis, and Megaloceros giganteus, and are accumulating data on Panthera leo/ spelaea, Crocuta crocuta and Ursus spelaeus. Attempts to date Palaeoloxodon antiquus and Stephanorhinus hemitoechus (from southern Europe) were largely unsuccessful. The pattern of inferred terminal dates is staggered, with extinctions occurring over ca. 30 millennia, with some species previously thought extinct in the Late Pleistocene - M. primigenius and M giganteus - surviving well into the Holocene. All species show dramatic range shifts in response to climatic/vegetational changes, especially the beginning of the Last Glacial Maximum, Late Glacial Interstadial, Allerød, Younger Dryas and Holocene, and there was a general trend of progressive range reduction and fragmentation prior to final extinction. With the possible exceptions of P. antiquus, S. hemitoechus and Homo neanderthalensis, extinctions do not correlate with the appearance of modern humans. However, although most of the observed patterns can be attributed to environmental changes, some features - especially failures to recolonize - suggest human involvement. © E. Schweizerbart'sche Verlagsbuchhandlung (Nägele u. Obermiller), 2007.
Book is devoted to the study of Quaternary mammals of the Southeast of Western Siberia on the basis of the material from Kuznetsk Basin – a unique fossil locality. Vast paleontological material is studied applying both traditional and innovative methods that imply multi-dimensional statistical processing of morphometric features and graphic display of the results obtained. Author provides description of 57 species and subspecies of large mammals belonging to 22 genera, 10 families, and 4 orders. Phyletic lineages are traced for the groups, major for Quaternary stratigraphy, epochs and stages of fauna development are distinguished; paleozoogeographical and paleoecological features of the fauna are discussed. A paleontological justification is given to the subdivision of region’s Quaternary deposits to Lower, Middle, and Upper Pleistocene. A possibility of establishing glacial and periglacial faunas is discussed. A position of lower boundary of the Quaternary in the Kuznetsk Basin is established. A regional stratigraphical scale is refined. For paleontologists, zoologists, and paleoecologists studying the Quaternary.
Full text in Russian: http://www.rfbr.ru/rffi/ru/books/o_61317
The paper is focused on the regularities and character of the response of the regional landscapes of the Angara-Lena Plateau to variations in the global climate system during the Holocene. They were revealed by integrated studies of four peat bogs of the plateau—an important area for the understanding of the environmental dynamics in the entire Baikal region. Age models for the records obtained were provided by 16 radiocarbon dates. A spatiotemporal correlation of spore-pollen indices with the trend of 518O records from the global stratotypes was used to find out the possible causes of changes in the landscapes and climate of the Angara-Lena Plateau in the context of past changes in the global climate system. The plateau environment showed a dramatically varying response to global climate variations in the Middle-Late Holocene. Moreover, the observed intervals of reorganization in the regional environment took place in a quasi-millennial regime, in accordance with global climate rearrangement. However, not all the studied regions of the Angara-Lena Plateau exhibited a synchronous or analogous response to global environment change. This emphasizes the complicated character of regional climate manifestations in the Holocene and necessitates the use of paleogeographical data from a wider range of territories.
This monograph is devoted to the study of the giant deer or megacerines (tribe Megacerini, family Cervidae, order Artiodactyla) of the Late Cenozoic of Eurasia. Special attention is paid to megacerines of Inner Asia. This region, which is connected with the origin and early stages of historical development of megacerines, is key to gaining an insight into their evolution and phylogeny, place in the food chain, and effect on the biogeocoenoses. Based on the revision of fossil materials from the Upper Miocene-Lower Pleistocene of Russia, Mongolia, and Tajikistan, new data from Tuva, and analysis of an evolution, phylogeny, ecogenesis, diversity dynamics, stages of historical development, and place of megacerines in biogeocoenoses, their role in the maintenance of homeostasis of the biosphere and changes in environments are shown and certain basic principles of macroevolution and evolution of the biosphere are discussed.
Megafaunal extinctions in northern Eurasia (excluding Mediterranean islands) since the Last Interglacial claimed about 37% of species with body weights >44 kg. Here we review the dating evidence for the timings of these extinctions, which were staggered over tens of millennia. Moreover, individual species disappeared at different times in different geographical areas. For example, cave bear probably disappeared ca. 30.5–28.5 ka, at approximately the onset of GS-3 (beginning of ‘LGM’), whereas cave lion survived until the Lateglacial ca 14 ka. Others survived into the Holocene: woolly mammoth until ca 10.7 ka in the New Siberian Islands and ca 4 ka on Wrangel Island, giant deer to at least 7.7 ka in western Siberia and European Russia. It is evident that climatic and vegetational changes had major impacts on species' ranges, and moreover the contrasting chronologies and geographical range contractions are consistent with environmental drivers relating to their differing ecologies. However, the possible role of humans in this process has still to be satisfactorily explored.
The IntCal09 and Marine09 radiocarbon calibration curves have been revised utilizing newly available and updated data sets from 14C measurements on tree rings, plant macrofossils, speleothems, corals, and foraminifera. The calibration curves were derived from the data using the random walk model (RWM) used to generate IntCal09 and Marine09, which has been revised to account for additional uncertainties and error structures. The new curves were ratified at the 21st International Radiocarbon conference in July 2012 and are available as Supplemental Material at www.radiocarbon.org. The database can be accessed at http://intcal.qub.ac.uk/intcal13/. © 2013 by the Arizona Board of Regents on behalf of the University of Arizona.
Extinction of the woolly mammoth in Beringia has long been subject to research and speculation. Here we use a new geo-referenced database of radiocarbon-dated evidence to show that mammoths were abundant in the open-habitat of Marine Isotope Stage 3 (∼45-30 ka). During the Last Glacial Maximum (∼25-20 ka), northern populations declined while those in interior Siberia increased. Northern mammoths increased after the glacial maximum, but declined at and after the Younger Dryas (∼12.9-11.5 ka). Remaining continental mammoths, now concentrated in the north, disappeared in the early Holocene with development of extensive peatlands, wet tundra, birch shrubland and coniferous forest. Long sympatry in Siberia suggests that humans may be best seen as a synergistic cofactor in that extirpation. The extinction of island populations occurred at ∼4 ka. Mammoth extinction was not due to a single cause, but followed a long trajectory in concert with changes in climate, habitat and human presence.
During the Last Cold Stage, woolly mammoths ranged very widely across Northern Eurasia into North America, but then disappeared as part of the global phenomenon of Late Quaternary megafaunal extinction. The timing and causes of this highly significant event have generated conflicting opinions and much debate. However, the overriding need is for more data, and recent years have seen the accumulation of significant new finds and radiocarbon dating evidence. In particular, research is currently focussing on the geographical pattern of extirpation leading to final extinction, rather than seeking a single ‘last appearance datum’. This Viewpoint article was commissioned by the Editor-in-Chief and is published following the paper by Lõugas et al. (Dating the extinction of European mammoths: new evidence from Estonia. Quat. Sci. Rev. 21 (2002) 1347) to place their finding in a wider context. We give a brief review of the youngest directly dated mammoth remains from different regions of Eurasia, based both on published sources and on our own current research. This includes a very important new record from Cherepovets, North Russian Plain, which together with the new date from Puurmani, Estonia indicates the persistence of mammoth in this region close to the Pleistocene–Holocene boundary. These and other records suggest that the previous picture of mammoths widespread before 12,000 ka BP (uncalibrated radiocarbon years ago), then restricted to limited areas of northern Siberia, although correct in outline, has important exceptions which modify our understanding of mammoth extinction.Despite the many available radiocarbon dates for Eurasian mammoth relative to other extinct megafauna, it is apparent that much more work is needed. Only then can we adequately tackle the important question of the cause or causes of extinction, whether by climatic/environmental change or ‘overkill’ by human hunters.
The last major global revolution of climate was the transition from the last glacial stage to the present interglacial, ca. 25–10ka. Vegetational belts and mammalian communities underwent major reorganisation. New radiocarbon data show that the complex series of climatic changes affected the ranges of mammalian species dramatically, but in differing ways related to the ecologies of individual species. For species that ultimately went extinct, the reduction in range was a prolonged and geographically complex process taking thousands or tens of thousands of years. Recent genetic studies using ancient DNA show that this process was often accompanied by loss of genetic variation and, presumably, adaptive flexibility. Even so, some species survived for thousands of years in small, terminal refugia before finally becoming extinct – a pattern akin to the ‘extinction lag’ or ‘extinction debt’ posited for endangered modern taxa. Whether refugial species can survive to re-expand into new areas, especially in anthropogenically disturbed environments, is determined by a complex of factors and is not inevitable.
In Groningen, all organic samples for accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS) are combusted in an automatic Elemental Analyzer, coupled to an Isotope Ratio Mass Spectrometer and Cryogenic Trapping System. The Gas Chromatographic (GC) column, part of the Elemental Analyzer system, appeared to be the main cause for memory effects. Therefore we modified the Elemental Analyzer, such that the trapped CO2 no longer passed the GC column. Our system modification reduced the memory effect significantly, as shown by lower radiocarbon concentration values for anthracite backgrounds, and a much smaller spread in these values. Our modified system can perform up to 40 combustions unattended in about 6 hr.
The extinction of the many well-known large mammals (megafauna) of the Late Pleistocene epoch has usually been attributed to 'overkill' by human hunters, climatic/vegetational changes or to a combination of both. An accurate knowledge of the geography and chronology of these extinctions is crucial for testing these hypotheses. Previous assumptions that the megafauna of northern Eurasia had disappeared by the Pleistocene/Holocene transition were first challenged a decade ago by the discovery that the latest woolly mammoths on Wrangel Island, northeastern Siberia, were contemporaneous with ancient Egyptian civilization. Here we show that another spectacular megafaunal species, the giant deer or 'Irish elk', survived to around 6,900 radiocarbon yr bp (about 7,700 yr ago) in western Siberia-more than three millennia later than its previously accepted terminal date-and therefore, that the reasons for its ultimate demise are to be sought in Holocene not Pleistocene events. Before their extinction, both giant deer and woolly mammoth underwent dramatic shifts in distribution, driven largely by climatic/vegetational changes. Their differing responses reflect major differences in ecology.
"Near time" -an interval that spans the last 100,000 years or so of earth history-qualifies as a remarkable period for many reasons. From an anthropocentric point of view, the out standing feature of near time is the fact that the evolution, cultural diversification, and glob al spread of Homo sapiens have all occurred within it. From a wider biological perspective, however, the hallmark of near time is better conceived of as being one of enduring, repeat ed loss. The point is important. Despite the sense of uniqueness implicit in phrases like "the biodiversity crisis," meant to convey the notion that the present bout of extinctions is by far the worst endured in recent times, substantial losses have occurred throughout near time. In the majority of cases, these losses occurred when, and only when, people began to ex pand across areas that had never before experienced their presence. Although the explana tion for these correlations in time and space may seem obvious, it is one thing to rhetori cally observe that there is a connection between humans and recent extinctions, and quite another to demonstrate it scientifically. How should this be done? Traditionally, the study of past extinctions has fallen largely to researchers steeped in such disciplines as paleontology, systematics, and paleoecology. The evaluation of future losses, by contrast, has lain almost exclusively within the domain of conservation biolo gists. Now, more than ever, there is opportunity for overlap and sharing of information.
Using both 14C and archeological data (mostly pottery decoration), we can tentatively date the origins of pottery and its spread throughout Siberia. It seems that both the Lower Amur River basin and Transbaikal represent independent centres of pottery invention, and both pre-date 10,000 BP (Figure 1, areas 1 and 2). In particular, the Russian Far East is characterized by the indigenous emergence of pottery. The net-impressed pottery might have originated in the Angara River headwaters c. 8000 BP, and the Kitoi culture represents the earliest evidence for net-impressed decoration. Later, this pottery may have spread northward (the Syalakh culture of Yakutia). The West Siberian Neolithic most probably originated independently from the Eastern Siberian and the Russian Far East, but is significantly later than the Neolithic of Transbaikal and the Amur River basin. The Neolithic of the Altai and Sayan Mountains has not been adequately investigated. Thus, there were a number of separate centres at which pottery originated in Siberia. Some, such as Amur River basin and Transbaikal, are among the earliest areas in the world along with southern China and southern Japan for the emergence of the Neolithic, and are dated to c. 13,000-10,000 BP (Kuzmin and Jull 1997). The rest of Siberia is characterized by the significantly later appearance of the Neolithic cultures, between c. 8000 BP and c. 4600-2600 BP. For some areas (such as the forest zone of Western Siberia and Yakutia, and both the forest and tundra zones of Northeastern Siberia including the Kolyma River headwaters and Chukotka), migrations and other forms of cultural exchange might have played a determining role in the Neolithization process.
A harvest of 300 radiocarbon dates on extinct elephants (Proboscidea) from the northern parts of the New and Old Worlds has revealed a striking difference. While catastrophic in North America, elephant extinction was gradual in Eurasia (Stuart 1991), where straight-tusked elephants ( Palaeoloxodon antiquus ) vanished 50 millennia or more before woolly mammoths ( Mammuthus primigenius ). The range of the woolly mammoths started shrinking before 20 ka ago (Vartanyan et al. 1995). By 12 ka bp, the beasts were very scarce or absent in western Europe. Until the dating of Wrangel Island tusks and teeth (Vartanyan, Garrutt and Sher 1993), mammoths appeared to make their last stand on the Arctic coast of Siberia ca. 10 ka bp. The Wrangel Island find of dwarf mammoths by Sergy Vartanyan, V. E. Garrut and Andrei Sher (1993) stretched the extinction chronology of mammoths another 6 ka, into the time of the pharaohs.
The updated chronology of the earliest pottery-containing complexes in Siberia and the Russian Far East is presented herein. The appearance of pottery (i.e. the process of Neolithization) in this vast region of Eurasia is discussed based on a model that represents a simple approximation of calendar ages between key sites as isolines. No clear spatiotemporal patterns for the origin and spread of pottery in northern Asia can be observed because pottery-making (unlike agriculture) could have emerged in different parts of the Old World at various times. Before modeling of pottery dispersal is conducted, careful evaluation of typology and technology of ceramics and stone artifacts should be done, in order to avoid the confusing situation when the results of modeling contradict the basic archaeological information.
This paper focuses on the chronology of Middle Bronze Age complexes in the Baraba forest steppe (western Siberia). Three sites were radiocarbon dated, Stary Tartas 4, Sopka 2, and Tartas 1. The Late Krotovo culture was dated to the 18-19th centuries BC, the Andronovo complex (Fedorovo stage) to the 15-18th centuries BC, and the Mixed Andronovo complex dated to the 15-17th centuries BC. These values are some 300-500 yr older than previously thought, and the new results are consistent with 14C dates of the Andronovo cultural complex in northern Eurasia. Based on these data, the 15th century BC is the upper chronological limit of the Andronovo period. © 2012 by the Arizona Board of Regents on behalf of the University of Arizona.
Four factors are suggested for the loss of mammoth and the disappearance of a series of other species: 1) changes in environment, including climate; 2) the loss by species of resistance and of the ability to adapt quickly; 3) disruption of population structure; 4) direct and indirect influence of man. -after Authors
The updated chronology of the earliest pottery-containing complexes in Siberia and the Russian Far East is presented herein. The appearance of pottery (i.e. the process of Neolithization) in this vast region of Eurasia is discussed based on a model that represents a simple approximation of calendar ages between key sites as isolines. No clear spatiotemporal patterns for the origin and spread of pottery in northern Asia can be observed because pottery-making (unlike agriculture) could have emerged in different parts of the Old World at various times. Before modeling of pottery dispersal is conducted, careful evaluation of typology and technology of ceramics and stone artifacts should be done, in order to avoid the confusing situation when the results of modeling contradict the basic archaeological information.
The paper presents the first reconstructions of vegetation and climate of the North Pre-Baikal region covering the last 9000 years based on detailed pollen records from peatlands. Recorded major changes in pollen spectra and vegetation are demonstrated to correlate with large-scale climatic events, such as the regional climatic optimum ca. 9000–6800 BP, termination of the optimum ca. 7000–6500 BP, and Neoglacial cooling culminated ca. 3000–2000 BP. The most warm and wet climate existed about 9000–6800 BP, the interval being referred to as the regional Holocene optimum. At that time, vegetation was dominated by dark coniferous forests of Abies sibirica, Picea obovata with Pinus sibirica. Since 6800 BP, the dark coniferous forests gave way to light coniferous ones (Pinus sylvestris and Larix) in response to gradual decrease of precipitation and summer temperatures to today’s values, agreeing well with earlier obtained data. The new records suggest the cold boreal plant communities are highly sensitive to climatic changes. Detailed dating of the sequences would facilitate inter- and intra-regional correlations of the obtained records and reconstructed events.
The geological structure and faunal content of one of the principal localities for Quaternary mammal remains in Western Siberia, Krasniy Yar (Tomsk region, Russia) are considered. This locality contains 3 layers of bone remains: lower (Middle Neopleistocene), middle (the end of Late Neopleistocene) and upper (end of Neopleistocene-beginning of Holocene). The richest horizon in number of species and the quantity of remains is the middle horizon, which contains the mammoth fauna. (c) 2005 Elsevier Ltd and INQUA. All rights reserved.
The palaeontological data on mammal remains from two Middle Palaeolithic (ca. 125 000 years ago – 27 200 BP) and 34 (ca. 34 000–12 000 BP) Upper Palaeolithic cultural complexes in the upper part of the Yenisei River basin (southern Siberia) are considered. General features of the faunal assemblages are established. Several issues are discussed, including (a) changes in species composition through time and palaeoenvironmental implications of the zooarchaeological records; (b) patterns of human exploitation (hunting) of mammals; (c) issue of mammoth hunting and (d) possibility of domestication of dog in the late Upper Palaeolithic in the Yenisei River basin. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Since its introduction in 19771, stable isotope analysis of bone collagen has been widely used to reconstruct aspects of prehistoric human and animal diets2–11. This method of dietary analysis is based on two well-established observations, and on an assumption that has never been tested. The first observation is that bone collagen 13C/12C and 15N/14N ratios reflect the corresponding isotope ratio of an animal's diet1–5,12. The second is that groups of foods have characteristically different 13C/12C and/or 15N/14N ratios13,14. Taken together, the two observations indicate that the isotope ratios of collagen in the bones of a living animal reflect the amounts of these groups of foods that the animal ate. Thus, it has been possible to use fresh bone collagen 13C/12C ratios to determine the relative consumption of C3 and C4 plants15–17, while 13C/12C and 15N/14N ratios have been used to distinguish between the use of marine and terrestrial foods14. The 15N/14N ratios of fresh bone collagen probably also reflect the use of leguminous and non-leguminous plants as food5, but this has not yet been demonstrated. Prehistoric consumption of these same groups of foods has been reconstructed from isotope ratios of collagen extracted from fossil bone1–11. Implicit in the application of the isotopic method to prehistoric material is the assumption that bone collagen isotope ratios have not been modified by postmortem processes. Here I present the first examination of the validity of this assumption. The results show that postmortem alteration of bone collagen isotope ratios does occur, but that it is possible to identify prehistoric bones whose collagen has not undergone such alteration.
Together with several other megafaunal species in Northern Eurasia, Mammuthus primigenius and Palaeoloxodon antiquus became extinct in the Last Glacial–Interglacial cycle, but they had very different ecologies, times of extinction and ‘last stands’ in different regions. The dramatic contraction in mammoth range ca. 12 kyr (uncalibrated 14C chronology), after which known populations were confined to Northern Siberia (mainly Taymyr and Wrangel Island), correlates well with the extensive spread of trees in the Allerød phase of the Late Glacial Interstadial. The return of open steppe-tundra in the Younger Dryas cold phase, ca. 10.6–10 kyr, saw a limited re-expansion into NE Europe, followed by retraction and apparent extinction of mainland populations, which can be correlated with the marked loss of open habitats in the early Holocene. In contrast, at the end of the Last Interglacial, the retreat of P. antiquus to S. Europe, where it may have survived to ca. 50–34 kyr, can be linked to the loss of woodland habitats elsewhere. Although in both species, climate acting through vegetational changes evidently drove these range shifts, environmental change alone appears insufficient to account for extinctions. However, the possible role of human hunters is also still unclear.
The Groningen AMS facility has been in operation since 1994. The AMS is based on a 2.5 MV tandetron accelerator. It is an automatic mass spectrometer, dedicated to 14C analysis. Thus far, a grand total of about 16 000 14C targets have been measured. We report here on the status and performance of the facility, technical improvements and a precision study on atmospheric samples.
Drastic ecological restructuring, species redistribution and extinctions mark the Pleistocene-Holocene transition, but an insufficiency of numbers of well-dated large mammal fossils from this transition have impeded progress in understanding the various causative links. Here I add many new radiocarbon dates to those already published on late Pleistocene fossils from Alaska and the Yukon Territory (AK-YT) and show previously unrecognized patterns. Species that survived the Pleistocene, for example, bison (Bison priscus, which evolved into Bison bison), wapiti (Cervus canadensis) and, to a smaller degree, moose (Alces alces), began to increase in numbers and continued to do so before and during human colonization and before the regional extinction of horse (Equus ferus) and mammoth (Mammuthus primigenius). These patterns allow us to reject, at least in AK-YT, some hypotheses of late Pleistocene extinction: 'Blitzkrieg' version of simultaneous human overkill, 'keystone' removal, and 'palaeo-disease'. Hypotheses of a subtler human impact and/or ecological replacement or displacement are more consistent with the data. The new patterns of dates indicate a radical ecological sorting during a uniquely forage-rich transitional period, affecting all large mammals, including humans.
The ‘mass extinctions’ at the end of the Pleistocene were unique, both in the Pleistocene and earlier in the geological record, in that the species lost were nearly all large terrestrial mammals. Although a global phenomenon, late Pleistocene extinctions were most severe in North America, South America and Australia, and moderate in northern Eurasia (Europe plus Soviet Asia). In Africa, where nearly all of the late Pleistocene ‘megafauna’ survives to the present day, losses were slight.
Ruling out epidemic disease or cosmic catastrophe, the contending hypotheses to explain late Pleistocene extinctions are: (a) failure to adapt to climatic/environmental change; and (b) extermination by human hunters (‘prehistoric overkill’).
This review focuses on extinctions in northern Eurasia (mainly Europe) in comparison with North America. In addition to reviewing the faunal evidence, the highly relevant environmental and archaeological backgrounds are summarized. The latest survival dates of extinct species are estimated from stratigraphic occurrences of fossil remains, radiocarbon dates, or association with archaeological industries.
The Middle and Upper Pleistocene (ca. 700000–10000 BP) in northern Eurasia and North America was a time of constantly changing climate, ranging from phases of extensive glaciation in cold stages, to temperate periods (interglacials). In the Lateglacial (ca. 15000–10000 BP), during which most extinctions occurred, there was a major reorganization of vegetation, mainly involving the replacement of open vegetation by forests. These changes were more profound than earlier in the Last Cold Stage, but similar in nature to vegetational changes that took place at previous cold stage/ interglacial transitions.
The archaeological record shows that humans have been present in Europe since the early Middle Pleistocene. The arrival in Europe ca. 35000 BP of ‘anatomically modern humans’, with their technologically more advanced upper palaeolithic industries, was a ‘quantum leap’ in human history.
Extinctions occurred throughout the European Pleistocene, but until the late Pleistocene most losses were replaced by the evolution or immigration of new species, and most of those lost without replacement were small mammals. In marked contrast, extinctions without replacement in the late Pleistocene were almost entirely confined to the largest mammals (> 1000 kg) and some medium-large species (100–1000 kg). Late Pleistocene extinctions in northern Eurasia were not synchronized, but occurred in two broad phases: (a) ‘interglacial survivors’, e.g. Palaeoloxodon antiquus, which retreated to southern Europe prior to their disappearance before ca. 30000 BP, i.e. before the main glaciation; and (b) cold-adapted species (e.g. Mammuthusprimigenius; Megaloceros giganteus) that disappeared in the Lateglacial, at various times between ca. 14000 and 10000 BP. Even within a species, populations became extinct earlier in some areas than in others, e.g. the possible survival of M. primigenius in north-central Siberia ca. 2000 years later than in Europe.
In North America many more species were lost than in northern Eurasia, including many medium-large mammals in addition to the largest forms. At least for the commoner species, extinctions apparently all occurred within a much narrower time span, ca. 10500–11 500 BP, probably much less.
Any extinction hypothesis must explain why losses in North America were severe and sudden, whereas those in northern Eurasia were moderate and staggered. The close correlation of North American extinctions with the arrival of Clovis hunters south of the ice sheets ca. 11 500 BP is consistent with overkill. However, there is no such correlation for northern Eurasia, where most extinctions also occurred in the Lateglacial, more than 20000 years after the appearance of upper palaeolithic humans. Although Lateglacial climatic/environmental changes correlate with extinctions in North America and northern Eurasia, the climatic hypothesis neither explains why extinction patterns were so different in the two regions, nor why similar losses did not take place at previous cold stage/interglacial transitions.
From the evidence reviewed here, human predation at times of major climatic/ environmental change is suggested as the most probable cause of late Pleistocene extinctions. In northern Eurasia overkill became possible only when large-mammal distributions, and thus populations, were already severely reduced by such changes. Similar extinctions did not occur earlier in the Pleistocene because ‘anatomically modern humans’ with upper palaeolithic hunting technologies were not present. In North America the main reason that losses were severe and sudden is probably the close coincidence of Lateglacial climatic/environmental changes with the arrival of Clovis hunters.
The necessity for amassing a much greater body of accurate faunal, environmental and archaeological data relevant to this intriguing question is emphasized. In particular, many more high-quality radiocarbon dates are required to determine the late Pleistocene history of extinct taxa in considerably more detail.
DATING by the radiocarbon method is of primary importance for archaeological studies and on many sites bones are the only samples which can be dated1. The losses arising from the destruction of bones for dating purposes is not very important, whereas it is a pity to destroy clothes or wooden items associated with the civilization being studied. It is also more logical to use bones for dating an archaeological level than to use wood or artefacts, for example, which are not necessarily contemporary with the site occupation2. There are, however, frequent and often important errors in 14C bone measurements which arise chiefly because of the difficulty of eliminating completely the numerous pollutants during chemical treatment.
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