The use of paleoclimatic simulations to refine the environmental and chronological context of archaeological/paleontological sites

To reconstruct the paleoenvironmental and chronological context of archaeological/paleontological sites is a key step to understand the evolutionary history of past organisms. Commonly used method to infer paleoenvironments rely on varied proxies such as faunal assemblages and isotopes. However, those proxies often show some inconsistencies. Regarding estimated ages of stratigraphic layers, they can vary depending on the dating method used. In this paper, we tested the potential of paleoclimate simulations to address this issue and contribute to the description of the environmental and chronological context of archaeological/paleontological sites. We produced a set of paleoclimate simulations corresponding to the stratigraphy of a Late-Pleistocene Holocene site, El Harhoura 2 (Morocco), and compared the climatic sequence described by these simulations to environmental inferences made from isotopes and faunal assemblages. Our results showed that in the studied site combined US-ESR ages were much more congruent with paleoenvironmental inferences than OSL ages. In addition, climatic variations were found to be more consistent with isotopic studies than faunal assemblages, allowing us to discuss unresolved discrepancies to date. This study illustrates the strong potential of our approach to refine the paleoenvironmental and chronological context of archaeological and paleontological sites.

Lower–Middle Pleistocene Stratigraphy of the Southern West Siberian Plain: New Data

—The Quaternary stratigraphy of the southern West Siberian Plain is considered in the context of the updated International Chronostratigraphic Scale, with the Neogene/Quarternary boundary at 2.588 Ma. New geological, lithological, paleontological, and paleomagnetic data from a reference Quaternary section in the Irtysh River valley near Isakovka Village provide more rigorous constraints on the Lower–Middle Pleistocene stratigraphy and the respective deposition conditions. The Isakovka outcrop exposes two stratigraphically expressed and paleontologically characterized units that were deposited during regional Pleistocene interglacial events of different ages: the Strunino and Serebryanoe alluvium beds lying over eroded surfaces. The species of the Corbicula genus coexisting with numerous species of Palearctic molluscs, small mammals Allophaiomys deucalion, Mimomys reidi, and last rooted lagurids Borsodia found in the Strunino alluvium are known also from continental equivalents of the warm upper Gelasian Stage in different parts of northern Eurasia. Judging by the presence of extant corbicules, the Strunino alluvium was deposited in a warm climate, with a mean annual air temperature above +16 °C and a mean winter temperature no colder than –8 °C, in rivers that remained free from ice all year round. On the basis of fauna constraints for the Serebryanoe alluvium, along with the first appearance of the European Pisidium clessini molluscs in West Siberia, the unit can be correlated with one of the earliest Middle Pleistocene interglacial events. The faunal assemblages and spore-pollen patterns of the two units indicate that the climate during the Serebryanoe deposition was slightly cooler and wetter than during the Strunino deposition, though steppe landscapes predominated on watersheds in both events. The two alluvial beds, which are traceable in river bluffs, at 30 m above the modern water level in a tectonically stable part of West Siberia, mark the hypsometrically higher position of the river network during the Early Pleistocene and early Middle Pleistocene interglacials.

Pliocene marine Bivalvia of Vale do Freixo (Pombal, Portugal): updated taxonomic list and discussion

The exceptional Pliocene marine faunal assemblages of west central Portugal have been known since the late 19th century. They include highly diverse molluscan faunas whose study is far to be completed. Discovered nearly 40 years ago, Vale do Freixo (Carnide, Pombal) is perhaps the most outstanding fossil site. Neverthless, the bivalves remain relatively unknown. This study focuses on the taxonomy of this relevant group of marine Mollusca. The research, based on a detailed sampling of three fossiliferous beds from the Carnide Formation, yielded a list of 85 species belonging to 75 genera and 32 families. Forty-three species are new for the Carnide area and twenty-three are reported for the first time in the Portuguese Pliocene, increasing to 115 the number of known species in the Mondego Basin in the Beira Litoral.

La subsistencia en el Magdaleniense Mediterráneo ibérico

Este libro aporta datos relevantes para el conocimiento de las poblaciones humanas modernas y sus actividades de subsistencia en el área central del Mediterráneo Ibérico durante el Paleolítico Superior Final (Magdaleniense). Para ello se aplica un estudio arqueozoológico y tafonómico a tres conjuntos de fauna de la Cova de les Cendres. This book provides data relevant to understanding modern human populations and their subsistence activities in the central area of the Iberian Mediterranean during the Final Upper Palaeolithic (Magdalenian). It includes an archaeozoological and taphonomic analysis of three faunal assemblages from Cova de les Cendres

Economy and subsistence in the Early Neolithic site of Carrascal (Oeiras, Portugal)

Early Neolithic settlements in southwestern Iberia are rare and, so far, only a few faunal assemblages, mostly from Portuguese Estremadura, have been analysed. The zooarchae- ological studies suggest that animal husbandry was introduced to the area by Neolithic marine settlers originating from the Mediterranean and that domesticated animal herding, particularly sheep, was of outmost importance to the human communities. Located in lower Estremadura, Carrascal is an open-air site, featuring several dwelling structures, a diversified set of artefacts, and a well-established chronology for its Early Neolithic occupation (cal BC). It also yielded a faunal assemblage of considerable size and variability, which includes vertebrates (mammals and fishes) and invertebrates (molluscs). The present study, which focuses on the vertebrate materials, shows that during Early Neolithic the community that inhabited Carrascal practiced a diversified set of subsistence activities in which animal husbandry was prevalent. There is an abundance of caprines (mainly sheep) and swine, followed by cattle. The age at death data suggests a mixed animal exploitation system, with swine being mostly killed at a younger age (presumably for meat), while cattle was slaughtered after reaching adulthood (perhaps for milk production) and caprines show a mixed pattern. This study also reinforces the idea that, for the Neolithic communities living in lower Estremadura, hunting was a less prevailing activity (au- rochs and, perhaps, wild boar were identified, but red deer is absent in Carrascal) when compared with the human groups that lived in the central Estremadura Limestone Massif, a situation that may be due to different ecosystems and human demography.

Short Communication: Proportion faunal assemblages of carnivorous mammals in geoecological districts of Mordovia, Russia

Andreychev A. 2021. Short Communication: Proportion faunal assemblages of carnivorous mammals in geoecological districts of Mordovia, Russia. Biodiversitas 22: 4625-4632. In the forest-steppe area, carnivorous mammals are represented by species of different faunistic assemblages. This circumstance makes the study region a priority since the species of which faunistic assemblages prevail is of interest. Fifteen carnivorous species have been identified in the territory of Mordovia. Among them, the family Mustelidae predominates in terms of the number of species. The species are found in all geoecological districts, but their distribution is uneven. The most notable species in the region are located in coniferous and broad-leaved forests (40%) and species widely distributed in several natural areas (40%). 13% of the total number of noted species belong to the taiga fauna types. The steppe type of fauna is represented by only 7% of the total number of recorded species. For each geoecological region, the fauna features are given, and a list of rare and exciting species is given. The forest-steppe zone to which Mordovia belongs is compared by the fauna of carnivorous mammals with other regions from three typical faunal assemblages.

Spatial variation in the structure of overwintering, remnant Saccorhiza polyschides sporophytes and their associated assemblages

Understanding the structure and richness of natural communities is a fundamental goal of marine ecology, and foundation species such as large macroalgae have a disproportionate role in structuring biodiversity. However, high-resolution information on assemblages associated with macroalgae is lacking for many species and regions. Saccorhiza polyschides is a warm-temperate kelp with a relatively short lifespan (12–18 months), large thallus and bulbous holdfast offering habitat for diverse assemblages. In the UK, S. polyschides populations are thought to have proliferated recently. Here, we quantified the density and habitat structure provided by S. polyschides along a gradient of wave exposure within Plymouth Sound, and examined the composition and diversity of associated faunal assemblages. Density varied significantly between sites but not by wave exposure, while biometric measurements were generally highly variable. Senescing holdfasts from sporophytes offered valuable habitat, with high abundance and richness of associated assemblages, although these varied markedly between sporophytes and sites. Faunal abundance, taxon richness and diversity were significantly higher at fully exposed sites than at moderately exposed sites. Internal volume of holdfasts was positively correlated with faunal abundance and taxon richness. We recorded more than 27 distinct taxa and up to ~600 individuals within a single holdfast. Taxa included three fish species, including a novel observation of the pipefish Nerophis lumbriciformis. Further work is needed to examine seasonality in habitat structure and associated diversity patterns but our study demonstrates that even remnant holdfasts from decaying sporophytes represent a valuable microhabitat that may provide shelter, protection and food during winter.

Teasing Apart Impacts of Human Activity and Regional Drought on Madagascar’s Large Vertebrate Fauna: Insights From New Excavations at Tsimanampesotse and Antsirafaly

Madagascar experienced a major faunal turnover near the end of the first millenium CE that particularly affected terrestrial, large-bodied vertebrate species. Teasing apart the relative impacts of people and climate on this event requires a focus on regional records with good chronological control. These records may document coeval changes in rainfall, faunal composition, and human activities. Here we present new paleontological and paleoclimatological data from southwestern Madagascar, the driest part of the island today. We collected over 1500 subfossil bones from deposits at a coastal site called Antsirafaly and from both flooded and dry cave deposits at Tsimanampesotse National Park. We built a chronology of Late Holocene changes in faunal assemblages based on 65 radiocarbon-dated specimens and subfossil associations. We collected stalagmites primarily within Tsimanampesotse but also at two additional locations in southern Madagascar. These provided information regarding hydroclimate variability over the past 120,000 years. Prior research has supported a primary role for drought (rather than humans) in triggering faunal turnover at Tsimanampesotse. This is based on evidence of: (1) a large freshwater ecosystem west of what is now the hypersaline Lake Tsimanampesotse, which supported freshwater mollusks and waterfowl (including animals that could not survive on resources offered by the hypersaline lake today); (2) abundant now-extinct terrestrial vertebrates; (3) regional decline or disappearance of certain tree species; and (4) scant local human presence. Our new data allow us to document the hydroclimate of the subarid southwest during the Holocene, as well as shifts in faunal composition (including local extirpations, large-vertebrate population collapse, and the appearance of introduced species). These records affirm that climate alone cannot have produced the observed vertebrate turnover in the southwest. Human activity, including the introduction of cattle, as well as associated changes in habitat exploitation, also played an important role.