Dating human occupation and adaptation in the southern European last glacial refuge: The chronostratigraphy of Grotta del Romito (Italy)

Very little is known about the prehistory of Siberia prior to the Sartan (“Main Würm” = “Main Wisconsin”) Stadial of the Last Glacial. It is not yet clear whether this is result of the inadequacy of investigations so far or of the fact that human occupation was relatively limited in pre-Sartan times. The Sartan occupation of Siberia has been well documented by the discovery of a relatively large number of open-air sites in the major river valleys of the region. The large numbers of broken-up animal bones found at many of these sites, in combination with rich inventories of bone and stone artifacts and remains of structures, hearths, ect., show that the Sartan inhabitants of Siberia were comparable in level of cultural development to their European (Upper Paleolithic) contemporaries. More particularly, they seem to have been effective big-game hunters, fully capable of exploiting the comparatively rich game resources of their open country environment. As in Europe, evidence from Siberia suggests that the environmental change (especially reforestation) which took place at the end of the Last Glacial led to decreased reliance on big-game hunting and increased emphasis on other modes of subsistence, especially fishing.

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Summer air temperature, reconstructions from the last glacial stage based on rodents from the site Taillis-des-Coteaux (Vienne), Western France

Quaternary Research ◽

10.1016/j.yqres.2014.06.006 ◽

2014 ◽

Vol 82 (2) ◽

pp. 420-429 ◽

Cited By ~ 11

Author(s):

Aurélien Royer ◽

Christophe Lécuyer ◽

Sophie Montuire ◽

Jérôme Primault ◽

François Fourel ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Tooth Enamel ◽

Isotope Composition ◽

Archaeological Site ◽

Sedimentary Sequence ◽

Human Occupation ◽

Tooth Formation ◽

Climatic Fluctuations ◽

Last Glacial ◽

Air Temperatures ◽

The Last Glacial

AbstractThe oxygen isotope composition of phosphate from tooth enamel of rodents (δ18Op) constitutes a valuable proxy to reconstruct past air temperatures in continental environments. This method has been applied to rodent dental remains from three genera, Arvicola sp., Microtus sp. and Dicrostonyx sp., coming from Taillis-des-Coteaux, Vienne, France. This archaeological site contains an exceptionally preserved sedimentary sequence spanning almost the whole Upper Palaeolithic, including seven stratigraphic layers dated from 35 to 17 cal ka BP. The abundant presence of rodent remains offers the opportunity to quantify the climatic fluctuations coeval of the various stages of human occupation of the site. Differences between δ18Op values of Arvicola sp. and Microtus sp. teeth are interpreted as the result of heterochrony in tooth formation as well as differences in ecology. Mean δ18Op values of Microtus sp. are preferentially used to reconstruct summer air temperatures, which range from 16.0 ± 3.7 to 19.1 ± 3.1°C throughout the sedimentary sequence; however, the highest variability is observed during the last glacial maximum.

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The Human Occupation of Southwestern Europe during the Last Glacial Maximum

Journal of Anthropological Research ◽

10.3998/jar.0521004.0071.401 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 71 (4) ◽

pp. 465-492 ◽

Cited By ~ 12

Author(s):

Lawrence Guy Straus

Keyword(s):

Last Glacial Maximum ◽

Glacial Maximum ◽

Human Occupation ◽

Last Glacial ◽

The Last Glacial Maximum ◽

The Last Glacial

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Back into the North: the Radiocarbon Evidence for the Human Recolonisation of the North-Western Ardennes after the Last Glacial Maximum

Proceedings of the Prehistoric Society ◽

10.1017/s0079497x00002711 ◽

1996 ◽

Vol 62 ◽

pp. 1-17 ◽

Cited By ~ 16

Author(s):

Ruth Charles

Keyword(s):

Last Glacial Maximum ◽

Western Europe ◽

Direct Evidence ◽

Glacial Maximum ◽

Human Occupation ◽

Last Glacial ◽

The North ◽

The Last Glacial Maximum ◽

North Western ◽

The Last Glacial

This paper critically examines the known radiocarbon evidence for the human recolonisation of a part of north-western Europe, the north-western Ardennes. Two sites in this region, the Trou de Blaireaux at Vaucelles and the Grotte de Sy Verlaine, have been suggested as two of the earliest human occupation sites after the Last Glacial Maximum in northern Europe. The dating evidence from these two sites, alongside other late Magdalenian sites in the immediate area, is reviewed and found to be highly problematic. More recent radiocarbon work using AMS is described and the results discussed. On this basis it is suggested that there is no direct evidence for human presence in this region prior to the start of the Böiling Interstadial phase of the Lateglacial, c. 13,000 BP.

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Last glacial megafaunal death assemblage and early human occupation at Lake Menindee, southeastern Australia

Quaternary Research ◽

10.1016/j.yqres.2006.06.004 ◽

2006 ◽

Vol 66 (2) ◽

pp. 332-341 ◽

Cited By ~ 23

Author(s):

Matthew L. Cupper ◽

Jacqui Duncan

Keyword(s):

Human Occupation ◽

Faunal Assemblage ◽

Last Glacial ◽

Southeastern Australia ◽

Aeolian Sediments ◽

Climatic Aridity ◽

Early Human ◽

The Last Glacial

AbstractThe Tedford subfossil locality at Lake Menindee preserves a diverse assemblage of marsupials, monotremes and placental rodents. Of the 38 mammal taxa recorded at the site, almost a third are of extinct megafauna. Some of the bones are articulated or semi-articulated and include almost complete skeletons, indicating that aeolian sediments rapidly buried the animals following death. New optical ages show the site dates to the early part of the last glacial (55,700 ± 1300 yr weighted mean age). This is close to the 51,200–39,800 yr Australia-wide extinction age for megafauna suggested by Roberts et al. [2001, Science 292:1888–1892], but like all previous researchers, we cannot conclusively determine whether humans were implicated in the deaths of the animals. Although an intrusive hearth at the site dating to 45,100 ± 1400 yr ago is the oldest evidence of human occupation of the Darling River, no artifacts were identified in situ within the sub-fossil-bearing unit. Non-anthropogenic causes, such as natural senescence or ecosystem stress due to climatic aridity, probably explain the mortality of the faunal assemblage at Lake Menindee.

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Late Pleistocene Megafauna and Archaeology from Cuddie Springs, South-eastern Australia

Proceedings of the Prehistoric Society ◽

10.1017/s0079497x00002024 ◽

1999 ◽

Vol 65 ◽

pp. 275-301 ◽

Cited By ~ 41

Author(s):

Judith Field ◽

John Dodson

Keyword(s):

Last Glacial Maximum ◽

Glacial Maximum ◽

Human Occupation ◽

Resource Base ◽

Last Glacial ◽

South Eastern ◽

Eastern Australia ◽

The Last Glacial Maximum ◽

The Last Glacial ◽

South Eastern Australia

The Cuddie Springs site in south-eastern Australia provides the first evidence of an unequivocal association of megafauna with humans for this continent. Cuddie Springs has been known as a fossil megafauna locality for over a century, but its archaeological record has only recently been identified. Cuddie Springs is an open site, with the fossil deposits preserved in a claypan on the floor of an ancient ephemeral lake. Investigations revealed a stratified deposit of human occupation and fossil megafauna, suggesting a temporal overlap and an active association of megafauna with people in the lead up to the Last Glacial Maximum, when conditions were more arid than the present day. Two distinct occupation phases have been identified and are correlated to the hydrology of the Cuddie Springs lake. When people first arrived at Cuddie Springs, sometime before 30,000 BP, the claypan on the lake floor was similar to a waterhole, with five species of megafauna identified. Flaked stone artefacts were found scattered through this level. After the lake dried, there was human occupation of the claypan. The resource base broadened to include a range of plant foods. Megafauna appear to be just one of a range of food resources exploited during this period. A return to ephemeral conditions resulted in only periodic occupation of the site with megafauna disappearing from the record around 28,000 BP. The timing of overlap and association of megafauna with human occupation is coincident with the earliest occupation sites in this region. The archaeological evidence from Cuddie Springs suggests an opportunistic exploitation of resources and no specialised strategies for hunting megafauna. Disappearance of megafauna is likely to be a consequence of climatic change during the lead up to the Last Glacial Maximum and human activities may have compounded an extinction process well under way.

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