Coastal occupation and foraging during the last glacial maximum and early Holocene at Waterfall Bluff, eastern Pondoland, South Africa

2020 ◽  
Vol 97 ◽  
pp. 1-41 ◽  
Author(s):  
Erich C. Fisher ◽  
Hayley C. Cawthra ◽  
Irene Esteban ◽  
Antonieta Jerardino ◽  
Frank H. Neumann ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Continental Shelf ◽  
Last Glacial Maximum ◽  
Late Pleistocene ◽  
Marine Fish ◽  
Hunter Gatherers ◽  
The Holocene ◽  
Last Glacial ◽  
The Last Glacial Maximum ◽  
The Last Glacial

AbstractWaterfall Bluff is a rock shelter in eastern Pondoland, South Africa, adjacent to a narrow continental shelf that limited coastline movements across glacial/interglacial cycles. The archaeological deposits are characterized by well-preserved stratigraphy, faunal, and botanical remains alongside abundant stone artifacts and other materials. A comprehensive dating protocol consisting of 5 optically stimulated luminescence ages and 51 accelerator mass spectrometry 14C ages shows that the record of hunter-gatherer occupations at Waterfall Bluff persisted from the late Pleistocene to the Holocene, spanning the last glacial maximum and the transition from the Pleistocene to the Holocene. Here, we provide detailed descriptions about the sedimentary sequence, chronology, and characteristics of the archaeological deposits at Waterfall Bluff. Remains of marine mollusks and marine fish also show, for the first time, that coastal foraging was a component of some hunter-gatherer groups’ subsistence practices during glacial phases in the late Pleistocene. The presence of marine fish and shellfish further demonstrates that hunter-gatherers selectively targeted coastal resources from intertidal and estuarine habitats. Our results therefore underscore the idea that Pondoland's coastline remained a stable and predictable point on the landscape over the last glacial/interglacial transition being well positioned for hunter-gatherers to access resources from the nearby coastline, narrow continental shelf, and inland areas.

scholarly journals Exploring the phylogeography and population dynamics of the giant deer ( Megaloceros giganteus ) using Late Quaternary mitogenomes

2021 ◽  
Vol 288 (1950) ◽  
Author(s):  
Alba Rey-Iglesia ◽  
Adrian M. Lister ◽  
Paula F. Campos ◽  
Selina Brace ◽  
Valeria Mattiangeli ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Genetic Diversity ◽  
Last Glacial Maximum ◽  
Late Pleistocene ◽  
Late Quaternary ◽  
Glacial Maximum ◽  
Climatic Fluctuations ◽  
The Holocene ◽  
Last Glacial ◽  
The Last Glacial Maximum ◽  
The Last Glacial

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.

Comparing a new paleomap of European loess landscapes to an atmospheric dust circulation model

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Janina J. (Bösken) Nett ◽  
Frank Lehmkuhl ◽  
Erik J. Schaffernicht ◽  
Stephan Pötter ◽  
Philipp Schulte ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Last Glacial Maximum ◽  
Late Pleistocene ◽  
Circulation Model ◽  
Glacial Maximum ◽  
Source Areas ◽  
Last Glacial ◽  
Potential Source ◽  
Aeolian Sediments ◽  
The Last Glacial Maximum ◽  
The Last Glacial

<p>Loess is an important archive of environmental change covering approximately 10% of the Earth’s terrestrial surface. Numerous studies have analyzed loess deposits and in particular loess-paleosol sequences. To analyze these sequences, it is important to know the spatial distribution of aeolian sediments, their location relative to potential source areas, and the geomorphology of the sink area. We investigated these aspects by compiling a new map of aeolian sediments in Europe using highly resolved geodata from 27 countries (Lehmkuhl et al., in press). To determine the most relevant factors for the European loess distribution, we further mapped potential source areas and divided the map into different facies domains. We analyzed the geomorphological and paleoenvironmental effects on the deposition and preservation of Late Pleistocene loess. Finally, the geodata-based results were compared with results obtained from high-resolved regional numerical climate-dust experiments for the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) in Europe, which were performed with the LGM-adapted Weather Research and Forecasting model coupled with Chemistry (WRF-Chem-LGM; Schaffernicht et al., 2020).  Complementing the mapping-based findings with the WRF-Chem-LGM experiments results in an improved understanding of the Late Pleistocene loess landscape in Europe.</p><p> </p><p>References:</p><p>Lehmkuhl, F., Nett, J.J., Pötter, S., Schulte, P., Sprafke, T., Jary, Z., Antoine, P., Wacha, L., Wolf, D., Zerboni, A., Hošek, J., Marković, S.B., Obreht, I., Sümegi, P., Veres, D., Zeeden, C., Boemke, B., Schaubert, V., Viehweger, J., Hambach, U. (in press). Loess landscapes of Europe – Mapping, geomorphology, and zonal differentiation. Earth-Science Reviews. Doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.earscirev.2020.103496</p><p>Schaffernicht, E.J., Ludwig, P., Shao, Y., 2020. Linkage between dust cycle and loess of the last Glacial Maximum in Europe. Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics 20, 4969–4986. Doi:10.5194/acp-20-4969-2020.</p>

Wetter or colder during the Last Glacial Maximum? Revisiting the pluvial lake question in southwestern North America

2004 ◽  
Vol 62 (3) ◽  
pp. 280-288 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kirsten M. Menking ◽  
Roger Y. Anderson ◽  
Nabil G. Shafike ◽  
Kamran H. Syed ◽  
Bruce D. Allen
Keyword(s):  
Last Glacial Maximum ◽  
Late Pleistocene ◽  
Annual Runoff ◽  
Glacial Maximum ◽  
Water Runoff ◽  
Last Glacial ◽  
Pleistocene Climate ◽  
Surface Water Runoff ◽  
The Last Glacial Maximum ◽  
The Last Glacial

Well-preserved shorelines in Estancia basin and a relatively simple hydrologic setting have prompted several inquiries into the basin's hydrologic balance for the purpose of estimating regional precipitation during the late Pleistocene. Estimates have ranged from 86% to 150% of modern, the disparity largely the result of assumptions about past temperatures. In this study, we use an array of models for surface-water runoff, groundwater flow, and lake energy balance to examine previously proposed scenarios for late Pleistocene climate. Constraints imposed by geologic evidence of past lake levels indicate that precipitation for the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) may have doubled relative to modern values during brief episodes of colder and wetter climate and that annual runoff was as much as 15% of annual precipitation during these episodes.

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