Late Holocene spread of pastoralism coincides with endemic megafaunal extinction on Madagascar

Recently expanded estimates for when humans arrived on Madagascar (up to approximately 10 000 years ago) highlight questions about the causes of the island's relatively late megafaunal extinctions (approximately 2000–500 years ago). Introduced domesticated animals could have contributed to extinctions, but the arrival times and past diets of exotic animals are poorly known. To conduct the first explicit test of the potential for competition between introduced livestock and extinct endemic megafauna in southern and western Madagascar, we generated new radiocarbon and stable carbon and nitrogen isotope data from the bone collagen of introduced ungulates (zebu cattle, ovicaprids and bushpigs, n = 66) and endemic megafauna (pygmy hippopotamuses, giant tortoises and elephant birds, n = 68), and combined these data with existing data from endemic megafauna ( n = 282, including giant lemurs). Radiocarbon dates confirm that introduced and endemic herbivores briefly overlapped chronologically in this region between 1000 and 800 calibrated years before present (cal BP). Moreover, stable isotope data suggest that goats, tortoises and hippos had broadly similar diets or exploited similar habitats. These data support the potential for both direct and indirect forms of competition between introduced and endemic herbivores. We argue that competition with introduced herbivores, mediated by opportunistic hunting by humans and exacerbated by environmental change, contributed to the late extinction of endemic megafauna on Madagascar.

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EXAMINING CHRONOLOGICAL TRENDS IN ANCIENT MAYA DIET AT MINANHA, BELIZE, USING THE STABLE ISOTOPES OF CARBON AND NITROGEN

Latin American Antiquity ◽

10.1017/laq.2017.13 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 28 (2) ◽

pp. 269-287 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Jocelyn S. Williams ◽

Shannen M. Stronge ◽

Gyles Iannone ◽

Fred J. Longstaffe

Keyword(s):

Nitrogen Isotope ◽

Bone Collagen ◽

Ancient Maya ◽

Ruling Elite ◽

Political Factors ◽

Carbon And Nitrogen ◽

Isotope Data ◽

The Face ◽

The Impact ◽

Over Time

We present the results of stable carbon and nitrogen isotope analyses of bone collagen and bone bioapatite from the ancient Maya center of Minanha, Belize (ca. 100 B.C. to A.D. 1260). The purpose of this research was to reconstruct diet and investigate the influence of sociopolitical and environmental factors. Overall, diet was relatively stable over time, with maize being a staple in all periods. Maize consumption reached its peak in the transitional Early to Middle Classic periods and decreased over time. When isotope data from dry periods were compared to normal periods, there were no significant differences, although comparisons of isotope data by burial location and type suggest that the apical or ruling elite consumed a more diverse diet, with more animal protein, relative to the lesser elites. The temporal variability in maize consumption seems best explained by sociopolitical factors documented at Minanha and within the Vaca Plateau. This study demonstrates the resilience of ancient subsistence practices in the face of climatic instability and highlights the impact that social and political factors can have on diet and subsistence economy.

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The Stable- and Radio-Isotope Chemistry of Western Basketmaker Burials: Implications for Early Puebloan Diets and Origins

American Antiquity ◽

10.2307/40035815 ◽

2007 ◽

Vol 72 (2) ◽

pp. 301-321 ◽

Cited By ~ 64

Author(s):

Joan Brenner Coltrain ◽

Joel C. Janetski ◽

Shawn W. Carlyle

Keyword(s):

Nitrogen Isotope ◽

American Southwest ◽

Bone Collagen ◽

Stable Carbon ◽

Large Collection ◽

Radiocarbon Dates ◽

Carbon And Nitrogen ◽

Maize Agriculture ◽

Great House ◽

Four Corners

The timing and degree of reliance on maize agriculture in the Four Corners region of the American Southwest has been a central issue in studies that examine the origins of Puebloan society. Both diffusionist (various, but see Wills 1995) and migrationist (Berry and Berry 1986; Matson 1991) models have been proposed to explain the processes responsible for the movement of maize (Zea mays) north into the Four Corners region. This paper reports bone collagen stable carbon and nitrogen isotope values with paired accelerator radiocarbon dates on a large collection of human remains from western Basketmaker II/III sites in Marsh Pass and other areas of northeastern Arizona, as well as data on a small number of Puebloan remains including Chacoan Great House burials. The results make clear that Basketmaker II people were heavily dependent on maize by 400 B.C. Moreover, their degree of dependence is similar to that of Pueblo II and III farmers of the Four Corners region. These findings and the apparent rapidity of maize dependence support a migrationist model for the origins of maize farming in the northern Southwest.

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Ecological Consequences of a Millennium of Introduced Dogs on Madagascar

10.5194/egusphere-egu21-927 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Sean Hixon ◽

Kristina Douglass ◽

Laurie Godfrey ◽

Laurie Eccles ◽

Brooke Crowley ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Disease Transmission ◽

Stable Carbon Isotope ◽

Nitrogen Isotope ◽

Bone Collagen ◽

Stable Carbon ◽

Radiocarbon Dates ◽

Carbon And Nitrogen ◽

Feral Populations ◽

Introduced Predators ◽

Wide Range

<p>Introduced predators currently threaten endemic animals on Madagascar through predation, facilitation of human-led hunts, competition, and disease transmission, but the antiquity and past consequences of these introductions are poorly known. We use radiocarbon and stable carbon and nitrogen isotope data from the bone collagen of introduced dogs (Canis familiaris) and endemic fosa (Cryptoprocta spp.) in central and southern Madagascar to test for competition between introduced and endemic predators. Isotopic evidence indicates little overlap in diet between ancient dogs and fosa in these regions but leaves open the possibility that dogs competitively exclude fosa. Radiocarbon dates confirm that dogs have been present on Madagascar for at least a millennium and suggest that they briefly co-occurred with the island&#8217;s extinct megafauna, which included giant lemurs, elephant birds, and pygmy hippopotamuses. Dogs share a mutualism with pastoralists who also at least occasionally hunt, and this is reflected in deposits at several Malagasy paleontological sites that contain dog and livestock bones along with butchered bones of extinct megafauna and extant lemurs. Dogs on Madagascar have had a wide range of diets during the past millennium, but relatively high stable carbon isotope values suggest few individuals relied primarily on forest bushmeat. The absence of distinct dietary differences between dogs from archaeological and paleontological sites may reflect the absence of discrete feral populations. Our data suggest that dogs were part of a suite of animal introductions beginning over a millennium ago that coincided with widespread landscape transformation and megafaunal extinction.</p>

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Ecological Consequences of a Millennium of Introduced Dogs on Madagascar

Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution ◽

10.3389/fevo.2021.689559 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 9 ◽

Author(s):

Sean W. Hixon ◽

Kristina G. Douglass ◽

Laurie R. Godfrey ◽

Laurie Eccles ◽

Brooke E. Crowley ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Disease Transmission ◽

Stable Carbon Isotope ◽

Nitrogen Isotope ◽

Bone Collagen ◽

Stable Carbon ◽

Radiocarbon Dates ◽

Carbon And Nitrogen ◽

The Past ◽

Introduced Predators ◽

Wide Range

Introduced predators currently threaten endemic animals on Madagascar through predation, facilitation of human-led hunts, competition, and disease transmission, but the antiquity and past consequences of these introductions are poorly known. We use directly radiocarbon dated bones of introduced dogs (Canis familiaris) to test whether dogs could have aided human-led hunts of the island’s extinct megafauna. We compare carbon and nitrogen isotope data from the bone collagen of dogs and endemic “fosa” (Cryptoprocta spp.) in central and southwestern Madagascar to test for competition between introduced and endemic predators. The distinct isotopic niches of dogs and fosa suggest that any past antagonistic relationship between these predators did not follow from predation or competition for shared prey. Radiocarbon dates confirm that dogs have been present on Madagascar for over a millennium and suggest that they at least briefly co-occurred with the island’s extinct megafauna, which included giant lemurs, elephant birds, and pygmy hippopotamuses. Today, dogs share a mutualism with pastoralists who also occasionally hunt endemic vertebrates, and similar behavior is reflected in deposits at several Malagasy paleontological sites that contain dog and livestock bones along with butchered bones of extinct megafauna and extant lemurs. Dogs on Madagascar have had a wide range of diets during the past millennium, but relatively high stable carbon isotope values suggest few individuals relied primarily on forest bushmeat. Our newly generated data suggest that dogs were part of a suite of animal introductions beginning over a millennium ago that coincided with widespread landscape transformation and megafaunal extinction.

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Fishing intensification as response to Late Holocene socio-ecological instability in southeastern South America

10.21203/rs.3.rs-833574/v1 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Alice Toso ◽

Ellen Hallingstad ◽

Krista McGrath ◽

Thiago Fossile ◽

Christine Conlan ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Late Holocene ◽

Isotope Composition ◽

Nitrogen Isotope ◽

Radiocarbon Dates ◽

Carbon And Nitrogen ◽

Relative Contribution ◽

Isotopic Baseline ◽

Isotope Mixing Models ◽

Social Units ◽

Middle And Late Holocene

Abstract The emergence of plant-based economies have dominated evolutionary models of Middle and Late Holocene pre-Columbian societies. Comparatively, the use of aquatic resources and the circumstances for intensifying their exploitation, have received little attention. Here we reviewed the stable carbon and nitrogen isotope composition of 390 human individuals from Middle and Late Holocene coastal sambaquis, a long-lasting shell mound culture that flourished for nearly 7000 years along the Atlantic Forest coast of Brazil. Using a newly generated faunal isotopic baseline and Bayesian Isotope Mixing Models we quantified the relative contribution of marine resources to the diet of some of these groups. Through the analysis of more than 400 radiocarbon dates we show that fishing sustained large and resilient populations during most of the Late Holocene. A sharp decline was observed in the chronology of non-ceramic sites from ca. 2200 years ago, possibly reflecting the dissolution of several nucleated groups into smaller social units, coinciding with substantial changes in coastal environments. The adoption of ceramics from ca. 1200 years ago is marked by innovation and intensification of fishing practices, in a context of increasing social and ecological instability in the Late Holocene.

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