Age of the Shasta Ground Sloth from Aden Crater, New Mexico

1964 ◽  
Vol 29 (3) ◽  
pp. 390-391
Author(s):  
Elwyn L. Simons ◽  
H. L. Alexander
Keyword(s):  
New Mexico ◽  
Tissue Sample ◽  
The Other ◽  
Radiocarbon Dates ◽  
Excellent Preservation ◽  
Ground Sloth ◽  
Late Survival

AbstractLate survival of the Shasta ground sloth, Nothrotherium shastense, an assumption partially based on excellent preservation of a specimen from the Aden Crater, New Mexico, can no longer be supported, at least on the basis of this specimen. Two radiocarbon dates, one derived from desiccated tissues and the other from an associated coprolite (9840 ± 160 and 11,080 ± 200 B.P.), place the specimen within the temporal span of other dated ground-sloth finds. The discrepancy of over 1000 years in these two dates can be explained by alcohol contamination of the tissue sample.

Shasta Ground Sloth (Nothrotheriops shastense Hoffstetter) at Shelter Cave, New Mexico: Environment, Diet, and Extinction

1980 ◽  
Vol 14 (3) ◽  
pp. 360-376 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert S. Thompson ◽  
Thomas R. Van Devender ◽  
Paul S. Martin ◽  
Theresa Foppe ◽  
Austin Long
Keyword(s):  
New Mexico ◽  
Los Angeles ◽  
Los Angeles County ◽  
Museum Collection ◽  
Radiocarbon Dates ◽  
Plant Cuticles ◽  
Juniper Woodland ◽  
Human Predation ◽  
Ground Sloth ◽  
Ground Sloths

AbstractSeven coprolites of the extinct Shasta ground sloth (Nothrotheriops shastense) were recently discovered in the Los Angeles County Museum collection from Shelter Cave, New Mexico. Three dung balls provided radiocarbon ages of 11,330, 12,330 and 12,430 yr B.P. Packrat (Neotoma) middens disclose a xeric juniper woodland at Shelter Cave during the sloth's occupation. Plant cuticles from the dung indicate that the ground sloth had a diet dominated by mormon tea (Ephedra) and other xerophytic shrubs. Pollen spectra from the coprolites have high representations of anemophilous plants and low representations of the dietary items shown in the cuticle analysis.Fifteen radiocarbon dates of sloth dung obtained since 1974 strengthen the hypothesis that sloth extinction occurred about 11,000 yr B.P. Paleoenvironmental studies indicate that ground sloths lived in juniper woodlands and montane conifer communities. Nothrotheriops commonly dined on shrubs that are still present in these habitats. It is difficult to explain the demise of the Shasta ground sloth by climatic change or dietary stress. Human predation remains as a possible explanation; ground sloth extinction appears to coincide with the time of Clovis mammoth hunters.

Late Pleistocene Extinction and Radiocarbon Dating

1960 ◽  
Vol 26 (1) ◽  
pp. 58-77 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jim J. Hester
Keyword(s):  
Great Basin ◽  
Late Pleistocene ◽  
Great Plains ◽  
Bison Bison ◽  
Radiocarbon Dates ◽  
Alphabetical Listing ◽  
Pleistocene Mammals ◽  
Ground Sloth ◽  
Dire Wolf ◽  
Late Survival

AbstractAll radiocarbon dates from North America, associated with extinct Late Pleistocene mammals, those from levels stratigraphically later than levels with extinct forms, and dates associated with recent fauna are tabulated alphabetically by site. Dates associated with extinct fauna are cross-referenced in an alphabetical listing of species. Dates considered invalid are tabulated and are not utilized in formulating conclusions. Most herding animals, such as the Columbian mammoth, horse, camel, and bison, as well as the dire wolf, rapidly became extinct about 8000 years ago. The dates suggest a southward withdrawal from the Great Plains by the mammoth and a partial contemporaneity of Clovis elephant hunters in southern Arizona with Folsom bison hunters on the Plains. Dates for the extinction of the Imperial mammoth are probably too early. The mastodon may have survived in isolated areas after the extinction of other forms. The super bison may have become extinct earlier than 8000 years ago and Bison bison seems to have been present in some areas before the extinction of B. antiquus. Radiocarbon dates do not support the supposed late survival of the ground sloth. Extinction apparently occurred earlier in the Great Basin and Coahuila than in intervening areas.

scholarly journals EDS Containment Vessel Explosive Test and Analysis

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert W. Crocker ◽  
Brent L. Haroldsen ◽  
Jerome H. Stofleth ◽  
Mien Yip
Keyword(s):  
New Mexico ◽  
Pressure Vessel ◽  
The Other ◽  
Containment Vessel ◽  
Tnt Equivalent ◽  
Vessel Response

This report documents the results of two of tests that were performed on an explosive containment vessel at Sandia National Laboratories in Albuquerque, New Mexico in July 2013 to provide some deeper understanding of the effects of charge geometry on the vessel response [1]. The vessel was fabricated under Code Case 2564 of the ASME Boiler and Pressure Vessel Code, which provides rules for the design of impulsively loaded vessels [2]. The explosive rating for the vessel, based on the Code Case, is nine (9) pounds TNT-equivalent. One explosive test consisted of a single, centrally located, 7.2 pound bare charge of Composition C-4 (equivalent to 9 pounds TNT). The other test used six each 1.2 pound charges of Composition C-4 (7.2 pounds total) distributed in two bays of three.

NOTES ON NEW MEXICO BEES

1900 ◽  
Vol 32 (12) ◽  
pp. 361-364
Author(s):  
T. D. A. Cockerell
Keyword(s):  
New Mexico ◽  
Hind Tibia ◽  
The Other ◽  
The Third ◽  
Central Depression ◽  
The Face

Bombomelecta larreœ, n. sp.♀.—Length 12½ mm.; general build and structure of B. thoracica, but the scutellum is convex with a central depression, and wholly without spines; while the claws have the inner division short and broadly truncate. The maxillary palpi are 6-jointed, and the mandibles have a strong tooth on the inner side. Black; pubescence of the face and vertex pale brown; of the occiput, labrum and clypeus, black; of the pleura, metathorax and scutellum, black; of the post-scurtellum, yellowish, especially noticeable at the sides; of the mesothorax, orange-fulvous, short, dense and conspicuous in front, thin behind. Abdomen with broad but inconspicuous ochreous bands on segments 2 to 4, more or less interrupted in the middle on 2 and 4, represented on the first segment by lateral patches, and a few ochreous hairs even in the middle; fifth segment with black hairs. Antennæ entirely black, apex truncate, the corners of the truncation rounded. Legs black, with black pubescence; spurs black, hind spur of hind tibia larger than the other, and somewhat bent. Wings dark fuliginous, with hyaline patches on the third transverso-cubital and second recurrent nervures; venation resembling that of B. thoracica, var. fulvida, except that the first recurrent nervure joins the second submarginal cell almost at its apex.

scholarly journals The Integration of Radiocarbon Dating in Archaeology

Radiocarbon ◽  
1983 ◽  
Vol 25 (2) ◽  
pp. 639-644 ◽  
Author(s):  
H T Waterbolk
Keyword(s):  
Radiocarbon Dating ◽  
The Other ◽  
New Method ◽  
Time Range ◽  
Traditional Methods ◽  
Radiocarbon Dates ◽  
Fully Integrated ◽  
Expected Time ◽  
The Past

In the past 30 years many hundreds of archaeologic samples have been dated by radiocarbon laboratories. Yet, one cannot say that 14C dating is fully integrated into archaeology. For many archaeologists, a 14C date is an outside expertise, for which they are grateful, when it provides the answer to an otherwise insoluble chronologic problem and when it falls within the expected time range. But if a 14C date contradicts other chronologic evidence, they often find the ‘solution’ inexplicable. Some archaeologists are so impressed by the new method, that they neglect the other evidence; others simply reject problematic 14C dates as archaeologically unacceptable. Frequently, excavation reports are provided with an appendix listing the relevant 14C dates with little or no discussion of their implication. It is rare, indeed, to see in archaeologic reports a careful weighing of the various types of chronologic evidence. Yet, this is precisely what the archaeologist is accustomed to do with the evidence from his traditional methods for building up a chronology: typology and stratigraphy. Why should he not be able to include radiocarbon dates in the same way in his considerations?

Taxonomy and variability of three Texigryphaea (Bivalvia) species from their Lower Cretaceous (Albian) type localities in New Mexico and Oklahoma

1989 ◽  
Vol 63 (4) ◽  
pp. 454-483 ◽  
Author(s):  
Barry S. Kues
Keyword(s):  
New Mexico ◽  
Local Variation ◽  
Morphological Characters ◽  
The Other ◽  
Ontogenetic Changes ◽  
Free Living ◽  
Marine Communities ◽  
West Texas ◽  
Turbulence Length ◽  
Group Species

The benthic, free-living oyster Texigryphaea was the dominant constituent of many late Albian marine communities in the Texas and southern Western Interior regions. Large topotypic assemblages of three common lower–middle Washita Group species (T. navia and T. pitcheri in Oklahoma and T. tucumcarii in New Mexico) each display considerable morphological variation in valve shape and the proportions and expression of various features. Variation within an assemblage is partly due to ontogenetic changes but is mainly ecophenotypic, with local variation in nature of substrate, water turbulence, length of attachment time, and other factors influencing the final morphology of the mature shell. The T. navia assemblage is distinct in several important morphological characters from the other species, and the differences become more pronounced with growth. Texigryphaea navia appears to have been adapted to relatively firm substrates in moderately agitated conditions, in contrast to the other species, which occupied softer substrates in quieter environments. The essentially contemporaneous T. pitcheri and T. tucumcarii assemblages display much overlap in all measured dimensions of the left valve and in the range of intergrading morphs that compose each assemblage. Accordingly, T. tucumcarii is considered a synonym of T. pitcheri, representing populations of that species that lived in the West Texas-New Mexico area and developed only minor differences from the eastern populations. Within the T. navia topotypic assemblage are specimens intermediate between T. navia and T. pitcheri, and the eastern and western T. pitcheri assemblages contain forms apparently transitional to two other species, T. washitaensis and T. belviderensis. Ecophenotypic variation in the T. pitcheri assemblages appears to be greater than that in European Jurassic Gryphaea species and mirrors to some extent phyletic variation in European Jurassic Gryphaea lineages.

scholarly journals Two New Late Pleistocene Avifaunas From New Mexico

The Condor ◽  
2006 ◽  
Vol 108 (3) ◽  
pp. 721-730 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rebecka L. Brasso ◽  
Steven D. Emslie
Keyword(s):  
New Mexico ◽  
Great Basin ◽  
Late Pleistocene ◽  
New Records ◽  
Rocky Mountain ◽  
Subalpine Forest ◽  
Radiocarbon Dates ◽  
Aegolius Funereus ◽  
Boreal Owl ◽  
Gymnogyps Californianus

Abstract We report two new late Pleistocene avifaunas from New Mexico, recovered from Sandia Cave during archaeological excavations by F. Hibben in the 1930s and the nearby Marmot Cave excavated in 2000. The fossil assemblage from Sandia Cave consists of at least 30 taxa, including seven extralimital and two extinct species, Coragyps occidentalis (extinct vulture) and Ectopistes migratorius (Passenger Pigeon). The avifauna from Marmot Cave is limited to eight taxa shared with Sandia Cave. Two new records of Gymnogyps californianus (California Condor) are reported from these sites, as well as new records of Lagopus sp. (ptarmigan), Aegolius funereus (Boreal Owl), and Micrathene whitneyi (Elf Owl) from New Mexico. Two new radiocarbon dates on fossil G. californianus from Sandia and Marmot cave are reported at 10 795 ± 50 and 25 090 ± 220 14C years before present (B.P.), respectively. These collections provide further evidence for mixed avian communities in New Mexico during the late Pleistocene and are similar to other cave avifaunas of comparable age from the Great Basin and Rocky Mountain regions. The birds from Sandia Cave that are shared with other fossil avifaunas include species currently found in arctic tundra, boreal, and steppe habitats, as well as open, xeric communities. This collection provides additional evidence for widespread steppe-tundra, shrub, and subalpine forest environments at lower elevations of western North America during the late Pleistocene.

The Neolithic transition and European population history

Antiquity ◽  
2004 ◽  
Vol 78 (301) ◽  
pp. 708-710 ◽  
Author(s):  
Philippe Crombé ◽  
Mark Van Strydonck
Keyword(s):  
World Wide ◽  
Recent Progress ◽  
European Population ◽  
Population History ◽  
The Other ◽  
Early Neolithic ◽  
Radiocarbon Dates ◽  
Neolithic Transition ◽  
Regional Approach ◽  
Absolute Dating

In volume 295 of Antiquity M. Gkiasta et al. (2003) discussed the results of two sets of analysis carried out on a “new” database of radiocarbon dates: one for the whole of Europe examining the spread of the Neolithic, and one regional approach looking at the relation between Mesolithic and Neolithic dates. Although we are convinced of the potential of both approaches, we do have some major comments on the methodology.First of all the analyses were conducted on a highly incomplete database. As the authors state on their p. 48, the analysed database currently includes over 2600 samples. Many of them, however, had already been collated in Gob’s Atlas of 14C dates (1990). Although the authors have included new dates, we do not believe that this has been done very systematically. For the Belgian territory, for example, virtually all the dates used in the article were those published by Gob – 16 Mesolithic dates and 30 Neolithic dates. The authors justify this by referring to the bad state of publication and public availability of radiocarbon dates in Europe. This certainly does not hold for the Belgian territory. In the last decade over a hundred new Mesolithic and Neolithic dates have been produced, the majority published in journals available world-wide such as Radiocarbon (Van Strydonck et al. 1995; 2001a), Antiquity (Crombé et al. 2002), Archaeometry (Cauwe et al. 2002) proceedings of the international congresses such as 14C and archaeology (Crombé et al. 1999) and The Mesolithic in Europe (Crombé 1999), and the IRPA- datelists (Van Strydonck et al. 2001b; Van Strydonck et al. 2002). The authors assert that these “shortcomings” to the database probably do not affect their conclusions. This is a rash and provocative statement, which minimises all recent progress in absolute dating of the European Mesolithic and Neolithic. We believe that for the Belgian situation a hundred new dates can make a difference. In recent years, for example, these new dates have allowed a thorough revision of Mesolithic chronology (Crombé 1999; Van Strydonck et al. 2001a) and a refinement of the (early) Neolithic chronology (Jadin & Cahen 2003). This will certainly also be the case for the other study-areas in Europe.

scholarly journals Ground Sloth Extinction and Human Occupation at Gruta Del Indio, Argentina

Radiocarbon ◽  
1997 ◽  
Vol 40 (2) ◽  
pp. 693-700 ◽  
Author(s):  
Austin Long ◽  
Paul S. Martin ◽  
Humberto A. Lagiglia
Keyword(s):  
High Precision ◽  
Human Activity ◽  
Human Occupation ◽  
Radiocarbon Dates ◽  
Significant Time ◽  
Ground Sloth ◽  
Ground Sloths ◽  
Temporal Overlap

A new set of radiocarbon dates from a rockshelter in Mendoza, Argentina addresses the question of the temporal overlap between the presence of an unidentified extinct ground sloth (cf., Mylodontidae) and evidence of human activity. Dung balls on the cave floor, evidently deposited by sloth, are overlain by charcoal, apparently of cultural origin. 14C dates, mostly on charcoal and dung from this shelter, calibrated using recently published curves, as well as the stratigraphy of the deposits from which the samples were collected, suggest that any co-occurrence of humans and ground sloths in this region was brief. In contrast, the single date on mylodon dermal ossicles from this shelter suggests significant time overlap. Replication of this date as well as obtaining new high-precision 14C analyses from this site will be the next priority.

Shells and Sherds: Identification of Inclusions in Grooved Ware, with Associated Radiocarbon Dates, from Amesbury, Wiltshire

1994 ◽  
Vol 60 (1) ◽  
pp. 445-448 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rosamund M. J. Cleal ◽  
John Cooper ◽  
David Williams
Keyword(s):  
The Other ◽  
Research Project ◽  
Radiocarbon Dates

This note reports the results of three radiocarbon determinations on material from two pits in Amesbury parish, one of which, Chalk Plaque Pit, has been published in this journal (Harding 1988). The other pit, at Ratfyn, Amesbury, was excavated in the 1930s and published by Stone (1935). As part of the same research project the shell inclusions in Grooved Ware from these features, and from a similar feature at Woodlands (Stone & Young 1948; Stone 1949), were identified and the presence of glauconite in Grooved Ware from the area established.

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