The origin of Eurasian Mammoth Faunas (Mammuthus– Coelodonta Faunal Complex)
“Pleistocene Mammoth Faunas were the most successful, cold-adapted large mammal assemblages in the history of the Earth. However, the causes for their emergence can not be attributed only to the global trend of climate cooling which occurred during the Neogene/Quaternary period. The formation of the EurasianMammuthus–Coelodonta Faunal Complex was a result of interacting tectonic, geographical, climatic, ecological and phylogenetic processes. The key environmental factors controlling the origin and evolution of Palaearctic cold-adapted large mammal faunas were successive aridification of major parts of Eurasia, rhythmic global climatic cooling with prolonged and intensified cold stages, and increasing continentality.
Between 2.6 Ma and around 700 ka BP, largely independent mammal faunas became established in continental Asian steppe regions as well as in the circumpolar tundra. Both faunal complexes were adapted to open environmental conditions but were largely separated from each other. The principal requirements in order for species to evolve into members of Mammoth Faunas are progressing adaptation to aridity, decreasing temperatures and rapid temperature fluctuations. Eurasian Mammoth Faunas were mainly composed of the descendants of either Central Asian steppe or Arctic tundra faunal elements. The majority of species of Central Asian origin emerged in regions north of the Himalayan–Tibetan uplift. Between 640 and 480 ka BP, saiga, musk-ox and reindeer occasionally spread far beyond the limits of their respective traditional areas, thus anticipating the subsequent merge of steppe and tundra originated species in Eurasian Mammoth Faunas.
During the pronounced cold period of MIS 12, tundra species regularly expanded south- and southwestward into a newly formed type of biome, the so-called tundra-steppe. In parallel, species originating from the Asian steppe dispersed into new habitats north and northwest of their ancestral distribution areas. This drastic faunal turnover led to the formation of the earliest pan-Eurasian Mammoth Fauna at around 460 ka BP. The sister taxa of several species involved in Mammoth Faunas underwent separate evolution in Central Asia, thus indicating ecological differences between the Asian core steppe and Eurasian tundra-steppe habitats. During temperate and humid stages of the late Middle to Late Pleistocene periods the transcontinental reach of the steppe-tundra biome collapsed. As a result, the majority of the characteristic mammal species were forced back to continental steppe or Arctic tundra refugia, only returning during subsequent cold stages when the formation of a new and more evolved Mammoth Fauna began. The maximum geographic extension of the Palaearctic Mammuthus–CoelodontaFaunal Complex occurred during the Late Pleistocene, when it covered an area of up to 190 degrees of longitude and 40 degrees of latitude” (read more/not open access).
See also:
- Heritagedaily.com, 2012. “A Mammoth and Humans on the Banks of the Marne”
(Source: Quaternary Science Reviews, in press 2013)
ABSTRACT
Understanding bone biomechanics and their effect on bone-breakage patterns leads to a more objective interpretation of human subsistence activities. While ethnoarchaeological research has provided information regarding the structure of frozen meat caches, much less is known regarding the storage of marrow along with meat, and if bones were thawed prior to marrow extraction. This study reports the results of experiments performing hammerstone bone-breakage on frozen and thawed cattle femora and humeri with the periosteum and a thin layer of meat left intact. Results indicated that both the presence of soft tissues and the frozen or thawed state of the bone influenced the extent and type of fracture. These differences potentially allow for the objective identification of frozen and thawed marrow-cracked bones from an archaeological assemblage. This research has implications for interpreting winter subsistence activities on the North American Plains.
The Brain Scoop
Episode 16: Horns vs. AntlersWe get a lot of requests to fulfill common queries about the odd animal world - differentiating between horns and alters is one of them. Certainly there is a lot more that can be said on this subject, but here’s your basic bite-sized rundown of similarities and differences. Someday soon we’ll be discussing the freakshow exceptions to the rules: rhinoceroses, the American pronghorn, the common raccoon.
Novel application of archaeology methods to excavate a mammoth in Mexico
- edited in English/not authored by me
“A group of palaeontologists have, for the first time in Latin America, applied methods generally unique to archeology to salvage the remains of a mammoth [near] Mexico City, reports the Institute of Anthropology and History of Mexico website.
The excavation, which aims to rescue the first mammoth found in Milpa Alta, a city in the south of Mexico City, is applying “magnetic and electrical methods and ground penetrating radar in paleontology for the first time in Latin America, (…) methods commonly used in archaeological excavations for the detection of architectural remains,” says the institute.
This technology allowed excavators to determine the magnitude of the find before beginning the excavation and saves research time, according to experts.
The specimen is a male mammoth from the prairies (Mammuthus columbi) and was about 30 years of age when it died. It was discovered accidentally in 2012 by the inhabitants of the area in ash deposited by a volcanic eruption 10,000 or 12,000 years ago.
The excavations, which began in March, have unearthed the tusk, part of the skull, a mandibular ramus, some ribs and some vertebrae of the mammal, but 30% of the bones still need to be accounted for.Mammoths are a genus of an extinct family of elephants that once existed in the Pliocene (late Neogene) periods, Pleistocene and Holocene (Quaternary).”
(Source: Paleorama en Red)
Burnt bone assemblages from El Esquilleu cave (Cantabria, Northern Spain): deliberate use for fuel or systematic disposal of organic waste?
“Bones or fossil fuels associated with combustion structures have been widely discussed in several works related to Neanderthal lifestyles and subsistence patterns during the MIS 3. El Esquilleu cave (western Cantabria, Spain) can significantly contribute to this issue, particularly with the taphonomic study of layers 21 and 23, which are characterized by the presence of hearths containing abundant burnt and charred faunal remains of ibex. The fragmentation and burning rates as well as bone presence within hearths may suggest that they were used as a supplementary fuel resource. Following previous research on the suitability of bones as a supplement to firewood in hearth combustions, a series of experiments are here presented using goat bones, in consistency with the faunal record present at El Esquilleu. Our experiments proved that small-sized animal (<100 kg in weight) bones also possess appropriate qualities for their use as fuel, particularly epiphyseal and axial parts. This paper critically evaluates whether bones could have been used as fuel by the Neanderthal groups at El Esquilleu or whether their combustion resulted from other behavioural practises. In this sense, we compare our results with different proxy data from this site as well as with the palaeoenvironmental information available for the MIS 3 chronological period in Western Europe.
► Suggested use of bones as fuel according to previous research in Western Europe. ► Testing of the feasibility of Capra bones as fuel through experimentation. ► Detailed taphonomic information of the significance of burnt bones. ► Charcoal floristic information matches Western European pollen records. ► The presence of burnt bone and its possible relation is related to organic waste disposal activities” (read more).
(Source: Quaternary Science Reviews 68:175-190, 2013)
