an interdisciplinary study of a mammoth bearing late pleistocene sediment succession in lower austria abstract in the alpine foreland and the vienna basin loess paleosol sequences lps are common some of the most famous lps sites in the circum alpine area include stratzing gottweig willendorf krems wachtberg and stillfried which cluster in a relatively small area along the danube river in lower austria lps provide detailed insights into climate driven terrestrial palaeoenvironmental changes that can be placed into a robust chronological framework because lps are amenable to a range of dating techniques here we present a well dated 13 6 m thick mammoth bearing sediment succession characterised by low energy aquatic deposits sheet flow deposits and sandy loess from re deposited miocene sediments i e a depositional environment that contrasts to the classical lps sites this new site is situated 1 6 km nne of bullendorf in lower austria where pleistocene sediment successions with a robust chronology are rare our multidisciplinary approach is based on optically stimulated luminescence and 14c dating and includes mammal faunal investigations and stable isotope analyses of molluscs osl and 14c dating suggest deposition of the sediment sequence immediately before and briefly after the last glacial maximum the mollusc assemblages and the mammal fauna are representative of a cold climate characteristic of a tundra steppe environment stratigraphic changes in 18o of two mollusc species pupilla muscorum and succinella oblonga suggest an alternating dry cold and humid cold climate oxygen isotope data of freshwater gastropod shells suggest a drastic decrease in the mean growing season temperature compared to today while the carbon isotope composition is indicative of a c3 vegetation

influence of pre existing microstructure on mechanical properties of marine ice during compression experiments marine ice is an important component of ice shelves in antarctica it accretes in substantial amounts at weak points and below ice shelves it is likely to exhibit peculiar rheological properties which are crucial to understanding its potential role in stabilizing ice shelf flow due to its location and consolidation processes marine ice can present a variety of textures which are likely to influence its rheological properties we present a new dataset of unconfined uniaxial compression experiments on folded marine ice samples that have been cut at various angles to the folds texture and fabric analyses are described before and after the deformation experiment it is shown that in the given stress configuration the geometry of the anisotropy controls the rheological behaviour of the marine ice during secondary creep folded marine ice is harder to deform than weakly textured ice when compressed parallel or perpendicular to the folds hinges while the reverse is true for ice compressed at 458 the observed range of values for the n exponent in glen s flow law is between 2 1 and 4 1 surprisingly we see that tertiary creep tends to develop at a higher total strain than for randomly oriented impurity free meteoric ice

phylogeographic analysis of the mid holocene mammoth from qagnaxˆ cave st paul island alaska abstract remains of a woolly mammoth mammuthus primigenius were found in qagnax cave a lava tube cave on st paul island in the pribilof islands 500 km west of the alaskan mainland in the bering sea several dates converge on 5725 14c yr bp making these the youngest mammoth remains discovered in north america and among the few holocene mammoths known genetic analysis of the cytochrome b gene and adjacent regions of the mitochondrial genome demonstrates that the qagnax mammoth is highly derived possessing several unique polymorphisms not found in other mammoths however while this is consistent with a recent insular isolation scenario phylogenetic analysis suggests that the specimen represents a population whose isolation from other mammoths occurred at or well before the terminal pleistocene submergence of the bering land bridge it is possible that it represents a member of a land bridge subclade of woolly mammoths that remained distinct from mainland alaskan populations but was not restricted to highland areas until the land bridge was submerged additional eastern beringian and particularly insular mammoth dna sequences are required to explore this possibility

withdrawn recent data on dynamics of mammoth and woolly rhinoceros ranges in europe during the second half of the late pleistocene holocene

the northernmost and latest occurrence of the fossil porcupine hystrix brachyura vinogradovi argyropulo 1941 in the altai mountains in the late pleistocene ca 32 000 41 000 cal bp abstract several new finds of the late pleistocene porcupine hystrix brachyura vinogradovi in the altai mountains of southern siberia and the urals occur far north of previously assigned range for porcupine these finds have necessitated a renewed study of this species s chronology and spatial distribution we conclude that the oldest records of this porcupine in the ural mountains date to mis 5e and its geographic range possibly included also the altai at that time directly radiocarbon dated porcupine bones in the altai fall in mis 3 ca 32 000 41 000 cal bp it is the northernmost record of this species and the youngest find outside its current geographic range

origin and causes of the mammoth steppe a story of cloud cover woolly mammal tooth pits buckles and inside out beringia to account for the vastness of the northern arid steppes during glacial episodes i propose the proximate key variable was simply frequent clear skies this hitherto under emphasized point is the hub which best explains many questions low maritime cloud cover best accounts for today s tundra and in a related way the cloudy polar front accounts for the whole of the taiga even during glacial maxima the proximity of the sea to the bering isthmus created intermittent maritime cloud cover this regional cloud cover produced an ecological interruption or buckle of the arid steppe belt while this beringian mesic buckle did not serve as an intercontinental ecological barrier to most steppe adapted species it does seem to have limited the distributions of woolly rhinos camels american kiangs short faced bears badgers and some others at the beginning of the holocene this narrow refugium seems to have been a source of some mesic adapted species which colonized westward into the now tundra vegetation of northern asia and eastward into northern north america this holocene expansion from a limited and regional pleistocene refugium created our present misconceptions about beringia the mid strait mesic ecological conditions were the exception to the more extensive arid adapted communities of the mammoth steppe 2000 published by elsevier science ltd all rights reserved

impact of climate and humans on the range dynamics of the woolly mammoth mammuthus primigenius in europe during mis 2 the woolly mammoth mammuthus primigenius was widespread in almost all of europe during the late pleistocene however its distribution changed because of population fluctuations and range expansions and reductions during marine oxygen isotope stage 2 mis 2 these processes were highly dynamic our analyses of 318 radiocarbon dates from 162 localities obtained directly from mammoth material confirmed important changes in mammoth range between 28 6 and 14 1 ka the greenland stadial 3 interval 27 5 23 3 ka was the time of maximum expansion of the mammoth in europe during mis 2 the continuous range was soon fragmented and reduced resulting in the disappearance of mammuthus during the last glacial maximum from 21 4 to 19 2 ka in all parts of the north european plain it is not clear whether mammoths survived in the east european plain the mammoth returned to europe soon after 19 0 ka and for the next 3 4 millennia played an important role in the lifeways of epigravettian societies in eastern europe mammoths became extinct in most of europe by 14 0 ka except for core areas such as the far northeast of europe where they survived until the beginning of the holocene no significant correlation was found between the distribution of the mammoth in europe and human activity

cova del rinoceront castelldefels barcelona a terrestrial record for the last interglacial period mis 5 in the mediterranean coast of the iberian peninsula abstract the cova del rinoceront a site in ne iberia contains a thick sedimentary fill preserving a faunal archive from the penultimate glacial and the the last interglacial periods layers i to iii have been dated to between 74 and 147 ka coinciding with mis 5a to 5e a period poorly represented in the mediterranean terrestrial record the results from cova del rinoceront are of broader interest for the reconstruction of ecological dynamics during warm stages and the understanding of the evolution and geographical variation of several taxa the palaeoecological evidence suggests a landscape dominated by mixed wooded vegetation with mild climatic conditions slightly more humid than today several vertebrate taxa including haploidoceros mediterraneus stephanorhinus hundsheimensis and glis glis are documented for the first time in the early upper pleistocene of europe showing that these species persisted across the region for longer than previously thought in addition the recovery of a small lithic assemblage indicates human presence in the surroundings of the site the 11 m thick stratigraphic section also provides an ideal setting in which to compare several geochronological methods u th dating of the flowstones that cap the deposit of speleothems formed along the cave walls and of speleothems buried by the deposit at different elevations provides minimum and maximum ages of 74 and 175 ka respectively for the accumulation the ages obtained by luminescence electron spin resonance esr amino acid racemisation aar palaeomagnetism and u series dating of bone are in good agreement with each other and are stratigraphically consistent this well dated faunal succession presents a unique opportunity to assess changes in the pleistocene fauna of the mediterranean coast over an interval of more than 100 ka

radiocarbon chronology and environment of woolly mammoth mammuthus primigenius blum in northern asia results and perspectives abstract this paper reviews the history of the woolly mammoth mammuthus primigenius blum in siberia and adjacent northern asia the particular emphases are the chronology and environment of mammoth existence and extinction based on about 530 radiocarbon dates from about 230 localities with mammoth remains and palaeoenvironmental records of the last 50 000 years until ca 12 000 radiocarbon years ago bp mammoths inhabited all of northern asia from the high arctic to southern siberia and northeastern china since ca 12 000 bp mammoth disappeared from major parts of siberia and adjacent northern asia and survived mainly in the arctic regions of siberia north of 69 northern latitude however recently it was found that some mammoth populations continued to exist in central and southern western siberia until ca 11 100 10 200 bp normal size mammoths became extinct in mainland siberia at the pleistocene holocene boundary ca 9700 bp on wrangel island in the high arctic small sized mammoths survived into the middle late holocene ca 7700 3700 bp compared with previous studies it is now possible to reveal the complex nature of the process of final mammoth extinction in siberia with some small populations surviving outside of the arctic until ca 10 000 bp the extinction of mammoth was most probably caused by a combination of factors such as global warming in the late glacial since ca 15 000 bp and the disintegration of landscapes suitable for mammoths throughout the upper pleistocene such as light forests with vast open spaces occupied by meadows and forest tundra the expansion of forest vegetation after the last glacial maximum in siberia including its northeastern part created unsuitable habitats for herbivorous megafauna especially for mammoths however the holocene environment of wrangel island was not of glacial type and this requires further studies the relationship between mammoths and upper palaeolithic humans is also considered the role of humans in the process of mammoth extinction was of secondary importance the lack of direct evidences of mammoth hunting limits the estimation of its role in upper palaeolithic human subsistence siberia is undoubtedly the area where the final extinction of mammoth occurred and the future study of this process is important to understand the patterns of pleistocene megafaunal extinction in the northern hemisphere

extinction chronology of the cave lion panthera spelaea abstract the cave lion panthera spelaea was widespread across northern eurasia and alaska yukon during the late pleistocene both morphology and dna indicate an animal distinct from modern lions probably at the species level so that its disappearance in the late pleistocene should be treated as a true extinction new ams radiocarbon dates directly on cave lion from across its range together with published dates from other studies totalling 111 dates indicate extinction across eurasia in the interval ca 14 14 5 cal ka bp and in alaska yukon about a thousand years later it is likely that its extinction occurred directly or indirectly in response to the climatic warming that occurred ca 14 7 cal ka bp at the onset of greenland interstadial 1 accompanied by a spread of shrubs and trees and reduction in open habitats possibly there was also a concomitant reduction in abundance of available prey although most of its probable prey species survived substantially later at present it is unclear whether human expansion in the lateglacial might have played a role in cave lion extinction gaps in the temporal pattern of dates suggest earlier temporary contractions of range ca 40 35 cal ka bp in siberia during mis 3 and ca 25 20 cal ka bp in europe during the last glacial maximum but further dates are required to corroborate these the holocene expansion of modern lion panthera leo into south west asia and south east europe re occupied part of the former range of p spelaea but the late pleistocene temporal and geographical relationships of the two species are unknown

instruments and methods a simple and updated pneumatic method for uniaxial ice compression in the laboratory experimental settings and creep test results on glacier ice creep tests provide invaluable data to better understand the physical properties of ice under various conditions we describe here a simple updated pneumatic apparatus for experimental studies of

paleoenvironmental and paleoclimatic records from permafrost deposits in the arctic region of northern siberia ice complexes extremely ice rich permafrost deposits with large ice wedges are widely distributed in the arctic region of northeast siberia they present excellent archives for the reconstruction of late quaternary paleoenvironmental conditions in nonglaciated areas in 1998 1999 and 2000 russian and german scientists worked together on the bykovsky peninsula southeast of the lena delta in order to investigate the ice complex and its associated sediments intensive cryolithological and sedimentological studies radiocarbon age determinations paleobotanical studies micropaleontological investigations studies of mammal and insect fossils and stable isotope analyses of ground ice were performed radiocarbon data have been obtained from the entire exposed sequence coveringapproximately the last 60 000 years the results indicate that compared with modern time the investig ated ice complex sequence was formed duringtwo cooler and more arid stages of the late pleistocene with relatively uniform environmental conditions separated by a stage with environmental variations and more intensive soil formation caused by climate amelioration the late pleistocene environmental changes were not as strong as those occurring during the pleistocene holocene transition where a sharp break is evident r 2002 elsevier science ltd and inqua all rights reserved

new data on changes in the european distribution of the mammoth and the woolly rhinoceros during the second half of the late pleistocene and the early holocene the paleofauna database developed by the authors contains information on more than 5500 eurasian localities that yielded late pleistocene and holocene mammalian fossils the database is used to analyze the changes in the geographical distribution during the second half of the late pleistocene and the holocene of two significant species e the mammoth mammuthus primigenius and the woolly rhinoceros coelodonta antiquitatis based on the geographical information combined with new radiocarbon data a correlation has been established between the observed shifts in the ranges of the two species and the climatic changes that occurred during the past 50 000 years the results indicate that both species changed their distribution repeatedly the expansion of the ranges increased during stadial intervals and decreased during most interstadials both species reached their maximum expansion during the denekamp bryansk interstadial a relatively long interval that includes a number of cold phases later the ranges in europe of both mammoth and rhinoceros were reduced a process that started before the end of the lgm progressive warming from the end of the pleistocene onwards resulted in dramatic changes in the environment that appeared to be critical for the distribution of those animals mammoth and woolly rhinoceros ranges disintegrated into isolated spots and later they disappeared completely from eurasia relict populations of small mammoths persisted longer on isolated islands such as wrangel island however not only climate change had an impact on the distribution of the two species late paleolithic and mesolithic hunters might also have affected the size of the mammoth and woolly rhinoceros populations their impact was probably particularly high when the species were close to extinction

patterns of faunal extinction and paleoclimatic change from mid holocene mammoth and polar bear remains pribilof islands alaska abstract qagnax cave a lava tube cave on st paul island in the pribilofs has recently produced a mid holocene vertebrate faunal assemblage including woolly mammoth polar bear caribou and arctic fox several dates on the mammoth remains converge on 5700 14c yr bp these dates 2300 yr younger than mammoth dates previously published from the pribilof islands make these the youngest remains of proboscideans and of non extinct quaternary megafauna recovered from north america persistence of mammoths on the pribilofs is most parsimoniously explained by the isolation of the pribilofs and the lack of human presence in pre russian contact times but an additional factor may have been the local existence of high quality forage in the form of grasses enriched by nutrients derived from local holocene tephras this interpretation is reinforced by stable carbon and nitrogen isotope values obtained from the mammoth remains the endpoint of mammoth survival in the pribilofs is unknown but maybe coterminous with the arrival of polar bears whose remains in the cave date to the neoglacial cold period of 4500 to 3500 14c yr bp the polar bear record corroborates a widespread cooling of the bering sea region at that time

correcting temporal frequency distributions for taphonomic bias in this paper we expand upon a prior study surovell t a brantingham p j 2007 a note on the use of temporal frequency distributions in studies of prehistoric demography journal of archaeological science 34 1868 1877 that explored the problem of taphonomic bias taphonomic bias refers to the tendency for younger things to be over represented relative to older things in the archaeological record due to the operation of destructive processes like erosion and weathering using a database of radiocarbon dated volcanic deposits from bryson r u bryson r a ruter a 2006 a calibrated radiocarbon database of late quaternary volcanic eruptions earth discussions 1 123 124 we develop an empirical model of taphonomic bias in contrast to our prior study in which we modeled taphonomic bias as an exponential function wherein the likelihood of site loss remains constant through time we argue that the probability of site destruction actually decreases with site age we further demonstrate how this model can be used to correct temporal frequency distributions and extract demographic histories we illustrate this approach using databases of radiocarbon dates from rockshelter and open air sites in the bighorn basin wyoming usa and mammoths and humans in siberia russia

last glacial vegetation of northern eurasia in order to investigate the potential role of vegetation changes in megafaunal extinctions during the later part of the last glacial stage and early holocene 42 10 ka bp the palaeovegetation of northern eurasia and alaska was simulated using the lpj guess dynamic vegetation model palaeoclimatic driving data were derived from simulations made for 22 time slices using the hadley centre unified model modelled annual net primary productivity anpp of a series of plant functional types pfts is mapped for selected time slices and summarised for major geographical regions for all time slices strong canonical correlations are demonstrated between model outputs and pollen data compiled for the same period and region simulated anpp values especially for tree pfts and for a mesophilous herb pft provide evidence of the structure and productivity of last glacial vegetation the mesophilous herb pft anpp is higher in many areas during the glacial than at present or during the early holocene glacial stage vegetation whilst open and largely treeless in much of europe thus had a higher capacity to support large vertebrate herbivore populations than did early holocene vegetation a marked and rapid decrease in anpp of mesophilous herbs began shortly after the last glacial maximum especially in western eurasia this is likely implicated in extinction of several large herbivorous mammals during the latter part of the glacial stage and the transition to the holocene

the use of lithic artefacts for making rock art engravings observation and analysis of use wear traces in experimental tools through optical microscopy and sem in this paper we present the results of observations made via optical microscopy and sem of microwear traces on experimental lithic tools used in the replication of rock art engravings the overall aim of this experimental programme is to generate diagnostic microscopic criteria that could subsequently be used a in the identification of archaeological artefacts that have been involved in the production of rock art engravings and b in the inference of the engraving techniques in which they have been used the methods of replication of engraved figures and lines and the observation of the microwear traces on the experimental artefacts used are presented the complementary use of stereomicroscope metallographic microscope with bright field dark field and laser illumination and sem is also discussed the resulting microwear traces observed on the tools used in the experiment are characterized and are linked to the two different engraving techniques with which the rock art replication has been carried out

dating the extinction of european mammoths new evidence from estonia five mammoth molars four pieces of tusk and one bone fragment found in different parts of estonia were radiocarbon dated using the ams method six of the analysed samples gave an infinite date these remains originate most likely from an ice free period during the early weichselian or early middle weichselian the molar from mooste southeast estonia was dated at 31 000 bp and seems thus to belong to the same faunal complex as several other previously dated mammoth specimens recovered in finland and other nordic countries two molars from puurmani central estonia gave an age of ca 10 000 bp suggesting a late relict mammoth population living in northeast europe during the late pleistocene early holocene transition

timing of megafaunal extinction in the late late pleistocene on the japanese archipelago abstract in the late late pleistocene llp japanese terrestrial large mammals consisted of two main groups the palaeoloxodon sinomegaceroides complex and the mammoth fauna the former inhabited temperate forests and the latter were adapted to patches of taiga and grassland in cold environments among the two groups almost all large mammals became extinct in the late quaternary the llp extinction is one of the most interesting topics currently debated in japan this paper evaluates previously reported radiocarbon dates of mammal fossils to determine the timing of llp megafaunal extinctions on the japanese archipelago unreliable specimens which were dated by conventional 14c decay counting samples obtained from poorly preserved fossils samples inconsistent with geological context and samples dated by combining bone fragments of several species and whose exact provenances are unknown are rejected the timing of extinctions was compared with the vegetational changes as a result the present paper indicates that the extinction of large mammals in the palaeoloxodon sinomegaceroides complex roughly coincided with the onset of the last glacial maximum lgm from ca 25 000 bp to 16 000 bp and subsequent domination by subarctic conifers in contrast the mammoth fauna survived the lgm and became extinct or migrated northward when the climate started to ameliorate the llp extinction on the japanese islands occurred in two pulses these results imply that the main causes of llp extinction on the japanese archipelago were changes of the ecosystem driven by climatic changes rather than overkill by human hunters

extinction chronology of the woolly rhinoceros coelodonta antiquitatis in the context of late quaternary megafaunal extinctions in northern eurasia abstract megafaunal extinctions in northern eurasia excluding mediterranean islands since the last interglacial claimed about 37 of species with body weights 44 kg here we review the dating evidence for the timings of these extinctions which were staggered over tens of millennia moreover individual species disappeared at different times in different geographical areas for example cave bear probably disappeared ca 30 5 28 5 ka at approximately the onset of gs 3 beginning of lgm whereas cave lion survived until the lateglacial ca 14 ka others survived into the holocene woolly mammoth until ca 10 7 ka in the new siberian islands and ca 4 ka on wrangel island giant deer to at least 7 7 ka in western siberia and european russia it is evident that climatic and vegetational changes had major impacts on species ranges and moreover the contrasting chronologies and geographical range contractions are consistent with environmental drivers relating to their differing ecologies however the possible role of humans in this process has still to be satisfactorily explored we present a detailed review of the radiocarbon record and extinction chronology of an exclusively northern eurasian species the woolly rhinoceros coelodonta antiquitatis an animal adapted to feeding on low growing herbaceous vegetation and a dry climate with minimal snowfall during the last glacial the overall time averaged range of c antiquitatis extended across most of northern eurasia but the species failed to reach north america on the basis of 233 ultrafiltered ams radiocarbon dates together with 50 others which pass our auditing criteria we reconstruct a detailed chronology for this species c antiquitatis was widespread over most of the time span covered by radiocarbon dating but from ca 35 ka calibrated it apparently contracted towards the east culminating in its probable extinction ca 14 ka with the latest dates from north eastern siberia it disappeared from britain at the western more oceanic end of its range at ca 35 ka bp apparently corresponding with the onset of interstadial gi 7 in north eastern siberia c antiquitatis survived through much of gi 1d e and probably went extinct at or close to the onset of gi 1c allerod ca 13 9 ka bp its final extinction probably relates to lateglacial interstadial warming and increased precipitation especially snowfall accompanied by the replacement of low growing herbaceous vegetation by shrubs and trees the survival of woolly rhinoceros in north eastern siberia when it had disappeared further west may relate to the later persistence of open vegetation in that region the timing of its final extinction could relate to the fact that the lateglacial interstadial was significantly warmer than any other event in the previous 50 millennia there are indications of gaps in the pattern of dates in certain areas that may have significance in terms of temporary absences of c antiquitatis some of which may correspond to interstadial phases the radiocarbon record of c antiquitatis is still poor in some potentially important areas and further work will corroborate or reject the hypotheses of regional gaps in occurrence and might perhaps reveal currently unsuspected later survival

the latest woolly mammoths mammuthus primigenius blumenbach in europe and asia a review of the current evidence abstract during the last cold stage woolly mammoths ranged very widely across northern eurasia into north america but then disappeared as part of the global phenomenon of late quaternary megafaunal extinction the timing and causes of this highly significant event have generated conflicting opinions and much debate however the overriding need is for more data and recent years have seen the accumulation of significant new finds and radiocarbon dating evidence in particular research is currently focussing on the geographical pattern of extirpation leading to final extinction rather than seeking a single last appearance datum this viewpoint article was commissioned by the editor in chief and is published following the paper by lougas et al dating the extinction of european mammoths new evidence from estonia quat sci rev 21 2002 1347 to place their finding in a wider context we give a brief review of the youngest directly dated mammoth remains from different regions of eurasia based both on published sources and on our own current research this includes a very important new record from cherepovets north russian plain which together with the new date from puurmani estonia indicates the persistence of mammoth in this region close to the pleistocene holocene boundary these and other records suggest that the previous picture of mammoths widespread before 12 000 ka bp uncalibrated radiocarbon years ago then restricted to limited areas of northern siberia although correct in outline has important exceptions which modify our understanding of mammoth extinction despite the many available radiocarbon dates for eurasian mammoth relative to other extinct megafauna it is apparent that much more work is needed only then can we adequately tackle the important question of the cause or causes of extinction whether by climatic environmental change or overkill by human hunters

collagen stable isotopes provide insights into the end of the mammoth steppe in the central east european plains during the epigravettian higher 15 n values in bone collagen of mammoth mammuthus primigenius compared with coeval large herbivores is a classic trait of the mammoth steppe an exception applies to the epigravettian site of mezhyrich ca 18 17 4 ka cal bp in the central east european plains where mammoth bones have 15 n values equivalent to or in a lower range than those of horse specimens equus sp we expanded our preliminary dataset to a larger sampling size of mammoth other large herbivores and carnivores from contemporaneous and nearby sites of buzhanka 2 eliseevichi and yudinovo the unusual low mammoth 15 n values were confirmed at buzhanka 2 and for some specimens from eliseevichi while most individuals from yudinovo displayed the expected high 15 n values meaning similar to those of the large canids the possibility of a contrast in migration pattern is not supported since the 34 s values a marker of mobility do not correlate with the 15 n values of mammoth bone collagen no clear chronological tendency could be revealed at least not at the scale of radiocarbon dating the low range in 15 n values is likely to reflect a change in the specific niche of the mammoth in the southern part of its distribution

woolly mammoth mammuthus primigenius blum and its environment in northern europe during the last glaciation abstract woolly mammoths were large herbivorous cold adapted mammals of the late pleistocene the diet and habitat requirements of the species set certain constraints on the palaeoenvironments it could occupy the relationship between the mammoth s shifting range and changing environments can be explored using independent data on ice sheet configuration temperature and vegetation provided the locality and age of the fossil remains can be validated here we present a comprehensive record of occurrence of the woolly mammoth in the circum baltic region of northern europe during the last glaciation based on a compilation of radiocarbon dated remains the record shows that the mammoth was widespread in northern and north eastern europe during marine isotope stage 3 mis 3 at 50 000 30 000 calibrated years ago 50 30 ka the presence of the species up to 65 n latitude supports the restriction of the scandinavian ice sheet sis during mis 3 the widest distribution range round 30 ka was followed by a decline that led to the disappearance of mammoths from the area during the maximum extent of the sis from 22 to 18 ka the woolly mammoth re colonized the baltic region and southern scandinavia after the onset of the late glacial deglaciation at 17 ka the late glacial record suggests a markedly fluctuating population changing its range in tune with the rapid environmental changes the last appearance of mammoth in our study region was in estonia during the younger dryas greenland stadial 1 gs1 at about 12 ka the two major periods of occurrence during mis 3 and the late glacial stadial suggest that mammoth had a wide tolerance of open to semi open tundra and steppe tundra habitats with intermediately cold climate whereas the 22 18 ka disappearance suggests a major southward and or eastward retreat in response to extremely cold glacial conditions near the sis margin the final regional extinction correlates with the re forestation during the rapid warming at the younger dryas holocene boundary

stable isotope compositions of mammoth teeth from niederweningen switzerland implications for the late pleistocene climate environment and diet abstract oxygen and carbon isotope compositions of well preserved mammoth teeth from the middle wurmian 40 70 ka peat layer of niederweningen the most important mammoth site in switzerland were analysed to reconstruct late pleistocene palaeoclimatic and palaeoenvironmental conditions drinking water 18o values of approximately 12 3 0 9 were calculated from oxygen isotope compositions of mammoth tooth enamel apatite using a species specific calibration for modern elephants these 18 o h 2 o values reflect the mean oxygen isotope composition of the palaeo precipitation and are similar to those directly measured for late pleistocene groundwater from aquifers in northern switzerland and southern germany using a present day 18 o h 2 o precipitation air temperature relation for switzerland a mean annual air temperature mat of around 4 3 2 1 c can be calculated for the middle wurmian at this site this mat is in good agreement with palaeotemperature estimates on the basis of middle wurmian groundwater recharge temperatures and beetle assemblages hence the climatic conditions in this region were around 4 c cooler during the middle wurmian interstadial phase around 45 50 ka bp than they are today during this period the mammoths from niederweningen lived in an open tundra like c3 plant dominated environment as indicated by enamel 13c values of 11 5 0 3 and pollen and macroplant fossils found in the embedding peat the low variability of enamel 13c and 18o values from different mammoth teeth reflects similar environmental conditions and supports a relatively small time frame for the fossil assemblage

new age constraints for hominid footprints found on jeju island south korea abstract in 2004 numerous hominid footprints along with diverse animal footprints were found in the late quaternary strata of jeju island south korea however the age of the sediments in which the footprints were found is still controversial previous age estimates included radiocarbon ages of ca 15 000 yr bp late pleistocene and quartz optically stimulated luminescence ages of ca 7000 yr bp mid holocene in this study we report on 11 ams 14 c dating results from a new set of samples collected from the footprint bearing strata and from associated sediments despite some variations and age reversal all samples collected from the footprint bearing strata yielded 14 c ages of late pleistocene these ages are comparable with previous radiocarbon dating results furthermore the presence of the proboscidean footprints attributable to woolly mammoths in the footprint bearing strata supports the radiocarbon dating results based on the new radiocarbon dates and the presence of the alleged mammoth footprints the age of the hominid footprints found at jeju island is thought to be late pleistocene about 19 000 25 000 cal yr bp therefore this is the second discovery of hominid footprints dated to the pleistocene age in asia and the first to be discovered in korea

late quaternary paleoenvironments and modern pollen data from wrangel island northern chukotka abstract new lacustrine records from central and southern wrangel island are analyzed for their pollen content in an attempt to clarify possible linkages between paleoenvironmental shifts and the dwarfing and or extinction of the island s mammoth population a younger dryas aged peat is also examined to provide better understanding of the regional climatic history samples of surficial lake sediments from wrangel island and chukotka aid in interpreting the lacustrine records the modern spectra differentiate the herb dominated tundra of wrangel island from the shrub tundras of the mainland and are unique when compared to other arctic assemblages analysis of the fossil data indicates that a herb dominated tundra has been present on southern and central wrangel island since at least 11 ka bp comparison to modern palynological data implies little change in vegetation during the holocene the lacustrine interpretations contrast to those based on paleobotanical study of peats and alluvium which suggest modern vegetation was not present until ca 4 3 ka bp pre holocene assemblages have high percentages of cyperaceae pollen perhaps indicating more moderate conditions summer climate is inferred to be warmer and moister than present during the latest pleistocene and early holocene the pattern of postglacial warming on wrangel island is more like that from eastern beringia than from other areas of western beringia modern synoptic anomaly maps indicate that such a climatic pattern is reasonable and related to the presence of negative anomalies over western beringia and a region of weaker positive 500 mb pressure centered over the beaufort sea

pleistocene graminoid dominated ecosystems in the arctic abstract we review evidence obtained from analyses of multiple proxies floristics mammal remains paleoinsects pollen macrofossils plant cuticles phytoliths stable isotopes and modeling that elucidate the composition and character of the graminoid dominated ecosystems of the pleistocene arctic the past thirty years have seen a renewed interest in this now extinct biome sometimes referred to as tundra steppe steppe tundra in north american sources while many questions remain converging evidence from many new terrestrial records and proxies coupled with better understanding of paleoclimate dynamics point to the predominance of xeric and cold adapted grassland as the key former vegetation type in the arctic confirming earlier conjectures completed in the 1960s 1980s a variety of still existing species of grasses and forbs played key roles in the species assemblages of the time but their mixtures were not analogous to the tundras of today local mosaics based on topography proximity to the ice sheets and coasts soil heterogeneity animal disturbance and fire regimes were undoubtedly present however inadequate coverage of terrestrial proxies exist to resolve this spatial heterogeneity these past ecosystems were maintained by a combination of dry and cold climate and grazing pressure disturbance by large e g mammoth and horse and small e g ground squirrels mammals some recent studies from eastern beringia alaska suggest that more progress will be possible when analyses of many proxies are combined at local scales

a review of topographic controls on moraine distribution ice marginal moraines are often used to reconstruct the dimensions of former ice masses which are then used as proxies for palaeoclimate this approach relies on the assumption that the distribution of moraines in the modern landscape is an accurate reflection of former ice margin positions during climatically controlled periods of ice margin stability however the validity of this assumption is open to question as a number of additional nonclimatic factors are known to influence moraine distribution this review considers the role played by topography in this process with specific focus on moraine formation preservation and ease of identification topoclimatic controls are not considered published literature indicates that the importance of topography in regulating moraine distribution varies spatially temporally and as a function of the ice mass type responsible for moraine deposition in particular in the case of ice sheets and ice caps 1000 km2 one potentially important topographic control on where in a landscape moraines are deposited is erosional feedback whereby subglacial erosion causes ice masses to become less extensive over successive glacial cycles for the marine terminating outlets of such ice masses fjord geometry also exerts a strong control on where moraines are deposited promoting their deposition in proximity to valley narrowings bends bifurcations where basins are shallow and or in the vicinity of topographic bumps moraines formed at the margins of ice sheets and ice caps are likely to be large and readily identifiable in the modern landscape in the case of icefields and valley glaciers 10 1000 km2 erosional feedback may well play some role in regulating where moraines are deposited but other factors including variations in accumulation area topography and the propensity for moraines to form at topographic pinning points are also likely to be important this is particularly relevant where land terminating glaciers extend into piedmont zones unconfined plains adjacent to mountain ranges where large and readily identifiable moraines can be deposited in the case of cirque glaciers 10 km2 erosional feedback is less important but factors such as topographic controls on the accumulation of redistributed snow and ice and the availability of surface debris regulate glacier dimensions and thereby determine where moraines are deposited in such cases moraines are likely to be small and particularly susceptible to post depositional modification sometimes making them difficult to identify in the modern landscape based on this review we suggest that despite often being difficult to identify quantify and mitigate topographic controls on moraine distribution should be explicitly considered when reconstructing the dimensions of palaeoglaciers and that moraines should be judiciously chosen before being used as indirect proxies for palaeoclimate i e palaeoclimatic inferences should only be drawn from moraines when topographic controls on moraine distribution are considered insignificant

first radiocarbon dates on woolly mammoth mammuthus primigenius from northern germany a major gap in the radiocarbon chronology of woolly mammoth in europe results from an absence of dated records from the late weichselian moraine regions of the northern european lowlands in the past many fossil mammoth remains were discovered in the province of mecklen burg western pomerania in northeastern germany seven finds which were well preserved were radiocarbon dated by accelerator mass spectrometry the dates ranging from 44 8 to 23 9 14 ck a bp 50 28 cal ka bp can be correlated with marine isotope stage mis 3 of the late quaternary and indicate that mammoth was able to colonise this region during a period of rapid environmental changes the new radiocarbon evidence fits well into the known colonisation pattern of woolly mammoth and shows a continuous distribution in the late weichselian moraine areas of northern germany before the expansion of the scandinavian ice sheet copyright 2009 john wiley sons ltd

radiocarbon chronology of woolly mammoth mammuthus primigenius from poland abstract in central europe a major gap in the radiocarbon chronology of mammuthus primigenius has resulted from the absence of dated records in most of the area north of the sudetes and carpathian mountains this paper presents almost 60 directly dated mammoth remains based both on new research and published sources from the whole of poland the dates ranging from ca 54 to 15 cal ka bp 51 8 12 6 ka bp are correlated with marine isotope stage 3 mis 3 and mis 2 of the late pleistocene the mammoth was able to colonise this region at least three to four times the number of mammoths was probably reduced during the middle of mis 3 between ca 43 2 cal ka bp 39 0 ka bp and 40 6 cal ka bp 35 9 ka bp as well as between ca 34 8 cal ka bp 30 5 ka bp and 32 1 cal ka bp 27 4 ka bp also at the beginning of mis 2 ca 27 5 cal ka bp ca 22 8 ka bp woolly mammoth probably became very rare in the studied area until ca 24 cal ka bp ca 20 2 ka bp the beginning of h2 cold event in the middle of mis 2 between ca 24 1 cal ka bp to ca 18 3 cal ka bp ca 20 2 ka bp to ca 14 6 ka bp mammuthus withdrew from poland entirely from ca 18 3 cal ka bp ca 14 6 ka bp to 15 0 cal ka bp 12 6 ka bp the mammoth reoccupied part of its former range the south eastern part of poland lublin upland and the easternmost part of sudetes foothills and the upper odra river valley the marked loss of open habitats at the beginning of the lateglacial interstadial was followed by the retreat and extinction of m primigenius in southern poland around 15 0 cal ka bp 12 6 ka bp

new radiocarbon dates from finnish mammoths indicating large ice free areas in fennoscandia during the middle weichselian new radiocarbon dates from finnish subfossil mammoth material mammuthus sp transported by glacial ice range in age from ca 32000 to ca 22500 yr bp these results suggest that there was a larger ice free area in fennoscandia during the middle weichselian than previously assumed in addition two dates are also presented for bones found in clay with a different transport history copyright 1999 john wiley sons ltd

the irish quaternary fauna project abstract much of ireland s pleistocene and early holocene mammalian faunas are derived from a series of late 19th early 20th century cave excavations in many instances it would appear that the deposits containing these faunal remains were disturbed this project assessed the chronological range of the mammalian species present in the caves using 14 c dating in particular accelerator mass spectrometry ams the research has shown that 1 a wide range of mammals colonised ireland in the period between at least 45 ka and 20 ka with some elements surviving until close to the last glacial maximum 2 a more restricted range of species re colonised ireland during the lateglacial period with evidence for a slightly more temperature fauna being replaced by an arctic fauna at about 11 ka 3 certain elements of ireland s holocene fauna may have survived through from the lateglacial into the holocene 4 there is a lack of evidence for red deer cervus elaphus being present in the early holocene in ireland and 5 horse is only documented in the irish holocene from 4 ka the paper also discusses the implications of the quaternary fauna project for the late pleistocene of ireland the mechanism and period of colonisation of ireland as well as the introduction of domesticates in the mid holocene

the padul mammoth finds on the southernmost record of mammuthus primigenius in europe and its southern spread during the late pleistocene abstract fossil remains of at least four mature to old mature male individuals of mammuthus primigenius have been discovered in a peat bog of late pleistocene age situated near to the town of padul in the granada basin southern spain radiocarbon dates indicate the presence of woolly mammoth in southern spain between 35 8 and 25 7 ka bp 40 4 30 6 cal ka bp a time span corresponding with the later part of mis 3 the padul mammoths did not differ morphometrically from individuals of contemporaneous populations of other european regions but represent the westernmost portion of an extended and continuous holarctic belt of mammoth distribution the area immediately northwest of the pyrenees including a slender belt of dry land along the coast of the bay of biscay is considered the immigration route of m primigenius into the iberian peninsula the southernmost extent of iberian woolly mammoths correlates with periods of particularly dry and cold climatic conditions where they are documented in terrestrial and marine sediment sequences of the region the southern expansion of m primigenius during the late pleistocene extended to similar latitudes in europe asia and north america paralleling the distribution of suitable steppe or tundra steppe like environments the woolly mammoth s southernmost advances were limited by the vegetational character of corresponding landscapes by the configuration of marine shore lines and high mountain chains and by the extension of semideserts and deserts phases of mammoth dispersal into the iberian and italian peninsulas during the later part of mis 3 and early mis 2 can be roughly correlated with the southern distribution of the species in the eastern palaearctic along the eastern coast of the pacific ocean the topography and glaciation of the rocky mountains range prevented a similar dispersal of woolly mammoths into western north america the expansion of late pleistocene m primigenius within the inner continental areas of eurasia and north america differs chronologically from those at the continental margins

revised radiocarbon ages on woolly rhinoceros coelodonta antiquitatis from western central scotland significance for timing the extinction of woolly rhinoceros in britain and the onset of the lgm in central scotland woolly rhinoceros bones from a number of sites in britain have been ams radiocarbon dated following ultrafiltration pre treatment these determinations give a coherent set of ages between 50 and c 35 cal ka bp the youngest 35 864 34 765 cal bp come from the area around bishopbriggs in western central scotland and are derived from glaciofluvial sand and gravel overlain by till both deposited during the last glacial maximum lgm glaciation a previous radiocarbon date from the site suggested that woolly rhinoceros lived c 27 14c ka bp and the region was ice free at the time this date has had significant influence on the timing of extinction of woolly rhinoceros and the onset of glaciation over britain during the lgm the new dates revise this earlier determination and confirm that woolly rhinoceros became extinct in britain after c 35 cal ka bp that central scotland was ice free at this time and glaciation extended across this region sometime after 35 cal ka bp

the chronological record of the woolly mammoth mammuthus primigenius in japan and its temporary replacement by palaeoloxodon naumanni during mis 3 in hokkaido northern japan abstract the chronological record of the woolly mammoth mammuthus primigenius in japan is reevaluated on the basis of new and previously published radiocarbon dates obtained from 9 of the 11 known specimens the dates range from 45 110 480 to 16 320 90 years bp however the exact provenance of the youngest specimen from yubari is unknown excluding this specimen woolly mammoths appear to have been present in japan from around 45 ka to 20 ka although perhaps not continuously remains of naumann s elephant palaeoloxodon naumanni from yubetsu eastern hokkaido gave a radiocarbon date of 30 520 220 years bp since this species was adapted to temperate forests and previous pollen analysis indicated there was a slight climate amelioration from about 34 ka to 26 ka correlated with mis 3 it is probable that p naumanni temporarily displaced m primigenius during this period in hokkaido

late pleistocene and holocene mammal fauna of the southern urals the present paper analyses changes in the composition and ecological structure of large and small mammal faunas in mountains in comparison with the transuralian peneplain region during the late pleistocene and holocene at present the study area is one of a small number of regions in northern eurasia where a series of local faunas have been dated small mammal fauna changes occurred mostly due to shifts in species ranges while large mammal fauna changes occurred as a result of both range shifts and of extinctions large and small mammal faunas varied synchronously across the southern urals the transition from the periglacial mammoth to the holocene assemblage is recorded approximately at the pleistocene holocene boundary and seemingly occurred over all of the southern urals changes in the species composition both of small and of large mammal faunas were directed largely along the same line from the end of the pleistocene through the holocene both groups of faunas show an increase in the number of inhabitants of partly forested landscapes and forests and a decrease in the number of open landscape species this trend was more strongly pronounced in the mountain region in comparison to the peneplain changes in species composition of mammal fauna in the southern urals the southern part of eastern europe and the altay mountains southern siberia and the baikalian region followed the same basic pattern

late quaternary glaciations in far ne russia combining moraines topography and chronology to assess regional and global glaciation synchrony during various periods of late quaternary glaciation small ice sheets caps fields and valley glaciers occupied the mountains and uplands of far ne russia including the verkhoyansk suntar khayata and chersky mountains the kolyma anyuy and koryak highlands and much of the kamchatka and chukchi peninsulas here the margins of former glaciers across this region are constrained through the comprehensive mapping of moraines from remote sensing data landsat 7 etm satellite images aster global digital elevation model gdem2 and viewfinder panorama dem data a total of 8414 moraines are mapped and this record is integrated with a series of published age estimates n 25 considered to chronologically constrain former ice margin positions geomorphological and chronological data are compiled in a geographic information system gis to produce best estimate reconstructions of ice extent during the global last glacial maximum glgm and to a lesser degree during earlier phases of glaciation the data reveal that much of far ne russia 1 092 427 km 2 preserves a glaciated landscape i e is bounded by moraines but there is no evidence of former ice masses having extended more than 270 km beyond mountain centres suggesting that during the late quaternary the region has not been occupied by extensive ice sheets during the glgm specifically glaciers occupied 253 000 km 2 and rarely extended more than 50 km in length during earlier pre glgm periods glaciers were more extensive though the timing of former glaciation and the maximum quaternary extent appears to have been asynchronous across the region and out of phase with ice extent maxima elsewhere in the northern hemisphere this glacial history is partly explained through consideration of climatic forcing particularly moisture availability solar insolation and albedo though topographic controls upon the former extent and dynamics of glaciers are also considered as are topographic controls upon moraine deposition and preservation ultimately our ability to understand the glacial and climatic history of this region is restricted when the geomorphological record alone is considered particularly as directly dated glacial deposits are few and topographic and climatic controls upon the moraine record are difficult to distinguish 2012 elsevier ltd