http://SaturnianCosmology.Org/ mirrored file For complete access to all the files of this collection see http://SaturnianCosmology.org/search.php ========================================================== *Abstracts: Mot - P* *THE MAMMOTH AND MAMMOTH FAUNA OF BELARUS (L)* Alexander N. MOTUZKO and Natallia A. NAVICHKOVA Geographical Faculty, Belarus State University, Skaryna ave., 4, 220050 Minsk, Belarus Belarus is located between 56° 10? and 51° 16? north latitude and 23° 11? and 32° 47? east longitude. It covers a total of 207600 km^2 . The remains of /Mammuthus primigenius/ Blum. are found in more than 150 locations. The territory of Belarus was the central part of the European natural habitat of mammoth in the Pleistocene. The most ancient remains of mammoth coincide with deposits of the end of the Middle Pleistocene. This record includes two finds from the localities Petrikov and Kobeljaki. In the Petrikov locality the skeleton of a mammoth was found. It lay in Riss sandy deposits in a succession of river terrace deposits. The location Kobeljaki is situated in a high interstream area. It was formed due to erosion of Riss moraine. These beds are overlain by Wurmian loess. Early Wurmian deposits with the mammoth remains comprise the other group of locations. The Rumlovka and Gralevo localities are typical. The remains are found in alluvial deposits of high river terraces. The most abundant remains of mammoth are found in locations of the third group. Their geological age is Middle and Late Wurm. Deposits are of various genetic types. An especially great concentration of remains is observed at stopping places of ancient humans. The absolute ?^14 ages are: for Smorgon remains ? 37600-32900 and 19600-13500; and for Paleolithic stopping places ? 26470-23430 (Kalinovsky, 1983). The morphological parameters of teeth of /Mammuthus primigenius/ are given in Table 1. The structure of all molar teeth is typical for mammoths. The characteristic features of this structure are high numbers of plates, narrow and high crowns, and thin and strongly folded enamel. Weak vertical partition of plates results in their forming an oval pattern on a chewing surface. These features can be primitive or progressive (V. V. Scheglova, 1961 and P.F. Kalinovsky, 1983), and that is the basis for distinguishing two subspecies of mammoth - /M. primigenius pavlowae/ (early type) and /M. primigenius primigenius/ (late type). The early type of mammoth is characterized by lower height of molar teeth, thick enamel, and lower numbers and frequency of plates on M_3 ^3 . For mammoths of the late type the opposite is found. One subspecies replaced another in the Middle Wurm. In Belarus the process of replacement did not have a precise geological boundary. This conclusion is made due to analysis of mammoth remains from well dated geological layers (vide Table 1). In late-Riss deposits only remains of /M. primigenius pavlowae/ are found. It is interesting that mammoth remains are not found in numerous sections of Eemean interglacial deposits in Belarus territory or in Poland (Kubiak, 1989). Here the remains of the forest elephant /Palaeoloxodon antiquus/ Falcon are found. Mammoths of late type appeared in Belarus at the beginning of the Wurm. Originally the quantity of them was insignificant. In the Middle Wurm late-type mammoths amount to about 50 % and in the Late Wurm they prevailed. The natural conditions of mammoth habitat have been researched in detail in Belarus. A mammoth skeleton from the Petrikov locality (Late Riss) contains humic sand in its stomach. Spore and pollen analysis was conducted on this humic sand. Obtained information is very valuable. The results of this analysis have revealed absolute domination of pollen of the Family/ /Graminaeae, isolated grains of /Pinus/ and /Alnus/ pollen, and spores of /Sphagnum/ and Polypodiaceae. It can be concluded that the local environment was made up of open landscapes with islets of woods. The mammal fauna of that time is found in many locations but it is of the same composition. Besides the mammoth, the fauna contained /Ochotona/ cf. /pusilla/ (Pall.), /Sorex/ cf. /tundrensis/ Merriam, /Lemmus/ /sibiricus/ Kerr., /Dicrostonyx/ /simplicior/ Fejfar, /Arvicola/ cf. /terrestris/ (L.), /Microtus/ (St.) /gregalis/ Pall., /M. oeconomus/ Pall., and /Bison/ sp. The composition of the fauna allows us to establish the character of biotopes: forest-tundra landscapes with different herb meadows on floodplains of rivers. In the Early Wurm, Eemean wood vegetation became degraded. New rarefied forests of northern-taiga type with large zones of marshy tundras and dry steppes were formed and the canopy began to recover. The strong skins, meat and fat of mammoth were important to humans (San`ko, 1987). At that time the mammal fauna of Belarus contained: /Sorex/ cf. /tundrensis/ Merriam, /Neomys fodiens/ (Penn.), /Ochotona/ cf. /pusilla/ (Pall.), /Spermophilus/ /superciliosus/ (Kaup.), /Arvicola/ aff. t/errestris/ (L.), /Lemmus/ /sibiricus/ Kerr., /Dicrostonyx/ cf. /simplicior/ Fejfar, /Lagurus/ sp., /Microtus agrestis/ (L.), /M./ (St.) /gregalis/ (Pall.), /M. oeconomus/ Pall., /Mustela nivalis/ L., /Vulpes corsac/ L., /Rangifer/ sp., and /Mammuthus primigenius pavlowae./ Thus evidence on both vegetation and faunal composition are important in reconstructing mammoth biotopes of the Early Valday. Due to the middle and late Valdaian progressive cold snap a glacier was generated in northern Belarus 17000 years ago. Spore-pollen data allow us to conclude that dry periglacial tundra-forest-steppes gradually took the place of northern taiga forests. Besides mammoth, at that time the fauna of mammals contained/ Ochotona/ cf. /pusilla/ (Pall.), /Spermophilus/ /superciliosus/ (Kaup.), /Dicrostonyx gulielmi/ Sanf., /Lemmus sibiricus/ Kerr., /Lagurus lagurus/ Pall., /Microtus/ (St). /gregalis/ (Pall.),and /M./ ex. gr. /arvalis-agrestis/. In Middle and Late Valday time, mammoth became a game animal, the object of a regular hunt. A great quantity of mammoth remains is found in stopping places of Paleolithic humans (26470-23430 and 15660-14470). In the stopping place at Judinovo (Bryansk region, Russia) 30 skulls of mammoth were put tooth-ridge downwards to form the base of a human habitation. The long ribs were used to build interior walls of the house. Work instruments (e.g., needles, batons, scoops, arrow-heads) were made from mammoth tusks (Kalechits, 1984). ** *References* Kalechits, E.G., 1984 - Initial settling of territory of Byelorussia ? "Science and engineering" Press, Minsk (in Russian) Kalinovsky, P.F., 1983 ? Mammal fauna of Late Anthropogene and Holocene of Byelorussia ? "Science and engineering" Press, Minsk (in Russian) Kubiak, H., 1989 ? Proboscidea. History and Evolution of the terrestrial fauna of Poland - Folia Quaternaria 59-60, Krakow, pp. 203-208 (in Polish) San`ko, A.F., 1987 - Neopleistocene of Northeast Byelorussia and adjacent areas of RSFSR - Minsk (in Russian) Scheglova, V.V., 1963 - About anthropogene mammal fauna of Belarus ? in: Paleontology and stratigraphy of Belarus ? iss. 4, pp. 216-248 ? "Science and engineering" Press, Minsk (in Russian) Table 1. Measurements of molar teeth of /Mammuthus primigenius/ Blum. Author Materials of V.V. Scheglova, 1963 Materials of the authors Materials of V.V. Scheglova, 1963 Materials of the authors Materials of P.F. Kalinovsky, 1983 Locality Petrikov Kobeljaki Rumlovka Gralevo Smorgon` Pashino Selische, Smorgon Tooth position M^3 M_3 M_3 M_1 M^3 _3 M^3 _3 M^3 Left Right Length of crown 251 -- 274 156.5 156.0 265-290 142; 270 142-205 Width of crown 100 -- 92 61.8 61.2 92-95 72; 100 71-89 Height of crown 211 -- 121 -- -- 120-150 93; 169 134-180 Number of plates 24 -- 22 12 13 18-22 21; 24 21-25 Frequency of plates 6 6 7.5 9.5 10 6-7 7.5; 11 5.5-9.5 Thickness of enamel 2.0 2.2 1.55 1.9 1.7 2.0-2.1 2.0; 1.2 1.6-2.2 Geological age Q_2 ^2 Q_2 ^3 Q_3 ^2 Q_3 ^2 Q_3 ^2 Q_3 ^3 Q_3 ^4 Q_3 ^4 ------------------------------------------------------------------------ ** *KOPACHIV ? A NEW PALEOLITHIC CAMP OF MAMMOTH HUNTERS IN UKRAINE (P)* Valentin NESIN^1 and Leonid REKOVETS^2 ^ ^ ^1 The National Scientific ? Natural History Museum ? Kiev, Ukraine ^2 Akademia Rolnicha ? Wroclaw, Poland In summer, 2001, with the assistance of local inhabitants, a late Paleolithic human site was discovered in the village of Kopachiv, Kiev Region (in the area of the town of Obukhov), Ukraine. In the same years excavations were made at the site by researchers from the National Scientific Natural History Museum in Kiev (L. Rekovets, V. Nesin, A. Pashkov). The site is situated on the slope of a ravine with a well in the locality of Verem`e, about two kilometers west of the village. The slope of the ravine is filled with sub-aerial (loess-soil) deposits. In the upper part of the excavation there is a layer of modern soil (up to one meter), and beneath that is loam (up to one meter thick) with numerous mole-hills. The loam lies on loesses up to eight (8) meters thick. The loesses are light in color, monolithic in structure, non-schistose, without carbonates. In the foot (base) of the loesses there are loams (about one meter thick) which rest on dark iron-rich sands with great erosion (about five meters thick). Under them there lies moraine made up of coarse-grained sand, pebbles and other inclusions (granites, chalcedony, clays, quartzites). At the base of these deposits there is a thin layer of dark sands, containing much manganese. All these alluvial and fluvial (fluvioglacial) deposits with great erosion lie on light?colored, plastic and structurally monolithic clays, the visible thickness of which is about five meters. The cultural layer of the camp (site) was found in loess at a depth of about 3.5 meters. On the place of the cultured layer a skull of /Mammuthus primigenius/ with the left tusk and molars (M\3) a humerus, a tibia and a fragment of a tabular bone of this species were found. The right tusk of the mammoth had been withdrawn (removed) out of the alveolus (by man ?) and it has not been found so far. The arrangement of the bones of the mammoth is compact and put in strict order. The humerus was placed perpendicularly under the middle part of the tusk. Probably it was a support when certain work was done on the tusk. The tibia was nearby, closer to the front part of the tusk. The arrangement of the bones, the percussion marks on them, and polished areas on the bones testify to the fact that the site served as a place for making food, which is the most probable interpretation. There is every reason to believe that this place for working bones - ? was situated in the outlying part of the main camp (site), the traces of which have not been found for certain yet. However, there are data that show that tusks had previously been found near the place of the new discoveries. The uniqueness of these finds lies in the fact that the remains include one of the largest individuals of /M. primigenius/ from Ukraine. The skull belonged to a grown individual. Unfortunately, the skull is very poorly preserved (it was buried in loess !), so it was possible to study only its occipital part, the alveoli of the tusk, and molars (2 M\3). The teeth have 22 enamel plates each, the width of each tooth is 105 mm. The length is 260 mm, the height of the crowns is 70 mm, the total height with roots is 160 mm. The enamel of the plates is noticeably crimped. The left tusk is very well preserved, its outer length is 3050 mm, the inner length is 2450 mm, its curve is typical of the species of this age. The diameter of the tusk at its base is 210 mm, the diameter of the middle part is 175 mm, the distal part of the tusk is pointed, it has a typical beveled surface, which shows its functioning in conditions of snow-covered landscape. In the middle part of the tusk where the humerus is situated, traces of percussions and incisions (cuts) have been made with a sharp cutter. Similar traces of man?s activity are also found on other bones. The absolute age of the bone remains is 13.2 ± 0.1 thousand years determined by C\14, N 11200, Geol. Inst. Russ. Acad. of Scien. Our research makes it possible to note two very important peculiarities. First, a new paleolithic camp (site), Kopachiv, which is likely to be an outlying part of a late Pleistocene settlement, the age of which is 13 thousand years. Second, remains of a comparatively large (or maybe the largest) individual of /M. primigenius/ has been found in loess deposits of Ukraine for the first time. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ ** *WOOLLY MAMMOTHS FROM THE UPPER PALAEOLITHIC SITE OF VOGELHERD CAVE, GERMANY (L)* * * Laura NIVEN Institut fuer Ur- und Fruehgeschichte und Archaeologie des Mittelalters, Universitaet Tuebingen, 72070 Tuebingen, Germany Vogelherd Cave is one of many Palaeolithic sites located in the extensive karst systems of the Lone and Ach Valleys in southwestern Germany. In addition to a variety of other cold climate taxa, remains of /Mammuthus primigenius /make up a large proportion of the Aurignacian archaeofauna at Vogelherd and represent a minimum of 28 individuals. New analysis of the Vogelherd mammoths shows selective deaths from all age groups with a slightly higher frequency of infants and juveniles. Skeletal element frequencies reflect a variety of possible uses of mammoth resources, including but not limited to building materials, fuel, and food. Although sparse mammoth remains are found in all nearby cave localities, the extensive assemblage of tusk portions, cranial and post-cranial skeletal elements, and >100 molars from Vogelherd distinguishes the site, which suggests a different use of this cave during the Aurignacian period and raises questions about its place in the regional settlement system. The role of fluctuating environmental conditions is also evaluated, as the high frequency of tooth pathologies in the Vogelherd mammoths might be an indication that periodic physiological stress from nutritional or vitamin/mineral deficiencies influenced the location of mammoth herds on the landscape, providing natural death sites to collect bone and/or possibilities for opportunistic hunting. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ ** *PALEOECOLOGICAL IMPLICATIONS OF TOOTH PATHOLOGIES IN /Mammuthus primigenius/: EXAMPLES FROM CENTRAL EUROPE (P)* Laura NIVEN^1 and Piotr WOJTAL^2 ^ ^ ^1 Institut fuer Ur- und Fruehgeschichte und Archaeologie des Mittelalters, Universitaet Tuebingen, 72070 Tuebingen, Germany ^2 Institute of Systematics and Evolution of Animals, Polish Academy of Sciences, Slawkowska 17, Kraków 31016, Poland Several forms of pathologies have been documented in the teeth of /Mammuthus primigenius/ from the late Pleistocene archaeological sites of Kraków Spadzista Street (B), Poland and Vogelherd Cave, Germany. Linear furrows in the crown cement are the most frequent pathology and the high incidence of this tooth defect, 50% and 74% of the specimens respectively, warrants investigation into their etiology. One possible cause of the furrows is a developmental defect such as hypoplasia, due to periodic physiological stress. Other potential sources of the furrows include cement decay from infection or impaction of food material in the gums and resorption of tooth cement. Apart from cause, the morphology of the cement furrows reflects regular rhythms of seasonal or annual formation. The Kraków Spadzista Street (B) molars also exhibit several cases of severe malocclusion and formational defects such as twisted or malformed lamellae. Tooth pathologies are relatively common in fossil proboscideans from Eurasia, and periodic physiological stress as a possible cause could have broad implications for the life histories of these animals. Such defects may have also played a role in interactions between mammoths and humans in that weakened animals presented prehistoric hunter-gatherers with possibilities for opportunistic hunting or natural death sites where bones could be collected. Kraków Spadzista Street (B) and Vogelherd Cave offer a unique opportunity to evaluate the implications of tooth pathologies in mammoths. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ ** *LARGE MAMMAL TURNOVER, DIVERSITY AND ELEPHANT DISPERSAL IN THE WESTERN MEDITERRANEAN: THE ITALIAN AND IBERIAN PENINSULAS (L)* Maria Rita PALOMBO^1 , Maria Teresa ALBERDI^2 , and Beatriz AZANZA^3 ^ ^ ^1 Dipartimento di Scienze della Terra, Università degli Studi di Roma La Sapienza, CNR, Istituto di Geologia Ambientale e Geoingegneria, Piazzale Aldo Moro, 5 ? 00185 Rome, Italy ^2 Departamento de Paleobiologia, Museo Nacional de Ciencias Naturales, CSIC, José Gutiérrez Abascal, 2 - 28006 Madrid, Spain ^3 Departamento de Ciencias de la Tierra, Universidad de Zaragoza, 50009 Zaragoza, Spain The large mammal successions that occurred during the Plio-Pleistocene on the Italian and Iberian peninsulas are correlated with climatic changes and compared with respect to patterns of mammalian species turnover, richness, and faunal composition. From the end of the Miocene, both peninsulas formed a kind of "cul de sac" where most of the Eurasian dispersal events that affected Western Europe ended. The peculiar morphology of the Italian peninsula and the presence of natural physical barriers affected the diffusion of several taxa and favoured local speciation. Additionally, Southern Europe was the refuge area for northern taxa during the Pleistocene glaciations. Therefore, their occurrence on the Italian or Iberian peninsula resulted from a previous route through France and central Europe, even if some dispersals from Africa were hypothesised (Palmqvist and Arribas, 2001) On both the Italian and Spanish peninsulas, the most important faunal renewals took place at the transition from the early to middle Villafranchian (Early/Middle Pliocene), from the middle to late Villafranchian (latest Pliocene), and from early to middle Galerian (Early/Middle Pleistocene) Mammal Age transitions. The early-middle Villafranchian paleocommunity reorganisation can be correlated with the major pulse in the late Neogene glacial trend and with concurrent environmental changes taking place around 2.6/2.5 Ma. This reorganisation can be considered a starting point for the dispersal phases that occurred during the Middle and Late Pliocene. The first occurrence of the primitive elephant, /Mammuthus meridionalis gromovi,/ was a bioevent characterising both the Italian and the Iberian peninsula. Mammoth was first recorded in Montopoli (Italy, Palombo, 1995 and references therein) and in Huélago (Spain, Sesé /et al./, 2001). During the middle Villafranchian (Late Pliocene), the forest taxa diminished greatly and several new herbivores, including large-sized taxa, appeared. The scarcity of /M. meridionalis/ remains does not permit us to evaluate their morphological and biometrical range of variability. Around 1.9-1.7 Ma (Olivola and Tasso FUs) in Italy both a turnover pulse and a clear increase in diversity can be detected. The structural change taking place at the beginning of the late Villafranchian is consistent with the climatic worsening that occurred around OIS 64-62, when grasslands became more extensive (Azanza /et. al/., in press a; Palombo, in press). While this phase was not as marked on the Iberian peninsula, the so-called "wolf event" has to be regarded not only as a dispersal phase but also as a true turnover. In Italy, during the Early Pleistocene when the average temperature decreased slightly and progressively, the structure of the faunal assemblages was characterised by more richness and diversity among carnivores than among herbivores. Nevertheless, in the herbivore guild, large and grazer taxa, most of which lived in open landscapes, prevailed. /Mammuthus meridionalis/ /meridionalis/ became a very common taxon. At the end of the Villafranchian some very large specimens occurred that were assigned by some authors to the local subspecies "/M. meridionalis vestinus/". On the Iberian Peninsula open environments prevailed. A renewal was particularly evident among ruminants, while elephants were generally less well represented there than they were in Italy. The transition from Early to Middle Pleistocene faunas represents a major community reorganization (dispersal followed by a turnover phase) that shows a significant and progressive rejuvenation coincident with the onset of 100 ka climate cyclicity and vegetation changes related to climate worsening. The end of the Early Pleistocene (early Galerian), and the early Middle Pleistocene (middle Galerian) were characterised by a marked large mammal renewal, which occurred in successive phases at a time of significant climatic and paleoenvironmental changes. In Italy, carnivores diminished despite the fact that new carnivore taxa appeared. Herbivores, on the other hand, progressively increased, and because new occurrences prevailed over extinctions, standing richness also increased (Azanza /et al./, in press; Palombo, in press). /Elephas antiquus /and /Mammuthus trogontherii/ were part of this faunal change. The former appears to have occurred somewhat earlier in Spain (Huéscar, about 900 ka, Sesé /et al./, 2001) than it did in Italy (Ponte Galeria, about 750 ka). /M. trogontherii/ , on the other hand, was first recorded in Northern Italy at Monte Tenda (estimated age approximately 800 ka), and later on the Iberian Peninsula at Cúllar de Baza (estimated age approximately 600 ka) (Sesé /et al./, 2001). During the rest of the Pleistocene, important faunal renewal cannot be detected. A moderate community reconstruction occurred at the Galerian/Aurelian transition. During the late Middle Pleistocene (OIS 9-7), mild interglacials characterised the Mediterranean area. In Italy there were extensive broad-leaf wooded areas, especially along the Tyrrhenian coast. The Italian fauna was dominated by /E. antiquus, Bos primigenius/ and cervids, while /Mammuthus trogontherii /was very poorly represented (Palombo and Mussi, 2001). On the Iberian peninsula, however, and in accord with more continental climate conditions, the faunal complex was characterised by a major frequency of taxa inhabiting open and arid environments. Despite these favourable environmental conditions there was a relative scarcity of /M. trogontherii/. In Italy, the climate worsening corresponding with OIS 6 favoured the widespread dispersal of some new taxa into the peninsula such as representatives of /Mammuthus/. /Mammuthus/ were characterised by dental features very similar to those of /M. trogontherii/, but had more ipsicephalic skulls and a very wide dimensional range, which also included small individuals. During the early Late Pleistocene, /Elephas antiquus/ was the most common elephant in both peninsulas, and was recorded until the end of OIS 4 (Palombo, 1995) and OIS 5 (Made and Mazo, 2001) respectively. During the last Glacial, middle Pleistocene taxa progressively disappeared, while some "cold" species occasionally reached both the Italian and Iberian peninsulas. In Spain, scanty /Mammuthus primigenius /remains were reported mainly from the late Glacial locality of the Cantabric coast (Made and Mazo, 2001). In Italy, a mammoth steppe environment was observed in the northern eastern Pianura Padana at about 34 ka (Gallini and Sala, 2001). During the coldest last glacial phases, /M. primigenius /was widely dispersed along the Adriatic coastal plain, reaching the southernmost part of the peninsula; while a few samples reached the latitude of Monte Circeo (Palombo, 1995). Results of the analyses confirm that the most important faunal renewals, due both to originations/immigrations and extinctions + originations/immigrations, can be linked to major global climate changes. There is a relatively good agreement between the middle Villafranchian faunal complexes of both peninsulas, while early late Villafranchian sites are scarce in Spain. A clear provincialism could be detected during the Middle Pleistocene (Azanza /et al./, in press b). Even if diffusion and population patterns of elephants in the Italian and Iberian peninsulas were quite similar (Table 1), the milder climate conditions characterising Italy during the last glacial, favoured a longer survival of /Elephas antiquus/, while the geographical position of the Iberian Peninsula seems to reduce the possibility of a widespread dispersal of /M. primigenius/, in spite of the continental climate of that area. ** *References* Azanza, B., Alberdi, M.T., and Prado, J.L., 2000 ? Large mammal turnover pulses correlated with latest Neogene glacial trends in the north western Mediterranean region - in: Hart M.B. (ed.) Climates: Past and Present:161-171 - Geological Society Special Publications, London Azanza, B., Palombo, M.R., and Alberdi, M. T., in press a ? Large mammal turnover pulses and palaeoclimate changes from the Miocene to the Late Pleistocene in Italy - Riv. It. Paleont. Strat., Milano Azanza, B., Palombo, M.R., and Alberdi, M. T., in press b ? Similarity Relationship Between Large Mammal Faunas of Spanish and Italian Peninsulas from the latest Miocene to the Middle Pleistocene - Neues Jahrbuch für Geologie und Paläontologie Gallini, V. and Sala, B., 2001 ? Settepolesini di Bondeno (Ferrara ? Eastern Po Valley): the first example of mammoth steppe in Italy - in: Cavarretta, G., Gioia, P., Mussi, M., and Palombo, M.R. (eds.) - The world of Elephants: 272-275 - CNR, Roma Made, J. van and Mazo, A., 2001 ? Spanish Pleistocene Proboscidean diversità as a function of climate - in: Cavarretta, G., Gioia, P., Mussi, M., and Palombo, M.R. (eds.) - The world of Elephants: 214-218 - CNR, Roma Mazo, A., 1995 ? Una mandibulae de /Elephas antiquus/ (Proboscidea, Mammalia) en Ciempozuelos (Madrid) - Col. Paleontologia 47: 47-53 Palmqvist, P. and Arribas, A., 2001 - Chronology and ecology of the first human dispersal out of Africa, with a review of the archaeological and paleoanthropological evidence - Paleontologia i Evolució 32-33: 7-22 Palombo, M.R. and Mussi, M., 2001- Large Mammal Guilds and Human settlement in the Middle Pleistocene of Italy - Boll. Soc. Paleont. It, 40 (2): 11-22, Modena Palombo, M.R., 1995 - Gli elefanti del Pliocene superiore e del Pleistocene dell'Italia centrale peninsulare; alcune considerazioni - Studi Geologici Camerti_,_ vol. spec. 1994 (B): 447-457, Camerino Palombo, M.R., in press - Herbivore guilds from the Middle Pliocene to the Late Pleistocene in Italy - Le Quaternaire, Paris Sesé, C., Alberdi, M.T., Mazo, A., and Moroles, J., 2001 ? Mamiferos del Mioceno, Plioceno y Pleistoceno de la Cuenca de Guadix-Baza (Granata, Espana): revision de las associaciones faunisticas mas caracteristicas - Paleontologia i Evolucio, 32-33: 31-36, Sabadell ------------------------------------------------------------------------ *//* */Mammuthus lamarmorai/ (MAJOR, 1883) REMAINS IN THE MIDDLE PLEISTOCENE ALLUVIAL DEPOSITS OF CAMPU GIAVESU PLAIN (NORTH WESTERN SARDINIA; ITALY) (P)* Maria Rita PALOMBO^1 , Sergio GINESU^2 , and Stefania SIAS^2 ^ ^ ^1 Dipartimento di Scienze della Terra, Università degli Studi di Roma "La Sapienza", CNR Istituto di Geologia Ambientale e Geoingegneria, Piazzale Aldo Moro, 5, 00185 Rome, Italy ^2 Istituto Scienze Geologico Mineralogiche, Università degli Studi di Sassari, Corso Angjoi 10, 07100 Sassari, Italy^ ^ During the Pleistocene, endemic elephants were quite common taxa in unbalanced faunas of several Eastern and Western Mediterranean islands. Dwarfed elephants from Tylos, Crete, Cyprus, Sicily and Malta have been generally considered as paleoloxodontine, descended from the Middle and Late Pleistocene continental /Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) antiquus/ Falconer and Cautley, 1847. The middle-sized /Mammuthus lamarmorai /(Major, 1883) from Sardinia constitutes the only exception. The Sardinia elephant has been known from very scanty remains. At the end of the XIXth century, some tarsal, carpal and long bones were recorded/ /from the last Glacial eolian deposits outcropping at Fontana Morimenta (Gonnesa, South-Western Sardinia), first reported by Acconci (1881). On the basis of these bones, Major (1883), described the new species "/Elephas lamarmorae/", but did not figure it. Later, during the second half of the 20^th century, two further molars were discovered: one in post-Tyrrhenian (post-OI stage 5) breccias at Tramariglio (Alghero) (Malatesta, 1954), and the other in pre-Tyrrhenian (pre-OI stage 5, ?OIS 6) continental deposits at S. Giovanni in Sinis (Ambrosetti, 1972, Melis /et al/., 2001). The morphological and biometrical characters of the more complete, but very worn molar, from San Giovanni in Sinis suggest an attribution to the genus /Mammuthus. /Moreover, taking into account that in Sardinia elephant remains were not recorded from deposits older than latest Middle Pleistocene, it was supposed that the probable ancestor /Mammuthus trogontherii/ (Pohlig, 1885) should have colonised the island during the latest Middle Pleistocene (Melis /et al./, 2001). More recently, we have learned of two specimens, so far unknown, collected at the beginning of the last century in alluvial deposits outcropping at Campu Giavesu (North- Western Sardinia) These finds attest to the great relevance of the northern Sardinia area in understanding paleoenvironmental evolution during the Plio-Pleistocene. A unique geological history characterises the Campo Giavesu area, which has been affected by volcanic activity during the Pleistocene. The radiometric data (K/Ar method) of the basaltic lava flows belonging to different phases of the volcanic activity, enable us to clarify the geomorphological evolution of this area. The Cujaru volcanic activity (0.8 Ma bp, Beccaluva /et al./, 1981) produced an important alluvial episode affecting the inner Coghinas river basin. According to the morphological reconstruction, this phase was followed by a reinstatement of drainage, even if for a short span of time, because of the reprise of the Austidu volcano?s activity, which caused a complete fossilization of the river by lava flows. This condition gave rise to a progressive alluvial process along the drainage network of the stream. The Campu Giavesu plain was formed by the M.Annaru-M.Poddighe volcanic episode (0.2 Ma bp, K/Ar method, Beccaluva /et al./, 1981; older than 0.1-0.08 Ma bp, Ar/Ar method, Ginesu /et al./, 2002) which blocked the river, whereas the basin was filled by colluvial sediments. The nature of deposits depends on the moderate drainage activity taking place during the Middle Pleistocene and continued also during the Upper Pleistocene. The morphological and depositional condition of the plain might favour the preservation of the elephant remains, in a swampy area originated by the establishment of a marsh in a river meander. Consequently, a late middle Pleistocene age could be hypothesised for the mammoth remains. The samples recorded from Giavesu, belonging to two different individuals, consist of an almost complete upper molar, and of a fragment of a very worn one. The first is an M^3 indicated by the lack of any evidence of pressure by a posterior tooth on the talon and the typical gradual reduction of height. The tooth has 15.5 plates (the anterior part of the molar is broken, consequently only the posterior side of the first plate is present) including talon, the first seven showing wear caused by use. The three anterior plates apparently belong to the same root. The molar shows an elongated shape, the maximum length is 225 mm, the height of the first unworn plate is 129 mm. The occlusal surface is ovoid, quite narrow, with a maximum width of 76,5 mm. Length and number of plates fall in the range of variability of "primitive" /Mammuthus trogontherii/ M^2 (e.g. the teeth from Süssenborn, Guenther, 1969), whereas the average enamel thickness is slightly higher and the teeth are less hypsodont. On the other hand, the last upper molar of /Mammuthus trogontherii/ representatives is usually larger, whereas the M^3 belonging to small specimens of /Mammuthus primigenius/ (e.g., some teeth from Predemostí, Musil 1968) displays more advanced features and has more plates. Compared with the previous known molar from San Giovanni in Sinis, the occlusal surface of the tooth from Giave shows almost oval, not undulated enamel loops, that are regularly but less densely plicated, and show a greater value of average enamel thickness and a minor value of the lamellar index. Nevertheless, it differs from /Mammuthus meridionalis/ of the Italian late Early Pleistocene basically in the higher number of plates and frequency index. All things considered, according to enamel thickness, hypsodonty index, lamellar frequency and enamel loop morphology it seems more probable that the M^3 from Giavesu constitutes a specimen of /M. lamarmorai/ more archaic than the San Giovanni in Sinis one, as confirmed by the geological data. Moreover, the molar from Giavesu belongs to a /Mammuthus/ moderately reduced in size. On the basis of the occurrence of elephant remains in deposits of late Middle Pleistocene age, the hypothesis that the ancestor of the endemic elephants from Sardinia (an advanced representative of /Mammuthus meridionalis/ or an archaic /Mammuthus trogontherii)/ reached the island at the Early-Middle Pleistocene transition cannot be ruled out. Nevertheless, due to the scarcity of data, this hypothesis still has to be fully substantiated. ** *References * Acconci, L., 1881 - Sopra alcune ossa fossili di Elefante rinvenute nel Quaternario della zona di Morimenta in Sardegna - Proc. Verb. Atti Soc. Tosc. Sc. Nat. 2: 266-267, Pisa Ambrosetti, P., 1972 - L?elefante fossile della Sardegna - Bol. Soc. Geol. Ital. 91, 127-13, Modena Beccaluva, L., Deriu, M., Macciotta, G.P., and Savelli, C., 1981 ? Carta geopetrografica del vulcanismo plio-pleistocenico della Sardegna nord occidentale - Scala 1:50.000 - L.A.C., Firenze Ginesu, S., Secchi, F., Sias, S., and Duncann, R., (2002) ? Plio-Pleistocene evolution of Logudoro area. Evidences from new Ar/Ar radiometric data - in. Symp. High mountain - Addis Ababa - Ethiopia Guenther, E. W., 1969 ? Das Pleistozän von süßenborn. Die Elefantenmolaren aus dem Kiesen von Süßenborn bei Weimar ? Paläontologische Abhandlungen, Abteilung A 3(3-4):711-734 Malatesta, A., 1954 - Primo dente di elefante fossile rinvenuto in Sardegna - Quaternaria I: 97-105, Roma Melis, R., Palombo, M.R., and Mussi, M., 2001 - /Mammuthus lamarmorai/ (Major, 1883) remains in the Pre-Tyrrhenian deposits of San Giovanni in Sinis (Western Sardinia; Italy) - in: Cavarretta, G., Gioia, P., Mussi, M., and Palombo, M.R. (eds.) - The world of Elephants: 481-485 - CNR, Roma Musil, R. - 1968 ? Die Mammutmolaren von Predemostí - Paläontologische Abhandlungen, Abteilung A 3 (1): 1-192, Berlin Sias S., 1997 ? Modificazioni del reticolo idrografico ed evoluzione del paesaggio indotte dall?attività vulcanica plio-pleistocenica (Logudoro-Mejlogu, Sardegna) - Tesi dottorato IX ciclo. 1-144 - Ancona ? Sassari ------------------------------------------------------------------------ ** *MAMMOTH BONES AS RAW MATERIALS FOR DWELLING STRUCTURES: HUNTS OR COLLECTIONS? (L)* Stéphane PÉAN and Marylène PATOU-MATHIS Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle, Institut de Paléontologie Humaine, 1 rue René Panhard, 75013 Paris Strategies of mammoth procurement during the Palaeolithic are still actively debated, the principal hypotheses being hunting, scavenging and bone collecting. In particular, in the Gravettian and Epigravettian open-air settlements of Central and Eastern Europe, heaps of mammoth bones have been described as ruins of huts, especially in the Dniepr river valley of Ukraine but also in Moravia (Czech Republic) and Southern Poland. This paper questions the origin of the mammoth bones for the purpose of building, in the broader perspective of mammoth procurement and treatment by Upper Palaeolithic people in Europe. Mammoth bones could have been picked up from accumulations of dry bones or from fossil bone deposits. The bone material could also have been taken from hunted or scavenged mammoths. Methods are zooarchaeological analyses, which include the description of the taphonomic modifications and integrate the palaeoecological and archaeological data associated with mammoth bone assemblages. The ways of mammoth bone procurement, their selection and potential processing in order to build dwelling structures will be studied. The selection and treatment of mammoth bones in terms of architectural potential will be discussed also: the potential use of the different anatomical elements (long bones, ribs, scapula/innominate, tusk and cranium) must be evaluated, notably in relation to their growth development. Furthermore, wooden materials may have been or had to be also used in association with mammoth bones. Comparative analyses are carried out on bone materials from the circular structure described as a hut at Milovice G (Czech Republic) in relation to those from other mammoth sites, set by non-human factors or by anthropogenic activities, with or without evident dwelling structures. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ ** *THE RUBBING POST: A HYPOTHESIS FOR PLEISTOCENE FAUNA AGENCY IN THE FORMATION OF ANOMALOUS POLISHED ROCK SURFACES IN NEVADA (L)* K. Alden PETERSON English Department/098; University of Nevada Reno, Reno, Nevada 89557 A preliminary investigation of anomalous polished surfaces on a siliceous rock outcrop in the northern Edna Mountains, Nevada suggests extinct, late-Pleistocene fauna rubbing as the agent responsible for the modified rock. Concentration of both superficial polish and altering polish on accessible locations of the outcrop from 1 to 2.5 meters above the current ground surface indicate that rubbing activity responsible for the most intensive polish must have resulted from fauna considerably larger than members of the Holocene and introduced fauna found within the region. The regional geomorphology supports the hypothesis that the rock outcrop is stable relative to the surrounding surface elevation, and polish presently found 2+ meters above the surface could have formed 2+ meters above the surface 10,000 years ago. Successful lichen re-colonization over much of the polish suggests a prehistoric age for the polish. Paleo-environmental reconstruction suggests that the rock outcrop lies within two kilometers of a region of high biotic stability and productivity during the Pleistocene-Holocene transition. This study considers geological, meteorological, and cultural alternatives for the anomalous polish and suggest further research for determining age and agency of the phenomena at The Rubbing Post. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ ** *RED-BREASTED GOOSE (/Rufibrenta ruficollis/ Pall., 1769) ABOVE THE HEADS OF MAMMOTHS IN EUROPE (P)* Olga POTAPOVA The Mammoth Site, Inc., Hot Springs, SD 57747, USA; Zoological Institute, Russian Academy of Sciences, 199034 St. Petersburg, Russia Red-breasted Goose is a rare monotypic species with peculiar migration routes (Tugarinov, 1929, 1937). Nowadays it breeds in a few restricted areas in the tundras of northern Siberia (Yamal. Gydan and Taimyr Peninsulas) and winters in the western Mediterranean (Italy), western coast of Black Sea and Balkans, Caspian and Aral seas and Euphrates marshes in Iraq (Snow and Perrins, 1998). Red-breasted Goose does not have obvious phylogenetic links to other modern geese (Tugarinov, 1929; Danilov, 1969; Ploeger, 1968) and its Pleistocene records are very scarce (Tyrberg, 1998). My research and analyses of the Pleistocene history and migration routes of the Red-breasted Goose were stimulated by discovery of bone remains in Medvezhya cave and Grotto Bolshoi Glukhoi on the western slopes of the Ural Mountains, far beyond the modern migration route of the species. Both caves are well known and yielded detailed stratigraphy, radiocarbon dates and rich faunal assemblages (Kuzmina, 1971; Kuzmina and Sablin, 1991; Guslitser and Pavlov, 1993; Potapova, 1990, 2000) Remains of the Red-breasted Goose from the Riss deposits at Grays Tharrock in England (Ipswich, possibly IS 7; Harrison and Walker, 1977), Voigschtedt in Germany (about 200,000 ? 750,000 y.BP; Janossy, 1965), Quartaccio (Middle Pleistocene; Bedetti, 2001) and Loreto á Venoza (200,000-750,000 y.BP; Cassoli, 1978, 1980) in Italy, are the earliest records of the species. Thus, the modern paleontological data show evidence for the evolution of the species in the Western Palearctic. Location of the Middle Pleistocene sites where the species remains were found, strongly indicates the existence of a migration route between the northern and southern parts of Western Europe. Red-breasted Goose migrated from southern England and northern Germany to Italian coasts in a northwest ? southeast direction between 53/53° n.l. and 41° n.l., almost between the same breeding and wintering areas for the Brant, /Branta/ /bernicla/, Barnacle Goose, /B. leusopsis/ and White-fronted Goose, /Anser albifrons/ in the Middle and Late Pleistocene (Sutherland, 1984). Red-breasted Goose possibly inhabited Western Europe since the Early Pleistocene through the Riss epoch. Shortly after that, probably at the beginning of Riss-Würm interglacial, the West-European population went extinct, since there are no post-Riss records in the former breeding grounds of the species in northern Europe. In the "East", the remains of the Red-breasted Goose dated as Late Pleistocene (Early-Late Valdai) were found along the western slopes of Urals mountains, on the riverbanks of the lower Ural River, Binagady tar pit on Apsheron Peninsula in Transcaucasia (Burchak-Abramovich, 1975) and Sudan in Africa (Ballmann, 1980). This is solid evidence that a Caspian-Iranian migration route for the species existed at least since the Early Valdai epoch, and the migration of the species occurred along the west side of the Ural Mountains. The existence of an "Eastern European" part of the migration route is an indirect indication of the presence of Red-breasted Goose breeding range in tundra closely adjacent to the northern Urals, which might have been extended to the tundra of the North Dvina River basin during maximum (Late Valdai) glaciation. According to paleontological data from Medvezhya cave, the tundra west of the northern Urals was a breeding area of the White-fronted Goose, /Anser albifrons/, Graylag Goose, A/nser anser/, Rough-legged Hawk, /Buteo lagopus/ and Gray Plover, /Squatarola squatarola /and is now far south of their modern ranges. Remains of the Red-breasted Goose from Medvezhya cave belong to birds from the "East- European" population. Paleontological records (Janossy, 1965; Cassoli, 1978, 1980; Harrison and Walker, 1977; Bedetti, 2001) show that since the Early-Middle Würm the wintering areas of Red-breasted Goose expanded from the Caspian sea (and perhaps, the Aral sea) to the west, into the Mediterranean islands, Bulgaria, Hungary, and the coast of northern and southern Italy. Thus, the latitudinal migration route of the species, which starts at the Caspian sea and ends along western Mediterranean coasts (Isakov, 1979), has a relatively recent origin. By the end of the Pleistocene, during the postglacial, Red-breasted Goose range retreated to tundra of the northern Siberia, shifting the East-European migration route further to the east, along the Ob' and Irtysh Rivers. ** *References* Ballmann P., 1980 - Report on the avian remains from sites in Egyptian Nubia, Upper Egypt and the Fayum - Loaves and fishes: The prehistory of Wadi Kubbaniya ? pp. 307-310 - Dallas Bedetti, C., 2001 - Update Middle Pleistocene fossil birds data from Quartaccio quarry (Vitinia, Italy) - The World of Elephants ? pp. 18-22 - Proc. 1^st Intern. Congress - Rome, October 16-20 Burchak-Abramovich, N. I., 1975 - Die pleistozane Vogelfauna der UdSSR - Quatarpalaontologie 1:87-105 Danilov, 1969 - Birds of the Northern and Middle Urals. Part 1. The history of the Urals birds? study. Orders Gaviiformes, Podicipitiformes, Pelecaniformes, Ciconiiformes, Anseriformes and Falconiformes - Sverdlovsk 123? (in Russian) Cassoli, P. F., 1978 - L?Avifauna pre-wurmiana di Torre in Pietra - Quaternaria 20:187-196 Cassoli, P. F., 1980 - L'Avifauna del Pleistocene Superiore Delle Arene Candide (Liguria) - Memoire dell'Istituto Italiano did Paleontologia Umana, N3. Nuova Serie. 234 pp. Guslitzer, B.I. and Pavlov, P. You., 1993 ? Man and nature in northeastern Europe in the Middle and Late Pleistocene ? From Kostenki to Clovis. Upper Paleolithic ? Paleo-Indian Adaptations ? pp. 175-188 ? Plenum Press, New York and London Harrison, C.J.O. and Walker, C.A., 1977 - A re-examination of the fossil birds from the Upper Pleistocene in the London Basin - London Naturalist 56:6-9 Isakov, Yu. A. , 1979 ? Migration of Red-breasted Goose /Rufibrenta ruficollis ? /Migration of East-European and North Asian birds. Anseriformes ? pp. 203-209 ? Nauka, Moscow Janossy, D., 1965 - Fossile Vogelfauna aus den Mousterien-Schichten des Curata-Hohle (Rumanien) - Vertebrata Hungarica 7 (1-2):101-116 Kuzmina, I.E., 1971 ? Formation of the mammal fauna of the Northern Urals in the Late Anthropogene ? Trudy Zoologicheskogo Instituta SSSR 49:44-122 (in Russian) Kuzmina, I.E. and Sablin, V.M., 1991 ? Mammal remains from the Grotto Bolshoi Glukhoi in the Middle Urals ? Problemy Istoriko-kulturnoi sredy Arktiki ? pp. 77-78 ? Syktyvkar (in Russian) Markova, A. K. /et al./, 1995 ? Late Pleistocene distribution and diversity of mammals in Northern Eurasia (Paleofauna Database) ? Paleontologia I Evolucio 28-29:1-143 Ploeger, 1968. Geographical differentiation in arctic Anatidae as a result of isolation during the last glacial ? Ardea 56:1-159 Potapova, O.R., 2000 - Snowy Owl /Nyctea scandiaca/ (L.) in the Pleistocene of Ural Mountains with the comments on its ecology and distribution in the Northern Palearctic in the past - Deinsea 8 Snow, D. W. and Perrins, C. M (eds.), 1998 - The Birds of Western Palearctic. Concise edition. Vol.1. Non-Passerines - Oxford-New York, Oxford University Press Sutherland, S.A., 1984 - Changes in European geese and duck migration patterns during the Quaternary - In the Shadow of Extinction: a Quaternary Archaeology and Palaeoecology of the Lake, Fissures and smaller Caves at Greswell Crags SSSI ?pp.101-129 Tugarinov, A. Ya., 1929 ? ?n the origin of the arctic fauna of Eurasia ? Priroda 7-8:653-680 (in Russian) Tugarinov, A.Ya.,1937 - Bird migration on the territory of the USSR in the Quaternary history of the country ? Izvestiya Academii Nauk SSSR, Seriya biologii 4:1171-1184 (in Russian) Tyrberg, T., 1998 - Pleistocene birds of the Palearctic: a Catalogue - Nuttall Ornithological Club, Cambridge, MA ------------------------------------------------------------------------ ** *SPECIMEN COLLECTION AND METHODS OF MAMMOTH BONE PRESERVATION AT THE HOT SPRINGS MAMMOTH SITE, HOT SPRINGS, SOUTH DAKOTA (L)* Olga POTAPOVA The Mammoth Site, Inc., Hot Springs, SD 57747, USA The Mammoth Site, the locality for many bones of the Columbian mammoth, /Mammuthus columbi/, was discovered in the summer of 1974. The site, located on a hilltop in the southern part of the Black Hills, appears to be a former sinkhole filled with warm artesian water, which became the deadly trap for at least 49 Columbian and three woolly mammoths. The deposits accumulated during approximately 700 years, 26,000 years ago (Agenbroad, 1994; Laury, 1994). Since then, substantial efforts have been made to salvage the site and preserve the precious collection of bones. From the time of discovery, the bones left /in situ/, as well as those removed from the bone bed, were subjected to a variety of treatment methods, preservatives and conditions of storage. These included application of Glyptal, Butvar 98/Methanol, Butvar 98/Ethanol, Butvar 76/Acetone, Vinac/Acetone, Elmer's glue, and some others (Anderson /et al./, 1994). Bones left /in situ/ were subsequently covered by backfill (1974-1979), a temporary plywood shed was erected above the permanently exposed bones (1980-1986), and finally, the permanent building was constructed (1986). In 1996 the building was equipped with an HVAC system and a thermo-hydrograph to keep track of temperature and humidity fluctuations, significantly improving the conditions of storage and stability of the bones in the bone bed. Analyses of records are presented in this paper, with comparisons with other paleontological sites in the USA. ** *References* Agenbroad, L. D., 1994 - Geology, hydrology, and excavation of the site ? The Hot Springs Mammoth Site. A decade of field and Laboratory research in Paleontology, Geology and Paleoecology ? pp. 15-27 ? Fenske Printing, Rapid City Anderson, K., Davids, J., and Hodorf, T., 1994 ? Nonpetrification preparation ? Vertebrate Paleontological techniques ? pp. 140-145 ? Cambridge University Press, New York Laury, R.L., 1994 ? Paleoenvironment of the Hot Springs Mammoth Site - The Hot Springs Mammoth Site. A decade of field and Laboratory research in Paleontology, Geology and Paleoecology ? pp. 28-67 ? Fenske Printing, Rapid City Potapova, O.R., Agenbroad, L.D., and Anderson, K., 2002 ? The Mammoth Site: 27 years history of experience digging rescuing and preserving mammoth bones ? Abstracts of the 10^th Annual "Island on the Plains" Black Hills Archaeological Symposium ? Deadwood, April 5-6^th , 2002 button.gif (215 bytes)*Back to Program & Abstracts*