DOCSLIB.ORG

The Dynamic Geomorphic Setting of the Late Pleistocene Hartley Mammoth Site

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
The Dynamic Geomorphic Setting of the Late Pleistocene Hartley Mammoth Site University of New Mexico UNM Digital Repository Earth and Planetary Sciences ETDs Electronic Theses and Dissertations Spring 3-2-2017 THE DYNAMIC GEOMORPHIC SETTING OF THE LATE PLEISTOCENE HARTLEY MAMMOTH SITE: BURIAL AND SKELETAL PRESERVATION IN A SLUMP-BLOCK DEPRESSION NEAR ABIQUIU, NEW MEXICO Jennifer K. Muus University of New Mexico Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalrepository.unm.edu/eps_etds Part of the Geology Commons, and the Geomorphology Commons Recommended Citation Muus, Jennifer K.. "THE DYNAMIC GEOMORPHIC SETTING OF THE LATE PLEISTOCENE HARTLEY MAMMOTH SITE: BURIAL AND SKELETAL PRESERVATION IN A SLUMP-BLOCK DEPRESSION NEAR ABIQUIU, NEW MEXICO." (2017). https://digitalrepository.unm.edu/eps_etds/189 This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by the Electronic Theses and Dissertations at UNM Digital Repository. It has been accepted for inclusion in Earth and Planetary Sciences ETDs by an authorized administrator of UNM Digital Repository. For more information, please contact [email protected]. i Jennifer Muus ______________________________ Candidate Earth and Planetary Sciences __________________ Department This thesis is approved, and it is acceptable in quality and form for publication: Approved by the Thesis Committee: Dr. Grant Meyer, Chairperson ___________________________________ Dr. Leslie McFadden Dr. Bruce Huckell _____________________________________________ ii THE DYNAMIC GEOMORPHIC SETTING OF THE LATE PLEISTOCENE HARTLEY MAMMOTH SITE: BURIAL AND SKELETAL PRESERVATION IN A SLUMP-BLOCK DEPRESSION NEAR ABIQUIU, NEW MEXICO BY JENNIFER KRISTINE MUUS B.A. GEOLOGY, WESTERN WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY, 2010 B.SC. HONOURS PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY, VICTORIA UNIVERSITY OF WELLINGTON, 2012 THESIS Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Master of Science Earth and Planetary Sciences The University of New Mexico Albuquerque, New Mexico May, 2017 iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to thank my advisor and committee chair, Dr. Grant Meyer, and my committee members, Dr. Leslie McFadden and Dr. Bruce Huckell for their valuable help pertaining to this research, as well as their guidance throughout my years of graduate study. I also thank the Geological Society of America, New Mexico Geological Society, UNM Geology Alumni Association, Dr. Anna Mary Backer (Jean-Luc Miossec Memorial Scholarship), and the National Science Foundation (summer 2015 fieldwork support, partial LIDAR costs) for their generous funding for this project. Thanks to Jedediah Frechette for his LiDAR scanning, DEM construction and point-cloud editing instruction, Shawn Penman for GIS advice and Dr. Mehdi Ali for his XRF and LOI lab work. iv THE DYNAMIC GEOMORPHIC SETTING OF THE LATE PLEISTOCENE HARTLEY MAMMOTH SITE: BURIAL AND SKELETAL PRESERVATION IN A SLUMP-BLOCK DEPRESSION NEAR ABIQUIU, NEW MEXICO By Jennifer Muus B.A., Geology, Western Washington University, 2010 B.Sc. Honours, Physical Geography, Victoria University of Wellington, 2012 M.S., Earth and Planetary Sciences, University of New Mexico, 2017 ABSTRACT Near Abiquiu in northern New Mexico, the skeletal remains of two mammoths were discovered in the summer of 2014 in the near-surface deposits of a very small alluvial channel. The channel occupies a depression on the back- tilted top of a Toreva slump block, a highly unusual setting for a mammoth burial. Geomorphological investigation of the site has provided insight into processes leading to burial and preservation of the remains, as well as local environmental change. Field mapping of sediment sources and LiDAR scans of the contributing slope basin and slump bench provided a map of geomorphic features and surficial geologic deposits. To better understand the geomorphic context of the v mammoth remains, termed the ‘Hartley Mammoth,’ six soil pits from the mapped surficial geologic deposits were described in the field. Bedrock and soil samples were analyzed using x-ray fluorescence (XRF), loss on ignition (LOI), x-ray diffraction (XRD) and particle size analysis. Bone collagen from a limb fragment returned a calibrated 14C age for one mammoth of about 33 ka. On the mammoth site slump bench, discontinuous bouldery footslope colluvial deposits show clay films and stage l to l+ carbonate, and were likely deposited shortly following slumping due to failure of oversteepened slump scarps. The deposit surrounding the mammoth remains consists of cobbles and small boulders of sandstone supported by a muddy matrix; this texture strongly suggests that the remains were buried by a debris flow. The debris-flow deposit created a high point in the channel, so that subsequent flow was diverted off the downslope edge of the slump block, protecting the mammoth remains from later erosion. Ped-face carbonate coatings (stage I+) in the debris-flow deposit indicate a greater age than the relatively well-sorted and stratified alluvial deposits in the channel above the debris flow. Following mammoth burial, incremental deposition of finer footslope colluvium continued to the present. Overall, field observations, XRF and XRD analyses indicate that despite the ~33 ka age of the mammoth, very little chemical weathering and limited soil development has occurred in the debris flow and other surficial deposits of apparent late Pleistocene age in this dynamic environment. vi TABLE OF CONTENTS LIST OF FIGURES……………………………………………………………………..ix LIST OF TABLES………………………………………………………………………xi CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION………………………………………………………..1 CHAPTER 2 REGIONAL SETTING…………………………………………………..3 Bedrock geology and evidence for slumping episodes……………………..3 Local climate and vegetation…………………………………………………..5 Late Pleistocene paleoenvironment…………………………………………..7 Mammoths in New Mexico……………………………………………………..9 CHAPTER 3. METHODS……………………………………………………………..11 Surficial geologic and geomorphic mapping………………………………..11 Sediment analysis……………………………………………………………..12 Selecting soil pit samples for particle size analysis………………..13 Soil auger tests………………………………………………………...13 Excavation of mammoth skeletal remains…………………………..13 Soil and bedrock analyses: XRF, XRD, LOI………………………..14 vii CHAPTER 4. RESULTS……………………………………………………………...16 Geomorphology of the broader site location………………………………..16 Surficial geologic and geomorphic map……………………………………..16 Soil samples: field analysis…………………………………………………...17 Mammoth excavation………………………………………………………….22 Soil samples: particle size distribution………………………………………24 X-Ray fluorescence of soil samples…………………………………………31 X-Ray diffraction of bedrock and sediment samples………………………32 CHAPTER 5. DISCUSSION………………………………………………………….34 Bouldery midslope colluvium…………………………………………………34 Bouldery footslope colluvium (with younger fine colluvium inset)………..34 Fine footslope colluvium………………………………………………………35 Channel alluvium………………………………………………………………36 Fine distal toeslope deposits…………………………………………………37 Debris flow deposit…………………………………………………………….37 Summary: geomorphic position and degree of pedogenesis……………..39 Interpretation of geomorphic processes…………………………………….40 viii The Hartley Mammoth depositional setting…………………………………42 Possible human interaction with mammoth carcass……………………….43 Summary of geomorphic history……………………………………………..44 In summary: a rare geomorphic setting……………………………………..45 CHAPTER 6. CONCLUSIONS………………………………………………………47 REFERENCES…………………………………………………………………………49 ix LIST OF FIGURES Figure 1. Site location maps .............................................................................. 1 Figure 2. (A) Site of mammoth burial (B) Sediment source area for mammoth- burying alluvium ................................................................................................ 4 Figure 3. Mammoth site location ........................................................................ 6 Figure 4. Mammuthus localities throughout New Mexico .................................. 10 Figure 5. Broader geomorphology of the site location ...................................... 17 Figure 6. (A) Surficial geologic and geomorphic map of contributing basin on DEM base (B) Close-up of mammoth excavation and adjacent soil auger sites ................................................................................................................... 18 Figure 7. Three-dimensional map of Hartley Mammoth site and the contributing hillslope basin .................................................................................................... .19 Figure 8. Soil pit E soil profile ............................................................................ 20 Figure 9. (A) Recent alluvial channel stratigraphy (B) Soil pit F, located within older channel alluvium ...................................................................................... 22 Figure 10. Debris flow deposit and enclosed mammoth skeletal remains ......... 24 Figure 11. Soil depth profiles for soil pits A, B, C, D, E and F ........................... 25 Figure 12. Soil texture for surficial deposits ..................................................... 27 x Figure 13. Cumulative frequency curves indicating the particle size distribution for the < 2 mm fraction of soil pits and surficial deposits ....................................... 29 Figure 14. Cumulative frequency curves for the recent channel deposits, indicat- ing particle size distribution for both the < 2 mm and > 2 mm fraction………….30 Figure 15. Normalized mass % composition of oxides from XRF analyses…….32 xi LIST OF TABLES Table 1. Particle size analysis results…………………………………………........26 Table 2. XRF Results for local bedrock and selected soil
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Additions to the Late Pleistocene Vertebrate Paleontology of the Las
    Additions to the Late Pleistocene Vertebrate Paleontology of ABSTRACT the Las Vegas Formation, Clark County, Nevada DISCUSSION Studies from the 1930s through the 1960s documented one of the most significant late The detailed mapping of over 500 vertebrate paleontologic localities Pleistocene faunas from the Mojave Desert in the Tule Springs area of North Las Vegas. in the upper Las Vegas Wash proved to be an interesting challenge in Recent field investigations in North Las Vegas by the San Bernardino County Museum Kathleen Springer, J. Christopher Sagebiel, Eric Scott, Craig Manker and Chris Austin terms of discerning the stratigraphy. Very little geologic have broadened our knowledge of this fauna across the Las Vegas Wash.Seven units, investigation had been performed in this region since the 1967 work designated A through G, have been defined in the section of the Las Vegas Wash near Division of Geological Sciences, San Bernardino County Museum, Redlands, California of Haynes. That very detailed study was geographically limited to Tule Springs State Park. Units B, D, and E have proven fossiliferous in the area of the the Tule Springs archaeologic investigation and the very near Tule Springs State Park, and date to>40,000 ybp, approximately 25,500 ybp, and about environs at a reconnaissance level. Our study area, falling mostly 14,500 to 9,300 ybp,respectively. Research across the Las Vegas Wash has resulted in within the Gass Peak S.W. 7.5’ U.S.G.S. topographic sheet, had not the discovery of several hundred new fossil localities. In describing the geology at these BACKGROUND been mapped.
    [Show full text]
  • Overkill, Glacial History, and the Extinction of North America's Ice Age Megafauna
    PERSPECTIVE Overkill, glacial history, and the extinction of North America’s Ice Age megafauna PERSPECTIVE David J. Meltzera,1 Edited by Richard G. Klein, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, and approved September 23, 2020 (received for review July 21, 2020) The end of the Pleistocene in North America saw the extinction of 38 genera of mostly large mammals. As their disappearance seemingly coincided with the arrival of people in the Americas, their extinction is often attributed to human overkill, notwithstanding a dearth of archaeological evidence of human predation. Moreover, this period saw the extinction of other species, along with significant changes in many surviving taxa, suggesting a broader cause, notably, the ecological upheaval that occurred as Earth shifted from a glacial to an interglacial climate. But, overkill advocates ask, if extinctions were due to climate changes, why did these large mammals survive previous glacial−interglacial transitions, only to vanish at the one when human hunters were present? This question rests on two assumptions: that pre- vious glacial−interglacial transitions were similar to the end of the Pleistocene, and that the large mammal genera survived unchanged over multiple such cycles. Neither is demonstrably correct. Resolving the cause of large mammal extinctions requires greater knowledge of individual species’ histories and their adaptive tolerances, a fuller understanding of how past climatic and ecological changes impacted those animals and their biotic communities, and what changes occurred at the Pleistocene−Holocene boundary that might have led to those genera going extinct at that time. Then we will be able to ascertain whether the sole ecologically significant difference between previous glacial−interglacial transitions and the very last one was a human presence.
    [Show full text]
  • Pliocene and Early Pleistocene) Faunas from New Mexico
    Chapter 12 Mammalian Biochronology of Blancan and Irvingtonian (Pliocene and Early Pleistocene) Faunas from New Mexico GARY S. MORGAN1 AND SPENCER G. LUCAS2 ABSTRACT Signi®cant mammalian faunas of Pliocene (Blancan) and early Pleistocene (early and medial Irvingtonian) age are known from the Rio Grande and Gila River valleys of New Mexico. Fossiliferous exposures of the Santa Fe Group in the Rio Grande Valley, extending from the EspanÄola basin in northern New Mexico to the Mesilla basin in southernmost New Mexico, have produced 21 Blancan and 6 Irvingtonian vertebrate assemblages; three Blancan faunas occur in the Gila River Valley in the Mangas and Duncan basins in southwestern New Mexico. More than half of these faunas contain ®ve or more species of mammals, and many have associated radioisotopic dates and/or magnetostratigraphy, allowing for correlation with the North American land-mammal biochronology. Two diverse early Blancan (4.5±3.6 Ma) faunas are known from New Mexico, the Truth or Consequences Local Fauna (LF) from the Palomas basin and the Buckhorn LF from the Mangas basin. The former contains ®ve species of mammals indicative of the early Blancan: Borophagus cf. B. hilli, Notolagus lepusculus, Neo- toma quadriplicata, Jacobsomys sp., and Odocoileus brachyodontus. Associated magnetostra- tigraphic data suggest correlation with either the Nunivak or Cochiti Subchrons of the Gilbert Chron (4.6±4.2 Ma), which is in accord with the early Blancan age indicated by the mam- malian biochronology. The Truth or Consequences LF is similar in age to the Verde LF from Arizona, and slightly older than the Rexroad 3 and Fox Canyon faunas from Kansas.
    [Show full text]
  • Late Pleistocene and Holocene Bison of Grand Canyon and Colorado Plateau: Implications from the Use of Paleobiology for Natural Resource Management Policy Jeffrey M
    East Tennessee State University Digital Commons @ East Tennessee State University Electronic Theses and Dissertations Student Works 5-2014 Late Pleistocene and Holocene Bison of Grand Canyon and Colorado Plateau: Implications from the use of Paleobiology for Natural Resource Management Policy Jeffrey M. Martin East Tennessee State University Follow this and additional works at: https://dc.etsu.edu/etd Part of the Natural Resources and Conservation Commons, Natural Resources Management and Policy Commons, Paleobiology Commons, and the Paleontology Commons Recommended Citation Martin, Jeffrey M., "Late Pleistocene and Holocene Bison of Grand Canyon and Colorado Plateau: Implications from the use of Paleobiology for Natural Resource Management Policy" (2014). Electronic Theses and Dissertations. Paper 2360. https://dc.etsu.edu/ etd/2360 This Thesis - Open Access is brought to you for free and open access by the Student Works at Digital Commons @ East Tennessee State University. It has been accepted for inclusion in Electronic Theses and Dissertations by an authorized administrator of Digital Commons @ East Tennessee State University. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Late Pleistocene and Holocene Bison of Grand Canyon and Colorado Plateau: Implications from the use of Paleobiology for Natural Resource Management Policy ______________________ A thesis presented to the faculty of the Department of Geosciences East Tennessee State University In partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree Master of Science in Geosciences ______________________ by Jeff M. Martin May 2014 ______________________ Jim I. Mead, Chair Blaine W. Schubert Steven C. Wallace Keywords: Bison, Grand Canyon, Paleontology, Conservation, Geospatial, Paleobiology 1 ABSTRACT Late Pleistocene and Holocene Bison of Grand Canyon and Colorado Plateau: Implications from the use of Paleobiology for Natural Resource Management Policy by Jeff M.
    [Show full text]
  • Domesticated Megafauna of Americas: Needs, Possibilities and Results
    Interdisciplinary Description of Complex Systems 18(2-A), 72-84, 2020 DOMESTICATED MEGAFAUNA OF AMERICAS: NEEDS, POSSIBILITIES AND RESULTS Dragica Šalamon*, Luana Velagić, Bernard Kuhar and Alen Džidić University of Zagreb – Faculty of Agriculture Zagreb, Croatia DOI: 10.7906/indecs.18.2.1 Received: 15 May 2019. Review article Accepted: 25 February 2020. ABSTRACT The article aims to determine why so few domestic animals originated in American domestication centres. The knowledge has been gathered from interdisciplinary sources taking into account recent archaeogenomic and spatial analysis research. The process of domestication is described, and different domestication centres are compared to the domestication needs and opportunities on the American continents. Human colonization of the American continent is considered. Important domestication centres on the North and South American continent are described. Dogs that colonized the American continents together with people and horses that arrived during the European colonization are also considered. The analysis of the American megafauna that lived on the continent during the first colonization of Homo sapiens showed that the big extinction occurred due to climate change and overhunting. Comparing the evolutionary process of domestication between Afro-Eurasia and America we found that there was no intentional domestication in areas peripheral to the original domestication centres in the Americas. Also, diversification of the domesticated animal purpose in the Americas is limited to dogs. KEY WORDS North America, South America, domestication, animals, megafauna CLASSIFICATION JEL: N50 *Corresponding author, : [email protected]; -; *Faculty of Agriculture, Svetošimunska cesta 25, HR – 10 000 Zagreb, Croatia Domesticated megafauna of Americas: needs, possibilities and results INTRODUCTION Anatomically modern human (Homo sapiens) evolved in Africa around 300 000 years ago [1].
    [Show full text]
  • Late Pleistocene Mammals from Chivacabé, Huehuetenango, Guatemala
    Revista Mexicana de Ciencias Geológicas,Late Pleistocene v. 29, mammals núm. 2, 2012, from Chivacabé,p. 319-329 Huehuetenango, Guatemala 319 Late Pleistocene mammals from Chivacabé, Huehuetenango, Guatemala Jim I. Mead1,*, Arturo Baez2, Sandra L. Swift1, Jon Lohse3, and Lorena Paiz4 1 Department of Geosciences, and Don L. Sunquist Center of Excellence in Paleontology, East Tennessee State University, Johnson City, TN 37604, USA. 2 Green Houses, College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ 85721, USA. 3 Center for Archaeological Studies, Texas State University-San Marcos, San Marcos, Texas 78666, USA. 4 Universidad del Valle de Guatemala. *[email protected] ABSTRACT Few Pleistocene paleontological faunas are published in detail for most of Central America. Probably the richest locality of vertebrates in Central America is at Tomayate, El Salvador, and dates to the early-middle Pleistocene. Literature about late Pleistocene vertebrate species from Guatemala is especially scarce. The purpose of the present paper is to introduce the late Pleistocene mammalian remains from Chivacabé, in the western highlands of Guatemala. The Chivacabé fauna radiocarbon dates to between 15,700 and 12,920 calendar years ago. The specimens recovered from excavations between 1977 and1992 are probably only a small portion of the entire fauna likely to exist under 4 to 5 m of redeposited tephra and valley alluvium. Recovered specimens include at least one individual of Glyptotherium sp., three individuals of Cuvieronius cf. C. hyodon, one individual of Equus sp., and two individuals of Odocoileus cf. O. virginianus. One specimen that originally was thought to represent a deer antler is in fact a hyoid bone of Cuvieronius.
    [Show full text]
  • Mitogenome of the Extinct Helmeted Musk Ox, Bootherium Bombifrons
    Mitochondrial DNA Part B Resources ISSN: (Print) 2380-2359 (Online) Journal homepage: http://www.tandfonline.com/loi/tmdn20 Mitogenome of the extinct helmeted musk ox, Bootherium bombifrons Abagael Rosemary West To cite this article: Abagael Rosemary West (2016) Mitogenome of the extinct helmeted musk ox, Bootherium bombifrons, Mitochondrial DNA Part B, 1:1, 862-863, DOI: 10.1080/23802359.2016.1250136 To link to this article: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/23802359.2016.1250136 © 2016 The Author(s). Published by Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group. Published online: 11 Nov 2016. Submit your article to this journal Article views: 79 View related articles View Crossmark data Full Terms & Conditions of access and use can be found at http://www.tandfonline.com/action/journalInformation?journalCode=tmdn20 Download by: [71.60.100.133] Date: 19 April 2017, At: 17:18 MITOCHONDRIAL DNA PART B: RESOURCES, 2016 VOL. 1, NO. 1, 862–863 http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/23802359.2016.1250136 MITOGENOME ANNOUNCEMENT Mitogenome of the extinct helmeted musk ox, Bootherium bombifrons Abagael Rosemary West Division of Paleontology, American Museum of Natural History, New York, NY, USA ABSTRACT ARTICLE HISTORY The complete mitochondrial genome of the extinct musk ox Bootherium bombifrons is presented for Received 13 October 2016 the first time. Phylogenetic analysis supports placement of Bootherium as sister to the living musk ox, Accepted 15 October 2016 Ovibos moschatus, in agreement with morphological taxonomy. SNPs identified in the COI-5p region KEYWORDS provide a tool for the identification of Bootherium among material, which is not morphologically diag- Bootherium; Ovibos; Alaska; nosable, for example postcrania, coprolites, and archaeological specimens, and/or lacks precise strati- musk ox; Arctic graphic control, like many from glacial alluvium and in placer mines.
    [Show full text]
  • University of Michigan University Library
    CONTRIBUTIONS FROM THE MUSEUM OF PALEONTOLOGY UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN VOL. XII, NO.5, pp. 47-96 (9 pls., 5 figs.) FEBRUARY18, 1955 PLEISTOCENE VERTEBRATES FROM THE UPPER BECERRA (BECERRA SUPERIOR) FORMATION, VALLEY OF TEQUIXQUIAC, MEXICO, WITH NOTES ON OTHER PLEISTOCENE FORMS BY CLAUDE W. HIBBARD MUSEUM OF PALEONTOLOGY UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN ANN ARBOR CONTRIBUTIONS FROM THE MUSEUM OF PALEONTOLOGY Director: LEWISB. KELLUM The series of contributions from the Museum of Paleontology is a medium for the publication of papers based chiefly upon the collections in the Museum. When the number of pages issued is sufficient to make a volume, a title page and a table of contents will be sent to libraries on the mailing list, and to individuals upon request. A list of the separate papers may also be obtained. Correspondence should be directed to the Museum of Paleontology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan. VOLS.11-XI. Parts of volumes may be obtained if available. VOLUMEXI1 1. Four New Species of Rugose Corals of the Middle Devonian Genus Eridophyl- lum, from New York, Michigan, and Ohio, by Erwin C. Stumm. Pages 1-11, with 2 plates. 2. Ornamentation as a Character in Specific Differentiation of Ostracods, by Robert V. Kesling. Pages 13-21, with 2 plates. 3. Mississippian Megaspores from Michigan and Adjacent States, by William G. Chaloner. Pages 23-35, with 2 plates. 4. A Tertiary Azolla from British Columbia, by Chester A. Arnold. Pages 37-45. with 2 plates. 5. Pleistocene Vertebrates from the Upper Becerra (Becerra Superior) Forma- tion, Valley of Tequixquiac, Mexico, with Notes on other Pleistocene Forms, by Claude W.
    [Show full text]
  • Quaternary Vertebrates of New Mexico
    Vertebrate Paleontology in New Mexico. New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science, Bulletin 2, 1993 179 QUATERNARY VERTEBRATES OF NEW MEXICO ARTHUR H. HARRIS Laboratory for Environmental Biology, University of Texas at El Paso. El Paso, TX 79968—0519 Abstract—Approximately 346 species of vertebrates are represented in the Quaternary fossil record of New Mexico. These include 4 fishes, I salamander, 13 anurans, 5 turtles, 19 lizards, 23 snakes, 119 birds, and 162 mammals. Some 22 taxa are from the vicinity of the Blancan/Irvingtonian transition, 12 most likely are Irvingtonian, and 4 are possibly Illinoian in age. Although many sites are undated with precision, most remaining sites probably are Wisconsinan, with well over 300 taxa. INTRODUCTION omitted, particularly those from the archaeological literature, this list Although Quaternary vertebrate fossils have long been known from provides a starting point. Documentation of occurrence necessarily is New Mexico, there never has been a comprehensive list for the state. limited because of the immense number of taxa represented from the Existence of such a database would greatly simplify research in paleo- state coupled with space limitations for publication. Work in progress biology and add depth to studies of modern biogeography and syste- eventually should alleviate this situation. matics. This paper attempts to establish such a database by bringing The references include a large proportion of the primary and important together published records for the state and adding unpublished records secondary literature, but the aim has been to allow entry into the lit- represented in the collections of the Laboratory for Environmental Bi- erature rather than to provide an exhaustive bibliography.
    [Show full text]
  • Late Pleistocene and Holocene Bison of the Colorado Plateau
    See discussions, stats, and author profiles for this publication at: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/316177669 Late Pleistocene and Holocene Bison of the Colorado Plateau Article in The Southwestern Naturalist · March 2017 DOI: 10.1894/0038-4909-62.1.14 CITATIONS READS 0 93 3 authors: Jeff M. Martin Rachel Martin Texas A&M University Texas A&M University 4 PUBLICATIONS 0 CITATIONS 2 PUBLICATIONS 0 CITATIONS SEE PROFILE SEE PROFILE Jim I Mead The Mammoth Site 128 PUBLICATIONS 1,734 CITATIONS SEE PROFILE Some of the authors of this publication are also working on these related projects: What is a species: Bison bison and Bison antiquus re-evaluation? View project Where and when do Bison live on the Colorado Plateau: Implications for ecological management using paleobiological resources View project All content following this page was uploaded by Jeff M. Martin on 27 April 2017. The user has requested enhancement of the downloaded file. All in-text references underlined in blue are added to the original document and are linked to publications on ResearchGate, letting you access and read them immediately. Late Pleistocene and Holocene Bison of the Colorado Plateau Author(s): Jeff M. Martin, Rachel A. Martin, and Jim I. Mead Source: The Southwestern Naturalist, 62(1):14-28. Published By: Southwestern Association of Naturalists DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1894/0038-4909-62.1.14 URL: http://www.bioone.org/doi/full/10.1894/0038-4909-62.1.14 BioOne (www.bioone.org) is a nonprofit, online aggregation of core research in the biological, ecological, and environmental sciences.
    [Show full text]
  • Pleistocene Overkill and North American Mammalian Extinctions
    AN44CH03-Meltzer ARI 29 September 2015 10:49 Pleistocene Overkill and North American Mammalian Extinctions David J. Meltzer Department of Anthropology, Southern Methodist University, Dallas, Texas 75275; email: [email protected] Annu. Rev. Anthropol. 2015. 44:33–53 Keywords The Annual Review of Anthropology is online at Clovis, megafauna, hunting, extinction, climate change, ancient DNA anthro.annualreviews.org This article’s doi: Abstract 10.1146/annurev-anthro-102214-013854 Clovis groups in Late Pleistocene North America occasionally hunted several Annu. Rev. Anthropol. 2015.44:33-53. Downloaded from www.annualreviews.org Copyright c 2015 by Annual Reviews. now extinct large mammals. But whether their hunting drove 37 genera of Access provided by Southern Methodist University on 10/22/15. For personal use only. All rights reserved animals to extinction has been disputed, largely for want of kill sites. Overkill proponents argue that there is more archaeological evidence than we ought to expect, that humans had the wherewithal to decimate what may have been millions of animals, and that the appearance of humans and the disappearance of the fauna is too striking to be a mere coincidence. Yet, there is less to these claims than meets the eye. Moreover, extinctions took place amid sweeping climatic and environmental changes as the Pleistocene came to an end. It has long been difficult to link those changes to mammalian extinctions, but the advent of ancient DNA, coupled with high-resolution paleoecological, radiocarbon, and archeological records, should help disentangle the relative role of changing climates and people in mammalian extinctions. 33 AN44CH03-Meltzer ARI 29 September 2015 10:49 INTRODUCTION Paleontologist Alfred Romer was perplexed.
    [Show full text]
  • Functional Traits of the World's Late Quaternary Large-Bodied Avian And
    www.nature.com/scientificdata OPEN Functional traits of the world’s late Data Descriptor Quaternary large-bodied avian and mammalian herbivores Erick J. Lundgren 1,2,3 ✉ , Simon D. Schowanek2,3 ✉ , John Rowan4, Owen Middleton 5, Rasmus Ø. Pedersen 2,3, Arian D. Wallach1, Daniel Ramp 1, Matt Davis2,3,6, Christopher J. Sandom5 & Jens-Christian Svenning 2,3 Prehistoric and recent extinctions of large-bodied terrestrial herbivores had signifcant and lasting impacts on Earth’s ecosystems due to the loss of their distinct trait combinations. The world’s surviving large-bodied avian and mammalian herbivores remain among the most threatened taxa. As such, a greater understanding of the ecological impacts of large herbivore losses is increasingly important. However, comprehensive and ecologically-relevant trait datasets for extinct and extant herbivores are lacking. Here, we present HerbiTraits, a comprehensive functional trait dataset for all late Quaternary terrestrial avian and mammalian herbivores ≥10 kg (545 species). HerbiTraits includes key traits that infuence how herbivores interact with ecosystems, namely body mass, diet, fermentation type, habitat use, and limb morphology. Trait data were compiled from 557 sources and comprise the best available knowledge on late Quaternary large-bodied herbivores. HerbiTraits provides a tool for the analysis of herbivore functional diversity both past and present and its efects on Earth’s ecosystems. Background & Summary Large-bodied terrestrial avian and mammalian herbivores strongly infuenced terrestrial ecosystems through much of the Cenozoic–the last 66 million years of Earth history. However, many of the world’s large-bodied her- bivore species became extinct or experienced signifcant range contractions beginning ~100,000 years ago in the late Quaternary.
    [Show full text]