An isotopic test of the seasonal migration hypothesis for large grazing ungulates inhabiting the Palaeo-Agulhas Plain

QUATERNARY SCIENCE REVIEWS

卷:235

Article

Hodgkins, Jamie¹  Marean, Curtis W.^2,3  Venter, Jan A.^2,4  Richardson, Leesha⁵  Roberts, Patrick⁶  Zech, Jana⁶  Difford, Mark²  Copeland, Sandi R.⁷  Orr, Caley M.^1,8  Keller, Hannah May^1,9  Fahey, B. Patrick³  Lee-Thorp, Julia A.¹⁰ 

[1] Univ Colorado, Dept Anthropol, POB 173364, Denver, CO 80217 USA

[2] Nelson Mandela Univ, Ctr Coastal Palaeosci, POB 77000, ZA-6031 Port Elizabeth, South Africa

[3] Arizona State Univ, Sch Human Evolut & Social Change, Inst Human Origins, Tempe, AZ 85287 USA

[4] Nelson Mandela Univ, Sch Nat Resource Management, George Campus,Madiba Dr, ZA-6530 George, Western Cape, South Africa

[5] Univ Cape Town, Dept Archaeol, Private Bag X3, ZA-7701 Rondebosch, South Africa

[6] Max Planck Inst Sci Human Hist, Dept Archaeol, D-07745 Jena, Germany

[7] Los Alamos Natl Lab, Environm Stewardship Grp, POB 1663, Los Alamos, NM 87545 USA

[8] Univ Colorado, Dept Cell & Dev Biol, Sch Med, Aurora, CO 80045 USA

[9] Yale Univ, Dept Anthropol, New Haven, CT 06511 USA

[10] Univ Oxford, Sch Archaeol, 1 South Parks Rd, Oxford OX1 3TG, England

关键词: Archaeology;    Isotopes;    Migration;    Middle Stone Age;    South Africa;    Pinnacle Point;    Paleo-Agulhas Plain;   

DOI  :  10.1016/j.quascirev.2020.106221

来源: Elsevier

【 摘 要 】

The Greater Cape Floristic Region of South Africa was critical to the evolution of early modern humans (Homo sapiens) during the Pleistocene. The now submerged continental shelf formed its own ecosystem, the Palaeo-Agulhas Plain (PAP), where early humans lived and foraged. Grazing animals living on the plain might have migrated east and west tracking seasonally varying rains-a hypothesis tested here by examining delta C-13 and delta O-18 of serially-drilled teeth from seven ungulate genera: Alcelaphus, Connochaetes, Antidorcus, Redunca, Damaliscus, and Hippotragus. Modern observations and paleoecological reconstructions indicate that summer rainfall areas to the east have more C-4 grasses while the winter rainfall areas to the west have more C-3 grasses, and that summer and winter rains differ in delta O-18. Thus, we analyze delta C-13 and delta O-18 preserved in herbivore teeth from the site of PP30 (a hyena den dating to similar to 151 ka) to infer diet and water source throughout tooth formation. On a generic level, none of the samples exhibit delta C-13 or delta O-18 values that differ significantly from a taxon that likely foraged locally through the year (Southern reedbuck, Redunca arundium). Overall, results indicate that the PAP could support herbivore populations year-round without substantial migration, providing an ecosystem ideal for human inhabitants. (C) 2020 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

【 授权许可】

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