Quaternary Science Reviews最新文献

{"title":"Millennial-scale climatic and cultural impacts on vegetation and fire at the southern edge of the Rocky Mountains, USA","authors":"Paul D. Henne ,&nbsp;Susann Stolze ,&nbsp;Natalie M. Kehrwald ,&nbsp;Becky Brice ,&nbsp;Craig D. Allen","doi":"10.1016/j.quascirev.2026.109821","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.quascirev.2026.109821","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Mountain forests and woodlands in semiarid regions of the world are threatened by climatic change and other human impacts. In the southwestern USA, climate and culturally driven changes to the structure and fire regimes of dry coniferous forests over recent centuries are well documented by tree-ring archives. However, the roles of climate and people as drivers of millennial-scale changes are less understood. We present a new record of vegetation dynamics and regional fire activity inferred from pollen, microscopic charcoal, and sediment geochemistry from Santa Fe Lake, NM (3532 m a.s.l.), the southernmost natural lake in the Rocky Mountains. Declining elemental intensities (e.g., Ti, Fe, Si) record local deglaciation after 14,000 cal yr BP followed by upslope expansion of trees indicated by increasing <em>Pinus</em> and <em>Picea</em> pollen percentages as the climate warmed during the Late Glacial. Cool, dry growing seasons probably limited the establishment of dense forests until after 12,200 cal yr BP when we hypothesize that <em>Pinus ponderosa</em> (ponderosa pine) expanded regionally (i.e., within 10–100 km) due to continued warming and a possible increase in monsoonal precipitation. Subalpine forests established near Santa Fe Lake by 10,300 cal yr BP as indicated by abundant conifer stomates and increasing <em>Picea</em> and <em>Pinus aristata</em> pollen percentages, which are highest after 5100 cal yr BP. Increasing <em>Juniperus</em>-type, <em>Quercus</em>, and <em>Pinus edulis</em>-type pollen record changes in vegetation belts at lower elevations after 10,300 cal yr BP. Maize pollen, an unambiguous indicator of Puebloan agriculture, first appears at 800 cal yr BP (1150 cal yr CE) and is present through 1600 cal yr CE when Spanish colonization brought cultural upheaval and population loss to local indigenous communities. Regional fire activity, inferred from microscopic charcoal influx, remained relatively constant for most of our record. However, average microscopic charcoal influx more than doubled relative to the rest of the Holocene during the last 2000 years, with the highest influx after 1550 cal yr BP (400 cal yr CE). The increased influx of microscopic charcoal coincides with archaeological evidence for dramatic regional population growth in the northern Rio Grande region and probably reflects extensive cultural burning associated with the development of an agricultural economy. Although climate was an important driver of vegetation change and fire regimes in the mountains of the southwestern USA during the Holocene, our results suggest that human impacts on regional burning during the last 2000 years far exceeded earlier climate-driven variation.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":20926,"journal":{"name":"Quaternary Science Reviews","volume":"376 ","pages":"Article 109821"},"PeriodicalIF":3.3,"publicationDate":"2026-03-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146080571","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"地球科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Glacial chronology and topographic controls in the Tsambagarav Massif, western Mongolia: Insights from 10Be dating","authors":"Purevmaa Khandsuren ,&nbsp;Yeong Bae Seong ,&nbsp;Hyun Hee Rhee ,&nbsp;Otgonbayar Demberel ,&nbsp;Byung Yong Yu","doi":"10.1016/j.quascirev.2026.109817","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.quascirev.2026.109817","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The Tsambagarav Massif in the Mongolian Altai preserves a detailed record of glacial fluctuations from the Late Pleistocene to the present. Using geomorphological mapping, ¹⁰Be surface exposure dating, equilibrium line altitude (ELA) reconstructions, and geomorphometric analysis, we reconstruct the extent, timing, and dynamics of glacier advances across the massif. Our results indicate that the maximum glacial advance in the Ulaan Am (southwestern) Valley predated global Last Glacial Maximum (gLGM), occurring during MIS 3 (∼40 ka), with a subsequent readvance between ∼31 and 21 ka. In contrast, other glaciers, including the Tsagaan Seer (southwestern) and Yamaat (northern), reached their maximum positions broadly synchronous with the gLGM (∼26.5–19 ka). Furthermore, the Bituu Ereg (eastern) Valley records a significant Late Glacial expansion at ∼15.4 ka. Following these advances, glaciers retreated abruptly and the massif was completely deglaciated by the mid-Holocene thermal maximum. Glaciers subsequently reformed during the Neoglacial (∼6 ka) and responded sensitively to centennial-scale climate variability, including advances during the Little Ice Age (LIA) and rapid retreat under recent warming. Modern and Late Pleistocene ELAs exhibit a clear regional rise from the northwest toward the southeast across the Altai Mountains. The magnitude of Late Pleistocene ELA depressions follows the same orientation, reflecting an increased glacial sensitivity to climatic shifts in more arid environments. Throughout the massif, glacial distribution and magnitude have been consistently modulated by topographic controls rather than climate alone. Specifically, northern and eastern slopes supported the most extensive ice cover; northern glaciers were sustained by reduced solar radiation through topographic shading, while eastern glaciers were possibly driven by enhanced snow accumulation from westerly wind drift and the structural eastward tilt of the massif. These findings highlight the critical interplay between regional climate and local terrain in shaping glacial histories in arid high-mountain environments, contributing to a broader understanding of Quaternary glaciation across Central Asia.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":20926,"journal":{"name":"Quaternary Science Reviews","volume":"376 ","pages":"Article 109817"},"PeriodicalIF":3.3,"publicationDate":"2026-03-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146080486","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"地球科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Late glacial sedimentation in the Atchafalaya Basin of Louisiana and its link to overflow from glacial Lake Agassiz","authors":"James T. Teller ,&nbsp;Stephen R. Moran","doi":"10.1016/j.quascirev.2026.109805","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.quascirev.2026.109805","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Sediments in the lower Mississippi River Valley and delta contain a record of late-glacial events resulting from varying flows through the Mississippi River. The sedimentary sequence in &gt;100 boreholes near Baton Rouge, Louisiana (the Plaquemine Site), was investigated to explore its possible relationship to large outflows from glacial Lake Agassiz--once the largest lake in the world--that lay along the margin of the melting Laurentide Ice Sheet of north-central North America. The lake's initial overflow during its Lockhart Phase, as well as runoff from the melting Laurentide Ice Sheet, contributed to a thick sequence of sandy fluvial sediment in the Atchafalaya Basin of Louisiana during the late Pleistocene, including at the Plaquemine Site. Lake Agassiz overflow switched its route away from the Mississippi River ∼12.9 to 11.4 cal yrs BP during its Moorhead Phase (coincident with the global Younger Dryas cooling), and lower flows led to weathering and erosion of the Pleistocene sands in the Atchafalaya Basin of Louisiana. Because of differential isostatic rebound and a readvance of the Laurentide Ice Sheet into the Lake Superior basin about 11.4 cal ka, overflow through the eastern outlets of Lake Agassiz was blocked, causing lake level to rise to the Campbell strandline and to overflow southward again into the Mississippi River during its Emerson Phase. This resulted in flooding of lowland areas of the Atchafalaya Basin and a sequence of lacustrine clays and organic zones to be deposited for more than 1400 years, interrupted by a short diversion of Lake Agassiz overflow around 10.9 cal ka that is reflected by weathering and peat deposition at the Plaquemine Site. Clay continued to be deposited at the Site even after Lake Agassiz overflow was re-routed into the Superior basin after 10.7 ka because that basin overflowed into the Mississippi River basin for another thousand years. The sedimentary record in the Atchafalaya Basin of Louisiana and in the Gulf of Mexico reflects the history of late-glacial overflow (and non-overflow) from Lake Agassiz during the early Holocene, and radiocarbon dates of those changes in the Atchafalaya Basin sequence correlate with those dated late-glacial phases of changing overflow from the lake.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":20926,"journal":{"name":"Quaternary Science Reviews","volume":"376 ","pages":"Article 109805"},"PeriodicalIF":3.3,"publicationDate":"2026-03-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146039890","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"地球科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Natural forces and human impacts on Holocene peat layers in the lower Yangtze: from initiation to degradation","authors":"Yan Liu ,&nbsp;Mengjiao Yu ,&nbsp;Jinqi Dai ,&nbsp;Yongzhi Huang ,&nbsp;Haixian Xiong ,&nbsp;Ning Zhao ,&nbsp;Shihao Liu ,&nbsp;Jing Chen ,&nbsp;Maotian Li ,&nbsp;Qianli Sun","doi":"10.1016/j.quascirev.2026.109834","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.quascirev.2026.109834","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Coastal peat layers in the Lower Yangtze Region (LYR) provide critical archives of Holocene environmental change and human–landscape interaction. To clarify the mechanisms driving their formation and decline, we compile 105 dated peat records and integrate them with regional sea-level, palaeoclimate, archaeological evidence, and local wetness and warmth reconstructions developed in this study. The results show that early Holocene peat initiation was suppressed by unstable hydrological regimes, high sedimentation rates in incised valleys, and relatively cool–dry local conditions. Widespread peat accumulation began after ∼8 ka BP, when the deceleration of sea-level rise, warmer and wetter conditions, and the development of geomorphologically stable back-barrier and delta-plain wetlands together created favorable settings for peat growth. From ∼6 ka BP, however, increased ENSO-related flooding, gradual hydroclimatic deterioration, and intensified Neolithic rice farming disrupted wetland stability, accelerating peat degradation and altering carbon storage. These findings demonstrate that the development of peat layers in the LYR were governed not simply by regional monsoon intensity, but by the interaction of local hydroclimatic thresholds, geomorphic stability, and human disturbance. The study highlights the vulnerability of coastal peat layers to climatic extremes and anthropogenic pressures, offering insights for understanding past human–environment feedbacks and informing modern strategies for wetland conservation and carbon management.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":20926,"journal":{"name":"Quaternary Science Reviews","volume":"376 ","pages":"Article 109834"},"PeriodicalIF":3.3,"publicationDate":"2026-03-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146039888","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"地球科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"A varve chronology for glacial retreat and hydroclimate changes during Heinrich Stadial 1 on the Northwest European margins","authors":"A.P. Palmer ,&nbsp;J.M. Bendle ,&nbsp;I.P. Matthews ,&nbsp;A. MacLeod ,&nbsp;R.A. Staff ,&nbsp;P. Lincoln ,&nbsp;W.Z. Hoek","doi":"10.1016/j.quascirev.2025.109771","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.quascirev.2025.109771","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Heinrich Stadial 1 (HS 1; 18-15 ka) was a climatically dynamic period during the Last Deglaciation, which is thought to have been driven by alterations in Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC), and which impacted terrestrial systems around the Northern Hemisphere. The event is usually divided into substages suggesting that conditions were not stable throughout the period. The middle- and high-latitude land masses adjacent to the North Atlantic were likely to have been most strongly impacted by such AMOC changes. However, very few records exist from these areas due to extensive ice cover which persisted over much of Europe and North America at this time, and because the impact of changing AMOC conditions on the melting ice masses and wider landscape is difficult to assess. This paper uses annually laminated lake-sediment cores from a glaciolacustrine system in South Wales to generate the first chronology of southern British Irish Ice Sheet (BIIS) deglaciation and associated environmental changes through HS 1. Microfacies analysis of two laminated core sections from Llangorse Lake yields a merged master varve chronology which spans 3506 ± 143 years. This chronology is tethered to an absolute age scale at the youngest point of the varve section using radiocarbon dates and extrapolating the Bayesian age model to date the onset and end of varve formation. The varve thickness data shows that an ice-dammed glacial lake formed circa 18.84 cal ka BP (20,034–17,648) and transitioned into a cold-climate lake system ∼18.75 cal ka BP (19,939–17,553). This later, nival lake persisted for ∼3400 years until ∼15.34 cal ka BP (16,207–14,463), spanning the period of HS 1, after which the lake transitioned to non-varved sediments. The LLaMVC21 varve thickness record is related to i) millennial scale transition from drier to wetter conditions during Heinrich Stadial 1, and ii) inter-annual to decadal variability in hydroclimate, with three multi-decadal periods of decreased varve thickness detected. The findings here supports a wetter late HS 1 with the timing of the change between drier and wetter conditions broadly consistent with more distant records in more northerly latitudes.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":20926,"journal":{"name":"Quaternary Science Reviews","volume":"376 ","pages":"Article 109771"},"PeriodicalIF":3.3,"publicationDate":"2026-03-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146039886","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"地球科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"The Early–Middle Upper Palaeolithic transition in Eastern Central Europe across MIS3–2 and the Bodrogkeresztúr–Henye site, NE Hungary","authors":"György Lengyel ,&nbsp;János Kovács ,&nbsp;Bernadeta Kufel-Diakowska ,&nbsp;Zsuzsa Lisztes-Szabó ,&nbsp;Magdalena Moskal-del Hoyo ,&nbsp;Gábor Újvári ,&nbsp;Jarosław Wilczyński","doi":"10.1016/j.quascirev.2026.109810","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.quascirev.2026.109810","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The Gravettian site of Bodrogkeresztúr–Henye in northeastern Hungary has long been considered the oldest of its kind in the region. Fieldwork in 2019 revealed a stratigraphic succession spanning from the Late Aurignacian to the Late Gravettian. The Late Aurignacian component is represented by few artefacts and lacks archaeozoological remains, suggesting a short-term occupation, whereas the Late Gravettian yielded an abundant archaeological record indicative of a base camp within a highly mobile settlement system connected to Eastern Central (ECE) and Eastern Europe. The Late Aurignacian corresponds to a climatically milder phase, while the Late Gravettian is associated with colder conditions. The sequence is incomplete, lacking Early Gravettian and Pavlovian layers, comparable to Early–Middle Upper Palaeolithic sequences in Poland, Slovakia, and Hungary. These data suggest that the Early Gravettian in western ECE was contemporaneous with the Late Aurignacian in eastern ECE, and that eastern ECE experienced a brief human occupation hiatus during the Pavlovian. The Late Gravettian represents the Middle Upper Palaeolithic cultural that spread across Eastern Central and Eastern Europe with the onset of colder conditions at the MIS 3–2 transition, likely reflecting adaptive strategies to cold environments, including long-distance human mobility.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":20926,"journal":{"name":"Quaternary Science Reviews","volume":"376 ","pages":"Article 109810"},"PeriodicalIF":3.3,"publicationDate":"2026-03-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146039884","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"地球科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"A 500-year cycle of demographic expansion and contraction in the lower Yangtze and adjacent coastal region during the Holocene driven by East Asian summer monsoon oscillations","authors":"Deke Xu ,&nbsp;Yuhai Wang ,&nbsp;Keyang He ,&nbsp;Hao Li ,&nbsp;Yajie Dong ,&nbsp;Jun Kuang ,&nbsp;Zhigang Zhang ,&nbsp;Bing Song ,&nbsp;Yulong Niu ,&nbsp;Guoping Sun ,&nbsp;Yonglei Wang ,&nbsp;Jiatong Lu ,&nbsp;Jie Liu ,&nbsp;Houyuan Lu ,&nbsp;Chang Li","doi":"10.1016/j.quascirev.2026.109815","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.quascirev.2026.109815","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Centennial-scale climate–human interactions provide critical insights into societal adaptation to environmental change, yet their dynamics in East Asian coastal systems are still poorly understood. Here we analyze 1,008 radiocarbon dates from Neolithic to Bronze Age archaeological sites across the lower Yangtze River and adjacent coastal region to reconstruct 10,000 years of population dynamics using summed probability distributions. Our demographic record reveals prominent ∼500-yr cycles superimposed on long-term trends, with 14 population maxima occurring at around 9,700, 9,200, 8,600, 8,000, 7,200, 6,700, 6,300, 5,800, 5,200, 4,700, 4,300, 4,000, 3,500, and 3000 calendar years before present (cal yr BP). Time-series analysis demonstrates that these demographic cycles lag East Asian summer monsoon fluctuations by ∼60–170 yrs, indicating systematic climate-driven population responses mediated by ecological processes. Unexpectedly, weakened monsoon phases increased regional precipitation, enhanced food resource availability, and supported demographic expansion, while intensified monsoon conditions reduced precipitation and constrained population growth via food resource limitations. This climate–population coupling temporarily broke down between ∼7,800 and ∼5,500 cal yr BP, coinciding with reduced monsoon variability and enhanced societal resilience during the Kuahuqiao–Hemudu/Majiabang–Songze transitions. Our findings demonstrate a persistent centennial-scale link between monsoon variability and prehistoric demography, offering new insights into climate–societal dynamics across monsoon Asia.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":20926,"journal":{"name":"Quaternary Science Reviews","volume":"376 ","pages":"Article 109815"},"PeriodicalIF":3.3,"publicationDate":"2026-03-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146080484","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"地球科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Multi-scale drivers shaped the late Quaternary vegetation composition in eastern Nanling Mountains, subtropical China","authors":"Mingying Quan ,&nbsp;Wei Zhong ,&nbsp;Xiaojun Wang ,&nbsp;Tianhang Li ,&nbsp;Durui Lin ,&nbsp;Limi Mao","doi":"10.1016/j.quascirev.2026.109833","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.quascirev.2026.109833","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Understanding vegetation dynamics and their driving mechanisms is crucial for predicting ecosystem responses. In this paper, we present a 46,300-year pollen record from the Dahu swamp (eastern Nanling Mountains, south China), so far the longest high-resolution lacustrine sequence in the subtropical monsoon region, to reconstruct vegetation dynamics and decipher different drivers. Biomization and principal component analyses were used for quantitative reconstruction of vegetation evolution history since ∼46.3 cal kyr BP.</div><div>During Marine Isotope Stage (MIS) 3b (∼46.3–41.2 cal kyr BP), warm and humid climate promoted the expansion of evergreen broadleaved forests (EBLF). A transition to cooler and drier climates in MIS 3c (∼41.2–26.8 cal kyr BP) favored the prevailing of deciduous broadleaved forests (DBLF) and herbaceous taxa. The Last Glacial Maximum (LGM, ∼26.8–17.4 cal kyr BP) of MIS 2 was featured by a mixed forest dominated by <em>Fagus</em> and <em>Tsuga</em> under cool-wet climate, sustained by weakened East Asia summer monsoon (EASM), persistent fog-cloud layers, and the topographic barrier effects of Nanling Mountains (NLM). Deglacial warming (∼17.4–12.2 cal kyr BP) triggered the expansion of thermophilic taxa (<em>Cyclobalanopsis/Quercus</em> (E)). The early Holocene (∼12.2–8.2 cal kyr BP) was marked by the dominance of EBLF under intensified EASM. Lake expansion and hygrophilous herbs prevailed during the mid-Holocene (∼8.2–4.2 cal kyr BP), whereas the late Holocene (∼4.2–0.6 cal kyr BP) was characterized by sparse vegetation cover (possibly open mosaic of forest and grassland), probably associated with cooling and intensified human activities especially since ∼2.8 cal kyr BP.</div><div>Spectral and wavelet analysis identifies orbital-scale precession-driven EASM variability (20.3-kyr cycle) since MIS 3b, modulated by tropical ocean-atmosphere oscillations (12.2-kyr cycle) and North Atlantic shifts (1.0-kyr cycles). By revealing how insolation-driven climate and topography together created cool, moist micro-refugia, the presence of <em>Fagus</em> and <em>Tsuga</em> forests during the LGM offers a basis for re-evaluating the hypothesis of extreme aridity in subtropical regions. This multi-scale analysis integrates orbital forcing, regional topography, and anthropogenic impacts, providing a framework for understanding subtropical forest resilience under climatic extremes.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":20926,"journal":{"name":"Quaternary Science Reviews","volume":"376 ","pages":"Article 109833"},"PeriodicalIF":3.3,"publicationDate":"2026-03-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146080487","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"地球科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Generalized additive mixed models of carbon enamel isotopes implicate climate change in the southern African Middle to Later Stone Age transition","authors":"Alexandra L. Norwood ,&nbsp;Joshua R. Robinson ,&nbsp;Brian A. Stewart","doi":"10.1016/j.quascirev.2025.109770","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.quascirev.2025.109770","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The Middle to Later Stone Age (MSA/LSA) transition in southern Africa represents a profound shift in technology and social organization characterized by population growth, higher density artifact assemblages, and increased evidence of symbolic behavior. Recurrent stadial periods associated with global cooling, particularly the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM: ∼24–17 ka), have been closely linked to these broad cultural changes. The widespread nature of these material culture changes cross-cutting southern Africa's highly variable environments raises questions about the degree to which the transition to LSA behavioral suites is attributable to climatic, social or other factors. However, the relationships between specific climatic variables and local environmental proxy records remain elusive, making it difficult to use isotope ratios like carbon in fossil ungulate enamel (δ¹³C_E) to characterize the environmental impact of past climate events. Alternative approaches must be taken to characterize spatial and temporal variation in enamel isotopes in the fossil record to understand the local effects of broader climatic conditions. We present a novel application of generalized additive mixed models (GAMMs) to the δ¹³C_E record of southern Africa from the later Pleistocene (∼40–11 ka). GAMMs are able to simultaneously consider the influence of dietary and climate components, representing global to local scales, on the variation in δ¹³C_E. Our results provide evidence of spatial variation in δ¹³C_E among sites caused by differences in the impact of climate change across the subcontinent's rainfall zones. Negative δ¹³C_E values in the summer rainfall zone from shortly before 30 ka through the early LGM indicate pronounced cooling coincident with the phased transition there from MSA to LSA tool kits. This suggests that the MSA disappearance was partially climate-driven and occurred first in the eastern part of southern Africa. We suggest that fragmented final MSA social networks made space for local pools of enhanced innovation. Out of this innovation, a widespread and cohesive LSA tradition – the Robberg – emerged and spread through processes of renewed coalescence.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":20926,"journal":{"name":"Quaternary Science Reviews","volume":"376 ","pages":"Article 109770"},"PeriodicalIF":3.3,"publicationDate":"2026-03-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146080483","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"地球科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"High temperature seasonality as a signature of late-Quaternary AMOC weakening in Northern Europe","authors":"Liva Trasune ,&nbsp;J Sakari Salonen ,&nbsp;Normunds Stivrins ,&nbsp;Leeli Amon ,&nbsp;Migle Stancikaite ,&nbsp;Laura Gedminiene ,&nbsp;Siim Veski ,&nbsp;Frederik Schenk","doi":"10.1016/j.quascirev.2026.109843","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.quascirev.2026.109843","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Late-Quaternary disruptions of the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC) have been linked to profound impacts on local and regional climate as well as vegetation. Temperature seasonality patterns during these AMOC events, most notably during the Younger Dryas, are not yet fully understood, as studies have shown two possible scenarios: overall cooling patterns in Younger Dryas, or warm summers with extreme winter cooling. Here we assess the seasonal temperature trends of late-Quaternary weak AMOC states in Northern Europe, based on new quantitative pollen- and plant macrofossil-based January and July temperature reconstructions using multi-method ensemble reconstruction approaches. For plant macrofossils, we implement a “dynamic” calibration approach, where a spatial extent of the modern calibration region varies based on an independent proxy for the past continentality regime. This allows the reconstruction to algorithmically select the most representative modern calibration region for each time slice. We find an indication that abrupt AMOC weakening is associated with winter-dominated cooling of up to 10 °C but relatively stable summers.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":20926,"journal":{"name":"Quaternary Science Reviews","volume":"376 ","pages":"Article 109843"},"PeriodicalIF":3.3,"publicationDate":"2026-03-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146080490","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"地球科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}