Quaternary International最新文献

{"title":"Holocene paleoclimatic records from Chakrata area, Northwest Himalaya","authors":"Narendra Kumar Meena ,&nbsp;Firoz Khan ,&nbsp;Yaspal Sundriyal ,&nbsp;Robert James Wasson ,&nbsp;Pankaj Kumar ,&nbsp;Rajveer Sharma","doi":"10.1016/j.quaint.2024.08.008","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.quaint.2024.08.008","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>We present monsoon variability records for the Holocene using multi-proxy approach (environmental magnetism, carbon isotope, and total organic carbon) from a 146 cm thick sedimentary profile in the Kotikanasar meadow (Chakrata), Northwest Himalaya. The chronology of the record was constrained by five AMS ¹⁴C ages. The carbon isotope (δ¹³C) and Total Organic Carbon (TOC) data highly variable which vary between −26.62‰ and −22.46‰ (C₃-plants) and 0.1–∼4%, respectively, indicating paleo-vegetation history and productivity of the studied area. The environmental magnetism is highly fluctuating in the Early Holocene with high concentrations of magnetic minerals during the high monsoon conditions and <em>vice-versa</em>. Intense Indian Summer Monsoon (ISM) phases were identified during the Early and Late Holocene i.e., ∼9.2 to 7.4 ka, and ∼4.8 ka to Modern which shows warm and wet climate. While decline in the ISM intensity during ∼7.4 to 4.8 ka which indicates cold and dry climatic condition in the Northwest Himalayan regions. From ∼9.2 to 7.4 ka, highly fluctuating climate linked with the Early Holocene warming. Sediment profile exhibits aridity in climate accompanying with the high influence of mid-latitude westerlies during ∼7.4 to 4.8 ka from Northwest Indian regions. Hence the long-term fluctuation in the climate governed by the changes in the North Atlantic Ocean circulation as well as variations in the incoming solar radiations.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":49644,"journal":{"name":"Quaternary International","volume":"709 ","pages":"Pages 43-54"},"PeriodicalIF":1.9,"publicationDate":"2024-11-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142593333","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"地球科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Early Pleistocene forerunners of Mammuthus-Coelodonta Faunal Complex in Nihewan Basin, North China","authors":"Haowen Tong ,&nbsp;Xi Chen ,&nbsp;Bei Zhang","doi":"10.1016/j.quaint.2024.08.006","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.quaint.2024.08.006","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The typical <em>Mammuthus</em>-<em>Coelodonta</em> Faunal Complex dominated the mid- and high latitudes of continental Eurasia during the Mid-Late Pleistocene; the dominant taxa include woolly mammoth (<em>Mammuthus primigenius</em>), woolly rhino (<em>Coelodonta antiquitatis</em>), steppe bison (<em>Bison priscus</em>) and diverse horses (<em>Equus</em> spp.), etc. Recent excavations at the Early Pleistocene site Shanshenmiaozui in Nihewan Basin of North China resulted in the discoveries of rich mammalian fossils which include steppe mammoth (<em>Mammuthus trogontherii</em>), Nihowan woolly rhino (<em>Coelodonta nihowanensis</em>), archaic Chinese bison (<em>Bison</em> (<em>Eobison</em>) <em>palaeosinensis</em>) and rich collections of early horse fossil. In Nihewan Basin, a couple of sites (Xiashagou, Shanshenmiaozui and Yeniupo) yielded the <em>Mammuthus</em>-<em>Coelodonta</em>-<em>Bison</em> assemblage, which can be regarded as the closest ancestors of the <em>Mammuthus</em> - <em>Coelodonta</em> Faunal Complex or the forerunners of the later <em>Mammuthus</em> - <em>Coelodonta</em> Faunal Complex. Nihewan Basin bears the richest and most complete fossils of Early Pleistocene <em>Coelodonta</em> and <em>Bison</em> to date, and the juvenile specimens of <em>M. trogontherii</em> also represent the richest collection for its kind and its geologic age.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":49644,"journal":{"name":"Quaternary International","volume":"709 ","pages":"Pages 15-28"},"PeriodicalIF":1.9,"publicationDate":"2024-11-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142593331","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"地球科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Reassessing Gombore I in the light of the history of research at Melka Kunture (Ethiopia)","authors":"Flavio Altamura ,&nbsp;Tesfaye Aragie","doi":"10.1016/j.quaint.2024.10.008","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.quaint.2024.10.008","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Gombore I is located on the right bank of the present-day Awash River, adjacent to the lowest terrace of the Gombore gully, which is recognized as one of the most significant archaeological sites within Melka Kunture (Ethiopia). The site was extensively researched by the French Archaeological Mission under the direction of Jean Chavaillon. Initially discovered in 1965, it has been subject to comprehensive excavations over nearly two decades, encompassing approximately 240 m². Throughout this research, a substantial collection of lithic artifacts and faunal remains was unearthed, alongside a wood fragment and two hominin remains embedded within various archaeological layers (designated A, B1, B2, B3, C, D, E). Furthermore, purported structural remnants interpreted as an hominin shelter were documented. These findings are regarded as some of the earliest archaeological evidence at Melka Kunture and have been associated with both the Oldowan and Early Acheulean, dating back approximately 1.8 to 1.6 Ma. Utilizing materials preserved in the archives of the archaeological mission, this paper delineates the history of research conducted at this notable site while emphasizing that it was investigated using remarkably advanced and innovative methodological approaches for its time. The fieldwork engaged a multidisciplinary team and implemented a rigorous excavation protocol along with systematic recovery procedures for artifacts. Additionally, meticulous graphic and photographic documentation techniques were employed, including zenithal photogrammetry. The project also involved creating casts and utilizing punched cards for analyzing lithic industries. Consequently, the field documentation produced remains applicable for contemporary analysis; however, certain aspects of interpretation have since been revised by more recent studies.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":49644,"journal":{"name":"Quaternary International","volume":"713 ","pages":"Article 109576"},"PeriodicalIF":1.9,"publicationDate":"2024-10-31","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142759574","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"地球科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Provenance geochemical detection of soil deposits from archaeological limestone caves in the Bubing Basin, tropical China","authors":"Wei Liao ,&nbsp;Chun Tian ,&nbsp;Hua Liang ,&nbsp;Yanyan Yao ,&nbsp;Jinyan Li ,&nbsp;Yuan Yan ,&nbsp;Shengmin Huang ,&nbsp;Christopher J. Bae ,&nbsp;Wei Wang","doi":"10.1016/j.quaint.2024.10.012","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.quaint.2024.10.012","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Today, the limestone karst cave systems in southern China are extensive and well developed. Due to the slow uplift of the crust since the Neogene and extensive river downcutting that made these caves accessible, the sediments in these karst caves preserve a plethora of Quaternary vertebrate fossils (including hominins) and occasionally stone artifacts. These remains provide important clues for studying the paleontology, archaeology and paleoenvironment in the region. However, in these caves it is difficult to understand how these fossils were deposited. In fact, it is often extremely difficult to determine the provenance and transport history of homogeneous clastic sediments, which may carry these fossils and artifacts into these caves, because they often do not have distinct sedimentological features. Here we present a provenance analysis of the Pleistocene clastic sediments from Chuifeng, Mohui, Ganxian and Luna Caves, four caves that may be considered representative of the basin, and compared with the sediment samples from the local fluvial terraces and the surface of limestone hills in Bubing Basin, Guangxi, southern China, utilizing their major and trace element composition as a provenance marker. The major, trace element ratios, and rare earth element distribution data all indicate that the clastic sediments of these four cave sites are directly derived from the weathered residual sediments found on the limestone hills where these caves are located. In all cases, the cave deposits are clearly different from the clastic sediments from the four local fluvial terraces in the basin. Our results provide a new set of data that complement and further expands the common view that these clastic sediments and encased mammal fossils are transported into these cave sites by fluvial action. The clastic sediments on these limestone hills are primarily transported into the caves through cave entrances and/or pipeline or fractures in the hills by sheet flow. As such, it is likely that biological agents (e.g., porcupine and/or carnivore/hominin transport) and not fluvial activity may have played an even greater role in the accumulation of vertebrate fossils in cave sites than traditionally thought. This study should have broader implications in investigations into the relationship between clastic sediments and fossils in cave sites across time and space.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":49644,"journal":{"name":"Quaternary International","volume":"714 ","pages":"Article 109580"},"PeriodicalIF":1.9,"publicationDate":"2024-10-28","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142759038","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"地球科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Geological, paleoenvironmental, and depositional dynamics at the Middle Pleistocene Palaeoloxodon antiquus-bearing site of Campo della Spina, Central Italy","authors":"Paul P.A. Mazza ,&nbsp;Fabrizio Marra ,&nbsp;Giovanni Maria Di Buduo ,&nbsp;Luca Bellucci ,&nbsp;Mirko Bonechi ,&nbsp;Ezra Goemans ,&nbsp;Cosimo Bonechi ,&nbsp;Luca Costantini ,&nbsp;Sebastien Nomade ,&nbsp;Danilo M. Palladino ,&nbsp;Alison Pereira ,&nbsp;Andrea Savorelli","doi":"10.1016/j.quaint.2024.10.014","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.quaint.2024.10.014","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The paleontological site of “Campo della Spina”, in central Italy, offers valuable insights into Middle Pleistocene paleoenvironments. Excavations revealed well-preserved skeletal remains of an adult <em>Palaeoloxodon antiquus</em>, embedded in a sedimentary lens displaying alternating lacustrine and volcanoclastic flow characteristics. The well-preserved state of the remains suggests the elephant died at the site where it was found and was subsequent buried under conditions that facilitated preservation, while evidence of bone breakage and disarticulation indicates potential post-depositional disturbance, likely attributable to tractive water movements or debris flow events. These findings provide interdisciplinary research opportunities, shedding light on past climate dynamics and depositional processes. The site's significance lies in its contribution to understanding rapid aggradation, volcanic activity impacts, and climatic transitions during Marine Isotope Stages (MIS) 11- 9 intervals. The study highlights the importance of paleoclimate studies for informing contemporary climate change mitigation strategies. Overall, Campo della Spina offers a unique window into the interplay between climate dynamics, geological processes, and paleoenvironments, with implications for understanding past environmental changes and informing future conservation efforts.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":49644,"journal":{"name":"Quaternary International","volume":"714 ","pages":"Article 109582"},"PeriodicalIF":1.9,"publicationDate":"2024-10-28","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142759036","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"地球科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Paleoenvironmental reconstruction of Lake Van and Lake Erçek over the last millennium using varved sediments (Eastern Türkiye)","authors":"Ayşegül Feray Meydan ,&nbsp;Ivan Aleksandrovich Kalugin ,&nbsp;Andrey Victorovich Darin ,&nbsp;Valery Vasilevich Babich ,&nbsp;Tatiana Ivanovna Markovich ,&nbsp;Denis Yurevich Rogozin ,&nbsp;M. Namık Çağatay ,&nbsp;Erhan Gülyüz ,&nbsp;Suna Akkol","doi":"10.1016/j.quaint.2024.10.013","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.quaint.2024.10.013","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Detailed lithological and geochemical studies of the bottom sediments were conducted based on the original sampling of brackish adjacent lakes: Lake Van and Lake Erçek in Eastern Anatolia, Türkiye. Seasonal variations in the accumulation of weather-driven element content were determined using high-resolution Synchrotron Radiation X-Ray Fluorescence (SR-XRF) analysis of the annual layers in the solid prepare. The results were utilized to approximate the regional paleo-temperature of both lakes and the water level of Lake Van. Visual counting of the varve as well as annual oscillation of measured geochemical series was employed to create a time scale. The element content series were synchronized with recent changes in external climatic environments and lake water level fluctuations. Subsequently, the geochemical series were transformed into climate units, using calibration on synchronous meteorological data. Finally, the original quantitative reconstruction of the regional climate variations was performed over the last millennium period with annual time resolution; for Lake Erçek (840 years ago) and Lake Van (1300 years ago). It was revealed that the sediments of these adjacent lakes (Lake Van and Lake Erçek), located 30 km apart from each other, provided synchronous responses to regional environmental changes, which confirmed the reliability of the reconstructions.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":49644,"journal":{"name":"Quaternary International","volume":"714 ","pages":"Article 109581"},"PeriodicalIF":1.9,"publicationDate":"2024-10-26","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142759037","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"地球科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Submerged Mesolithic plant remains reveal lush thermophilous woodland on remote isle off the SW-Norwegian coast","authors":"Christin Eldegard Jensen ,&nbsp;Elin Hamre ,&nbsp;Mia Lempiäinen-Avci ,&nbsp;Eva Panagiotakopulu ,&nbsp;Richard Macphail ,&nbsp;Riikka Elo","doi":"10.1016/j.quaint.2024.10.003","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.quaint.2024.10.003","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>A palaeoecological multidisciplinary study from a well-preserved bark dominated structure and other organic sediments are presented. The study provides new data about Mesolithic coastal environments and includes a reconstruction of concurrent vegetation units, concluding that thermophilous woodland was established at the outer SW-Norwegian coast as early as 9000-8500 cal. BP. A pine bark dominated, possibly human made, structure was recovered from the former seabed at the Kvitsøy archipelago. The study involves various palaeoecological proxies, and synthesises results from soils, pollen, macro botanical remains, insect and mite analyses. The organic deposits are beach-derived, possibly trampled in sediments and includes abundant well-preserved waterlogged plant remains and arthropods. Species from the tidal zone are well represented, and upland taxa from fen and swamp communities, coastal heath and open woodland including <em>Pinus sylvestris</em> L., <em>Betula pubescens</em> L., and more warm demanding species such as <em>Malus sylvestris</em> (L.) Mill, <em>Crataegus</em> L., <em>Prunus padus</em> L., <em>Quercus</em> L., <em>Betula pendula</em> Roth, <em>Corylus avellana</em> L., <em>Alnus glutinosa</em> (L.) Gaertn and possibly <em>Ulmus glabra</em> Huds. and <em>Tilia cordata</em> Mill. Wild apples and hazelnuts were infested by the moth <em>Cydia pomonella</em> (L.) and the weevil <em>Curculio nucum</em> (L.) respectively. The beetle and mite fauna provides evidence of taxa associated with open coastal woodland and the tidal zone and driftwood. A large variety of edible plants are documented, of which seeds, fruits, roots, a.o., indicate the possibility of their seasonal collection from spring until late autumn. The plant and insect data provide additional evidence which could be associated with human impact. These results highlight the importance of integrated palaeoecological studies for establishing facts about past local environments and detecting slight human impact from this and similar contexts.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":49644,"journal":{"name":"Quaternary International","volume":"713 ","pages":"Article 109571"},"PeriodicalIF":1.9,"publicationDate":"2024-10-26","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142759512","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"地球科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Paleobiology and paleoecology of the woolly rhinoceros (Coelodonta antiquitatis) in Northern and Central Europe: New insights from multi-proxy data","authors":"Manon Hullot ,&nbsp;Céline Martin ,&nbsp;Cécile Blondel ,&nbsp;Damien Becker ,&nbsp;Gertrud E. Rössner","doi":"10.1016/j.quaint.2024.10.005","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.quaint.2024.10.005","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The woolly rhinoceros, <em>Coelodonta antiquitatis</em>, was an emblematic component of Pleistocene faunas in Eurasia, which went extinct around ca. 12.5 ky BP. The loss of its tundra-steppe habitat due to climatic changes is considered the main cause for its extinction, whereas human impact was limited. In this study, we investigated the paleobiology and paleoecology of <em>C. antiquitatis</em> during the last glacial interval (Würm/Weichselian; 130 to 11.7 kya). We explored evolutionary trends for diet, physiology, and habitat via dental wear, enamel hypoplasia, body mass, age structure, mortality curves and stable isotopes (carbon and oxygen). Our results confirmed that <em>C. antiquitatis</em> was a large-sized species, with body mass around 2000–2500 kg, and with C₃ grazing or mixed-feeding habits. Age structure and mortality curves revealed potential sampling and/or taphonomical biases at a few localities (e.g., Brixham cave, Ofnethöhle, North Sea), and indicated several vulnerability periods (birth, weaning, cow-calf separation/maturity) also retrieved by hypoplasia analyses. We observed some spatio-temporal fluctuations of body mass (1850–2955 kg), dietary preferences (strict to variable grazing) and hypoplasia prevalence (7.41–47.06 %) of <em>C. antiquitatis</em> depending on the locality, but correlation to specific climatic events (stadials-interstadials) is difficult without exact datation. These variations were however limited, highlighting a rather strict climatic niche and suggesting a high vulnerability to climatic and vegetation changes.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":49644,"journal":{"name":"Quaternary International","volume":"713 ","pages":"Article 109573"},"PeriodicalIF":1.9,"publicationDate":"2024-10-24","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142759441","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"地球科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Changes in pollen and small mammal spectrum compositions and in human-landscape relationships during the last 40,000 years of the Pleistocene in El Mirón Cave, Cantabrian Spain","authors":"María-José Iriarte-Chiapusso ,&nbsp;María-Pilar Alfaro-Ibañez ,&nbsp;Gloria Cuenca-Bescós ,&nbsp;Manuel Ramón González-Morales ,&nbsp;Lawrence Guy Straus","doi":"10.1016/j.quaint.2024.10.001","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.quaint.2024.10.001","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The important albeit discontinuous pollen and more complete small mammal microrecords from the long, Late Upper Pleistocene stratigraphic deposit in El Mirón Cave (Cantabria, Spain, &gt;47,000–12,000 cal BP) are presented and compared in detail. They describe a sequence of environmental conditions varying from cold and relatively dry to somewhat more temperate and more humid throughout the course of late MIS 3 and MIS 2, and into the early Holocene conditions of MIS 1, with variable intensity and function of human occupation of the cave during late Mousterian, Gravettian, Solutrean, Magdalenian and Azilian cultural periods. In general, the discontinuous palynological record is concordant with the more continuous small mammal sequence in tracing the changes in local climate and landscape within the broader context of the high relief and coastal setting of the Cantabrian region of northern Atlantic Iberia. Shifts in the extent and composition of open versus wooded vegetation in the montane and low valley surroundings of the cave are documented by the analyses detailed here. Some of the environmental fluctuations, namely the Last Glacial Maximum, the Late Glacial and the at the beginning of the Holocene, seem to have had significant effects on the nature of human uses of this cave with short, ephemeral, special/limited-function visits, while Oldest Dryas, despite its still-rigorous conditions but abundant pasture for game species (red deer and ibex), did not prevent the cave from being used as a major, repetitive, long-term base camp for foraging bands, notably during the Cantabrian Lower Magdalenian.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":49644,"journal":{"name":"Quaternary International","volume":"713 ","pages":"Article 109569"},"PeriodicalIF":1.9,"publicationDate":"2024-10-24","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142759444","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"地球科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Burnt Cervidae bones and sedimentary environments at Luotuodun, Jiangsu Province, China: New insights for Neolithic human behavior","authors":"Xiaohan Zhang ,&nbsp;Bin Zhou ,&nbsp;Jianqiu Huang ,&nbsp;Liugen Lin ,&nbsp;Michael E. Meadows","doi":"10.1016/j.quaint.2024.10.006","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.quaint.2024.10.006","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The Luotuodun archaeological site is located in Yixing City, Jiangsu Province, in the transition zone from the Yili Mountains to the coastal plain. It is of Neolithic Age and dates from approximately 7000 to 5000 years ago. A large number of animal skeleton fossils have been unearthed at the site, many of which, especially those belonging to species of Cervidae (possibly Sika, <em>Cervis nippon</em>), are characterized by the presence of black residue on the surface. There are three types of residue, one is black film-like coating, which is suggestive of exposure to fire, one is also black, but crystalline in nature, while the other is grey-white, particulate deposit. With the aim of exploring the nature of these residues and their possible origins, we applied a number of analytical techniques, including Raman Spectroscopy (RS), Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR), Energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS) and Electron Microscopy (EM) on six bone fossils belonging to different parts of Cervidae skeleton unearthed from Luotuodun to evaluate the possible influence of fire and/or depositional processes in their formation. The black film-like coating, widespread on the surface of these bones, is highly reflective and appears white under the Raman microscope. The RS peak indicates that the film-like substance is rich in carbonaceous (graphitic carbon) components, suggesting that the bones have been exposed to combustion. FTIR measurements on these bones show that the structure of hydroxyapatite carbonate (Ca₁₀(PO₄)_6−x(CO₃)_x(OH)₂) has changed, consistent with their exposure to very high temperatures (500–600 °C), and implying that they were burnt, either for cooking or ritual behavior by ancient humans. In the case of the crystallized black particles, these are primarily confined to localities on the surface of bone fractures. EDS results, as confirmed by the RS analysis, show that the black crystals are comprised of an iron-rich, phosphatic mineral, compatible with vivianite (Fe₃(PO₄)₂·(H₂O)₈). The substantial vivianite content is consistent with the fossil bones being submerged and deposited in waterlogged soils. The results of EDS show that the composition of the grey-white particle is hydroxyapatite carbonate (Ca₁₀(PO₄)_6−x(CO₃)_x(OH)₂). Non-destructive geochemical analysis of the surface residues of these Luotuodan bones provides valuable evidence for reconstructing the taphonomy of the Cervidae bones, and reveals that they were utilized by ancient humans during the Luotuodun culture period in SE China.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":49644,"journal":{"name":"Quaternary International","volume":"713 ","pages":"Article 109574"},"PeriodicalIF":1.9,"publicationDate":"2024-10-22","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142759443","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"地球科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}