Journal of Quaternary Science最新文献

The Late Pleistocene Marine Isotope Stage (MIS) 5 – MIS 4 transition (at ca. 75 ka) is globally known to correspond to a period of strong cooling and sea-level lowering. Terrestrial records indicate the transition had a large impact on terrestrial environments, but the impact on coastal and shallow-marine areas is poorly documented due to a lack of well-dated, continuous archives caused by erosion during succeeding glacial lowstands. The extensive offshore deposits of the Brown Bank Formation in the southern North Sea yield a valuable record of this transition in a shallow-marine environment. We show that the southern North Sea experienced subarctic marine conditions with a high input of terrestrial material during the MIS 5–4 transition. These continued marine conditions, which have not been described earlier for northwestern Europe, show that sea level remained relatively high, and lagged cooling on land inferred from lipid-biomarker palaeothermometry. The time-lag between terrestrial cooling and sea-level fall created a sediment preservation window during the onset of MIS 4 in a shallow-marine environment. Our record captures changes in both the terrestrial and shallow-marine environments, and allows for linking terrestrial and marine records of the MIS 5–4 transition in NW Europe.

The Early Upper Paleolithic Level 497D of Cova Gran (Pre-Pyrenees, Spain) comprises large assemblages of lithics, fauna, hearths, ash accumulations and well-preserved refitting sequences. This provides exceptional information to analyze spatial patterns and deepen our understanding of the socio-economic behavior of these human groups. This large interdisciplinary dataset has allowed us to carry out a detailed spatial study based on density analysis, geostatistics, fabric analysis and orientation techniques, revealing a structuring of the activities performed within the rock shelter. The distribution and accumulation of lithic artifacts, fauna and refits, and their association with the 10 hearths and ash accumulations, show that different types of activities were developed at the site, as well as showing the different uses of the hearths. 497D is a palimpsest where several short-term occupations and/or activities could have occurred in a relatively short period of time, avoiding prolonged exposure to biotic and abiotic post-depositional factors that could have significantly disturbed this well-preserved assemblage. This level shows a place visited several times in relation to the development of specific activities, with movements throughout the landscape for the exploitation of local and regional resources, and less so its use as a domestic space. This implies that the central settlement, or dwelling space, would have been located somewhere other than Cova Gran.

Lake sediments are ideal archives to evaluate the interactions between climatically driven environmental responses and human activity on seasonal to multi-decadal timescales. This study focuses on the unique sediments of Diss Mere, the only lake in England providing an annually laminated (varved) record for most of the Holocene. We combine microfacies analysis with X-ray core scanning data to explore the influence of natural and human-led changes on sediment deposition over the past 10 200 years and evaluate the sensitivity of the lake sediments to climate variability through time. Variability of titanium (Ti), calcium (Ca) and silica (Si) explain most of the lithological changes observed in the sediment and we identify three stages with low (10 290–2070 cal a bp), intermediate (2070–1040 cal a bp) and intensified (1040 cal a bp – present) human influence. During the first stage, where varved sediments are preserved, Ti is low due to the minimal detrital input into the lake. Ca and Si during this stage reveal high-amplitude variability responding to seasonal changes in sediment deposition. The termination of varved sediment preservation and increases in sedimentation rates coincide with a major rise in Ti after this first stage, marking the intensification of human activity around the lake. Ca is used here as an indicator of temperature-included calcite precipitation, and the long-term variability of the Ca profile resembles Holocene temperature evolution. This continues during periods of intensified human activity, suggesting that the Diss Mere sediments remain sensitive to climate through time.

The long sedimentary sequence of Notarchirico has yielded evidence of one of the earliest Acheulean manifestations in Europe and of recurrent hominin occupation, spanning from the end of the interglacial MIS 17 to the glacial MIS 16 (~695–610 ka). Here, we report the new discovery of a lion, Panthera spelaea, from the site, based on a metatarsal from layer A. This part of the sequence dates to ~660–612 ka (MIS 16, ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar age). Therefore, Notarchirico's lion represents the earliest confirmed occurrence of the species in southwestern Europe, although older findings are known from adjacent areas. Lions and several other large mammal species dispersed into Europe during the Early–Middle Pleistocene Transition, which also witnessed the spread of the Acheulean. Ecological and behavioural adaptability was probably key, for hominins and other species, to cope with the intense and recurrent environmental fluctuations that occurred during this period.