Quaternary International最新文献

{"title":"Tectonic and climatic controls on the evolution of the middle Yellow River: new insights from sedimentology and detrital zircon U-Pb geochronology","authors":"Xu Lin ,&nbsp;Haijin Liu ,&nbsp;Jing Liu-Zeng ,&nbsp;Milo Barham ,&nbsp;Maximilian Dröllner ,&nbsp;Siyi Li","doi":"10.1016/j.quaint.2025.110059","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.quaint.2025.110059","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Understanding the formation and evolution of the middle reaches of the Yellow River is essential for comprehending the overall development of the modern Yellow River. However, two competing hypotheses propose that the formation of the middle Yellow River occurred either during the Neogene or the Quaternary. To resolve this ambiguity, we performed detrital zircon U-Pb geochronology (<em>n</em> = 275) and particle size analysis (<em>n</em> = 490), as part of a broader sedimentological investigation of Neogene strata within the Jinshan Canyon and Sanmenxia Basin of the middle Yellow River and contextualized these data with published paleomagnetic ages and regional tectonic and climatic data. Within the middle Jinshan Canyon, detrital sediments in the Weijiawa section at 8.1 Ma primarily originated from the adjacent Lvliang Mountains. However, the detrital sediments in the nearby Mujiawa section at 3.6 Ma are significantly influenced by the more distal northern Ordos Block suggesting longer distance fluvial connectivity. The composition of clastic materials in the Jiwangqiao section of Sanmenxia Basin to the south of the Jinshan Canyon is influenced by the Wei River and proximal Zhongtiao Mountains at 5.0 and 3.6 Ma, while it is shaped by the Yellow River in the middle reaches at 4.4 and 3.8 Ma. The observed provenance changes can be primarily attributed to enhanced recycling of Mesozoic sandstone and mudstone, driven by three key factors: (1) the northeastward expansion of the Tibetan Plateau, (2) the intensification of the East Asian summer monsoon system, and (3) inherent lithological variations within the geological formations. This reflects the complex interplay between tectonic activity, climatic forcing, and bedrock susceptibility in shaping the regional geomorphology.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":49644,"journal":{"name":"Quaternary International","volume":"752 ","pages":"Article 110059"},"PeriodicalIF":1.8,"publicationDate":"2025-11-19","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145571023","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":"Freshwater invertebrate assemblages and environmental changes in the Late Pleistocene-Holocene of Salto de Piedra site (central Pampean Region, Buenos Aires, Argentina)","authors":"Pamela Steffan ,&nbsp;Gustavo N. Gómez ,&nbsp;Sara García-Morato ,&nbsp;Jonathan E. Bellinzoni ,&nbsp;Ricardo Bonini ,&nbsp;Cristian M. Favier-Dubois ,&nbsp;Claudia I. Montalvo ,&nbsp;María Teresa Alberdi ,&nbsp;M. Dolores Marin-Monfort ,&nbsp;Yolanda Fernandez-Jalvo ,&nbsp;José Luis Prado","doi":"10.1016/j.quaint.2025.110047","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.quaint.2025.110047","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Salto de Piedra is a paleontological site located in the Buenos Aires Province (Argentina) close to Olavarría City at the upper basin of Tapalqué Creek. This site provides new insights about the late Quaternary climatic evolution of the area. The taxonomic and taphonomic analyses of freshwater gastropods from this period allow us to evaluate the magnitude of environmental changes in the area. Paleoclimatic inferences at the top of the sequence (Late Pleistocene) indicate a trend from arid conditions at facies 8 to humid ones towards facies 11 (Early Holocene). This transition from arid to humid conditions is also reinforced by post-depositional taphonomic processes. These bioindicators are analyzed with data on the geochemistry of the deposits containing them. Results indicate the alternation of palustrine and lacustrine conditions. These variations of local conditions are correlated with regional records of nearby archaeological sites that inferred arid to humid environmental transitions.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":49644,"journal":{"name":"Quaternary International","volume":"751 ","pages":"Article 110047"},"PeriodicalIF":1.8,"publicationDate":"2025-11-14","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145521278","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":"Exploring alternative Neolithization trajectories in Northeast China (Nen River Basin)","authors":"Yunchen Tan ,&nbsp;Henny Piezonka ,&nbsp;Peter D. Jordan","doi":"10.1016/j.quaint.2025.110046","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.quaint.2025.110046","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Understanding the drivers of diversity and change in regional Neolithization trajectories has emerged as a major theme in World Prehistory with new insights appearing in many parts of the globe. In Northeast Asia, research on Neolithic transition over the past two decades has focused primarily on millet and rice domestication and their role in the rise of farming, social complexity, and early Chinese civilization. However, not all regions followed this agricultural trajectory. Instead, several areas exhibit “alternative” pathways to sedentism, storage-based economies, and emergent social diversification, but these remain underrepresented in international literature. In Northeast China, the Nen River basin, located north of the early farming communities of the Yellow and Liao River basins, is one such region. The Nen River drains into the Songhua River, one of the major tributaries of the Amur River, which drains into the Pacific Ocean. Importantly, the Nen River basin includes extensive wetlands and rich mosaic environments, which emerged during climatic shifts during the Pleistocene-Holocene transition. These aquatic ecosystems supported a transition to broad-spectrum foraging, which in turn led to sedentism and emergent social complexity without any evidence of plant domestication or substantial reliance on staple crops. These sites flourished culturally and demographically under the ameliorating conditions of the Holocene Climatic Optimum, but underwent a transition to nomadic pastoralism after the 4.2 ka cold and aridity event, with many distinctive local cultural traditions persisting. In this paper, we present an integrated synthesis of currently available archaeological and palaeo-environmental records from the Nen River basin. The aim is to reconstruct the cultural and social developments that arose from human-environmental interactions from the Late Pleistocene into the middle and late Holocene in this vital region of Northeast Asia. Our research indicates that Neolithization here occurred independently of agriculture, supported instead by aquatic and terrestrial resources. We further highlight the global potential for studying diverse “Neolithicities” across different world regions, and conclude with a series of themes and questions that require further research and cross-cultural synthesis.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":49644,"journal":{"name":"Quaternary International","volume":"751 ","pages":"Article 110046"},"PeriodicalIF":1.8,"publicationDate":"2025-11-14","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145521281","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":"Formation mechanisms of large-scale ancient landslides in the Meigu River basin, eastern margin of Tibetan plateau","authors":"Zhiqiang Yin ,&nbsp;Liang Chen ,&nbsp;Hai Shao ,&nbsp;Dong Sun ,&nbsp;Xiaoguang Qin ,&nbsp;Dameng Li","doi":"10.1016/j.quaint.2025.110045","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.quaint.2025.110045","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>As one of the most serious natural hazards, landslides have caused extensive destruction to buildings and natural environments worldwide. However, the formation mechanisms of ancient landslides remain poorly understood due to the lack of detailed landslide inventories and chronological constraints. In this study, we present a systematic investigation of large-scale landslides in the Meigu River Basin (MRB), located on the eastern margin of the Tibetan Plateau in southwest China. Using high–spatiotemporal-resolution remote-sensing imagery, field verification, and a series of radiometric dates, we aim to examine the potential triggers of regional landslide activity. The results show that large-scale ancient landslides were mainly controlled by active faults, folds, joints, and soft interlayers, which rendered rock groups susceptible to movement. The integration of radiocarbon (¹⁴C) and optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) dating indicates that the MRB landslides developed during three main periods: the last glacial (66–40 ka), the late Pleistocene to early Holocene (20–9 ka), and the middle to late Holocene (6–0.2 ka). These results suggest a close coupling between large-scale ancient landslide formation and climatic fluctuations. Overall, this study highlights that geological controls and climatic triggers were the two key factors governing large-scale landslide development in the region.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":49644,"journal":{"name":"Quaternary International","volume":"751 ","pages":"Article 110045"},"PeriodicalIF":1.8,"publicationDate":"2025-11-10","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145521279","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":"Genesis of the Quaternary megafauna fossil deposit of Lagoa do Rumo (state of Bahia, Brazil): Paleoenvironmental and paleoecological aspects","authors":"Ricardo da Costa Ribeiro ,&nbsp;Fábio Henrique Cortes Faria ,&nbsp;Ismar de Souza Carvalho ,&nbsp;Herminio Ismael de Araújo-Júnior","doi":"10.1016/j.quaint.2025.110022","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.quaint.2025.110022","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Taphonomic and geochronological data from the fossiliferous deposit of Lagoa do Rumo, Baixa Grande (Bahia State, Brazil), were used to infer paleoecological and paleoenvironmental aspects. Biostratinomic changes indicate long-term subaerial exposure of skeletal remains prior to final burial, suggesting an attritional accumulation with a preservation bias toward megafauna, especially the giant ground sloth <em>Eremotherium laurillardi</em>. Fossildiagenetic alterations caused by seasonal fluctuations in the water table resulted in poor histological preservation and permineralization by iron and manganese oxides. The ages suggest a prolonged period of fossil accumulation at Lagoa do Rumo (∼51 kyr), reflecting varying paleoenvironmental conditions during its formation. The taphonomic and geochronological data point to a complex formation history, with taphonomic biases driven by climatic seasonality and condensed paleoenvironmental and paleoecological scenarios.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":49644,"journal":{"name":"Quaternary International","volume":"751 ","pages":"Article 110022"},"PeriodicalIF":1.8,"publicationDate":"2025-11-09","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145468808","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":"Late Saalian climatic oscillations – revision of pollen record in Poland compared to other evidences","authors":"Aleksandra Majecka ,&nbsp;Mirosława Kupryjanowicz ,&nbsp;Dorota Nalepka ,&nbsp;Irena Agnieszka Pidek ,&nbsp;Magdalena Fiłoc ,&nbsp;Wojciech Granoszewski ,&nbsp;Anna Hrynowiecka ,&nbsp;Małgorzata Malkiewicz ,&nbsp;Małgorzata Nita ,&nbsp;Bożena Noryśkiewicz ,&nbsp;Adam Walanus ,&nbsp;Hanna Winter ,&nbsp;Łukasz Bujak","doi":"10.1016/j.quaint.2025.110034","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.quaint.2025.110034","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Eemian pollen profiles from the area of Poland were reviewed for the presence of a record of the Late Saalian (within the decline of the Warta stadial of the Odranian Glaciation) at their base. Such a record was found to occur in as many as 49 profiles, which creates enormous opportunities for palaeoecological reconstructions relating to the end of the penultimate glaciation and its transition to the last interglacial, including a detailed reconstruction of the vegetation history and climatic changes that occurred during this time. On the example of a selection of revised pollen profiles, Late Saalian climate oscillations were found to be expressed by the presence of two stadials: the older Stadial 1 and the younger of which was correlated with the Kattegat stadial in Western Europe, separated by an interstadial corresponding to the Zeifen interstadial. For each of these oscillations, quite large differences were shown between individual profiles, in terms of both pollen records and lithology. The differences probably have several reasons: (1) the meridional differentiation of the analysed site locations, (2) the diversity in stratigraphic and taxonomic resolution of the conducted pollen analyses and (3) the non-normative description of the sediments not being supported by lithological and geochemical analyses. The location of the Late Saalian/Eemian boundary in the analysed profiles was also investigated, and new criteria for its determination were formulated that reference both pollen and lithological records. On this basis, in the case of two profiles, the location of this boundary as determined in previous studies was changed. It was indicated that the same mineral sediments could have been deposited in different climatic conditions, probably depending on the structure of the catchment area. Additional proxies (e.g. geochemical, lithological, isotopic, morphoscopic) can highlight catchment specificity and verify the one-dimensional (and thus sometimes erroneous) view that lithology is evidence of climate characteristics, which poses a challenge for future revisions of stratotype sites.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":49644,"journal":{"name":"Quaternary International","volume":"751 ","pages":"Article 110034"},"PeriodicalIF":1.8,"publicationDate":"2025-11-06","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145790014","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":"Japan sea surface paleoceanography and productivity variations through the Middle Pleistocene Transition","authors":"Bisweswar Sahoo,&nbsp;Sheetal Samal ,&nbsp;Basanti Murmu,&nbsp;Manisha Das ,&nbsp;Sunil K. Das,&nbsp;Suman Datta,&nbsp;Sunita Rath,&nbsp;Nirakara Mahanta,&nbsp;Raj K. Singh","doi":"10.1016/j.quaint.2025.110032","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.quaint.2025.110032","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Japan Sea (JS) paleoceanography was impacted by the fluctuations in Tsushima warm current (TWC) influx through a shallow strait alongside the sea level changes and expansion of sea-ice. These factors might be more pronounced during the Middle Pleistocene Transition (MPT) when the earth's climate switched from a low amplitude 41 kyr to a high amplitude quasi 100 kyr cycle. This study analysed the planktic foraminifera and clay minerals from Integrated Ocean Drilling Program (IODP) Site U1426 (southeastern JS) for the period ∼1400 - 600 ka, which suggests TWC influx significantly reduced during the MPT. The clay minerals of IODP Site U1423 (northern JS) for the period ∼1200 - 620 ka suggest a consistent East Asian Winter monsoon (EAWM) wind intensity after the onset of the MPT. The dominance of planktic foraminifera species <em>Neogloboquadrina pachyderma</em> during the MPT, along with other productivity indicator proxies from previous studies, suggests moderate surface productivity in the southern JS during the MPT. Increased EAWM intensity would have helped to maintain surface productivity by supplying nutrients through dust flux and driving convective mixing. Post-MPT, there were differential impacts of EAWM between the northern and southern JS, which might be linked to the higher TWC influx into the southern JS. We suggest that permanent sea-ice like conditions developed at the northern JS have played a crucial role in limiting the influence of TWC to the southern JS in the post-MPT scenario.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":49644,"journal":{"name":"Quaternary International","volume":"750 ","pages":"Article 110032"},"PeriodicalIF":1.8,"publicationDate":"2025-11-06","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145467654","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":"A complete sequence of red clay, lacustrine deposits, and loess on the Eastern Chinese Loess Plateau: Implications for the Neogene-Quaternary tectono-geomorphic evolution","authors":"Yong Xu ,&nbsp;Hu Wang ,&nbsp;Jianqiang Wang ,&nbsp;Lu Sun ,&nbsp;Jianxing Li ,&nbsp;Feng Pan ,&nbsp;Chong Guan ,&nbsp;Leping Yue","doi":"10.1016/j.quaint.2025.110035","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.quaint.2025.110035","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Lacustrine sediments were preserved in local depressions of the Chinese Loess Plateau contemporaneous with the deposition of loess and red clay from the Neogene to Quaternary. These lacustrine sediments can provide key constraints for reconstructing the differential uplift of the Ordos Plateau, as well as the tectonic-geomorphic evolution and paleoclimate changes of the Loess Plateau since the Middle Pliocene. The Wuqi paleo-lake was an ancient lake developed along the southern piedmont of the Baiyu Mountains. Here, the sedimentary environments and evolutionary stages of the paleolake were systematically analyzed by combing the sedimentary characteristics of regional strata and research on high-resolution typical profiles. Paleomagnetic measurements demonstrate that polarity zones recorded in the Hegou profile correspond well with polarity zones since the C3n.2n normal subchron, with the basal age determined at approximately 4.5 Ma. The field characteristics, grain size, magnetic susceptibility, combined with paleomagnetic ages reveal that the Wuqi Paleolake was formed at approximately 3.6 Ma, evolving through the deep lake, shallow lake, sedimentary basin, and floodplain phases before going extinct at approximately 0.8 Ma. Since 0.8 Ma, loess-paleosol sequences have accumulated in the paleolake area, resembling those in other regions of the Loess Plateau. The demise of the Wuqi Paleolake is attributed to the uplift of the Baiyu Mountains, the modification of regional drainage networks, and accelerated headward erosion of rivers. The sedimentary evolution of the Wuqi Paleolake provides key evidence for understanding neotectonic movements and paleoenvironmental evolution of the Loess Plateau.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":49644,"journal":{"name":"Quaternary International","volume":"751 ","pages":"Article 110035"},"PeriodicalIF":1.8,"publicationDate":"2025-11-05","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145790015","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":"A reanalysis of the ‘perforated’ scapula from the Boxgrove Horse Butchery Site","authors":"Annemieke Milks ,&nbsp;Debra Carr ,&nbsp;Krishna Godhania ,&nbsp;Pete Mahoney ,&nbsp;Simon Parfitt ,&nbsp;Gabriele Russo ,&nbsp;Matt Pope","doi":"10.1016/j.quaint.2025.109995","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.quaint.2025.109995","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The archaeological site of Boxgrove (U.K.) represents one of the most detailed records of early Middle Pleistocene hominin activity in Europe. Dated to the end of Marine Isotope Stage (MIS) 13 (∼480,000 years BP), it preserves an extensive Acheulean landscape marked by high-resolution evidence of tool manufacture, animal butchery, and hominin remains. Among its key discoveries is the unique archaeological locale of GTP17, known as the Horse Butchery Site, where a single horse carcass was intensively processed by a group of hominins using handaxes and flakes, several of which were knapped adjacent to the carcass at the time of butchery. The archaeological signature also suggests that hammerstones and anvils may have been used to process the horse, probably to access grease and marrow. A fragment of the horse's right scapula features a distinctive curvilinear fracture previously interpreted as a potential hunting lesion caused by a wooden spear—an interpretation that, if confirmed, would push back direct evidence for use of hunting weaponry in Europe and link it with Acheulean bifacial technology. While later sites such as Clacton and Schöningen provide evidence of wooden hunting weapons, the Boxgrove scapula fracture has remained ambiguous, lacking rigorous experimental comparison. This study presents the first comprehensive reassessment of the Boxgrove scapula fragment using both microscopy and quantitative methods. By replicating damage patterns through experiments involving thrust and thrown wooden spear impacts, and hammerstone percussion on scapulae to access marrow and grease, we compare these dynamic impact scenarios with the archaeological evidence. The spear experiments demonstrate that wooden spears used as both thrusting and throwing weapons are capable of creating significant wounds to larger prey such as horses, and can occasionally leave traces in the form of hunting lesions. However, hammerstone percussion on scapulae can also cause curvilinear fractures, and such damage is metrically a better match to the Boxgrove scapula fragment. While the evidence that the butchered horse at Boxgrove was actively hunted by the hominins remains strong, our analysis suggests that the Boxgrove scapula fracture is not indicative of weapon impact, but rather is better aligned to percussion damage from hammerstone use to access within-bone nutrients including grease and marrow.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":49644,"journal":{"name":"Quaternary International","volume":"749 ","pages":"Article 109995"},"PeriodicalIF":1.8,"publicationDate":"2025-11-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145417843","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":"Late Pleistocene Marmota marmota from Grotta Mora Cavorso (central Italy): A morphological and osteometric contribution to the Western European fossil record","authors":"Leonardo Salari ,&nbsp;Angelica Fiorillo ,&nbsp;Mario F. Rolfo ,&nbsp;Maurizio Gatta","doi":"10.1016/j.quaint.2025.110031","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.quaint.2025.110031","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Grotta Mora Cavorso (Latium, central Italy) is an archaeological and paleontological site characterised by a complex stratigraphy extending from the Late Pleistocene to the Contemporary age. This paper presents the analysis of a partially articulated skeleton of <em>Marmota marmota</em> discovered in Layer 7, which has yielded numerous exceptionally well-preserved faunal remains over the years. The specimen, estimated to have died at approximately 3 years of age, dates to the final stages of Marine Isotope Stage 3 (36-32 ka BP), during a cooler climate phase than present-day. Taphonomic evidence indicates that the carcass was most likely introduced into the cave through one of the sinkholes opening in the ceiling of the entrance room or died during the third hibernation, since no traces of human or predator activity are present. The state of preservation permitted a detailed morphological and osteometric study of the specimen, which now constitutes a valuable reference for future research, as it afforded the rare opportunity to refine knowledge of growth patterns, life history traits and population dynamics of past marmot communities.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":49644,"journal":{"name":"Quaternary International","volume":"749 ","pages":"Article 110031"},"PeriodicalIF":1.8,"publicationDate":"2025-11-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145417844","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}