In the Footprints of Our Ancestors: An Overview of the Hominid Track Record

Hominid footprints are particularly appealing and evocative of the living activity of our ancestors. The most famous and oldest (Late Pliocene, ca. 3.7 Ma) hominid footprints, from Laetoli in East Africa, have been attributed, with some uncertainly, to genus Homo or Australopithecus. The African track record also yields Early Pleistocene (～1.5 Ma) tracks attributable to Homo erectus. The only well-documented Middle Pleistocene tracks (age ～325,000-385,000 yrs) are reported from Italy and presumably represent a pre-Homo sapiens species.

The oldest Late Pleistocene tracks (～117,000 yrs), from southern Africa, may represent modern humans. However, the majority of Late Pleistocene sites are European, associated with caves in Romania, Greece, France and elsewhere, where hominid track preservation is often of high quality. Dates range from ～10,000 to ～62,000 BP Cavesite mammal tracks are almost exclusively those of carnivores, thus representing a distinctive underground ecology. Late Pleistocene open air sites are reported from widely scattered locations in Africa, Turkey, Tibet, Korea, Australia and even in the New World (Chile, Argentina and Mexico).

Early to Middle Holocene sites (> ～4,000 yrs BP) mainly occupy riparian, lacustrine, estuarine and littoral settings where the ichnofaunas are dominated by ungulates and shorebirds. Among these sites from England, Nicaragua, Argentina and Mexico and the United States, a few have been described in some detail. Younger Holocene sites are frequently associated with specified cultural periods (e.g., Neolithic, Bronze Age) or specific indigenous cultures, where supplemental archeological evidence may be directly associated with the footprint evidence.

At most surficial and some subterranean hominid tracksites, mammal and/or bird tracks are quite common and of use in creating a paleoecological picture of local faunas. The global distribution of human and hominid tracks is consistent with body fossil evidence and the record of archeological, cultural artifacts. However, in a few cases tracks suggest colonization of certain regions (Tibetan Plateau and the New World) earlier than previously thought. Tracks also give clues to behavior, age and health status of the trackmakers.     

A Brief Sketch of the Monte Hermoso Human Footprint Site,South Coast of Buenos Aires Province,Argentina

Tracksites representing early human occupation are rare in South America. However, they have been reported in association with mammal and bird tracks from two coastal sites in Buenos Aires Province, Argentina. Both sites are reported in separate papers in this volume. In this paper a brief summary of the better known site is given on the basis of published information and the author's observations.     

Reading shell shape: implications for palaeoenvironmental reconstructions. A case study for bivalves from the marine Quaternary of Argentina (south-western Atlantic)

Most research on bivalves from the south-western Atlantic used morphological (shell) characters for taxonomic discriminations. Dominant Veneroids from Argentinian Quaternary coastal deposits exhibit wide morphological variation – often making objective discriminations difficult/impossible, which could be objectively described and compared through geometric morphometrics techniques. This work focuses on comparison of geometric morphometrics methods applied to fossil and modern shells, to assess inter- and intra-generic variations. Three approaches were considered: landmarks (L), semi-landmarks (SL) and outlines. Shell shape analyses for different time spans (Pleistocene, fossil Holocene and modern) and areas (Patagonia and Bonaerensian) showed that Elliptic Fourier analysis (EFA), Landmarks and Landmarks plus Semilandmarks (L+SL) can discriminate at generic levels: Mactra, Mulinia (Mactridae) vs. Pitar, Protothaca, Eurhomalea, Clausinella (Veneridae). L and L+SL are powerful for inter/intraspecific distinctions of Mactra. Variability of Mactra isabelleana includes the remaining nominal ‘species’ (transitional morphs). Causal environmental factors of (phenotype) variation could be addressed for modern environments (substrate, salinity and energy). Subtrigonal-inflated shells predominate in muddy, quieter, shallow mixo-polyhaline waters; ovate-elongate-compressed in sandy, poly-euhaline, deeper habitats. Differential spatial distribution (and abundance) across time responds to Late Quaternary high sea-level stands: transgressive maxima allowed higher salinity in marginal-marine areas and optimal conditions for Mactra isabelleana contrasting with scarcer records in the Mar Argentino today.     

Genetic diversity among isolates of Trichinella spiralis from the Province of Buenos Aires, Argentina

Random Amplified Polymorphic DNAs, (RAPDs) are used to study the occurrence of Trichinella britovi and T5 among domestic animals in the Province of Buenos Aires, Argentina and to assess the genetic diversity among isolates of T. spiralisfrom this area in a number of infected hosts. All the local isolates proved to be T. spiralis. Six of the eight primers used indicate that the Buenos Aires isolates are distinct from each other as they produce a considerable number of polymorphic bands. Our overall estimates are relatively higher than other intraspecific distances previously estimated within species of this genus and among T. spiralis isolates. Such high degrees of variability observed among local isolates and between isolates from Buenos Aires and Spain should be taken into account when defining isolates within this species, and considering differences in the epidemiology of T. spiralis.     

Causes of Ecosystem Transformation at the End of the Pleistocene: Evidence from Mammal Body-Mass Distributions

Animal body sizes reflect the discontinuous architecture of the landscapes in which they live, and consequently their body-mass distributions are distinctly clumped rather than continuous. This architectural discontinuity is generated by ecological processes that discretely operate over micro-, meso-, and macroscales. Therefore, changes in these important scale-specific processes for a given geographical region over time should be reflected by corresponding changes in faunal body-mass clump patterns. In this study, we utilized this hypothesis to investigate the terminal Pleistocene mammal extinction event. Specifically, we analyzed the body-mass distributions of latest Pleistocene and modern mammal faunas from northern Florida and southern California to determine the nature of any changes in the clump structures of these regions during the Pleistocene–Holocene transition. In both regions, despite their wide geographical separation and faunal distinctiveness, body-mass clumps below the 40-kg level were remarkably stable across the Pleistocene–Holocene transition despite suffering extinctions. Larger clumps, in contrast, were either orderly truncated or completely eliminated rather than chaotically fragmented. Based on these findings, we argue that the terminal Pleistocene mammal extinctions were caused, at least in part, by changes in key mesoscale aspects of the landscape crucial to supporting a diversity of large mammals. Received 23 April 1997; accepted 14 October 1997.     

湖北郧西黄龙洞更新世晚期人类牙齿

对2004—2006年在湖北省郧西县黄龙洞发现的7枚更新世晚期人类牙齿进行了观测与分析, 在此基础上与相关的化石人类及近代现代人类标本进行了对比。本研究发现:黄龙洞人类牙齿总体特征与现代人接近, 同时也保留部分可能属于更新世晚期人类的特点, 包括前部牙齿(侧门齿与犬齿)尺寸及粗壮程度都明显大于现代人。黄龙洞人类牙齿呈现的铲形门齿、双铲形门齿及臼齿釉质延伸说明,当时人类已经具有了东亚人群的典型牙齿形态特征。     

Stable isotope composition of Littoridina australis from the coast of Buenos Aires province, Argentina, during Holocene climatic fluctuations

Stable isotope (carbon and oxygen) analyses were performed on Littoridina australis shells collected from molluscan concentrations within Holocene littoral deposits along the Bonaerensian coastal area of Argentina (south-western Atlantic). Isotope data allow us to define two very different areas: the Samborombon Bay, where isotope composition of shells was mainly governed by mixing between marine and freshwater, and the Mar Chiquita lagoon, where the original brackish environment was dominated by evaporation of water that originated high isotope shell values. In both areas some isotope profiles show short and quite large oscillations in δ¹⁸O. Their origin may be tentatively explained as due to the changes in moisture regime that control freshwater supply. The results suggest that these deposits can represent natural archives potentially useful for palaeoclimate reconstruction.     

New bivalve burrows from the mid-Holocene of northeastern Buenos Aires Province (Argentina): ichnotaxonomy and ethology

Oblongichnus vulpesi n. isp. is herein described as amygdaloid, oval or cleft-shaped burrows with a lining of variable thickness and an oblong to quadrangular elongated shaft from the mid-Holocene of the Destacamento Río Salado Member. Valves of the solenid bivalve species Solen tehuelchus were found within the burrows, indicating that this razor clam is the tracemaker. This new finding corroborates the validity of Oblongichnus and previous interpretation that the burrow was produced by infaunal, filter feeding bivalves with a foot of very limited horizontal movements. We found that the origin of oblong elongate bivalves may be dated back to the Ordovician, while an infaunal radiation likely occurred during late Paleozoic. We interpret that O. vulpesi was made in a moderate energy subtidal marine setting during the last marine highstand.     

Phytoplankton from the Southern Coastal Fringe of the Río de la Plata (Buenos Aires,Argentina)

Opinion This is a series of contributions, expressing explicit opinions with regard to contemporary topics in limnology. These texts will mostly be based on new books with a large impact, but can also refer to other currently debated topics. Documented reactions to these contributions should be sent to the editor-in-chief; they will be considered for publication in subsequent issues. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

辽宁朝阳马山洞的食肉类化石

本文主要记述了辽宁省朝阳市龙城区马山洞发现的食肉类化石。堆积物的上部主要为颗粒细小的砂质黏土, 而下部主要为直径较大的角砾。2007年出土的食肉目化石有: 似浣熊貉(Nyctereutes procyonoides)、赤狐(Vulpes vulpes)、狗獾(Meles meles)、黄鼬(Mustela sibirica)、中华猫(Felis chinensis)和疑似虎(Panthera tigris)?。其中前5个种在形态上与现生种类非常接近; 而最后一个种除与现生虎比较接近外, 与现生狮子也有一定的相似性。     

Association between Hyperoche martinezii (Amphipoda: Hyperiidae) and ctenophores from the Buenos Aires coast,Argentina (South-western Atlantic Ocean)

This survey examined the association between the hyperiid amphipod Hyperoche martinezii and ctenophores off the Argentinian coast (38°08′17″S, 57°31′18″W) through the evaluation of seasonality, prevalence and intensity of infection during an annual cycle. Medusae were also examined but only the ctenophores Mnemiopsis leidyi, Pleurobrachia pileus and Beroe ovata showed this association during the austral mid-spring to mid-summer. A total of 502 hyperiids were obtained; most (422 individuals) were larval stages, 53 juveniles and 27 adults. Mnemiopsis leidyi had the highest number of hyperiids with 98.6%, followed by P. pileus (0.80%), and B. ovata (0.60%). Total prevalence was 2.0 and intensity of infection ranged between 1 and 17 hyperiids per ctenophore. The host with highest prevalence was B. ovata (4.54), followed by M. leidyi (3.76) and P. pileus (0.1). Prevalence values had some correlations with the increase in the total length of B. ovata (r?=?0.480, P?=?0.006) and M. leidyi (r?=?0.501, P?B. ovata (r?=?0.425, P?=?0.017). The hyperiid was found in different parts of the host body: larval stages were found in the canal close to the subtentacular comb row and the stomodeum, whereas juvenile/adult stages were observed with a resting posture on the external surface of the ctenophores. The known geographic distribution of H. martinezii was extended; this finding represents the addition of three new hosts for this hyperiid.     

Palynological investigations into the Late Pleistocene and Holocene history of vegetation and settlement at the Löddigsee, Mecklenburg, Germany

A Late Pleistocene and Holocene sediment core from the nowadays terrestrialised portion of the Löddigsee in Southern Mecklenburg, Germany was palynologically investigated. The lake is situated in the rarely investigated Young moraine area at the transition from the Weichselian to the Saalian glaciation. The high-resolution pollen diagram contributes to the establishment of the north-eastern German Late Pleistocene pollen stratigraphy. The vegetation distribution pattern after the end of the Weichselian is in good agreement with other studies from North-eastern Germany, but also has its own characteristics. The Holocene vegetation development reveals features from the north-eastern and north-western German lowlands. A special focus was laid on the environmental history of the two settlements on an island within the lake (Late Neolithic and Younger Slavic period), which were preserved under moist conditions. Both settlements were constructed during a period of low lake level. Although there is evidence of agriculture in the area during the respective periods, the two island settlements seem to have served other purposes.     

Late Quaternary caviomorph rodents (Rodentia: Hystricognathi) from the Serra da Capivara,northeastern Brazil,with description of a new taxon

In this paper, fossil rodents (Hystricognathi: Caviomorpha) from the late Quaternary of the southwestern State of Piauí, northeastern Brazil, are described. The material comes from archaeological/palaeontological sites located in the region of the Serra da Capivara. The late Quaternary taxa of this region include Galea Meyen, 1832, Kerodon rupestris Wied-Neuwied, 1820, Hydrochoeridae indet., Dasyprocta Illiger, 1811, cf. Myocastor Kerr, 1792, Thrichomys Trouessart, 1880, Phyllomys Lund, 1839, Coendou magnus Lund, 1839 and a new taxon with chinchilloid affinities. The Coendou magnus and cf. Myocastor material represents the northernmost records of these taxa. The unexpected presence of a new extinct taxon contributes to the understanding of the ancient rodent faunas from South America. Today, the studied area is located within the Caatinga Biome but some of the fossil taxa, such as Hydrochoeridae and cf. Myocastor, indicate wetter environments and permanent water bodies during the late Pleistocene–early Holocene.

http://www.zoobank.org/urn:lsid:zoobank.org:pub:92711BC3-8997-4474-A8AF-83DF4F91BB48     

Biostratigraphy and biochronology of the Late Miocene of central Argentina: Evidence from rodents and taphonomy

Biostratigraphy and biochronology of the Late Miocene of central Argentina is analyzed through evolutionary patterns of octodontoid rodents. The studied faunas were found in continental sediments assigned to the Cerro Azul and Saldungaray formations (La Pampa and Buenos Aires provinces, respectively). Taphonomic attributes of recovered mammals, linked mostly to the development of paleosols or to predators’ activities, constraint the deposition lapse to short intervals. A biostratigraphic scheme based mainly on the anagenetic pattern of change in the octodontoid rodent lineage Chasichimys-Xenodontomys is proposed. Since there is no stratigraphic superposition among the studied levels, relationships among deposits are established through the polarity evidenced by the stage of evolution of chronomorphs of this lineage. Five new biozones for the Late Miocene of central Argentina are recognized. Evidence of other anagenetic sequences, and general trends of increasing hypsodonty in octodontoids, support this proposal. The results enhance the value of the “stage of evolution” concept as a correlation tool in biostratigraphic and biochronologic studies, mainly when applied through phyletic sequences.     

Parachoerus carlesi (Mammalia,Tayassuidae) in the Late Pleistocene (northern Argentina,South America): paleoecological and palaeobiogeographic considerations

Abstract

The Tayassuidae is one of the first families of North American immigrant mammals that arrived into South America during the ‘Great American Biotic Interchange’. They have been found associated with Late Cenozoic deposits mainly in Argentina and Brazil, but also in Uruguay, Bolivia, Colombia, Peru and Venezuela. Theirs records within Argentina come from the Pampean Region, Mesopotamia and north-central region. Here, we report the first record of P. carlesi with precise stratigraphic (26.630 ± 370 14C years BP, Late Pleistocene) data in Argentina, precisely from the Chacoan region. This specimen represents the most complete fossil material of this extinct species, increasing its morphological and morphometrical knowledge, and it provides relevant ecological and climatic information. From a palaeoenvironmental point of view, the fauna registered in this paleontological site, includes taxa mainly adapted to open or semi-open and arid or semi-arid environments. The bearing sediments and the peculiarities of the faunal assemblages, as well as the chronological data, allow confirming that arid and semiarid conditions, with scarce or absent vegetation cover were developed in this area of Argentina during the last part of MIS 3 and beginning of MIS 2. These environmental conditions favored the settlement of megamammals adapted to open environments.     

Review of dated Late Quaternary palaeolimnological records in the Carpathian Region,east-central Europe

The Carpathian Region (including mountains and plains) has for a long time been lacking good palaeoenvironmental and especially palaeolimnological records, particularly for the Late Quaternary. In the last two decades, many new sedimentary sequences were obtained and studied using a wide range of palaeoproxies. This article reviews results from 123 sequences in the Carpathian Region, all dated by radiometric methods. Our aim was to pay attention to the existence of these data; many of them published in national periodicals and journals. Palaeoenvironmental records with at least two proxies and with palaeolimnological interpretation were compiled in both tabular form and on maps. Inspite of the density of examined sites, an assessment of the dataset led us to the following conclusions: (1) very few provide firm hydrological–limnological interpretation, such as lake level and mire water-depth fluctuation, lake productivity changes and pH changes; (2) only 47 of them are real multi-proxy studies (have at least two proxies employed on the same sediment core); (3) glacial lakes in Slovakia and Romania as well as in Ukraine are seriously under-investigated although they would be ideal objects of palaeolimnological works with the many proxies applicable on them; (4) the Hungarian lowland areas are dominated by shallow tectonic lakes or palaeochannels, often with unsatisfactory preservation of certain biological proxies (e.g. diatoms, chironomids, cladocerans). Consequently, palaeolimnological studies from this region have to apply a different combination of proxies and approach than mountain lake studies.

江西萍乡上栗县晚更新世哺乳动物化石发现

2014~2015年在江西萍乡上栗县长平乡发现的杨家湾哺乳动物化石点,是江西省为数不多的更新世化石点中出土化石最为丰富多样的:目前已在杨家湾1号洞发现数千件哺乳动物牙齿化石,初步鉴定出40个属种;在化石数量上,野猪占绝对优势,其它常见种类还有鹿类、豪猪、黑熊、小型食肉类、鬣羚、水牛、犀牛及猴类等,而长鼻类及貘相对较少;在本地区同时代化石点中,猴类化石最丰富,食肉类属种也更多样。灭绝种类有巴氏大熊猫、最后斑鬣狗、德氏狸、剑齿象及巨貘等。从动物群组合来看,杨家湾1号洞与湖南道县福岩洞古人类化石点最为相似,其时代也应当属于晚更新世。     

Subsistence activities and the sexual division of labor in the European Upper Paleolithic and Mesolithic: Evidence from upper limb enthesopathies

Studies of cultural artifacts and faunal remains from European Upper Paleolithic and Mesolithic sites indicate a shift in hunter gatherer subsistence strategies, involving an intensification and diversification of resource exploitation relative to earlier foragers during the Tardiglacial and Postglacial periods. This trend has been recognized as well through the analysis of non-pathological skeletal adaptations of the upper limbs of European Upper Paleolithic human fossils. These paleoanthropological studies of adaptive bone modeling also raise the question of female use of throwing-based weapon technology in the Upper Paleolithic. Here, we studied another type of osteological marker of activity, enthesopathies, of the upper limb remains of 37 European Upper Paleolithic and Mesolithic human fossils, with the goal of testing two hypotheses: 1) that activity levels were heightened at the end of Upper Paleolithic and into the Mesolithic relative to earlier foragers of the Gravettian, and 2) that there was an absence of a marked sexual division of labor in European hunter-gatherers during this time span. Our results are consistent with the first hypothesis; upper limb enthesopathies are significantly less frequent in the Gravettian group, but raise doubts about the second hypothesis. Four males exhibit lesions that can be confidently associated with throwing activities, while no females exhibit such lesions.     

贵州兴义猫猫洞更新世晚期人类牙齿釉质崩裂痕迹

作为一种特殊形式的牙齿磨耗与使用痕迹,牙齿崩裂与古人类及古代人群食物质地、获取与制作食物方式、某些行为活动、生活习俗密切相关。然而,迄今对人类牙齿崩裂的关注程度及开展的研究还不多,尤其缺乏更新世晚期人类牙齿崩裂出现率和表现特点方面的数据。本文对发现于贵州兴义猫猫洞的更新世晚期人类牙齿釉质崩裂痕迹大小、出现率、表现特点进行了观测分析。研究发现,附连在3件猫猫洞人类下颌骨上的牙齿具有明显的釉质崩裂现象,出现率与生活环境恶劣的狩猎-采集人群接近。值得注意的是猫猫洞人类牙齿釉质崩裂出现在几乎所有臼齿的咬合面边缘。作者认为出现在猫猫洞人类臼齿的釉质崩裂是由于强力咀嚼和研磨坚硬食物所致,推测当时人类的食物粗糙,坚硬,富含颗粒(如坚果、种子等)。在猫猫洞下颌骨上观察到的波及几乎全部牙齿的牙周病也为猫猫洞人类严酷生活环境和粗糙食物的推测提供了一定程度的支持。此外,几乎所有具有釉质崩裂的臼齿都呈现大小不等的多发性的釉质崩裂痕迹的表现特点提示猫猫洞人类长时间大量食用这种粗糙、坚硬食物。