Evolution of habitat and environment of red deer (Cervus elaphus) during the Late-glacial and early Holocene in eastern France (French Jura and the western Alps) using multi-isotope analysis (δ13C, δ15N, δ18O, δ34S) of archaeological remains

Abstract

Red deer (Cervus elaphus) is a flexible species that survived the significant climatic and environmental change toward warming temperature and forested landscape of the Late-glacial to early Holocene transition (ca. 17e6 ka cal BP). To investigate the conditions of ethological adaptation of red deer at that time, isotopic analysis of carbon, nitrogen, sulfur in collagen (d 13 C coll , d 15 N coll , d 34 S coll) and of oxygen in phosphate (d 18 O p) were performed on red deer from archaeological sites of the French Jura and the western Alps. Fifty out of eighty two samples benefited from direct AMS radiocarbon dating, which confirmed the few number of red deer record during the cold Younger Dryas oscillation (ca. 12.8 e11.6 ka cal BP) in Western Europe. The French Jura red deer showed a significant decrease in their d 13 C coll values and increase in their d 15 N coll values in the early Holocene compared to the Late-glacial, which is most likely due to the change in environment from open areas with low pedogenic activity to warm dense forests with increasing soil maturity. In contrast, the stable d 13 C coll and d 15 N coll values over time in the western Alps were thought to indicate a change to higher altitude for the red deer habitat in this mountainous region. A decrease of the d 18 O p values between the Late-glacial and the early Holocene was observed in the western Alps red deer, in contrast to the expected increase with rising temperature which was indeed confirmed for the French Jura red deer. The multi-isotope results pointed to open areas home range at higher altitude for the Alps red deer in the Holocene compared to the previous period. The similarity of the d 34 S coll patterns with those of the d 15 N coll suggested the primarily influence of soil activity on the 34 S abundances recorded by red deer in a purely terrestrial context. Red deer of the French Jura on one hand and of the western Alps on the other hand showed different adaptive response to the global warming of the early Holocene, with an ethological change in the first case and a change in home range in the second case.

Dating Late Paleolithic Harpoons from Lake Lubāns, Latvia

“…The δ 15 N values of all four samples are lower than those in mid-late Holocene herbivores (e.g. Noe-Nygaard et al 2005), but typical of Preboreal herbivores, reflecting the gradual rise in soil δ 15 N in the early Holocene (Drucker et al 2011).…”

Dietary Variability During Bronze Age in Central Italy: First Results

“…fodder and marsh grazing); (ii) pollution by modern industrial sulphur; although the fact that the site is located in a fairly wild area does not seem to support this possibility and, furthermore, other animals are not contaminated; and (iii) a different origin of this animal (i.e. δ 34 S variations according to climate and/or geological bedrock; Drucker et al ., ). Further analysis (i.e.…”

Red deer bone and antler collagen are not isotopically equivalent in carbon and nitrogen

“…Carbon and nitrogen isotope signatures of bone and antler are now often used to reconstruct the ecological conditions in which ancient deer lived, to track past habitat changes in the vicinity of the sites of recovery, and to infer past human management practices . They are also used to define isotopic baselines with which human isotope signatures can be compared .…”

“…Carbon and nitrogen isotope signatures of bone and antler are now often used to reconstruct the ecological conditions in which ancient deer lived, to track past habitat changes in the vicinity of the sites of recovery, and to infer past human management practices. [5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19] They are also used to define isotopic baselines with which human isotope signatures can be compared. [20,21] This is possible as herbivore proteinaceous body tissues predominantly reflect the isotopic composition of the plants (primarily that of the protein) consumed by the herbivore, potentially modulated by physiology and diet composition, [22][23][24][25][26][27][28][29][30][31] and there is isotopic variation in plants within and between ecosystems in both space and time due to physiological and environmental/climatic parameters.…”