Footprints preserve terminal Pleistocene hunt? Human-sloth interactions in North America

Bustos, David; Jakeway, Jackson; Urban, Tommy; Holliday, Vance T.; Fenerty, Brendan; Raichlen, David A.; Budka, Marcin; Reynolds, Sally C.; Allen, Bruce D.; Love, David W.; Santucci, Vincent; Odess, Daniel; Willey, P.; McDonald, H. Gregory; Bennett, Matthew R.

doi:10.1126/sciadv.aar7621

Cited by 53 publications

(57 citation statements)

References 18 publications

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“…A lake with fluctuating water levels persisted until at least ~15,500 14 C YBP. These data are confirmed by 99 dating of a stratigraphic sequence of gypsum beds reported by Bustos et al (2018). The 100 maximum lake level (undated) reached an estimated elevation of 1204 m according to Allen et 101 al.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 69%

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Paleoindians, paleolakes and paleoplayas: Landscape geoarchaeology of the Tularosa Basin, New Mexico

Holliday

Harvey

Cuba³

et al. 2019

Geomorphology

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Karl Butzer was one of the first prehistorians to think about and write about people, ancient and modern, on the landscape. Moreover, as a geomorphologist he knew that past 29 landscapes were as dynamic and varied as they are today-not static entities that formed the 30 backdrop for human activity. That viewpoint is critical in understanding the physical 31 environment faced by humans during the early peopling of the Americas (~13,500 to ~10,000 cal 32 YBP). North America was undergoing rapid environmental changes as the continent was coming 33 out of the last Ice Age. In the southwestern part of the continent large paleolake levels were 34 falling and smaller playa basins were aggrading as the area was occupied by Paleoindian groups 35 such as Clovis, Folsom, and later groups of First Americans. The paleolakes would have provided some resources, but modern gypsum deposits indicate that lake waters were unpotable. Numerous small depressions (playas) scattered around the floor of the Tularosa Basin contain muddy fills that span the Holocene and terminal Pleistocene, indicative of fresher water at least seasonally. Paleoindian sites tend to be clustered around these small basins and along drainages off of the mountains that flank the basin, as well as settings with good viewsheds rather than the main paleolake margins. Paleolakes were dramatic components of the late Pleistocene landscape in the Southwest, but likely were not the primary attractions to the First Americans.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 69%

“…2; Table 4). In our project we recorded and dated another exposure along the northwest margin of paleolake Otero, along Alkali Flat (Bustos et al, 2018) (Figs. 2, 8).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Paleoindians, paleolakes and paleoplayas: Landscape geoarchaeology of the Tularosa Basin, New Mexico

Holliday

Harvey

Cuba³

et al. 2019

Geomorphology

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“…Footprints provide evidence of an animal’s presence, pedal anatomy, abundance, co-association with other animals and behavioral ecology, and have been used to infer not only body size and mass, but also pedal anatomy and biomechanics 6 . At some locations, especially in the American southwest, these important yet delicate fossils may hold the key to unanswered questions about human behavior during the upper Pleistocene, particularly those related to hunting activity, with footprints offering access to predator-prey interactions outside the more typical “site” locus of a kill or camp 7 . How researchers detect and record fossil footprints is a burgeoning area of method development in contemporary ichnology 8–11 , and crucial to both maximizing the information yielded and also preserving these fragile traces of the past 12 .…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

3-D radar imaging unlocks the untapped behavioral and biomechanical archive of Pleistocene ghost tracks

Urban

Bennett

Bustos

et al. 2019

Sci Rep

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Footprint evidence of human-megafauna interactions remains extremely rare in the archaeological and palaeontological records. Recent work suggests ancient playa environments may hold such evidence, though the prints may not be visible. These so-called “ghost tracks” comprise a rich archive of biomechanical and behavioral data that remains mostly unexplored. Here we present evidence for the successful detection and 3-D imaging of such footprints via ground-penetrating radar (GPR), including co-associated mammoth and human prints. Using GPR we have found that track density and faunal diversity may be much greater than realized by the unaided human eye. Our data further suggests that detectable subsurface consolidation below mammoth tracks correlates with typical plantar pressure patterns from extant elephants. This opens future potential for more sophisticated biomechanical studies on the footprints of other extinct land vertebrates. Our approach allows rapid detection and documentation of footprints while enhancing the data available from these fossil archives.

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“…Aquatic fossils have been found in these outcrops including ostracods (Candona, eucypris, Limnocythere, Cyprideis), mollusks (Stagnicolla, Planorbella, Physa), and a fish scale. Pleistocene megafauna footprints have been documented including giant ground sloths and mammoth in the outcrops and on the floor of Alkali Flat adjacent to the outcrops (Allen, 2009;Bustos et al, 2018). Allen (2009) interpreted gypsum crystals found in the outcrops as evidence for saline waters.…”

Section: Lake Otero: a Longer History Than Previously Describedmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Black star is depth of calibrated radiocarbon age. Western outcrop dates come fromAllen, 2009 andBustos et al 2018.…”

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confidence: 99%

Beneath the Gypsum Dunes: Cenozoic History of Wind and Water from a Core Drilled at White Sands, New Mexico

Jakeway¹

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White Sands, New Mexico is the largest gypsum dune field on planet Earth, the result of reworking of gypsum deposits. The dunes have been well studied, but the Cenozoic history preceding the formation of the dune field has been poorly studied. A core drilled to a depth of 192 ft (58.5 m) beneath the modern dune field contains deposits from saline lakes, sandflats, perennial freshwater lakes, perennial brackish to saline lakes, and saline mudflats. The core is composed of bottom-growth bedded gypsum, gypsum sandstone and siltstone, mixed siliciclastic-gypsum sandstones and siltstones, laminated siliciclastic mudstones, gypsum mudstones, and carbonate mudstones. Bottom-growth bedded gypsum was precipitated from saline lakes. Gypsum sandstones and siltstones were deposited by eolian processes. Mixed siliciclastic-gypsum sandstones and siltstones were deposited during periods of increased surface water inputs. Laminated siliciclastic mudstones were deposited in perennial freshwater lakes. Calcite mudstone containing charophytes and ostracods were deposited in shallow, perennial brackish to saline lakes. Gypsum mudstones indicate either shallow saline lakes or saline mudflats. Wavy lamina, climbing ripple cross-bedding, and dewatering structures in gypsum mudstones are evidence for rapid deposition of sediment by shallow, decelerating surface waters such as sheetfloods. Mudcracks and eolian reworked gypsum grains are evidence for subaerial exposure. Black beds, possibly manganese oxides, were present at two depths in the core. Andeskie, Luke Fritz, Shelby Isom, Bradley Smith, and Jonathan Johnson for help, support, and a few beers. Thanks to my mom and sister for support, both mental and occasionally financial, over the past few years. A big shout out to Dr. Joe Donovan for our weekly squash games and the opportunity to become acquaintances with his birds, Beta and Tuko.

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Footprints preserve terminal Pleistocene hunt? Human-sloth interactions in North America

Abstract: Contemporaneous sloth and human footprints from the terminal Pleistocene at White Sands National Monument suggest stalking.

Cited by 53 publications

References 18 publications

Paleoindians, paleolakes and paleoplayas: Landscape geoarchaeology of the Tularosa Basin, New Mexico

Paleoindians, paleolakes and paleoplayas: Landscape geoarchaeology of the Tularosa Basin, New Mexico

3-D radar imaging unlocks the untapped behavioral and biomechanical archive of Pleistocene ghost tracks

Beneath the Gypsum Dunes: Cenozoic History of Wind and Water from a Core Drilled at White Sands, New Mexico

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