Multi-method approach using small vertebrate assemblages to reconstruct the Marine Isotope Stage 6 climate and environment of the Lazaret cave sequence (Maritime Alps, Nice, France)

López-García, Juan Manuel; Blain, Hugues‐Alexandre; Sánchez‐Bandera, Christian; Cohen, Jessica; Lebreton, Loïc; Montuire, Sophie; Stewart, John R.; Desclaux, Emmanuel

doi:10.1016/j.palaeo.2021.110529

Cited by 11 publications

(6 citation statements)

References 53 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…Thus, all three assemblages were dominated by eurytopic species, mainly C. ibex and C. elaphus, that is species that could tolerate a wide range of habitats or ecological conditions. The results support the wide diversity of habitats available in the surroundings of the cave, as paleoenvironmental analyses based on the small and large mammals have shown (Valensi and Abbassi 1998;Valensi et al 2007;Hanquet et al 2010;López-García et al 2021).…”

Section: Paleoenvironmental Implicationssupporting

confidence: 83%

“…and CIII and slightly warmer conditions for CII sup. (López-García et al 2021), but the differences were reported as not significant. Our results accord with Valensi et al's (2007) study of the large mammal assemblages from subcomplexes CII and CIII, which were dominated by C. elaphus and C. ibex (Valensi et al 2007).…”

Section: Paleoenvironmental Implicationsmentioning

confidence: 89%

“…The faunal remains (large mammals, birds, small vertebrates, and gastropods) identified at Lazaret Cave indicate, in general, a cold climate and relatively humid environmental conditions, which can be related to the geographical position of the cave, which existed in a transitional zone between the French steppe and the Italian forest-grassland during MIS 6 (López-García et al 2021). The best-represented large mammal species throughout the sequence excavated are red deer (Cervus elaphus) and ibex (Capra ibex).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 2 more Smart Citations

Dietary traits of the ungulates from the Middle Pleistocene sequence of Lazaret Cave: palaeoecological and archaeological implications

Rivals

Cohen²,

Desclaux

2023

Archaeol Anthropol Sci

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Dietary traits in ungulates from Lazaret Cave were analysed for possible changes in ecological niches throughout the marine isotopic stage (MIS) 6 sequence of the site and to investigate the duration of the occupations corresponding to the accumulation of ungulate remains by human groups. The analysis revealed changes in dietary diversity throughout the sequence related to the climatic and environmental changes of the MIS 6. These changes affected the availability of vegetal resources, competition among species, and the distribution and movement of the ungulates in the territory. Human groups were also affected by these changes, as the archaeological record of Lazaret Cave in the duration of occupations at the different levels shows. The response of the large mammal communities to persistent climatic instability is reflected in differences between the sites of southern France of the MIS 6, where species show different dietary traits.

show abstract

Section: Paleoenvironmental Implicationssupporting

confidence: 83%

Section: Paleoenvironmental Implicationsmentioning

confidence: 89%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Dietary traits of the ungulates from the Middle Pleistocene sequence of Lazaret Cave: palaeoecological and archaeological implications

Rivals

Cohen²,

Desclaux

2023

Archaeol Anthropol Sci

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Paleoenvironmental inferences using herps and small mammals together are known from the literature [22,43,44,[53][54][55][56][57][58][59][60][61][62][63][64][65]. The paleoclimatic reconstruction obtained with the all-vertebrates group is compared with respect to using the reptile and small mammal results.…”

Section: Paleoclimatic Inferences Between Vertebrate Groupsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Paleoclimatic Reconstruction Based on the Late Pleistocene San Josecito Cave Stratum 720 Fauna Using Fossil Mammals, Reptiles, and Birds

et al. 2023

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Advances in technology have equipped paleobiologists with new analytical tools to assess the fossil record. The functional traits of vertebrates have been used to infer paleoenvironmental conditions. In Quaternary deposits, birds are the second-most-studied group after mammals. They are considered a poor paleoambiental proxy because their high vagility and phenotypic plasticity allow them to respond more effectively to climate change. Investigating multiple groups is important, but it is not often attempted. Biogeographical and climatic niche information concerning small mammals, reptiles, and birds have been used to infer the paleoclimatic conditions present during the Late Pleistocene at San Josecito Cave (~28,000 14C years BP), Mexico. Warmer and dryer conditions are inferred with respect to the present. The use of all of the groups of small vertebrates is recommended because they represent an assemblage of species that have gone through a series of environmental filters in the past. Individually, different vertebrate groups provide different paleoclimatic information. Birds are a good proxy for inferring paleoprecipitation but not paleotemperature. Together, reptiles and small mammals are a good proxy for inferring paleoprecipitation and paleotemperature, but reptiles alone are a bad proxy, and mammals alone are a good proxy for inferring paleotemperature and precipitation. The current paleoclimatic results coupled with those of a previous vegetation structure analysis indicate the presence of non-analog paleoenvironmental conditions during the Late Pleistocene in the San Josecito Cave area. This situation would explain the presence of a disharmonious fauna and the extinction of several taxa when these conditions later disappeared and do not reappear again.

show abstract

“…The analysis of micromammals has primarily focused on palaeoenvironmental reconstructions, given their high potential for recording climatic fluctuations [1][2][3][4][5]. Most taphonomic analyses of micromammal fossil accumulations tend to concentrate on identifying biases in the representation of species in fossil assemblages and living communities.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Potential of Micromammals for the Stratigraphy and the Timing of Human Occupations at La Roche-à-Pierrot (Saint-Césaire, France)

et al. 2021

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

As micromammals are highly sensitive to changes in their habitat, variations in species representation are often used to reconstruct local environmental conditions. However, taphonomic aspects of micromammals are often overlooked, despite the fact that they can provide important information for our understanding of archaeological sites. La Roche-à-Pierrot, Saint-Césaire, is a major archaeological site for our understanding of the Middle-to-Upper Palaeolithic transition in Western Europe. Clearly documenting site formation processes, the post-depositional reworking of deposits and the sequence of human occupations is fundamental for providing a secure archaeostratigraphic context of the site. The exceptionally large accumulation of micromammals from recently excavated stratigraphic units at the site makes it possible to track variations in the density of micromammals across the stratigraphic sequence. The taphonomic analysis of micromammals demonstrates these variations are not related to a change in the main accumulation agent or post-depositional phenomena. A negative correlation between small mammal remains and archaeological material suggests that peaks in micromammal densities can potentially be correlated with periods when the site was abandoned or when human occupation was less intense, and therefore provide new data for interpreting the Saint-Césaire stratigraphic sequence.

show abstract

Multi-method approach using small vertebrate assemblages to reconstruct the Marine Isotope Stage 6 climate and environment of the Lazaret cave sequence (Maritime Alps, Nice, France)

Cited by 11 publications

References 53 publications

Dietary traits of the ungulates from the Middle Pleistocene sequence of Lazaret Cave: palaeoecological and archaeological implications

Dietary traits of the ungulates from the Middle Pleistocene sequence of Lazaret Cave: palaeoecological and archaeological implications

Paleoclimatic Reconstruction Based on the Late Pleistocene San Josecito Cave Stratum 720 Fauna Using Fossil Mammals, Reptiles, and Birds

The Potential of Micromammals for the Stratigraphy and the Timing of Human Occupations at La Roche-à-Pierrot (Saint-Césaire, France)

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About