Sorting of bivalve populations in a beach environment

Size sorting of shells and valves of transported death assemblages of Mytilus edulis is shown to have taken place, and greatly affected size-frequency distributions of shell accumulations deposited in a beach environment. Selective transport and deposition of different size grades gives histograms which may be strongly skewed or multimodal, and include numerous small shells. The usually predicted bell-shaped distributions for sorted assemblages are not always produced. Little evidence of growth and mortality rates can be deduced with confidence from the transported assemblages.     

Radiocarbon ages of raised-beach shells from Oronsay, Inner Hebrides, Scotland: a lesson in interpretation and deduction

Comparison of radiocarbon ages of raised-beach shells from sites in the proximity of Mesolithic shell middens on Oronsay illustrates the importance of correct interpretation of the significance of the stratigraphical, ecological and archaeological contexts of dated shells. A difference of c. 3000 years between the determined ages of shell samples of Patella and Arctica from the same horizon in a raised beach and smaller but significant differences in the ages of shell samples of the same genera and other genera from four horizons within a raised storm beach may have been caused by combinations, in varying degree. of isotopic fractionation, isotopic replacement, depleted initial ¹⁴C activity and the hard-water effect. Comparisons are made with published accounts of similar problems encountered in dated raised-beach shells from west Greenland, Finnmark (north Norway) and south Wales.     

Preliminary study on the preservation of giant clam (Tridacnidae) shells from the Balobok Rockshelter archaeological site,south Philippines

Tridacnidae shells, a valuable archive of past environments, are common in the Balobok Rockshelter archaeological site on Sanga‐Sanga Island in the south Philippines. This site was occupied during the mid‐Holocene (ca. 5000–8800 ¹⁴C yr B.P.), a period of Neolithic cultural expansion in the Philippines. This paper focuses on the preservation of two shell specimens, Hippopus hippopus and Tridacna maxima, unearthed from two mid‐Holocene layers within the rockshelter. The shells' mineralogy and microstructure (prismatic and crossed‐lamellar) were studied using micro‐Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and scanning electron microscopy to determine if the samples were suitable as paleoenvironmental records. Both shells are still aragonitic but aragonite crystals of both microstructure types are partly dissolved. This dissolution, characteristic of meteoric water alteration, precludes their utility in paleoenvironmental geochemical studies. Nevertheless, these shells are abundant in archaeological sites in the region and may be better preserved in other depositional contexts; more studies on Philippine Tridacnidae shell diagenesis are needed. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Holocene geoarchaeology of the Sixteen Mile Beach barrier dunes in the Western Cape, South Africa

Holocene evolution and human occupation of the Sixteen Mile Beach barrier dunes on the southwest coast of South Africa between Yzerfontein and Saldanha Bay are inferred from the radiocarbon ages of calcareous dune sand, limpet shell (Patella spp.) manuports and gull-dropped white mussel shells (Donax serra). A series of coast-parallel dunes have prograded seaward in response to an overall marine regression since the mid-Holocene with dated shell from relict foredunes indicating periods of shoreline progradation that correspond to drops in sea level at around 5900, 4500 and 2400 calibrated years before the present (cal yr B.P.). However, the active foredune, extensively covered by a layer of gull-dropped shell, has migrated 500 m inland by the recycling of eroded dune sand in response to an approximate 1 m sea level rise over the last 700 yr. Manuported limpet shells from relict blowouts on landward vegetated dunes indicate human occupation of coastal dune sites at 6200 and 6000 cal yr B.P. and help to fill the mid-Holocene gap in the regional archaeological record. Coastal midden shells associated with small hearth sites exposed in blowouts on the active foredune are contemporaneous (1600-500 cal yr B.P.) with large midden sites on the western margin of Langebaan Lagoon and suggest an increase in marine resource utilisation associated with the arrival of pastoralism in the Western Cape.     

Holocene molluscs from archaeological sites of the Pampean region of Argentina: Approaches to past human uses

The aim of this study is to provide a regional review and update our knowledge of molluscan records from Late Quaternary (12.2–0.4 ka B.P.) archaeological sites of the Pampean region. Comparisons with molluscs from the modern littoral, Holocene beach ridges, and estuarine sediments are made, allowing a synthesis of the main taxa recovered and reinterpretations of the probable past human uses. Overall, the biological and archaeological data gathered reinforce the conclusion that most taxa living far from the intertidal zone were not linked to subsistence of Pampean hunter‐gatherers. However, sporadic consumption cannot be discarded, considering the sea‐level changes during the Holocene. Other uses including ornamentation, containers, tools, or symbolic meaning can be assigned to marine molluscs which were probably collected as dead shells from the fossil deposits or from the contemporary beach. Selection of the shells by humans related mainly to shell size, shape, and color, and not to their nutritional value. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Oysters as geoarchaeologic objects

Crassostreine oysters have unutilized potential in analyses of coastal archaeological sites. Intertidal vs. subtidal harvesting may be determined by an examination of shell characters, and the culling of samples recognized through scrutiny of valves or shells collected dead. the season of live shell gathering may be estimated via a ligament growth model. Possible human uses of oysters include foodstuffs, agricultural and building materials, implements, ornaments, objects of curiosity, and in the manufacture of ceramics. Use as implements or ornaments is unlikely, and criteria exist to add strength to interpretations of other uses. Oysters faithfully replicate their substrate on left valve attachment areas and may yield evidence of distinctive, otherwise unrecognizable, archaeological features. Ideas herein developed for the southeastern United States may be extended to other geographic regions through appropriate data gathering processes.     

Secondary Alterations of the Shell Apatite of Discinisca tenuis from Lüderlitz,Namibia

A collection of subfossil specimens of Discinisca tenuis from Lüderlitz, Namibia was studied by means of the X-ray diffraction (XRD) technique. Using the whole-pattern fitting procedure refined by the authors, the unit cell dimensions, crystallite dimensions, and number of strains were detected. Post-mortality alterations in shell apatite are related to mineral component content ranging from 69 to 82% in subfossil shells, as compared to 68% in shells of living species. It has been established that the lattice parameter a decreases from 9.380 to 9.370 Å, while parameter c is less involved during the decomposition of organic matter. The post-mortality alteration is assumed to proceed by the subsequent recrystallization of shell apatite. Consequently, primarily elongated hexagonal prisms (150 × 370 Å) turn to smaller ones (120 × 260 Å), and the number of strains tends to increase.     

A nautiloid with ventral bitemarks from the Charmouth Mudstone Formation (Lower Jurassic) near Lyme Regis,Dorset, UK

Locally within the Charmouth Mudstone Formation (Sinemurian, Lower Jurassic) of the Dorset coast fatally bitten ammonites with ventral bite marks are common. Ventral bite marks occur at the rear of the body-chamber. The predator probably severed attachment muscles, thus removing its prey more easily. We report the first ventrally bitten fossil nautiloid, which is unusual in that the large bite mark is entirely within the phragmocone. The nautiloid is juvenile with a very short body-chamber extending 46° back from the apparently undamaged aperture. The whorl cross-section is nearly circular, giving the predator little to grip when biting. Nautiloid shells are also thicker than ammonite shells. Despite these difficulties, the predator bit repeatedly and damaged both the shell and septa. Five rounded bites occur on the left side, separated by sharp points. This suggests the predator was probably another cephalopod with suckered arms and powerful jaws. The centre of the bite is 160.5° back from the aperture, close to the mean value for ammonites (184.5°), suggesting the predator located the position of the first bite opposite the victim's aperture. Thus, we think the predator attacked an incomplete nautiloid shell which explains why the damage affects only the phragmocone.     

Eolian processes,ground cover,and the archaeology of coastal dunes: A taphonomic case study from San Miguel Island,California, U.S.A.

Geomorphological evidence and historical wind records indicate that eolian processes have heavily influenced San Miguel Island environments for much of the Late Quaternary. The island is almost constantly bombarded by prevailing northwesterly winds, with peak velocities exceeding 75 km/h and wind gusts reaching over 100 km/h. These strong winds played an important role in the location, formation, and preservation of the island's more than 600 archaeological sites. Excavation and surface collection at a stratified Middle and Late Holocene archaeological site on the island's north coast suggest that wind related disturbances result in significant displacement of light fish bones, produce concentrations of shellfish and heavy mammal bones, and cause significant abrasion, etching, and polishing of bones, shells, and artifacts. These data illustrate that wind not only alters surface materials but can significantly disturb subsurface deposits to a depth of at least 20 cm. Working in concert with a variety of taphonomic processes, wind can play a fundamental role in the preservation of archaeological sites and careful scrutiny during excavation and laboratory analysis is required to delineate its effects. © 2002 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

New Maikhanellid Shells and Siphogonuchitid Spicule Bundles from the Cambrian Fortunian Stage of South China

Maikhanellids are a distinct group of Cambrian Fortunian small shelly fossils by the cap-shaped profiles and scaly shell ornamentation. According to the individual shell shape and ornamentation feature types of 50 maikhanellids fossils which were collected from Xixiang botia, we confirmed the family Maikhanellidae content of six genera, which are Maikhanella, Ramenta, Purella, Ramentoides, Yunnannopleura and Mediata. Unlike the halkieriid animals whose shells and spicules are articulated on different body parts, maikhanellids were presumably yielded by siphogonuchitid spicules penetrating the intermediate matrix (the "spicule shell" hypothesis), and this is the reason that some researchers treated maikhanellids and co-occurring siphogonuchitids as synonyms. The affinities of Maikhanellids and siphogonuchitids remain debatable. Here, we report three dimensionally phosphatized maikhanellid shells and siphogonuchitid spicule bundles from the Cambrian Fortunian small shell faunas of South China. They differ from all the previously reported maikhanellids and siphogonuchitids, and may represent new types. The intact and smooth surface underneath the partially preserved scales of the shells challenges the "spicule-shell" hypothesis. The present siphogonuchitid spicules differ from the maikhanellid scales in size, morphology, and .arrangement pattern, thus the spicules might not be derived from the shells. Whether the shells and spicule bundles were articulated on different body parts of the same animals remains unknown.     

九种现代双壳类壳体物相组成的对比研究

利用X射线衍射分析技术,对黄东海常见的9种现代双壳类壳体进行了物相分析,结果表明这些双壳类壳体分别属于三种类型,即文石质壳、方解石质壳、文石+方解石混合质壳。其中,菲律宾蛤仔(Ruditapesphilippinarum)、中国蛤蜊(Mactrachinensis)、四角蛤蜊(Mactraveneriformis)、薄片镜蛤(Dosinialaminata)、毛蚶(Scapharcasubcrenata)属于文石质壳,长牡蛎(Crassostreagigas)、中国不等蛤(Anomiachinensis)、海湾扇贝(Argopectenirradieus)属于方解石质壳,紫贻贝(Mytilusedulis)属于文石+方解石质的混合质壳;双壳类壳体物相组成与其生活方式有着一定的联系,营底栖埋入式生活者趋于形成文石质壳,底栖固着生活方式者趋于形成方解石质壳或混合质壳;不同大小的菲律宾蛤仔(Ruditapesphilippinarum)的物相组成上几乎没有差别,表明其壳体物相组成不受生命效应的影响。     

关中地区2万年以来黄土序列中蜗牛化石及其有机质的14C AMS测年初探

前人在黄土—古土壤地层的¹⁴C年代学研究中,探讨了不同测年物质的可靠性,但不同物质组分获得的年代差异较大,这是由于选用的样品不符合定年条件,所以选择可靠的样品组分和有效的前处理方法显得尤为重要。对关中地区2万年以来黄土序列中有机质、花粉浓缩物和蜗牛化石进行了AMS¹⁴C年代学研究。运用现生蜗牛壳体的AMS¹⁴C测定来校正化石蜗牛的年龄,结合剖面中孢粉浓缩物、土壤有机质的AMS¹⁴C年代学对比研究,发现蜗牛化石壳体的文石可以提供较可靠的年代数据,为¹⁴C测年的可靠性研究提供了一种可能的途径。     

Radiocarbon dating of marine shells, including a discussion of apparent age of Recent shells from Norway

General problems in determining and interpreting shell C¹⁴ dates are discussed: calculation methods, factors influencing primary activity (apparent age), and determination of contamination. It is concluded that shell dates are reliable when handled carefully. Measurements on ten shells, collected between 1898 and 1923 on the Norwegian coast, gave apparent ages from 340±75 to 550±80 years, indicating that apparent age is not a significant problem in dating of Norwegian shells.     

Stable carbon isotopes in freshwater mussel shells: Environmental record or marker for metabolic activity?

Mussel shells have been used in a number of paleoecological and environmental studies. The interpretation of stable carbon isotopic composition of shell material is still controversial. The carbon for shell carbonate precipitation can either be derived from ambient dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC), with shells recording environmental signals, or from metabolic CO₂, with the potential to disguise environmental signals. To gain insight into this question, we investigated four nearly 100-yr long-term records of aragonite shells from an extant freshwater bivalve species, the endangered freshwater pearl mussel (Margaritifera margaritifera L.). Single growth increments of the outer prismatic and the inner nacreous zones were successfully and easily separated with a simple heat treatment for chronological analyses of δ¹³C in single layers of each zone. Autocorrelation and semivariance statistical methods reveal that mussels show distinct individual signal patterns, which extend up to 25 yr. Signal patterns are reliably reproduced with replicate samples from defined layers within one shell and show similar patterns with a slight offset for inner nacreous and outer prismatic layers for individual animals. Mussels exposed to the same environmental conditions exhibit distinct and contradictory signature patterns, which do not match between individuals. This observation can only be explained by strong metabolic influences on shell precipitation. Environmental changes in pH, temperature, electric conductivity and atmospheric carbon signature had no or little (<5%) influence, whereas body tissue protein and body tissue δ¹³C signatures negatively correlated with the youngest produced shell δ¹³C signatures, indicating that respiration causes a preferential loss of light isotopes from body mass and an inverse enrichment in shell aragonite. Hence, the shells of the freshwater pearl mussel yield a long-term record of metabolic activity, whereas the use of δ¹³C in these shells as recorder for environmental signals is questionable. This may also be true for shells from other species, for which metabolic carbon incorporation has been acknowledged.     

Geoarchaeological research in the coastal plain portion of the Savannah River valley

Selected archaeological, stratigraphical, sedimentological, hydrological, sea level, and ¹⁴C data are considered in order to ascertain the times and rates of saltmarsh, floodplain, river swamp, and alluvial terrace development in the lower Savannah River valley. Archaeological data are emphasized in the elucidation of these developmental trends and their environmental correlates. It is concluded that the modern environments associated with the categories of archaeological sites examined (estuarine shell middens, river swamp point bar sites, raised terrace/point bar sites) are not representative of local conditions during occupation(s). Accordingly, a mid-Holocene development of lower energy depositional environments is documented, along with a corresponding shift in subsistence-settlement patterning that suggests more diffuse, or broad spectrum, socio-economic strategies. A base level (sea level) dominance on river sedimentation, even far inland from the coast, may also be indicated.     

Late Holocene inter-annual temperature variability reconstructed from the δ18O of archaeological Ostrea angasi shells

Two multi-year oxygen isotope (δ¹⁸O) records were obtained from archaeological Ostrea angasi shells, confirming the potential of this species to provide valuable environmental records for the late Holocene period in southeastern Australia. High-resolution δ¹⁸O_shell samples from the O. angasi clearly display a seasonal variability, offering insight into past climate conditions in a region where such information is presently limited.

The oxygen isotope record in O. angasi reflects a combined temperature–salinity signal. Observations of δ¹⁸O_shell data from modern specimens are used as a point of reference to assist in decoupling these two influences, with the two archaeological samples compared with the δ¹⁸O_shell profile of four modern O. angasi. Assuming similar paleo- δ¹⁸O_water values at the collection sites, data from these archaeological shells present a record of temperatures during the period of their growth that are consistently lower than modern day, with mean annual temperatures ～2°C cooler.     

Pyrite replacement of mollusc shells from the Lower Oxford Clay (Jurassic) of England

Replacement of originally aragonite mollusc shells by pyrite commonly occurs in the Lower Oxford Clay. Petrographic studies show the shells to have constituted complex microenvironments in the sediment. A range of replacement textures is found showing a variable amount of solution of the original aragonite. Three distinct textures were found in crushed pyrite-replaced ammonite shells from heavily pyritized concretions. (1) A texture reflecting the original shell structure due to the replacement of the organic shell-matrix by pyrite. (2) An ovoid texture seen at several stages of replacement reflecting processes occurring at discrete centres of sulphate reduction. (3) Euhedral crystals lining cracks and fractures in the shell. Three types of replacement are found in small gastropods and bivalves from shell bed, some of which may relate to those seen in the ammonites. (1) Replacement of organic shell-matrix by pyrite preserving good shell-microstructure. (2) Replacement showing outwardly good preservation of morphological features but inwardly only the gross structure, such as growth lines, is preserved. (3) Replacement of the shell in a matrix of euhedral pyrite leaving only lines of carbonate inclusions marking the margins of the shell. The replacement textures and types appear to be dependent on the initial structure of the shell and the access of iron and sulphate into the shell. Early stages of replacement appear to proceed by pyrite formation within the organic matrix of the shell, with little or no solution of the carbonate, this produces textures which faithfully mimic the original shell microstructure. It is thought that the lack of carbonate solution is due to a limited availability of iron, brought about by the less intensively reducing nature of the sediment. Later stages of replacement are promoted by the cracking and fracturing of the shell and are, generally, not as faithful to the original shell structure. This is due to the greater availability of iron as the sediment becomes more reducing with burial.     

壳体大小对浮游有孔虫生物地球化学记录的影响

在浮游有孔虫壳体稳定同位素及Mg/Ca和Sr/Ca值的相关研究中,人们常因各种原因而选择不同粒径的壳体进行分析测试,而很少注意壳体大小可能导致研究结果的分歧。针对这一问题,本文分析了位于低纬度海区钻孔中不同粒径的Glo-bigerinoides ruber(白色,sensu stricto)和Pulleniatinaobliquiloculata壳体,结果表明G.ruber壳体的δ13C值受壳体大小的影响最为强烈,表现为正相关关系,不同粒径壳体的δ13C绝对平均差值可达0.48‰±0.12‰和0.25‰±0.09‰;P.obliquiloc-ulata400μm与315~400μm和250~315μm壳体Mg/Ca值的差异相当于1.8℃的海水温度;相对而言,G.ruberδ18O和Mg/Ca值以及P.obliquiloculataδ13C受壳体大小的影响较小,但它们的Sr/Ca值与壳体大小的关系不显著。本文推测,壳体大小相同时厚重的壳体可能成壳速度较快,相对优先吸收轻的同位素,且壳体Mg/Ca值可能更接近周围海水的水平。据此,本文认为较大个体P.obliquiloculata的壳体分泌可能与周围海水达到了平衡分馏。     

Paleoenvironment of the Folsom archaeological site, New Mexico, USA, approximately 10,500 C yr B.P. as inferred from the stable isotope composition of fossil land snail shells

Well-preserved aragonitic land snail shells (Vallonia) from late Pleistocene Eolian sediment in the Folsom archaeological site in New Mexico exhibit an overall decrease of δ¹⁸O_PDB from maximum values of +2.7‰ (more positive than modern) to younger samples with lower average values of about −3.6‰ (within the modern range). The age of the samples (approximately 10,500 ¹⁴C yr B.P.) suggests that the decrease in δ¹⁸O may manifest climatic changes associated with the Younger Dryas. Some combination of increased relative humidity and cooler temperatures with decreased δ¹⁸O of precipitation during the times of snail activity can explain the decrease in shell δ¹⁸O. A well-known Paleoindian bison kill occurred at the Folsom site during this inferred environmental transition.Average δ¹³C values of the aragonite shells of the fossil Vallonia range from −7.3 to −6.0‰ among different archaeological levels and are not as negative as modern values. This suggests that the proportion of C₄ vegetation at the Folsom site approximately 10,500 ¹⁴C yr B.P. was greater than at present; a result which is consistent with other evidence for higher proportions of C₄ plants in the region at that time.