广西崇左三合巨猿大洞早更新世小哺乳动物群

最近在广西崇左三合大洞发现了步氏巨猿和似人似猿共生的新层位,与之伴生的有52种小哺乳动物,占三合大洞巨猿动物群总数的62%,其中苏门答腊兔（Nesolagus）是东南亚地区首次发现的化石。小哺乳动物群以南方早更新世常见的偏皮氏毛耳飞鼠（Belomys parapearsoni）、中间猪尾鼠（Typhlomys intermedius）、拟低冠竹鼠（Rhizomys brachyrhizomyoides）、硕豪猪（Hystrix magna）、先社鼠（Niviventer preconfucianus）、拟爱氏巨鼠（Leopoldamysedwardioidesi）等为代表,根据小哺乳动物群性质和与其他动物群对比以及磁性地层年代测定,表明其时代应是早更新世中期（约距今120¹60万年前）。该动物群由树鼩、扁颅蝠、小彩蝠、飞松鼠、笔尾树鼠、猪尾鼠等几乎是旧大陆热带-亚热带森林型动物组成,缺少北方类型,基本上属于热带森林动物群,这表明了当时的自然景观为温暖湿润的热带雨林环境。三合大洞小哺乳动物群是广西地区的首次发现,对华南早更新世巨猿动物群详细划分,探讨步氏巨猿演化和早期人类环境背景等目前科学界关注的问题具有重要的意义。     

New Quaternary Mammalian Faunas and Cave Deposits in the Zhoukoudian Area,Beijing

From 1985 to 1987, four new localities with abundant fossil mammals were dis-covered by Cao, Tian and others in the Zhoukoudian (Choukoutien) area, Beijing. They are theEast, West, Shangdian and Donglingzi caves. The East Cave fauna consists of 28 speices ofmammals and its age is middle Early Pleistocene. The East Cave assemblage shows that a tem-perature-falling event took place at around 1.20 Ma B.P. at Zhoukoudian. Sixteen species ofmammals were collected from the West Cave, which are mainly forms of late Early Pleistoceneage. The West Cave fauna represents a transitional fauna from the East Cave fauna (dry-cold)to the fauna (warm) at locality 9. The Shangdian Cave fauna is composed of four forms, beingMiddle Pleistocene in age. The Donglingzi Cave fauna contains 21 Late Pleistocene forms. Inthe cave two fossil horizons may be distinguished. The age of the lower horizon is early LatePleistocene, which is equivalent to that of the New Cave fauna; while the fauna of the upper ho-rizon may be correlated with the Upper Cave fauna.     

Terrestrial arthropods from the Late Pleistocene of Jamaica: systematics,palaeoecology and taphonomy

The Red Hills Road Cave, Jamaica, is the most important site for terrestrial arthropods in the post‐Miocene of the Greater Antilles. Its fauna includes millipedes, isopods, crabs and insects, in addition to land snails and vertebrates. Arthropods are preserved in three dimensions and delicate structures such as limbs can be recognized. This unusual preservation was favoured by acidic groundwater rich in dissolved calcium carbonate; periods of high rainfall during which the bottle‐shaped cave was filled with water; and any arthropod washed in would have drowned. The absence of spiders, centipedes and most insects is due to the absence of carbonate in their exoskeletons. Millipedes and isopods possess a potential for preservation by carbonate mineralization that does not occur in other groups; they secrete calcium carbonate in the exoskeleton which hardens the cuticle and is water permeable, bringing about mineral replacement of the original structures. Within the cave, fossil millipede taxa include Rhinocricus sp. or spp., Chondrotropis sp., Caraibodesmus verrucosus (Pocock) and Cyclodesmus sp. cf. C. porcellanus Pocock. The isopod fauna includes Pseudarmadillo sp., Venezillo boonae Van Name, and Philoscia spp. 1 and 2. Crab claws belong to Sesarma sp. cf. S. cookei Hartnoll. Millipedes and isopods are particularly complete, representing drowned individuals fossilized soon after death; land crabs occur as fingers and rare chelae, suggesting that they may be exuviae. Only the most robust parts of insects have been discovered, but are particularly rare, consisting of three taxa of fly puparia and one possible beetle elytra. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

白龙洞古人类遗址三维数字模型的建立与初步分析

湖北白龙洞古人类遗址是中国较有影响的更新世中期古人类遗址之一。本项工作通过使用日本宾得公司产RS-202N免棱镜型全站仪及美国Autodesk公司产AutoCAD2006计算机软件等,实地采集白龙洞遗址地貌和洞穴形态三维数据,使用计算机建立起遗址地貌数字模型和洞穴居址数字模型。通过数字模型进行多视角观察、分析,认识到这种方法可以实现以三维空间的形式保存和处理多种考古遗存信息,能够提供古人类遗址三维动态的观察视角,以及提供多种用途的遗址三维分析数据和考古专题图等。白龙洞遗址数字模型的测量和观察分析认识到,白龙洞遗址古人类（直立人）具有对洞穴高效开发利用的能力,并且具有在洞穴空间较为高大的区域集中活动的特点;  还可能具有在洞穴内部使用火进行照明的行为;  在居址选择上,白龙洞古人类已经具备对低山地区复杂地貌、开阔视野、干燥居址与近水环境,以及石料集中地和多元食物生境的适应性选择。此外,分析工作还显示洞穴遗址内部堆积物,除古人类活动遗留外,其他土状堆积物的来源可能来自于洞穴内部裂隙。白龙洞遗址数字模型的建立与初步分析,是国内将三维数字模型技术应用于古人类遗址研究的首次尝试。该方法对于获取更多遗址研究信息和多学科综合研究古人类遗址具有重要作用。     

Speleothem-based chronology and environmental context of deposits from the Mishin Kamik Cave,NW Bulgaria – A contribution to the archaeological study of the Late Pleistocene human occupation in the Balkans

The Balkan Peninsula represents one of the most important human pathways into and out of Europe during the Pleistocene. Mishin Kamik cave, located in the karst region of Western Stara Planina, has a rich faunal content and shows promising features indicating a human occupation site with the discovery of potential bone artefacts and an intriguing accumulation of bear skulls and bones. Petrographic study and U-series dating of a stalagmite and other calcite deposits in the cave provide an absolute chronological frame for the detrital infillings and their archaeological content and inform the environmental and climatic context of the cave evolution. Most detrital deposits in the cave were probably deposited before Marine Isotope Stage (MIS) 5 and the cave morphology and sedimentary deposits display current morphologies since ~135 ka. Consequently, the palaeontological and archaeological findings are older than ~135 ka. Calcite dated on and under the accumulation of bear skulls and bones suggests deposition during MIS 7. A first depositional contextualization of the bone accumulation does not allow us to discriminate between a natural or anthropogenic origin. The study emphasizes the added value of speleothem studies in archaeological sites and particularly in bringing a well-constrained chronological and environmental framework.     

Formation processes of cemented features in karstic cave sites revealed using stable oxygen and carbon isotopic analyses: A case study at middle paleolithic Amud Cave,Israel

Hearths are important archaeological features, serving to infer past practices related to hominin subsistence and social behaviors. The identification of hearths is not always straightforward due to post‐depositional processes. In karstic cave environments in particular it is not always easy to distinguish, in the field or in the laboratory, between geogenic and anthropogenic cemented features because both are composed of calcite. Here we present a novel study in which bulk oxygen and carbon isotopic analyses were used in order to unequivocally identify anthropogenic calcite derived from hearths in the Neanderthal site of Amud Cave (Israel). We demonstrate that the isotopic composition of wood ash is distinctively different from that of geogenic calcite. The linear relationship observed between carbon and oxygen isotopic compositions of the various sediment types in Amud Cave is interpreted as a mixing line between wood ash and geogenic calcite, thus enhancing our understanding of the origins of sedimentological variability at the site and showing that not all of the cemented sediments in Amud Cave should be regarded as hearths. Our study suggests that the relative abundance of validated hearths in the various areas of the cave may be associated with Neanderthal use of space in Amud Cave. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Saving and conserving the caves: reflections on 37 years of listings,disputes, submissions and court cases

In order of impact, the main anthropogenic threats to caves in eastern Australia are and have been for the European history of Australia: mining, inundation, vandalism, wear and tear, lampenflora, lint and dust, scientists and poorly informed decisions. Destruction of caves by natural processes is not a focus of this paper as it occurs over a geological time scale and there are few historical accounts of natural catastrophic cave failure. Saving and protecting caves are difficult due to the reliance and insistence on conservation by secrecy used by cavers and the organisations that represent them. Other issues that inhibit cave conservation are: limited public exposure, perceptions of land managers and farmers about caves, a shortage of research-based information on caves and difficulties with establishing the significance of a cave. Cave monitoring and the education of managers and cave guides are known to enhance the conservation of show caves. Actions that would help to save and conserve caves throughout Australia include: changes to planning legislation, establishment of a cave conservation organisation, introduction of specific cave protection legislation and the establishment of a Research Centre for Caves, Karst and Geoheritage.     

Intra‐annual variation of the calcite deposition rate of drip water in Shihua Cave,Beijing, China and its implications for palaeoclimatic reconstructions

Cai, B., Zhu, J., Ban, F. & Tan, M. 2011: Intra‐annual variation of the calcite deposition rate of drip water in Shihua Cave, Beijing, China and its implications for palaeoclimatic reconstructions. Boreas, Vol. 40, pp. 525–535. 10.1111/j.1502‐3885.2010.00201.x. ISSN 0300‐9483. Monthly in situ monitoring of the calcite deposition rate, drip‐water chemistry and surrounding cave environment was carried out at Shihua Cave, Beijing, China, through two hydrological years (from January 2006 to February 2008) to determine the seasonal variability and mechanisms of stalagmite growth in Shihua Cave. Calcite deposition rates exhibit significant intra‐annual variation, with the lowest values during the summer monsoonal rainy season (July–August) and peak values from autumn to spring. The temporal change in the calcite deposition rate is negatively correlated with the drip rate, cave‐air PCO₂ (CO₂ partial pressure) and Ca concentration, and positively correlated with the pH of the feeding drip water. The seasonal recharge regime of drip water is likely to be the primary control on the drip‐water quality and quantity, which, in turn, control the calcite deposition rate in Shihua Cave. During the summer rainy season, periodic and intense rainstorms increase the drip rate and cave‐air PCO₂, leading to drip water with a lower pH and saturation index of calcite, thereby reducing the calcite precipitation. It seems that the high cave‐air PCO₂ is the dominant control on the calcite deposition rate during the rainy season. Our previous study on the dissolved organic carbon of drip water concluded that the thin luminescent bands in stalagmite laminae from Shihua Cave form during the rainy season. The lower calcite deposition rate during the rainy season further supports this suggestion. The significant intra‐seasonal variability of the calcite deposition rate implies that the seasonal bias of δ¹⁸O of stalagmites should be considered when stalagmite δ¹⁸O is used as a high‐resolution palaeoclimatic archive.     

Stable Carbon Isotope Variations in Cave Percolation Waters and their Implications in Four Caves of Guizhou, China

Monitoring and sampling of main plants,soil CO2,soil water,bedrock,spring water,drip water and its corresponding speleothem were performed at four cave systems of Guizhou,Southwest China,from April 2003 to May 2004,in order to understand stable carbon isotope ratios variations of dissolved inorganic Carbon(DIC) in cave percolation waters(δ13CDIC) and their implications for paleoclimate.Stable carbon isotopic compositions and ions(Ca,Mg,Sr,SO4,Cl etc.) were measured for all samples.The results indicate that there are significant differences among the δ13CDIC values from inter-cave,even inter-drip of intra-cave in the four caves.The δ13CDIC values from the Liangfeng Cave(LFC) is lightest among the four caves,where vegetation type overlying the cave is primary forest dominated by tall trees with lighter average δ13C value(–29.9‰).And there are remarkable differences in δ13CDIC values of different drip waters in the Qixing Cave(QXC) and Jiangjun Cave(JJC),up to 6.9‰ and 7.8‰,respectively.Further analyses show that the δ13CDIC values in cave drip waters are not only controlled by vegetation biomass overlying the cave,but also hydro-geochemical processes.Therefore,accurate interpreting of δ13C recorded in speleothems cannot be guaranteed if these effects of the above mentioned factors are not taken into consideration.     

Geochronology,sediment provenance,and fossil emplacement at Sumidouro Cave,a classic late Pleistocene/early Holocene Paleoanthropological site in eastern Brazil

Peter Wilhelm Lund's (1845a) heavily debated suggestion of a contemporaneity between Paleo‐Indians and extinct Pleistocene fauna at Sumidouro Cave was re‐examined through detailed sedimentological and geochronological analyses of sediment and both human and faunal remains. Sources of the cave's sediment include both entrances as well as ceiling fissures. Non‐human fossils, on the other hand, were probably carried by floodwater through the once more‐spacious swallet entrance. Seasonal flooding reworked and mixed these two highly asynchronous assemblages. U‐series and radiocarbon ages indicate that there are at least two distinct episodes of sediment input in the cave, at ˜240,000 yr B.P. and ˜8000 yr B.P. Human remains represent a later emplacement event, probably at ˜8400 cal yr B.P. Although the human remains are of considerable age, the cave's complex stratigraphy, flooding dynamics, and extensive removal of the cave's filling during earlier excavations do not allow the determination of an unequivocal co‐existence between Paleo‐Indians and extinct megafauna at the site. © 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Cave bears and paleolithic artifacts in Yarimburgaz Cave,Turkey: Dissecting a palimpsest

This article addresses the taphonomic issues surrounding artifact-bear associations in Yarimburgaz Cave, northwestern Turkey. Our purpose is to evaluate the circumstances of bone assemblage formation in the Middle Pleistocene deposits of the cave, identifying the agencies responsible for the accumulations and the causes of bone damage before and following deposition. Pleistocene species representation, bone damage, body part representation, and mortality data indicate that cave bear remains in Yarimburgaz are unrelated to hominid use of the same site. None of the observations on the cave bear remains contradicts the expectations developed from modern wildlife accounts of modern bear behavior; these accumulations resulted from mortality normally associated with hibernation over many generations of den use. Nonursid carnivores also played roles in bone collection and/or modification. We conclude that at least three distinct biological processes contributed to the formation of the Middle Pleistocene faunas: hibernating bears, bone-collecting carnivores such as wolves, and hominids in descending order of importance. The Yarimburgaz faunas represent palimpsests or overlays of many short-term depositional events, the close spatial associations of which are explained by slow or uneven sedimentation rates inside the cave. Although occupations by hominids appear to have been ephemeral in nature, hominids ultimately discarded nearly 1700 stone artifacts in Yarimburgaz Cave. The hominids did not discard many ungulate bones in the same circumstances. These observations suggest that hominid foraging efforts focused on resources other than large game while at the cave. © 1996 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Guano core evidence of palaeoenvironmental change and Woodland Indian inhabitance in Fern Cave,Alabama, USA,from the mid‐Holocene to present

Bat guano cores have been used as a source of palaeoenvironmental information to aid in the reconstruction of past climates and vegetation. We collected a 104‐cm‐long (43 cm compacted) guano core from Fern Cave, Alabama, USA, that provided a c. 6000‐year record of guano accumulation. Pollen, nutrients (C, N, P) and stable isotopes (δ¹³C, δ¹⁵N) were measured on the guano core with the objective of reconstructing the environmental history of the area from the mid‐Holocene to present. Our data indicate that bats have utilized Fern Cave for at least 6000 years and that Woodland Indians also utilized the cave for a short period. A 3‐cm charcoal layer was dated to 2720±30 cal. a BP and inferred to be Woodland Indian in origin from microscopic inspection and thickness. Pollen and geochemical data showed that bat diets changed in the late Holocene possibly linked to food supply and climate changes. These results demonstrate that guano cores are a useful tool of palaeoenvironmental reconstruction when other forms of palaeorecords do not exist and can add to local archaeological information.     

People and large carnivores as biostratinomic agents in Lateglacial cave assemblages

Biostratinomic analysis (processes acting between death and burial) of Lateglacial mammal bone assemblages from three caves in northern England demonstrates the value of re‐examining archived assemblages. With AMS radiocarbon dating of key specimens, these assemblages shed light on the ecology of a region at the northern limit of Lateglacial human activity in Britain. During the Lateglacial Interstadial bears, wolves and humans expanded into the region, bears by around 12 500 ¹⁴C yr BP, and the earliest evidence for human presence is around 12 300 ¹⁴C yr BP. At Victoria Cave, wolf activity included predation and scavenging of large ungulates and scavenging bear carcasses apparently resulting from hibernation deaths. The scavenging of bear carcasses is possibly confined to the first part of the Lateglacial Interstadial, whereas evidence for wolf scavenging large ungulates increases later in the Interstadial, after about 11 800 ¹⁴C yr BP, perhaps reflecting changes in the productivity of the Lateglacial ecosystem, and in human subsistence patterns. The assemblage from Sewell's Cave is wolf den debris from the very end of the Lateglacial Interstadial around 10 800 ¹⁴C yr BP, whilst that from Kinsey Cave is dominated by large‐bodied carnivores, and is argued to have a quite different taphonomic history. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

A diverse terrestrial fauna in the Pleistocene of Jamaica: the treasures of the Red Hills Road Cave

The thick and widespread limestones of Jamaica include many hundreds of caves of all shapes and sizes. The Red Hills Road Cave, near Kingston, is unusual for the richness of its included tetrapods and gastropods, and the exceptional, three‐dimensional preservation of terrestrial arthropods such as millipedes. This diverse assemblage consists mainly of a forest fauna that was washed into a bottle‐shaped cave, either alive or as carcasses, during tropical storms and hurricanes about 30 000 years ago.     

陕西洛南龙牙洞遗址的特征和环境

要本文第一作者曾在陕西洛南龙牙南洞中获得洛南直立人的上臼齿及少量哺乳类化石。近年作者等又在龙牙北洞中采集到大量石制品及哺乳动物化石。龙牙洞是黄河流域最南的一个旧石器遗址。由30多种哺乳类化石组成的龙牙洞动物群是一个兼具古北界和东洋界动物的过渡型动物群,可与蓝田公王岭动物群对比,时代为早更新世晚期,是温暖、湿润的森林、草原、多水体环境条件下的动物组合。石制品非常丰富,属华北旧石器文化系统,但又可见南方文化的影响。龙牙北洞遗址很可能是洛南直立人制作石器的场地。     

Additive effects of climate change and human hunting explain population decline and extinction in cave bears

Cave bears (Ursus spelaeus) are an iconic component of the European late Quaternary Ice Age megafauna. Recent demographic analyses based on cave bear mtDNA sequences and refined radiocarbon dating indicate that cave bear population size and genetic diversity started to decline some 50 kilo years ago (kya). Hence, neither the coldest phase of the last glaciation (started some 24 kya), nor the colonization of Europe by Palaeolithic hunters (started some 45 kya) coincides with the beginning of population decline. Here, we reconstructed cave bear climatic niche evolution through time. Then, we performed spatially explicit population viability analyses to assess cave bear demographics through time in response to climatic changes, human effects on bear survival and their combination. We found that climate change was responsible for a 10‐fold decrease in cave bear population size after 40 kya. However, climate change on its own could not explain U. spelaeus extinction at 24 kya. Additional negative effects consistent with human population expansion are required to explain both U. spelaeus' retreat from eastern Europe since 40 kya and its final extinction.     

Cave bear occupation in Schwabenreith Cave,Austria, during the early last glacial: constraints from 230Th/U‐dated speleothems

The cave bear was a prominent member of the Upper Pleistocene fauna in Eurasia. While breakthroughs were recently achieved with respect to its phylogeny using ancient DNA techniques, it is still challenging to date cave bear fossils beyond the radiocarbon age range. Without an accurate and precise chronological framework, however, key questions regarding the palaeoecology cannot be addressed, such as the extent to which large climate swings during the last glacial affected the habitat and possibly even conditioned the final extinction of this mammal. Key to constraining the age of cave bear fossils older than the lower limit of radiocarbon dating is to date interlayered speleothems using ²³⁰Th/U. Here we report new results from one such site in the Eastern European Alps (Schwabenreith Cave), which yielded the highest density of bones of cave bear (Ursus spelaeus eremus). Although dating of the flowstones overlying this fossiliferous succession was partly compromised by diagenetic alteration, the ²³⁰Th/U dates indicate that the bear hibernated in this cave after about 113 ka and before about 109 ka. This time interval coincides with the equivalent of Greenland Stadial 25, suggesting possible climate control on the cave bear's habitat and behaviour. © 2019 The Authors. Journal of Quaternary Science Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd     

U‐series dating of the Late Pleistocene mammalian fauna from Wood Quarry (Steetley), Nottinghamshire,UK

We present the U‐series dating of bones from Wood Quarry (‘Steetley Quarry Cave’) using the diffusion–adsorption model to account for uranium uptake. The results give a weighted mean date of 66.8 ± 3.0 kyr, placing this assemblage within or just before Marine Oxygen Isotope Stage 4. The fauna is thought to correlate with the Banwell Bone Cave mammal assemblage‐zone of the Early Devensian in Britain. Our results support the idea that this assemblage‐zone immediately precedes the assemblage represented nearby at Pin Hole in Creswell Crags which is contemporary with the Mid‐Devensian and correlates with MIS 3. Our dates, and dates for the Banwell Bone Cave mammal assemblage‐zone from Stump Cross Cavern and evidence from other sites may indicate a longevity for this fauna. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Large mammal taphonomy of the Middle Pleistocene hominid occupation at Treugol’naya Cave (Northern Caucasus)

A taphonomic study was conducted of large mammal remains from the Middle Pleistocene site of Treugol’naya Cave. The site is located at an elevation of 1500 m above sea level near the town of Pregradnaya in the northwestern Caucasus region of Russia, and was excavated by Doronichev (Doronichev, V.B., 2000. Lower paleolithic occupation of the northern Caucasus. ERAUL 92, 67–77.) between 1986 and 2000. Large mammal remains were identified by Baryshnikov (Baryshnikov, G.F., 1993. Krupnye mlekopitayushchie ashelskoi stoyanki v peshchere Treugol’naya na Severnom Kavkaze. Trudy Zoologicheskogo instituta RAN 249, 3–47), and reflect predominance of red deer (Cervus elaphus), bison (Bison schoetensacki), and cave bear (Spelaearctos deningeri). Less common taxa include goat (Capra sp.), wolf (Canis mosbachensis), rhinoceros (Stephanorhinus hundsheimensis) and horse (Equus altidens). Data were collected on weathering, breakage, surficial damage, skeletal-part frequencies, and age and season of death from the these remains, which are stored at the Zoological Institute, Russian Academy of Sciences in St. Petersburg. Analysis of the data revealed little evidence for accumulation of the large mammal remains by the hominid occupants of the cave. The carnivore remains probably represent natural mortality, while some of the ungulate remains were apparently accumulated by stream action. Most of the remaining ungulate remains were probably collected by carnivores.     

疫情背景下桂林市芦笛岩空气环境影响因素研究

当天然洞穴开发为旅游洞穴,人为活动输入到洞穴的能量与物质影响了洞穴本体环境。文章以桂林市代表性旅游洞穴芦笛岩为例,以2020年9月1日至10月8日洞穴温度、湿度、CO₂以及游客人数作为重点参数,定时、定位观测洞穴环境关键要素变化及相互关系,进而探究疫情防控背景下洞穴空气环境特征及影响因素、旅游活动对洞穴环境的影响以及洞穴自净能力。观测结果表明:（1）受新冠肺炎疫情影响,观测期内游客人数较往年明显减少,游客活动对洞穴温度和湿度影响并不明显,洞穴内外温度和湿度曲线变化趋于一致,主要受洞外空气环境的影响;（2）游览高峰期短时间内洞内CO₂浓度仍会随游客量的增多呈现规律性变化,但在旅游活动结束以后,洞内CO₂浓度能迅速回归至洞穴环境背景值,未观测到明显的CO₂累积现象;（3）芦笛岩本身具有一定的自净能力,观测期内受降雨和降温的影响,洞外温度显著降低,促使芦笛岩洞穴通风模式发生改变,洞穴内外气流交换加强,提高了该洞的自净能力。