Holocene survival of the wild horse in Europe: a matter of open landscape?

The wild horse Equus ferus was one of the most frequent species of the Late Pleistocene large ungulate fauna in Eurasia and played an important role in the subsistence of human groups, especially at the end the Late Glacial. It is frequently assumed that E. ferus became extinct in Europe at the beginning of the Holocene because of the development of woodlands and loss of open habitats. Because of its preference for open habitats and in spite of its adaptability, the appearance or disappearance of the wild horse could therefore be a suitable palaeoecological indicator for the opening of the Holocene primeval woodlands. We revised the dating and reliability of the subfossil record and dated several bones by atomic mass spectrometry ¹⁴C dating. From the beginning of the Holocene (9600 cal a BC) to the end of the Atlantic Period (3750 cal a BC) there are 207 archaeological sites with wild horse records available in Europe. E. ferus survived the Pleistocene Holocene transition in Europe, but the spatiotemporal dynamics of populations fluctuated remarkably in the early and middle Holocene. Small and sparse populations increasingly became extinct during the early Holocene, until between 7100 and 5500 cal a BC the wild horse was almost absent in central parts of the European Lowlands. Particular conditions in natural open patches in the canopy forests, chalklands and floodplains may have maintained the local survival of the horse in some regions of the Lowlands, however. In the Late Atlantic, between 5500 and 3750 cal a BC the range of the wild horse was again extended. It re‐immigrated into central and western Europe, probably as a consequence of increasing landscape opening by Neolithic peoples. The data presented here may be a valuable part of the debate on the degree of openness of the early and middle Holocene landscape. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

蒙古野驴(Equus hemionus)昼间行为时间分配初探

于2007 年和2010 年采用焦点动物取样法研究了新疆卡拉麦里山有蹄类野生动物保护区蒙古野驴昼间行为时间分配和活动节律,共采集行为数据460 h,观察蒙古野驴2 760 头次,将蒙古野驴昼间行为分为采食、移动、警戒、休息和“其他”5 类。采用卡方检验分析不同季节各种行为时间分配,结果表明：季节因素对蒙古野驴行为时间分配存在极显著影响（χ2=79.06,df=12,P<0.01）。采用ANOVA分析同季节不同行为间差异,结果表明,春季：移动、警戒、“其他”两两间无显著差异（[WTBX]P＞0.05）,其余两两间差异显著（P＜0.05）;夏季：仅移动与“其他”间无显著差异（P＞0.05）;秋冬季：仅警戒与“其他”间无显著差异（P＞0.05）。对蒙古野驴昼间活动节律研究结果表明,蒙古野驴采食时间比例在春季各时段均较高（＞45%）,仅中午（14:00～15:00）有1个低谷（27.62%）,夏秋季则为晨昏采食模式,冬季采食峰值（87.85%）在中午时段（13:00～14:00）。休息和采食高峰在各季节交叉出现,呈现此消彼长的趋势。各季节移动主要发生在晨昏时段。蒙古野驴以特定的行为时间分配模式和活动节律适应环境条件季节性变化,如气候条件、食物资源、人为干扰、生理期、昼间长度、捕食风险等。     

陕北靖边庙梁遗址动物遗存研究兼论中国牧业的形成

对庙梁遗址龙山早期出土的动物骨骼按照发掘单位逐一进行系统分类、测量、鉴定,总共鉴定出8种哺乳动物,分别为蒙古兔(Lepus tolai)、奥氏马(Equus ovodovi)、家猪(Sus domesticus)、梅花鹿(Cervus nippon)、马鹿(Cervus elaphus)、狍(Capreolus cap...     

Fossil findings from the Sıcak Çermik fissure ridge-type travertines and possible hominid tracks,Sivas, Central Turkey

S?cak Çermik (Sivas) is an important geothermal and recent travertine formation area in Central Anatolia. The majority of travertines found in the region comprise fissure-ridge type travertines according to morphological classification. At the location called Tepe Çermik within the travertine area, fill containing fossil bone fragments of Equus sp., Bovidae and other abundant animals formed within the fracture axis of a N–S striking fissure-ridge travertine developed under control of tectonic forces. The finds of these fossils in fissure-ridge travertines linked to tectonic forces indicates formation of a unique fossil environment created under the control of these forces. The Accelerator Mass Spectrometry Radiocarbon Dating analyses of fossils from the study area determined the fills were older than 43,000 years. The U/Th age of a sample from the most recently-formed banded travertine in the axis of the fracture was identified as 278,540 ± 18,436 years. As a result, the ages of fossils found within this fill are thought to be between 43,000 and 278,540 ± 18,436 years old. The high amount of perissodactyla and artiodactyla fossils found within fill in the axis of the fissure-ridge travertine probably indicates the presence of hominids who chose the region for hunting or settlement. The Equus sp. and Bovidae fossil samples found in the axis of the fracture indicate that in the dry and cold glacial period the paleogeography in a large portion of Anatolia comprised desert-like steppe.     

New evidence of sea‐level lowstands and paleoenvironment during MIS 6 and 4 in the Cantabrian coastal karst: the Cobiheru cave (North Iberia)

The geomorphological evolution of the Cobiheru Cave shows the influence of the non‐carbonate coastal mountain ranges on coastal karst evolution, as well as the temporal distribution of the cold‐adapted fauna sites in the Cantabrian Coast. Geomorphological observation and uranium/thorium (U/Th) dating lead to the construction of an evolution model. The model comprises two episodes of cave deposition occurring at c. 60–70 and 130–150 ka, linked to cold climate conditions, global sea‐level lowstands and the erosion of alluvial fans that covered the karst. Moreover, the comparison between the Cobiheru record and some raised beaches identified in previous studies sets the beginning of the sea‐level lowering in the Cantabrian Sea during the marine isotope stages (MIS) 5–4 transition. Two palaeoenvironments are inferred based on finding Equus ferus and Elona quimperiana. A wet deciduous forest would have developed on the emerged marine terrace of the Cobiheru Cave since at least the Middle Pleistocene, and an open landscape with scarce vegetation would have been present at c. 65 ka. The erosional event identified in the Cobiheru Cave helps to understand the temporal distribution of cold‐adapted mammals located in the Asturias region. The probable sites of cold‐adapted fauna developed in caves and alluvial fans would have disappeared after 65 ka. Therefore, palaeontological and palaeoclimate research based on cold‐adapted mammals suggests the occurrence of an hiatus in the palaeontological record prior to 50 ka. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

A mixed-feeding Equus species from the Middle Pleistocene of South Africa

The dietary regime of Equus capensis from the Middle Pleistocene of South Africa is investigated by mesowear analysis. Results indicate that the mesowear signature of this species resembles that of two extant mixed feeders, the Grant's Gazelle (Gazella granti) and the Thomson's Gazelle (Gazella thomsoni), suggesting a mixed feeding dietary strategy for E. capensis. The mesowear signature of a contemporaneous population of Equus mosbachensis from Europe (Arago, France) is also determined for comparative purposes and has a typical grazing signature. In general, all extant species of Equus are believed to be almost exclusively grazers. However, a considerable degree of dietary flexibility is recently reported. The dietary signal of E. capensis is considered to be the result of feeding on the unique fynbos vegetation, which was beginning to establish itself at this time in southwestern South Africa. Grasses are a minor component of this floral kingdom. Our findings thus provide further evidence for the unexpected flexibility in feeding strategies of Equus, the most widely distributed equid taxon in the Quaternary. They highlight the potential use of the attrition–abrasion wear equilibrium as a habitat indicator, by mirroring the availability of food items in mammalian herbivore ecosystems.     

依牙形刺论Gallowayinella()的时代和长兴阶的底界

类Ｇａｌｏｗａｙｉｎｅｌａ长期以来被当作长兴阶的带化石，是长兴阶底界的标志。江西上高七宝山剖面表明Ｇａｌｏｗａｙｉｎｅｌａ富集层并非像以往认为的那样是稳定的一层，在此剖面上至少有二层：下层在Ｃｌａｒｋｉｎａｌｅｖｅｎｉ带之下，其上下均有典型的吴家坪期的菊石（Ｋｏｎｇｌｉｎｇｉｔｅｓ等）；上层与吴家坪期的牙形刺Ｃｌａｒｋｉｎａｏｒｉｅｎｔａｌｉｓ，Ｃ．ｇｕａｎｇｙｕａｎｅｎｓｉｓ，Ｃ．ｄｅｍｉｃｏｒｎｉｓ，Ｃ．ｌｉａｎｇｓｈａｎｅｎｓｉｓ共存。这一事实表明Ｇａｌｏｗａｙｉｎｅｌａｍｅｉｔｉｅｎｅｎｓｉｓ是吴家坪期的而不是长兴期的。为此建议，长兴阶的底界不用类定义，而以牙形刺Ｃｌａｒｋｉｎａｓｕｂｃａｒｉｎａｔａ和／或Ｃ．ｗａｎｇｉ的首次出现为准。