The Manasota Key Offshore archaeological site (Florida, USA) is a mortuary pond dated to 7214 ± 30 cal BP and consisting of modified wooden stakes and human burials preserved in peat. At the time,... Show moreThe Manasota Key Offshore archaeological site (Florida, USA) is a mortuary pond dated to 7214 ± 30 cal BP and consisting of modified wooden stakes and human burials preserved in peat. At the time, this freshwater pond was located inland of the coast and used as a place of interment by Florida’s indigenous population. Over the intervening years, sea levels altered the landscape and affected the mortuary pond, which is now in an offshore context. Archaeological excavations revealed oysters (Crassostrea virginica) attached to human skeletal and cultural material— a direct line of evidence of past sea level rise. Morphometric analysis, sclerochronology, radiocarbon dating, and stable isotope analysis of eight oysters demonstrated there were two distinct environments at the time of oyster growth, each representing separate time periods and water parameters. The earlier oyster group indicated fresher water parameters, and the later hinted at hypersaline conditions. Oysters expired at ages between one and three, suggesting delicate human skeletal material was exposed to the water column for equally as long and yet remained preserved. This is the first time oysters attached to Archaic period skeletal material were used to draw wider conclusions about past marine transgression and environmental change. Show less
Woolly mammoth fossils on an island where the species eventually dies out, human and animal fossils on the bottom of the North Sea, remains of Siberian unicorns and exceptionally well-preserved... Show moreWoolly mammoth fossils on an island where the species eventually dies out, human and animal fossils on the bottom of the North Sea, remains of Siberian unicorns and exceptionally well-preserved bones from 300,000 years ago from the famous Schöningen archaeological site in Germany: these are the main topics discussed in this thesis.In this dissertation, a vast amount of isotope (d13C and d15N) data from bulk collagen of Quaternary mammalian fossils are presented and discussed. Most of these data are measured at the Centre for Isotope Research (CIO), Groningen (n > 400). The dataset consists of samples from various localities within Eurasia and are taken from human fossils, but mainly from fossils of various animal taxa including extinct species. Many of these faunal species belong to the typical ‘Mammoth steppe fauna’.The results shed light on dietary and habitat characteristics of these animals and hominins through time and space, often during episodes of dramatic climate change. Overall, this thesis, a study of stable isotope data from mammalian fossils, contributes to our understanding of ecological conditions during the Pleistocene / Early Holocene in Eurasia. Show less
