abstract: This research addresses human adaptive decisions made at the Pleistocene-Holocene transition - the transition from the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) to the climate regime in which humankind now lives - in the Mediterranean region of southeast Spain. Although on a geological time scale the Pleistocene-Holocene transition is the latest in a series of widespread environmental transformations due to glacial-interglacial cycles, it is the only one for which we have a record of the response by modern humans. Mediterranean Spain lay outside the refugium areas of late Pleistocene Europe, in which advancing ice sheets limited the land available for subsistence and caused relative demographic packing of hunter-gatherers. Therefore, the archaeological records of Mediterranean Spain contain more generally applicable states of the Pleistocene-Holocene transition, making it a natural laboratory for research on human adaptation to an environmental transformation. Foragers in Mediterranean Spain appear to have primarily adapted to macroclimatic change by extending their social networks to access new subsistence resources and by changing the mix of traditional relationships. Comparing faunal records from two cave sites near the Mediterranean coast with Geographic Information System (GIS) reconstructions of the coastal littoral plain from the LGM to the Holocene indicates the loss of the large ungulate species (mainly Bos primigenius and Equus) at one site coincided with the associated littoral disappearing due to sea level rise in the late Upper Paleolithic. Farther north, where portions of the associated littoral remained due to a larger initial mass and a more favorable topography, the species represented in the faunal record were constant through time. Social boundary defense definitions of territory require arranging social relationships in order to access even this lightly populated new hunting area on the interior plain. That the values of the least-cost-paths fit the parameters of two models equating varying degrees of social alliance with direct travel distances also helps support the hypothesis that foragers in Mediterranean Spain adapted to the consequences of macroclimatic change by extending their social networks to gain access to new subsistence resources Keeping these relationships stable and reliable was a mitigating factor in the mobility patterns of foragers during this period from direct travel to more distant down-the-line exchange. Information about changing conditions and new circumstances flowed along these same networks of social relationships. The consequences of climate-induced environmental changes are already a concern in the world, and human decisions in regard to future conditions are built upon past precedents. As the response to environmental risk centers on increasing the resilience of vulnerable smallholders, archaeology has an opportunity to apply its long-term perspective in the search for answers / Dissertation/Thesis / Ph.D. Anthropology 2013

A century of intermittent archaeological research in the Azraq Basin of the eastern desert of Jordan has demonstrated that a long period of hominin occupation exists in this environmentally inhospitable region during the Pleistocene. Recent excavations at the site of Shishan Marsh 1 in the Azraq Basin have uncovered several artifact-bearing layers that correspond to the Middle (266 ± 40 kya) and Upper (125 ± 12 kya) Pleistocene. An examination of paleoclimatic data from this period indicates predominantly warm and dry conditions in the region and a gradual reduction of water availability. These factors forced hominins to modify their resource acquisition strategies and exploit the receding spring- and wadi-fed Azraq wetlands. This dissertation investigates the nature of lithic procurement strategies practiced by hominins at Shishan Marsh 1, a Middle-Upper Pleistocene site in the former wetlands, during periods of environmental stress. It involves a provenance analysis of sources within the region and a sample of lithic artifacts from Shishan Marsh 1 through laser ablation-inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry (LA-ICP-MS). The results indicate that the artifacts were procured from local and regional sources and likely through embedded procurement in an effort to provision individuals. They further provide insight into the nature of survival within the Azraq Basin, as hominin groups performed tethered mobility whereby they contracted around the Azraq wetlands. In this case, this stable water source operated as a desert refugium for hominins within the Azraq Basin. / Graduate / 2021-11-13

Ongoing investigation of peccary remains from fossiliferous deposits in the Yucatán resulted in re-examination of previously identified tayassuid fossils from the region. This included the recently described new genus and species of peccary, Muknalia minima, which is based on a dentary from Muknal Cave near Tulum, Quintana Roo, Mexico. Diagnostic characters of this taxon include a concave notch along the caudal edge of the ascending ramus and a ventrally directed angular process. Our assessment of the holotype indicates that these characteristics are not a reflection of the original morphology, but are instead the result of breakage and polishing of the posterior aspect of the dentary. Measurements and intact morphological features indicate the Muknal Cave specimen belongs to the extant collared peccary, Pecari tajacu.

The Quaternary record of fossil snakes (Reptilia, Squamata) in Asia is extremely rare; any information is noteworthy. An articulated snake skeleton was recovered from the early Pleistocene (2.15–2.14 Ma) deposits in Renzidong Cave, Yangtze River Valley, east-central China. The skeleton contains about 122 nearly complete vertebrae but lacks the cranium and caudal vertebrae. Preserved vertebral characters indicate that the snake is particularly similar to the rat snake, Elaphe (Colubridae) especially with the European Elaphe praelongissima (late Miocene). We identify the specimen as cf. Elaphe sp. This genus and ‘Coluber s.l.’ are unfortunately similar and difficult to differentiate based on just vertebral comparisons of species living in Europe. Adequate comparative skeletons of living snakes of eastern Asia are noticeably absent in museums making identifications of fossil specimens less than satisfactory. Finding dated fossil remains of the snake Elaphe in Asia holds importance to the understanding of its time of dispersal between Asia, Europe and North America, but this can only be adequately examined with fossil remains accurately and satisfactorily identified.

Here is provided the first description of Pleistocene lizards recovered from five caves (Baikong, Juyuan, Queque, Sanhe, and Zhiren) in Chongzuo, Zuo River area of Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, southern China. Lizard remains reported here come from faunas that include Gigantopithecus blacki or Homo sapiens dating from the Early to Late Pleistocene with age-range estimates from 2.0Ma to 111ka. The recovery of agamids (Agamidae), skinks (Scincidae), a large species of Gekko, and smaller forms of gekkonids (Gekkonidae) is of interest in that the diversity of lizards for the caves is high given the extremely small sample size from the deposits. The description of cf. Draco reported here is the first indication of the possible occurrence of this genus in the Pleistocene record. Southern China and the adjacent territories in Vietnam and Laos have a diverse lizard fauna today. Cave deposits with established chronologies in the local karst regions such as recovered in Chongzuo, can help record the diversity within the local lizard community through time. Although the fossil lizards reported here appear to represent mammalian prey remains (highly fragmented), caves that contain owl roost pellet deposits might represent a more diverse squamate community with the additional advantage of having specimens that are not as fragmented. Because a Pleistocene-age lizard record does occur in the caves reported here, in all likelihood equivalent deposits should occur in the numerous caves throughout southern China and Southeast Asia.

Ochotonids (pikas) are an ancient group of mammals originating in the Oligocene of Asia and flourishing in the Miocene of the Old World. During the Pliocene they reduced both their diversity and abundance, Only the Pleistocene genus Ochotona survived to the present. Their current geographic diversity is concentrated in Asia, where 28 species exist today. Outside of Asia, ochotonids are represented by one living species in Europe and two living species in North America. There were likely three main immigrations to North America since the Miocene: (1) at the beginning of the Miocene represented by the appearance of Oreolagus; (2) at the Miocene- Pliocene boundary represented by the appearance of Ochotona spanglei; and (3) during the Early Pleistocene with the appearance of Ochotona whartoni, and small pikas close to the "Ochotona pusilla group". Extant, endemic North American species appear in the Pleistocene.

Research on squamate evolution of Australia has predominantly focused on the eastern portion of the continent, whereas little is known about the record from Western Australia. Deposits in Devils Lair provide a glimpse of late Pleistocene Egernia group skink representation from the Cape Leeuwin-Naturaliste region of southwestern Western Australia. Previous studies of fossils from the cave indicate a peak in the number of lizard remains during the last glacial maximum, a time when mammal and charcoal remains suggest an open, dry environment. Previous studies of Devils Lair have not attempted to identify lizard remains beyond 'lizard'. Here, we identify Egernia group lizard remains as Liopholis spp., Egernia spp., Lissolepis spp. and Tiliqua rugosa, which range in age from ca 48000 to 13000 yr B.P.

We present the first fossil record of Procyon cancrivorus (Cuvier, 1798) for Argentina. Specimen PVE-F 44 (first lower molar) was exhumed from levels assignable to the Late Pleistocene (Lujanian) in the coastal cliffs of the Bermejo river in the vicinity of Villa Escolar, Formosa (26°36'S, 58°40 W). This is also the first South American record of Procyon with accurate stratigraphic provenance, since previous records from Brazil lack stratigraphic context. Procyonids are represented in South America by five living genera (Bassaricyon Allen, Nasuella Hollister, Potos Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire and Cuvier, Procyon Storr and Nasua Storr). Of these, only Procyon and Nasua have paleontological records (Late Pleistocene-Holocene) in Brazil, Uruguay and Bolivia. The results of geometric and traditional morphometric analyses comparing specimen PVE-F 44 with the two known Procyon species (P. cancrivorus and P. lotor) indicates the specimen belongs to the South American species P. cancrivorus. In addition, the associated palaeofauna is composed by intertropical (e.g., Holmesina paulacoutoi) and pampean-patagonian elements (e.g., Megatherium, Toxodon, Glyptodon, Pampatherium typum).

The palaeodiet of seven bovids from Makapansgat Limeworks Cave are analysed using dental mesowear. Results suggest that Tragelaphus pricei had a highly attritional diet and was thus a browser. Tragelaphus sp. aff. T. angasii and Aepyceros sp. were also browsers, having diets similar in texture to the extant mule deer (Odocoileus hemionus). Gazella vanhoepeni had an intermediate attrition-abrasion wear signal and groups most closely with extant mixed feeders. Redunca darti and Makapania broomi are at the abrasion end of the wear continuum and cluster with living grazers, such as the hippotragines and reduncines. Parmularius braini had a highly abrasive diet similar to extreme grazers like the American bison (Bison bison) and topi (Damaliscus lunatus). The bovid mesowear data were compared to previous palaeodietary studies using taxonomic uniformitarianism, ecomorphology (hypsodonty), and stable carbon isotopes on the same Makapansgat taxa. This comparison showed that the mesowear results are most closely in-line with the isotope data, both of which are non-genetic signals that reflect diet during an extended portion of an animal's life.

The Great American Biotic Interchange is considered to be a punctuated process, primarily occurring during four major pulses that began approximately 2.5 Ma. Central America and southeastern Mexico have a poor fossil record of this dynamic faunal history due to tropical climates. Exploration of submerged caves in the Yucatán, particularly the natural trap Hoyo Negro, is exposing a rich and remarkably well-preserved late Pleistocene fauna. Radiometric dates on megafauna range from approximately 38 400-12 850 cal BP, and extinct species include the ursid Arctotherium wingei and canid Protocyon troglodytes. Both genera were previously thought to be indigenous to and confined to South America and appear to represent an instance of large placental mammals, descended from North American progenitors, migrating back north across the Panama Isthmus. This discovery expands the distribution of these carnivorans greater than 2000 km outside South America. Their presence along with a diverse sloth assemblage suggests a more complex history of these organisms in Middle America. We suggest that landscape and ecological changes caused by latest Pleistocene glaciation supported an interchange pulse that included A. wingei, P. troglodytes and Homo sapiens.