Late Pleistocene/Early Holocene Migratory Behavior of Ungulates Using Isotopic Analysis of Tooth Enamel and Its Effects on Forager Mobility

Suzanne E Pilaar Birch; Preston T Miracle; Rhiannon E Stevens; Tamsin C O'Connell

doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0155714

Late Pleistocene/Early Holocene Migratory Behavior of Ungulates Using Isotopic Analysis of Tooth Enamel and Its Effects on Forager Mobility

PLoS One. 2016 Jun 8;11(6):e0155714. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0155714. eCollection 2016.

Authors

Suzanne E Pilaar Birch¹, Preston T Miracle², Rhiannon E Stevens³, Tamsin C O'Connell^{2

4}

Affiliations

¹ Department of Anthropology and Department of Geography, University of Georgia, Athens, Georgia, United States of America.
² Department of Archaeology and Anthropology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, United Kingdom.
³ Institute of Archaeology, University College London, London, United Kingdom.
⁴ McDonald Institute for Archaeological Research, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, United Kingdom.

Abstract

Zooarchaeological and paleoecological investigations have traditionally been unable to reconstruct the ethology of herd animals, which likely had a significant influence on the mobility and subsistence strategies of prehistoric humans. In this paper, we reconstruct the migratory behavior of red deer (Cervus elaphus) and caprids at the Pleistocene-Holocene transition in the northeastern Adriatic region using stable oxygen isotope analysis of tooth enamel. The data show a significant change in δ18O values from the Pleistocene into the Holocene, as well as isotopic variation between taxa, the case study sites, and through time. We then discuss the implications of seasonal faunal availability as determining factors in human mobility patterns.

Publication types

Historical Article

MeSH terms

Animal Migration / physiology*
Animals
Deer / physiology*
Dental Enamel* / chemistry
Dental Enamel* / metabolism
Feeding Behavior / physiology*
Fossils*
History, Ancient
Human Migration*
Humans
Mammals
Oxygen Isotopes / analysis
Oxygen Isotopes / metabolism

Substances

Oxygen Isotopes

Grants and funding

The Gates Cambridge Trust provided funding for SEPB's PhD, of which this research was a part, as well as substantial support for laboratory preparation and stable isotope analysis of the samples. Radiocarbon dates on samples were provided by a University of Oxford Radiocarbon Accelerator Unit/Natural Environment Research Council Grant, #2011/2/12. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.