Late‐glacial remains of woolly mammoth (<i>Mammuthus primigenius</i>) from Shropshire, UK: stratigraphy, sedimentology and geochronology of the Condover site

Scourse, James; Coope, G. Russell; Allen, Judy R M; Lister, Adrian M.; Housley, R. A.; Hedges, R. E. M.; Jones, Amanda; Watkins, Ruth V.

doi:10.1002/gj.1163

Cited by 6 publications

(31 citation statements)

References 28 publications

(34 reference statements)

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“…Originally (Coope and Lister 1987) it was suggested that slopes of at least 40 degrees to the horizontal were present at the time when the mammoths gained access to the hollow, preventing escape. However, Scourse et al (2009) show that collapse happened progressively, and that the contact slopes seen at the modern site represent post-depositional gradients and were never 'land surfaces' as such. The margins of the basin must have been characterized by actual surface slopes for slumping to have occurred, and for water to accumulate, but these would have been considerably lower than the contact slopes now recorded in the stratigraphy ).…”

Section: Taphonomymentioning

confidence: 88%

“…A series of conventional and Accelerator Mass Spectrometry (AMS) dates on adult mammoth tusk, obtained during the late 1980s (Coope and Lister 1987;Lister 1991;Scourse et al 2009) is considered to have been superseded by an AMS date obtained in 2009 using ultrafiltration, as this method has increased both accuracy and precision of dating, especially of vertebrate hard tissue (Jacobi et al 2006).…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…within the mammoth jaws and juvenile cranium, compared to their rarity in the sediment of Unit C1 where the bones were embedded, suggesting that the beetles represent the time when the mammoths lived, but that the bones had sunk into the sediment of Unit C1 (Coope in Scourse et al 2009). Coope also notes that the blowfly puparia were deep in spaces within the skull and mandibles, whereas the sediment with dung beetles was more superficial.…”

Section: Taphonomymentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The bones had been uncovered by a large mechanical digger standing on a field at the edge of the pit and throwing clay and peat deposits onto a spoil heap on the field. Scientific work at the site comprised two linked investigations: (1) a stratigraphic and palaeoenvironmental study based on sections and boreholes in the basin itself Scourse et al 2009), and (2) recovery of the ex-situ mammoth bones from the spoil heap. The latter was undertaken in October-November 1986 and June-July 1987, by AML and G R Coope with the assistance of teams of volunteers recruited locally.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…J. 44: 447-479 (2009 The Condover site is a kettle-hole infill whose stratigraphy and sedimentology are described by Scourse et al (2009). Sediment attaching to mammoth bones strongly suggests that they had originated from Unit C1, a dark grey clayey sandy silt.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

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Late‐glacial mammoth skeletons (Mammuthusprimigenius) from Condover (Shropshire, UK): anatomy, pathology, taphonomy and chronological significance

Lister

2009

Geological Journal

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The Condover mammoths, discovered by chance in 1986, are a remarkably well-preserved assemblage of partial skeletons unique in western and central Europe. The skeletons were preserved in a kettle-hole infill and recovered ex situ, requiring careful anatomical reconstruction. This revealed the skeleton of a 28-year-old adult male woolly mammoth (Mammuthus primigenius), largely complete except for the cranium, the partial skeletons of four or five juveniles in the age range 3-6 years, plus sparse remains of a subadult individual. The adult skeleton bears several traces of pathology, particularly a badly fractured but re-healed scapula. The presence of blowfly puparia within bone cavities, together with other environmental data and a consideration of mammoth biology, allow a detailed reconstruction of the taphonomy of the skeletons, which appear to have become mired within the kettle-hole. The discovery of complete skeletons from a stratified, dated context contributes strong evidence for the survival of mammoths in Britain and western Europe into the Devensian Late-glacial ca. 14.5-14.0 ka cal BP, within Greenland The Condover mammoths were discovered on 27 September 1986, when Mrs Eve Roberts, a local resident, noticed large bones protruding from a pile of sediment at the ARC (Western) gravel pit at Norton Farm, Condover (5 km south of Shrewsbury, map ref. SJ498075). The bones had been uncovered by a large mechanical digger standing on a field at the edge of the pit and throwing clay and peat deposits onto a spoil heap on the field. Scientific work at the site comprised two linked investigations: (1) a stratigraphic and palaeoenvironmental study based on sections and boreholes in the basin itself Scourse et al. 2009), and (2) recovery of the ex-situ mammoth bones from the spoil heap. The latter was undertaken in October-November 1986 and June-July 1987, by AML and G R Coope with the assistance of teams of volunteers recruited locally. The spoil heap was carefully spread over the field using a back-hoe; team members then systematically scanned the muddy deposits for bones. This process was repeated three times until all visible bones had been recovered. In addition, at the end of the excavation (which was time-limited because of ARC's wish to resume gravel extraction), a digger was used to excavate further areas of clay from inside the pit; this resulted in the recovery of further remains including, importantly, two juvenile mammoth mandibles. GEOLOGICAL JOURNAL Geol. J. 44: 447-479 (2009 The Condover site is a kettle-hole infill whose stratigraphy and sedimentology are described by Scourse et al. (2009). Sediment attaching to mammoth bones strongly suggests that they had originated from Unit C1, a dark grey clayey sandy silt. Radiocarbon dates indicate that this sequence accumulated during the earlier part of Greenland Interstadial 1, between 14 and 14.5 ka cal BP ). The rarity of dung beetles in Unit C1, however, compared to their abundance in sediment from within mammoth skull and jaw bones, suggests that the...

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Section: Taphonomymentioning

confidence: 88%

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Taphonomymentioning

confidence: 99%

mentioning

confidence: 99%

mentioning

confidence: 99%

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Late‐glacial mammoth skeletons (Mammuthusprimigenius) from Condover (Shropshire, UK): anatomy, pathology, taphonomy and chronological significance

Lister

2009

Geological Journal

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Palaeoenvironmental context of the Late‐glacial woolly mammoth (Mammuthus primigenius) discoveries at Condover, Shropshire, UK

et al. 2009

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In 1986/1987 the remains of several mammoths, Mammuthus primigenius (Blumenbach), were discovered on the spoil heap of an actively working gravel pit at Condover, Shropshire, England. The discovery of the remains posed two questions that could be addressed by analyses of biological proxies. First, as none of the bones was found in situ it was necessary to confirm the stratum in which the remains occurred. Second, what was the environment in which these animals lived and died? A range of biological indicators was used to address these questions, including pollen, spore and algal, plant macrofossil, invertebrate, anuran and biological mineral analyses. Multivariate statistical analyses of palynological and Pediastrum data, along with evidence from the Coleopteran assemblages, support the attribution of the mammoth bones to a unit of dark grey clayey sandy silt, although they may have lived at the time of the overlying green detritus mud. The palaeobiological data supports the correlation of these sediments to the Devensian Late‐glacial. The mammoths entered this basin at the start of the Late‐glacial Interstadial (Greenland Interstadial 1e) (ca. 14 830—3930 cal. year BP; 12 300 ± 110 14C year BP) and became mired in soft cohesive sediments. Palaeotemperature reconstructions, based on the Coleopteran assemblages, from the time when the mammoths actually became mired, show that the climate was temperate with mean July temperatures between 15 and 19°C and mean January temperatures between −13 and +6°C. Biological indicators from the sediments encasing the mammoths indicate that the landscape surrounding the basin was treeless and dry, contrasting with rich vegetation within the basin itself that had possibly attracted the mammoths to the site. Evidence of sedimentary disturbance suggests that the mammoths caused large‐scale bioturbation of the deposits making palaeoenvironmental interpretations difficult. Fossils of terrestrial blowflies, carcass and dung beetles show that some of the decaying corpses must have lain exposed on the land surface for sufficient time for the soft parts to have rotted away and skin and bones to have become desiccated before many of them sank into the dark grey clayey sandy silt. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

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Extent and timing of the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) in Britain and Ireland: a review

Chiverrell

Thomas

2010

J Quaternary Science

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The Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) of Marine Isotope Stage (MIS) 2 is defined here as the period either of maximum global ice volume or in which major ice sheets reached their maximum extent. Both definitions lack clarity as there is no reason to suppose that maximum volumes or limits were reached simultaneously at either all ice sheets or around the margins of individual ice sheets. Here we review the traditional terrestrial limits of the BIIS (British-Irish Ice Sheet), examine developments in understanding the offshore record, and attempt a redefinition of the extent and timing of the MIS 2 maximum. As a working chronological model the build-up of the BIIS is assigned to after 35-32 ka, the maximum to the period 27-21 ka and a more limited readvance after 19 ka. As marginal oscillations, driven by ice sheet dynamics, appear to have characterised much of the advance, and especially the retreat of the BIIS, caution should be exercised in assigning climatic significance to the many identified ice limits or still-stands. While much of the terrestrial limit in Britain remains relatively unaltered, significant revision is required offshore around Britain and Ireland, to portray an extensive ice advance to the shelf edge and a period when the BIIS was conjoined with the adjacent Fenno-Scandinavian Ice Sheet. Although there appears to be a broad synchrony between the BIIS and other major ice sheets, local controls have produced some variation in the timing of advance to and retreat from maximum limits for particular ice streams or lobes, but much of the offshore limit remains very poorly age constrained. Consequently, a key objective in future research should be to improve and refine the chronological control for all portions of the maximum margin of the BIIS and its subsequent retreat stages.

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Late‐glacial remains of woolly mammoth (Mammuthus primigenius) from Shropshire, UK: stratigraphy, sedimentology and geochronology of the Condover site

Cited by 6 publications

References 28 publications

Late‐glacial mammoth skeletons (Mammuthusprimigenius) from Condover (Shropshire, UK): anatomy, pathology, taphonomy and chronological significance

Late‐glacial mammoth skeletons (Mammuthusprimigenius) from Condover (Shropshire, UK): anatomy, pathology, taphonomy and chronological significance

Palaeoenvironmental context of the Late‐glacial woolly mammoth (Mammuthus primigenius) discoveries at Condover, Shropshire, UK

Extent and timing of the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) in Britain and Ireland: a review

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