Middle HoloceneBisondiet and mobility in the eastern Great Plains (USA) based onδ¹³C,δ¹⁸O, and⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr analyses of tooth enamel carbonate

Abstract

During the Holocene, bison (Bison bison) were key components of the Great Plains landscape. This study utilizes serial stable isotope analyses (tooth enamel carbonate) of 29 individuals from five middle Holocene (∽ 7–8.5·ka) archaeological sites to address seasonal variability in movement patterns and grazing behavior of bison populations in the eastern Great Plains. Stable carbon isotopes (δ13C) indicate a bison diet that is similar to the C3/C4 composition of modern tallgrass prairies, while 87Sr/86Sr values generally indicate very little seasonal movement (b50 km) and relatively limited inter-annual movement (b500 km) over the course of 4–5 yr. Analyses of variability in serial stable oxygen isotope samples (δ18O) further substantiate a model of localized bison herds that adhered to upland areas of the eastern Plains and prairie–forest border.

Neandertal mobility and large-game hunting: The exploitation of reindeer during the Quina Mousterian at Chez-Pinaud Jonzac (Charente-Maritime, France)

“…For example, these data show that in Pleistocene North America, bison migrated seasonally in a ca. 50 km radius (Widga et al, 2010), while horses tended to move locally with a maximum range of w150 km (Hoppe and Koch, 2007). Strontium isotope data from E. hydruntinus (European ass) indicated similarly residential behavior for this species in Italy during the Late Pleistocene/Early Holocene (Pellegrini et al, 2008).…”

Isotope paleoecology of episodic mid-to-late Holocene bison population expansions in the Southern Plains, U.S.A.

“…Bison are generally associated with habitats ranging from grasslands to boreal forests (McDonald, 1981), but in prehistoric times were sensitive to climatic and environmental changes that affected the quality and availability of forage (Koch et al, 2004;Widga et al, 2010). Modern bison are predominantly, though not exclusively, grazers, subsisting primarily on grasses but occasionally including browse into their diet (Bamforth, 1988;Owen-Smith, 2008).…”

A refined sampling strategy for intra-tooth stable isotope analysis of mammalian enamel

“…Because the sequence of tooth formation is ontogenetically constrained and varies according to species, this research provided the framework required to interpret the variations measured in archaeological and palaeontological specimens. Intra-tooth isotope variations in fossil teeth have been used to provide insights into seasonal variability in birth, movement patterns and dietary ecology of wild and domestic animals (e.g., Balasse et al, 2002Balasse et al, , 2006Zazzo et al, 2002;Pellegrini et al, 2008;Widga et al, 2010;Britton et al, 2011), to propose quantitative reconstructions of paleoclimate (e.g., Sharma et al, 2004;Bernard et al, 2009;Higgins and MacFadden, 2009;Fabre et al, 2011) and paleoelevation (e.g., Dettman et al, 2001;Kohn et al, 2002). The majority of these studies focus on recent (Holocene and Quaternary) specimens but some extend to the Mesozoic (Stanton Thomas and Carlson, 2004;Straight et al, 2004;Botha et al, 2005) thanks to the good preservation of tooth enamel isotope compositions during fossilization (Wang and Cerling, 1994;Zazzo et al, 2004a).…”