Testing the Paleo-Agulhas Plain Migration Ecosystem hypothesis with serial isotope analysis of fossil fauna

Summary

In contrast to Holocene sites, late Pleistocene sites along the South African south coast are dominated by large and medium-sized ungulates, many of which are typical of open-habitat grasslands and migration ecosystems. During much of the late Pleistocene, sea levels were substantially lower, exposing the Paleo-Agulhas Plain up to 100 km south of the modern coastline. The Migration Ecosystem hypothesis proposes that the Paleo-Agulhas Plain supported a migration ecosystem driven by summer rainfall producing fresh green grass during summer in the east, and winter rainfall producing fresh green grass during winter in the west. We tested the migration hypothesis with serial samples of strontium, carbon, and oxygen isotopes in fossil fauna enamel from Pinnacle Point sites PP13B and PP30. We also created a bioavailable strontium isoscape for the region. Results indicate that bioavailable strontium is strongly influenced by marine sources, as well as bedrock geology. Strontium isotopes of the fauna vary by less than 0.0005 within each individual, and suggest that most animals spent their time on or near the Paleo-Agulhas plain, not further inland. Carbon and oxygen isotopes of potentially migratory individuals are consistent with east-west movements, showing evidence for consumption of C3 and C4 grasses in varying proportions.

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This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Building the hunter-gatherer’s paleoscape on the South African coast: Environment, landscape, and foraging resources   •
• Society for American Archaeology 80th Annual Meeting, San Francisco, CA (2015)

Keywords

Spatial Coverage