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Roditi E, Bocherens H, Konidaris GE, Athanassiou A, Tourloukis V, Karkanas P, Panagopoulou E, Harvati K. Life-history of Palaeoloxodon antiquus reveals Middle Pleistocene glacial refugium in the Megalopolis basin, Greece. Sci Rep 2024; 14:1390. [PMID: 38228659 PMCID: PMC10791645 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-024-51592-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/26/2023] [Accepted: 01/07/2024] [Indexed: 01/18/2024] Open
Abstract
The Balkans are considered a major glacial refugium where flora and fauna survived glacial periods and repopulated the rest of Europe during interglacials. While it is also thought to have harboured Pleistocene human populations, evidence linking human activity, paleoenvironmental indicators and a secure temporal placement to glacial periods is scant. Here, we present the first intra-tooth multi-isotope analysis for the European straight-tusked elephant Palaeoloxodon antiquus, on an adult male individual excavated in association with lithic artefacts at the MIS 12 site Marathousa 1 (Megalopolis basin, Greece). The studied find also exhibits anthropogenic modifications, providing direct evidence of hominin presence. We employed strontium, carbon and oxygen isotope analysis on enamel bioapatite to investigate its foraging and mobility behaviour, using a sequential sampling strategy along the tooth growth axis of the third upper molar, to assess ecological changes during the last decade of life. We found a geographically restricted range, in a C3-dominated open woodland environment, and relatively stable conditions over the examined timeframe. Our results show that, despite the severity of the MIS 12 glacial, the Megalopolis basin sustained a mesic habitat, sufficient plant cover and limited seasonal fluctuations in resource availability, pointing to its role as a glacial refugium for both fauna and hominins.
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Affiliation(s)
- Effrosyni Roditi
- Paleoanthropology, Institute for Archaeological Sciences, Department of Geosciences, Eberhard Karls University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany
| | - Hervé Bocherens
- Biogeology, Department of Geosciences, Eberhard Karls University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany
- Senckenberg Centre for Human Evolution and Paleoenvironment, University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany
| | - George E Konidaris
- Paleoanthropology, Institute for Archaeological Sciences, Department of Geosciences, Eberhard Karls University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany
- Senckenberg Centre for Human Evolution and Paleoenvironment, University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany
| | | | - Vangelis Tourloukis
- Paleoanthropology, Institute for Archaeological Sciences, Department of Geosciences, Eberhard Karls University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany
- Department of History and Archaeology, School of Philosophy, University of Ioannina, Ioannina, Greece
| | - Panagiotis Karkanas
- M.H. Wiener Laboratory for Archaeological Science, American School of Classical Studies, Athens, Greece
| | - Eleni Panagopoulou
- Hellenic Ministry of Culture, Ephorate of Paleoanthropology-Speleology, Athens, Greece
| | - Katerina Harvati
- Paleoanthropology, Institute for Archaeological Sciences, Department of Geosciences, Eberhard Karls University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany.
- Senckenberg Centre for Human Evolution and Paleoenvironment, University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany.
- DFG Centre for Advanced Studies 'Words, Bones, Genes, Tools', Eberhard Karls University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany.
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Plastiras CA, Thiery G, Guy F, Alba DM, Nishimura T, Kostopoulos DS, Merceron G. Investigating the dietary niches of fossil Plio-Pleistocene European macaques: The case of Macaca majori Azzaroli, 1946 from Sardinia. J Hum Evol 2023; 185:103454. [PMID: 37977021 DOI: 10.1016/j.jhevol.2023.103454] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/03/2022] [Revised: 10/02/2023] [Accepted: 10/02/2023] [Indexed: 11/19/2023]
Abstract
The genus Macaca includes medium- to large-bodied monkeys and represents one of the most diverse primate genera, also having a very large geographic range. Nowadays, wild macaque populations are found in Asia and Africa, inhabiting a wide array of habitats. Fossil macaques were also present in Europe from the Late Miocene until the Late Pleistocene. Macaques are considered ecologically flexible monkeys that exhibit highly opportunistic dietary strategies, which may have been critical to their evolutionary success. Nevertheless, available ecological information regarding fossil European species is very sparse, limiting our knowledge of their evolutionary history in this geographic area. To further our understanding of fossil European macaque ecology, we investigated the dietary ecology of Macaca majori, an insular endemic species from Sardinia. In particular, we characterized the dental capabilities and potential dietary adaptations of M. majori through dental topographic and enamel thickness analyses of two M2s from the Early Pleistocene site of Capo Figari (1.8 Ma). We also assessed its diet through dental microwear texture analysis, while the microwear texture of M. majori was also compared with microwear textures from other European fossil macaques from mainland Europe. The dental topographic and enamel thickness analyses suggest that M. majori frequently consumes hard/mechanically challenging and/or abrasive foods. The results of the dental microwear analysis are consistent with this interpretation and further suggest that M. majori probably exhibited more durophagous dietary habits than mainland Plio-Pleistocene macaques. Overall, our results indicate that M. majori probably occupied a different dietary niche compared to its mainland fossil relatives, which suggests that they may have inhabited different paleoenvironments.
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Affiliation(s)
- Christos Alexandros Plastiras
- Laboratory of Geology and Palaeontology, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, 54 124 Thessaloniki, Greece; PALEVOPRIM - UMR 7262 CNRS-INEE, Université de Poitiers, 86073 Poitiers Cedex, France.
| | - Ghislain Thiery
- PALEVOPRIM - UMR 7262 CNRS-INEE, Université de Poitiers, 86073 Poitiers Cedex, France
| | - Franck Guy
- PALEVOPRIM - UMR 7262 CNRS-INEE, Université de Poitiers, 86073 Poitiers Cedex, France
| | - David M Alba
- Insitut Català de Paleontologia Miquel Crusafont, Universitat Auntònoma de Barcelona, Edifici ICTA-ICP, c/ Columnes s/n, Campus de la UAB, 08193 Cerdanyola del Vallès, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Takeshi Nishimura
- Center for the Evolutionary Origins of Human Behavior, Kyoto University, 41-2 Kanrin, Inuyama, Aichi 484-8506, Japan
| | - Dimitris S Kostopoulos
- Laboratory of Geology and Palaeontology, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, 54 124 Thessaloniki, Greece
| | - Gildas Merceron
- PALEVOPRIM - UMR 7262 CNRS-INEE, Université de Poitiers, 86073 Poitiers Cedex, France
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Fidalgo D, Rosas A, Estalrrich A, García-Tabernero A, Pastor FJ, Pineda A, Huguet R, Cáceres I, Ollé A, Vallverdú J, Saladie P. First presence of Macaca sylvanus at the late Early Pleistocene of Barranc de la Boella (La Mina locality, Francolí Basin, NE Iberia). J Hum Evol 2023; 179:103368. [PMID: 37094515 DOI: 10.1016/j.jhevol.2023.103368] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/29/2022] [Revised: 03/23/2023] [Accepted: 03/23/2023] [Indexed: 04/26/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Darío Fidalgo
- Department of Palaeobiology, Museo Nacional de Ciencias Naturales (CSIC), c/ José Gutiérrez Abascal 2, 28006, Madrid, Spain.
| | - Antonio Rosas
- Department of Palaeobiology, Museo Nacional de Ciencias Naturales (CSIC), c/ José Gutiérrez Abascal 2, 28006, Madrid, Spain.
| | - Almudena Estalrrich
- Grupo de I+D+i EVOADAPTA (Evolución Humana y Adaptaciones Económicas y Ecológicas durante la Prehistoria), Dpto. Ciencias Históricas, Universidad de Cantabria, Av/Los Castros 44, 39005, Santander, Spain; Department of Anthropology, University of Arkansas, 330 Old Main, Fayetteville, AR, 72701, USA
| | - Antonio García-Tabernero
- Department of Palaeobiology, Museo Nacional de Ciencias Naturales (CSIC), c/ José Gutiérrez Abascal 2, 28006, Madrid, Spain
| | - Francisco J Pastor
- Departamento de Anatomía y Radiología, Museo de Anatomía, Universidad de Valladolid, 47005, Valladolid, Spain
| | - Antonio Pineda
- UMR 7194 HNHP (MNHN-CNRS-UPVD), Département Homme et Environnement, Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle, 1 rue René Panhard, 75013, Paris, France; Institut Català de Paleoecologia Humana i Evolució Social (IPHES-CERCA), Zona Educacional 4, Campus Sescelades URV (Edifci W3), 43007, Tarragona, Spain
| | - Rosa Huguet
- Institut Català de Paleoecologia Humana i Evolució Social (IPHES-CERCA), Zona Educacional 4, Campus Sescelades URV (Edifci W3), 43007, Tarragona, Spain; Departament d'Història i Història de l'Art, Universitat Rovira i Virgili (URV), Avinguda de Catalunya, 35, 43002, Tarragona, Spain; Unit Associated to CSIC, Departamento de Paleobiología, Museo Nacional de Ciencias Naturales, c/ José Gutiérrez Abascal 2, 28006, Madrid, Spain
| | - Isabel Cáceres
- Institut Català de Paleoecologia Humana i Evolució Social (IPHES-CERCA), Zona Educacional 4, Campus Sescelades URV (Edifci W3), 43007, Tarragona, Spain; Departament d'Història i Història de l'Art, Universitat Rovira i Virgili (URV), Avinguda de Catalunya, 35, 43002, Tarragona, Spain
| | - Andreu Ollé
- Institut Català de Paleoecologia Humana i Evolució Social (IPHES-CERCA), Zona Educacional 4, Campus Sescelades URV (Edifci W3), 43007, Tarragona, Spain; Departament d'Història i Història de l'Art, Universitat Rovira i Virgili (URV), Avinguda de Catalunya, 35, 43002, Tarragona, Spain
| | - Josep Vallverdú
- Institut Català de Paleoecologia Humana i Evolució Social (IPHES-CERCA), Zona Educacional 4, Campus Sescelades URV (Edifci W3), 43007, Tarragona, Spain; Departament d'Història i Història de l'Art, Universitat Rovira i Virgili (URV), Avinguda de Catalunya, 35, 43002, Tarragona, Spain; Unit Associated to CSIC, Departamento de Paleobiología, Museo Nacional de Ciencias Naturales, c/ José Gutiérrez Abascal 2, 28006, Madrid, Spain
| | - Palmira Saladie
- Institut Català de Paleoecologia Humana i Evolució Social (IPHES-CERCA), Zona Educacional 4, Campus Sescelades URV (Edifci W3), 43007, Tarragona, Spain; Departament d'Història i Història de l'Art, Universitat Rovira i Virgili (URV), Avinguda de Catalunya, 35, 43002, Tarragona, Spain; Unit Associated to CSIC, Departamento de Paleobiología, Museo Nacional de Ciencias Naturales, c/ José Gutiérrez Abascal 2, 28006, Madrid, Spain
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