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Penkman KE, Preece RC, Bridgland DR, Keen DH, Meijer T, Parfitt SA, White TS, Collins MJ. An aminostratigraphy for the British Quaternary based on Bithynia opercula. QUATERNARY SCIENCE REVIEWS 2013; 61:111-134. [PMID: 23396683 PMCID: PMC3566634 DOI: 10.1016/j.quascirev.2012.10.046] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/27/2012] [Revised: 10/12/2012] [Accepted: 10/17/2012] [Indexed: 05/28/2023]
Abstract
Aminostratigraphies of Quaternary non-marine deposits in Europe have been previously based on the racemization of a single amino acid in aragonitic shells from land and freshwater molluscs. The value of analysing multiple amino acids from the opercula of the freshwater gastropod Bithynia, which are composed of calcite, has been demonstrated. The protocol used for the isolation of intra-crystalline proteins from shells has been applied to these calcitic opercula, which have been shown to more closely approximate a closed system for indigenous protein residues. Original amino acids are even preserved in bithyniid opercula from the Eocene, showing persistence of indigenous organics for over 30 million years. Geochronological data from opercula are superior to those from shells in two respects: first, in showing less natural variability, and second, in the far better preservation of the intra-crystalline proteins, possibly resulting from the greater stability of calcite. These features allow greater temporal resolution and an extension of the dating range beyond the early Middle Pleistocene. Here we provide full details of the analyses for 480 samples from 100 horizons (75 sites), ranging from Late Pliocene to modern. These show that the dating technique is applicable to the entire Quaternary. Data are provided from all the stratotypes from British stages to have yielded opercula, which are shown to be clearly separable using this revised method. Further checks on the data are provided by reference to other type-sites for different stages (including some not formally defined). Additional tests are provided by sites with independent geochronology, or which can be associated with a terrace stratigraphy or biostratigraphy. This new aminostratigraphy for the non-marine Quaternary deposits of southern Britain provides a framework for understanding the regional geological and archaeological record. Comparison with reference to sites yielding independent geochronology, in combination with other lines of evidence, allows tentative correlation with the marine oxygen isotope record.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kirsty E.H. Penkman
- BioArCh, Departments of Archaeology & Chemistry, University of York, York YO10 5DD, UK
| | - Richard C. Preece
- Department of Zoology, University of Cambridge, Downing Street, Cambridge CB2 3EJ, UK
| | - David R. Bridgland
- Department of Geography, University of Durham, South Road, Durham DH1 3LE, UK
| | - David H. Keen
- Institute of Archaeology and Antiquity, University of Birmingham, Birmingham B15 2TT, UK
| | - Tom Meijer
- Cainozoic Mollusca, Netherlands Centre for Biodiversity, Naturalis, P.O. Box 9517, 2300 RA Leiden, The Netherlands
| | - Simon A. Parfitt
- Institute of Archaeology, University College London, 31-34 Gordon Square, London WC1H 0PY, UK
- Department of Palaeontology, The Natural History Museum, Cromwell Road, London SW7 5BD, UK
| | - Tom S. White
- Department of Zoology, University of Cambridge, Downing Street, Cambridge CB2 3EJ, UK
| | - Matthew J. Collins
- BioArCh, Departments of Archaeology & Chemistry, University of York, York YO10 5DD, UK
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Technology and Landscape Use in the Early Middle Palaeolithic of the Thames Valley. ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 2011. [DOI: 10.1016/b978-0-444-53597-9.00006-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 03/19/2023]
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Penkman K, Preece R, Keen D, Maddy D, Schreve D, Collins M. Testing the aminostratigraphy of fluvial archives: the evidence from intra-crystalline proteins within freshwater shells. QUATERNARY SCIENCE REVIEWS 2007; 26:2958-2969. [PMID: 19684880 PMCID: PMC2727059 DOI: 10.1016/j.quascirev.2007.06.034] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/27/2007] [Accepted: 06/27/2007] [Indexed: 05/17/2023]
Abstract
Until recently few studies of amino acid racemization of fossil bivalves and gastropods collected from river terrace deposits in Europe were based on the analysis of the intra-crystalline fraction. Instead they were based on the epimerization (racemization) of a single amino acid, isoleucine, and its inter-conversion to alloisoleucine. This paper presents data from the analysis of the intra-crystalline fraction of the shells, using a preparation technique of sample bleaching to remove the leachable matrix, thus leaving a component that exhibits closed-system behaviour. Reverse-phase HPLC separation with fluorescence detection allows the interpretation of four amino acids in detail: aspartic acid, glutamic acid, alanine and valine. The intra-crystalline fraction offers greater potential for improved resolution, especially when combined with the analysis of multiple amino acid d/l values, which racemize at different rates. This is explored using three species of freshwater gastropods (Bithynia tentaculata and troschelii, Valvata piscinalis) and the bivalve Corbicula. Sites of different ages within the Lower Thames river terrace sequence are used as a stratigraphical framework, with samples from other southern UK sites providing supplementary evidence. The results indicate better resolution using the intra-crystalline fraction over that obtained using unbleached shells, with differentiation possible at sites of up to MIS 7 age. However, for older sites, although values are always higher, the separation is less successful. A species effect has been identified between the gastropod shells. Despite the analysis of intra-crystalline protein, amino acid data from Corbicula remain problematical. Preliminary data on the opercula from Bithynia indicate that better resolution is possible, particularly at older sites.
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Affiliation(s)
- K.E.H. Penkman
- BioArch, Departments of Biology, Archaeology and Chemistry, Biology S Block, University of York, P.O. Box 373, York YO10 5YW, UK
- Corresponding author. Tel.: +44 1904 328824; fax: +44 1904 328505.
| | - R.C. Preece
- Department of Zoology, University of Cambridge, Downing Street, Cambridge CB2 3EJ, UK
| | - D.H. Keen
- Institute of Archaeology and Antiquity, University of Birmingham, Birmingham B15 2TT, UK
| | - D. Maddy
- School of Geography, Politics and Sociology, Daysh Building, Newcastle University, Newcastle-upon-Tyne NE1 7RU, UK
| | - D.C. Schreve
- Department of Geography, Royal Holloway, University of London, Egham, Surrey TW20 0EX, UK
| | - M.J. Collins
- BioArch, Departments of Biology, Archaeology and Chemistry, Biology S Block, University of York, P.O. Box 373, York YO10 5YW, UK
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