scholarly journals Are land snail a signature for the Mesolithic-Neolithic transition

2004 ◽  
Vol 31 ◽  
pp. 1-24 ◽  
Author(s):  
David Lubell
Keyword(s):  
Late Pleistocene ◽  
Broad Spectrum ◽  
Food Production ◽  
Mediterranean Region ◽  
Nutritional Value ◽  
Land Snail ◽  
Land Snails ◽  
Archaeological Sites ◽  
Neolithic Transition ◽  
Middle Holocene

Edible land snails, representing food remains, are frequently very abundant in late Pleistocene and early-middle Holocene archaeological sites throughout the circum-Mediterranean region. As such, they appear to represent a signature for a broad spectrum subsistence base as first conceived by Flannery in 1969, and therefore must be in some way related to the transition from foraging to food production. This paper investigates the implications that can be drawn from the presence of these snails through information on their ecology, biology, behaviour and nutritional value as well as the behaviour of the prehistoric human groups who collected and consumed them.

scholarly journals Persistent Early to Middle Holocene tropical foraging in southwestern Amazonia

2019 ◽  
Vol 5 (4) ◽  
pp. eaav5449 ◽  
Author(s):  
José M. Capriles ◽  
Umberto Lombardo ◽  
Blaine Maley ◽  
Carlos Zuna ◽  
Heinz Veit ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Food Production ◽  
Environmental Stability ◽  
Archaeological Sites ◽  
Complex Societies ◽  
Middle Holocene ◽  
Tropical Landscapes ◽  
Human Burials ◽  
Tropical Lowlands ◽  
Southwestern Amazonia ◽  
Forest Islands

The Amazon witnessed the emergence of complex societies after 2500 years ago that altered tropical landscapes through intensive agriculture and managed aquatic systems. However, very little is known about the context and conditions that preceded these social and environmental transformations. Here, we demonstrate that forest islands in the Llanos de Moxos of southwestern Amazonia contain human burials and represent the earliest settlements in the region between 10,600 and 4000 years ago. These archaeological sites and their contents represent the earliest evidence of communities that experienced conditions conducive to engaging with food production such as environmental stability, resource disturbance, and increased territoriality in the Amazonian tropical lowlands.

Rainfall in the Negev Desert during the Middle Holocene, Based on 13C of Organic Matter in Land Snail Shells

1990 ◽  
Vol 34 (2) ◽  
pp. 186-197 ◽  
Author(s):  
Glenn A. Goodfriend
Keyword(s):  
Organic Matter ◽  
Transition Zone ◽  
Plant Communities ◽  
Stable Carbon Isotope ◽  
Land Snail ◽  
Land Snails ◽  
Negev Desert ◽  
Annual Rainfall ◽  
Middle Holocene ◽  
The Family

AbstractAnalysis of stable carbon isotope ratios (13C/12C) of organic matter in land snail shells is used to infer middle Holocene rainfall amounts in the Negev Desert by reconstructing the distribution of C4 plants in the family Chenopodiaceae. The organics are derived from the diet of the snails, which consists of plant material, and are enriched in 13C where C4 plants are present. A survey of modern plant communities indicates that in areas receiving ≥300 mm mean annual rainfall, nearly all plant communities consist of C3 species only (no C4 chenopodes), whereas in areas under ≤230 mm rainfall, most plant communities contain one or more C4 chenopode species. In between is a transition zone consisting of a mosaic of both pure C3 and mixed C3 + C4 plant communities. Isotopic results for fossil land snails indicate a consistent geographic pattern throughout the middle Holocene, from ca. 6500 to 3000 yr B.P., with the transition zone located ca. 20 km south of its present position. This implies a near doubling of rainfall within this region as compared to present.

The lost paradise of snails: Transformation of the middle-Holocene forest ecosystems in Bohemia, Czech Republic, as revealed by declining land snail diversity

The Holocene ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 30 (9) ◽  
pp. 1254-1265 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lucie Juřičková ◽  
Petr Šída ◽  
Jitka Horáčková ◽  
Vojen Ložek ◽  
Petr Pokorný
Keyword(s):  
Czech Republic ◽  
Bronze Age ◽  
Late Holocene ◽  
Sedimentary Environment ◽  
Land Snail ◽  
Land Snails ◽  
Anthropogenic Pressure ◽  
Middle Holocene ◽  
Mollusc Assemblages ◽  
Wet Climate

We studied the transformation of a middle-to-late Holocene forested ecosystem using the highly indicative remains of land snails. The study areas were sandstone landscapes of northern Bohemia (Czech Republic) that provide extremely rich terrestrial fossil records. As far as we know, nowhere else in the world does such a type of sedimentary environment provide Holocene records of snail shells. Currently, these sandstone landscapes are covered by low productivity coniferous forests with very low species pools. In sharp contrast, in the middle Holocene, they were dominated by species-rich productive woodland communities. Such ecosystems were then supported by a favourable warm and wet climate and by nutrient-rich, calcareous substrata formed of late Pleistocene aeolian dust (loess). A radical transformation of this temporal ecological equilibrium began in the third millennium BC. Over the next millennia, the species-rich canopy forest mollusc assemblages almost completely disappeared, together with calciphilous rock dwellers. The main driving force of this transformation was gradual soil leaching that resulted in the loss of calcium carbonate and principal nutrients (like P and N) and subsequent ecosystem retrogression. Synergistically with this background trend, the unstable climatic regime of the late Holocene, along with long-term anthropogenic pressure that peaked for the first time during the late Bronze Age, accelerated the transformation.

scholarly journals Radiocaron Dates and Archaeology of the Late Pleistocene in the Japanese Islands

Radiocarbon ◽  
2002 ◽  
Vol 44 (2) ◽  
pp. 477-494 ◽  
Author(s):  
Akira Ono ◽  
Hiroyuki Sato ◽  
Takashi Tsutsumi ◽  
Yuichiro Kudo
Keyword(s):  
Late Pleistocene ◽  
New World ◽  
Upper Paleolithic ◽  
Archaeological Sites ◽  
Early Upper Paleolithic ◽  
Strongly Connected ◽  
Radiocarbon Chronology ◽  
Japanese Islands ◽  
Late Upper Paleolithic ◽  
Early Upper

We discuss the radiocarbon chronology of Late Pleistocene archaeology in the Japanese islands. In sum, 429 samples from more than 100 archaeological sites were compiled and then divided into three periods and four stages. The Early Upper Paleolithic, characterized by Trapezoid industries, lasted during approximately 34-26 ka. The Late Upper Paleolithic period includes both the backed-blade stage and point-tool stage, the latter appearing chronologically later than the former. This stage covers ~25–15 ka. The Final Upper Paleolithic and Incipient Jomon are distinguished by the appearance of microblade industries and the emergence of pottery at the end of this period. This period covers approximately 14-12 ka. The microblade tradition, in the broadest sense, is strongly connected to the background of peopling of the New World. New data on the transitional stage from the Middle to the Upper Paleolithic are also discussed in regards to three archaeological sites. Issues on the application of the 14C calibration to the whole Japanese Upper Paleolithic are critically evaluated.

Dispersal, home-range size, and habitat use of an endangered land snail, the Oregon forestsnail (Allogona townsendiana)

2012 ◽  
Vol 90 (7) ◽  
pp. 875-884 ◽  
Author(s):  
A.B. Edworthy ◽  
K.M.M. Steensma ◽  
H.M. Zandberg ◽  
P.L. Lilley
Keyword(s):  
British Columbia ◽  
Home Range ◽  
Habitat Use ◽  
Land Snail ◽  
Home Range Size ◽  
Dispersal Distance ◽  
Land Snails ◽  
Dispersal Ability ◽  
Suitable Habitat ◽  
Maximum Displacement

Terrestrial molluscs have declined globally, often as a result of habitat loss and fragmentation. Many land snails are poor dispersers and exist in isolated habitat patches. The Oregon forestsnail ( Allogona townsendiana (I. Lea, 1838)) coincides with the most densely populated region of British Columbia and is listed as endangered in Canada. To investigate the dispersal distances and habitat-use patterns of Oregon forestsnails, we tagged and tracked 21 adult snails at Langley, British Columbia, for up to 3 years (2005–2008). The maximum daily dispersal distance for a snail was 4.5 m and the maximum displacement that we observed for a snail was 32.2 m during 3 years. Snails occupied home-range areas of 18.4–404.4 m2, often overlapping both forest and meadow habitat. Their home-range sizes were smaller in habitats with high availability of stinging nettle ( Urtica dioica L.), which may be an indicator of high-quality habitat. Our results suggest that the Oregon forestsnail is a relatively sedentary species with limited dispersal ability in its adult stage. Although Oregon forestsnails are likely unable to colonize suitable habitat independently, remnant forest–meadow mosaic patches such as our study site provide valuable habitat for Oregon forestsnail, which are supplementary to large tracts of intact forest where most of their populations are found.

scholarly journals Type specimens of Streptaxidae from Henry C. Burnup in the collection of the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa

2020 ◽  
Vol 61 (2) ◽  
pp. 107-117
Author(s):  
Rodrigo B. Salvador ◽  
Jonathan D. Ablett
Keyword(s):  
New Zealand ◽  
South African ◽  
Land Snail ◽  
Land Snails ◽  
Type Specimens ◽  
Small Collection

A small collection containing thirty-nine lots of South African Streptaxidae land snails is housed in the collection of the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa (NMNZ). This material previously belonged to British/South African malacologist Henry C. Burnup, who either donated it to, or exchanged it with New Zealand-based Swiss malacologist Henry Suter, whose land snail collection was eventually acquired by the NMNZ. The lots contain type specimens of eight taxa (species and subspecies) and are presented herein in the form of an annotated and illustrated catalogue.

scholarly journals On the distribution and ecology of a rare land snail, Eostrobilops coreana (Pilsbry, 1927) (Gastropoda: Pulmonata: Strobilopsidae)

2020 ◽  
Vol 24 (1/2) ◽  
pp. 102-110
Author(s):  
Larisa A. Prozorova
Keyword(s):  
Key Words ◽  
Rare Species ◽  
Korean Peninsula ◽  
Land Snail ◽  
Land Snails ◽  
Distribution And Ecology ◽  
First Time

Представлены подробные сведения о четырех местонахождения редкой наземной улитки Eostrobilops coreana (Pilsbry, 1927) на Корейском полуострове и трех в Приморском крае. Впервые показан кальцифильный характер вида. Новое местонахождение вида на п-ове Песчаный (административная территория Владивостока) является наиболее северной точкой распространения рода Eostrobilops Pilsbry, 1927. Ключевые слова: наземные улитки, редкие виды, Приморский край, Красные книги, смешанный хвойно-широколиственный лес, известняки, кальцифильные виды. Data on four localities of the Eostrobilops coreana (Pilsbry, 1927) on Korean Peninsula and Primorye Territory (Russia) are presented. For the first time, calcyphile character of the species is demonstrated. A new revealed site of the species at the Peschany Peninsula (Vladivostok administrative territory) is the most northern locality of the genus Eostrobilops Pilsbry, 1927. Key words: land snails, rare species, Primorye Territory, Red Data Books, mixed coniferous-broadleaved forest, limestone, calcyphile species.

Antioxidant defenses and metabolic depression in a pulmonate land snail

1995 ◽  
Vol 268 (6) ◽  
pp. R1386-R1393 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. Hermes-Lima ◽  
K. B. Storey
Keyword(s):  
Oxidative Stress ◽  
Glutathione Peroxidase ◽  
Defense Mechanisms ◽  
Antioxidant Defense ◽  
Thiobarbituric Acid ◽  
Land Snail ◽  
Land Snails ◽  
Antioxidant Defenses ◽  
Glutathione S Transferase ◽  
Hypometabolic State

During arousal from estivation oxygen consumption by land snails (Otala lactea) increases severalfold. To determine whether snails prepared for an accompanying rise in the rates of oxyradical generation by altering their antioxidant defense mechanisms, changes in the activities of antioxidant enzymes and lipid peroxidation products were quantified in foot and hepatopancreas of control, 30-day estivating, and aroused snails. Compared with controls, estivating O. lactea showed significant increases in the activities of foot muscle superoxide dismutase (SOD) (increasing by 56-67%), catalase (51-72%), and glutathione S-transferase (79-108%), whereas, in hepatopancreas, SOD (57-78%) and glutathione peroxidase (93-144%) increased. Within 40 min after arousal began, hepatopancreas glutathione peroxidase activity had returned to control values, but SOD showed a further 70% increase in activity but then returned to control levels by 80 min. Estivation had no effect on total glutathione (GSH + 2 GSSG) concentrations in tissues, but GSSG content had increased about twofold in both organs of 30-day dormant snails. Lipid peoxidation (quantified as thiobarbituric acid reactive substances) was significantly enhanced at the onset of arousal from dormancy, indicating that oxidative stress and tissue damage occurred at this time. The data suggest that antioxidant defenses in snail organs are increased while snails are in the hypometabolic state as a preparation for oxidative stress during arousal.

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