New Record of Terminal Pleistocene Elk/Wapiti (Cervus canadensis) from Ohio, USA

The earliest appearance of elk/wapiti (Cervus canadensis) in eastern North America is not thoroughly documented due to the small number of directly dated remains. Until recently, no absolute dates on elk bone older than 10,000 14C yr BP (11,621 to 11,306 calibrated years (cal yr) BP) were known from this region. The partial skeleton of the Tope Elk was discovered in 2017 during commercial excavation of peat deposits from a small bog in southeastern Medina County, Ohio, United States. Subsequent examination of the remains revealed the individual to be a robust male approximately 8.5 years old at death. The large size of this individual is compared with late Holocene specimens and suggests diminution of elk since the late Pleistocene. Two accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS) radiocarbon assays on bone collagen samples taken from the scapula and metacarpal of this individual returned ages of 10,270 ± 30 14C yr BP (Beta-477478) (12,154 to 11,835 cal yr BP) and 10,260 ± 30 14C yr BP (Beta-521748) (12,144 to 11,830 cal yr BP), respectively. These results place Cervus canadensis in the terminal Pleistocene of the eastern woodlands and near the establishment of the mixed deciduous forest biome over much of the region. This early temporal placement also situates this early elk as closely following the last representatives of now-extinct megafauna such as the American mastodon (Mammut americanum) and contemporary with the Late Paleoindian inhabitants of the region.

New Radiocarbon Ages on Percussion-Fractured and Flaked Proboscidean Limb Bones from Yukon, Canada

Proboscidean limb bones discovered in Yukon during the 1960s and 1970s exhibit fracture patterns, notches, and bone flakes that are characteristic of percussion. Because of the unique properties of thick cortical proboscidean bone (probably woolly mammoth Mammuthus primigenius or less likely American mastodon Mammut americanum), some researchers hypothesized that these fracture patterns represent intentional hammerstone modification by humans for marrow extraction and bone tool production. As such, these fracture patterns represent evidence of early human dispersal into Eastern Beringia. Radiocarbon dating in the late 1980s indicated that the bone breakage occurred between about 25 000 and 40 000 radiocarbon years before present (14C yr BP). We report 11 new radiocarbon ages using ultra-filtration methods on a different sample of similarly fractured and flaked bones from Yukon. Only two of the radiocarbon ages fall within the expected range of 25 000 to 40 000 14C yr BP. Six other ages are non-finite, with five being more than 49 100 14C yr BP. Three finite ages range between 46 500 and 50 500 14C yr BP with large standard deviations, and these ages may also be non-finite. Two testable hypotheses to explain the observed breakage patterns were developed, the first being that humans broke the bones and the second that some presently unknown geological process broke the bones. Further research is needed to test these two hypotheses.

C. W. Beehler's collection of vertebrate fossils: A lost legacy

The Kimmswick ‘bone bed’, a late Wisconsin paleontological locality in Jefferson County, Missouri, south of St. Louis, has been known since the early nineteenth century. The site gained international recognition in 1843 when a German immigrant and enterprising entrepreneur, Albert Koch, sold a composite skeleton of an American mastodon to the British Museum, parts of which came from Kimmswick. A half-century later a mechanic, inventor, and fossil hunter named Charles W. Beehler spent several months each year between 1897–1904 exhuming a massive collection of vertebrate fossils, representing several taxa, but one dominated by American mastodon (Mammut americanum). In addition, Beehler discovered human artifacts that he deemed were associated with the extinct fauna, thus adding Beehler to a growing number of proponents of what was termed the ‘American Paleolithic’. In retrospect he may have indeed uncovered evidence for an association between humans and extinct fauna, but the relationship went unrecognized by leading scientists of the time. Beehler constructed a wooden frame building on the site to house his collection, which he referred to as a museum. This was in preparation for visitors who would flock to the 1904 World's Fair in St. Louis, known officially as the Louisiana Purchase Exposition. Featuring his active excavation and mastodon-dominated bone collection, Beehler created an attraction that enticed fair goers—as well as the curious—to schedule trips to Kimmswick. Following the World's Fair Beehler returned to St. Louis, but the disposition of his collection remained a mystery. There is no evidence that any significant number of specimens made their way into institutional hands where they were preserved. Beehler attracted national and international attention through his work at Kimmswick, but his reluctance to share or donate his collection to a reputable institution left him with a legacy of notoriety, and led to the loss of this important collection of vertebrate fossils.

Taxonomic overview and tusk growth analyses of Ziegler Reservoir proboscideans

At an altitude of 2705 m in the Colorado Rockies (USA), the Ziegler Reservoir fossil site gives a rare look at a high-elevation ecosystem from the late Pleistocene (especially MIS 5) of North America. Remains of more than four mammoths and about 35 mastodons dominate the macrofossil assemblage. Mammoth remains are attributed to Mammuthus columbi, and mastodon remains are referred to the well-known, continent-wide Mammut americanum. Mastodon remains occur within and between several lake-margin slump deposits. Their deposition must therefore have occurred as events that were to some degree separate in time. We treat the mastodon assemblage in each stratigraphic unit as a source of information on environmental conditions during the lives of these individuals. Mastodon mandibular tusks are abundant at the site and represent both males and females, from calves to full-grown adults. This study presents the first attempt to use microCT, thin-section, and isotope records from mandibular tusks to reconstruct features of life-history. We recognize an up-section trend in δ18O profiles toward higher values, suggestive of warmer temperatures. Throughout this sequence, mastodon growth histories show low mean sensitivities suggestive of low levels of environmental stress. This work helps frame expectations for assessing environmental pressures on terminal Pleistocene populations.