Clovis foragers overlapped chronologically with Jefferson's Ground Sloth in Iowa
Date
2022-05
Authors
Makowski, Deryn Nicole
Major Professor
Advisor
Hill, Matthew G
Somerville, Andrew D
Wanamaker, Alan D
Committee Member
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Altmetrics
Abstract
Clovis forager ecology inspires much debate regarding the events of the Late Quaternary Extinction (LQE). While most studies showing evidence of Clovis hunting or scavenging of megafauna are focused on Mammuthus and Mammut, there is a distinct lack of such evidence for other megafauna. This research offers new information on the chronology and ecology of Megalonyx in the Midcontinent generally and Iowa specifically. Revealing these details provides a better understanding of the timing, processes, environment, and ecology in the late Pleistocene—early Holocene transition that led to the extinction of 35 genera of megafauna in North America. Seven Megalonyx specimens from western Iowa were collected for this study. Analyses of stable isotopes from Megalonyx bone collagen and hydroxyapatite fall within expected ranges of browsing herbivores in mixed woodland with a diet of C3 type plants. Carbon, nitrogen, and oxygen isotope values from mineral and organic bone samples produce averages of -19.3‰ (δ13Ccollagen) -12.4‰ (δ13C¬hydroxyapatite) (VPDB), 4.93‰ (δ15N air), and δ18O values around -5.3‰ (VPDB). The radiocarbon results fall within a 1,000-year time period in western Iowa. The current terminal age for Megalonyx is 12,890-12,755 cal. B.P. This lies comfortably within the Clovis Period short chronology (13,050-12,750 cal. B.P.).
Series Number
Journal Issue
Is Version Of
Versions
Series
Academic or Administrative Unit
Type
thesis