Abstract
ABSTRACTNumerous paleoecological questions concern the mobility of ancient fauna in eastern Beringia. Strontium (Sr) isotope ratio (87Sr/86Sr) analysis has emerged as a powerful tracer for determining the provenance of ancient biological materials. However, it is important to characterize 87Sr/86Sr variation across a landscape. We measured the 87Sr/86Sr composition of teeth from present‐day, herbivorous rodents (n = 162) sampled from across eastern Beringia to estimate bio‐available 87Sr/86Sr values. We compiled these data with the very limited number of previously published 87Sr/86Sr values from the region. We then used this dataset and a machine learning, random‐forest regression to predict bio‐available 87Sr/86Sr variations across eastern Beringia. As a case study using our new 87Sr/86Sr map (isoscape), we measured the 87Sr/86Sr and oxygen stable isotope values (δ18O) of five radiocarbon‐dated steppe bison from eastern Beringia and compared these to our 87Sr/86Sr isoscape and a δ18O isoscape to estimate the probable landscape use of these ancient fauna. Our model and isoscape provide important foundations for a wide range of additional applications, including studies of the paleo‐mobility of other fauna, ancient people and present‐day fauna in eastern Beringia.
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