A palaeobotanical investigation of the sediments from the West Runton Mammoth site

Abstract

A section close to the Mammoth (Mammuthus trogontherii Pohlig) remains at West Runton was sampled to allow both plant macrofossil and palynological investigations. The samples analysed yielded diverse and well preserved palaeobotanical assemblages. The plant macrofossil assemblages indicate that weathering probably occurred at the top of the sequence. Assemblages from lower in the profile suggest that sedimentation was either relatively rapid, some mixing of sediments occurred, or that both these factors operated, contributing to the uniformity of the assemblages. Waterside and damp ground taxa together with aquatic taxa are dominant and indicate that fresh-water in the channel was shallow, slightly basic, mesotrophic, and still or slow moving. The presence of taxa characteristic of open, disturbed or bare ground may point to the movement of animals to and from the water’s edge. Palynological data show that further afield, temperate mixed woodland composed of deciduous and coniferous taxa existed. A component of the pollen spectra suggest that the coastline was nearby. A correlation with West’s (1980) Cromerian IIa biozone can be made using the palynological data.