Holocene Sequence Research Articles

Tsunami landfalls in the Maltese archipelago: reconciling the historical record with geomorphological evidence

Abstract The Maltese Islands lie in the middle of the tsunamigenic Mediterranean domain, around whose margins and islands evidence of historical tsunami landfall has been increasingly recognized in recent years. Critical review of historical evidence of events in 1693 and 1908 indicates extremely modest tsunami impacts. In marked contrast, though, recently discovered geomorphological evidence summarized herein suggests that Malta's coastlines have been overwashed up to elevations of >20 m above sea level by an exceptional event. A new perspective is provided by a review of the central Mediterranean context within which the Maltese evidence is located. Recent advances in understanding the Holocene sequence forming the floor of the Mediterranean Sea present a new stratigraphic and temporal framework within which to elucidate tsunami history. Within 100 km of Malta, terrestrial stratigraphy on Sicily also provides supporting evidence of tsunami impact. Review of these advances suggests that the exceptional event required to emplace the most extreme sedimentary and geomorphological signatures on and around Malta is likely to have had a far-field origin. The currently available circumstantial evidence points strongly towards a probability that the AD 365 earthquake and tsunami were responsible. This, in turn, enables critical reassessment of the exposure of Malta to tsunami hazard.

Cyanobacteria and testate amoeba as potential proxies for Holocene hydrological changes and climate variability: Evidence from tropical coastal lowlands of SW India

Cyanobacteria and thecamoebians are the two major constituents of Non Pollen Palynomorphs (NPP) found in the palynological preparations. The former is well represented in the sediment archives while the latter has restricted occurrence in the Holocene sequence apart from the conventional organic matter of pollen and spores. Well preserved morphotypes of Gleotrichia and Rivularia are the best forms of cyanobacteria found in almost all the studied profiles and their abundance towards Early to Middle Holocene coincides with the heavy rainfall and wet climate conditions during the Holocene climate optimum (HCO). Contrary to cyanobacterial diversity, thecamoebians are restricted to Late Holocene in most of the studied profiles and their occurrence is correlated with the prevailing dry and stressful environmental conditions. The major elements of thecamoebians identified belong to Arcellaceans, Centropyxids and Cucurbitella types. Abundance of Centropyxids and Arcellaceans in Varapuzha, West Kadungallur, Koonamavu, Pachcha and Ernakulam indicates low humidity and low precipitation. However, the relative abundance of Centropyxids in Mid Holocene at Ernakulam and Koonamavu reflects the early colonization of this type competing with the cyanobacteria, whereas, Arcellaceans are essentially confined to Late Holocene. Dominance of cyanobacteria and its proliferation is directly related to freshwater influx of the rainfall as well as the local hydrological regimes associated with the active aquifers controlled by the geomorphological features of the region in which the wetland system sustained. Considering the signatures of cyanobacteria and thecamoebians observed in the sediment archives their occurrence in the wetlands during the Holocene corresponds to the hydrodynamic regimes brought in by the freshwater influx as a result of monsoon variability. The well preserved cyanobacterial signatures in sediment archives of Kerala coast and their scarcity or even absence elsewhere along the west coast of India indicates that they are exclusively adapted to the wetland habitats where the hydrodynamic regimes are regularly controlled by fresh water influx in the form of extended rainy days of the monsoon system.

Environmental changes, climate and anthropogenic impact in south-east Tunisia during the last 8 kyr

Abstract. Pollen and clay mineralogical analyses of a Holocene sequence from Sebkha Boujmel (southern Tunisia) trace the climatic and environmental dynamics in the lower arid bioclimatic zone over the last 8000 years. During the mid- to late Holocene transition, between ca. 8 and 3 ka BP, a succession of five wet–dry oscillations is recorded. An intense arid event occurs between ca. 5.7 and 4.6 ka BP. This episode marks the onset of a long-term aridification trend with a progressive retreat of Mediterranean woody xerophytic vegetation and of grass steppes. It ends with the establishment of pre-desert ecosystems around 3 ka BP. The millennial-scale climate change recorded in the data from Sebkha Boujmel is consistent with records from the south and east Mediterranean, as well as with climatic records from the desert region for the end of the African Humid Period (AHP). Eight centennial climatic events are recorded at Sebkha Boujmel and these are contemporary with those recorded in the Mediterranean and in the Sahara. They indicate a clear coupling between the southern Mediterranean and the Sahara before 3 ka BP. The event at 4.2 ka BP is not evidenced and the link between events recorded in Sebkha Boujmel and the North Atlantic cooling events is clearer from ca. 3 ka BP onwards. These variations indicate the importance of climatic determinism in the structuring of landscapes, with the establishment of the arid climatic conditions of the late Holocene. It is only from ca. 3 ka BP onwards that the dynamic of plant associations is modified by both human activity and climatic variability. The climatic episodes identified during the historic period indicate strong regionalisation related to the differential impact of the North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) and the Mediterranean Oscillation (MO) on the Mediterranean Basin. The local human impact on regional ecosystems is recorded in the form of episodes of intensification of pastoral and/or agricultural activities. The development of olive production and of several taxa associated with agriculture attest to increasing sedentism among human populations during classical antiquity. The significant increase in Artemisia (wormwood) between ca. 1.1 and 0.8 ka BP (850–1150 AD) is linked to intensive pastoral activity, associated with heightened interannual and/or seasonal climatic instability. A complete reshaping of the landscape is recorded during the 20th century. The remarkable expansion of the olive tree, and the deterioration of regional ecosystems with the spread of desert species, is linked to recent local socio-economic changes in Tunisia.

Tropical Peat and Peatland Development in the Floodplains of the Greater Pamba Basin, South-Western India during the Holocene.

Holocene sequences in the humid tropical region of Kerala, South-western (SW) India have preserved abundance of organic—rich sediments in the form of peat and its rapid development in a narrow time frame towards Middle Holocene has been found to be significant. The sub—coastal areas and flood plains of the Greater Pamba Basin have provided palaeorecords of peat indicating that the deposits are essentially formed within freshwater. The combination of factors like stabilized sea level and its subsequent fall since the Middle Holocene, topographic relief and climatic conditions led to rapid peat accumulation across the coastal lowlands. The high rainfall and massive floods coupled with a rising sea level must have inundated > 75% of the coastal plain land converting it into a veritable lagoon—lake system that eventually led to abrupt termination of the forest ecosystem and also converted the floodplains into peatland where accumulation of peat almost to 2.0–3.0 m thickness in coastal lowlands and river basins during the shorter interval in the Middle Holocene. Vast areas of the coastal plains of Kerala have been converted into carbon rich peatland during the Middle Holocene and transforming the entire coastal stretch and associated landforms as one of the relatively youngest peatlands in the extreme southern tip of India. Unlike the uninterrupted formation of peatlands of considerable extent during the Holocene in Southeast Asia, the south Peninsular Indian region has restricted and short intervals of peatlands in the floodplains and coastal lowlands. Such a scenario is attributed to the topographic relief of the terrain and the prevailing hydrological regimes and environmental conditions as a consequence of monsoon variability since Middle Holocene in SW India. Considering the tropical coastal lowlands and associated peatlands are excellent repositories of carbon, they are very important for regional carbon cycling and habitat diversity. The alarming rate of land modification and development is destabilizing these carbon pools resulting in large scale carbon emissions to the atmosphere and loss of low-latitude peat palaeorecords. Therefore, these palaeorecords are to be conserved and addressed for better understanding and utilizing the carbon pool for effective climate change adaptation. This communication is the first attempt of addressing the peat formation and peatland development during the Holocene from the tropical region of Peninsular India.

Late Holocene vegetation and fire dynamics on the summits of the Guayana Highlands: The Uei-tepui palynological record

The summits of the tepuis (sandstone table mountains of the Neotropical Guayana region—Guayana Highlands, GH) have been considered valuable for palaeoecological studies due to their pristine nature, which emphasizes the role of natural (i.e. non-human) factors on ecological change. Anthropogenic fires, very frequent in the surrounding Gran Sabana (GS) uplands, have very rarely been documented in the GH, and are therefore not considered an important ecological factor in the high-tepui biome. This paper reports the palynological and charcoal results of a Late Holocene sequence from the summit of Uei-tepui (2104m elevation), where extensive signs of fire were recently observed. Since ~2000calyr BP, the landscape of the study site has been dominated by meadows with occasional shrubs and cloud forests, which underwent expansions and contractions driven by climate changes and fire. A major vegetation shift occurred in the mid-18th century, when a sustained increase in local fires favoured the expansion of the low and spreading Cyrilla racemiflora shrublands at the expense of meadows and forests. Uei-tepui fires most probably were the result of human activities and reached the summit under study from the GS uplands through the vegetated slopes that characterize this tepui. The mostly anthropogenic nature of these fires, especially the more recent ones, is supported by the initial occurrence of wetter conditions, and by its coincidence with significant social changes in the GS indigenous populations, mainly the European contact. The emergence of fire as a disturbing agent of the GH biome highlights the need for an effective management plan in the GS uplands, where the vast majority of present-day fires originate, and designed in collaboration with the indigenous communities. Proactive conservation measures are considered even more important under future warming projections in the area.

Seismically-induced soft-sediment deformation structures associated with the Magallanes–Fagnano Fault System (Isla Grande de Tierra del Fuego, Argentina)

In this paper, evidence of paleoearthquake-induced soft-sediment deformation structures associated with the Magallanes–Fagnano Fault System in the Isla Grande de Tierra del Fuego, southern Argentina, has been identified. Well-preserved soft-sediment deformation structures were found in a Holocene sequence of the Udaeta pond. These structures were analyzed in terms of their geometrical characteristics, deformation mechanism, driving force system and possible trigger agent. They were also grouped in different morphological types: sand dykes, convolute lamination, load structures and faulted soft-sediment deformation features. Udaeta, a small pond in Argentina Tierra del Fuego, is considered a Quaternary pull-apart basin related to the Magallanes–Fagnano Fault System. The recognition of these seismically-induced features is an essential tool for paleoseismic studies. Since the three main urban centers in the Tierra del Fuego province of Argentina (Ushuaia, Río Grande and Tolhuin) have undergone an explosive growth in recent years, the results of this study will hopefully contribute to future analyses of the seismic risk of the region.

Early Holocene geomorphology of the Great Yarmouth area, Norfolk, UK

ABSTRACTA 1:15,000 scale map of the early Holocene geomorphology of the Great Yarmouth area, covering 33 km2 between National Grid Reference (NGR) 651022, 312244 (northwest corner) and NGR 654523, 303498 (southeast corner) is presented. This was interpolated from elevations for early Holocene deposits derived from 467 borehole records and 539 constraining points extracted from British Geological Survey mapping. The depth to the base of the Holocene sequence ranges from −30.46 mOD to +7.61 mOD. Key morphological features identified include: a 5 km wide trough trending west–east throughout the area; isolated peaks of pre-Holocene sediment reaching to −3 mOD within the centre of this trough and; a series of steep topographical lows. As well as providing a means of assessing palaeomorphology, reconstruction of the region’s early Holocene topography can be used to inform research investigating the available sediment prism, palaeocoastline positions and possible responses to future climate change.

The exploitation of wild plants in Neolithic North Africa. Use-wear and residue analysis on non-knapped stone tools from the Haua Fteah cave, Cyrenaica, Libya

The North African region offers up essential data for the study of the origins of the earliest forms of plant exploitation. Data available from several Saharan and coastal areas in the region have revealed that the arrival of domestic wheat and barley from the Levant during the Mid Holocene did not replace the exploitation of autochthonous wild plants, especially grasses. The Neolithic layers of the Haua Fteah cave, in Cyrenaica (Northern Libya), have so far produced archaeobotanical assemblages exclusively made up of wild species. This paper investigates production and use of non-knapped stone tools, mainly grinding stones, from the Holocene sequence of the Haua Fteah Cave. The presence of grinding stones may indicate a certain level of behavioural change and the adoption of new economic strategies, relying more strongly on plant exploitation. This assumption has been tested using an integrated approach of use-wear and residue analysis. These methods allowed us to obtain significant new information as to how tools were originally used.Use-wear analysis was carried out adopting a low power approach; such study was complemented by residue analysis, in particular starch granules analysis, only rarely applied in North African contexts. This combined approach was carried out on a selected sample of tools, in order to test survival of plant micro-remains and, where possible, the types of plants processed by the Holocene communities in the cave. Here we confirm the lack of evidence of domesticated crops and the presence of starch granules only belonging to wild plants.The importance of wild plants in the economy of North African prehistoric groups has often been underestimated, on the assumption that they were replaced by the Near Eastern domesticated crops and animals once they were firstly introduced in North Africa. The results of our study show a different picture, confirming the role of the wild species as an important food source during the Holocene.

Holocene sedimentary systems on a broad continental shelf with abundant river input: process–product relationships

Abstract The region consisting of the Bohai, Yellow and East China seas represents a typical wide continental shelf environment with abundant terrestrial sediment supply. Here, a variety of sedimentary systems have been formed during the Holocene period. These systems have unique characteristics in terms of spatial distribution, material composition, deposition rate, and the timing and duration for their formation, which are related to active sediment-transport processes induced by tides and waves, shelf circulations, and sediment gravity flows. The sedimentary records contained within the deposits have a high temporal resolution, but each with a limited temporal coverage. However, if these records are connected, then they may form a complete archive for environmental change studies. In the field of process–product relationship studies, the mid-Holocene coastal deposits on the Jiangsu coast, the early–middle Holocene sequences of the Hangzhou Bay, the Holocene mud deposits off the Zhejiang–Fujian coasts and the other mud areas over the region are of importance. These systems may be understood by identifying the material supply (from both seabed reworking during the sea-level rise events and river discharges), transport-accumulation processes, the formation of sediment sequences and the future evolution of the sediment systems, for which numerical modelling becomes increasingly important.

Later Holocene vegetation history of the Isles of Scilly, UK: coastal influence and human land use in a small island context

ABSTRACTSmall islands tend to experience exacerbated environmental/social vulnerabilities, due to isolation, size and a small resource base. The response of social communities to environmental stress can be addressed by compiling palaeoecological proxies for land management alongside archaeological records. This paper presents pollen data from four new late Holocene sequences that lie around sea‐level on the Isles of Scilly (south‐west England), to understand the impact of coastal change on island communities. Interpretation of sequences near the coastal zone can be confounded by problems in disentangling human impact from maritime and wetland influence. Multivariate analysis is used to separate samples influenced by maritime conditions and wetland development from ‘inland’ human land management practices. During the Bronze Age clearance of woodland resulted in an intensively managed pastoral system and archaeological datasets indicate that maritime resources formed an important part of the subsistence economy. Despite coastal change that resulted in loss of land area and reduced the extent of the intertidal zone, the pollen data and evidence from existing archaeological data show continuity through later prehistory and into the medieval period. The archaeological data and pollen evidence point towards a highly resilient community that employed a mixed and varied subsistence base.

Tordera River Delta system build up (NE Iberian Peninsula): sedimentary sequences and offshore correlation

The Tordera River Delta is made up of coarse sand bodies which were formed during the last sea level rise. Marine and land seismic profiles and wells show three depositional Holocene sequences corresponding to a) the transgressive base level, b) the progradant intermediate unit and c) the progradant unit which onlaps the Plio-Pleistocene sequence seawards and the granitic basement on the present delta plain and northern coast. The morphology of the sedimentary bodies, isobath maps and marine geophysical data enabled us to gain fresh insights into the evolution of the delta and its prodelta and into the various relict sand bodies on the inner shelf. The evolution of the coastline can be followed during the prograding process of the lower units from the successive coastal and internal lagoons. These coastal lagoons were conditioned by river changes and basement morphology. Once the sea level maximum was attained, the prograding units covered these morphologies, resulting in the present delta configuration.

Palaeo-environmental archive of groundwater–surface water interaction zone, the Kebara wetlands, Carmel coast, Israel

The Holocene sequence of the Kebara wetlands, a groundwater–surface water interaction zone ecosystem, was studied in a borehole (Core A), retrieved from the eastern trough of the Carmel coast of Israel. A multi-proxy approach was used for environmental reconstruction, and new ages were added for reassessment of the chronology. The fauna (mainly ostracods), flora, and palaeo-salinity estimates indicate marginal wetland that experienced shrinkage and enlargement, reflecting changing hydrological and climatic conditions. New luminescence ages of sediments and radiocarbon dating of terrestrial seeds in the upper part of the sequence provide a more reliable and accurate chronology. The lower part of the core, between about 14,000 and about 7000 BP, indicates mainly wetter conditions, while the upper part, dated to the last 7000 BP, suggests drier conditions in general, with a few wetter episodes. The almost total disappearance of the fauna in the core after about 6000 BP is in agreement with regional climate records that document increasing aridity in the Levant. A comparison of modern δ18O and δ13C (water and ostracod) values from the Timsah ponds, the present remnants of the wetland, with the values derived from ostracods in the drilling indicates that, like today, the past wetlands were fed mainly by the karstic carbonate-rich Yarkon-Taninnim mountain aquifer. This paper emphasizes the importance of understanding the sources of the water feeding the wetlands for the re-assessment of previous chronology that was based on total organic carbon (TOC) 14C dating.

The Modern Mixed Carbonate-Siliciclastic Abrolhos Shelf: Implications For A Mixed Depositional Model

Abstract High-resolution seismic facies analysis and stratigraphy of a mixed carbonate–siliciclastic shelf yields insights into sedimentation controlled by interactions among carbonate production, siliciclastic sediment supply, and changes in relative sea level. High-resolution seismic, core, and surface samples collected along the northern area of the Abrolhos shelf (Brazil), including the inner, middle, and outer shelf, constrain the genesis of the shelf. Two sets of seismic sequences were identified: a Pleistocene sequence and Pleistocene–Holocene sequence. A subaerial unconformity from subaerial exposure during the last glacial maximum separates the two sequences. The upper seismic sequence, the focus of this study, comprises retrograding–aggrading (transgressive) and aggrading–prograding (regressive) seismic geometries. Carbonate sedimentation predominated within the last postglacial transgressive phase. The subsequent regressive phase was dominated by nearshore siliciclastic sedimentation at shallow depths (up to ∼ 12 m). Below 12 m depth, a transition occurs to mixed siliciclastic–carbonate facies, and ultimately, carbonate sedimentation farther offshore. Seismic data indicate that Holocene nearshore coral reef growth was influenced by the positive antecedent relief of a Pleistocene reef platform and terrigenous sedimentation. Although siliciclastic–carbonate mixed sedimentation has been reported in other successions during periods of regression, siliciclastic sedimentation in northern Abrolhos shelf is limited to nearshore settings rather than bypassing the shelf.

Geographic variation of parasitic and predatory traces on mollusks in the northern Adriatic Sea, Italy: implications for the stratigraphic paleobiology of biotic interactions

AbstractParasitic trematode worms leave characteristic pits in their bivalve mollusk hosts and represent an ideal system for analyzing parasite-host interactions through space and time with statistically meaningful sample sizes. Previous work in Late Pleistocene–Holocene sequences from the Po plain revealed significant long-term fluctuations in trematode prevalence values: higher prevalence in retrogradational environments (TST) and negligible prevalence in progradational environments (HST). Here we expand upon this work by investigating traces of parasitism, kleptoparasitism, and predation on mollusk death assemblages from two domains along the northern Adriatic coastline. The domain north of the Po delta (TST-like) and the southern domain (including the Po delta; HST-like) comprise environments comparable to those recovered in late Holocene (<6 Kyr) subsurface progradational deposits. We collected 17,299 specimens representing 111 species from 11 locations on the northern Adriatic coast of Italy. Our results reveal high predation pressure, a high diversity of host taxa, and widespread presence of trematode infestation in starved, oligotrophic, environmentally more stable (i.e., TST-like) settings north of the Po delta. Immediately south of the Po delta, in settings with strong and variable sedimentary input, almost no infestation is recorded. The reappearance of infestation is evident in the southern portion of the study area (i.e., Cattolica-Montemarciano), relatively far from the highly stressed environments south of the Po River. There is no significant difference in trematode prevalence values between fossil and modern samples. The distribution of spionid traces (an indicator of stressed environments) was nearly the opposite of that displayed by trematodes. Drilling frequency is highest in TST-like environments and is not correlated with diversity indices. These results suggest that temporal trends of trematode prevalence (and possibly also other biotic interactions) in sedimentary successions are controlled by environmental changes driven by glacio-eustatic dynamics, and reaffirm the importance of interpreting temporal trends in the context of spatial variation.

Temporal and Spatial Variations of Accommodation and Sediment Accumulation during Transgressive to Highstand Stages as Reconstructed from a Latest Pleistocene to Holocene Sequence in the Intra-Arc Osaka Basin, Japan

Temporal and spatial variations in accommodation (i.e., paleo-water depth) and sediment accumulation (amount of deposition) in the intra-arc Osaka Basin, Japan, were reconstructed from the post-glacial transgression through the sea-level highstand, a total of 9000 years. At the beginning of the marine transgressive stage (about 11,000 cal y BP), paleo-water depths were shallow and the sediment accumulation was large. The area occupied by Osaka Bay gradually extended and sediment deposition decreased from 11,000 to 6000 cal y BP. During the period of maximum transgression (6000 - 5000 cal y BP), an inner bay, Kawachi Bay with a water depth of 5 - 10 m, was expanded in the inland eastern Osaka area, and paleo-water depths reached a maximum and depositional rates reached a minimum. During the subsequent highstand and small regression (about 5000 cal y BP to the present), however, deposition increased rapidly as a result of river delta and shoreline progradations. Regional differences were observed in accommodation and accumulation between the outer bay area and the inner bay area. During both the transgressive and regressive stages, deposition decreased in the inner bay area. In contrast, in the outer bay area and in the basin overall, deposition was high during the first part of the transgressive stage but it decreased during the maximum transgression, before reaching a maximum during the subsequent highstand and regression. During the regressive stage, fluvial delta progradation led to the formation of a thick sequence of delta body sediments. Sediment accumulation was 30% - 40% higher during the regressive stage than that during the transgressive stage.

A mid- to late Holocene sequence from Weld Range, Mid West Western Australia, in local, regional and inter-regional context

The late Holocene Aboriginal archaeology of the inland Mid West region of Western Australia remains poorly synthesised. In this paper a mid- to late Holocene sequence excavated at rockshelter Weld-RS-0731 is considered in the local context of surface archaeology and other excavated sites. The site’s lithic assemblage is distinct in terms of artefact size, technological types and lithologies, pointing to repeated patterns of site function and specialist task activities. At the inter-regional scale, a paucity of data means that models of late Holocene cultural and linguistic shifts have inadequately considered the role of the inland Mid West, despite the occurrence of some highly significant sites, such as Walganha, and Wilgie Mia and Little Wilgie ochre mines. A fragment of ochre excavated at Weld-RS-0731 and geochemically provenanced to Little Wilgie dates to approximately 2500 cal. BP, providing the earliest absolute age estimate for use of that mine. The possible role of the inland Mid West in late Holocene inter-regional relations and the resultant cultural and linguistic shifts is discussed.

Flow dynamics of Nankai Trough submarine landslide inferred from internal deformation using magnetic fabric

Submarine landslide deposits in an active subduction zone were investigated by Integrated Ocean Drilling Program Expedition 333 as the “Nankai Trough Submarine Landslides History.” The expedition recovered a Pleistocene to Holocene sequence of stacked mass-transport deposits at Site C0018, located within a slope basin on the footwall of the megasplay fault in the Nankai Trough off the Kii Peninsula, southwest Japan. Six mass-transport deposit units intercalated with coherent intervals were recovered from the upper 190 m of the drilled succession. Anisotropy of magnetic susceptibility variations within mass-transport deposit units was used to ascertain their rheology. Shape parameters and magnetic fabric orientation reveal inhomogeneity through the sequences, indicating that different compaction and shear occurred within individual units. The upper intervals of younger units generally represent a magnetic fabric formed under vertical compression. However, the lower intervals involve magnetic fabrics indicating lateral shear with in-depth gradual change. In the older mass-transport deposit, a distribution of magnetic foliation forms tightly folded strata, indicating different sliding patterns from the younger mass-transport deposit units. Using available paleomagnetic data, the shear directions of basal intervals of units are reoriented, producing two different sliding orientations. Variation in the flow type and supply route is interpreted to reflect the slope condition (e.g., slope gradient and susceptibility to ground motion), which has been controlled by local tectonic evolution of the accretionary wedge.

Chapter 3 History of continental shelf and slope sedimentation on the US middle Atlantic margin

Abstract We describe sedimentation on the storm-dominated, microtidal, continental shelf and slope of the eastern US passive continental margin between the Hudson and Wilmington canyons. Sediments here recorded sea-level changes over the past 100 myr and provide a classic example of the interplay among eustasy, tectonism and sedimentation. Long-term margin evolution reflects changes in morphology from a Late Cretaceous–Eocene ramp to Oligocene and younger prograding clinothem geometries, a transition found on several other margins. Deltaic systems influenced Cretaceous and Miocene sedimentation, but, in general, the Maastrichtian–Palaeogene shelf was starved of sediment. Pre-Pleistocene sequences follow a repetitive model, with fining- and coarsening-upward successions associated with transgressions and regressions, respectively. Pleistocene–Holocene sequences are generally quite thin (<20 m per sequence) and discontinuous beneath the modern shelf, reflecting starved sedimentation under high rates of eustatic change and low rates of subsidence. However, Pleistocene sequences can attain great thickness (hundreds of metres) beneath the outermost shelf and continental slope. Holocene sedimentation on the inner shelf reflects transgression, decelerating from rates of approximately 3–4 to around 2 mm a −1 from 5 to 2 ka. Modern shelf sedimentation primarily reflects palimpsest sand sheets plastered and reworked into geostrophically controlled nearshore and shelf shore-oblique sand ridges, and does not provide a good analogue for pre-Pleistocene deposition. Supplementary material: References used in the comparison of all dates for New Jersey localities in Figure 3.8 are available at http://www.geolsoc.org.uk/SUP18749 .

The Status Problem of Iberian Holocene Equids: New Data from Cueva de El Mirador (Sierra de Atapuerca, Spain)

AbstractEquid remains are scarce and very fragmented in Iberian Neolithic and Bronze Age sites. Evidence suggesting that horses were domesticated does exist, but it is often inconclusive, thus leaving the question unanswered. Today, DNA analyses have provided information about a, most likely Iberian, nucleus of horse domestication, making it crucially important to expand the database. The Holocene sequence (6th and 3rd millennium cal bc) of the Cueva de El Mirador (Sierra de Atapuerca, Spain) has yielded 92 equid remains distributed in 12 Neolithic and Bronze Age levels. In this paper, we present the study of the equid remains from the Cueva de El Mirador from an archaeozoological perspective, giving indirect evidence of horse domestication. Our results vary widely and lead to open interpretations about horse domestication and how humans used these animals. This study of horse remains focuses on species identification and on determining how humans economically used these animals. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Quaternary perspectives on the diversity of land snail assemblages from northwestern Europe

The land snail assemblages in NW Europe exhibit marked gradients in diversity related to both latitude and longitude. These gradients, in turn, are linked to regional differences in temperature and moisture, although other non-climatic factors may be involved. Such diversity patterns have been described for the modern land snail faunas of NW Europe, especially those that inhabit forest. Here we provide an historical perspective on the development and composition of comparable land snail assemblages from various interglacials from the Middle and Late Pleistocene, and from the Holocene. We review the land snail assemblages from tufa sequences, which provide the best faunal records for each of the temperate periods. Data from 32 Quaternary sites in 7 NW European countries are considered. Assemblages from ‘forest optima’ of Pleistocene interglacial periods are richer in species compared with those from the Holocene. Correspondence analysis (CA) of data from 25 Quaternary sites in the regions where both Pleistocene and Holocene sites occur (i.e. southern England, northern France and Germany) resulted in a geographical separation of the assemblages into a western and eastern group. CA on each geographical group resulted in chronological divisions separating Pleistocene sites from the Holocene sequences. This separation results from the occurrence of numerous Central and Eastern European species in the Pleistocene faunas, whereas Holocene assemblages are characterized by species with mostly Western and Northern European modern ranges. This difference appears to reflect climatic influences, rather than resulting from anthropogenic effects. CA of 19 Holocene tufas produced geographical clusters clearly related to their position on a west-east gradient, presumably linked to some effect of ‘continentality’. During the mid Holocene, the diversity of forest snails from tufas in southern England exceeded the totals from the richest calcareous woodland sites in the region today. Further work is needed to establish whether this pattern holds for other regions of NW Europe.