Middle Pleistocene Steppe Lion Remains from Grotte de la Carrière (Têt Valley, Eastern Pyrenees)

Altres ajuts: Acord transformatiu CRUE-CSICAltres ajuts: Open Access Funding provided by Universitat Autonoma de Barcelona. This work has been funded by the Direction Regionalle des Afaires Culturelles of the French Government (DRAC Occitaine) and the Agencia Estatal de Investigación-European Regional Development Fund of the European Union (CGL2017-82654-P, AEI/FEDERUE). LS is supported by the FI AGAUR fellowship (ref. 2020 FI_B1 00131) funded by the Secretaria d'Universitats i Recerca de la Generalitat de Catalunya and the European Social FundLate Pleistocene cave lions are one of the most iconic species of Northern Hemisphere Quaternary taphocoenoses. Despite their often-scarce record in cave environments, their ubiquitous distribution across Eurasia and North America assemblages attests to their position as top ice-age predators. Nevertheless, the origins of these former large felids, their distribution during the Middle Pleistocene, and their paleoecology during co-existence with the scimitar-toothed cat Homotherium remain debated. Here we describe for the first time an abundant collection of large-sized and stout felid remains from the recently discovered site of Grotte de la Carrière in Eastern Pyrenees, with an estimated age corresponding to MIS 9. Our results highlight the larger size of Middle Pleistocene lions compared to Late Pleistocene ones as well as a trend of decreasing in size, which has been previously stated by other authors. Grotte de la Carrière steppe lions have similar morphological and biometrical parameters to those of other samples from MIS 11-9, being larger and stouter than younger latest Middle Pleistocene-Late Pleistocene forms and slightly smaller than older MIS 15-12 forms

The Quaternary lions of Ukraine and a trend of decreasing size in Panthera spelaea

The fossil record of the cave lion, Panthera spelaea, suggests a gradual decrease in body size, the process peaking just before the extinction of the species at the end of the Late Pleistocene. Such an evolutionary trend appears rather unusual for a large felid species and requires further investigation. This study reviews the cave lions of Ukraine, whose fossils are known from 46 localities dated from 800 kyr to 18–17 kyr ago, with a special emphasis on size changes through time. We describe several important finds including those of Panthera spelaea fossilis from Sambir, Panthera spelaea ssp. from Bilykh Stin Cave and Panthera spelaea spelaea from Kryshtaleva Cave. We make subspecific identifications of specimens from the region and focus on their size characteristics. Our analysis of Ukrainian cave lions agrees with the temporal trend of decreasing size, particularly accelerating during MIS 2, as exemplified by the extremely small female skull from Kryshtaleva Cave. We provide a direct AMS date for this specimen (22.0–21.5 cal kyr BP), which suggests that the Kryshtaleva lioness must have belonged to a Panthera spelaea spelaea population forced south by the spreading ice sheet. We discuss some palaeoecologi- cal aspects of the evolutionary history and eventual extinction of the cave lion. Finally, we review the subfossil records of the extant lion Panthera leo known from several Ukrainian sites archaeologically dated to 6.4–2.0 kyr BP. These finds most probably represent the Persian lion Panthera leo persica

Middle Pleistocene fauna and palaeoenvironment in the south of Eastern Europe: A case study of the Medzhybizh 1 locality (MIS 11, Ukraine)

The Middle Pleistocene was a period of dynamic changes in Europe. During MIS 11, a number of modern mammal taxa appeared and environmental conditions remained warm and favourable for a relatively long time. The Medzhybizh 1 locality of Ukraine dated to this very period comprises alluvial deposits with rich animal remains, which allow not only to reconstruct the fauna composition, but also to highlight the environmental conditions that dominated at this locality. A revision of the fauna of Medzhybizh 1 locality based on remains of all vertebrate groups revealed a taxonomically diverse fish community (16 species of 11 genera) dominated by cyprinids common for lacustrine or riverine assemblages. Amphibians are represented by 11 species, while the number of reptile and bird remains are less significant. Mammals are the most represented group at the locality, including small mammals (30 species), carnivorans (2 species), and ungulates (5 taxa), the latter dominated by C. elaphus. The taxonomic composition of terrestrial groups indicates temperate climate with boreal-type forests and meadows similar to cold steppe, as well as low wet areas and riparian habitats inhabited by amphibians, reptiles, insectivores, beavers, and various voles. The fish assemblage indicates a partially overgrown but well-aerated water body (lake or slow-flowing river) with sandy-silty bottom. Lithic artefacts found at the Medzhybizh 1 locality contribute to a better understanding of relationships between ancient hominins and faunas during the Middle Pleistocene of Eastern Europe.Archaeological field works at Medzhybizh were supported by the NASU state research projects 0105U001383 (2005–2009), 0109U008921 (2010–2014) and partly funded by the State Fund of Fundamental Research of Ukraine grant 0118U001457 (F77/50–2018). This research was also supported by the grant 0201/2048/18 ‘Life and death of extinct rhino (Stephanorhinus sp.) from Western Poland: a multi-proxy palaeoenvironmental approach’ financed from the funds of the National Science Centre, Poland. JvdM received support from the Spanish Ministerio de Ciencia, Inovación y Universidades (current grant numbers PGC2018-093925-B-C31 and PGC2018-095489-B-I00).Peer reviewe

New perspectives on Neanderthal dispersal and turnover from Stajnia Cave (Poland).

The Micoquian is the broadest and longest enduring cultural facies of the Late Middle Palaeolithic that spread across the periglacial and boreal environments of Europe between Eastern France, Poland, and Northern Caucasus. Here, we present new data from the archaeological record of Stajnia Cave (Poland) and the paleogenetic analysis of a Neanderthal molar S5000, found in a Micoquian context. Our results demonstrate that the mtDNA genome of Stajnia S5000 dates to MIS 5a making the tooth the oldest Neanderthal specimen from Central-Eastern Europe. Furthermore, S5000 mtDNA has the fewest number of differences to mtDNA of Mezmaiskaya 1 Neanderthal from Northern Caucasus, and is more distant from almost contemporaneous Neanderthals of Scladina and Hohlenstein-Stadel. This observation and the technological affinity between Poland and the Northern Caucasus could be the result of increased mobility of Neanderthals that changed their subsistence strategy for coping with the new low biomass environments and the increased foraging radius of gregarious animals. The Prut and Dniester rivers were probably used as the main corridors of dispersal. The persistence of the Micoquian techno-complex in South-Eastern Europe infers that this axis of mobility was also used at the beginning of MIS 3 when a Neanderthal population turnover occurred in the Northern Caucasus

The history of the domestic cat in Central Europe

A recent study from Central Europe has changed our perception of the cat’s domestication history. The authors discuss how this has led to the development of an interdisciplinary project combining palaeogenetics, zooarchaeology and radiocarbon dating, with the aim of providing insight into the domestic cat’s expansion beyond the Mediterranean

The history of bears (Ursidae, Carnivora, Mammalia) from Silesia (southern Poland) and the neighbouring areas

Revision of the Silesian bear fauna, based on material from 152 sites, mainly cave and karstic localities, and also archaeological and open-air sites, shows the presence of 13 forms and species. These records encompass the last 16.5 Ma and may be divided into five main morphophyletic groups. The oldest bears, represented by the genera Ballusia and Ursavus, are dated to 16.5-11 Ma, and belonged to the stem forms of the subfamily Ursinae. After a break of 6 My, the earliest members of the genus Ursus appeared, and all known Pliocene bears in Silesia belong to the genus Ursus were identified as Ursus minimus. They represent one or two migration events. Additionally, between 3.6 and 3.2 Ma, a single occurence of Agriotherium insigne was recorded from the Węże 1 site. A few Early Pleistocene bear records are represented by U. etruscus, which was a probable ancestor of both arctoid and spelaeoid bear lineages. The oldest representative of Ursus ex gr. arctos known so far and assigned to U. a. suessenbornensis is known from one latest Early Pleistocene (1.2-0.9 Ma) locality, while other Polish records of this form require confirmation. The first occurrence of U. deningeri, the oldest taxon within the U. ex gr. deningeri-spelaeus lineage, was recorded from ~700 ka deposits in Silesia. During the pronounced cold period of MIS 12, the Scandinavian ice sheet covered almost the entire modern territory of Poland, with the exception of the Sudetes and the Carpathians. The accompanying drastic faunal turnover led to the formation of the pan-Eurasian Mammoth Fauna at ~460 ka. At that time a characteristic member of this fauna, the steppe brown bear Ursus arctos priscus, a specific ecomorph adapted to live in open grasslands, appeared in this region. It survived until the beginning of MIS 1, when modern Ursus arctos arctos appeared in Silesia and survived to the present day. U. deningeri was the most common bear during the Middle Pleistocene, while the first records of U. spelaeus spelaeus appeared since MIS 7. The latter form was replaced by U. ingressus during the Late Pleistocene (~110-100 ka). Spelaeoid bears totally dominated the cave assemblage, and finally vanished between 27 and 24 ka

Fossil bear material from the oldest deposits in the Jasna Strzegowska cave (Silesia, southern Poland)

Fossil bear material from the lowermost deposits of the Jasna Strzegowska cave is described and its taxonomic status assessed. Comparison with bear remains from other Early and early Middle Pleistocene localities of Eurasia shows the presence of two bear species: Ursus etruscus and U. deningeri, based on morphological and size characters of the teeth and postcranial bones. The teeth of U. deningeri from the Jasna Strzegowska cave are larger, wider and have much more complicated occlusal surfaces when compared with the teeth of U. etruscus. Both bear species are characterized by relatively short and robust metapodials, although those of U. etruscus are on average less massive. Some differences in muscle attachments and articular surfaces have also been found. Metapodials of primitive arctoid bears, that co-occurred with U. etruscus and U. deningeri, are much longer and slimmer. U. etruscus and U. deningeri probably did not live in the Jasna Strzegowska cave at the same time. Based on its time range in Eurasia and morphological characteristics, the age of U. etruscus is estimated as Early Pleistocene, between 1.8-1.3 Ma. This is its first description from Poland, and the remains described are in size and morphology indistinguishable from material from other European localities. For U. deningeri, an early Middle Pleistocene age is suggested

THE FIRST RADIOCARBON-DATED REMAINS OF THE LEOPARD PANTHERA PARDUS (LINNAEUS, 1758) FROM THE PLEISTOCENE OF POLAND

The Pleistocene history of the leopard (Panthera pardus) in Europe has been documented by the material obtained from 312 localities, with the last dated similar to 1.1 Myr. The relatively small and gracile form of the leopard was very rare during the late Early and Middle Pleistocene. Only after the disappearance of the jaguar (Panthera gombaszoegensis) did P. pardus spread widely in Europe, increasing in size and ecologically substituting P. gombaszoegensis. The number of late Middle Pleistocene localities with leopard remains, younger than 300 kyr, increased considerably. The leopard reached the maximum extension of its geographical range in the Late Pleistocene. The Iberian Peninsula was the last European refuge for this cat. Six sites, the Naciekowa, Obok Wschodniej, Radochowska, and Wschodnia Caves from the Sudety Mountains and the Bisnik and Dziadowa Skala Caves from the Krakow-Czestochowa Upland, have documented the presence of the leopard in Poland between MIS 10/9 and MIS 3. These records are from rocky regions with rugged terrain and are located in the territory of Silesia (southern Poland). A newly obtained radiocarbon date (43-42 kyr) from the Radochowska Cave directly confirms the occurrence of P. pardus in the Sudety Mountains in the middle part of MIS 3

New insights into the LGM and LG in Southern France (Vaucluse): The Mustelids, Micromammals and Horses from Coulet des Roches.

International audienceNew insights into the LGM and LG in Southern France (Vaucluse): The Mustelids, Micromammals and Horses from Coulet des Roches