Quaternary, Volume 7, Issue 4 (December 2024) – 5 articles

Two zoogenic deposits from the central part of the Negev Desert (Israel) were investigated by stable isotopes (carbon ¹³C/¹²C and nitrogen ¹⁵N/¹⁴N) and pollen analyses. The merger of these data and results of radiocarbon dating of Atzmaut and Ramon I deposits enabled us to reconstruct climate and vegetation changes in the Negev Desert over the past 8500 years. Decrease of the δ¹³C value in plant remains is a sensitive indicator of paleoclimatic conditions in the region. The decline of the δ¹³C value over the past 8500 years almost fully coincides with an increase of the total pollen concentration, the proportion of Poaceae pollen in the profile of zoogenic deposits and wetter periods. Thus, four humid periods are identified, from the middle of the 4th millennium to the end of 3rd millennium BC, the 1st half of the 2nd millennium BC, from the 2nd half of the 1st millennium BC to the 1st half of the 1st millennium AD and the middle of the 2nd millennium AD. The δ¹⁵N value of plant remains is a less sensitive indicator of climate dynamics and represents the most significant change of precipitation in the region by the end of the 3rd millennium BC. Full article

We present the reconstruction of palaeoenvironmental conditions in the Gdansk, Bornholm, and Arkona Basins of the Baltic Sea over the last millennium. A multiproxy study (including geochemical, XRF, grain size, AMS, and micropalaeontological analyses) of five short sediment cores was performed. The relative age of the sediments was determined based on the Pb distribution along the sediment sequences, as radiocarbon dating has resulted in an excessively old age. The retrieved cores cover two comparable warm periods, the Medieval Climate Anomaly and the Modern Warm Period, for which the increase in surface water productivity was reconstructed. Notably, the production of diatoms was higher during the colder periods (the Dark Ages and Little Ice Age), but this was also the case within the Modern Warm Period. In the Gdansk Basin, the initial salinity increase during the Littorina transgression started after 7.7 cal. a BP. The increased inflow activity was reconstructed during the Medieval Climate Anomaly, even in the Gdansk Basin, despite, in general, very low foraminiferal amounts and diversity. The strongly positive North Atlantic Oscillation Index during this period led to the prevalence of westerly winds over the Baltic region and stronger saltwater intrusions. In the recent sediments, the reconstructed inflow frequency demonstrates a variability against the reduction trend, and a general decline compared to the Medieval Climate Anomaly is seen. Full article

The Villafranchian stage in the mammal fauna evolution in Eurasia (ca. 3.6/3.4 Ma—ca. 1.2 Ma) is associated with the beginning of the formation of the modern appearance of the mammal megafauna of today’s Palaearctic. The cooling and the aridification starting with the beginning of the Early Pleistocene gradually eliminated the quasi-tropical appearance of the Late Neogene landscapes and fauna of Europe. The time from the Mid-Piacenzian (ca. 3.3–3.0 Ma) to the end of the Early Pleistocene was a time of particularly intense dispersal of species, of faunal exchange between Eurasia and Africa, and of the entry of new mammals into Europe from the East. That is why the correlation of the biochronology of the Villafranchian fauna between Eastern and Western Europe is of particular interest. Accumulated data make possible a more precise correlation of these faunas today. A correlation of selected Eastern European localities with established faunal units and MNQ zones is made in the present work. Usually, the dispersal from Asia or from E. Europe to W. Europe is instantaneous from a geological point of view, but in a number of cases, reaching W. Europe happens later, or some species known to be from Eastern Europe do not reach Western Europe. The main driving forces of the faunal dispersals, which are the key bioevents in the faunal formation, are climate changes, which in turn, affect the environment. We can summarize the following more significant Villafranchian bioevents in Europe: the End Pliocene (Early Villafranchian: MNQ16) turnover related to the first appearance of a number of taxa, for example, felids, canids, proboscideans, and ungulates; the Quaternary beginning turnover. Correlated with this are the beginning of the Middle Villafranchian, which should be placed at about 2.6 Ma; the Coste San Giacomo faunal unit turnover (Senèze and Slivnitsa localities should be included here, and the FU itself, at the very beginning of the late Villafranchian (=MNQ18a)); the Pachycrocuta event at the very beginning of the Olivola FU; and the events related to the Late Villafranchian/Epivillafranchian bounfary. Full article

The known Plio-Pleistocene mammalian record, mainly represented by small mammals, and its biotic and geological context in the vast region of Eastern Turkey and Transcaucasus provides a sound base for regional biochronology. Recently obtained faunal associations and the main evolutionary lineages found in the region support direct correlations to the European (ELMA/MN/MQ) and the Eastern European (faunal complexes/MQR-MNR) biochronological systems. Important data on palynology, aquatic and terrestrial mollusks, and magnetostratigraphy integrate the reviewed material into a robust local biochronology. The range of standard biochrons of Early Pliocene through late Early Pleistocene and the regional Anatolian zones M-P are reliably detected. The Early Pleistocene time range (zone P) is refined based on rhizodont lagurines Borsodia and Euro-Asian larger voles Mimomys ex gr. pliocaenicus. The successive zone R for Early Pleistocene faunas with early rootless Microtini is proposed. Full article

Recent investigations in the upper Lower–Middle Pleistocene deposits of the Megalopolis Basin (Greece) led to the discovery of several sites/findspots with abundant faunal material. Here, we provide an updated overview including new results on the micro- and macro-mammal fauna. Important new discoveries comprise partial hippopotamus skeletons from Marathousa 1 and the new Lower Pleistocene site Choremi 6, as well as a second partial elephant skeleton from Marathousa 1, including a complete tusk and the rarely found stylohyoideum. Based on the first results from the newly collected micromammals, we discuss age constraints of the sites, and we provide biostratigraphic/biochronologic remarks on key mammal taxa for the Middle Pleistocene of Greece and southeastern Europe. The presence of mammals highly dependent on freshwater for their survival, together with temperate-adapted ones in several stratigraphic layers of the basin, including those correlated with glacial stages, when conditions were colder and/or drier, indicate the capacity of the basin to retain perennial freshwater bodies under milder climatic conditions, even during the harsher glacial periods of the European Middle Pleistocene, and further support its refugial status. Yet, the smaller dimensions of the Megalopolis hippopotamuses may represent a response to the changing environmental conditions of the epoch, not optimal for hippopotamuses. Overall, the Megalopolis Basin comprises a unique fossil record for southeastern Europe and provides valuable insights into the Middle Pleistocene terrestrial ecosystems of Europe, and hominin adaptations in particular. Full article