Another perspective on the age and origin of the Berelyokh mammoth site (northeast Siberia)
Abstract The Berelyokh site includes an exceptional bone horizon consisting of 8431 remains of Mammuthus primigenius. Previous investigations, spanning ~40 years, concluded that the deaths and bone concentration were caused by spring flooding, possibly related to wetter Bølling climates. We review w...
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crcambridgeupr:10.1017/qua.2018.3 2024-09-15T18:30:06+00:00 Another perspective on the age and origin of the Berelyokh mammoth site (northeast Siberia) Lozhkin, Anatoly V. Anderson, Patricia M. 2018 http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/qua.2018.3 https://www.cambridge.org/core/services/aop-cambridge-core/content/view/S0033589418000030 en eng Cambridge University Press (CUP) https://www.cambridge.org/core/terms Quaternary Research volume 89, issue 2, page 459-477 ISSN 0033-5894 1096-0287 journal-article 2018 crcambridgeupr https://doi.org/10.1017/qua.2018.3 2024-07-31T04:04:46Z Abstract The Berelyokh site includes an exceptional bone horizon consisting of 8431 remains of Mammuthus primigenius. Previous investigations, spanning ~40 years, concluded that the deaths and bone concentration were caused by spring flooding, possibly related to wetter Bølling climates. We review work from these studies with emphasis on under-reported palynological data to provide more detail on paleoenvironmental reconstructions and an alternative interpretation for the age and origin of the bone bed. Palynological results suggest the horizon formed under cool conditions of the last glacial maximum, rather than during a Bølling-type oscillation. Presence of permafrost features and associated tundra pollen taxa in the Berelyokh sections suggest that thermokarst processes, unrelated to climate change, could account for the formation of the bone horizon. The penetration of surface waters into frozen sediments of a high floodplain terrace resulted in the formation of hidden thaw sinks. As thaw continued, the pits expanded with surface soils supported by a viscous water-sediment mixture. The weakened surface gave way under the weight of the mammoths, with the hillside collapsing either due to the animals’ struggles or destabilization related to the thaw sinks. This scenario highlights the hazards of thermokarst terrain for present and future populations of northern animals. Article in Journal/Newspaper permafrost Thermokarst Tundra Siberia Cambridge University Press Quaternary Research 89 2 459 477 |
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Open Polar |
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Cambridge University Press |
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English |
description |
Abstract The Berelyokh site includes an exceptional bone horizon consisting of 8431 remains of Mammuthus primigenius. Previous investigations, spanning ~40 years, concluded that the deaths and bone concentration were caused by spring flooding, possibly related to wetter Bølling climates. We review work from these studies with emphasis on under-reported palynological data to provide more detail on paleoenvironmental reconstructions and an alternative interpretation for the age and origin of the bone bed. Palynological results suggest the horizon formed under cool conditions of the last glacial maximum, rather than during a Bølling-type oscillation. Presence of permafrost features and associated tundra pollen taxa in the Berelyokh sections suggest that thermokarst processes, unrelated to climate change, could account for the formation of the bone horizon. The penetration of surface waters into frozen sediments of a high floodplain terrace resulted in the formation of hidden thaw sinks. As thaw continued, the pits expanded with surface soils supported by a viscous water-sediment mixture. The weakened surface gave way under the weight of the mammoths, with the hillside collapsing either due to the animals’ struggles or destabilization related to the thaw sinks. This scenario highlights the hazards of thermokarst terrain for present and future populations of northern animals. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Lozhkin, Anatoly V. Anderson, Patricia M. |
spellingShingle |
Lozhkin, Anatoly V. Anderson, Patricia M. Another perspective on the age and origin of the Berelyokh mammoth site (northeast Siberia) |
author_facet |
Lozhkin, Anatoly V. Anderson, Patricia M. |
author_sort |
Lozhkin, Anatoly V. |
title |
Another perspective on the age and origin of the Berelyokh mammoth site (northeast Siberia) |
title_short |
Another perspective on the age and origin of the Berelyokh mammoth site (northeast Siberia) |
title_full |
Another perspective on the age and origin of the Berelyokh mammoth site (northeast Siberia) |
title_fullStr |
Another perspective on the age and origin of the Berelyokh mammoth site (northeast Siberia) |
title_full_unstemmed |
Another perspective on the age and origin of the Berelyokh mammoth site (northeast Siberia) |
title_sort |
another perspective on the age and origin of the berelyokh mammoth site (northeast siberia) |
publisher |
Cambridge University Press (CUP) |
publishDate |
2018 |
url |
http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/qua.2018.3 https://www.cambridge.org/core/services/aop-cambridge-core/content/view/S0033589418000030 |
genre |
permafrost Thermokarst Tundra Siberia |
genre_facet |
permafrost Thermokarst Tundra Siberia |
op_source |
Quaternary Research volume 89, issue 2, page 459-477 ISSN 0033-5894 1096-0287 |
op_rights |
https://www.cambridge.org/core/terms |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1017/qua.2018.3 |
container_title |
Quaternary Research |
container_volume |
89 |
container_issue |
2 |
container_start_page |
459 |
op_container_end_page |
477 |
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1810471585204666368 |