Polar Bear Fossil and Archaeological Records from the Pleistocene and Holocene in Relation to Sea Ice Extent and Open Water Polynyas
The polar bear (Ursus maritimus) is the apex predator of the Arctic but its distribution throughout the Pleistocene and Holocene has not previously been reported. Although natural death specimens of this species (‘fossils’) are rare, archaeological remains are much more common. This historical compi...
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Ubiquity Press
2022
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ftjoq:oai:ojs.pkp.sfu.ca:article/107 2023-06-18T03:39:11+02:00 Polar Bear Fossil and Archaeological Records from the Pleistocene and Holocene in Relation to Sea Ice Extent and Open Water Polynyas Crockford, Susan J. 2022-05-06 application/pdf application/xml https://account.openquaternary.com/index.php/up-j-oq/article/view/107 https://doi.org/10.5334/oq.107 eng eng Ubiquity Press https://account.openquaternary.com/index.php/up-j-oq/article/view/107/161 https://account.openquaternary.com/index.php/up-j-oq/article/view/107/162 https://account.openquaternary.com/index.php/up-j-oq/article/view/107 doi:10.5334/oq.107 Copyright (c) 2022 The Author(s) https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0 Open Quaternary; Vol. 8 (2022); 7 2055-298X Ursus maritimus Arctic Zhokov Island extralimital records ecology skeletal remains info:eu-repo/semantics/article info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion 2022 ftjoq https://doi.org/10.5334/oq.107 2023-06-05T14:29:32Z The polar bear (Ursus maritimus) is the apex predator of the Arctic but its distribution throughout the Pleistocene and Holocene has not previously been reported. Although natural death specimens of this species (‘fossils’) are rare, archaeological remains are much more common. This historical compilation presents the record of known ancient polar bear remains from fossil and archaeological contexts before AD 1910. Most remains date within the Holocene and derive from human habitation sites within the modern range of the species, with extralimital specimens documented in the north Atlantic during the late Pleistocene and in the southern Bering Sea during the middle Holocene reflecting natural expansions of sea ice during known cold periods. The single largest polar bear assemblage was recovered from an archaeological site on Zhokhov Island, Russia, occupied ca. 8,250–7,800 a BP during the warmer-than-today Holocene Climatic Optimum: 5,915 polar bear bones were recovered, representing 28% of all remains identified. Polar bear fossils and archaeological remains across the Arctic are most often found in proximity to areas where polynyas (recurring areas of thin ice or open water) are known today and which likely occurred in the past, including for the oldest known fossil from Svalbard (ca. 130–115 k a BP) and the oldest known archaeological specimens from Zhokhov Island (ca. 8,000 a BP). This pattern indicates that as they do today, polar bears may have been most commonly found near polynyas throughout their known historical past because of their need for ice-edge habitats at which to hunt seals. Article in Journal/Newspaper Arctic Bering Sea North Atlantic Sea ice Svalbard Ursus maritimus Zhokhov Island Open Quaternary (E-Journal) Arctic Bering Sea Svalbard Open Quaternary 8 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
Open Quaternary (E-Journal) |
op_collection_id |
ftjoq |
language |
English |
topic |
Ursus maritimus Arctic Zhokov Island extralimital records ecology skeletal remains |
spellingShingle |
Ursus maritimus Arctic Zhokov Island extralimital records ecology skeletal remains Crockford, Susan J. Polar Bear Fossil and Archaeological Records from the Pleistocene and Holocene in Relation to Sea Ice Extent and Open Water Polynyas |
topic_facet |
Ursus maritimus Arctic Zhokov Island extralimital records ecology skeletal remains |
description |
The polar bear (Ursus maritimus) is the apex predator of the Arctic but its distribution throughout the Pleistocene and Holocene has not previously been reported. Although natural death specimens of this species (‘fossils’) are rare, archaeological remains are much more common. This historical compilation presents the record of known ancient polar bear remains from fossil and archaeological contexts before AD 1910. Most remains date within the Holocene and derive from human habitation sites within the modern range of the species, with extralimital specimens documented in the north Atlantic during the late Pleistocene and in the southern Bering Sea during the middle Holocene reflecting natural expansions of sea ice during known cold periods. The single largest polar bear assemblage was recovered from an archaeological site on Zhokhov Island, Russia, occupied ca. 8,250–7,800 a BP during the warmer-than-today Holocene Climatic Optimum: 5,915 polar bear bones were recovered, representing 28% of all remains identified. Polar bear fossils and archaeological remains across the Arctic are most often found in proximity to areas where polynyas (recurring areas of thin ice or open water) are known today and which likely occurred in the past, including for the oldest known fossil from Svalbard (ca. 130–115 k a BP) and the oldest known archaeological specimens from Zhokhov Island (ca. 8,000 a BP). This pattern indicates that as they do today, polar bears may have been most commonly found near polynyas throughout their known historical past because of their need for ice-edge habitats at which to hunt seals. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Crockford, Susan J. |
author_facet |
Crockford, Susan J. |
author_sort |
Crockford, Susan J. |
title |
Polar Bear Fossil and Archaeological Records from the Pleistocene and Holocene in Relation to Sea Ice Extent and Open Water Polynyas |
title_short |
Polar Bear Fossil and Archaeological Records from the Pleistocene and Holocene in Relation to Sea Ice Extent and Open Water Polynyas |
title_full |
Polar Bear Fossil and Archaeological Records from the Pleistocene and Holocene in Relation to Sea Ice Extent and Open Water Polynyas |
title_fullStr |
Polar Bear Fossil and Archaeological Records from the Pleistocene and Holocene in Relation to Sea Ice Extent and Open Water Polynyas |
title_full_unstemmed |
Polar Bear Fossil and Archaeological Records from the Pleistocene and Holocene in Relation to Sea Ice Extent and Open Water Polynyas |
title_sort |
polar bear fossil and archaeological records from the pleistocene and holocene in relation to sea ice extent and open water polynyas |
publisher |
Ubiquity Press |
publishDate |
2022 |
url |
https://account.openquaternary.com/index.php/up-j-oq/article/view/107 https://doi.org/10.5334/oq.107 |
geographic |
Arctic Bering Sea Svalbard |
geographic_facet |
Arctic Bering Sea Svalbard |
genre |
Arctic Bering Sea North Atlantic Sea ice Svalbard Ursus maritimus Zhokhov Island |
genre_facet |
Arctic Bering Sea North Atlantic Sea ice Svalbard Ursus maritimus Zhokhov Island |
op_source |
Open Quaternary; Vol. 8 (2022); 7 2055-298X |
op_relation |
https://account.openquaternary.com/index.php/up-j-oq/article/view/107/161 https://account.openquaternary.com/index.php/up-j-oq/article/view/107/162 https://account.openquaternary.com/index.php/up-j-oq/article/view/107 doi:10.5334/oq.107 |
op_rights |
Copyright (c) 2022 The Author(s) https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0 |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.5334/oq.107 |
container_title |
Open Quaternary |
container_volume |
8 |
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1769003983415803904 |