Late Quaternary environmental change in the Southern Cape, South Africa, from stable carbon and oxygen isotopes in faunal tooth enamel from Boomplaas Cave

• Published in: Journal of Quaternary Science
• Main Authors: Sealy, Judith, Lee-Thorp, Julia, Loftus, Emma, Faith, J. Tyler, Marean, Curtis W.
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: John Wiley & Sons 2016
• Subjects: Bioapatite; C3/C4; Last Glacial Maximum; Palaeoclimate; Palaeoenvironment; 1201 Arts and Humanities (miscellaneous); 1901 Earth and Planetary Sciences (miscellaneous); 1911 Palaeontology; Antarctic; Antarc*
• Online Access: https://espace.library.uq.edu.au/view/UQ:416953

Pleistocene palaeoclimates and palaeoenvironments of southernmost Africa are important for understanding southern hemisphere climate dynamics and for reconstructing human evolution and early human settlement in this region. Measurements of δC in tooth enamel of 136 faunal specimens from the archaeological site of Boomplaas Cave, South Africa, show significant shifts in proportions of C and C vegetation from the earliest deposits, probably dating to Marine Isotope Stage (MIS) 5, to the late Holocene. Vegetation communities during the Last Glacial Maximum were strongly C-dominated, indicating an eastward expansion of the winter rainfall zone at this time. This is consistent with climate models postulating northwards shift and/or intensification of the circumpolar westerly frontal systems during glacials. Winter rainfall and lower temperatures, both of which favour C grasses, were clearly more important than lower pCO (which favours C grasses) in determining the nature of the vegetation. The intervals 40–36 and 17–14k cal a BP supported substantial quantities of C grasses, indicating a greater proportion of summer rainfall at these times. These two intervals correspond with warmer climates as reflected in Antarctic ice cores. δC of an as yet unnamed caprine indicate that these animals were primarily C grazers.