Megafauna-human interaction in central Mexico 35,000 years ago? Late Pleistocene bones and artifacts from Cedral, San Luis Potosí

35,000 年前墨西哥中部巨型动物与人类的互动？

• 批准号: 448772203
• 负责人: Professor Dr. Wolfgang Stinnesbeck, since 7/2022
• 金额: --
• 依托单位: Facultad Ciencias de la Tierra
• 依托单位国家: 德国
• 项目类别: Research Grants
• 财政年份: 2020
• 资助国家: 德国
• 起止时间: 2019-12-31 至 2022-12-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://gepris.dfg.de/gepris/projekt/448772203?language=en
• 关键词: Megafauna; human; interaction; central; Mexico

During the past 15 kyr Mexican ecosystems were subject to rapid climate fluctuations resulting in spatially and temporally changing biodiversity patterns. In North-Central Mexico, this is influenced to the north-south orientation of both the Sierra Madre Oriental and Occidental mountain ranges. The plains between them allowed for a north-south migration of biota. In contrast the Trans-Mexican Volcanic Belt running in an East-West direction hindered the biotic interchange between North and South America. The fossiliferous sediments between the Sierras are perfect for analyzing fluctuations of biodiversity, environment and climate. Mexico also has a long history of peopling that is proved as early as ca. 13,000 kyr.In September 2019, a contact with an employee of the Santa Maria Silver Mine in Villa de la Paz, San Luis Potosí, Central Mexico, resulted in a scientific weekend meeting combined with a one day field trip to the Amapola Ranch at the town of Cedral. The local outcrops are full of fossils of Late Pleistocene age and prove an unusual biodiversity. Fossil wood and charcoal nests interpreted as hearths, associated with artifacts, were dated to about 35,000 years bp.During the past decade, an interdisciplinary investigation of localities at Cedral has been carried out by an archaeology work group of the University of San Luis Potosí. During the weekend meeting in Villa de La Paz, the UASLP it turned out that most of their results are based on doubtful methods and that the dating produced by a state institution has never been confirmed nor have bone samples been dated. The proposed project is based on scientific two pilot excavations in an extremely fossiliferous pit that has not been investigated. Based on the results of these excavations with respect to biodiversity, geological age and environmental proxies we will be able to draw conclusions on the faunal and environmental changes across the Pleistocene-Holocene boundary in the Cedral region and compare these data with those of other coeval localities. We will also search the bones for scratch marks and discuss the mass extinction of megafauna in the context of environmental changes and humans settlement. Additionally we have access to an artifact collection containing more than 17,000 specimens, amongst them large un-fluted blades intermediate between Solutrean and Clovis style. The exact provenance of these blades is known and should be sediment sampled. Of special interest is the correlation between the artifacts found at Amapola and the material in the collection.We are aware that the funding requested here will only allow us to establish new environmental for a future larger German-Mexican joined project.

在过去的15 kyr，墨西哥生态系统受到快速的气候波动，导致空间和时间变化的生物多样性模式。在墨西哥中北部，这受到马德雷山脉东方和西方山脉南北走向的影响。它们之间的平原允许生物群从北向南迁移。与此相反，横贯墨西哥的火山带东西走向，阻碍了南北美洲之间的生物交流。Sierras之间的含盐沉积物非常适合分析生物多样性，环境和气候的波动。墨西哥也有悠久的人口历史，这是证明早在公元前。2019年9月，与位于墨西哥中部圣路易斯波托西州维拉德拉巴斯的圣玛利亚银的一名员工进行了接触，导致了一次科学周末会议，并在塞德拉尔镇的Amapola牧场进行了为期一天的实地考察。当地的露头充满了晚更新世时代的化石，证明了一种不寻常的生物多样性。化石木材和木炭巢解释为炉床，与人工制品有关，可追溯到大约35，000年前。在过去的十年中，圣路易斯波托西大学的一个考古工作组对塞德拉尔的地点进行了跨学科的调查。在拉巴斯别墅举行的周末会议上，UASLP发现他们的大部分结果都是基于可疑的方法，一个国家机构产生的年代测定从未得到证实，也没有对骨骼样本进行年代测定。拟议的项目是基于科学的两个试点挖掘在一个极其丰富的坑，尚未调查。根据这些挖掘的结果，生物多样性，地质年龄和环境代理，我们将能够得出结论的动物群和环境变化的更新世-全新世边界的塞德拉尔地区，并比较这些数据与其他同时代的地方。我们还将寻找骨头上的划痕，并讨论在环境变化和人类定居的背景下巨型动物的大规模灭绝。此外，我们还拥有一个包含17，000多件标本的文物收藏，其中包括介于Solutrean和克洛维斯风格之间的大型无槽刀片。这些叶片的确切来源是已知的，应进行沉积物取样。特别令人感兴趣的是在Amapola发现的文物和收藏品中的材料之间的相关性。我们知道这里要求的资金只会让我们为未来更大的德国-墨西哥联合项目建立新的环境。