Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-r5fsc Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-25T17:18:31.621Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Paleoenvironment of the Folsom archaeological site, New Mexico, USA, approximately 10,500 14C yr B.P. as inferred from the stable isotope composition of fossil land snail shells

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 January 2017

Meena Balakrishnan ,
Crayton J. Yapp ,
David J. Meltzer  and
James L. Theler
Meena Balakrishnan
Affiliation:
Department of Geological Sciences, Southern Methodist University, Dallas, Texas 75275-0395, USA
Crayton J. Yapp*
Affiliation:
Department of Geological Sciences, Southern Methodist University, Dallas, Texas 75275-0395, USA
David J. Meltzer
Affiliation:
Department of Anthropology, Southern Methodist University, Dallas, Texas 75275-0336, USA
James L. Theler
Affiliation:
Department of Sociology and Archaeology, University of Wisconsin-La Crosse, La Crosse, Wisconsin 54601, USA
*
*Fax: +1 214 768 2701. E-mail address:[email protected] (C.J. Yapp).
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Well-preserved aragonitic land snail shells (Vallonia) from late Pleistocene Eolian sediment in the Folsom archaeological site in New Mexico exhibit an overall decrease of δ18OPDB from maximum values of +2.7‰ (more positive than modern) to younger samples with lower average values of about −3.6‰ (within the modern range). The age of the samples (approximately 10,500 14C yr B.P.) suggests that the decrease in δ18O may manifest climatic changes associated with the Younger Dryas. Some combination of increased relative humidity and cooler temperatures with decreased δ18O of precipitation during the times of snail activity can explain the decrease in shell δ18O. A well-known Paleoindian bison kill occurred at the Folsom site during this inferred environmental transition.

Average δ13C values of the aragonite shells of the fossil Vallonia range from −7.3 to −6.0‰ among different archaeological levels and are not as negative as modern values. This suggests that the proportion of C4 vegetation at the Folsom site approximately 10,500 14C yr B.P. was greater than at present; a result which is consistent with other evidence for higher proportions of C4 plants in the region at that time.

Keywords

Oxygen isotopesCarbon isotopesLand snailsPaleoenvironmentFolsom siteC4 plantsYounger Dryas
Type
Research Article
Information
Quaternary Research , Volume 63 , Issue 1 , January 2005 , pp. 31 - 44
Copyright
University of Washington

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Abell, P.I., Plug, I., (2000). The Pleistocene/Holocene transition in South Africa: evidence for the Younger Dryas event. Global and Planetary Change 26, 173–179.Google Scholar
Aharon, P., (2003). Meltwater flooding events in the Gulf of Mexico revisited: implications for rapid climatic changes during the last glaciation. Paleoceanography 18, 4 1079 .Google Scholar
Allen, B.D., Anderson, R.Y., (2000). A continuous high-resolution record of late Pleistocene climate variability from the Estancia basin, New Mexico. Geological Society of America Bulletin 112, 1444–1458.2.0.CO;2>CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Alley, R., Marotzke, J., Nordhaus, W., Overpeck, J., Peteet, D., Pielke, R., Pierrehumbert, R., Rhines, P., Stocker, T., Talley, L., Wallace, J., (2003). Abrupt climate change. Science 299, 2005–2010.Google Scholar
Anderson, A.B., Haynes, C.V., (1979). How old is the Capulin Mountain? Correlation between Capulin Mountain volcanic flows and the Folsom type site northeastern New Mexico. Linn, R., Proceedings of the First Conference on Scientific Research in the National Parks, Volume II U.S. Department of the Interior, NPS Transactions and Proceedings vol. 5, Government Printing office, Washington, DC., 893–898.Google Scholar
Arens, N.C., Jahren, A.H., Amundson, R., (2000). Can C3 plants faithfully record the carbon isotopic composition of atmospheric carbon dioxide?. Paleobiology 26, 137–164.Google Scholar
Armour, J., Fawcett, P.J., Geissman, J.W., (2002). 15 k.y. paleoclimatic and glacial record from northern New Mexico. Geology 30, 723–726.Google Scholar
Arnold, K., (1998). Semester summary of Folsom, New Mexico site 29CX1 snail population survey for unit N1024E998. Senior Research Project Geology and Anthropology Departments, Southern Methodist University, 28 pp.Google Scholar
Arnold, K., (1999). Microstratigraphic investigations employing gastropod samples for unit N1033E998 of the Folsom site 29CX1, New Mexico. Senior Research Project Geology and Anthropology Departments, Southern Methodist University, 34 pp.Google Scholar
Balakrishnan, M., Yapp, C.J., (2004). Flux balance models for the oxygen and carbon isotope compositions of land snail shells. Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta 68, 2007–2024.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Balakrishnan, M., Yapp, C.J., Theler, J.L., Carter, B.J., Wyckoff, D.G., (2005). Environmental significance of 13C/12C and 18O/16O ratios of modern land snails shells from the southern Great Plains of North America. Quaternary Research 63, 1 15–30.Google Scholar
Bard, E., (1998). Geochemical and geophysical implications of the radiocarbon calibration. Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta 62, 2025–2038.Google Scholar
Bjork, S., Kromer, B., Johnsen, S., Bennike, O., Hammarlund, D., Lemdahl, G., Possnert, G., Rasmussen, T.L., Wohlfarth, B., Hammer, C.U., Spurk, M., (1996). Synchronized terrestrial-atmospheric deglacial records around the north Atlantic. Science 274, 1155–1160.Google Scholar
Bonadonna, F.P., Leone, G., Zanchetta, G., (1999). Stable isotope analyses on the last 30 ka molluscan fauna from Pampa grassland, Bonaerense region, Argentina. Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology 153, 289–308.Google Scholar
Brennan, R., Quade, J., (1997). Reliable late-Pleistocene stratigraphic ages and shorter groundwater travel times from 14C in fossil snails from the Southern Great Basin. Quaternary Research 47, 329–336.Google Scholar
Cerling, T.E., (1984). The stable isotopic composition of modern soil carbonate and its relationship to climate. Earth and Planetary Science Letters 71, 229–240.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Cerling, T.E., Quade, J., (1993). Stable carbon and oxygen isotopes in soil carbonates. Swart, P.K., Lohman, K.C., McKenzie, J., Savin, S., Climate Change in Continental Isotopic Records Geophysical Monograph vol. 78, American Geophysical Union, Washington., 217–231.Google Scholar
Cole, D.R., Monger, C.H., (1994). Influence of atmospheric CO2 on the decline of C4 plants during the last deglaciation. Nature 368, 533–536.Google Scholar
Cole, D.R., Ohmoto, H., (1986). Kinetics of isotopic exchange at elevated temperatures and pressures. Valley, J.W., Stable Isotopes in High Temperature Geological Processes Reviews in Mineralogy vol. 16, 41–90.Google Scholar
Connin, S.L., Betancourt, J., Quade, J., (1998). Late Pleistocene C4 dominance and summer rainfall in the southwestern United States from isotopic study of herbivore teeth. Quaternary Research 50, 179–193.Google Scholar
Cook, H.J., (1927). New geological and palaeontological evidence bearing on the antiquity of mankind in America. Natural History 27, 240–247.Google Scholar
Craig, H., (1957). Isotopic standard for carbon and oxygen and correction factors for mass spectrometric analysis of carbon dioxide. Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta 12, 133–149.Google Scholar
Dansgaard, W., (1964). Stable isotopes in precipitation. Tellus 16, 436–469.Google Scholar
Dansgaard, W., Johnsen, S.J., Clausen, H.B., Dahl-Jensen, D., Gundestrup, N.S., Hammer, C.U., Oeschger, H., (1984). North Atlantic climatic oscillations revealed by deep Greenland ice cores. Hansen, J.E., Takahashi, T., Climate Processes and Climate Sensitivity Geophysical Monograph vol. 29, American Geophysical Union, Washington., 288–298.Google Scholar
Dansgaard, W., White, J.W.C., Johnsen, S.J., (1989). The abrupt termination of the Younger Dryas climate event. Nature 339, 532–534.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Dansgard, W., Johnsen, S.J., Clausen, H.B., Dahl-Jensen, D., Gundestrup, N.S., Hammer, C.U., Gvidberg, C.S., Steffensen, J.P., Sveinbjornsdottir, A.E., Jouzel, J., Bond, G., (1993). Evidence for general instability of past climate from a 250-kyr ice-core record. Nature 364, 218–220.Google Scholar
Denniston, R.F., Gonzalez, L.A., Asmeron, Y., Polyak, V., Reagan, M.K., Saltzman, M.R., (2001). A high-resolution speleothem record of climate variability at the Allerød-Younger Dryas transition in Missouri central United States. Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology 176, 147–155.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Denton, G.H., Hendy, C.H., (1994). Younger Dryas age advance of Franz Josef glacier in the southern Alps of New Zealand. Science 264, 1434–1437.Google Scholar
Ekart, D.D., Cerling, T.E., Montanez, I.P., Tabor, N.J., (1999). A 400 million year carbon isotope record of pedogenic carbonate: implications for paleoatmospheric carbon dioxide. American Journal of Science 299, 805–827.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Epstein, S., (1995). The isotopic climatic records in the Allerod-Bolling-Younger Dryas and post-Younger Dryas events. Global Biogeochemical Cycles 9, 557–563.Google Scholar
Figgins, J.D., (1927). The antiquity of man in America. Natural History 27, 229–239.Google Scholar
Francey, R.J., (1983). A comment on 13C/12C in land snail shells. Earth and Planetary Science Letters 63, 142–143.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Goodfriend, G.A., (1988). Mid-Holocene rainfall in the Negev Desert from 13C of land snail shell organic matter. Nature 333, 757–760.Google Scholar
Goodfriend, G.A., (1990). Rainfall in the Negev Desert during the middle Holocene based on 13C of organic matter in land snail shells. Quaternary Research 34, 186–197.Google Scholar
Goodfriend, G.A., (1991). Holocene trends in 18O in land snail shells from the Negev desert and their implications for changes in rainfall source areas. Quaternary Research 35, 417–426.Google Scholar
Goodfriend, G.A., (1992). The use of land snail shells in paleoenvironmental reconstruction. Quaternary Science Reviews 11, 665–685.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Goodfriend, G.A., Ellis, G.L., (2000). Stable carbon isotope record of middle to late Holocene climate changes from land snail shells at Hinds Cave, Texas. Quaternary International 67, 47–60.Google Scholar
Goodfriend, G.A., Ellis, G.L., (2002). Stable carbon and oxygen isotopic variations in modern Rabdotus land snail shell in the southern Great Plains, USA, and their relation to environment. Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta 66, 1987–2002.Google Scholar
Goodfriend, G.A., Hood, D.J., (1983). Carbon isotope analysis of land snail shells: implications for carbon sources and radiocarbon dating. Radiocarbon 25, 810–830.Google Scholar
Goodfriend, G.A., Magaritz, M., (1987). Carbon and oxygen isotope composition of shell carbonate of desert land snails. Earth and Planetary Science Letters 86, 377–388.Google Scholar
Gosse, J.C., Evenson, E.B., Klein, J., Lawn, B., Middleton, R., (1995). Precise cosmogenic 10Be measurements on western North America: support for a global Younger Dryas cooling event. Geology 23, 877–880.2.3.CO;2>CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Grossman, E.L., Ku, T.-L., (1986). Oxygen and carbon isotope fractionation in biogenic aragonite: temperature effects. Chemical Geology 59, 59–74.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Holliday, V.T., (2000). Folsom drought and episodic drying on the Southern High Plains. Quaternary Research 53, 1–12.Google Scholar
Johnsen, S.F., Dahl-Jensen, D., Gungestrup, N., Steffensen, J.P., Clausen, H.B., Miller, H., Masson-Delmotte, V., Sveinbjörnsdottir, A.E., White, J., (2001). Oxygen isotope and palaeotemperature records from six Greenland ice-core stations: Camp Century, Dye-3, GRIP, GISP-2, Renland and NorthGRIP. Journal of Quaternary Science 16, 299–307.Google Scholar
Kaiser, K.F., Eicher, U., (1987). Fossil pollen, mollusks, and stable isotopes in the Dättnau Valley, Switzerland. Boreas 16, 293–303.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kuhry, P., Hooghiemstra, H., van Geel, B., van der Hammen, T., (1993). The El Abra stadial in the Eastern Cordillera of Colombia (South America). Quaternary Science Reviews 12, 333–343.Google Scholar
Liu, B., Phillips, F.M., Campbell, A.R., (1996). Stable carbon and oxygen isotopes of pedogenic carbonates, Ajo Mountains, southern Arizona: implications for paleoenvironmental change. Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology 124, 233–246.Google Scholar
Magaritz, M., Heller, J., (1980). A desert migration indicator-oxygen isotopic composition of land snail shells. Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology 32, 153–162.Google Scholar
Mathews, R.W., Heusser, L.E., Patterson, R.T., (1993). Evidence for a Younger Dryas-like cooling event on the British Columbia coast. Geology 21, 101–104.Google Scholar
McCrea, J.M., (1950). On the isotopic chemistry of carbonates and a paleotemperature scale. Journal of Chemical Physics 18, 849–857.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Meltzer, D.J., (1983). The antiquity of man and the development of American archaeology. Schiffer, M.B., Advances in Archaeological Method and Theory Westview Press, Boulder., 1–51.Google Scholar
Meltzer, D.J., Todd, L.C., Holliday, V.T., (2002). The Folsom (Paleoindian) type site: past investigations, current studies. American Antiquity 67, 5–36.Google Scholar
Metref, S., Rousseau, D.-D., Bentaleb, I., Labonne, M., Vianey-Liaud, M., (2003). Study of the diet effect on δ13C of shell carbonate of the land snail Helix aspersa in experimental conditions. Earth and Planetary Science Letters 211, 381–393.Google Scholar
Monger, H.C., Cole, D.R., Gish, J.W., Giordano, T.H., (1998). Stable carbon and oxygen isotopes in quaternary soil carbonates as indicators of ecogeomorphic changes in the northern Chihuahuan Desert, USA. Geoderma 82, 137–172.Google Scholar
Mook, W.G., Bommerson, J.C., Staverman, W.H., (1974). Carbon isotope fractionation between dissolved bicarbonate and gaseous carbon dioxide. Earth and Planetary Science Letters 22, 169–176.Google Scholar
Nordt, L.C., Boutton, T.W., Jacob, J.S., Mandel, R.D., (2002). C4 plant productivity and climate-CO2 variations in south-central Texas during the late quaternary. Quaternary Research 58, 182–188.Google Scholar
Peteet, D.M., Daniels, R., Heusser, L.E., Vogel, J.S., Southon, J.R., Nelson, D.E., (1993). Late glacial pollen, macrofossils and fish remains in northeastern U.S.A.—The Younger Dryas oscillation. Quaternary Science Reviews 12, 597–612.Google Scholar
Pigati, J.S., Quade, J., Shahanan, T.M., Haynes, C.V. Jr., (2004). Radiocarbon dating of minute gastropods and new constraints on the timing of late Quaternary spring-discharge deposits in southern Arizona. Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology 204, 33–45.Google Scholar
Polyak, V.J., Rasmussen, J.B.T., Asmerom, Y., (2004). Prolonged wet period in the southwestern United States through the Younger Dryas. Geology 32, 5–8.Google Scholar
Reasoner, M.A., Jodry, M.A., (2000). Rapid response of alpine timberline vegetation to the Younger Dryas climatic oscillation in the Colorado Rocky mountains, USA. Geology 28, 51–54.2.0.CO;2>CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Reasoner, M.A., Osborn, G., Rutter, N.W., (1994). Age of the crawfoot advance in the Canadian rocky mountains: a glacial event coeval with the Younger Dryas oscillation. Geology 22, 439–442.Google Scholar
Roads, J.O., (1978). Numerical experiments on the climatic sensitivity of an atmospheric hydrologic cycle. Journal of Atmospheric Science 35, 753–773.Google Scholar
Romanek, C.S., Grossman, E.L., Morse, J.W., (1992). Carbon isotopic fractionation in synthetic aragonite and calcite: effects of temperature and precipitation rate. Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta 56, 419–430.Google Scholar
Rozanski, K., Araguas-Araguas, L., Gonfiantini, R., (1993). Isotopic patterns in modern global precipitation. Swart, P.K., Lohman, K.C., McKenzie, J., Savin, S., Climate Change in Continental Isotopic Records Geophysical Monograph vol. 78, American Geophysical Union, Washington., 1–36.Google Scholar
Schoell, M., (1980). The hydrogen and carbon isotopic composition of methane from natural gases of various origins. Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta 44, 649–661.Google Scholar
Scott, G., Scott, C. Pillmore (1993). Geologic and structure-contour map of the Raton 30′ × 60′ Quadrangle, Colfax and Union Counties, New Mexico and Las Animas county, Colorado.U.S. Geological Survey, Miscellaneous Investigations Series, Map I-2266.Google Scholar
Shemesh, A., Peteet, D., (1998). Oxygen isotopes in fresh water biogenic opal-Northeastern US Alleröd-Younger Dryas temperature shift. Geophysical Research Letters 25, 1935–1938.Google Scholar
Stott, L.D., (2002). The influence of diet on the δ13C of shell carbon in the pulmonate snail Helix aspersa . Earth and Planetary Science Letters 195, 249–259.Google Scholar
Stuiver, M., Grootes, P.M., Braziunas, T.F., (1995). The GISP δ18O climate record of the past 16,500 years and the role of the sun, ocean, and volcanoes. Quaternary Research 44, 341–354.Google Scholar
Thompson, R., and Cheny, S. (1996). Raising Snails. National Agriculture Library Special reference briefs.NAL 96-05.Google Scholar
Thompson, L.G., Mosely-Thompson, E., Davis, M.E., Lin, P.N., Henderson, K.A., Cole-Dai, J., Bolzan, J.F., Liu, K.B., (1995). Late stage and Holocene tropical ice core records from Huascarán, Peru. Science 269, 46–50.Google Scholar
Van der Schalie, A., Getz, L.L., (1961). Comparison of adult and young Pomatiopsis cincinnatiensis (lea) in respect to moisture requirements. Transactions of the American Microscopical Society 80, 211–220.Google Scholar
Van der Schalie, A., Getz, L.L., (1963). Comparison of temperature and moisture responses of the snail genera Pomatiopsis and Oncomelania . Ecology 44, 73–83.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Yapp, C.J., (1979). Oxygen and carbon isotope measurements of land snail shell carbonate. Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta 43, 629–635.Google Scholar
Yapp, C.J., (1982). A model for the relationships between precipitation D/H ratios and precipitation intensity. Journal of Geophysical Research 87, 9614–9620.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Yapp, C.J., Epstein, S., (1985). Seasonal contributions to the climatic variations recorded in tree ring deuterium/hydrogen data. Journal of Geophysical Research 90, 3747–3752.Google Scholar
Yates, T.J.S., Spiro, B.F., Vita-Finzi, C., (2002). Stable isotope variability and the selection of mollusk shell samples for 14C dating. Quaternary International 87, 87–100.Google Scholar
Yu, Z., Wright, H.E. Jr., (2001). Response of interior North America to abrupt climate oscillations in the north Atlantic region during the last deglaciation. Earth-Science Reviews 52, 333–369.Google Scholar