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Late Pleistocene Vertebrates and Other Fossils from Epiguruk, Northwestern Alaska

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 January 2017

Thomas D. Hamilton ,
Gail M. Ashley ,
Katherine M. Reed  and
Charles E. Schweger
Thomas D. Hamilton
Affiliation:
U.S. Geological Survey, 4200 University Drive, Anchorage, Alaska 99508
Gail M. Ashley
Affiliation:
Department of Geological Sciences, Rutgers University, New Brunswick, New Jersey 08903
Katherine M. Reed
Affiliation:
Washington Division of Geology and Earth Resources, P.O. Box 47007, Olympia, Washington, 98504
Charles E. Schweger
Affiliation:
Department of Anthropology, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta T6G 2E3, Canada
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Abstract

Sediments exposed at Epiguruk, a large cutbank on the Kobuk River about 170 km inland from Kotzebue Sound, record multiple episodes of glacial-age alluviation followed by interstadial downcutting and formation of paleosols. Vertebrate remains from Epiguruk include mammoth, bison, caribou, an equid, a canid, arctic ground squirrel, lemmings, and voles. Radiocarbon ages of bone validated by concordant ages of peat and wood span the interval between about 37,000 and 14,000 yr B.P. The late Pleistocene pollen record is dominated by Cyperaceae, with Artemisia, Salix, Betula, and Gramineae also generally abundant. The fossil record from Epiguruk indicates that the Kobuk River valley supported tundra vegetation with abundant riparian willows during middle and late Wisconsin time. Large herbivores were present during the height of late Wisconsin glaciation as well as during its waning stage and the preceding interstadial interval. The Kobuk River valley would have been a favorable refugium for plants, animals, and possibly humans throughout the last glaciation.

Type
Articles
Information
Quaternary Research , Volume 39 , Issue 3 , May 1993 , pp. 381 - 389
Copyright
University of Washington

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