Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-2brh9 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-23T06:45:30.978Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Late Quaternary environments of the Waco Mammoth site, Texas USA

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 January 2017

Lee Nordt ,
John Bongino ,
Steven Forman ,
Don Esker  and
Anita Benedict
Lee Nordt*
Affiliation:
Department of Geology, Baylor University, Waco, TX 76798, USA
John Bongino
Affiliation:
Exxon Mobile, 22777 Springwoods Village Parkway, Spring, TX 77389, USA
Steven Forman
Affiliation:
Department of Geology, Baylor University, Waco, TX 76798, USA
Don Esker
Affiliation:
Department of Geology, Baylor University, Waco, TX 76798, USA
Anita Benedict
Affiliation:
Mayborn Museum Complex, Baylor University, Waco, TX 76798, USA
*
*Corresponding author.Email Address:[email protected]
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

The Waco Mammoth Site (WMS) in central Texas contains the remains of the largest mammoth herd (Mammuthus columbi) in North America that died in a single catastrophic event. Most mammoths at the site died on a gravel bar of the ancient Bosque River adjacent to a collapsing tributary wall. However, the timing and cause of death of the 26 mammoths documented to date are controversial. The objectives of this research are to: describe and interpret the alluvial stratigraphy and infer the cause of death, employ optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) dating to determine the timing of death, and analyze stable C isotopes of pedogenic carbonate to infer local plant communities, dietary habits, and summer temperatures. Dating of quartz from seven sediment samples by OSL places the death event to a weighted mean of 66.8 ± 5.0 ka. The site is coeval with Marine Oxygen Isotope Stage 4, consistent with our reconstructed mean July temperatures ~ 4°C cooler than today based on a buried soil isotopic transfer function. Our buried soil isotopic interpretation of a dominance of C3 plants is contrary to previous studies of mammoth tooth enamel at the site suggesting a dietary preference for warm season grasses (C4).

Keywords

MammothCatastrophicBrazos RiverPleistoceneAlluvium
Type
Articles
Information
Quaternary Research , Volume 84 , Issue 3 , November 2015 , pp. 423 - 438
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

Agenbroad, L. North American Proboscideans: mammoths: the state of Knowledge, 2003. Quaternary International 126–128, (2005). 73–92.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Aitken, M.J. An Introduction to Optical Dating: The Dating of Quaternary Sediments by the Use of Photon-Stimulated Luminescence. (1998). Oxford University Press, New York. (267 pp.)Google Scholar
Barnes, V.E. Geologic Atlas of Texas, Waco Sheet. (1979). Bureau of Economic Geology, The University of Texas, Austin, Google Scholar
Bishop, A.L. Flood potential of the Bosque Basin. Baylor Geological Studies Bulletin No. 33. (1977). Baylor University, 37 Google Scholar
Blum, M.D., and Tornquist, T.E. Fluvial responses to climate and sea-level change: a review and look forward. Sedimentology 47, Suppl. 1 (2000). 2–48.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bongino, J.D. Late Quaternary history of the Waco Mammoth Site: environmental reconstruction and determining the cause of death. Unpublished M.S. Thesis (2007). Baylor University, 136 Google Scholar
Bryson, R.A. Air masses, streamlines, and the boreal forest. Geographical Bulletin 8, (1966). 228–269.Google Scholar
Cordova, C., and Agenbroad, L. Opal phytoliths from teeth calculus in the mammoths of the Hot Springs Site, South Dakota. Current Research in the Pleistocene 26, (2009). 145–147.Google Scholar
Dorale, J.A., Edwards, L.R., Ito, E., and Gonzalez, L.A. Climate and vegetation history of the midcontinent from 75 to 25 ka: A speleothem record from Crevice Cave, Missouri, USA. Science 282, (1998). 1871–1874.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Duller, G.A.T. Single-grain optical dating of Quaternary sediments: why aliquot size matters in luminescence dating. Boreas 37, (2008). 589–612.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Durbin, J., Blum, M., and Price, D. Late Pleistocene stratigraphy of the Nueces river, Corpus Christi, Texas: climatic and glacio-eustatic control on valley fill architecture. Gulf Coast Association of Geological Societies Transactions 47, (1997). 119–130.Google Scholar
Durcan, J.A., and Duller, G.A.T. The fast ratio: a rapid measure for testing the dominance of the fast component in the initial OSL signal from quartz. Radiation Measurements 46, (2011). 1065–1072.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Fain, J., Soumana, S., Montret, M., Miallier, D., Pilleyre, T., and Sanzelle, S. Luminescence and ESR dating — beta-dose attenuation for various grain shapes calculated by a Monte-Carlo method. Quaternary Science Reviews 18, (1999). 231–234.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Feathers, J.K., Holliday, V.T., and Meltzer, D.J. Optically stimulated luminescence dating of Southern High Plains archaeological sites. Journal of Archaeological Science 33, (2006). 1651–1665.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Folk, R.L. Petrology of Sedimentary Rocks. (1980). Hemphill Publishing Company, Austin, Texas.Google Scholar
Fox, J.W., Smith, C.B., and Lintz, D.O. Herd bunching at the Waco Mammoth Site: preliminary investigations, 1978–1987. Fox, J.W., Smith, C.B., and Wilkins, K.T. Proboscidean and Paleoindian Interactions. (1992). Baylor University Press, 51–74.Google Scholar
Galbraith, R.F., and Roberts, R.G. Statistical aspects of equivalent dose and error calculation and display in OSL dating: an overview and some recommendations. Quaternary Geochronology 11, (2012). 1–27.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Galbraith, R.F., Roberts, R.G., Laslett, G.M., Yoshida, H., and Olley, J.M. Optical dating of single and multiple grains of quartz from Jinmium rock shelter, northern Australia, part 1, Experimental design and statistical models. Archaeometry 41, (1999). 339–364.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Grant, K.M., Rohling, E.J., Ramsey, C.B., Cheng, H., Edwards, R.L., Florindo, F., Heslop, D., Marra, F., Roberts, A.P., Tamisiea, M.E., and Williams, F. Sea-level variability over five glacial cycles. Nature Communications 5, (2014). CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Greiner, J.J. Erosion and sedimentation by water in Texas. Texas Department of Water Resources USCS Report No. 268 (1978). Google Scholar
Grun, R., Abeyratne, M., Head, J., Tuniz, C., and Hedges, R.E.M. AMS 14C analysis of teeth from archaeological sites showing anomalous ESR dating results. Quaternary Science Reviews 16, (1997). 437–444.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hayne, G. The Waco mammoths: possible clues to herd size, demography, and reproductive health. Fox, J.W., Smith, C.B., and Wilkins, K.T. Proboscidean and Paleoindian Interactions. (1992). Baylor University Press, 111–122.Google Scholar
Haynes, G., Klimowicz, Mammoth (Mammuthus spp.) and American mastodont (Mammut americanum) bone sites: what do the differences mean?. Reumer, J.W.F., De Vos, J., and Mol, D. Advances in Mammoth Research. Proceedings of the Second International Mammoth Conference, Rotterdam (DEINSEA) 9, (2003). 185–204.Google Scholar
Hill, C.L. Stratigraphic and geochronologic contexts of mammoth (Mammuthus) and other Pleistocene fauna, Upper Missouri Basin (northern Great Plains and Rocky Mountains), U.S.A. Quaternary International 142–143, (2006). 87–106.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hilliard, K.L. Late Quaternary Geology of the Waco Mammoth Site, Waco, Texas. Unpublished Bachelor of Science Thesis (1997). Baylor University, 61 Google Scholar
Holen, S.R. The age and taphonomy of mammoth sites at Lovewell Reservoir, Jewell County, Kansas, USA. Quaternary International 169–170, (2007). 51–63.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hoppe, K.A. Late Pleistocene mammoth herd structure, migration patterns, and Clovis hunting strategies inferred from isotopic analysis of multiple death assemblages. Paleobiology 30, (2004). 129–145.2.0.CO;2>CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Johnson, E. The taphonomy of mammoth localities in southeastern Wisconsin (USA). Quaternary International 142–143, (2006). 58–78.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Koch, P.L., Diffenbaugh, N.S., and Hoppe, K.A. The effects of late Quaternary climate and pCO2 change on C4 plant abundance in the south-central United States. Palaeogeography Palaeoclimatology Palaeoecology 207, (2004). 331–357.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lance, V.A. Alligator physiology and life history: the importance of temperature. Experimental Gerontology 38, (2003). 801–805.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Laurito, C.A. Los proboscídeos fósiles de Costa Rica y su contexto en la América Central. Vínculos 14, (1988). 29–58.Google Scholar
Lowe, J.J., and Walker, M.J.C. Reconstructing Quaternary Environments. 2nd edition (1997). Longman, London. (446 pp.)Google Scholar
Lull, R.S. Fauna of the Dallas sand pits. American Journal of Science 2, (1921). 159–176.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Martinson, D.G., Pisias, N.G., Hays, J.D., Imbrie, J., Moore, T.C., and Shackleton, N.J. Age dating and the orbital theory of the ice ages: development of a high-resolution 0 to 300,000-year chronostratigraphy. Quaternary Research 27, (1987). 1–29.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
McDaniel, G.E., and Jefferson, G.T. Mammoths in our midst: the proboscideans of Anza Borrego Desert State Park, Southern California, USA. Quaternary International 142–143, (2006). 124–129.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
McDaniel, G.E., and Jefferson, G.T. Dental variation in the molars of Mammuthus columbi var. M. imperator (Proboscidea, Elephantidae) from a Mathis gravel quarry, southern Texas. Quaternary International 142–143, (2006). 166–177.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
McDonald, G.H., and Pelikan, S. Mammoths and mylodonts: exotic species from two different continents in North American Pleistocene faunas. Quaternary International 142–143, (2006). 229–241.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
McFadden, B.J., Hulbert, R.C. Jr. Calibration of mammoth (Mammuthus) dispersal into North America using rare earth elements of Plio–Pleistocene mammals from Florida. Quaternary Research 71, (2009). 41–48.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
McKinney, C.R. The determination of the reliability of uranium series dating of enamel, dentine, and bone. Unpublished Southern Methodist University Ph.D. Dissertation, Dallas, Texas, 186 pp (1991). Google Scholar
Mead, J.I., Agenbroad, L.D., Davis, O.K., and Martin, P.S. Dung of Mammuthus in the arid southwest, North America. Quaternary Research 25, (1986). 121–127.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Meier, H.A., Nordt, L.C., Forman, S.L., and Driese, S.G. Late Quaternary history of the middle Owl Creek drainage basin in central Texas: a record of geomorphic response to environmental change. Quaternary International 306, (2013). 24–41.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Mejdahl, V., and Christiansen, H.H. Procedures used for luminescence dating of sediments. Boreas 13, (1994). 403–406.Google Scholar
Miller, G.B., and Greenwade, J.M. Soil Survey of McLennan County, Texas. (2001). U.S. Department of Agriculture, Natural Resources Conservation Service. Washington D.C. Printing Press, Google Scholar
Miller, I.M., Pigati, J.S., Anderson, R.S., Johnson, K.R., Mahan, S.A., Ager, T.A., Baker, R.G., Blaauw, M., Bright, J., Brown, P.M., Bryant, B., Calamari, Z.T., Carrara, P.E. et al. Summary of the Snowmastodon Project Special Volume: A high-elevation, multi-proxy biotic and environmental record of MIS 6–4 from the Ziegler Reservoir fossil site, Snowmass Village, Colorado, USA. Quaternary Research 82, (2014). 618–634.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Murray, A.S., and Wintle, A.G. The single aliquot regenerative dose protocol: potential for improvements in reliability. Radiation Measurements 37, (2003). 377–381.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Musgrove, M., Banner, J.L., Mack, L.E., Combs, D.M., James, E.W., Cheng, H., and Edwards, R.L. Geochronology of late Pleistocene to Holocene speleothems from Central Texas: implications for regional paleoclimate. Geological Society of America Bulletin 113, (2001). 1532–1543.2.0.CO;2>CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Nordt, L.C. Soil inorganic carbon: Climate and time. in: Lal, R. (editor-in-chief), Encyclopedia of Soils. Marcel-Dekker, New York. (2002). pp. 697–700.Google Scholar
Nordt, L.C., Hallmark, C.T., Wilding, L.P., and Boutton, T.W. Quantifying pedogenic carbonate accumulations using stable carbon isotopes. Geoderma 82, (1998). 115–136.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Nordt, L.C., Boutton, T.W., Jacob, J.S., and Mandel, R.D. C4 plant productivity and climate-CO2 variations in south-central Texas during the Late Quaternary. Quaternary Research 58, (2002). 182–188.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Nordt, L., Orosz, M., Driese, S., and Tubbs, J. Vertisol carbonate properties in relation to mean annual precipitation: implications for paleoprecipitation estimates. Journal of Geology 114, (2006). 501–510.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Nordt, L., von Fischer, J., and Tieszen, L. Late Quaternary temperature record from buried soils of the North American Great Plains. Geology 35, (2007). 159–162.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Nordt, L., von Fischer, J., and Tieszen, L. Coherent changes in relative C4 plant productivity and climate during the late Quaternary in the North American Great Plains. Quaternary Science Reviews 27, (2008). 1600–1611.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Olley, J.M., Caitcheon, G.G., and Roberts, R.G. The origin of dose distributions in fluvial sediments, and the prospect of dating single grains from fluvial deposits using optically stimulated luminescence. Radiation Measurements 30, (1999). 207–217.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Paruelo, J.M., and Lauenroth, W.K. Relative abundance of plant functional types in grasslands and shrublands of North America. Ecological Applications 6, (1996). 1212–1224.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Peltier, R.W., Argus, D.F., and Drummond, R. Space geodesy constrains ice age terminal glaciation: the global ICE-6G_C (VM5a) model. Journal of Geophysical Research — Solid Earth 120, (2015). 450–487.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Prescott, J.R., and Hutton, J.T. Cosmic ray contributions to dose rates for luminescence and ESR dating: large depths and long-term time variations. Radiation Measurements 23, (1994). 497–500.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Rittenour, T.M. Luminescence dating of fluvial deposits: applications to geomorphic, palaeoseismic and archaeological research. Boreas 37, (2008). 613–635.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Rivals, F., Semprebon, G., and Lister, A. An examination of dietary diversity patterns in Pleistocene Proboscideans (Mammuthus, Palaeoloxodon, and Mammuth) from Europe and North America as revealed by dental microwear. Quaternary International 255, (2012). 188–195.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Sionneau, T., Bout-Roumazeilles, V., Meunier, G., Kissel, C., Flower, B.P., Bory, A., and Tribovillard, N. Atmospheric re-organization during Marine Isotope Stage 3 over the North American continent: sedimentological and mineralogical evidence from the Gulf of Mexico. Quaternary Science Reviews 81, (2013). 62–73.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Slaughter, B.H., Crook, W.W., Harris, R.K., Allen, D.C., and Seifert, M. The Hill–Shuller local faunas of the Upper Trinity River, Dallas and Denton Counties, Texas. University of Texas Bureau of Economic Geology, Austin. Report on Investigations No. 48 (1962). (75 pp.)Google Scholar
Stute, M., Schlosser, P., Clark, J.F., and Broecker, W.S. Paleotemperatures in the Southwestern United States derived from noble gases in ground water. Science 256, (1992). 1000–1003.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Survey Division Staff, Soil Soil Survey Manual. U.S. Department of Agriculture Handbook No. 18. (1993). U.S. Government Printing Press, Washington.Google Scholar
Toomey, R.S., Blum, M.D., and Valastro, S. Late Quaternary climates and environments of the Edwards Plateau, Texas. Global and Planetary Change 7, (1993). 299–320.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wallinga, J. Optically stimulated luminescence dating of fluvial deposits: a review. Boreas 31, (2002). 303–322.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wallinga, J., Murray, A.S., Duller, G.A.T., and Tornqvist, T.E. Testing optically stimulated luminescence dating of sand-size quartz and feldspar from fluvial deposits. Earth and Planetary Science Letters 193, (2001). 617–630.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Webb, S.D. A brief history of New World Proboscidea with emphasis on their adaptations and interactions with Man. Fox, J.W., Smith, C.B., and Wilkins, K.T. Proboscidean and Paleoindian Interactions. (1992). Baylor University Press, 15–34.Google Scholar
Wintle, A.G., and Murray, A.S. A review of quartz optically stimulated luminescence characteristics and their relevance in single-aliquot regeneration dating protocols. Radiation Measurements 41, (2006). 369–391.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wyckoff, D.G., Carter, B.J., Flynn, P., Martin, L.D., Branson, B.A., and Theler, J.L. Interdisciplinary Studies of the Hajnay Mammoth Site, Dewey County, Oklahoma. Studies of Oklahoma's Past. Oklahoma Archaeological Survey No. 17 (1992). The University of Oklahoma, (134 pp.)Google Scholar
Zhang, J.F., Zhou, L.P., and Yue, S.Y. Dating fluvial sediments by optically stimulated luminescence: selection of equivalent doses for age calculation. Quaternary Science Reviews 22, (2003). 1123–1129.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Supplementary material: File

Nordt et al. supplementary material

Table S1

Download Nordt et al. supplementary material(File)
File 18.4 KB