9:15 AM - 9:30 AM
[HQR05-02] A pilot study on the late Pleistocene paleoenvironments inferred from isotopic compositions of amino acids in dentin collagen of elephants from the Japanese archipelago
Keywords:archaic elephants, amino acids, isotopic compositions, the late Pleistocene
Naumann’s elephant (Palaeoloxodon naumanni) and mammoth (Mammuthus primigenius) roamed the Japanese archipelago during the Pleistocene. Their extinctions around the last glacial maximum (LGM) have been discussed in the contexts of global climatic changes and related north-south migrations, as well as possible influences from human activities. In contrast to increasing numbers of reports for radiocarbon dates, stable isotopic compositions of those extinct elephants were not well investigated, despite their potential to give new insights into surrounding paleoenvironments.
In this presentation, stable isotopic compositions of individual amino acids in dentin collagen will be reported for several Naumann’s elephants and mammoths unearthed from the late Pleistocene sites such as Lake Nojiri in Honshu and some sites in Hokkaido, Japan. In addition, utilities of these isotope values as a potential proxy of terrestrial paleoenvironment will be discussed.
In this presentation, stable isotopic compositions of individual amino acids in dentin collagen will be reported for several Naumann’s elephants and mammoths unearthed from the late Pleistocene sites such as Lake Nojiri in Honshu and some sites in Hokkaido, Japan. In addition, utilities of these isotope values as a potential proxy of terrestrial paleoenvironment will be discussed.