Life-history of Palaeoloxodon antiquus reveals Middle Pleistocene glacial refugium in the Megalopolis basin, Greece.

ABSTRACT: The Balkans are considered a major glacial refugium where flora and fauna survived glacial periods and repopulated the rest of Europe during interglacials. While it is also thought to have harboured Pleistocene human populations, evidence linking human activity, paleoenvironmental indicators and a secure temporal placement to glacial periods is scant. Here, we present the first intra-tooth multi-isotope analysis for the European straight-tusked elephant Palaeoloxodon antiquus, on an adult male individual excavated in association with lithic artefacts at the MIS 12 site Marathousa 1 (Megalopolis basin, Greece). The studied find also exhibits anthropogenic modifications, providing direct evidence of hominin presence. We employed strontium, carbon and oxygen isotope analysis on enamel bioapat

SUBMITTER: Roditi E 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10791645 | biostudies-literature | 2024 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature