Hostname: page-component-77c89778f8-vpsfw Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-07-16T22:33:00.393Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Paleoecological and biogeographical implications of late Pleistocene noble marten (Martes americana nobilis) in eastern Washington State, USA

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 January 2017

R. Lee Lyman
R. Lee Lyman*
Affiliation:
Department of Anthropology, 107 Swallow Hall, University of Missouri, Columbia, MO 65211, USA
*
E-mail address:lymanr@missouri.edu
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

A mandible identified as noble marten (Martes americana nobilis) recovered from sediments dating to 11,800 cal yr BP and a humerus identified as M. a. cf. nobilis recovered from sediments dating from 13,100 to 12,500 cal yr BP at the Marmes Rockshelter archaeological site in southeastern Washington represent the first record of this taxon in the state. Mammalian taxa associated with the Marmes Rockshelter noble marten represent a diversity of open mesic habitats corroborating earlier analyses of other records of the noble marten in the western United States and exemplify how paleozoologists determine the ecology and environmental predilections of extinct taxa. The recovery site represents the topographically lowest record of this species in western North America and the farthest north record in the United States. Future research should examine known late-Quaternary Martes spp. remains from British Columbia and Alberta to fill in the 2200-km geographic gap in the known distribution of this taxon between a record in the northern Yukon and those in the western United States, and to refine our knowledge of noble marten paleoecology.

Keywords

BiogeographyEastern Washington StateExtinct mammalMarmes RockshelterNoble martenPaleoecology
Type
Research Article
Information
Quaternary Research , Volume 75 , Issue 1 , January 2011 , pp. 176 - 182
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

Anderson, E. Quaternary evolution of the genus Martes (Carnivora, Mustelidae). Acta Zoologica Fennicae 130, (1970). 1–132.Google Scholar
Anderson, E. A survey of the late Pleistocene and Holocene mammal fauna of Wyoming. Wilson, M.V. Applied Archaeology and Geology: The Holocene History of Wyoming. Wyoming Geological Survey Reports of Investigations 10, Laramie (1974). 78–87.Google Scholar
Anderson, E. Evolution, prehistoric distribution, and systematics of Martes . Burkirk, S.W., Harestad, A.S., Raphael, M.G., and Powell, R.A. Martens, Sables, and Fishers: Biology and Conservation. (1994). Cornell Univ. Press, Ithaca, NY. 13–25.Google Scholar
Bailey, V. The mammals and life zones of Oregon. North American Fauna 55, (1936). 1–416.Google Scholar
Bryan, A.L. Paleoenvironments and cultural diversity in Late Pleistocene South America: A rejoinder to Vance Haynes and a reply to Thomas Lynch. Quaternary Research 5, (1975). 151–159.Google Scholar
Burns, J.A. Mid-Wisconsinan vertebrates and their environment from January Cave, Alberta, Canada. Quaternary Research 35, (1991). 130–143.Google Scholar
Caulk, G.H., (1988). Examination of Some Faunal Remains from the Marmes Rockshelter Floodplain. Unpublished Master of Arts thesis, Department of Anthropology, Washington State Univ., Pullman.Google Scholar
Driver, J.C. Late Pleistocene and Holocene vertebrates and palaeoenvironments from Charlie Lake Cave, northeast British Columbia. Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences 25, (1988). 1545–1553.Google Scholar
Driver, J.C. Human adaptation at the Pleistocene/Holocene boundary in western Canada, 11, 000 to 9000 BP. Quaternary International 49/50, (1998). 141–150.Google Scholar
Driver, J.C. Paleoecological and archaeological implications of the Charlie Lake Cave fauna, British Columbia, 10,500 to 9,500 B.P.. People and Wildlife in Northern North America: Essays in Honor of R. Dale Guthrie. Gerlach, S.C., Murray, M.S. British Archaeological Reports International Series 944, Oxford (2001). 13–22.Google Scholar
Driver, J.C., Handly, M., Fladmark, K.R., Nelson, D.E., Sullivan, G.M., and Preston, R. Stratigraphy, radiocarbon dating, and culture history of Charlie Lake Cave, British Columbia. Arctic 49, (1996). 265–277.Google Scholar
Findley, J.S. Paleoecological reconstruction: vertebrate limitations. The Reconstruction of Past Environments: Proceedings. Hester, J.J., Schoenwetter, J. Fort Burgwin Research Center Publication 3. Taos, NM (1964). 23–25.Google Scholar
Foit, F.F. Jr., Mehringer, P.J. Jr., and Sheppard, J.C. Age, distribution, and stratigraphy of Glacier Peak tephra in eastern Washington and western Montana, United States. Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences 30, (1993). 535–552.Google Scholar
Fryxell, R., and Keel, B.C. Emergency Salvage Excavations for the Recovery of Early Human Remains and Related Scientific Materials from the Marmes Rockshelter Archaeological Site, Southeastern Washington. Washington State Univ. Department of Anthropology, Final Report to U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Walla Walla District, Washington. (1969). Google Scholar
Gilbert, B.M., and Martin, L.D. Late Pleistocene fossils of Natural Trap Cave, Wyoming, and the climatic model of extinction. Martin, P.S., and Klein, R.G. Quaternary Extinctions: A Prehistoric Revolution. (1984). Univ. of Arizona Press, Tucson. 138–147.Google Scholar
Graham, R.W. Comment on “Skeleton of extinct North American sea mink (Mustela macrodon)” by Mead et al. Quaternary Research 56, (2001). 419–421.Google Scholar
Graham, R.W., and Graham, M.A. Late Quaternary distribution of Martes in North America. Buskirk, S.W., Harestad, A.S., Raphael, M.G., and Powell, R.A. Martens, Sables, and Fishers: Biology and Conservation. (1994). Cornell Univ. Press, Ithaca, NY. 26–58.Google Scholar
Graham, R.W., Semken, H.A. Jr. Philosophy and procedures for paleoenvironmental studies of Quaternary mammalian faunas. Late Quaternary Mammalian Biogeography and Environments of the Great Plains and Prairies. Graham, R.W., Semken, H.A. Jr., Graham, M.A. Illinois State Museum Scientific Papers 22. Springfield, IL (1987). 1–17.Google Scholar
Grayson, D.K. A critical view of the use of archaeological vertebrates in paleoenvironmental reconstruction. Journal of Ethnobiology 1, (1981). 28–38.Google Scholar
Grayson, D.K. Toward a history of Great Basin mammals during the past 15,000 years. Man and Environment in the Great Basin. Madsen, D.B., O'Connell, J.F. Society for American Archaeology Papers No. 2 (1982). 82–101.Google Scholar
Grayson, D.K. Quantitative Zooarchaeology. (1984). Academic Press, Orlando.Google Scholar
Grayson, D.K. Time of extinction and nature of adaptation of the noble marten, Martes americana nobilis . Contributions in Quaternary Vertebrate Paleontology: A Volume in Memorial to John E. Guilday. Genoways, H.H., Dawson, M.R. Carnegie Museum of Natural History Special Publication No. 8, Pittsburgh (1984). 233–240.Google Scholar
Grayson, D.K. The mammals. The Archaeology of Hidden Cave, Nevada. Thomas, D.H. American Museum of Natural History Anthropological Papers 61(1), New York (1985). 125–161.Google Scholar
Grayson, D.K. The biogeographic history of small mammals in the Great Basin: observations on the last 20, 000 years. Journal of Mammalogy 68, (1987). 359–375.Google Scholar
Grayson, D.K. The Desert's Past: A Natural Prehistory of the Great Basin. (1993). Smithsonian Institution Press, Washington, DC.Google Scholar
Gustafson, C.E., (1972). Faunal Remains from the Marmes Rockshelter and Related Archaeological Sites in the Columbia Basin. Unpublished doctoral dissertation, Department of Zoology, Washington State Univ., Pullman.Google Scholar
Gustafson, C.E., and Wegener, R.M. Faunal remains. Hicks, B.A. Marmes Rockshelter: A Final Report on 11, 000 Years of Cultural Use. (2004). Washington State Univ. Press, Pullman. 253–317.Google Scholar
Hager, M.W. A late Wisconsin–Recent vertebrate fauna from the Chimney Rock Animal Trap, Larimer County, Colorado. Wyoming Contributions to Geology 2, (1972). 63–71.Google Scholar
Hall, E.R. A new marten from the Pleistocene caves of California. Journal of Mammalogy 7, (1926). 127–130.Google Scholar
Hall, E.R. Mustelid mammals from the Pleistocene of North America with systematic notes on some recent members of the genera Mustela, Taxidea, and Mephitis . Carnegie Institute of Washington Publication 73, (1936). 41–119.Google Scholar
Harington, C.R., (1977). Pleistocene Mammals of the Yukon Territory. Unpublished doctoral dissertation, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta.Google Scholar
Hicks, B.A. Marmes Rockshelter: A Final Report on 11, 000 Years of Cultural Use. (2004). Washington State Univ. Press, Pullman.Google Scholar
Hoffmeister, D.F. Mammals and life zones: time for re-evaluation. Plateau 37, (1964). 46–55.Google Scholar
Huckleberry, G., and Fadem, C. Environmental change recorded in sediments from the Marmes Rockshelter archaeological site, southeastern Washington State, USA. Quaternary Research 67, (2007). 21–32.Google Scholar
Huckleberry, G., Lenz, B., Galm, J., and Gough, S. Recent geoarchaeological discoveries in central Washington. Western Cordillera and Adjacent Areas. Swanson, T.W. Geological Society of America Field Guide 4. Boulder, CO (2003). 237–249.Google Scholar
Hughes, S.S., (2003). Beyond the Altithermal? The Role of Climate Change in Prehistoric Human Adaptations at Mummy Cave, northwestern Wyoming. Unpublished doctoral dissertation, Univ. of Washington, Seattle.Google Scholar
Hughes, S.S. Noble marten (Martes americana nobilis) revisited: Its adaptation and extinction. Journal of Mammalogy 90, (2009). 74–92.Google Scholar
Ingles, L.G. Mammals of the Pacific States: California, Oregon, Washington. (1965). Stanford University Press, Stanford, CA.Google Scholar
Kurtén, B., and Anderson, E. The sediments and fauna of Jaguar Cave, II, the fauna. Tebiwa 15, (1972). 21–45.Google Scholar
Kurtén, B., and Anderson, E. Pleistocene Mammals of North America. (1980). Columbia Univ. Press, New York.Google Scholar
Lundelius, E. Jr. The use of vertebrates in paleoecological reconstructions. The Reconstruction of Past Environments: Proceedings. Hester, J.J., Schoenwetter, J. Fort Burgwin Research Center Publication 3. Taos, NM (1964). 26–31.Google Scholar
Lyman, R.L. Quantitative Paleozoology. (2008). Cambridge Univ. Press, Cambridge.Google Scholar
Lyman, R.L. Climatic implications of latest Pleistocene and earliest Holocene mammalian sympatries in eastern Washington state, USA. Quaternary Research 70, (2008). 426–432.Google Scholar
Mead, E.M., and Mead, J.I. Snake Creek Burial Cave and a review of the Quaternary mustelids of the Great Basin. Great Basin Naturalist 49, (1989). 143–154.Google Scholar
Mead, J.I., and Spiess, A.E. Reply to Russell Graham about Mustela macrodon . Quaternary Research 56, (2001). 422–423.Google Scholar
Mead, J.I., Spiess, A.E., and Sobolik, K.D. Skeleton of extinct North American sea mink (Mustela macrodon). Quaternary Research 53, (2000). 247–262.Google Scholar
Meltzer, D.J., and Mead, J.I. The timing of late Pleistocene mammalian extinctions in North America. Quaternary Research 19, (1983). 130–135.Google Scholar
Merriam, C.H. Laws of temperature control of the geographic distribution of terrestrial animals and plants. National Geographic Magazine 6, (1894). 229–238.Google Scholar
Merriam, C.H. Life zones and crop zones of the United States. USDA Biological Survey Bulletin 10, (1898). 1–79.Google Scholar
Meyers, J.I., (2007). Basicranial Analysis of Martes and the Extinct Martes nobilis (Carnivora: Mustelidae) Using Geometric Morphometrics. Unpublished Master's of Science thesis, Department of Geosciences, Northern Arizona Univ., Flagstaff.Google Scholar
Miller, S.G. The fauna of Smith Creek Canyon. The Archaeology of Smith Creek Canyon, Eastern Nevada. Tuohy, D.R., Randall, D.L. Nevada State Museum Anthropological Papers 17, Carson City (1979). 272–329.Google Scholar
Reimer, P.J., Baillie, M.G.L., Bard, E., Bayliss, A., Beck, J.W., Blackwell, P.G., Bronk Ramsey, C., Buck, C.E., Burr, G.S., Edwards, R.L., Friedrich, M., Grootes, P.M., Guilderson, T.P., Hajdas, I., Heaton, T.J., Hogg, A.G., Hughen, K.A., Kaiser, K.F., Kromer, B., McCormac, F.G., Manning, S.W., Reimer, R.W., Richards, D.A., Southon, J.R., Talamo, S., Turney, C.S.M., van der Plicht, J., and Weyhenmeyer, C.E. Intcal90 and Marine09 radiocarbon age calibration curves, 0–50, 000 cal BP. Radiocarbon 51, (2009). 1111–1150.Google Scholar
Stewart, J.D., (1987). Prehistoric and Historic Cultural Resources of Selected Sites at Harland County Lake, Harland County, Nebraska; Final Report. Unpublished report on file, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Kansas City, MO.Google Scholar
Verts, B.J., and Carraway, L.N. Land Mammals of Oregon. (1998). Univ. of California Press, Berkeley.Google Scholar
Walker, D.N. Late Pleistocene/Holocene environmental changes in Wyoming: the mammalian record. Late Quaternary Mammalian Biogeography and Environments of the Great Plains and Prairies. Graham, R.W., Semken, H.A., Graham, M.A. Illinois State Museum Scientific Papers 22, Springfield (1987). 334–393.Google Scholar
Webster, G.S. Dry Creek Rockshelter: cultural chronology in the western Snake River region of Idaho ca. 4, 150–1, 300 BP. Tebiwa 15, (1978). 1–35.Google Scholar
White, J., McDonald, H.G., Anderson, E., and Soiset, J.M. Lava blisters as carnivore traps. Contributions in Quaternary Vertebrate Paleontology: A Volume in Memorial to John E. Guilday. Genoways, H.H., Dawson, M.R. Carnegie Museum of Natural History Special Publication No. 8, Pittsburgh (1984). 241–256.Google Scholar
Whittaker, R.H. Communities and Ecosystems. 2nd edition (1975). Macmillan, New York.Google Scholar
Wright, P.L. Intergradation between Martes americana and Martes caurina in western Montana. Journal of Mammalogy 72, (1953). 567–577.Google Scholar
Youngman, P.M., and Schueler, F.W. Martes nobilis is a synonym of Martes americana, not an extinct Pleistocene–Holocene species. Journal of Mammalogy 72, (1991). 567–577.Google Scholar
Zeimans, G., and Walker, D. Bell Cave, Wyoming: preliminary archaeological and paleontological investigations. Applied Archaeology and Geology: The Holocene History of Wyoming. Wilson, M.V. Wyoming Geological Survey Reports of Investigations 10, Laramie (1974). 88–90.Google Scholar