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Nitrogen palaeo-isoscapes: Changing spatial gradients of faunal δ15N in late Pleistocene and early Holocene Europe

View ORCID ProfileHazel Reade, Jennifer A. Tripp, Delphine Frémondeau, Kerry L. Sayle, Thomas F.G. Higham, Martin Street, Rhiannon E. Stevens
doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/2022.05.05.490797
Hazel Reade
1UCL Institute of Archaeology, University College London, London, United Kingdom.
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  • For correspondence: h.reade@ucl.ac.uk
Jennifer A. Tripp
1UCL Institute of Archaeology, University College London, London, United Kingdom.
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Delphine Frémondeau
1UCL Institute of Archaeology, University College London, London, United Kingdom.
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Kerry L. Sayle
2Scottish Universities Environmental Research Centre, Glasgow, United Kingdom.
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Thomas F.G. Higham
3Research Laboratory for Archaeology and the History of Art, University of Oxford, Oxford, United Kingdom.
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Martin Street
4Römisch-Germanisches Zentralmuseum, Forschungsinstitut für Archäologie KompetenzbereichPleistozäne und Frühholozäne Archäologie, Neuwied, Germany.
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Rhiannon E. Stevens
1UCL Institute of Archaeology, University College London, London, United Kingdom.
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Abstract

Nitrogen isotope (δ15N) analysis of animal tissue is widely used in archaeology and palaeoecology to investigate diet and ecological niche. Data interpretations require an understanding of nitrogen isotope compositions at the base of the food web (baseline δ15N). Significant variation in animal δ15N has been recognised at various spatiotemporal scales and linked to changes both in baseline δ15N and animal ecology. Isoscapes (models of isotope spatial variation) have proved a useful tool for investigating spatial variability in biogeochemical cycles in present-day marine and terrestrial ecosystems, but so far, their application to palaeo-data has been limited. Here, we present time-sliced nitrogen isoscapes for late Pleistocene and early Holocene Europe (c. 50,000 to 10,000 years BP) using herbivore collagen δ15N data. This period covers the Last Glacial-Interglacial Transition, during which significant variation in the terrestrial nitrogen cycle occurred. Our results show clear changes in spatial gradients of δ15N through time. Prediction of the lowest faunal δ15N values in northern latitudes after, rather than during, the Last Glacial Maximum is consistent with the Late Glacial Nitrogen Excursion (LGNE). We consider the potential of incorporating climatic covariate data into isoscape models but find their inclusion does not improve model performance. These findings have implications for investigating the drivers of the LGNE, which has been linked to increased landscape moisture and permafrost thaw, and for understanding changing isotopic baselines, which are fundamental for studies investigating diets, niche partitioning, and migration of higher trophic level animals.

Competing Interest Statement

The authors have declared no competing interest.

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The copyright holder for this preprint is the author/funder, who has granted bioRxiv a license to display the preprint in perpetuity. It is made available under a CC-BY 4.0 International license.
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Posted May 05, 2022.
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Nitrogen palaeo-isoscapes: Changing spatial gradients of faunal δ15N in late Pleistocene and early Holocene Europe
Hazel Reade, Jennifer A. Tripp, Delphine Frémondeau, Kerry L. Sayle, Thomas F.G. Higham, Martin Street, Rhiannon E. Stevens
bioRxiv 2022.05.05.490797; doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/2022.05.05.490797
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Nitrogen palaeo-isoscapes: Changing spatial gradients of faunal δ15N in late Pleistocene and early Holocene Europe
Hazel Reade, Jennifer A. Tripp, Delphine Frémondeau, Kerry L. Sayle, Thomas F.G. Higham, Martin Street, Rhiannon E. Stevens
bioRxiv 2022.05.05.490797; doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/2022.05.05.490797

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