Taphonomic phenomenon of ancient hair from Glacial Beringia: perspectives for palaeoecological reconstructions

• DOI: 10.1111/bor.12162
• Publication Date: 2016-02-18T22:15:38Z
• Authors: Irina V. Kirillova; Johannes van der ...; Stanislav V. Gubin; Oksana G. Zanina; Olga F. Chernova; Elena G. Lapteva; Svetlana S. Trofi...; Eugeny V. Zinovyev; Anton A. Zharov; Elena O. Fadeeva; Thijs Van Kolfsch...; Fedor K. Shidlovskiy; Alexey A. Kotov
• Keywords: Beringia; Mammoth; Taphonomy

An accumulation of mammoth hair, discovered in the Bol'shaya Chukochya River valley (northeast Yakutia, Russia), was found to contain remains terrestrial and aquatic organisms, including plants, insects, crustaceans, birds mammals. Radiocarbon dating indicated that this post‐mortem taphocoenosis represented multiple time periods. The hair dated older than 45 ka BP , plants were 12 750±50 a (which corresponds shift environmental conditions landscapes during formation thermokarst northeastern Russia) bird feathers 4115±40 . A scenario fossil assemblage is proposed, covering MIS 3‐1 range. also yielded various Arctic branchiopod which inhabit shallow temporary water bodies therefore are important for reconstruction palaeoenvironments. cladoceran subgenus Daphnia ( Ctenodaphnia ), currently absent from Asian part Beringia, reported region first time. study demonstrates permafrost‐preserved unique repository Ice Age organisms.