%0 Journal Article %J Quaternary Research %D 1997 %T Nonassociation of Paleoindians with AMS-Dated Late Pleistocene Mammals from the Dutchess Quarry Caves, New York %A D. W. Steadman %A T. W. Stafford Jr. %A Funk, R. E. %K AMS dating %K caribou %K Castoroides ohioensis %K Dutchess Quarry Caves %K flat-headed peccary %K giant beaver %K New York %K Platygonus compressus %K Rangifer tarandus %X
AMS14C ages of 10 bones of the caribou (Rangifer tarandus), flat-headed peccary (Platygonus compressus), and giant beaver (Castoroides ohioensis) from the Dutchess Quarry Caves, New York, range from 13,840 ± 80 to 11,670 ± 70 yr B.P. No bones from any of these species are demonstrably associated with Paleoindian artifacts (fluted points) or other cultural materials from the sites because the bones lack unequivocal stratigraphic association with artifacts, as well as physical (taphonomic) evidence for human association (e.g., burning, cut marks, distinctive breakage). Together with the Holocene conventional14C dates of charcoal and the varied stratigraphic proveniences of the fluted points and the dated bones, the new AMS14C dates argue that most strata at the Dutchess Quarry Caves contain a mixture of late Pleistocene and Holocene materials. This mixing probably resulted from post-depositional bioturbation (by humans, rodents, carnivores, and scavengers) and cryoturbation (annual freeze–thaw cycles). Rather than being of cultural origin, the bones of caribou, flat-headed peccary, and giant beaver likely were deposited in the Dutchess Quarry Caves by nonhuman predators or scavengers, such as ursids, canids, felids, condors, or eagles.
%B Quaternary Research %V 47 %P 105-116 %G eng %U http://dx.doi.org/10.1006/qres.1996.1860 %R 10.1006/qres.1996.1860 %0 Journal Article %J Science %D 1995 %T Prehistoric Extinctions of Pacific Island Birds: Biodiversity Meets Archaeozoology %A D. W. Steadman %K anthropology biology paleontology %XOn tropical Pacific islands, a human-caused "biodiversity crisis" began thousands of years ago and has nearly run its course. Bones identified from archaeological sites show that most species of land birds and populations of seabirds on those islands were exterminated by prehistoric human activities. The loss of birdlife in the tropical Pacific may exceed 2000 species (a majority of which were species of flightless rails) and thus represents a 20 percent worldwide reduction in the number of species of birds. The current global extinction crisis therefore has historic precedent.
Five archaeological sites on the remote, raised limestone island of Fais, Yap, Federated States of Micronesia, yielded nearly 200 identifiable bird bones from strata that range in age from about 400 to 1800 radiocarbon yr B.P. Represented are 14 species of seabirds, five species of migratory shorebirds, four species of land birds, and the introduced chicken. This is the most species-rich
prehistoric assemblage of birds from any island in Micronesia. Because the "modern" avifauna of Fais never has been studied, it is difficult to determine which of the species from archaeological contexts still occur on Fais. Nevertheless, based upon modern distributions of birds from other islands in Yap and adjacent island groups, the environmental condition of Fais, and what is known
about the relative vulnerability of individual species, it is likely that about nine of the seabirds (Pterodroma sp., Bulweria bulwerii, Sula dactylatra, S. sula, Sterna sumatrana, S. lunata, S./uscata, Anous minutus, Procelsterna cerulea) and three
of the land birds (Poliolimnas cinereus, Gallicolumba cf. xanthonura, Ducula oceanica) no longer live on Fais..
At least 35 species of fish, amphibians, reptiles, birds, and mammals were recovered from excavations conducted in 1988 and 1990 at Joralemon's Cave, Town of Coeymans. Albany County, New York. Formerly known as Fish Club Cave, this site was excavated initially in 1962-1964 by R.E. Funk and R.A. Johnson, who reported bones of whitetailed deer (96% of all bones) and five other species associated with lithic artifacts of Woodland and Late Archaic age. Our more recent excavations yielded bones of one
species that no longer occurs in New York State (Neotoma magister, Allegheny woodrat) and three other species that either are absent or extremely rare within 70-20 km of the site (Crotalus horridus, timber rattlesnake; Synaptomys cooperi, southern bog lemming; Ursus americanus, black bear). Our larger, faunal assemblage, obtained front a much smaller volume of excavated sediment, reflects: 1) the use of finemesh (1/16-in) screens: 2), faunal and cultural differences between the front and back of the cave; and 3) a search image oriented as much to bones as artifacts. While Joralemon's Care clearly is an archaeological site, it is also partly paleontological in origin (i.e., it contains bones deposited by non-human means). We believe that the vertebrate faunas
from most "archaeological" sites in caves and rockshelters include a significant paleontological component that should be regarded as such when interpreting faunal assemblages in terms of human subsistence.
This study is based upon the identification of 336 bird bones from the Fa'ahia archaeological site, Huahine, French Polynesia. The bones represent birds that were killed for their flesh, feathers, or bones by prehistoric Polynesians. The radiocarbon ages of excavated strata at Fa'ahia range from about 1140 ± 90 to 770 ± 90 yr B.P. The bird bones represent 15 species of resident seabirds, 15 species of resident landbirds, four migrant species, and one introduced species. The only extinct seabird is a gull, Larus new species, although locally extirpated seabirds are Puffinus pacificus, Puffinus nativitatis, Puffinus lherminieri, Pterodroma rostrata, Pterodroma alba, Pterodroma arminjoniana, Sula leucogaster, Sula sula, Fregata minor, Fregata ariel, and Anous minutus. Extinct landbirds are Gallirallus new species, Gallicolumba nui, Macropygia arevarevauupa, Vini vidivici, Vini cf. sinotoi, and Aplonis diluvialis. Locally extirpated landbirds are Ardeola striata, Porzana tabuensis, Gallicolumba erythroptera, Ducula galeata, Ducula aurorae, and Acrocephalus caffer. The bones from Fa'ahia increase the seabird and landbird fauna of Huahine, from the historically known 3 to 15 species and from 7 to 18 species, respectively. Thus the number of species from Huahine is even greater than those from nearby Tahiti, which has a much greater land area and elevation. The occurrence of so many extinct or extirpated species of birds at the Fa'ahia site suggests that this site represents a very early phase of human occupation on Huahine, probably no more than 500 years after the first arrival of people on this previously undisturbed island ecosystem.
Six archaeological sites up to 1000 years old on Aitutaki, Cook Islands, have yielded bones of 15 species of birds, five of which no longer occur on the island: Pterodroma rostrata (Tahiti Petrel); Sula sula (Red-footed Booby); Dendrocygna, undescribed sp. (a large, extinct whistling duck); Porzana tabuensis (Sooty Crake); and Vini kuhlii (Rimatara Lorikeet). Of these, only S. sula and P. tabuensis survive anywhere in the Cook Islands Today. The nearest record of any species of Dendrocygna is in Fiji. Aside from the aquatic species Egretta sacra (Pacific Reef-Heron) and Anas superciliosa (Gray Duck), the only native, resident land bird on Aitutaki today is the Society Islands Lorikeet (Vini peru viana), which may have been introduced from Tahiti. Residents of Aitutaki note that Ducula pacifica (Pacific Pigeon) and Ptilinopus rarotongensis (Cook Islands Fruit-Dove) also occurred there until the 1940s or 1950s.There is no indigenous forest on Aitutaki today. The bones from Aitutaki also include the island's first record of the fruit bat Pteropus tonganus. Limestone caves on the island of Atiu yielded the undated bones of six species of birds, three of which no longer exist there or anywhere else in the Cook Islands: Gallicolumba erythroptera (Society Islands Ground-Dove), Ducula aurorae (Society Islands Pigeon), and Vini kuhlii. Each of these species has been recovered from prehistoric sites on Mangaia as well. The limestone terrain of Atiu is mostly covered with native forest that supports populations of Ducula pacifica, Ptilinopus rarotongensis, Collocalia sawtelli (Atiu Swiftlet), and Halcyon tuta (Chattering Kingfisher). The survival of these land birds depends upon protection of Atiu's forests.
%B Pacific Science %V 45 %P 325-347 %G eng %U http://scholarspace.manoa.hawaii.edu/bitstream/10125/1400/1/v45n4-325-347.pdf %0 Book Section %B Global Climate Change and Life on Earth %D 1991 %T Extinction of Species: Past, Present, and Future %A D. W. Steadman %E Wyman, R. L. %K biology %B Global Climate Change and Life on Earth %I Routledge %C New York, New York %P 156-169 %G eng %0 Journal Article %J Conservation Biology %D 1990 %T Absence of Blood Parasites in Indigenous Birds from the Cook Islands, South Pacific %A D. W. Steadman %A Greiner, E. C. %A Wood, C. S. %K biology %XMangaia (Cook Islands) consists of a weathered volcanic interior encircled by limestones known as the makatea. Excavations at Tangatatau Rockshelter (site MAN-44), located on the inner cliff of the makatea, produced a stratified sequence of Polynesian artifacts and faunal remains ranging from A.D. 1000-1100 to A.D. 1500-1600. Resident species of birds represented at MAN-44 include nine seabirds (at least three extirpated on Mangaia) and 12 land birds (eight extirpated or extinct). Seven of the extinct/extirpated land birds are confined to the site's four lowest stratigraphic zones, which represent the first 200-300 yr of human occupation at MAN-44. During this time, human exploitation of vertebrates switched from primarily native land birds to almost exclusively small reef fish, domesticates (chickens, pigs), and commensals (rats). Sediment cores from a lake 0.9 km from MAN-44 show clear palynological and stratigraphic signals of human presence on Mangaia, especially forest clearance of the volcanic interior, beginning at 1600 yr B.P. The rugged makatea must have provided a forest refuge for birds during the first 700 yr of human presence, after which Mangaians exploited the previously little used makatea because forest resources (trees, other plants, birds) had been depleted on the now badly eroded volcanic interior. MAN-44 is the oldest archaeological site known on Mangaia. Whether other species of birds were lost in the period of human activity that preceded occupation of MAN-44 remains to be seen.
%B Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences %V 87 %P 9605-9609 %G eng %U http://www.pnas.org/content/87/24/9605.abstract %0 Journal Article %J Journal of Archaeological Science %D 1989 %T Extinction of birds in Eastern Polynesia: A Review of the Record, and Comparisons with other Pacific Island Groups %A D. W. Steadman %K anthropology biology %X(1) the period of human occupation is shorter (200 versus 2000 or 3000 years);
(2) human populations have been much lower because of the less hospitable terrain, including many islands that have never been inhabited;
(3) Galapagos birds never have been a major source of food for humans;
(4) the Galapagos avifauna has been given legal protection for the past three decades;
(5) introduced birds are absent on most islands;
(6) introduced mammals and plants are scarce or absent on many islands.
A humerus, coracoid, and pedal phalanx of the California Condor, Gymnogyps californianus, were recovered from the Hiscock Site in western New York, in an inorganic stratum containing wood that is 11,000 radiocarbon years old. Associated vertebrates include mastodont, wapiti, and caribou. Pollen and plant macrofossils from the sediments indicate a spruce-jack pine woodland and a local, herb-dominated wetland community. Historic records (all from western North America) and previous late Pleistocene fossils of the California Condor are associated mainly with warm-temperate climates and floras. The New York fossils show that this bird was able to live in a colder climate and in a boreal, coniferous setting at a time when appropriate food (large mammal carrion) was available. The California Condor, which survives only in captivity, has suffered a greater reduction in geographical range than previously suspected. Much of this reduction in range probably occurred ca. 11,000 yr B.P. when the extinction many North American large mammals resulted in severely reduced availability of food for the California Condor and other large scavenging birds.
%B Quaternary Research %V 28 %P 415-426 %G eng %U http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/0033589487900081 %R 10.1016/0033-5894(87)90008-1 %0 Journal Article %J Current Research in the Pleistocene %D 1987 %T New Paleontological and Archaeological Investigations at Dutchess Quarry Cave No. 8, Orange County, New York %A D. W. Steadman %A Funk, R. E. %K anthropology paleontology %B Current Research in the Pleistocene %V 4 %P 117-120 %G eng %0 Journal Article %J Proceedings of the Biological Society of Washington %D 1987 %T Two New Species of Parrots (Aves: Psittacidae) from Archeological Sites in the Marquesas Islands %A D. W. Steadman %A Zarriello, M. C. %K anthropology biology %B Proceedings of the Biological Society of Washington %V 100 %P 518-528 %G eng %U https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/part/44710#/summary %0 Journal Article %J Current Research in the Pleistocene %D 1986 %T The late Quaternary Hiscock Site, Genesee County, New York %A D. W. Steadman %A Laub, R. S. %A N. G. Miller %K biology paleontology %B Current Research in the Pleistocene %V 3 %P 22, 23 %G eng %0 Journal Article %J Pacific Science %D 1986 %T Two New Species of Rails (Aves: Rallidae) from Mangaia, Southern Cook Islands %A D. W. Steadman %K biology %XTwo species of rails, Porzana rua n. sp. and Gallirallus ripleyi n. sp., are described from bones of late Holocene age found in caves on Mangaia, southern Cook Islands. Their relatively small pectoral elements show that both of these species were flightless. Porzana rua resembles most closely the living P. atra of Henderson Island and the recently extinct P. monasa of Kosrae Island, Carolines. Gallirallus ripleyi is most similar to the recently extinct G. wakensis of Wake Island. Some combination of predation and habitat alteration by humans and introduced mammals (rats, dogs, and pigs) is probably responsible for the extinction of P. rua and G. ripleyi within the past 1000 years. Fossils of a third species of rail from the Mangaian caves are referred to the living species Porzana tabuensis, although these specimens may represent an undescribed subspecies. Porzana tabuensis might survive on Mangaia and elsewhere in the southern Cook Islands, although entire specimens have never been collected. An X ray of the only two specimens (skins) of Porzana monasa (Kittlitz) shows that this species from Kosrae (Kusai) Island, Carolines, was flightless or nearly so. It is likely that all islands in the Pacific were inhabited by one or more species of flightless rail before the arrival of humans. In both Porzana and Gallirallus, at least one early wave of colonization produced flightless species throughout Oceania, followed by a less thorough and much more recent (probably late Holocene) wave of colonization by the volant P. tabuensis and G. philippensis.
%B Pacific Science %V 40 %P 38-54 %G eng %U http://scholarspace.manoa.hawaii.edu/bitstream/10125/1002/1/v40-27-43.pdf %0 Journal Article %J Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences %D 1985 %T Bird Remains from an Archaeological Site on Henderson Island, South Pacific: Man Caused Extinctions on an %A D. W. Steadman %A Olson, S. L. %K anthropology biology %XLong thought never to have been inhabited and to be in a pristine ecological state, Henderson Island (southeast Pacific) is now known to have been colonized and then abandoned by Polynesians. Bones from an archaeological site on the island associated with 14C dates of ≈800 and ≈500 years B.P. include specimens of 12 species of birds, of which 3, a storm-petrel and two pigeons (Nesofregetta fuliginosa, Ducula cf. aurorae or D. pacifica, and Ducula cf. galeata), no longer occur on Henderson, and two others (Puffinus nativitatis and Sula sula) still visit but are not known to breed. The vanished species were presumably exterminated by Polynesians and the biota of Henderson Island can thus no longer be regarded as being in an unaltered state. The prehistoric abandonment of various small, unarable islands by Polynesians may have been due to the depletion of seabirds and pigeons, the only readily available food source. The species of pigeons identified from Henderson are known historically only from distant archipelagos and have never before been found sympatrically. Distributional patterns resulting from man-caused extinctions may give rise to erroneous interpretations of the relationships and evolutionary history of insular organisms. Certain endangered species, such as Ducula galeata, might effectively be preserved by reintroduction to abandoned islands that they occupied before human intervention.
%B Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences %V 82 %P 6191-6195 %G eng %U http://www.pnas.org/content/82/18/6191.abstract