Faunal record identifies Bering isthmus conditions as constraint to end-Pleistocene migration to the New World

Meirav Meiri; Adrian M. Lister; Matthew J. Collins; Noreen Tuross; Ted Goebel; Simon Blockley; Grant D. Zazula; Nienke van Doorn; R. Dale Guthrie; Gennady G. Boeskorov; Gennady F. Baryshnikov; Andrei Sher; Ian Barnes

doi:10.1098/rspb.2013.2167

Faunal record identifies Bering isthmus conditions as constraint to end-Pleistocene migration to the New World

Meirav Meiri, Adrian M. Lister, Matthew J. Collins, Noreen Tuross, Ted Goebel, Simon Blockley, Grant D. Zazula, Nienke van Doorn, R. Dale Guthrie, Gennady G. Boeskorov, Gennady F. Baryshnikov, Andrei Sher, Ian Barnes^*

^*Corresponding author for this work

45 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Human colonization of the New World is generally believed to have entailed migrations from Siberia across the Bering isthmus. However, the limited archaeological record of these migrations means that details of the timing, cause and rate remain cryptic. Here, we have used a combination of ancient DNA, 14C dating, hydrogen and oxygen isotopes, and collagen sequencing to explore the colonization history of one of the few other large mammals to have successfully migrated into the Americas at this time: the North American elk (Cervus elaphus canadensis), also known as wapiti. We identify a long-term occupation of northeast Siberia, far beyond the species's current Old World distribution. Migration into North America occurred at the end of the last gla-ciation, while the northeast Siberian source population became extinct only within the last 500 years. This finding is congruent with a similar proposed delay in human colonization, inferred from modern human mitochondrial DNA, and suggestions that the Bering isthmus was not traversable during parts ofthe Late Pleistocene. Our data imply afundamental constraint in crossing Beringia, placing limits on the age and mode of human settlement in the Americas, and further establish the utility of ancient DNA in palaeontological investigations of species histories.

Original language	English
Article number	20132599
Journal	Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences
Volume	281
Issue number	1776
ISSN	0962-8452
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2013.2167
Publication status	Published - 11 Dec 2013

Keywords

Ancient DNA
Bering isthmus
Beringia
Pleistocene
Wapiti

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Meiri, M., Lister, A. M., Collins, M. J., Tuross, N., Goebel, T., Blockley, S., Zazula, G. D., van Doorn, N., Guthrie, R. D., Boeskorov, G. G., Baryshnikov, G. F., Sher, A., & Barnes, I. (2013). Faunal record identifies Bering isthmus conditions as constraint to end-Pleistocene migration to the New World. Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, 281(1776), Article 20132599. https://doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2013.2167

Meiri, M, Lister, AM, Collins, MJ, Tuross, N, Goebel, T, Blockley, S, Zazula, GD, van Doorn, N, Guthrie, RD, Boeskorov, GG, Baryshnikov, GF, Sher, A & Barnes, I 2013, 'Faunal record identifies Bering isthmus conditions as constraint to end-Pleistocene migration to the New World', Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, vol. 281, no. 1776, 20132599. https://doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2013.2167

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abstract = "Human colonization of the New World is generally believed to have entailed migrations from Siberia across the Bering isthmus. However, the limited archaeological record of these migrations means that details of the timing, cause and rate remain cryptic. Here, we have used a combination of ancient DNA, 14C dating, hydrogen and oxygen isotopes, and collagen sequencing to explore the colonization history of one of the few other large mammals to have successfully migrated into the Americas at this time: the North American elk (Cervus elaphus canadensis), also known as wapiti. We identify a long-term occupation of northeast Siberia, far beyond the species's current Old World distribution. Migration into North America occurred at the end of the last gla-ciation, while the northeast Siberian source population became extinct only within the last 500 years. This finding is congruent with a similar proposed delay in human colonization, inferred from modern human mitochondrial DNA, and suggestions that the Bering isthmus was not traversable during parts ofthe Late Pleistocene. Our data imply afundamental constraint in crossing Beringia, placing limits on the age and mode of human settlement in the Americas, and further establish the utility of ancient DNA in palaeontological investigations of species histories.",

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AU - Goebel, Ted

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AB - Human colonization of the New World is generally believed to have entailed migrations from Siberia across the Bering isthmus. However, the limited archaeological record of these migrations means that details of the timing, cause and rate remain cryptic. Here, we have used a combination of ancient DNA, 14C dating, hydrogen and oxygen isotopes, and collagen sequencing to explore the colonization history of one of the few other large mammals to have successfully migrated into the Americas at this time: the North American elk (Cervus elaphus canadensis), also known as wapiti. We identify a long-term occupation of northeast Siberia, far beyond the species's current Old World distribution. Migration into North America occurred at the end of the last gla-ciation, while the northeast Siberian source population became extinct only within the last 500 years. This finding is congruent with a similar proposed delay in human colonization, inferred from modern human mitochondrial DNA, and suggestions that the Bering isthmus was not traversable during parts ofthe Late Pleistocene. Our data imply afundamental constraint in crossing Beringia, placing limits on the age and mode of human settlement in the Americas, and further establish the utility of ancient DNA in palaeontological investigations of species histories.

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Faunal record identifies Bering isthmus conditions as constraint to end-Pleistocene migration to the New World

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Keywords

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