A reevaluation of the Harrodsburg Crevice fauna (late Pleistocene of Indiana, U.S.A.) and the climatic implications of its mammals

ABSTRACT

The mammal fauna from Harrodsburg Crevice, a late Pleistocene site from southern Indiana, U.S.A., has several notable features, including one of the most northerly occurrences of Panthera onca augusta (Pleistocene jaguar) and a putatively late occurrence of Platygonus vetus (Pleistocene American peccary). The fauna contains 1050 specimens distributed among 21 identifiable species, including members of Canidae, Felidae, Mephitidae, Equidae, Tayassuidae, Talpidae, Geomyidae, Scuiridae, and Cricetidae. Two previously published radiocarbon dates (25,050 and 34,460 years before present [ybp]) suggested that the Harrodsburg fauna belonged to an interstadial of the Wisconsinan (marine isotope stage [MIS] 2 or 3), which if true would make the occurrence of P. onca the northernmost of the Rancholabrean and the occurrence of P. vetus the only one in the Rancholabrean. Based on biostratigraphic and environmental analysis of the mammals, we argue that the Harrodsburg fauna is older, likely from the last full interglacial period (Sangamonian, MIS 5e, approximately 125 ka). Cluster analysis failed to link the Harrodsburg fauna with any nearby late Pleistocene to Recent sites and more closely linked it to sites in south-central Texas. Areas of maximum sympatry suggest that the paleoclimate of the Harrodsburg fauna had mean annual temperatures of 12.5–14.5°C, similar to modern Arkansas and Kentucky. Paleoclimate models suggest that the nearest areas with that climate during the last glacial maximum (18–20 ka) were in northern Florida or Texas, whereas the appropriate climate was found in the Harrodsburg area during the last interglacial. Attempts to replicate the published radiocarbon dates failed because collagen in the fossil material is degraded, leading us to conclude that the published dates are unlikely to represent the true age of the material.

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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

R. Richards (Indiana State Museum), L. Scheiber and M. Rowe (W. R. Adams Zooarchaeology Laboratory, Indiana University), C. Johnson (Indiana University Paleontology Collection), B. Patterson and B. Stanley (Field Museum of Natural History), and F. Pastor (Universidad de Valladolid) provided access to specimens in their care. C. Johnson and D. Cook provided helpful suggestions on earlier drafts of the manuscript. P. Munson and R. Richards discussed the history of the Harrodsburg Crevice site and provided useful comments on this work and on the taxonomic identifications. Some data were obtained from the Neotoma Paleoecology Database (http://www.neotomadb.org), and the work of the data contributors and the Neotoma community is gratefully acknowledged. Other data were obtained from the Paleobiology Database (http://paleodb.org) and the data contributors and the Paleobiology Database working group are also thanked.

Handling editor: Blaire Van Valkenburgh