Rapid Communication
Revised radiocarbon ages on woolly rhinoceros (Coelodonta antiquitatis) from western central Scotland: significance for timing the extinction of woolly rhinoceros in Britain and the onset of the LGM in central Scotland

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Abstract

Woolly rhinoceros bones, from a number of sites in Britain, have been AMS radiocarbon dated following ultrafiltration pre-treatment. These determinations give a coherent set of ages between >50 and c. 35 cal ka BP. The youngest (35,864–34,765 cal BP) come from the area around Bishopbriggs in western central Scotland and are derived from glaciofluvial sand and gravel overlain by till, both deposited during the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) glaciation. A previous radiocarbon date from the site suggested that woolly rhinoceros lived c. 27 14C ka BP and the region was ice-free at the time. This date has had significant influence on the timing of extinction of woolly rhinoceros and the onset of glaciation over Britain during the LGM. The new dates revise this earlier determination and confirm that woolly rhinoceros became extinct in Britain after c. 35 cal ka BP, that central Scotland was ice-free at this time, and glaciation extended across this region sometime after 35 cal ka BP.

Introduction

As part of the Ancient Human Occupation of Britain project (AHOB, 2001–2012, Stringer, 2006), bones from a large number of sites have been re-dated by radiocarbon using ultrafiltration pre-treatment (Higham et al., 2006). Amongst these sites are many associated with evidence of Middle or Upper Palaeolithic human activity, whilst the fauna from other sites contributes to understanding the landscape occupied by humans. These new AMS radiocarbon determinations have yielded ages with a reliability and resolution not previously accessible and have already made significant contributions to our understanding of human presence and absence during the later part of MIS 3 and the Lateglacial (Jacobi et al., 2006, Jacobi and Higham, 2009). In addition, dates from localities that have been over-ridden by ice during the Last Glaciation (MIS 2) are able to contribute to dating of the onset of ice-cover, a topic that has received considerable attention in recent years (Bowen et al., 2002, Carr et al., 2006, Hubbard et al., 2009, Sejrup et al., 2009, Hibbert et al., in press).

This Rapid Communication reports the new AMS radiocarbon determinations for bones from woolly rhinoceros (Coelodonta antiquitatis) following ultrafiltration pre-treatment. These results are discussed with respect to the timing of the extinction of woolly rhinoceros from the British Isles and the onset of glaciation in central Scotland, prior to the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM).

The two dates that are key to the main issues of this paper come from bones of woolly rhinoceros found near Bishopbriggs, north of Glasgow in western central Scotland (Fig. 1A). The dated material is from two localities in the area: Hungryside and Wilderness (Swinton, 1927, Rolfe, 1966). The bones at both sites are from glaciofluvial sands and gravels that underlie till which forms drumlins, irregular hills and depressions (Flett, 1927, Rolfe, 1966, Rose and Smith, 2008) (Fig. 1C). Both the sands and gravels and till were laid down during the LGM; indeed the Wilderness site is a stratotype for Devensian glacial deposits in Scotland (Rose, 1981, Rose, 1989, Browne and McMillan, 1989; Sutherland, 1999). There has been some debate about derivation of the materials, but sedimentology (observed in 1965 soon after the bone at the Wilderness site was discovered) and the quality of preservation suggest that recycling was unlikely, transport distances were small and deposition was rapid, along with other clastic material. The glacier that covered the site moved from west to east (Fig. 1B, C).

The bone from the Wilderness site has previously been dated by radiocarbon to 27,550 + 1370, −1680 14C BP (GX-0597) (Rolfe, 1966), providing a constraint on the presence of glacier ice-cover in Scotland (Sissons, 1974, Sissons, 1981, Sutherland, 1984, Boulton et al., 2002). However, this age has been questioned, because of potential unreliability (Sutherland, 1984), or overlooked (Bowen et al., 2002), probably reflecting a lack of confidence in the determination. The calibrated age for this date (37,970–29,478 cal BP, 8492 years range) highlights the uncertainty of this determination.

Section snippets

Methods

All the radiocarbon determinations cited in this study have been carried out at the Oxford Radiocarbon Accelerator Unit (ORAU). Until recently, pre-treatment of bone at the ORAU comprised acidification to remove the mineral carbonate fraction, leaving raw collagen. This was then washed in alkali to remove humic substances, then acidified and filtered. Finally, the sample was gelatinised to enable insoluble particulates to be removed from the collagen targeted for dating. This pre-treated

Results

The AMS radiocarbon determinations for woolly rhinoceros from the British Isles are given in Table 1. In all cases these are determinations on ultrafiltrated gelatin. This is particularly important for bones of the age considered here, because even very small amounts of modern contamination can make a significant difference to the age obtained. The age models for the OxCal v4.1.1 calibrations are shown in Fig. 2B.

The youngest determination is 35,864–34,675 cal BP on the humerus from Wilderness at

Timing the extinction of woolly rhinoceros in Britain

The results of all the woolly rhinoceros determinations are truly remarkable for their coherence and the complete absence of outliers. They demonstrate the presence of woolly rhinoceros in the British Isles for more than 23,000 years of MIS 3, and confirm the species as a useful marker for faunas of this period (Currant and Jacobi, 2001). However, it should be noted that the determinations come from relatively few localities and that, with the exception of Clifford Hill and the sites in western

Conclusions

  • New radiocarbon dates on bones using ultrafiltration pre-treatment provide a series of ages for woolly rhinoceros in Britain over the period from before 55 to around 35 cal ka BP, ten of which are published here for the first time.

  • The youngest of the ages indicate that woolly rhinoceros became extinct in Britain after 35,864–34,765 at 2σ cal BP and that western central Scotland was ice-free at this time.

  • Independent evidence from IRD from ocean cores off western Scotland, and glaciological modelling

Acknowledgements

The work recorded here is part of the Leverhulme Trust funded “Ancient Human Occupation of Britain” (AHOB) Project which funded the dating. The Hunterian Museum of the University of Glasgow is thanked for permission to sample the bones from Wilderness and Hungryside, as are the staff of the ORAU, University of Oxford, for their careful laboratory work. Both referees: Richard Gillespie and one who wishes to remain anonymous are thanked for their comments on the manuscript and the advice they

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