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Tepexpan palaeoindian site, Basin of Mexico: multi proxy evidence for environmental change during the late Pleistocene-late Holocene

Tepexpan palaeoindian site, Basin of Mexico: multi proxy evidence for environmental change during the late Pleistocene-late Holocene
Tepexpan palaeoindian site, Basin of Mexico: multi proxy evidence for environmental change during the late Pleistocene-late Holocene
The Tepexpan Palaeoindian skeleton was discovered in 1947 close to the former Lake Texcoco margin, in the Basin of Mexico. The find has been the object of considerable interest and discussion over the last 60 years regarding its real age and archaeological interpretation. Here we report new AMS radiocarbon dates associated with the sedimentary succession at Tepexpan with ages between 19,110 ± 90 and 612 ± 22 14C years BP and a new uranium-series date for the skeleton with an age of 4700 ± 200 years BP that indicates a mid Holocene age. The sedimentary succession was studied in detail using: stable isotopes, diatoms, organic geochemistry and tephrochronology. The multi-proxy evidence suggests large changes around the margins of Lake Texcoco in terms of the balance between aquatic and terrestrial plants, C3 and C4 plants, saline, alkaline and freshwater conditions, volcanic activity, marginal reworking of lake sediments and input from the drainage basin through the late Pleistocene–late Holocene. These changes had large impacts on the prehistoric human populations living by the lake shores since the late Pleistocene in the Basin of Mexico
0277-3791
2000-2016
Lamb, Angela L.
810ba111-0d5c-466f-859f-b97d121715a3
Gonzalez, Silvia
2f5554ef-6385-400e-91ac-518d6b574052
Huddart, David
e05e6e2a-e0cf-4dfd-ad82-11b2d3193313
Metcalf, Sarah E.
64cf0c92-9c8c-4a6d-a228-0e1afbf3b9f9
Vane, Christopher H.
71237c82-3ded-4c8a-82e0-8674fde7e32d
Pike, Alistair W.G.
e8603e20-0a89-4d57-a294-247b983fc857
Lamb, Angela L.
810ba111-0d5c-466f-859f-b97d121715a3
Gonzalez, Silvia
2f5554ef-6385-400e-91ac-518d6b574052
Huddart, David
e05e6e2a-e0cf-4dfd-ad82-11b2d3193313
Metcalf, Sarah E.
64cf0c92-9c8c-4a6d-a228-0e1afbf3b9f9
Vane, Christopher H.
71237c82-3ded-4c8a-82e0-8674fde7e32d
Pike, Alistair W.G.
e8603e20-0a89-4d57-a294-247b983fc857

Lamb, Angela L., Gonzalez, Silvia, Huddart, David, Metcalf, Sarah E., Vane, Christopher H. and Pike, Alistair W.G. (2009) Tepexpan palaeoindian site, Basin of Mexico: multi proxy evidence for environmental change during the late Pleistocene-late Holocene. Quaternary Science Reviews, 28 (19-20), 2000-2016. (doi:10.1016/j.quascirev.2009.04.001).

Record type: Article

Abstract

The Tepexpan Palaeoindian skeleton was discovered in 1947 close to the former Lake Texcoco margin, in the Basin of Mexico. The find has been the object of considerable interest and discussion over the last 60 years regarding its real age and archaeological interpretation. Here we report new AMS radiocarbon dates associated with the sedimentary succession at Tepexpan with ages between 19,110 ± 90 and 612 ± 22 14C years BP and a new uranium-series date for the skeleton with an age of 4700 ± 200 years BP that indicates a mid Holocene age. The sedimentary succession was studied in detail using: stable isotopes, diatoms, organic geochemistry and tephrochronology. The multi-proxy evidence suggests large changes around the margins of Lake Texcoco in terms of the balance between aquatic and terrestrial plants, C3 and C4 plants, saline, alkaline and freshwater conditions, volcanic activity, marginal reworking of lake sediments and input from the drainage basin through the late Pleistocene–late Holocene. These changes had large impacts on the prehistoric human populations living by the lake shores since the late Pleistocene in the Basin of Mexico

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More information

Published date: September 2009
Organisations: Archaeology

Identifiers

Local EPrints ID: 345900
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/345900
ISSN: 0277-3791
PURE UUID: 98e998df-2c19-4560-92fb-4c8771ab6752
ORCID for Alistair W.G. Pike: ORCID iD orcid.org/0000-0002-5610-8948

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Date deposited: 06 Dec 2012 11:16
Last modified: 15 Mar 2024 03:44

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Contributors

Author: Angela L. Lamb
Author: Silvia Gonzalez
Author: David Huddart
Author: Sarah E. Metcalf
Author: Christopher H. Vane

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