BOOK REVIEWS

Late Pleistocene Vertebrate Paleoecology of the West, Arthur H. Harris, 1985, Univer- sity of Texas Press, Austin, vii & 293 pp., $25.00.

This volume centers on reconstructing local to re- gional past environments and climatic trends in the western United States and adjacent areas ofCanada and Mexico using information from terrestrial vertebrate faunas. The emphasis is primarily mammalian supple- mented by a few avian taxa. The study concentrates on the last 120,000 years of the Pleistocene (130,000 to 10,000 B.P.) The volume is both a study in paleoecology and paleozoogeography. As such, it is intended for a scholarly audience primarily of Quaternary research scientists (e.g., vertebrate paleontologists, paleobotan- ists, paleogeographers, archaeologists, paleoclimato- logists). However, a major concession is made to the general readership in that taxa are listed alphabetically instead of taxonomically in order to facilitate locating a particular taxon by the unfamiliar reader.

The volume consists of 6 chapters and appendices. Chapter 1 (Introduction) sets the time frame, scope, and aims of the volume. Chapter I1 (Paleoecological Theory) presents the conceptual framework for the analysis of the faunal data and interpretations. Although this chapter is very brief, it has far-reaching implications and emphasizes two key points. First, in order to effect reasonable reconstructions, the entire biota of a site needs to be considered along with attendant data from various fields such as geology and climatology. The com- munity approach is advocated rather than relying on one to a few faunal elements on which to base the recon- struction. Harris takes this approach a couple of steps further in considering the biota from several sites in order to delineate a regional perspective and then uses these regional building blocks to create a view of the West during the Late Pleistocene. Second, ecological parameters are looked at on both an individual and assemblage-wide basis. These parameters are limiting factors that control or influence where and how an or- ganism lives. Parameters are matched and overlapped to achieve the best delineation of conditions under which the entire assemblage could live. From this view comes the critical but softly-stated comment that “ . . . some Pleistocene conditions probably are not duplicated anywhere today” (p. 11). Most of the sites Harris deals with lack the integrated studies he advocates (many were simply faunal lists) and he discusses the draw- backs, problems, and biases inherent in the data.

Chapter I11 (Present Conditions) is a discussion of the geography, climate, and modern vegetation of the West. Chapter IV (The Pleistocene in General) provides an overall perspective of the epoch and some of the prob- lems in dealing with proxy data. Vegetational history is quite complex and the Pleistocene experience was not a simplistic displacement of entire assemblages but rather a creation of new communities and disharmoni- ous floras. The terrestrial mammals and birds that form the data base are introduced and details on the 14 or- ders, 38 families, and 108 genera under consideration are given in the appendices.

Chapter V (Interpretations), divided into 6 sections, is

the heart of the volume. In “Site Standardization,” Har- ris attempts to ameliorate the effects of latitude, longi- tude, and elevation by treating the Interior and West Coast separately. More significantly, he attempts to ameliorate the effects of elevation and temperature variation through equator equivalents (eel. This method converts a site a t any latitude to a hypothetical eleva- tion above sea level at the equator and therefore allows all sites to be standardized through their equator equiv- alent. This standardized figure is arrived at by multiply- ing the latitude of the site by 107 m (it is about the same decrease in temperature going northward 1” of latitude as by increasing elevation by 107 m) and then adding the site’s actual elevation in meters. Data from 50 sites are used in the Full Glacial-Interior Division discus- sion. Five vegetative habitats (tundra, boreal forest, sagebrush, woodland, and grassland) are based on fau- nal and floral data, with a heavy emphasis on marker species. Using the same data base, five zones are delineated: northern highland (tundra, above 6069 m ee); middle-elevation savannah (lacks tundra, 5000 - 6068 m ee); sagebrush steppe-woodland (lacks boreal elements, 4550-4999 m ee); steppe-woodland (grassy woodland, 4350-4549 m ee); and steppe (lacks wood- land, below 4350 m eel. Mosaic vegetation patterns are noticeable with a grasslands component throughout ex- cept for the tundra. A downward shift in elevation oc- curred, with overlapping zones indicated by the relative complexity of both the faunas and floras. The lowering of upper boundaries of all zones was about 600-700 m, whereas the lowering of lower boundaries was about 1500 m. A major climatic-biologic boundary occurred at the sagebrush steppe-woodland zone with increas- ing aridity and a change in the character of the grass- lands. Viewed in a different manner, Harris sees a gen- eral pattern of an increase in the number of taxa with increasing meters ee to the sagebrush steppe - woodland zone and then a slight decrease to the northern high- lands zone. That pattern is in contrast to the one today where the number of taxa drops drastically with in- creasing elevation. Today’s zones and faunal communi- ties are not as complex as during the last full glacial.

The Full Glacial - West Coast Division discussion in- volves ten sites. The minimal data indicate slightly more complex communities than today but the resolu- tion is poor. Pleistocene changes appear to be less drastic than seen in the Interior, probably due to the ameliorat- ing and equable nature of the Pacific Coast climate. Harris sees a relatively simple shift southward and downslope. The Sangamonian discussion is based on eight sites that indicate few differences in the extant faunas from today. In general, warmer conditions than today occurred in the far north, with more equable con- ditions than today inland, and similar conditions to to- day along the West Coast. The Interstadials discussion involves six sites between the early Wisconsinan and late Wisconsinan full-glacial time. During these peri- ods, conditions appear to be more similar to modern than to full-glacial times, although probably somewhat cooler, more equable, and with greater precipitation.

The section “Dry Cave Sites-Change Through Time” presents a discussion of a series of deposits in a cave in southwestern New Mexico, a complex site that Harris has excavated and studied for a number of years. The

GEOARCHAEOLOGY: AN INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL 339

BOOK REVIEWS

deposits constitute two major groupings. The older group is composed of interstadial material indicating mild winters, warm to hot summers, more effective moisture, and fair grasslands. The younger group is composed of full-glacial material that indicate cool sum- mers and cooler, moister conditions than during inter- stadia1 times. Harris notes a period of rapid climatic change at the end of the Pleistocene and possibly at the beginning of full-glacial times.

Chapter VI (Summary and Conclusions) makes sev- eral pertinent observations. First, the Sangamonian and pre-late Wisconsinan full-glacial conditions appear similar to the present or more like the present than full-glacial conditions. Second, during full-glacial condi- tions in the Interior, biotic complexes existed that occur nowhere today. These complexes were created from the lowering of boundaries and overlapping of zones. And third, the end of the Pleistocene was denoted by megafaunal extinction, warming temperatures, shifts in precipitation patterns, and climatic and biotic condi- tions more similar to those of the late Holocene than for the Late Pleistocene.

There are three data appendices. Appendix 1 (Avian and Mammalian Taxa) presents short discussions on a large number of the genera and species represented at the sites. Appendix 2 (Data Base Taxa) lists the taxa alphabetically and numerically to key them to the dis- cussions in Appendix 1 and 3. Appendix 3 (Data Base Sites) lists the sites alphabetically and numerically and includes a brief discussion of such pertinent information as radiocarbon dates, faunal list, and contamination problems.

This volume brings together a vast amount of data on faunal sites that are discussed in a broader than usual context leading to characterization of various regions within defined boundaries. It is a very handy reference for comparing faunas for the western US. and an excel- lent feature is the primary reference(s1 listed for each site. The appendices are a gold-mine of information that the reviewer has used frequently. The volume is not without its problems, however. Two major, but by no means debilitating, ones are the lack of an index and the disconcerting arbitrary boundaries drawn for the west- ern US. Some of the discussions of faunas and zones stop at state lines instead of natural geographic areas. This arbitrariness provides an uneven treatment for a re- gion. For example, only about one-third of the Southern High Plains is in New Mexico. The major portion is in Texas and therefore the pertinent faunas are not in- cluded in the discussion.

Harris’ new approach of using “equator equivalents” is laudable and provides another tool for paleoecological theory and the site and regional building block approach to reconstruction. Being unfamiliar with this approach, the reviewer tested it with a fauna closely related to those presented but not discussed. Lubbock Lake (John- son, 1986, 1987) is an extensive, stratified site within

the same drainage system as the Blackwater Draw sites discussed by Harris but on the eastern edge of the South- ern High Plains of Texas. The data base and type of integrated studies Harris advocates are available for the site (Johnson, 1987; Holliday, 1985). The Lubbock Lake Clovis local fauna (11,100 yr B.P.) and the Lub- bock Lake Folsom local fauna (10,800- 10,300 B.P.) are within the end of the time frame under discussion and comparable to the Blackwater Draw Locality #1 local faunas. Using these local faunas as a data base, the reviewer (Johnson, 1986,1987) reconstructed the draws of the Southern High Plains as a parkland changing to a savannah. This scenario appears to fit Harris’ steppe- woodland zone. However, according to Harris’ ee eleva- tion divisions, Lubbock Lake (ca. 4555 m ee) should fall in the lower end of the sagebrush steppe-woodland zone along with the Blackwater Draw sites. But none of the local faunas contain faunal elements indicating sagebrush at these times. Physiographically, Blackwa- ter Draw and its local faunas are much more closely related to Lubbock Lake than to the other localities in Harris’ sagebrush steppe- woodland zone. The method does not work quite as simply as used in the volume, although it comes close. Harris (p. 79) himself recog- nizes the problems and that it “may distort relation- ships.” The method is designed to negate the effects of physiography in so far as elevation and temperature are concerned. However, the method needs to be tempered by some consideration of regional physiography beyond elevation and temperature (as part of the regional build- ing block approach) and then it may well be a powerful tool in cross-comparison over wide geographic areas.

In general, the volume is well written and very useful. It serves a broad audience and should stand as a major synthetic work in Quaternary studies for years to come.

REFERENCES

Holliday, V.T. (1985). Archaeological geology of the Lubbock Lake site, Southern High Plains of Texas. Geological Society of America Bulletin 96, 1483- 1492.

Johnson, E. (1986). Late Pleistocene and early Holocene vertebrates and paleoenvironments on the Southern High Plains, U.S.A. Geographie Physique et Quater- naire 60, 249-261.

Johnson, E. (1987). Lubbock Lake: Late Quaternary Studies on the Southern High Plains. Texas A & M University Press, College Station.

Eileen Johnson The Museum

Texas Tech University Lubbock, Texas 74909

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