caa a22 4500 605448825 CHVBK 20210128100138.0 cr unu---uuuuu 210128e20151201xx s 000 0 eng 10.1007/s10437-015-9201-z doi (NATIONALLICENCE)springer-10.1007/s10437-015-9201-z Thackeray John Evolutionary Studies Institute and School of Geosciences, University of the Witwatersrand, PO WITS, 2050, Johannesburg, South Africa aut Faunal Remains from Holocene Deposits, Excavation 1, Wonderwerk Cave, South Africa [Elektronische Daten] [John Thackeray] Ungulate and small mammalian fauna have been recovered from Holocene deposits at Wonderwerk Cave, in the interior of South Africa, in the area of excavation 1. Statistical analyses of relative abundances of rodents and insectivores indicate that conditions were warm (between 19.1 and 19.3°C) and very dry in the early Holocene in the Wonderwerk palaeo-environment, becoming moister in the mid-Holocene and still moister in the late Holocene. Temperatures in the late Holocene appear to have been about 1°C lower than conditions in the early to mid-Holocene. In terms of habitats reflected by rodents, the early Holocene is associated with an abundance of the arid-indicator species, Desmodillus auricularis. The degree of aridity subsequently decreases, associated with an increase in a woodland savanna species, Saccostomus campestris. A later increase in abundance of Mystromus albicaudatus reflects an increase in open grassland in the Late Holocene. Equids (zebras) and alcelaphines (including wildebeest and hartebeest) dominate the ungulate assemblages. Two extinct species are represented in the early Holocene, namely Equus capensis (the giant zebra) and Megalotragus priscus (a large alcelaphine). Possible causes of their extinction may include both environmental and cultural factors. Homo sapiens was probably the main agent of accumulation of the Holocene deposits at Wonderwerk, although leopards (Panthera pardus) may have temporarily used the cave in the mid-Holocene at a time when wind-blown Kalahari sands were introduced. Springer Science+Business Media New York, 2015 Holocene nationallicence vertebrate nationallicence fauna nationallicence South Africa nationallicence African Archaeological Review Springer US; http://www.springer-ny.com 32/4(2015-12-01), 729-750 0263-0338 32:4<729 2015 32 10437 https://doi.org/10.1007/s10437-015-9201-z text/html Onlinezugriff via DOI BK010053 XK010053 XK010000 Metadata rights reserved Springer special CC-BY-NC licence nationallicence 1 research-article jats NATIONALLICENCE NATIONALLICENCE NL-springer NATIONALLICENCE 856 40 https://doi.org/10.1007/s10437-015-9201-z text/html Onlinezugriff via DOI NATIONALLICENCE 100 1- Thackeray John Evolutionary Studies Institute and School of Geosciences, University of the Witwatersrand, PO WITS, 2050, Johannesburg, South Africa aut NATIONALLICENCE 773 0- African Archaeological Review Springer US; http://www.springer-ny.com 32/4(2015-12-01), 729-750 0263-0338 32:4<729 2015 32 10437