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Strontium isotopes and mobility of a Columbian mammoth (Mammuthus columbi) population, Laguna de las Cruces, San Luis Potosí, México

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 February 2016

VÍCTOR ADRIÁN PÉREZ-CRESPO ,
PETER SCHAAF ,
GABRIELA SOLÍS-PICHARDO ,
JOAQUÍN ARROYO-CABRALES ,
LUIS M. ALVA-VALDIVIA  and
JOSÉ RAMÓN TORRES-HERNÁNDEZ
VÍCTOR ADRIÁN PÉREZ-CRESPO*
Affiliation:
Instituto de Geología, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Circuito de la Investigación Científica S/N, Ciudad Universitaria, Del. Coyoacán, 04510 México, D. F., México
PETER SCHAAF
Affiliation:
LUGIS, Instituto de Geofísica, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Ciudad Universitaria, 04510 México, D. F., México
GABRIELA SOLÍS-PICHARDO
Affiliation:
LUGIS, Instituto de Geofísica, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Ciudad Universitaria, 04510 México, D. F., México
JOAQUÍN ARROYO-CABRALES
Affiliation:
Laboratorio de Arqueozoología ‘M. en C. Ticul Álvarez Solórzano’, Subdirección de Laboratorios y Apoyo Académico, INAH. Moneda 16 Col. Centro, 06060 México, D. F., México
LUIS M. ALVA-VALDIVIA
Affiliation:
Laboratorio de Paleomagnetismo, Instituto de Geofísica, UNAM, Ciudad Universitaria, Del. Coyoacán, 04150 México, D. F., México
JOSÉ RAMÓN TORRES-HERNÁNDEZ
Affiliation:
Instituto de Geología, Universidad Autónoma de San Luis Potosí, Dr. Manuel Nava 5, Zona Universitaria, 78240 San Luis Potosí, S. L. P., México
*
†Author for correspondence: vapc79@gmail.com
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Abstract

By using strontium isotopic ratios of dental enamel from molars, we were able to reconstruct the migration context for three individuals of a Columbian mammoth population (Mammuthus columbi) around Laguna de las Cruces, San Luis Potosí, central México. A three-step leaching procedure was applied to eliminate secondary Sr contributions in the molar enamel. One of the studied individuals showed 87Sr/86Sr ratios similar to those obtained from soils and plants from Laguna de las Cruces and was identified as local, whereas the other two mammoths had different molar 87Sr/86Sr values, indicative of migration and mobility contexts.

Keywords

Mammuthus columbi87Sr/86SrenamelmobilityMéxico
Type
Rapid Communication
Information
Geological Magazine , Volume 153 , Issue 4 , July 2016 , pp. 743 - 749
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2016 

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