Team F: Forensic Ice Age Vertebrate Paleoecology

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Team FForensic Ice AgeVertebrate Paleoecology

• Kareem Carter
• Tevin Chambers
• Elisabet Polanco
• William Smith Jr.
• Jermaine Williams

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Purpose

• To determine if the bone samples collected in the
  Black Hills of South Dakota are representative of
  the bones found in the average rodent skeleton

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Taphonomy

• The study of environmental conditions affecting
  the preservation of animal and plant remains

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The Black Hills

• Located in South Dakota
• Best Known as the Island in the Plains

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Climate Change

• Began about 1.6 million years ago
• Glaciers formed and spread across the landscape
• Mammal isolation during warmer periods
• CO2 builds up (cars, fireworks, factories, etc.)

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Paleoecology

• The branch of ecology that deals with the
  interaction between ancient organisms and their
  environment

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Materials Procedures

• Materials
• Tweezers
• Magnifying Headgear
• Plastic bags
• Markers
• Dixie Cups
• Sediment Tray

• Procedures
• Excavation
• Screen Washing
• Picking
• Categorize
• Count
• Percentage of Sample
• Graph

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Results
Bone Sample Percentages
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Results
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Conclusions

• Some bone types in our class sample were both
  over and under represented in comparison to the
  bone percentages in an average rodent skeleton
• Limb and vertebrae bones were overrepresented
• Foot and rib bones were underrepresented
• Possible reasons for these discrepancies
• Miscalculation
• Misidentification
• Bone-breakage
• Predator selection
• Digestion

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Our seems field trip
Lincoln Caverns and Whispering Rocks

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Thank You!

• Acknowledgements
• Dr. Russell W. Graham
• Mrs. Laurie Eccles
• Faculty of Earth and Mineral Sciences
• Jody Markley
• Annie Holmes
• Jackie Mills
• Questions and comments