Corentin Bochaton | Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History (original) (raw)

Papers by Corentin Bochaton

Quaternaire, 2020

Although there is an increasing amount of subfossil data available that documents the effects of ... more Although there is an increasing amount of subfossil data available that documents the effects of past human impact on the biodiversity of the West Indies, many islands remain poorly documented, if at all. The palaeontological study of an assemblage of terrestrial mollusc shells and bone remains recovered on the surface level of two cave deposits, Trou de Souris 1 and 4, provides the first data on the past biodiversity of Tintamarre Island (northern Lesser Antilles). The results indicate the presence of at least six vertebrate taxa and a possible six terrestrial snail species that are no longer present on the island. As it was not possible to excavate the deposits from which these assemblages were collected, we currently lack a chronological framework to interpret the collected data. However, based on phenomena observed from several other islands in the Lesser Antilles, we propose several hypotheses linking the local extinction of these species to human activity on Tintamarre throughout the last few centuries.

Archaeological and Anthropological Sciences, 2021

Evidence for chronological change in intra-site subsistence strategies is very rare in the Amerin... more Evidence for chronological change in intra-site subsistence strategies is very rare in the Amerindian record of the Lesser Antilles. The study of the vertebrate assemblage from the archeological site of Roseau in the Guadeloupe Islands underlines the complexity and variability of Ceramic Age Amerindian subsistence behavior. This study establishes a more precise chronology of the previously identified strata of the site, and demonstrates that the Contact period was only represented by rare archeological artifacts dispersed in the stratigraphy. The results from this assemblage indicate that the earlier occupations of the site exhibit a more intensive exploitation of aquatic vertebrate resources compared to later occupations, which have a larger focus on terrestrial fauna, especially rodents and iguanas. This unusual pattern highlights how subsistence behaviors in the Lesser Antilles during the Late and Final Ceramic periods were highly variable. This new evidence of strong inter-site variability shows that the behaviors of Amerindians are not only dependent of large-scale environmental conditions but also influenced by more complex socio-cultural and local environmental parameters.

The Journal of Island and Coastal Archaeology, 2020

The past distribution of Boa snakes and their interactions with Pre-Columbian human populations i... more The past distribution of Boa snakes and their interactions with Pre-Columbian human populations in the Lesser Antilles (Caribbean) remain enigmatic. These snakes currently have a patchy distribution in the islands and are nearly absent from archaeological deposits. This raises questions about whether their absence from Pre-Columbian contexts should be interpreted from a biological or a cultural point of view. In this study, I provide three new references to Boa remains from archaeological and natural deposits on the islands of Guadeloupe and Martinique, most of which were manufactured into beads. These are the first objects in the Lesser Antilles known to be manufactured using snake bones and all appear to be made from Boa, despite a wider diversity of snakes occurring in this region. Using these new observations and combined pieces of evidence from archaeological, historical, and biological data sources, I propose that the extreme scarcity of Boa in zooarchaeological assemblages reflects their prominent status in Pre-Columbian Amerindian communities.

Several studies have reported the occurrence of fossil remains of a now extinct Boa snake from th... more Several studies have reported the occurrence of fossil remains of a now extinct Boa snake from the upper Pleistocene of Marie-Galante Island, French West Indies. However, these remains have never been fully investigated and no complete description of this possible new species has been published. In this paper, we try to bridge this gap by providing a
detailed morphological study of the Boa remains discovered in the three major fossil deposits of Marie-Galante Island. Our study reveals the specific morphological aspects of this fossil snake and allows us to identify it as a new species, Boa blanchardensis. We also reconstructed its body size, carried out a paleohistological investigation, and suggest that this snake may have been a dwarf species. We then discuss the possible explanation for the extinction of this snake on Marie-Galante Island and possibly also on other Guadeloupe islands.

Squamate remains from fossil-bearing deposits are difficult to identify on the basis of their mor... more Squamate remains from fossil-bearing deposits are difficult to identify on the basis of their morphology, because their modern relatives lack osteological description. In addition, intraspecific morphological variability of modern taxa is mostly understudied, making taxonomic identification of subfossil bones even more difficult. The aim of this study was to investigate osteological differences between two sympatric gecko species, Thecadactylus rapicauda and Hemidactylus mabouia, both currently occurring in the Lesser Antilles and in the subfossil assemblages of the region. Comparison of several modern museum specimens reveals the intraspecific osteological variability of these lizards and how difficult it is to distinguish between their bones, even though they are from two distant families. This study presents nine osteological characters, allowing for a fully reliable distinction of these two gecko species. These characters are applied to the specific identification of gecko species subfossil remains unearthed from the Pointe Gros Rempart 6 Hole (La De´sirade Island, Guadeloupe). Our results confirm the past occurrence of T. rapicauda as well as the historical introduction of H. mabouia on La De´sirade Island.

Journal of Raptor Research, 2014

ABSTRACT Here we report the predation on a colony of Lesser naked-backed bat (Pteronotus davyi) b... more ABSTRACT Here we report the predation on a colony of Lesser naked-backed bat (Pteronotus davyi) by a pair of American Kestrel (Falco sparverius) based on observations over a 16 day period. Kestrels preyed on bats in the evening as they were leaving their roost with two factors controlling hunting efficiency, namely: (1) meteorological conditions, and (2) the time of flock formation. The frequency of occurrence is 93.8% and the success rate is 16.4%. We estimate that bats provide 6.25% of the kestrel&#39;s daily food requirement. The case reported here is the first to describe the regular predation of a bat colony by the American Kestrel – a hunting behaviour that has never before been reported for this species This behaviour is interpreted as an example of the trophic adaptation of the American Kestrel to island environments typical of the Lesser Antilles.

The identification of domestic equid remains is a recurrent issue and an intense subject of discu... more The identification of domestic equid remains is a recurrent issue and an intense subject of discussion in zooarchaeological studies. Indeed, despite historical sources describing the key role of equids in numerous past societies, their accurate identification on archaeological sites is still problematic, and only few methods have been developed in order to distinguish the bones of horses, donkeys and their hybrids. Moreover, some of the extant published visual macroscopic criteria are considered as possibly unreliable, partly because of the absence of preliminary test on a large sample of modern specimens. In this work, we try to solve these issues by testing a set of macroscopic visual criteria, collected in the literature or newly described, on a comparative sample of 107 modern skeletons of domestic equids. We quantified the reliability of these criteria and found evidence of 26 osteological characters allowing for the identification of between 90% and 100% of the horses and donkeys of our comparative sample. A method to identify the complete or sub-complete skeletons of hybrids is also proposed using combinations of characters observed on several bones. Finally, the defined osteological criteria are observed on a set of archaeological skeletons, coming from antique to modern sites, in order to demonstrate the applicability of our approach to archaeological remains. The use of our methodology on zooarchaeological samples could allow for a better assessment of the presence of donkeys and hybrids in archaeological sites, and thus, could help improve the knowledge of their respective importance and use by human past societies.

Historical Biology, 2017

This paper aims to demonstrate how subfossil bone remains from Pleistocene and Holocene deposits ... more This paper aims to demonstrate how subfossil bone remains from Pleistocene and Holocene deposits can
help to reconstruct the history of recently extinct taxa through the example of Pholidoscelis lizards from
the Guadeloupe Islands in the French West Indies. To achieve this, we conducted a new anatomical and
zooarchaeological study of fossil Pholidoscelis remains collected from 23 archaeological and paleontological
deposits on the Guadeloupe Islands from which this genus is nowadays absent. Our results shed light on
the past existence of large Pholidoscelis lizards on all the Guadeloupe islands but also on the difficulties of
confident specific identification for these remains. Nevertheless, we suggest a possible past occurrence of
the now extinct Pholidoscelis major on nearly all of the Guadeloupe islands. In addition, we identified a new
Pholidoscelis species, Pholidoscelis turukaeraensis sp. nov., on Marie-Galante Island, where no Pholidoscelis
lizards were previously reported. This new species underwent an increase in size after the end of the
Pleistocene period, possibly due to reduced predation pressure. We also highlight the consumption of
Pholidoscelis lizards by pre-Columbian Amerindians and the huge impact of European colonization, which
led to the extinction of all these lizards in less than 300 years.

Proc. R. Soc. B, 2017

Fossil remains provide useful insights into the long-term impact of anthro-pogenic phenomena on f... more Fossil remains provide useful insights into the long-term impact of anthro-pogenic phenomena on faunas and are often used to reveal the local (extirpations) or global (extinctions) losses of populations or species. However, other phenomena such as minor morphological changes can remain inconspicuous in the fossil record depending on the methodology used. In this study, we used the anole of Marie-Galante Island (Anolis ferreus) in Guadeloupe (French, West Indies) as a model to demonstrate how the morphological evolution of an insular lizard can be tracked through the Pleistocene/Holocene climatic transition and the recent anthropization of the island. We used a fossil assemblage of nearly 30 000 remains and a combination of anatomical description, traditional morphometry and geometric morphometrics. These fossils are attributed to a single taxon, most likely to be A. ferreus on the basis of morphological and morphometric arguments. Our results show the disappearance of a distinct (sub)population of large specimens that were about 25% larger than the modern representatives of A. ferreus. We also demonstrate an apparent size stability of the main fossil population of this species since the Late Pleis-tocene but with the possible occurrence of a reduction in morphological diversity during the Late Holocene. These results highlight the impact of anthropic disturbances on a lizard whose morphology otherwise remained stable since the Late Pleistocene.

Pit cave 6 on Pointe Gros Rempart (Baie-Mahault, La Désirade, French West Indies) is a stratified... more Pit cave 6 on Pointe Gros Rempart (Baie-Mahault, La Désirade, French West Indies) is a stratified fossil-bearing site. While the archaeological material and faunal remains from the oldest assemblage demonstrate it to have formed during the Amerindian period, the second assemblage dates to the first one-hundred years of the island's colonial period (mid-18th to mid-19th centuries). Faunal analysis revealed the presence of 4 now locally extinct or extinct species, three of which have never before been documented on La Désirade (Ameiva sp., Leiocephalus cf. cuneus and Alsophis sp.). Changing faunal spectrums (invertebrates and vertebrates) due to environmental destabilisation combined with aspects of the island's colonial economy demonstrate habitat degradation and over-grazing to be the principal causes of extinctions and or extirpations.

Among the lizards in the Lesser Antillean Islands, iguanas are undoubtedly the most emblematic, e... more Among the lizards in the Lesser Antillean Islands, iguanas are undoubtedly the most emblematic, especially the endemic species, Iguana delicatissima. However, although much effort is currently made for the conservation of this species as a result of the present biodiversity crisis, nearly nothing is known of the history of this animal on these islands during the last millennia. Here we present the first data relating to the distribution, morphology, and interaction of past iguanas with human populations in the Lesser Antilles. To do so, we review the archaeological Iguana remains collected over the past 15 years on the Guadeloupe Islands. Our results show that the only Iguana species occurring in pre-Columbian archaeological deposits is Iguana delicatissima. Moreover, we demonstrate that this species occurred on all the islands of Guadeloupe during pre-Columbian times and then suddenly became extinct between 1960 and 1990 on most of these islands. We also confirm the modern introduction of I. iguana to the Guadeloupe Islands. In addition, zooarchaeological research demonstrates that pre-Columbian human populations occasionally used iguanas as a source of food, but with no apparent impact on the native population. However, the first data relating to past size variations of I. delicatissima on the Guadeloupe Islands indicate that archaeological iguanas were much larger than the largest remnant modern specimens and that a marked decrease in body length (more than 20%) occurred in these lizards after contact with European populations. This evidence of widespread extinction and morphological change during modern times is another demonstration of the extensive effects of disturbance and selection induced by modern human societies on endemic insular faunas.

Today, Diploglossine lizards (Anguidae) are common on the Greater Antillean Islands (West Indies)... more Today, Diploglossine lizards (Anguidae) are common on the Greater Antillean Islands (West Indies), where they are represented by many endemic species. However these lizards are very rare on the Lesser Antillean Islands, where they are only represented by a single species, the Montserrat galliwasp (Diploglossus montisserrati). Here, we show that diploglossine lizards were present in the past on other Lesser Antillean islands, by reporting the discovery of Anguidae fossil remains in two Amerindian archaeological deposits and in a modern deposit. These remains are compared to skeletons of extant diploglossine lizards, including D. montisserrati, using X-ray microtomography of the type specimen of this critically endangered lizard. We also conducted a histological study of the osteoderms in order to estimate the putative age of the specimen. Our results show that the fossil specimens correspond to a member of the Diploglossus genus presenting strong similarities, but also minor morphological differences with D. montisserrati, although we postulate that these differences are not sufficient to warrant the description of a new species. These specimens, identified as Diploglossus sp., provide a new comparison point for the study of fossil diploglossine lizards and reflect the historical 17 th century mentions of anguid lizards, which had not been observed since.

Quaternary Research, 2015

This work presents the herpetofaunal remains collected from Blanchard Cave (Marie-Galante, Guadel... more This work presents the herpetofaunal remains collected from Blanchard Cave (Marie-Galante, Guadeloupe Archipelago). This site has yielded the oldest stratigraphic layers (around 40,000 BP) of the island, along with data concerning the herpetofaunal biodiversity of the island from the Late Pleistocene to pre-Columbian and modern times. The study of these fossil remains reveals the presence of at least 11amphibian and squamata taxa (Eleutherodactylus cf. martinicensis, Iguana sp., Anolis ferreus, Leiocephalus cf. cuneus, Thecadactylus cf. rapicauda, cf. Capitellum mariagalantae, Ameiva sp., cf. Antillotyphlops, Boa sp., Alsophis sp. and Colubridae sp. 2) during the Late Pleistocene and Holocene on Marie-Galante Island and
provides new evidence concerning extinction times and the introduced or native status of taxa. This study also reveals that this bone assemblage is the result of diverse accumulation processes and provides new morphological data on the past herpetofauna of Marie-Galante.

Reporting the diet of recently extinct or very rare taxa, only known by a few museum specimens, i... more Reporting the diet of recently extinct or very rare taxa, only known by a few museum specimens, is challenging. This study uses X-ray microtomography, a non-destructive investigation method, to obtain the first data about feeding behaviours in the Montserrat galliwasp (Diploglossus montisserrati) by scanning one of the two specimens known to date. The scans revealed the occurrence of shell fragments of a freshwater snail (Omalonyx matheroni) in the digestive tract of the specimen. This data combined with morphological evidence shows the occurrence of a durophagous feeding habit and a possible tendency of association with freshwater environments. This information could be crucial to save this critically endangered lizard endemic on Montserrat island.

Although diploglossine osteoderms were mentioned in several systematic and paleontological studie... more Although diploglossine osteoderms were mentioned in several systematic and paleontological studies, their morphological variability in single specimens or within species remains paradoxically undescribed. This is mainly the effect of the lack of attention paid hitherto to the morphological and histological characteristics of the tail osteoderms. This study demonstrated that a previously undescribed morphological variability exists in these osteoderms, especially in those resulting from tail regeneration. Indeed, regenerated osteoderms display a plesiomorphic anguid morphology that was previously considered to be absent in Diploglossinae. We also provide the first histological description of diploglossine osteoderms and new information about the obvious differences in growth dynamic between regenerated and nonregenerated osteoderms. These new data raise questions about the usefulness of diploglossine osteoderms in systematic, paleontological, and skeletochronological studies. Our study shows that the exact position on the trunk or on a regenerated or nonregenerated tail of each studied osteoderm must be known in order to avoid mistakes related to their important interspecies and intraspecies variability.

The origins of the two iguana species (Iguana delicatissima [Lesser Antillean Iguana] and Iguana ... more The origins of the two iguana species (Iguana delicatissima [Lesser Antillean Iguana] and Iguana iguana [Green Iguana]) occurring today in the Lesser Antilles are frequently questioned using mostly historical and genetic data. Osteological remains of iguanas are common in archaeological and paleontological deposits in the Lesser Antilles, however, and they could be important for understanding the past colonization processes of these two iguana species and subsequent sympatry. Unfortunately, although numerous questions exist about the past occurrence of those two species and their respective arrival dates, no osteological study has led to proper identification of subfossil iguana skeletal elements. Here we present a series of characters that allow for distinguishing the two species using isolated bones and emphasize the reliability of each recognized specific character. We also provide some comments about skeletal morphology of hybrids between both species and their identification based on osteology.

The goal of this study was to provide tools to estimate size and maturity of the archaeological I... more The goal of this study was to provide tools to estimate size and maturity of the archaeological Iguana specimens on the basis of their skeletal remains. To achieve this, a reference of 40 Iguana osteological specimens from different collections was used to derive size prediction equations relying on bone measurements. The sequence of fusions of skeletal elements was also observed and found to be strictly identical in all observed specimens. These observations enable the size and skeletal maturity of an archaeological specimen to be determined on the basis of an isolated bone. Such data could be valuable in zooarchaeological studies, as is demonstrated using the case of a pre-Columbian archaeological site in the Lesser Antilles.

Quaternaire, 2020

Archaeological and Anthropological Sciences, 2021

The Journal of Island and Coastal Archaeology, 2020

Journal of Raptor Research, 2014

Historical Biology, 2017

Proc. R. Soc. B, 2017

Quaternary Research, 2015

Journal of Archaeological Science, 2018

The identification of domestic equid remains is a recurrent issue and an intense subject of discu... more The identification of domestic equid remains is a recurrent issue and an intense subject of discussion in zooarchaeological studies. Indeed, despite historical sources describing the key role of equids in numerous past societies, their accurate identification on archaeological sites is still problematic, and only few methods have been developed in order to distinguish the bones of horses, donkeys and their hybrids. Moreover, some of the extant published visual macroscopic criteria are considered as possibly unreliable, partly because of the absence of preliminary test on a large sample of modern specimens. In this work, we try to solve these issues by testing a set of macroscopic visual criteria, collected in the literature or newly described, on a comparative sample of 107 modern skeletons of domestic equids. We quantified the reliability of these criteria and found evidence of 26 osteological characters allowing for the identification of between 90\% and 100\% of the horses and donkeys of our comparative sample. A method to identify the complete or sub-complete skeletons of hybrids is also proposed using combinations of characters observed on several bones. Finally, the defined osteological criteria are observed on a set of archaeological skeletons, coming from antique to modern sites, in order to demonstrate the applicability of our approach to archaeological remains. The use of our methodology on zooarchaeological samples could allow for a better assessment of the presence of donkeys and hybrids in archaeological sites, and thus, could help improve the knowledge of their respective importance and use by human past societies.