Carbon and nitrogen isotopic composition of red deer (Cervus elaphus) collagen as a tool for tracking palaeoenvironmental change during the Late-Glacial and Early Holocene in the northern Jura (France)

Red deer bone collagen from Rochedane in the Jura (France) was analysed for carbon and nitrogen isotopic composition. The specimens range in 14C age from about 13 000 to 8000 yr BP (uncalibrated), and cover the Late-Glacial and Early Holocene, a time period during which climatic conditions shifted from periglacial to temperate. The carbon isotopic compositions of red deer collagen suggest changes in the vegetation cover around the site that are consistent with other palaeoenvironmental indicators, such as the palynological record in the Jura. The nitrogen isotopic compositions exhibit a large range of around 6‰ interpreted as reflecting changes in the intensity of N cycling coeval to vegetation changes. Red deer bone collagen appears thus as a valuable proxy for reconstructing palaeoenvironmental changes in continental western Europe during the Late-Glacial and Holocene.