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1. Background

Understanding how and when Homo sapiens expanded out of Africa and into Europe and Asia has been the subject of much recent debate. Genomic and mitochondrial data have frequently been used to argue for a major exit from Africa around 65–60 thousand years ago (e.g. [1,2]). However, archaeological evidence from Saudi Arabia, Israel, Greece and China indicates that at least some populations occupied Europe and Asia before this time [3–7], most likely following corridors of suitable habitats resulting from ameliorated climatic conditions [8,9]. The Sumatran palaeontological record, especially the remains recovered from the site of Lida Ajer in the Padang Highlands, plays an important role in these debates owing to both its age and proposed environmental context [10].

In the late 1880s, Eugene Dubois travelled to Padang, Sumatra in search of the missing link between humans and other apes. He explored many caves in the region, and thousands of fossils were extracted under his direction [11]. Recovering only modern mammals, Dubois became convinced that the deposits were Holocene in age, and he abandoned them in favour of excavations in Java in 1890. Nevertheless, the wealth of fossils recovered lent themselves to further examination. Research on the Sumatran fossils collected by Dubois continued sporadically through the twentieth century (e.g. [12,13]). Close study of the orangutan fossils from Lida Ajer by Hooijer [14] revealed that two of the hominid teeth recovered were in fact modern human. While the Sumatran caves preserved only modern species, the close taxonomic and depositional relationships between the Lida Ajer and Sibrambang caves in Sumatra, and the site of Punung in Java, suggested to de Vos that these sites could be contemporaneous and Late Pleistocene in age [13]. Establishing an age of approximately 118 ka (kilo annum BP) for Punung [15] suggested that the Sumatran caves may be of similar antiquity (e.g. [16]).

A reinvestigation of Dubois’s Sumatran caves began in the 1990s, with particular attention focused on Lida Ajer, and a comprehensive dating programme of this cave was initiated in the late 2000s. Luminescence and uranium-series (US) dating applied to sediments and associated speleothems in the main fossil-bearing chamber (figure 1), combined with US and electron spin resonance (ESR) dating of mammalian teeth recovered by Dubois and from new excavations, respectively, revealed that the deposits were at least 63 ka [10]. Largely because of the presence of orangutans in the deposits of Lida Ajer, the site was taken to represent rainforest habitats [10,13]. A reinvestigation of the human teeth also confirmed their taxonomic identity [10]. These findings had two major implications. First, they corroborated the notion that humans left Africa significantly earlier than commonly cited estimates based on genetic evidence that placed human migration out of Africa at approximately 60 ka [1,2]. Second, because the fauna from Lida Ajer was considered typical of contemporary rainforest environments [10,13], these results were argued to represent some of the earliest evidence of human presence in rainforests globally.

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Figure 1. Map of Lida Ajer cave showing the sinkhole in relation to the main fossil chamber described by Dubois [17] and Westaway et al. [10]. Plan and profile views of the cave shown, with major finds discussed in the text indicated. Inset: Location of Lida Ajer shown with respect to major geographical features in the region and Sumatra. (Online version in colour.)

Dubois’s initial investigations at Lida Ajer focused on the main fossil chamber that was also the subject of the integrated dating programme discussed above. However, as work continued at the site, Dubois’s team began enlarging a hole towards the back of this chamber, work which necessitated removal of large sections of overlying breccia [17]. This hole, dubbed the Lida Ajer sinkhole [10], connects the main fossil-bearing chamber to two additional passageways to the west, both also yielding fossils. These deposits were interpreted, based on field observations, as washed in material eroded from the main fossil-bearing chamber [10]. Although these passages are briefly discussed in Dubois’s field reports and Westaway et al. [10], they remain to be fully described, and the relationship between fossils in the sinkhole and the main fossil deposits have not been firmly established. This is important because the Dubois fossil material now housed in the Naturalis Biodiversity Centre (Leiden, The Netherlands) does not have specific in situ data associated with individual finds. Thus, exact locations of individual fossils from Dubois’s collection, including the human remains, could be derived from either the main fossil chamber or the sinkhole.

Here, we provide a description of these passageways and detail new geochronological, sedimentological, and historical data to establish the relationship between the sinkhole deposits and the main fossil chamber. The exact nature of the palaeoenvironments that humans from Lida Ajer inhabited also remains to be established. How Pleistocene rainforests in the Padang Highlands may have differed from modern rainforests has not been explored but is critical in understanding the nature of the long-term human occupation of these ecosystems. Moreover, the use of orangutans as a palaeohabitat indicator for rainforests, as assumed for Lida Ajer, may not be straightforward as these species may have broader ecological tolerances than previously appreciated [18]. To explore these issues further, we reconstruct the palaeoenvironmental context of the Lida Ajer deposits using stable carbon and oxygen isotope analysis of mammalian tooth enamel from both recently collected fossils and historical fossils extracted from the cave by Dubois’s team. These are compared to existing data for modern Southeast Asian species and previous palaeoenvironmental reconstructions for the site.

2. Material and methods

(a) Speleology and sedimentary infill of the cave

The two front chambers of Lida Ajer were described by Westaway et al. [10] and briefly summarized here. The easterly cave entrance measures 4.8 m wide by 2.1 m high and is situated in a limestone hill above the Batang Babuwe River. Limestone deposits continue above the cave although their exact height is obscured by dense vegetation. The cave opens into a moderately sized circular chamber with speleothem decorations and columns (figure 1). The floor is unconsolidated sediment which shows signs of anthropogenic modification (digging and overturning). A second chamber is accessed through a narrow opening between speleothem formations. It opens into a longer more cylindrical chamber with additional speleothem formations at the eastern end. The western end of this chamber is dominated by stalactite columns hanging from the centre of the roof (area 3 in [10]). Immediately below these and along the walls at the back of the chamber (areas 1 and 4) are cemented breccia deposits. A large breccia deposit with significant overlying flowstone (area 2) is observed at the northwestern end of the chamber.

In 2018, we surveyed and mapped the sinkhole passages in Lida Ajer using traditional cave survey techniques and a laser range finder. We conducted spot collection of fossils and geological samples along the passages. These consisted of a broken stalagmite (LAS-1), two micromorphology sediment samples (results to be reported elsewhere), and sediment samples and/or teeth for luminescence and ESR dating (figure 1). Analysis of the stalagmite is detailed in the electronic supplementary material. Where evident, we noted sedimentary information associated with exposures. These were combined with the field report from [17] to reconstruct the likely geological condition of the cave prior to excavation, and to determine the speleological history of the fossil-bearing and associated deposits.

(b) Geochronology

US dating of four samples (LAS-A-U1 and LAS-1-U2-4) taken from stalagmite LAS-1 was performed on a ThermoFisher Neptune multicollector-inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometer at the isotope laboratory at Xi’an Jiaotong University, Shaanxi Province, China (see the electronic supplementary material). Two fossil teeth were collected from the sinkhole at Lida Ajer for dating: one rhinoceros tooth (SUM18-29) and one orangutan tooth (SUM18-33_t). Three sediment samples were collected for the corresponding dose rate evaluation (details in the electronic supplementary material). The teeth were prepared and dated by means of US and combined US/ESR dating methods (see [19] for basic principles) following the same procedure employed on teeth from other Sumatran sites [20,21]. ESR dose evaluations were performed on enamel powder at CENIEH, Spain, using the multiple aliquot additive dose (MAAD) method. Detailed ESR data are displayed in the electronic supplementary material, figure S4 and table S2. Solution US analyses of powdered dental tissues were carried out at the Radiogenic Isotope Facility of The University of Queensland, Australia. US isotopic data are displayed in the electronic supplementary material, table S3. Combined US-ESR dating was performed using the DATA program [22]. Full details on the analytical procedure, including sample preparation, D_E calculation and dose rate evaluation, are provided in the electronic supplementary material. US-ESR data inputs and outputs are given in the electronic supplementary material, table S5. An opaque tube of sediments was collected from the clay-silt bed at the base of the pit in the sinkhole for post-infrared stimulated luminescence (pIR-IRSL) dating (SUM18-10). The sediments were prepared and dated using single-grain pIR-IRSL techniques as employed in other caves in the region [21], and the environmental dose rate was estimated using a combination of alpha and beta counting. Full details on the sample preparation, D_E and dose rate evaluation are provided in the electronic supplementary material. ESR and IRSL age results are given a 1σ confidence level unless otherwise indicated.

(c) Stable isotope analysis

Twenty-eight teeth were sampled for stable carbon (δ¹³C) and oxygen (δ¹⁸O) isotope measurement, 20 from the Dubois collections of the Naturalis Biodiversity Centre and eight from the Institute of Technology, Bandung (ITB). This approach has been demonstrated to provide important insights into Pleistocene faunal (including hominin) feeding behaviours and broader palaeoenvironmental conditions (e.g. water availability) in the tropics of Asia [23–25]. Dubois’s samples were taken from fragmented material without individual accession numbers (bulk accession numbers listed in the electronic supplementary material); they are referred to here as Lxxx-X, with these identities noted with the specimens and left in the collection. The 20 tooth fragments sampled from Naturalis include two Bovidae (Capricornis sumatraensis), seven Elephantidae (Elephas maximus), one Hominidae (Pongo sp.), nine Rhinocerotidae (gen. et sp. indet.), and one Tapiridae (Tapirus indicus). Because of the fragmented nature of the teeth, we cannot strictly exclude the possibility that we sampled the same individual within the taxonomic groups. Eight whole and partial teeth were selected from the ITB collections (numbered LAxx-x here): two Hominidae (Pongo sp.), two Rhinocerotidae (?Rhinoceros and ?Dicerorhinus) and four Suidae (Sus sp.). Of these, four were derived from the sinkhole and four from the main fossil chamber (electronic supplementary material, table S7). Sampling, pre-treatment and analytical procedures are detailed in the electronic supplementary material, with all δ¹³C values reported as dietary δ¹³C.

Stable isotope values were compared to modern baseline taxa, largely derived from Louys & Roberts [25] but supplemented by modern and Holocene taxa presented by Janssen et al. [26], Puspaningrum et al. [27] and Bocherens et al. [28] (for complete dataset see supplement in [25]). Comparisons between modern and fossil taxa were threefold: with modern Southeast Asian species but restricted to the families sampled from Lida Ajer (case 1); with all modern species with provenance data from Sumatra (case 2); and modern Sumatran species restricted to the families sampled from Lida Ajer (case 3). These were facilitated by Mann-Whitney pairwise comparisons and kernel density plots, with analyses computed in PAST v. 2.17c [29].

3. Results

(a) Speleology and sedimentary infill of the cave

The oldest deposits recorded at Lida Ajer are the basal flowstones in the main fossil chamber. These were dated to 203 ± 17 ka (2σ) [10] and we have correspondingly referred to these as unit 1 (figure 2). Dubois reported several sedimentological units in this chamber [17]. The lowest was a ‘brownish clay’ that preserved teeth and bones which we call unit 5b (units 2–5a are located deeper in the cave and discussed below). Above this, Dubois records a sandy unit of 60 cm thickness that he speculates includes ‘pumice-tuff’ inclusions which we call unit 6. Above this layer, Dubois reports an enormous ‘stalagmite breccia’ that extended across the floor of the cave and up to 1.7 m thick and that we correlate with areas 1–4 of Westaway et al. [10]. We refer to this breccia as unit 7. Units 5b, 6 and 7 were reported by Dubois to host fossils and were interpreted as being redeposited in mass flow events by Westaway et al. [10] after initial bone accumulation by porcupines. Above these units, Dubois reports ‘layers of soil glued with chalk’ of 45 cm depth which we have called unit 8. Dubois indicates that above the soils sat the flowstones, US dated by Westaway et al. [10] to 71 ± 7 ka (2σ), which are here designated unit 9. Finally, the hanging stalactite columns, also dated (11 ± 2 ka, 2σ), are designated as unit 10.

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Figure 2. Reconstructed speleological history of Lida Ajer showing the likely cave deposits present when Dubois first entered the cave. Units 1 to 10 are shown in profile view and in our preferred chronostratigraphic sequence. Observed and reconstructed thickness of each clastic unit indicated in metres. Alternative sequences are shown with circled numbers indicating where the bracketed units would move to in each alternative chronostratigraphic scenario. All ages are reported at 2σ. (Online version in colour.)

The sinkhole entrance is situated between and slightly under areas 1 and 2 (figure 1). Dubois [17] notes the sinkhole opening at the back of the main fossil chamber ‘was completely filled with earth’ when he began extending his excavations. Today it has a steep decline for approximately 1.2 m before levelling out and two passages continue at its base, one short passage oriented northwest and a second southwest. The walls in the passages are smeared in unconsolidated muds with numerous limestone clasts and fossils exposed. The northwest passage is ca. 1.5 m wide and extends for almost 7 m. A visual connection can be established with the main chamber in an easterly direction at the beginning of this passage in what appears to be an excavated niche, north of area 2. However, physical passage was not possible. There is a shallow excavation pit visible at the end of the northwest passage.

The southwest passage extends for approximately 7 m before opening into a wider (2.6 × 7.2 m) ovate chamber. This almost certainly corresponds to the ‘room’ discussed by Dubois [17], which he described as almost filled to the ceiling, with oxygen levels so depleted that candles would not burn. The chamber is at least 1.5 to 2 m high today, suggesting a significant amount of sediment had been removed by Dubois’s team. This was further corroborated by the discovery of a square pit near the entrance to this chamber measuring 1.3 × 0.9 m in area and 1.1 m deep. The base layer of this pit consists of ca. 40 cm of massive clays which we designate as unit 3. Overlying this is a 72 cm bed of clays with clay-silt and quartz clasts with occasional horizontal bedding visible and limestone clasts (unit 4). Neither of these beds contain any fossils, and the luminescence dating sample was taken from unit 4.

Above unit 4 is a ca 38 cm thick clay and sandy-silt layer. This bed had very fine laminations and contained numerous very coarse quartz and volcanic angular clasts. Fossils were found only on the very top of this layer but not observed in the pit walls. We think it is highly likely that the remnants of this unit are the clays and muds observed on the walls, floor, and roof of the sinkhole passage and that prior to Dubois’ excavations these would have filled most of the passageways. We designate these fossil-rich clays and muds as unit 5a. As Dubois’s report [17] mentions that this chamber was ‘almost filled up to the ceiling’, an additional 1 m can be added to the unit thickness.

Given that the sinkhole entrance was filled, we also think it is reasonable that the unit 5a stratum extended into the main fossil chamber and is the same as Dubois’s ‘brownish clay’ that we designated unit 5b. Our observations in the cave as well as Dubois’ notes strongly suggest that a continuous unit (unit 5) extended from the pit chamber through the passages east of the pit chamber (unit 5a), largely filled the sinkhole and continued into the main chamber (unit 5b). However, the apparent complete removal of unit 5b from the main fossil chamber by Dubois makes it impossible to correlate these two depositional units unambiguously. The laminated sand-silts at the base of unit 5 alongside the presence of coarse clasts suggests deposition in alternating low and high energy water although any potential changes in sediment flow at the top of this unit are not preserved.

The passage exiting the pit chamber proceeded in a southeast direction and became very narrow such that it was difficult to traverse. Walls, floor and roof were composed of unconsolidated muds in which numerous fossils were collected, and these are also correlated with unit 5. Approximately 12–15 m into this passage the roof opened vertically, and two false floors made of flowstone carbonate and extending back northwest were recorded. These were relatively free of the muds and contained no visible fossils. The main passageway extended beyond these false floors to another small circular chamber, with at least two additional passages extending from it. These were not explored further owing to the difficulty of access. Just west of this small circular chamber the broken stalagmite LAS-1 was recovered from the muds that we attribute to unit 5b. Its location and preservation suggest it was only, recently, broken and is allochthonous to this part of the cave, and we refer to its speleothem deposit as unit 2. As it was found within the muds, unit 2 is older than unit 5a.

(b) Geochronology

(i) Age and growth rate of the stalagmite

The US dating (electronic supplementary material, table S1) revealed that LAS-1 grew between 102 ± 4.1 ka and 99 ± 2.3 ka and may be correlated to Marine Isotope Stage 5c (MIS 5c; ca 108–93 ka, [30]). The high uncertainty stems from the high content of detrital thorium which limits the accuracy of our radiometric chronology and hampers comparisons with existing palaeoclimate records from the region. A greyscale-based layer-counted floating chronology (see the electronic supplementary material for details) suggests that the stalagmite grew for 586 ± 14 years (electronic supplementary material, figure S2). Growth rate, represented by annual layer thickness, varies from 43 µm a⁻¹ to 650 µm a⁻¹, with a median of 151 µm a⁻¹. The grey values vary from 100 to 240 (figure 1b). There is no apparent correlation between the pattern of grey values and layer thickness, but individual grey value peaks generally correspond to thicker layers in more porous intervals (electronic supplementary material, figure S3). There is a visual correlation between grey values and the presence of brown-to-orange layers, with lower values (darker colour) corresponding to intervals with high frequency of brown-to-orange layers.

(ii) Solution uranium-series analyses of dental tissues

Solution US analyses of the bulk powdered dental tissues returned apparent age estimates ranging from ca 37 to 58 ka (electronic supplementary material, table S3). No significant detrital thorium contamination was observed in the samples, resulting in very limited corrections of the apparent ages (less than 3 ka). Because all samples return finite US estimates there was no immediate evidence of uranium leaching. Moreover, the fact that the dated specimens generally have very low uranium concentrations (less than 0.5 ppm), including for the enamel, made them suitable for ESR dating. The apparent US age estimates should be regarded as minimum age constraints for the fossils, and are consistent with those of the associated luminescence ages (i.e. they are generally younger than the burial ages).

(iii) Combined uranium-series and electron spin resonance dating of fossil tooth enamel

The three samples of raw sediment collected for dosimetric purposes returned highly variable results (between 27 and 68%) for each element (electronic supplementary material, table S4). Because tooth SUM18-29 had no directly associated (or attached) sediment available, combined US/ESR age calculations were first successively performed using each of the three sediment samples for the beta and gamma dose rate evaluation (see data inputs in the electronic supplementary material, table S5). None of the calculations returned a finite age result. Under normal circumstances, this would indicate that all dental tissues have experienced uranium leaching. However, given the significant uncertainty around the dose rate evaluation, such an interpretation is treated with caution. We cannot exclude that the true external beta and gamma dose rate values are much lower than those calculated from the sediment sample, and the presence of the cave walls within a short distance of the sample could significantly lower the dose rate (e.g. [20]). Consequently, combined US/ESR dating of this tooth does not provide any conclusive chronological result and cannot be used to demonstrate uranium leaching. Evidence indicates that the apparent US age estimates can be considered reliable age constraints, with dental tissues suggesting a minimum age of 50–55 ka for SUM18-29.

Two sediment samples were more closely associated with tooth SUM18-33_t. Sample SUM18-13 was taken in situ from the area around the tooth, while sample SUM18-33_s was attached to the tooth and collected during sample preparation. Dose rate calculations were first performed using sediment sample SUM18-33_s for both beta and gamma dose rate components, resulting in a US-ESR age of 47 ± 4 ka (electronic supplementary material, table S5). Calculated p-values show early uptakes in both tissues (−0.96 < p < −0.73). The corresponding closed system US-ESR age estimate is only 1 ka older, showing the negligible impact of uranium uptake modelling on age results. When deriving a gamma dose rate value from the mean radioelement concentrations of samples SUM18-13 and SUM18-33_s, a younger US-ESR age of approximately 40 ka may be obtained. In the absence of in situ measurements of radioactivity, the gamma dose rate evaluation is very challenging: we cannot reasonably exclude that the cave wall may significantly contribute to the gamma dose rate, and thus make the resulting age estimate older. If so, this radioactively almost inert material would most likely contribute to lower the true gamma dose rate. An extended discussion of the combined US-ESR age results may be found in the electronic supplementary material. Because this uncertainty cannot be quantified at present, it is reasonable to consider the calculated US-ESR age estimates as minimum ages, although the magnitude of this potential underestimation is unknown.

(iv) Luminescence dating

The luminescence characteristics of the feldspars from the sinkhole (electronic supplementary material, figure S5) were as consistent as those seen in the main chamber [10]. The low feldspar yield, which is a feature of the cave sediments from this region (e.g. [21]; [10]), resulted in only 20 feldspar being accepted. This is not a statistically significant number but the use of single-grains rather than the single aliquots used to constrain the main chamber [10] provides a useful assessment of the grains that have been the most bleached before being buried in the cave, and a close estimation of the burial age. This result (66 ± 22 ka) (electronic supplementary material, table S6) is apparently slightly older than the breccia from the main fossil chamber (62 ± 5 ka) published by Westaway et al. [10]. Such close burial age estimates may indirectly suggest a relatively rapid sedimentation process in the cave from unit 4 to unit 7. However, the apparent age difference may also not be significant given the relatively large associated age error (ca 33%) from the lowermost sample. This age estimate carries significant uncertainty on the external dose rate owing to the strong heterogeneity of the breccia deposits and the absence of in situ gamma dose rate.

(c) Stable isotope analysis

δ¹³C and δ¹⁸O values for the fossil samples are provided in the electronic supplementary material, table S7. While sample sizes are too small to quantitatively compare the samples from the sinkhole with those of the main fossil chamber, qualitatively they are very similar: a δ¹³C difference of 0.4‰, 1.9‰ and 0.5‰ for orangutans, rhinos and pigs, respectively (difference in mean sinkhole versus mean main chamber for pigs); and 1.3‰, 0.9‰ and mean 1.2‰ for δ¹⁸O. The mean δ¹³C for the Lida Ajer fossils is -28.5‰, well within values considered typical of closed-canopy rainforests (figure 3a), with the highest δ¹³C value (from a pig) still within the range of C₃-dominated ecosystems.

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Figure 3. Stable isotope analysis of δ¹³C_diet (‰ VPDB) and δ¹⁸O (‰ VPDB) from faunal enamel of mammals from Lida Ajer. (a) Comparison of Lida Ajer specimens (closed circles indicate fossils sampled directly from Lida Ajer; open circles represent fossils sampled from the Naturalis) against all Southeast Asian representatives from those families (convex hulls). Divisions between canopy browsers indicative and based on Louys & Roberts [25]. Animal silhouettes from Phylopic.org (public domain and CC BY-SA 3.0 CC BY 3.0 Pongo by Gareth Monger and CC BY-NC 3.0 Elephantini by Zimices). (b) Kernel density plots for Lida Ajer and modern subsets of Southeast Asian mammals. Inset: kernel densities artificially scaled to the same frequency and compared against a subtropical monsoon forest in China; drawn after Tejada et al. [31] using data from Ehleringer et al. [32]. (Online version in colour.)

Comparison of the δ¹³C of the Lida Ajer data with the available modern Southeast Asian dataset reduced to families available at Lida Ajer (case 1) shows statistically significant differences (U = 956.5, p < 0.001), with the Lida Ajer sampled community recording more negative δ¹³C values. This can be most readily seen in the kernel density plot (figure 3b), with the modern Southeast Asian families having a long right tail representing the small but significant C₄ grazing species in the Bovidae. This is also evident in the right side of the plot in figure 3a. In addition, two other taxa from Lida Ajer show isotope values outside the range of modern families. Small sample sizes prevent quantitative examination. However, two of the three Lida Ajer orangutans have more positive δ¹³C values than any of the modern species sampled, and all the elephants have more negative δ¹⁸O values than modern specimens (figure 3b). At a community level, however, there are no significant differences in δ¹⁸O between Lida Ajer and modern Southeast Asian species (U = 1273, p = 0.14).

Restricting comparisons to only Sumatra, when the Lida Ajer fossils are compared to modern Sumatran species across all families with δ¹³C data available (case 2), the Lida Ajer sampled community is still significantly lower (U = 376, p = 0.02). This is demonstrated in the higher peak in values observed in the kernel density plot (figure 3b). However, examining the modern Sumatran data reduced to the families available at Lida Ajer (U = 198, p = 0.35) produces no significant δ¹³C differences (figure 3b). As a result, while the community-level comparisons suggest strong differences between modern forest faunas and those present in the Late Pleistocene in Sumatra, this seems to only be owing to the wider taxonomic sampling of the modern Southeast Asian and Sumatran datasets compared to the taxa sampled from Lida Ajer. A more reasonable comparison between families found in Lida Ajer to those present in Sumatra shows no significant community-level differences.

4. Discussion

(a) Speleological history

The speleological history of the site is summarized in figure 2. During the deposition of unit 1 at ca 200 ka, the main fossil chamber experienced vadose conditions. We have no cave records for another approximately 100 ka. This may be owing to several factors: (i) insufficient cave exploration and sampling of speleothems (sampling bias); (ii) the cave was flooded or filled with sediment during this time (in both cases hindering speleothem formation); and/or (iii) speleothems did continue to grow but were subsequently broken and/or displaced by high energy flood events. The broken nature of stalagmite LAS-1 testifies to the probability of the last factor at work. Testing these hypotheses will require more targeted sampling and analysis of speleothems, especially in the sinkhole. Between 102 and 99 ka, vadose conditions are generally present in at least the sinkhole, as evidenced by the formation of stalagmite LAS-1 (unit 2), although frequent flooding of at least these lower passages is recorded in its layers (electronic supplementary material). Clastic sedimentation post-dates the formation of the stalagmite. The numerical ages (and their associated uncertainty) produced for each of the sedimentary layers and/or their fossils allow for different interpretations regarding the sequence of deposition. The most parsimonious interpretation, scenario 1, assumes conventional stratigraphic order following the law of superposition. Two alternative scenarios incorporating reverse stratigraphy are also discussed. All numerical age results reported hereafter are given at 2σ.

In scenario 1, we assume that the massive clays (unit 3) at the base of the sinkhole pit represent the oldest clastic deposits in Lida Ajer. The clays suggest deposition from standing water. This unit is directly overlain by more silty clays (unit 4) that indicate some limited water movement. A luminescence date for unit 4 suggests sediment deposition between 88 and 44 ka. Neither of these units appears to preserve fossils. Unit 4 is overlain by laminated sandy-silts and clays with numerous clasts (unit 5), with the top of this unit preserving fossils. Two teeth from this unit, one near the sinkhole entrance and the other beyond the excavation pit, have returned ages of 50–55 ka (US) and 47 ± 8 ka (combined US-ESR), both interpreted as minimum age constraints for the fossils. These are consistent with the luminescence dates from the underlying deposits, suggesting a burial age range of 88–55 ka for unit 4.

We found no evidence of Dubois’s ‘pumice-tuff’ layer (unit 6) that overlies unit 5 in the main fossil chamber. If indeed this unit preserved pyroclastic sediments, then several large eruptions on Sumatra may have provided the source of the sediments that would have entered the cave as a re-depositional fraction. These include Toba (74.2 ± 0.2 ka; [33]), Maninjau (52 ± 3 ka; [34]) or Masurai (33 ka; [35]) (see also [36]). If our proposed scenario is correct, then the volcanoclastics of unit 6 would be constrained in age between unit 4 (less than 88 ka; 2-sigma lower range of 66 ± 22 ka) and unit 7 (greater than 58 ka; 2-sigma lower range of 68 ± 10 ka; see below), consistent with the Toba eruption (74.2 ± 0.2 ka; [33]).

The enormous ‘stalagmite breccia’ (unit 7) that extended across the floor of the cave probably corresponds to breccia dated by Westaway et al. [10]. Modelled ages suggested the breccia formed 68 ± 10 ka. We did not observe unit 8 in the field but above this layer are the unit 9 flowstones dated to 71 ± 7 ka, and finally the hanging columns, unit 10, dating to 11 ± 2 ka [10].

Taking the mean ages from units 4 and 5 suggests the sinkhole deposits are younger than the main fossil chamber deposits (units 7–9). However, considering the 2-σ age errors, unit 4 could be as old as 88 ka while the unit 7 breccia could be as young as 58 ka and the unit 9 capping flowstone in the main fossil chamber as young as 64 ka. Moreover, the apparent stratigraphic inconsistency between the ESR age estimates from the sinkhole and the main chamber may simply result from the non-negligible uncertainty on the gamma dose rate given the highly heterogeneous nature of the sediments in the sinkhole (electronic supplementary material, figure S6) (as well as in the main chamber), and unknown proximity to limestone walls. Indeed, using gamma dose rates from the main fossil chamber as per Westaway et al. [10] increases the age of these teeth to 80 + 8–7 ka and 89 + 10–9 ka, consistent with deposition of unit 5 prior to units 7 and 9 (see discussion in the electronic supplementary material).

On balance, the fossils in the sinkhole are most likely older than the unit 7 breccia dated by Westaway et al. [10]. Our preferred scenario assumes the correlation of the sinkhole sediments and the main chamber clays described by Dubois is correct, although is not dependent on this. Nevertheless, we cannot exclude alternative scenarios based on the data available. The unit 5 sediments may have provided accurate gamma dose rates for the unit 5 fossil age calculations. If so, and the unit 5 fossil ages represent true ages as opposed to minimum ages, it would require that unit 5 (and potentially units 3 and 4 also) were deposited after the unit 9 and 10 cemented deposits. One alternative scenario (scenario 2) could be that units 7 and 9 formed a false floor under which the unit 5 sediments were deposited after the older deposits were washed out of the cave, possibly by some of the recurrent flooding events evidenced in the cave from the study of the stalagmite LAS-1. Following deposition of unit 5, unit 10 would form. However, we consider this unlikely because it would require the suspension of up to 2 m of breccia in the main fossil chamber without any columnar anchoring, or alternatively no connection between the sediments in the sinkhole and the main fossil chamber.

A second alternative (scenario 3), combining the gamma dose rates from the main fossil chamber for the unit 5 fossils and reverse stratigraphy, would require the deposition of unit 5 below unit 7 but prior to the deposition of unit 9. In this scenario, the age of unit 5 would be constrained between 71 ± 7 ka (unit 9) and 68 ± 10 ka (unit 7). Westaway et al. [10] originally hypothesized that the sinkhole deposits represented eroded material from the main fossil chamber breccias and washed into the lower passages, a hypothesis consistent with scenario 3 and some of the features observed in the fossil teeth (see the electronic supplementary material). We now consider this unlikely owing to the very large amounts of sediment required to fill the sinkhole to the roof as observed by Dubois—these would have had to both come from the main fossil chamber and refill it.

(b) Palaeoenvironmental history

Regardless of deposition scenario preferred the fossils from Lida Ajer most likely date to MIS 4 (76–59 ka, using the composite marine δ¹⁸O record provided by [37]), as the fossil-bearing units have ages of greater than approximately 50 ka (unit 5) and 68 ± 10 ka (unit 7) and 71 ± 7 ka (units 8 and 9). The stable isotope results unambiguously indicate that the mammals of this time occupied a largely closed-canopy tropical forest environment (δ¹³C_diet −22.5‰ to −31.4‰, mean −28.5‰) very similar to rainforest ecosystems present in Sumatra today. This supports previous interpretations based on the presence of modern rainforest species, and especially orangutans, at the site [10,13]. Nevertheless, there are indications from the stable isotope data that the division of niche space within these forests was not directly analogous to modern ones. This is most clearly represented by the orangutans and elephants. Two of the orangutans have higher δ¹³C values than modern species. The modern sample includes one modern Sumatran orangutan (Pongo abelii), suggesting that this is not owing to differences between Bornean and Sumatran species, as has been observed in the microwear signatures of fossil and modern species [38]. Rather, it suggests broader diets in the Lida Ajer orangutans, towards the mixed C₃-C₄ part of the spectrum compared to modern taxa and compatible with the idea that Pleistocene orangutans exploited more diverse environments in the Pleistocene [18]. The differences in δ¹⁸O values for the elephants could be a result of ecological or climatic differences. The former may include differences in mobility patterns and behavioural or dietary preferences between modern and fossil elephants. The Lida Ajer elephants may have preferentially targeted fruits or forage in the understory, which have lower δ¹⁸O values [39]. Consuming vegetation from karst forests such as those present around Lida Ajer may also lead to lower δ¹⁸O, as these plants often experience water stress owing to thin soils and rapid drainage [40]. Alternatively, elephants range widely, and it has been suggested that this can make them deviate from local scale changes in δ¹⁸O (e.g. [41]). In this context, differences in δ¹⁸O for elephants could be linked to wetter conditions. Wetter conditions, particularly in monsoonal domains, may result not only from the amount (magnitude), but also the distribution and timing of changes. Consequently, wetter conditions do not necessarily imply an increase in total precipitation but rather can point to prolongation of the wet season [42]. Such changes, recorded in the geochemical signature of tooth enamel, may not be captured in vegetation structure. Resolving between these factors will require regional climatic records spanning the ages of the Lida Ajer elephant remains.

Previous synecological reconstructions of Late Pleistocene Lida Ajer suggested that tree canopy cover was mostly dominated by light cover, with only a minor closed-canopy component [18]. This does not reconcile immediately with the stable isotope data presented above. A somewhat more open component of the canopy is suggested by higher δ¹³C values of all the pigs and two of the orangutans. This is also supported by the lack of very low (e.g. < −32‰) δ¹³C values in Lida Ajer, which would be expected in rainforest subcanopy browsers exclusively foraging under complete canopy cover [25,31,43]. Nevertheless, the habitat was still clearly heavily forested with strong elements of closed canopy. At 675 m above sea level, Lida Ajer today sits in the upper slopes of characteristic karst hill vegetation, and below the 800 m altitudinal boundary that delineates more open montane vegetation [44]. The lower aspects of karstic hills are characterized by 25–30 m canopies with an occasional emergent tree reaching 55 m, while the ground layer is dominated by rattans and palms [44]. Ridges do break up the canopy cover in the higher sections of karst hills above 500 m, and forest diminishes in size with only a few emergent trees reaching 20 m and with most trees only reaching 5–10 m in height. Gaps in relative cover reach in the order of approximately 10% of the surface [44].

The more open environmental reconstruction for Lida Ajer calculated by Spehar et al. [18] is therefore probably influenced by the presence of forest bovids in Sumatra, e.g. Capricornis sumatraensis, that in our isotopic analyses have very low δ¹³C values, but which can otherwise be more open-adapted in the broader Southeast Asian region (right section of figure 3a). Modern sampled taxa from Southeast Asia, although largely inhabiting rainforests, do exploit a wide range of habitats and vegetation. The combined data suggest that the site was dominated by closed-canopy rainforest but with small patches of more open canopy vegetation available in the vicinity of the site.

5. Conclusion

Integration of existing historical, speleological, and geological evidence suggests that the Lida Ajer fossils were all most likely deposited during MIS 4 (76–59 ka, [37]); however, suboptimal chronological resolution and dating complexities in the cave means we cannot unambiguously reconstruct the sequence of events for the formation of the cave deposits. We outline the most parsimonious sequence based on all currently available data. The earliest deposits in the cave are represented by speleothem growth during MIS 7 (224–191 ka, [37]) and 5 (132–76 ka, [37]). Subsequently, during MIS 5 the cave was filled with clastic sediments in low energy environments and initially without faunal remains. Sediment deposition in MIS 4 filled the sinkhole passages and the lower sections of the main fossil chamber with fossil-rich muds, probably under alternating high and low energy flows. This unit is capped with volcanoclastic sediments. The next unit contains mud-dominated layers with the top 2 m of these beds cemented by speleothem, which then formed a capping flowstone over the deposits. During the early Holocene, stalactites connected with the flowstone forming the pillars still present at the site today. Dissolution of the top breccia layer completed the speleological evolution of the deposits sometime before Dubois began his excavations in 1888. The vertebrate taxa inhabited an environment very similar to today, although some differences in the way niche space was occupied is likely. The human presence represented by the dental remains recovered by Dubois from Lida Ajer were therefore likely to have occupied an environment that included strong components of closed-canopy rainforest environment during MIS 4. Direct dating of the human teeth and stable isotope analyses will be required to determine exactly where in the Lida Ajer sequence they probably came from and exactly which environments they exploited.

Data accessibility

All new data are provided in full in the electronic supplementary material [45].

Authors’ contributions

J.L.: conceptualization; data curation; formal analysis; funding acquisition; investigation; methodology; project administration; resources; visualization; writing—original draft; writing—review and editing; M.D.: data curation; formal analysis; funding acquisition; investigation; methodology; visualization; writing—original draft; writing—review and editing; G.L.P., K.W.: review and editing; data curation; formal analysis; investigation; methodology; visualization; writing—original draft; writing—review and editing; Y.Z., Y.R., A., M.P., A.T.: investigation; project administration; resources; S.F.M.B., O.K., Y.C., P.H.: data curation; formal analysis; investigation; methodology; visualization; writing—original draft; writing—review and editing; P.A., J.V.: investigation; writing—original draft; writing—review and editing; P.R.: data curation; formal analysis; funding acquisition; investigation; methodology; resources; visualization; writing—original draft; writing—review and editing.

All authors gave final approval for publication and agreed to be held accountable for the work performed therein.

Competing interests

We declare we have no competing interests.

This work was supported by the Australian Research Council (FT160100450); a Spanish Ramón y Cajal Fellowship (RYC2018-025221-I); the European Research Council (starter grant PANTROPOCENE (no. 850709)); and the Max Planck Society.

Permission for the research was granted by the Indonesian government–RISTEK Foreign Research Permit (Louys 2483/FRP/E5/Dit.KI/V/2018). M.D. is grateful to María Jesús Alonso Escarza, Javier Iglesias Cibanal, David Martínez Asturias and Leticia Miguens Rodríguez, CENIEH, for technical support throughout the ESR dating analytical procedure. K.W. is grateful to Kaushal Tewari for technical support throughout the OSL dating procedure.

Electronic supplementary material is available online at https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.c.5849164.

Published by the Royal Society under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/, which permits unrestricted use, provided the original author and source are credited.

This blog article is a review of the involvement of McCleskey Media Strategies in the 2021 municipal election. Political Republican strategist and political operative Jay McCleskey is the primary principle or owner of “McCleskey Media Strategies.” This blog article reviews how Jay McClesky influences the candidates he elects long after he is paid to get them elected and the effect he has had on state and city government affairs.

LUCRATIVE LIVING IN 2021 CITY ELECTIONS

During the 2021 Municipal election, Mc Clesky Strategies managed the campaigns of Der Führer Trump Democrat conservative Sheriff Manny Gonzales and conservative Republican City Councilor candidates Dan Lewis and Renee Grout. From review of the campaign finance reports of all 3 candidates, McClesky Media Strategies had another lucrative election cycle and Mc Clesky was paid top dollar by the candidates his firm represented.

According to campaign finance reports file with city clerk in the 2021 municipal election, McClesky Media Strategies was paid $450,734 total to run 1 unsuccessful mayor’s race and 2 successful city council races to defeat democrats. Those candidates were Manny Gonzales for Mayor and City Council Republican candidates Dan Lewis and Renee Grout. You can review the Campaign Finance Disclosures Statement of all 3 candidates here:

SHERIFF MANNY GONZALEZ FOR MAYOR

More than a few political eyebrows, both Democrat and Republican, were raised when Democrat Sheriff Manny Gonzales announced he was running for Mayor against incumbent Mayor Tim Keller and that he had retained Political Republican Strategist Jay McCleskey and McCleskey Media Strategies to run his campaign. Gonzales at the time justified it saying as Sheriff he worked across party lines and he said the mayor’s race was nonpartisan. No Republican had announced at the time. It was common knowledge that Gonzales was attempting to build a coalition of conservative Democrats and Republicans and appeal to Der Führer Trump Republican voters.

Gonzales is a strong supporter of former Der Führer Republican Trump law enforcement policies. In the summer of 2020, Gonzales appeared at a press conference in Albuquerque with then Attorney General William Barr to announce federal funding for a Trump law enforcement initiative. Months later, Gonzales traveled to the White House for a press conference with Der Führer Trump.

DENIAL OF PUBLIC FINANCING

In a letter dated July 9, Albuquerque City Clerk Ethan Watson notified Bernalillo County Sheriff Manuel Gonzales’ that the city was denying his campaign $661,000 in public financing citing misconduct in the qualifying process and forgery of signatures on $5 qualifying donations. City Clerk Watson wrote Gonzales he could not confirm that Gonzales had complied with the city’s Open and Ethical Election Code and associated regulations.

What has never been disclosed is to what extent was McCleskey Media Strategies involved with the collection of forged signatures by the Gonzales campaign. Jay Mc Clesky managed the successful 2009 election of Mayor Richard Berry who ran against Democrat Incumbent Mayor Marty Chavez and former Progressive Demorate State Senator Richard Romero. In 2009, all 3 candidates for Mayor qualified for public financing. Ostensibly, McClesky has the know how on the collection of the $5 qualifying donations for public financing for candidates for Mayor because he ran Berry’s 2009 campaign for Mayor. He also knows the seriousness of collecting fraudulent signatures to qualify a candidate for public financing. The biggest question that remains unanswered is where was McClesky when the Gonzales campaign was collecting the $5 qualifying donations and when signatures were being forged? Did the same thing happen in the first Richard Berry campaign for Mayor?

On Tuesday, September 13, First Judicial District Court Judge Bryan Biedscheid upheld the Albuquerque City Clerk’s decision to deny $661,000 public financing to Sheriff Manny Gonzales. After Judge Biedscheid’s ruling to deny him public finance, Manny Gonzales held a news conference and announced his campaign’s plan to move forward with raising private financing.

Subsequent to declaring he would seek private financing, Manny Gonzalez undertook a very aggressive private campaign finance fundraising effort. The Gonzales campaign filed Financial Statements 6, 7, 8, 9 and 10, three Supplement Statements and a Final Finance Statement. The link to review all Gonzales Finance Statements is here:

GONZALES RAISES OVER HALF MILLION DOLLARS WITHIN WEEKS

According to Manny Gonzales finance statements filed with the City Clerk, the following amounts in PRIVATE campaign contribution amounts were raised:

Finance Statement 6: $26,667 (Balance carried forward)
Period New Donations: $14,385
Finance Statement 7: $338,201
Finance Statement 8: $64,590
Finance Statement 9: $25,462
Finance Statement 10 : $33,690
FINAL STATEMENT: $1,075

TOTAL FUND RAISING: $504,070

PAYMENTS MADE TO MC CLESKY MEDIA STRATEGIES

According to Manny Gonzales finance statements filed with the City Clerk, the following campaign expense amounts were paid to Mc Clesky Media Strategies:

$6,797 (Finance Statement 7 filed October 11)
$55,091 (Finance Statement 8 filed October 18)
$67,406
$8,598
$10,301
$7,353
$85,695 (Finance Statement 9 filed October 25)
$21,696 (Finance Statement 10 filed October)
$100,691
-$0- (Final Finance Statement Filed:

$363,628 TOTAL AMOUNTS PAID TO Mc Clesky Media Strategies by Manny Gonzales

Note that the total amount of private campaign contributions raised by Many Gonzales was $504,070. Mc Clesky Media Strategies was paid $363,628 of what was raised or over 72% of what was contributed to Gonzales for Mayor campaign.

DAN LEWIS CAMPAIGN FOR CITY COUNCIL, DISTRICT 5

For the December 7, 2021 municipal election, City Council District 5 candidate Dan Lewis qualified as a public finance candidate and was given $50,489.00. Lewis went on to be elected to the city council by defeating incumbent Democrat Cynthia Borrego who had replaced Lewis 4 years ago when Lewis ran unsuccessfully for Mayor against then State Auditor Tim Keller. Borrego also qualified for public financing of $50,489.00.

In addition to City Councilor elect Dan Lewis having been given $50,489.00 in public financing, Lewis also had the benefit of two separate Republican measured finance committees. The two measured finance committees that promoted Dan Lewis were Albuquerque Ahead that raised $34,900 and Healthy Economies Lead to Progress raised $196,532 for a total of $231,432. The cash contributions were spent to promote 3 conservative Republican candidates for city council Dan Lewis, Renee Grout and Lori Lee Robertson. The 2 finance committees were successful in ousting Democrat City Councilors Cynthia Borrego and Lan Sena.

Review of financial statements filed by the Dan Lewis campaign reflects the following amounts paid to Mc Clesky Media Strategies:

$3,747 (Finance Statement 7 filed October 6)
$5,781 (Finance Statement 8 filed October 15)
$ 4,226
$ 5,574
$5, 756 (Finance Statement 9 filed October 18)
$4,192 (Finance Statement 10 filed October 29)
$3,702
$6,406
$4,103 (Final Financial statement)
$533

$29,720 TOTAL PAID BY DAN LEWIS TO MC CLESKY MEDIA STRATEGIES

POLITCAL HIT PIECE

A “political hit piece” is the lowest form and most unethical form of negative campaigning used by bottom feeder political consultants to smear the reputation of an opponent with the use of lies. It is often condemned by the public, especially by those who are the target, but used because negative campaigning works and it’s difficult to respond to by a candidate, especially at the end of a contentious campaign.

A few days before the November 2 election day, Republican Dan Lewis authorized McClesky Media Strategies to send out a political hit piece mailer against Incumbent City Councilor Cynthia Borrego. The hit piece arrived on November 1, the day before election day. The hit piece is replete with lies and innuendo and Borrego did not have the time nor funding to respond.

On one side of the mailer is a very unflattering photo of Cynthia Borrego proclaiming “Politician Cynthia Borrego has the wrong priorities”. The truth is Borrego retired after 30 years of dedicated service to the City. Borrego has done more for the city with her 30 years of dedicated service to the community than Dan Lewis could ever dream of accomplishing for the city. Four years ago was the first time Borrego ever ran for public office and she replaced Dan Lewis

The flyer makes the inflammatory and false accusation “Cynthia Borrego wastes our money and makes westside problems worse” giving no specifics and falsely labeling as “junkets” trips to the National League of City Conventions which the city council has participated in for decades. Dan Lewis on the other hand is a seasoned right wing Republican politician having served 8 years on the council and ran for Mayor 4 years ago and lost to Tim Keller in a landslide. Lewis supported the disastrous ART Bus project costing $130 million dollars and voted for gross receipts tax bonds to fund the project. During the 8 years Dan Lewis was on the city council, APD went from employing 1,100 sworn police to 860 sworn police and Dan Lewis did absolutely nothing to hold APD accountable for excessive use of force and deadly force.

The mailer goes on to lie in bold black letters that Borrego “Supports Sanctuary City” and says “Borrego voted to pass Sanctuary City policy that protects illegal immigrants who commit crime even for rape and murder.” This statement is an absolute lie by Dan Lewis and this lie coming from some on who professes to be a Christian Pastor. Simply put, there is no such sanctuary city policy “that protects illegal immigrants who commit crime even for rape and murder.” Albuquerque has never been a “sanctuary city” and it’s not at all likely it is ever going to be one. The truth is that in 2001, a full 10 years years before Borrego became a city councilor, the Albuquerque City Council enacted a resolution that declared Albuquerque an “immigrant-friendly” city. The resolution is symbolic and was sponsored by then-Republican City Councilor Hess Yntema, whose wife is a naturalized United States citizen from Columbia.

On the other side of the flyer is a very flattering picture of Dan Lewis where he proclaims he will “Fight crime by ending “Catch and Release” of criminals from jail. This too is another Lewis lie in that the City Council has no control over the criminal justice system, let alone the jails and the courts. This is the very same promise Lewis made when he ran for Mayor 4 years ago and threatened to plaster judges faces on billboards to supposedly hold them accountable for failure to hold those charged until trial.

CITY COUNCIL DISTRICT 9

In the District 9 City Council runoff race, Republican Renee Grout secured 51.69% (4,027 votes) and Democrat Rob Grilley secured 48.31% (3,764 votes).

McCleskey Media Strategies managed Republican Renee Grout’s successful campaign. Review of Renee Grouts campaign finance reports reveals a staggering amount of money paid to McCleskey Media Strategies producing and printing campaign materials and mailers.

The amounts are staggering for the reason that Renee Grout was initially a public finance candidate and was given $41,791 to run her campaign. After the November 2 election when she made it into the runoff, she became a privately financed candidate and raised more.

The amounts paid to McCleskey Media Strategies for the November 2 election are as follows:

7th campaign finance report: $2,426.18
8th campaign finance report: $10,472.17
9th campaign finance report: $8,441.41.
10th campaign finance report: $10,035

Total Paid for November 2 election to McClesky Media stategies: $31,374

Renee Grouts 4th Runoff Statement Campaign finance report reveals $14,992.66 paid McCleskey Media Strategies.

Renee Grouts 5th Runoff Statement Campaign report reveals $11,019 paid McCleskey Media Strategies.

The grand total paid to McCleskey Media Strategies by Renee Grout for the November 2 and the December 7 runoff is $57,386.42

The link to the city clerk’s office where you can review all of the Renee Grout campaign finance reports is here:

On December 1, a mere 6 days before the December 7 runoff election, Republican Renee Grout mailed a false “hit piece” campaign mailer against Democrat Rob Grilley. When you view the fine print on the flyer, barely readable because it is so tiny, the reader finds that it was produced by “McClesky Media Strategies.”

THE LIES TOLD

The political hit piece had a color photo of Democrat Rob Grilley with his arms crossed, and smiling. The photo was obviously taken off of Grilley’s campaign web page. To the right of the Grilley picture is the proclamation “Grilley supports Sanctuary City that protects violent criminals .” The words “protect violent criminals” are in yellow with a black background and the word “protects” is underlined in red for emphasis.

The political hit piece went on to say:

“Rob Grilley supports Sanctuary City policy that forces police to hide illegal immigrants from federal authorities, even if they commit crimes like rape or murder!

In bold, bright red letters appear the words: “Protecting Violent Criminals.” Below these words appears the following text:

“Jaqueline Vigil, a mother of two New Mexico Police Officers, was murdered by Luis Talamantes-Romero, an illegal immigrant with a lengthy criminal history. Vigil’s killer should have been deported before, but the city’s sanctuary city policy forced police to hide him from immigration officials.”

THE LIAR WHO TELLS THEM

The flyer attacking Democrat Rob Grilley was simply a pack of lies. On many levels, the lies revealed a candidate grossly ignorant of the truth or could care less about the truth so long as she won an election. With the malicious flyer, Grout resorted to fear tactics and misinformation to distract voters and it worked.

ALBUQUERQUE HAS NEVER BEEN A “SANCTUARY CITY”

It’s a Grout lie when she says, “Rob Grilley supports Sanctuary City policy that forces police to hide illegal immigrants from federal authorities, even if they commit crimes like rape or murder!” Simply put, there is no such policy. Albuquerque has never been a “sanctuary city” and it’s not likely it is eve going to be one.

The truth is that in 2001, the Albuquerque City Council enacted a resolution that declared Albuquerque an “immigrant-friendly” city. The resolution was sponsored by then-Republican City Councilor Hess Yntema, whose wife is a naturalized United States citizen from Columbia.

An “immigrant-friendly” city implements “welcoming city” policies and does not provide for city enforcement of federal immigration laws, and addresses only city services, including licensing and housing. The focus is to create inclusive, immigrant-friendly, and welcoming policies. Albuquerque’s “immigrant-friendly” designation welcomes immigrants to the city and is mainly symbolic.

JAQUELIN VIGIL’S KILLER WAS UNKNOWN TO APD

It was another lie when the flyer says, “Vigil’s killer should have been deported before, but the city’s sanctuary city policy forced police to hide him from immigration officials. When the murder occurred, it was first believed to have been a retaliation killing against Vigils’ two state police officer sons. APD did not “hide her killer from immigration officials” because APD had no idea who her killer was, and a search had begun while APD was investigating the murder. What the investigation found is that the killer was “casing” homes at 5:30 am in the area, he came upon Jaqueline Vigil pulling out of her driveway to go to the gym and he shot her.

The truth is Jaqueline Vigil’s killer had already been deported by the Immigration and Naturalization Services (INS) a few months before the killing. The first illegal entry was a misdemeanor. When he reentered the United States illegally for a second time, he committed a felony. Unbeknownst to APD, Talamantes- Romero was arrested by INS on an outstanding warrant on unrelated charges and was being held in an El Paso federal detention facility. On June 21, 2021, Talamantes- Romero was indicted by a state grand jury on murder, burglary and attempted armed robbery charges stemming from the Nov. 19, 2019. He is in custody and is awaiting trial.

“MC CLESKEY MEDIA STRATEGIES” IS JAY MC CLESKEY

According to the McCleskey Media Strategies internet web page, the company ostensibly provides “all inclusive” one stop services in political consulting and advertising services including television and radio production, direct mail, digital services, general consulting, public relations and strategy. When you examine the company’s “our team” link, the only biography provided is that of Jay Mc Clesky, leading one to believe he is a sole employee of the firm.

The biography of Jay Mc Clesky is very revealing to the extent of influence he exerts over candidates that he elects with an almost exclusive emphasis on Republican candidates. The Jay Mc Clesky biography states in pertinent part:

“Jay McCleskey is President of McCleskey Media Strategies and brings over 20 years of experience running campaigns. His clients have included candidates at all levels, as well as major national party organizations such as the Republican Governors Association and the National Republican Congressional Committee.
…
In 2004, McCleskey ran the RNC’s Victory operation for President Bush’s re-election campaign in New Mexico, which was one of only two states to change from blue to red.

Prior to that, McCleskey served as Executive Director of the Republican Party of New Mexico.
…
From 2005 to 2009, McCleskey served as the Regional Political Director (RPD) for the Republican National Committee and managed the RNC’s political operations in 10 states, while assisting dozens of the most competitive campaigns in the country.
…
In both 2009 and 2013, McCleskey served as chief strategist for Richard Berry. Mayor Berry was the first Republican mayor in Albuquerque in 25 years in an upset victory over incumbent Marty Chavez….

In 2013, McCleskey led Berry’s campaign to a 39-point victory.

In both 2010 and 2014, McCleskey served as the lead consultant for Susana Martinez for Governor and served as Governor Martinez’s chief political advisor during her 8 years in office. During the first campaign, McCleskey produced all of her paid media, direct mail, and was the chief campaign strategist for Martinez … In the 2014 re-election campaign, McCleskey served as chief strategist for Martinez. …
…
… [In] 2014, McCleskey served as the chief strategist for the independent expenditure campaign effort that led to Republicans winning control of the New Mexico House of Representatives for the first time since 1952. That same cycle, McCleskey also served as the media consultant for two major statewide GOP victories.
…
In 2016, McCleskey managed the independent expenditure effort that defeated State Senator Michael Sanchez, the majority leader who had served for over two decades.

… McCleskey also served as the media consultant for the successful statewide campaign of Supreme Court Justice Judy Nakamura, the first Republican elected to the court in 36 years.

In 2018, McCleskey served as the media consultant for the Republican Governors Association in multiple states, including producing television advertisements for the successful re-election effort on behalf of Governor John Sununu in New Hampshire.

MC CLEYSKY TWICE ELECTING AND INFLUENCING A REPUBLICAN MAYOR

Jay McClesy says in his biography:

“In both 2009 and 2013, McCleskey served as chief strategist for Richard Berry”. Mayor Berry was the first Republican mayor in Albuquerque in 25 years in an upset victory over incumbent Marty Chavez…. In 2013, McCleskey led Berry’s campaign to a 39-point victory” seriously down plays his role and intentionally ignores the smear tactics to win both races at any and all costs.

Because McClesky down plays the extent of his role in both the 2009 and 2013 Mayor’s race, a review of both those elections is in order.

2009 MAYOR’S RACE

In 2009, then Republican State Representative Richard Berry was essentially recruited by the Republican Party to run against incumbent Democrat Mayor Martin Chavez and progressive and former State Senator Richard Romero. All 3 of the candidates for Mayor qualified for public finance and each was given $330,000. No measured finance committees were established to help any one of the candidates. It was said that Berry did not believe he could win and ran only to increase his name identification to allow him to run for congress or Governor.

The 2009 Mayor’s race is believed to be the very first time Jay McClesky ran a Mayor’s race. The goal of the Republican Party in 2009 was to end the political career of Marty Chavez after his 3 terms as Mayor and return a Republican to city hall with all the patronage and jobs the office comes with. Berry was a very well liked Republican and in the construction industry who had much higher ambitions.

In 2009, Chavez was seeking a 4th term as Mayor and Progressive Democrat Richard Romero was said to have a grudge against Chavez. The Berry campaign, no doubt under the guidance of McClesky, produced campaign ads and materials that took direct aim at Marty Chavez and attacked the Chavez record on property crime rates. Jay McClesky produced TV commercials and flyers that pandered to the fears of voters when it came to property crime as a means to defeating Mayor Martin Chavez and it worked.

In 2009, Berry made auto thefts a corner stone issue in the Mayor’s race by doing a commercial standing next to his burned out stolen truck and vowing that he could do better as Mayor and make Albuquerque the “worse place to be a criminal”, a slogan ostensibly created by McClesky. The ad essentially blamed all of the city’s rising property crime on Chavez. The truth is that under Chavez, crime rates were down. None the less, the TV ad was so effective it won a national award. McClesky produced no ads attacking Richard Romero. Eight (8) years later, after Berry’s two terms as mayor, Albuquerque had become number one in the nation for auto thefts and crime rates across the city were dramatically spiking. APD also went from 1,100 full time sworn police to 860 sworn police during years Berry was in office. So much for making Albuquerque “the worse place to be a criminal.”

Another very nasty campaign tactic used by Berry supporters ostensibly approved by Jay McCleskey was when they circulated a billboard mounted on a truck that drove through city streets that proclaimed Chavez had made the city a “sanctuary city” for illegal immigrants, which was a total lie. The city has never been a sanctuary city for illegal immigrants, but the ploy worked to gin up conservative Republicans.

On October 6, 2009, Berry won the election outright with 36,466 votes (43.82%) to Chavez’s 29,140 votes (35.02%) and Romero’s 17,458 (20.98%). The 2009 election was at the time the lowest voter turn out election in the city’s history. The 2009 election ended the political careers of both Marty Chavez and Richard Romero.

TO THE VICTOR GOES THE SPOILS

As the saying goes, to the victor goes the spoils. Once elected, Richard Berry proceeded to quickly replace virtually all city department heads with inexperienced Republican political operatives seeking high paying jobs, including relatives of Republican legislators. Heading the Berry transition team was long time Republican Political operative Sherman Mc Corkle.

One particular political operative during the transition period was sent to the Mayor’s office where he proceeded to write down the names of employees on doors and desks in the Mayor’s office so that termination letters could be sent to them telling them their services were no longer needed. Letters of termination were signed by and sent by designated Chief Administrative Office David Campbell, who had yet to assume office and had no authority to terminate.

It is common knowledge amongst political observers that former Bernalillo County Sheriff and Republican political operative Darren White is a close personal friend of McClesky. Confidential sources confirmed in 2009 that Jay McClesky and Sherman McCorkle were successful in getting Mayor Richard Berry to appoint as Chief Public Safety Officer Darren White and appoint political operatives Rob Perry City Attorney and Gordon Eden APD Chief. Perry would later go on to be appointed the city’s Chief Administrative Officer (CAO) and paid $200,000 a year by Berry after Perry squeezed David Campbell out of the job.

2013 MAYOR’S

The 2013 Albuquerque Mayor’s race was the lowest voter turnout in the city’s history with only 70,473 voting, or a miserable 19%, out of a little more 300,000 registered voters. Two Republicans, incumbent Mayor Richard Berry and retired APD Sergeant Paul Heh and one Democrat, retired Chief Public Safety Officer, and former Chief Deputy District Attorney and City Councilor Pete Dinelli, qualified to be on the ballot. Democrat former Albuquerque first lady Margaret Aragon de Chavez withdrew from the race. Former Democrat Lieutenant Governor of New Mexico Diane Denish and Democrat City Councilor Ken Sanchez, declined to run for Mayor in 2013 as did then State Senator Tim Keller who decided to run for NM State Auditor.

In the 2013 Mayor’s race, Democrat candidate Pete Dinelli qualified for public finance and was given $340,00 for the campaign after securing 5,000 qualifying $5 donations. Duke City Rising, the measure finance committee formed to promote Democrats raised upwards of $60,000 but spent very little on the Mayor’s race. Instead it was used to help and promote almost exclusively Democrat City Council Candidates. Despite a commitment to raise funding of upwards of $150,000 by then Democratic Party Chairman Sam Bregman for Duke City Rising to help in the Mayor and City Council races, only office space was given by the State Democratic party for debate preparation.

Then Democrat Party Chairman Sam Bregman reneged on his promise to raise money and asked Democrat Dinelli to raise money for the Democratic party instead. Democrat United States Senators Jeff Bingaman and Tom Udall at the time declined to get involved with the Mayor’s race saying they did not endorse in municipal elections. Both US Senators later endorsed Democrats in city council run off elections and allowed their names to be placed on a flyer promoting Democrat City Councilor Diane Gibson saying she had “friends in high places”.

In the 2013 mayor’s race, Republican Richard Berry raised and spent $1.1 million in private financing. For a supposedly nonpartisan race, Mayor Berry’s 2013 private finance contributors list was very top heavy with prominent Republican donors and heavy hitters including the Republican National Committee ($10,000 donation), Brewer Oil Company ($5,000 donation), Western Refining Company ($5,000 donation).

In the 2013 Mayor’s race, Jay McClesky spent the full $1.1 million Berry had raised to produce TV and radio commercials and campaign mailers to disparage the 28 year public service career of Pete Dinelli. One ad in particular claimed that Dinelli over 20 years before running for Mayor, went on a “boondoggle trip” to Canada and stayed in a “castle” as Bernalillo Chief Deputy District Attorney. The trip was in fact a two day trip for a delegation of 12 who were part of the committee consisting of construction contractors, the courts and the DA’s office working on the new Metro Courthouse and DA Office construction projects. The trip was arranged by Bernalillo County. No one stayed in a castle but at a private home that had guest house accommodations behind the home. The day after arriving, the delegation was taken to a manufacturing plant to review floors plans and modular office construction for bids.

Another false ad accused Dinelli of signing a multi million dollar purchasing contract for furniture for the the District Attorney office. The ad was an outright lie in that no Chief Deputy District Attorney has the authority to sign such contracts and only the county manager can sign such contracts. Another ad falsely accused Dinelli of violating people’s civil rights in a civil code enforcement to enforce a drug contamination ordinance by the APD code teams where Dinelli was not present nor did he approve such actions. The Berry Administration agreed to a “class action lawsuit”, agreed to add Dinelli as named party defendant without notifying him and after Dinelli had already retired. The Berry Administration refused to defend the class action lawsuit and instead settled the case with doing little to no discovery, such as taking depositions and issuing interrogatories, in the case under the orders of City Attorney Rob Perry.

In 2013, then Republican incumbent Mayor Richard Berry won the Mayor’s race garnering 48,008 votes or 68.12% votes with Democrat Pete Dinelli garnering 20,248 votes or 28.73% and Republican Paul Heh securing 2,217 votes or 3.15%. It was the lowest voter turn out in the city’s history.

MC CLESKY TWICE ELECTING AND INFLUENCING A REPUBLICAN GOVERNOR

It has been said by political insiders that in 2010 Jay McClesky went out of his way to recruite Susana Martinez to run for Governor and she herself has said she would not have been elected had it not been for Jay McClesky. Rooting out corruption was a major issue in 2010 Governors race. During the 2010 race for Governor between then 2 term Democrat Lieutenant Governor Diane Denish and then long time serving Republican Dona Ana District Attorney Susana Martinez, McClesky successfully managed to get Martinez elected on a “law and order” platform by tying Denish to then Governor Bill Richardson and “pay to play scandals” of the Richardson Administration. Denish had nothing to do with those scandals and it was common knowledge amongst politicos that Denish had a strained relationship with Richardson and she was never conferred with nor part of the Richardson “inner circle.”

In the 2010 race for Governor, Susana Martinez launched TV ads to link Denish to convicted or accused sex offenders. One of Martinez’s ad, ostensibly produced by Mc Clesky, claimed Denish was responsible for a policy of not reporting juvenile illegal immigrants to federal immigration authorities, a policy that the ad said allowed one man, who recently was arrested for sexual assault of a child, to stay in the U.S. The ad claimed Denish responsible for the policy which was a stretch if not an outright lie. You can review the ad and fact check analysis here.

The Richardson Administration was investigated by United States Attorney for New Mexico Greg Forate for “pay to play” allegations that the Richardson Administration was awarding state contracts in exchange for campaign contributions. Forate was forced to abandon the criminal investigation when nothing was found, but that did not stop Forate from issuing a press release that Richardson had corrupted the state procurement process. The press release in and of itself was out of the ordinary with many accusing Greg Forate of violating Department of Justice (DOJ) protocol. McClesley took full advantage of the situation to taint Denish.

What is ironic is that later Jay McClesky himself would also be investigated by the Department of Justice (DOJ) relating to his involvement in the “Dirty Downs” deal which is described more fully below.

DOING THE GOVERNOR’S BIDDING

Former Republican Governor Susana Martinez was vicious in going after members of her own party who disagreed with her and she did that with Jay Mc Clesky carrying out her orders. Recently, it was reported that Southern New Mexico rancher Scott Chandler, a Republican, settled a defamation lawsuit he filed claiming political consultant Jay McCleskey and the former Republican Governor’s political action committee circulated untruthful mailers about him during the 2016 campaign. The settlement agreement was reached 3 days after Chandler filed a motion asking a judge to add former Governor Susana Martinez as a defendant in the case. The motion was based on Mc xCleskey’s statements in a recent deposition that Martinez was critical in setting up the Advance New Mexico Now PAC.

Chandler’s 2019 lawsuit alleged that McCleskey and Advance New Mexico Now PAC circulated two mailers about Chandler damaging his chances of winning a 2016 Republican primary election for House District 32. Republican Chandler lost the primary by 16 votes. The lawsuit alleged that McCleskey and the PAC mailed fliers during the 2016 primary that asked, “How did a business accused of child abuse and torture AVOID government oversight?”

The fliers referred to a 2013 New Mexico State Police investigation of Chandler’s Tierra Blanca High Country Youth Program in Hillsboro, north of Deming. No criminal charges were ever filed as a result of the investigation. Chandler received legal settlements approaching $1 million from the state related to the investigation. The defamation suit against Mc Cleskey also alleges that Mc Cleskey advised then-Governor Martinez to execute the State Police search of Chandler’s ranch in October 2013. Chandler asked a 6th Judicial District Court judge on November 1 to add Martinez to the suit, alleging McCleskey recently implicated the former governor as a key player in the PAC who “directly authorized the mailing of the fliers.” McCleskey made the comments during an August 10 deposition in a related lawsuit McCleskey filed against his insurance company. In that suit, Mc Cleskey alleged that the company refused to pay his legal costs in the Chandler lawsuit.

In his deposition, McCleskey said Martinez was involved in setting up and operating the PAC, which is no longer active, the motion states:

“Governor Martinez was involved in the running of the PAC, including decisions about proposed budgets, proposed targets, and proposed districts. … She was involved in polling meetings and was presented with polling information.”

The link to quoted source materials is here:

“THE DIRTY DOWNS DEAL” AND A FEDERAL GRAND JURY INVESTIGATION

During her first year in office, Governor Susanna Martinez herself was alleged to have been involved with a “play to play” controversy involving the award of a $1 Billion-dollar, 25-year, Albuquerque Downs Racetrack contract, dubbed by politicos as “The Dirty Downs Deal”. At the very center of the “Dirty Downs Deal was Jay Mc Clesky who carried out the Governor’s orders.

The FBI investigated the contract, which was awarded to the Downs at Albuquerque in December 2011, with FBI agents interviewing people involved with the Martinez campaign and others about the lease and about campaign donations and inaugural donations. Martinez herself also answered FBI questions about the Downs lease deal. Allegations were made that the Downs at Albuquerque contract was a “pay-to-play deal”, reminiscent of those alleged during the administration of her predecessor Governor Bill Richardson.

Allegations of nefarious conduct around the Downs lease involved political insiders, significant campaign contributions to Martinez and attempts to hide political donations and contributions to Governor Martinez or her political action committee from donors connected to the Downs. Two of the Downs owners were Louisianans Bill Windham and John Turner both Republican boosters and were substantial contributors to Martinez’s campaign for Governor. Martinez received $70,000 in contributions during her campaign from Windham and Turner.

According to news reports, after her election, Windham asked for a meeting with Martinez’s transition team to discuss the future of the racino lease and offered to contribute $50,000 to the Martinez inaugural committee. According to news reports, Andrea Goff, who was executive director of the inaugural committee, was instructed to turn down Windham’s offer.

At the center of the “Dirty Downs Deal” was Governor Susana Martinez’s political adviser, Jay McCleskey, who was not a state employee, yet had an office on the 4th floor of the state capitol next to the Governor. McCleskey, who was living rent free in the Governor’s mind, thrust himself right in the middle of controversy.

According to news reports, McCleskey became upset over a two-week delay to award the contract by the State Fair Commission and was angry that the commission did not approve the 25-year racino lease with the Downs at Albuquerque. McCleskey, after the vote to delay the award of the lease, made repeated contact to complain to Andrea Goff Andrea.

Goff was a Hobbs-area fundraiser who at the time was working for Martinez and raising money for Susana Pac, the Governors political action committee. Andrea Goff is the daughter-in-law of then-State Fair Commissioner Buster Goff who had cast the deciding vote to delay the award of the contract for two weeks.

Buster Goff was a Martinez appointee to the State Fair Commission and his vote was considered a betrayal to the person who appointed him.

A text message from Jay McClesky to Andrea Goff includes the following:

“Buster screwed us!”
“He [Buster] has just really hurt the governor,”
“The gov is furious … It is VERY bad.”
“These 2 weeks will not be used to study the proposal … they will be used to kick the crap [out] of the gov … That’s what he [Buster] needs to understand.”
“Windham [one of the Downs’ owners] will be a piñata for 2 weeks. … He [Buster Goff] was supposed to pass it [the Downs contract].”

Andrea Goff said in media interviews that she felt she was being pressured by McCleskey to somehow get her father-in-law to change his vote. Andrea Goff said she did not try to change the mind of her father-in-law Goff but that she did try to find out from him what happened and what his reasoning was to vote for a two-week delay. According to Andrea Goff, her father-in-law and other commissioners were very concerned with performance clauses in the lease and said to McCleskey:

“They want to be good public servants for the gov and the state but did not know they were just supposed to be a rubber stamp [ and just vote to approve].”

In one text message, Andrea Goff said Buster Goff had offered to resign as State Fair Commissioner. According to news reports, McCleskey ignored the resignation offer and harped to Andrea Goff about how Democrats in the New Mexico State Senate wanted to embarrass Governor Martinez. McCleskey predicted dire financial consequences for the State Fair if the lease was not approved.

The State Fair Commission eventually voted to award the contract to the Downs of Albuquerque with Commissioner Buster Goff voting for approval.

Republican operatives former Bernalillo County Sherriff Darren White, who appeared in Martinez election commercials, and former Republican National Committeeman and private attorney Pat Rogers were hired by the successful Downs Race track applicant. Both White and Rogers are known to have close ties with McClesky and no doubt played a role in influencing the award of the contract by the Martinez Administration.

FEDERAL GRAND JURY INVESTIGATION

McCleskey denied trying to pressure Andrea Goff in any manner. For several months, a federal grand jury had investigated Jay McCleskey regarding expenditures from Republican Martinez’s campaign, as well as money from her 2011 inauguration committee that went to McCleskey.

On March 4, 2016, McClesky’s attorney and the Republican Governor’s attorney Republican Paul Kennedy, the former Supreme Court Justice appointed by Martinez and Republican operative, announced that the federal grand jury would not indict McCleskey by saying tersely “I’ve been informed the investigation has been terminated”. Kennedy declined to answer any questions. Paul Kennedy is a very prominent criminal defense attorney known to charge top dollar and it has never been disclosed if he was paid for his services by McClesky, the Governor’s PAC or by the Republican Party.

What happened with the “Dirty Downs Deal” was a good example of McCleskey’s aggressive conduct to defend and protect Governor Martinez at all cost during her entire 8 years in office. It was also a good example of the vindictive way McCleskey goes after people he views as opponents who refused to tow the line.

MILLIONS PAID MCCLESKY MEDIA STRATEGIES BY RONCHETTI

OpenSecrets is the nation’s premier research and government transparency group tracking money in politics and its effect on elections and policy. OpenSecrets is a nonprofit organization based in Washington, D.C., that tracks data on campaign finance and lobbying. It was created from a merger of the Center for Responsive Politics (CRP) and the National Institute on Money in Politics.

COMMMENTARY AND ANALYSIS

Jay McCleskey is New Mexico’s version of Lee Atwater or Karl Rove, two of the most despicable right wing Republican bottom feeders and political consultants and strategists for the Republican Party. McClesky has even received praises for his work from Karl Rove. McClesky is known for his negative slash-and-burn tactics to disparage and viciously malign Democrats at all levels and he has been very successful at it in New Mexico for the last 20 years making a very lucrative living. It’s difficult to respond to a politcal hit piece, especially at the end of a contentious campaign or if an opponent does not have the financial resources to respond to the lies and the liars who tell them.

A “political hit piece” is the lowest form of negative campaigning used by all successful bottom feeder political consultants to smear the reputation of an opponent. In New Mexico, McCleskey has elevated the “political hit piece” to an art form. His tactics are often condemned by the public and those who are the target. The problem is that negative campaigning and smear tactics work and has worked for Jay McClesky over the years. McClesky has made a lucrative living at it and will likely continue to do so here and elsewhere in the country.

Sources have confirmed that McClesky is already lining up clientele for the 2022 midterms, including being hired by former Republican State Representative and retired APD police officer Paul Pacheco who is running for Bernalillo County Sheriff. Mark Ronchetti has now announced he is running for the Republican nomination for Governor in the 2022 election and it is more likely than not that McClesky Media Strategies will once again be advising Republican Mark Ronchetti to do whatever it can to make Governor Michell Lujan Grisham a one term Governor.

Simply put, Jay McClesky is the go-to guy for anyone who is Republican running for office willing to spend and do whatever it takes to win an election at any and all costs. One thing is for certain is that when you hire Jay Mc Clesky to manage your campaign, and if you do win, you can expect him to exert great influence over you until the day you leave office.

LET THE VOTING PUBLIC BEWARE!

Links to related blog articles with quoted news are here:

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 Brain Health Expert: Patricia Faust

If you made it to midlife, you are very familiar with sleep deprivation. You may be asking yourself “why can’t I sleep”?

Menopause is a beast when it comes to interrupting our sleep. With our hormones going up and down and up again, women experience a whole laundry list of sleep problems. Not only do we feel these changes physically, but our brains are not able to perform their sleep duties!

3 Most Common Menopause and Sleep Issues:

“Prior to the hot flash, a woman’s body temperature rises..”

1. Hot Flashes:

The first menopause issue that affects sleep is hot flashes. These are the sudden and unexpected sensations of heat all over the body accompanied by sweating. Hot flashes that occur at night are often referred to as night sweats. Prior to the hot flash, a woman’s body temperature rises, and blood flow increases to the face, creating a heating sensation that wakes them up.

As if that isn’t enough to deal with, it becomes difficult to fall back to sleep. Even if a woman can fall back to sleep quickly, her sleep quality suffers due to the frequent awakenings and discomfort, causing fatigue the next day. Nearly 44% of menopausal women meet the criteria for insomnia.

2. Insomnia:

Insomnia describes a chronic problem of falling asleep and staying asleep that occurs more than three nights a week. The insomnia experience includes restless sleep, miss out on overall sleep, wake up early, and often feel sleepy and tired during the day. Sleep deprivation from insomnia can increase feelings of anxiousness and irritability, impair focus and memory, and increase headaches and inflammation.

3. Sleep-Disordered Breathing:

Snoring and sleep apnea are more common and severe in postmenopausal women. Obstructive sleep apnea is a sleep disorder characterized by temporary pauses in breathing, which can lead to gasping, snoring, and choking sounds, and lower sleep quality.

“These disorders are associated with involuntary leg movements..”

Other Mood and Sleep Disorders:

Involuntary leg movements, such as, restless leg syndrome, and periodic limb movements disorder may develop during menopause. These disorders are associated with involuntary leg movements that cause uncomfortable sensations and disrupt sleep.

Other Impacts of Sleep Deprivation:

Being tired and emotional due to lack of sleep can have major consequences in everyday life. In one sleep study, sleep-deprived participants experienced greater stress and anger than rested control participants when asked to complete a simple cognitive test.

Getting enough sleep helps with mood and emotion regulation. All areas of the brain are connected and working together. But when sleep is disrupted, you might feel cranky, irritable, or emotionally out of sorts.

It was revealed through brain imaging studies why sleep deprivation can lead to irrational responses. The amygdala, the emotional center of the brain, showed a sixty-percent increase in activity levels over rested participants when shown emotionally negative images.

“You can sometimes feel colder because sleep is essential for body temperature regulation.”

The Amygdala Function:

Sleep deprivation disrupted the connection between the amygdala and the medial prefrontal cortex. The medial prefrontal cortex regulates amygdala function. When this happens in sleep deprivation, the amygdala overreacts to negative stimuli because it is disconnected to the brain areas that would regulate its response.

Researchers have also discovered that sleep deprivation may be a contributing factor for several psychiatric conditions – not just one of their symptoms. Sleep problems contribute to the development of depression and reduce the efficacy of the treatment, and may be involved in bipolar disorder, anxiety disorders, and ADHD.

Physical Effects of Sleep Deprivation:

Not only has the brain stopped functioning effectively, but the body also takes a hit too. You can look more aged! Consistently missing sleep can lead to premature wrinkling and sagging of our skin. This happens because cortisol, the stress hormone, is released when you are sleep-deprived and breaks down collagen. You can sometimes feel colder because sleep is essential for body temperature regulation.

Your heart can suffer. Sleeping less than six hours per night increases your risk of developing high blood pressure and increases your risk of developing cardiovascular disease.

Unwanted Weight Gain:

Your appetite can go into overdrive. When you don’t get enough sleep, you are hungrier than usual and crave comfort food. Your ability to feel full is also affected. Now if stress is keeping you up at night, it is easy to understand your unwanted weight gain. You not only end up with a stress belly, but it is made worse by the sleep-deprived belly.

And this effect is quite dangerous right now. When you are tired and even moderately sleep-deprived, your immune function is compromised. This can leave you vulnerable to colds, the flu, and puts you at a higher risk of contracting COVID. It takes longer and is harder to recover from infections and wounds.

“The Glymphatic System is made up of glial cells and cerebral spinal fluid.”

Memory Function and Normal Maintenance of the Brain:

The hippocampus Is the center of learning and memory in the brain. While we sleep, the hippocampus is very busy consolidating and encoding memories. When we lack sleep for even one night, the ability to memorize new information drops dramatically. Research revealed that when memorizing a set of pictures, sleep-deprived participants showed less activation in the hippocampus.

Glymphatic System:

Our brains get a good cleaning while we sleep. The Glymphatic System is made up of glial cells and cerebral spinal fluid. While we sleep the glymphatic system flows throughout the channels of our brain and cleans out amyloid, cell debris, toxins, and other general brain debris.

This function is critical because anything that isn’t cleaned out can continue to cause problems and leave us with a high risk of developing dementia and Alzheimer’s. The glymphatic system is one of the protective systems we must allow our brains to continue to function on a high level. If we don’t sleep, we don’t clean our brains!

6 Steps Towards Good Sleep Hygiene:

Help yourself with good sleep hygiene:

References:

Here’s How Sleeping Too Little Literally Transforms Your Brain.  Retrieved from https://futurism.com/heres-how-sleeping-too-little-literally-transforms-your-brain/
How Losing Sleep Affects Your Body and Mind.  Retrieved from https://sleep.org/articles/how-losing-sleep-affects-your-body-mind/
Isaacson, R. (April 6, 2018). Cognitive decline associated with middle-age sleep problems. Medscape.  Retrieved from https://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/894519?src=wnl_edit_tpal&uac=3422EY
Pacheco, D. (January 22, 2021). Menopause and sleep. Retrieved from https://www.sleepfoundation.org/women-sleep/menopause-and-sleep
Tamminen, J.  (October 17, 2016). How a lack of sleep affects your brain, from your personality to how you learn.  Retrieved from https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/health-and-families/how-a-lack-of-sleep-affects-you-brain-from-your-personality-to-how-you-learn-a7366216.html

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About the Author:

Patricia Faust is a gerontologist specializing in the issues of brain aging, brain health, brain function and dementia. She has a Masters in Gerontological Studies degree from Miami University in Oxford Ohio. Patricia is certified as a brain health coach and received a certification in Neuroscience and Wellness through Dr. Sarah McKay and the Neuroscience Academy. My Boomer Brain, founded in 2015, is the vehicle that Patricia utilizes to teach, coach and consult about brain aging, brain health and brain function. Her newsletter, My Boomer Brain, has international readers from South Africa, Australia, throughout Europe and Canada. She has also been a frequent guest on Medicare Moment on WMKV and Cincy Lifestyles on WCPO.t

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