Late Glacial and Holocene paleoecology and paleoenvironmental changes in the northern Carpathians foreland: The Żarska Cave (southern Poland) case study

Abstract

The study of past environments, their ecology, and detailed changes through time has become an important task of environmental science. Records of paleoenvironment usually vary between regions owing to different influences of local climate, vegetation, relief, and depositional processes. Therefore, studying local sequences thoroughly allows paleoenvironmental and paleoecological reconstructions for particular regions, but it also provides important data that complement the global record. The Żarska Cave is an exceptional site, which owing to its thick and undisturbed Holocene sediments with very rich paleobotanical and paleozoological materials has become the most complete example of the uppermost Upper Pleistocene and Holocene cave deposits in the Polish uplands. The aim of our study was to understand paleoenvironmental changes in southern Poland, from the late Glacial to the late Holocene, which has been targeted by use of a detailed geological analysis accompanied by analysis of a wide range of paleobotanical, paleozoological, and archeological assemblages. All the results obtained have permitted characterization of the paleoenvironmental changes occurring in the area of the Polish Jura during the last >15 ka years. A particularly well-represented sequence covers the Allerød interstadial, which revealed the presence of forests with associated shade-loving mollusks and rodents. The beginning of the Holocene was clearly identified with an increase of shaded forest habitats, which developed in a still relatively cold climate with continental features, and with the first appearance of mesophilous deciduous trees. During the middle Holocene, unusual evidence for maple forests is documented, which developed before the formation of beech forests, typical for the late Holocene. The obtained sequence has great significance not only for the Polish Jura region, but also has wider implications for southern Poland and the vast area of the northern Carpathian foreland.

Frontiers of the Lower Palaeolithic expansion in Europe: Tunel Wielki Cave (Poland)

“…(ii) this type of sediment, with a macroscopic appearance of brownish or greyish clayey loams with limestone debris and bones, is quite typical for the Middle Pleistocene and lower Upper Pleistocene series of cave deposits in the region (e.g., in Biśnik Cave, Ciemna Cave, Żarska Cave 64,65 ) and have never been found outside of caves.…”

Pre-LGM loess deposits in caves of Polish Jura – occurrence and stratigraphic importance

“…All these characteristics allow the regarding of the pre-LGM cave loess units in the Polish Jura as key paleoclimate indicators, as well as climatostratigraphic units andif supported with absolute chronology or a well-constrained stratigraphic position -as lithostratigraphic markers. In the light of the accelerating number of excavations in caves and rock shelters of the Polish Jura in recent years (e.g., Sudoł et al 2013;Wojenka et al 2016Wojenka et al , 2017Kot et al, 2019Kot et al, , 2021Kot et al, , 2022aWilczyński et al 2020;Krajcarz et al 2020;Berto et al 2021), the characterization of the stratigraphic usefulness of loess deposits is of crucial importance.…”

“…Variable cave sediments are widely known from caves and rock shelters in this region (Madeyska 1981(Madeyska , 1988Madeyska and Cyrek 2002). The presence of loess and loess-like sediments was commonly noticed (e.g., Krukowski 1939;Madeyska-Niklewska 1969;Madeyska 1981Madeyska , 1988Kowalski 2006;Krajcarz et al 2012Wilczyński et al 2020;Kot et al 2022a). The best preserved and known are loess deposits from around the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM), mentioned from numerous sites.…”

Investigating Animal Remains in Estonia

“…Kitas, šiuo atveju tarpdalykinių ir tarptautinių tyrimų pavyzdys -Salmėje (Saremos sala) aptiktų vikingų laikotarpio palaidojimų laivuose tyrimai, finansuoti Upsalos (Švedija) ir Talino universitetų, kurių metu tirti ir žmonių palaidojimai, ir gyvūnų liekanos (Peets et al, 2013;Maldre et al, 2018). Tarptautinis bendradarbiavimas intensyviai vyksta įvairiose srityse -tiriant stabiliuosius O-ir Sr-izotopus, bendradarbiaujant su Lenkijos kolegomis vykdyti Pietų Lenkijos gyvenviečių archeofaunos tyrimai (Wilczyński et al, 2020), su užsienio mokslininkais atlikti Baltijos jūros ruonių istorijos tyrimai (Glykou et al, 2021), bendradarbiauta arklių genetinių tyrimų srityje (Fages et al, 2019) ir kt. Jau keletą metų vykdomas Estijos mokslo tarybos finansuojamas projektas, kurio tyrimų objektas -viduramžių ir naujųjų laikų maisto produktų preky-bos keliai ir kilmės vietos, jį vykdo Talino ir Tartu universitetų mokslininkai bei studentai (Aguraiuja-Lätti, Lõugas, Bläuer, 2020).…”

“…One of the late projects that involves specialists from many research fields, has focused on Viking Age boat burials in Salme, Saaremaa Island (supported by Uppsala University, Sweden, and Tallinn University), and investigated both human burials and mammal and bird remains (Peets et al 2013;Maldre et al 2018). International collaboration has also concerned topics like Bronze Age fauna in the eastern Baltic, including O-and Sr-isotope analyses; the archaeofauna of the southern Poland (e.g., Wilczyński et al 2020); a history of seals in the Baltic with many new data of stable isotope analyses (Glykou et al 2021) and a genetic history of horses, including samples from all over the world (e.g., Fages et al 2019).…”