Neanderthals in changing environments from MIS 5 to early MIS 4 in northern Central Europe – Integrating archaeological, (chrono)stratigraphic and paleoenvironmental evidence at the site of Lichtenberg

Weiß, Marcel; Hein, Michael; Urban, Brigitte; Stahlschmidt, Mareike Cordula; Heinrich, Susann; Hilbert, Yamandú H.; Power, Robert C.; Suchodoletz, Hans von; Terberger, Thomas; Böhner, Utz; Klimscha, Florian; Veil, Stephan; Breest, Klaus; Schmidt, Johannes; Colarossi, Debra; Tucci, Mario; Frechen, Manfred; Tanner, David C.; Lauer, Tobias

doi:10.1016/j.quascirev.2022.107519

Cited by 12 publications

(5 citation statements)

References 94 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…This cyclic pattern is mirrored (with contraction followed by expansion) in the Rederstall stadial (MIS5b) and Odderade interstadial (MIS5a), but with an overall smaller expansion falling in the later part of the Odderade warming. The recurring suitability for Neanderthal occupation in the lowlands of the North European Plain sheds important light on this often overlooked early Weichselian period between MIS5e and MIS3, and aligns well with recent findings at sites like Lichtenberg 15 .…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 84%

The Neanderthal niche space of Western Eurasia 145 ka to 30 ka ago

Yaworsky,

Nielsen,

Nielsen

2024

Sci Rep

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Neanderthals occupied Western Eurasia between 350 ka and 40 ka ago, during the climatically volatile Pleistocene. A key issue is to what extent Neanderthal populations expanded into areas of Western Eurasia and what conditions facilitated such range expansions. The range extent of Neanderthals is generally based on the distribution of Neanderthal material, but the land-altering nature of glacial periods has erased much of the already sparse material evidence of Neanderthals, particularly in the northern latitudes. To overcome this obstacle species distribution models can estimate past distributions of Neanderthals, however, most implementations are generally constrained spatially and temporally and may be artificially truncating the Neanderthal niche space. Using dated contexts from Neanderthal sites from across Western Eurasia, millennial-scale paleoclimate reconstructions, and a spatiotemporal species distribution model, we infer the fundamental climatic niche space of Neanderthals and estimate the extent of Neanderthal occupation. We find that (a.) despite the long timeframe, Neanderthals occupy a relatively narrow fundamental climatic niche space, (b.) the estimated projected potential Neanderthal niche space suggests a larger geographic range than the material record suggests, and (c.) that there was a general decline in the size of the projected potential Neanderthal niche from 145 ka ago onward, possibly contributing to their extinction.

show abstract

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 84%

The Neanderthal niche space of Western Eurasia 145 ka to 30 ka ago

Yaworsky,

Nielsen,

Nielsen

2024

Sci Rep

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Juniperu s, Salix , and Betula likely colonized wetland and peat bog stands of the lowland and the lake margins, while Pinus and Larix would have been distributed farther away from both, within wet and dryer stands of the limestone-rich soils of the Elm and in the plains. Larix pollen and macro remains are among other sites known from the middle Pleistocene Göttingen Ottostraße site (Grüger et al, 1994) and from early Weichselian interstadials of the Northern German plain (Behre et al, 2005; Weiß et al, 2022), illustrating its competitive pre-Holocene distribution in western central Europe during cooler, boreal, and partly dryer climatic conditions compared to today.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 93%

Landscape dynamics and chronological refinement of the Middle Pleistocene Reinsdorf Sequence of Schöningen, NW Germany

et al. 2023

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Detailed sedimentological, geochemical, palynological, and aquatic-microfossil analyses on a new composite profile (Para-Reference Profile Schöningen 13 II and Zeugenblock 13 II [2018]) exposed at the archaeological excavation site of Schöningen 13 II reflect several phases of newly recorded lake level fluctuations and vegetation changes. A pronounced deforestation and the expansion of grasses and herbal plant communities characterize the first steppe (open woodland) phase, which follows the interglacial forest communities. A succeeding tripartite woodland phase predominantly marked by Betula and Pinus is followed by another rather dry steppe phase and a second woodland period, which includes the famous archaeological “spear horizon” 13 II-4ab. Transition into a cold period is indicated by progressive desiccation of the lake and a shift to a steppe/tundra vegetation. Novel 3D images of the 10 most characteristic phases of the Reinsdorf sequence have been constructed based on the botanical data (macro remains as well as palynomorphs), terrestrial vertebrate faunal, geochemical, sedimentological, and previously established data from aquatic microfossils. In addition, a tentative correlation between the post-interglacial phases of the Reinsdorf sequence and Marine Isotope Substages 9d–9a, based on biostratigraphical as well as sedimentological data, is proposed.

show abstract

“…This has been successfully applied to other open‐air localities in Germany. For example, at Lichtenberg (Northern Germany), the early MIS‐3 (57 ± 6 ka) chronology has now been revised to an early MIS‐4 (71.3 ± 7.3 ka) age through a newly established OSL chronology (Weiss et al ., 2022).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Neanderthal subsistence, taphonomy and chronology at Salzgitter‐Lebenstedt (Germany): a multifaceted analysis of morphologically unidentifiable bone

Ruebens

Smith

Fewlass

et al. 2023

J Quaternary Science

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Pleistocene faunal assemblages are often highly fragmented, hindering taxonomic identifications and interpretive potentials. In this paper, we apply four different methodologies to morphologically unidentifiable bone fragments from the Neanderthal open-air site of Salzgitter-Lebenstedt (Germany). First, we recorded zooarchaeological attributes for all 1362 unidentifiable bones recovered in 1977. Second, we applied zooarchaeology by mass spectrometry (ZooMS) to 761 fragments, and calculated glutamine deamidation values. Third, we assessed the collagen preservation of 30 fragments by near-infrared spectroscopy (NIR) and, finally, we pretreated 10 bones with high predicted collagen values for radiocarbon dating. All returned dates at, or beyond, the limit of radiocarbon dating, indicating an age of older than 51 000 years ago. The ZooMS faunal spectrum confirms a cold environment, dominated by reindeer, alongside mammoth, horse and bison. The low occurrence of carnivore modifications (1%) contrasts with an abundance of human modifications (23%). Cut marks and marrow fractures were observed across reindeer, horse and bison. The mammoth remains are less well preserved and show a lower degree of human modifications, indicating, perhaps, a different taphonomic history. Overall, this study illustrates the importance of retaining, studying and incorporating the unidentifiable bone fraction to optimize interpretations of site formation and subsistence behaviour at Palaeolithic sites.

show abstract

Neanderthals in changing environments from MIS 5 to early MIS 4 in northern Central Europe – Integrating archaeological, (chrono)stratigraphic and paleoenvironmental evidence at the site of Lichtenberg

Cited by 12 publications

References 94 publications

The Neanderthal niche space of Western Eurasia 145 ka to 30 ka ago

The Neanderthal niche space of Western Eurasia 145 ka to 30 ka ago

Landscape dynamics and chronological refinement of the Middle Pleistocene Reinsdorf Sequence of Schöningen, NW Germany

Neanderthal subsistence, taphonomy and chronology at Salzgitter‐Lebenstedt (Germany): a multifaceted analysis of morphologically unidentifiable bone

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About