New information augmenting the picture of local environment at the LGM/LGT in the context of the Middle Danube region

Abstract

Records of occupation by humans in the period following shortly after the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM; 21 ± 2 kyr cal. BP) are still very rare in Central Europe, since it is inferred that the extreme climatic conditions caused the decolonisation of previously settled areas. Our study focuses on the reconstruction of environmental conditions in the surroundings of the open-air Palaeolithic site, Brno-Štýřice III, which falls within this period. The research concentrated on the study of malacological, pollen and anthracological samples to reconstruct the climate shortly after the LGM. 14 C dating places the chronostratigraphic position of the site more precisely at the end of the LGM, more specifically into Last Glacial Termination (LGT); analysis of chipped stone industry identifies the occupation with the Epigravettian settlement. The site represents a significant example of the recurrent habitation of a microclimatically favourable microregion near a watercourse in order to utilise available sources of livelihood. The results of the pollen, anthracological and malacological analyses documented a more or less treeless character of surrounding landscape. The vegetation was mostly formed by a mixture of shrub tundra and grassy loess steppe vegetation. Open woodland with birch, willow and bird cherry occurred in relatively moist river banks and the lower slopes of hills with more favourable microclimatic conditions. Malacological collection highlights the presence of cool temperate species (Pupilla loessica, Vallonia excentrica and Helicopsis striata). In the surroundings of the studied site, the pollen analysis provided a reconstruction of parkland forest-steppe vegetation (with lack of temperate deciduous trees) typical for a cold and dry climate. Development of both dry and moist stands near the watercourse was recorded. Anthracological analysis is in support of similar outcomes, reconstructing the presence of open woodland with dominating birch and willow in the nearby surroundings.

Synopse populační genetiky evropského pravěku

“…Následovalo období mezolitu s adaptací na teplejší a vlhčí podmínky zapojených lesních soustav (zejména smíšené doubravy) holocénu. Přestože v mikroklimaticky vhodných podmínkách Středoevropané LGM místy přežívali (Nerudová et al 2016), je otázkou, zda takové izolované populace geneticky přispěly k vlně výše zmíněných migrací z jižních refugií.…”

Magdalenian and Epimagdalenian chronology and palaeoenvironments at Kůlna Cave, Moravia, Czech Republic

“…While some areas of Central Europe were largely abandoned by human groups during the LGM (c. 24,000 to 19,000 BP, Hughes et al 2015 ), human presence, associated with the Epigravettian, appears to have persisted in Moravia at least intermittently (Nerudová and Neruda 2015 ; Nerudová et al 2016 ). As such, the post-LGM expansion of the Magdalenian (c. 17,000 to 15,000 BP) may not have been into an unoccupied landscape, as it was in other regions (Nerudová 2010 ; Maier 2015 ; Nerudová and Neruda 2015 , Maier et al 2020 ).…”

“…As such, the post-LGM expansion of the Magdalenian (c. 17,000 to 15,000 BP) may not have been into an unoccupied landscape, as it was in other regions (Nerudová 2010 ; Maier 2015 ; Nerudová and Neruda 2015 , Maier et al 2020 ). Magdalenian presence in Moravia has been broadly correlated with cold, periglacial climates associated with the Last Glacial Termination (GS-2.1a), although a mosaic of habitats existed in the region (Nerudová et al 2016 ). This contrasts to the Final Palaeolithic (termed the Late Palaeolithic in Central Europe), which includes the Epimagdalenian.…”

“…BP) ranged from 6 to 11 °C, estimated from tooth enamel δ 18 O values (Kovács et al 2012 ). While most regional pollen spectra indicate a largely treeless landscape dominated by herb and grass taxa, localised pockets of open birch and willow woodland also existed, suggesting the presence also of more temperate microclimates (Svobodová 1988 ; Pokorný 2002 ; Hošek et al 2014 ; Nerudová et al 2016 ). At Kůlna Cave reindeer, hare and horse are most common in the Layer 6 (Magdalenian) faunal assemblage, with mammoth, bear, bovids, woolly rhino, arctic fox and birds also being present (Valoch et al 1969 ; Zelinková 1998 ).…”

Cave deposits as a sedimentary trap for the Marine Isotope Stage 3 environmental record: The case study of Pod Hradem, Czech Republic

“…Rapid climate change during Marine Isotope Stage (MIS) 3 influenced the behaviour of Palaeolithic populations as evidenced by cultural changes and probably population breakdowns (Bradtmöller et al, 2012). Several studies examine the complexity of the Early Upper Palaeolithic (EUP) and Anatomically Modern Human (AMH) interaction in the Middle Danube region (Nerudová et al, 2016;Rougier et al, 2007;Svoboda et al, 2002;Trinkaus et al, 2003Trinkaus et al, , 2013. The Danube Corridor and the Population Vacuum models for the early migration of modern humans into the Upper Danube Basin around 40 ka BP are linked to major climatic fluctuations around the time of Heinrich Event 4 cooling and so provide a framework for the geographic expansion of AMH into Europe Bolus, 2003, 2008).…”