New insight into the palaeoenvironmental dynamics as a background of the human history in the Nemunas River delta region, W Lithuania, throughout the Lateglacial and Early Holocene

Abstract

A new reconstruction of the Lateglacial – Early Holocene paleoenvironmental dynamics as a background of the habitation history in the territory of the Nemunas River Delta (NRD) was based on the geological-geomorphological, grain-size, isotope (14C), pollen and diatom data supplemented by archaeological information obtained within the framework of the project „Man and Baltic Sea in the Meso-Neolithic: Relict Coasts and Settlements Below and Above Present Sea Level. ReCoasts&People“. The existence of extended proglacial lakes formed during the onset of the Lateglacial was succeeded by a period of low water estuaries or freshwater lagoons as early as 13.8 cal kyr BP. Simultaneously, groups of the Final Palaeolithic population, representing the classic Swiderian culture, inhabited the area. As shores of the Yoldia Sea and Ancylus Lake were situated further westwards (-11 to -24 – -29 m NN), wetlands and lake systems alongside with shallow boggy basins and fluvial streams predominated in the local landscape throughout the Early Holocene. Archaeological data suggest an episodic human activity in the territory while part of the archaeological sites might have been covered by sediments during the further intervals of the Holocene. Since the Early Holocene an extended peat bogs have become an important part of the landscape here.

Intensity of relief geodynamic processes in the Coastal Lowland, Lithuania: based on cartographic analysis

“…The Coastal Lowland consists of several segments: the Prieglius -Įsrutis River Lowland, the Nemunas Delta, and the Rīga Gulf Lowland. These lowlands formed during the glacial period, following the Baltic Ice Lake formation (17,000-11,700 cal BP) and during various stages of the Baltic Sea development: the Yoldia Sea (11,700-10,800 cal BP), the Ancylus Lake (10,800-9,800 cal BP) and the Littorina Sea (since 9,800 cal BP) (Bitinas 2011, Bitinas et al 2000Damušytė 2011, Damušytė et al 2021Hansson et al 2019). Several relief levels, indicating the former water level, are distinguishable in the Coastal Lowland.…”

“…The slopes of the Minija-Erla valley were affected by intense erosion during the post-glacial period, and there are many gullies and ravines. At the beginning of the Holocene (10,700-8,300 cal BP), formation of the Pro-Nemunas delta began, which continues to this day (Bitinas et al 2001(Bitinas et al , 2002Damušytė et al 2021). In the western part of the lowland, there are several distinct segments of littoral terraces.…”