The goal of this paper is to refine the relative and absolute chronology of Epigravettian culture (26.5-15.0 ka) in eastern Central Europe (ECE) and clarify its relation to the Last Glacial Maximum... Show moreThe goal of this paper is to refine the relative and absolute chronology of Epigravettian culture (26.5-15.0 ka) in eastern Central Europe (ECE) and clarify its relation to the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) and subsequent climatic changes. Epigravettian sites were sorted into three chronological clusters: initial LGM (ILGM) (26.5-24.0 ka), local LGM (LLGM) (24.0-20.0 ka), and post-LGM (PLGM) (20.0-14.7 ka). We obtained new radiocarbon dates from previously dated and undated sites, then analysed the lithic tool typology and faunal data to seek correlations between age and archaeological features.The lithic typology study did not find differences between ILGM and LLGM sites, but the tool type variance between LLGM and PLGM was significant, applicable for relative chronology. ILGM and LLGM lithic assemblages were characterized by domestic tool dominance and the frequent use of flake tools. PLGM assemblages were correlated with armature dominance and blade/let tools. Among the armatures, backed point variants characterized the PLGM sites compared to the ILGM and LLGM. The sole ILGM lithic armature was the retouched blade/let point. The LLGM also possessed this type and often included backed blade/lets.ILGM faunal data, although few, implied the hunting of mammoth and reindeer. The LLGM data represented recurring hunting of reindeer and horse, and PLGM data indicated the hunting of horse, reindeer, and mammoth.Our results suggested that the territory of Poland was deserted by humans in the LLGM. Moravia and Lower Austria was inhabited until the first half of the LLGM, while the Carpathian Basin was all along the ILGM. The preference for the Carpathian Basin could have been the milder climate, the abundance of fauna, and permanent access to tree vegetation. After the LGM the glacial flora and fauna gradually disappeared, leading to a reduced human presence in southern ECE. Thus, the disappearance of the Epigravettian culture and Pleistocene hunter-gatherer occupations are linked to the amelioration of climate that resulted in the disappearance of the Pleistocene environment. (C) 2021 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd. Show less
Dekker, J.; Sinet-Mathiot, V.; Spithoven, M.; Smit, B.; Wilcke, A.; Welker, F.; ... ; Soressi, M. 2021
In the summer of 2013 and 2014 the Faculty of Archaeology of Leiden University has carried out archaeological fieldwork in a rather exceptional environment. Where since the implementation of the... Show moreIn the summer of 2013 and 2014 the Faculty of Archaeology of Leiden University has carried out archaeological fieldwork in a rather exceptional environment. Where since the implementation of the Valetta Treaty most excavations are aimed at ex-situ preservation of archaeological sites threatened by building activities, the site that was under investigation in 2013 and 2014 found itself in a nature reserve. As nature reserves are aimed at the very purpose of preservation, why then investigate an archaeological site that could easily profit from such a protected status? The recent access to high resolution LIDAR data for the entire surface of the present day Netherlands is only just beginning to reveal the richness of archaeological sites hidden beneath the foliage and undergrowth of the forests and heaths crammed in between the vast field systems of the Dutch countryside. From late prehistoric barrow landscapes and celtic fields to Medieval cart tracks, all these features still find themselves at the very surface in these nature reserves. These sites of various age can provide a unique glimpse into the past but their location at the very surface also makes these sites vulnerable and, as is becoming more clear in recent years, are threatened by nature itself. Tree roots, burrowing animals and ongoing podzolization are all examples of natural processes that gradually obscure these sites from sight. To map both the state as well as the research potential of such an archaeological ‘palimpsest’ an archaeological field experiment was carried out in one of the largest nature reserves of the Netherlands at a site called ‘Apeldoorn – Uddeler Heegde’. This article reports on the most important new insights of the fieldwork in the form of a landscape biography. Show less
Vaesen, K.; Scherjon, F.; Hemerik, L.; Verpoorte, A. 2019
The replacement of Neanderthals by Anatomically Modern Humans has typically been attributed to environmental pressure or a superiority of modern humans with respect to competition for resources.... Show moreThe replacement of Neanderthals by Anatomically Modern Humans has typically been attributed to environmental pressure or a superiority of modern humans with respect to competition for resources. Here we present two independent models that suggest that no such heatedly debated factors might be needed to account for the demise of Neanderthals. Starting from the observation that Neanderthal populations already were small before the arrival of modern humans, the models implement three factors that conservation biology identifies as critical for a small population’s persistence, namely inbreeding, Allee effects and stochasticity. Our results indicate that the disappearance of Neanderthals might have resided in the smallness of their population(s) alone: even if they had been identical to modern humans in their cognitive, social and cultural traits, and even in the absence of inter-specific competition, Neanderthals faced a considerable risk of extinction. Furthermore, we suggest that if modern humans contributed to the demise of Neanderthals, that contribution might have had nothing to do with resource competition, but rather with how the incoming populations geographically restructured the resident populations, in a way that reinforced Allee effects, and the effects of inbreeding and stochasticity. Show less
Wilczynski, J.; Goslar, T.; Wojtal, P.; Oliva, M.; Goehlich, U.B.; Antl-Weiser, W.; ... ; Lengyel, G. 2019
The Middle Upper Palaeolithic (MUP) in eastern Central Europe (ECE) comprises three variants of Gravettian culture: Early Gravettian, Pavlovian, and Late Gravettian. While Early Gravettian and... Show moreThe Middle Upper Palaeolithic (MUP) in eastern Central Europe (ECE) comprises three variants of Gravettian culture: Early Gravettian, Pavlovian, and Late Gravettian. While Early Gravettian and Pavlovian are merely located in Lower Austria and Moravia, the Late Gravettian occupations occurred over the entire territory of ECE. Compared to the number of sites the radiocarbon dating and the absolute chronology of the Late Gravettian is rather poor. The results presented here bring a new set of radiocarbon (14C) dates for the Late Gravettian period in ECE and propose that this period began and ended earlier than previously suggested. Show less
Laugerie-Haute is one of the key sequences of the European Upper Paleolithic. However, the absolute chronologyof the sequence is not well-established, and recently the integrity of the layers has... Show moreLaugerie-Haute is one of the key sequences of the European Upper Paleolithic. However, the absolute chronologyof the sequence is not well-established, and recently the integrity of the layers has been called into question. Inthis paper, we present new radiocarbon dating results for the entire sedimentary sequence at Laugerie-HauteOuest, which contains important “Aurignacian V” and Solutrean assemblages. Our results show that the entireLaugerie-Haute Ouest sequence was deposited in a period of 8500–0,000 years, dating between 28 and19 cal. kBP. Show less
Dredged sediment from the valley of the Berkel river near Eibergen (Gelderland, the Netherlands) contained a complete and carefully retouched scraper made of Grand-Pressigny-flint. The scraper is... Show moreDredged sediment from the valley of the Berkel river near Eibergen (Gelderland, the Netherlands) contained a complete and carefully retouched scraper made of Grand-Pressigny-flint. The scraper is made on a thick flake, possibly a preparation flake from a so-called ‘livre-de-beurre’ core. The object has not been used intensively. The scraper can be attributed to the Single Grave Culture (2850-2500 BC). The scraper differs from the usual imports of Grand-Pressigny-flint, namely daggers made of long blades and other tools made of their recycled fragments. There are no unambiguous parallels for the scraper’s morphology. How this scraper ended up in the archaeological record, circa 700 km from its source area, is unfortunately not clear. Show less
Het veldwerk bestond uit vier onderdelen: oppervlaktekartering van de vindplaats Colmont-Ponderosa, geo-archeologisch booronderzoek, een archeologische proefopgraving, en een veldkartering in de... Show moreHet veldwerk bestond uit vier onderdelen: oppervlaktekartering van de vindplaats Colmont-Ponderosa, geo-archeologisch booronderzoek, een archeologische proefopgraving, en een veldkartering in de omgeving (zgn. Eiland van Ubachsberg). In het kader van de waardering van oppervlaktevindplaatsen uit het Midden-Paleolithicum is in september 2001 veldwerk uitgevoerd te Colmont-Ponderosa. In dit document zijn de digitale bestanden met primaire veldgegevens en rapportage bijeengebracht. Directe digitale registratie heeft plaatsgevonden voor hoogtemetingen en oppervlaktevondsten. Overige documentatie is ook analoog beschikbaar. Show less
