STUDY OF PALEOGEOGRAPHIC FEATURES OF THE NORTHERN PART OF THE KARELIAN ISTHMUS DURING THE HOLOCENE

112-11

Organic residue analysis shows sub-regional patterns in the use of pottery by Northern European hunter–gatherers

The introduction of pottery vessels to Europe has long been seen as closely linked with the spread of agriculture and pastoralism from the Near East. The adoption of pottery technology by hunter–gatherers in Northern and Eastern Europe does not fit this paradigm, and its role within these communities is so far unresolved. To investigate the motivations for hunter–gatherer pottery use, here, we present the systematic analysis of the contents of 528 early vessels from the Baltic Sea region, mostly dating to the late 6th–5th millennium cal BC, using molecular and isotopic characterization techniques. The results demonstrate clear sub-regional trends in the use of ceramics by hunter–gatherers; aquatic resources in the Eastern Baltic, non-ruminant animal fats in the Southeastern Baltic, and a more variable use, including ruminant animal products, in the Western Baltic, potentially including dairy. We found surprisingly little evidence for the use of ceramics for non-culinary activities, such as the production of resins. We attribute the emergence of these subregional cuisines to the diffusion of new culinary ideas afforded by the adoption of pottery, e.g. cooking and combining foods, but culturally contextualized and influenced by traditional practices

Palaeoclimate inferred from δ18O and palaeobotanical indicators in freshwater tufa of Lake Äntu Sinijärv, Estonia

We investigated a 3.75-m-long lacustrine sediment record from Lake Äntu Sinijärv, northern Estonia, which has a modeled basal age >12,800 cal yr BP. Our multi-proxy approach focused on the stable oxygen isotope composition (δ18O) of freshwater tufa. Our new palaeoclimate information for the Eastern Baltic region, based on high-resolution δ18O data (219 samples), is supported by pollen and plant macrofossil data. Radiocarbon dates were used to develop a core chronology and estimate sedimentation rates. Freshwater tufa precipitation started ca. 10,700 cal yr BP, ca. 2,000 years later than suggested by previous studies on the same lake. Younger Dryas cooling is documented clearly in Lake Äntu Sinijärv sediments by abrupt appearance of diagnostic pollen (Betula nana, Dryas octopetala), highest mineral matter content in sediments (up to 90 %) and low values of δ18O (less than −12 ‰). Globally recognized 9.3- and 8.2-ka cold events are weakly defined by negative shifts in δ18O values, to −11.3 and −11.7 ‰, respectively, and low concentrations of herb pollen and charcoal particles. The Holocene thermal maximum (HTM) is palaeobotanically well documented by the first appearance and establishment of nemoral thermophilous taxa and presence of water lilies requiring warm conditions. Isotope values show an increasing trend during the HTM, from −11.5 to −10.5 ‰. Relatively stable environmental conditions, represented by only a small-scale increase in δ18O (up to 1 ‰) and high pollen concentrations between 5,000 and 3,000 cal yr BP, were followed by a decrease in δ18O, reaching the most negative value (−12.7 ‰) recorded in the freshwater tufa ca. 900 cal yr BP

Simulation of the shorelines of glacial Lake Peipsi in Eastern Estonia during the Late Weichselian

Digital reconstruction of the evolution of glacial Lake Peipsi, Eastern Estonia, was based on a geographic information system (GIS) method that removed isostatically deformed palaeowater planes fromthe current digital terrain model. A reconstruction of the proglacial water levels was performed with respect to geomorphological correlation of river terraces, raised shorelines and eroded surfaces of various aqueoglacial landforms. The configuration of shorelines, main outlets and water depths of glacial Lake Peipsi, corresponding to the Otepää, Piirissaar, Kaiu and Pandivere–Neva stades during the deglaciation of the Lake Peipsi depression, was simulated. The two approaches used, reflecting the geomorphological correlation of Raukas and Rähni (1969) and Hang (2001), are discussed

Litorina Sea shore displacement on the Island of Saaremaa, Estonia

Badania sedymentologiczne i analiza podatności magnetycznej oraz datowania radiowęglowe w 6 stanowiskach holoceńskich (Ohtja, Kihelkonna, Vedruka, Vesiku, Lümanda, Jáempa) umożliwiły przedstawienie rozwoju morza litorynowego na wyspie Saaremaa w Estonii. Formacje plażowe morza litorynowego występują na wysokości od 20,5 do 15,5 m n.p.m. Zrekonstruowano położenie brzegu morza litorynowego. Początek transgresji morza litorynowego określono na 8200 lat kalendarzowych. Wielkość pojedynczej transgresji wynosiła około 4,5–5,0 m

Proglacial lake shorelines of Estonia and adjoining areas

A uniform database of the proglacial lake coastal landforms of Estonia, Latvia and NW Russia was created and used to reconstruct the spatial distribution of proglacial lakes using the kriging point interpolation and GIS approaches. Correlation of the Late Glacial coastal landforms confirms that the proglacial lake stage A1 in Estonia is synchronous with the BglI level in Latvia and with one level in NW Russia of undefined index. Proglacial lake A1 was formed concurrently with the Pandivere-Neva ice-margin about 13,300 cal. yrs BP. Proglacial lake A2 level formed probably about 12,800 cal. yrs BP and correlates with the level of BglII in Latvia and GIII in NW Russia. Simulated isobases of proglacial lake water-levels show a relatively regular pattern of the land uplift along the eastern coast of the Baltic and in the northern part of the Lake Peipsi basin, with a steeper tilt towards the northwest. Isobases in the southern part of the Lake Peipsi basin are curving towards SE and are up to 14 m higher than expected from the regional trend. This phenomenon can reflect the forebulge effect during the deglaciation and its later collapse. Shoreline reconstruction suggests that proglacial lakes in the Peipsi and Baltic basins were connected via strait-like systems and had identical water levels. Our reconstructions also show that after the glacier halted at the Pandivere-Neva ice margin about 13,300 cal. yrs BP, there was a connection with the initial Baltic Ice Lake in the west of the Gulf of Riga

Development of the Holocene foredune plain in the Narva-Jõesuu area, eastern Gulf of Finland

The morphogenesis and inner structure of the Holocene foredune plain in the Narva-Joesuu area, eastern Gulf of Finland, were studied using optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) dating, ground-penetrating radar (GPR) study and interpretation of airborne LIDAR elevation data. The results show that the Narva-Joesuu foredune plain consists of ca. 100 parallel coastal foredune ridges built of well-sorted fine sand underlain by gently (~7°) seaward-dipping sandy beach deposits. The distal part of the plain, which consists of at least 15 ridges, formed during the regressive phase of the Ancylus Lake/Early Litorina Sea, serving as a barrier for the lagoon behind it. A larger portion of ridges, with an average progradation rate of 0.26 m a-1, formed under conditions of falling relative sea level during the Litorina regression and was separated from the older foredune succession by a hiatus related to the Litorina transgression at 8.5-7.3 cal. ka BP. In the highest central part of the plain the foredune growth was interrupted by foredune instability and a re-blowing episode dated to 5.4 ± 0.9 ka BP which may correlate with a larger regional cooling at 5.8-5.1 cal. ka BP in the North Atlantic and central Europe. During the last 3000 years, the foredune progradation rate decreased to 0.19 m a-1, most probably because of decelerated land-uplift and increased human impact due to coastal protection

STUDY OF PALEOGEOGRAPHIC FEATURES OF THE NORTHERN PART OF THE KARELIAN ISTHMUS DURING THE HOLOCENE

112-11