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

Kůlna Cave is the only site in Moravia, Czech Republic, from which large assemblages of both Magdalenian and Epimagdalenian archaeological materials have been excavated from relatively secure stratified deposits. The site therefore offers the unrivalled opportunity to explore the relationship between these two archaeological phases. In this study, we undertake radiocarbon, stable isotope (carbon, nitrogen and sulphur), and ZooMS analysis of the archaeological faunal assemblage to explore the chronological and environmental context of the Magdalenian and Epimagdalenian deposits. Our results show that the Magdalenian and Epimagdalenian deposits can be understood as discrete units from one another, dating to the Late Glacial between c. 15,630 cal. BP and 14,610 cal. BP, and c. 14,140 cal. BP and 12,680 cal. BP, respectively. Stable isotope results (δ13C, δ15N, δ34S) indicate that Magdalenian and Epimagdalenian activity at Kůlna Cave occurred in very different environmental settings. Magdalenian occupation took place within a nutrient-poor landscape that was experiencing rapid changes to environmental moisture, potentially linked to permafrost thaw. In contrast, Epimagdalenian occupation occurred in a relatively stable, temperate environment composed of a mosaic of woodland and grassland habitats. The potential chronological gap between the two phases, and their associations with very different environmental conditions, calls into question whether the Epimagdalenian should be seen as a local, gradual development of the Magdalenian. It also raises the question of whether the gap in occupation at Kůlna Cave could represent a change in settlement dynamics and/or behavioural adaptations to changing environmental conditions

The influence of redeposition on the anthracological records from the Moravian Karst caves (Czech Republic, Central Europe)

The study focuses on some methodological problems associated with the research of cave sites. A large amount of anthracological material came from the context of the layers with archaeological material from the Pod hradem Cave (Moravian Karst, Czech Republic). Some samples were determined as Taxus, which in this context would be among the first evidence of yew in the Middle Pleistocene. However, their dating showed significant secondary redepositions. Similar redepositions of material were repeatedly found in the dating of material from the Kůlna Cave (Moravian Karst, Czech Republic). Here, too, in certain parts of the cave, there was secondary redeposited archaeological material in seemingly intact sediments. Both caves were inhabited – Kůlna Cave from MIS 8 to MIS 2, Pod hradem Cave – from MIS 3e to MIS 2. At the same time, intensive post-sedimentation processes took place in both caves, accompanied by the activities of large carnivores inhabiting these caves alternately with humans. The last important factor influencing stratigraphy was the archaeological excavations at the end of the 19th and the beginning of the 20th century

New radiocarbon data from Micoquian layers of the Kůlna Cave (Czech Republic)

The Kůlna Cave is a significant site due to the stratigraphic sequence documenting the development of Palaeolithic in the Central European territory. Despite large-scale interdisciplinary research, the chronological classification of the individual Middle Palaeolithic cultural horizons is unsatisfactory. Within a new grant project, 43 samples were taken for dating with a preference for bones with anthropic impact and a documented exact position of each sample. To a certain extent this enabled control of possible contamination, and at the same time diminished the negative impact of carnivores linked with the deposition of bones in the cave. Radiocarbon data were obtained for the upper layers of the Middle Palaeolithic sequence that contains Micoquian artefacts, corroborating the former chronological position of layer 7a in spite of a large quantity of ante quem data. Layer 6a, which is of key significance for the solution of issues relating to the Middle/Upper Palaeolithic transition, falls before the Hengelo Interstadial, and therefore it is older than the known EUP industries in Moravia

Analýza zvířecích kostí z epigravettienské lokality Brno-Štýřice III, výzkumné sezóny 2012–2014

V letech 2009 a 2011–2014 proběhl záchranný archeologický výzkum epigravettienské lokality Brno-Štýřice III, známé od roku 1972 jako Koněvova či Vídeňská. Vedle kamenné industrie byl při výzkumu nacházen i zvířecí osteologický materiál, který je postupně analyzován a publikován. Zvířecí kosti získané výzkumy v letech 2012–2014 jsou hlavním tématem předloženého článku. Byla provedena jejich druhová determinace a určen minimální počet jedinců (MNI), nicméně vysoká fragmentárnost kostí, způsobená částečně i jejich užíváním jako paliva, determinaci komplikovala. Součástí jsou také výsledky izotopových analýz C, N a Sr a analýza sezonality. Zjištěné druhové složení fauny s dominancí mamuta srstnatého naznačuje chladné glaciální klima, tento výsledek podporují i analýzy izotopů C a N. Plošná distribuce zvířecích kostí odpovídá hlavním koncentracím kamenné štípané industrie, několik tisíc přepálených drobných fragmentů kostí kumulovaných na malé ploše jasně dokládá paleolitické ohniště. Jednotlivé výsledky včetně radiokarbonového datování a rozboru kamenné štípané industrie kladou pozici lokality do samého závěru posledního glaciálního maxima