A reindeer track from a drill core, and lake basin development of the Late Glacial Lille Slotseng kettle-hole basin, South-East Jylland, Denmark

Abstract

IA subfossil reindeer track is found in lake shore sediments in a drill core through the Late Glacial and Holocene lacustrine succession from the Lille Slotseng kettle-hole basin, located in the southeastern part of Jylland. The track is dated to 11,795 ± 80 14C yr BP or 13,635 cal. yr BP. This is the first vertebrate track recognized from a soft sediment drill core. Hitherto, convincing vertebrate trace fossils have only been described from boreholes through lithified Triassic sediments. During a previous excavation at the site, skeletal remains of at least ten reindeer were recovered from the Bølling succession and a vertebra was dated to approximately 14,100 cal. yr BP. The Lille Slotseng basin is semicircular with a maximum diameter of 23 m and the overall transgressive–regressive succession covers the time period from 16,000 to around 8,000 cal. yr BP. The oldest basin-fill sediments are melt-water deposits. They are overlain by a succession belonging to the Bølling Interstadial (GI 1-e), older Dryas (GI 1-d), Allerød, (GI 1-c, 1-b, 1-a), and Younger Dryas (GS 1), which terminates the Late Glacial succession. Then follows Preboreal algal gyttja and nearshore woody peat from the Boreal and Early Atlantic times, filling the basin.