Abstract
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.
Highlights
Kůlna Cave, situated in Moravia, Czech Republic, is widely considered one of the most important Palaeolithic archaeological sites in Central Europe, owing to its deep stratigraphy, multiple occupation horizons, and large lithic and faunal assemblages dating from Marine Isotope Stage (MIS) 6 to the Holocene (Valoch 1988; Svoboda 2005; Nerudová and Neruda 2014; Neruda and Nerudová 2014)
All AMS-dated Layer 6 material from this study and that of Nerudová and Neruda (2014) correspond to the latter part of GS-2.1a. This contrasts to three conventional radiocarbon determinations from Layer 6 made on charcoal samples (Mook 1988), which date to Greenland Interstadial 1 (GI-1) and the early Holocene (Table 1)
This study has demonstrated that at Kůlna Cave the Magdalenian and Epimagdalenian phases of activity are likely separated by a hiatus of 400–1000 years
Summary
Kůlna Cave, situated in Moravia, Czech Republic, is widely considered one of the most important Palaeolithic archaeological sites in Central Europe, owing to its deep stratigraphy, multiple occupation horizons, and large lithic and faunal assemblages dating from Marine Isotope Stage (MIS) 6 to the Holocene (Valoch 1988; Svoboda 2005; Nerudová and Neruda 2014; Neruda and Nerudová 2014). To avoid the potential inclusion of Holocene-aged samples, Layer 3 was not included in our analysis
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