Molluscan and Vertebrate Successions from the Veľká Drienčanská Cave

Vojen Ložek

doi:10.5817/mab2012-11-39

Abstract

Here we present a biostratigraphy of entrance deposits in the Veľká Drienčanská Cave based on molluscan and vertebrate successions in correlation with prehistoric pottery records. This corresponds to the final Last Glacial – Holocene time-span and reflects the following environmental history: the coexistence of open-country and woodland snail communities throughout the whole succession documents the persistence of high-diversity karsts parkland since the Late Glacial up to present, which has been supported by human activities since the Neolithic occupation. However, the molluscan succession shows a general agreement with the standard mid-European developmental pattern. The molluscan evidence is confirmed by vertebrate fossil finds.

Highlights

Site descriptionThe Great Drienčanská Cave (Veľká Drienčanská jaskyňa) is situated in the Drienčanský Karst, a small isolated karstland area in the western vicinity of the Slovak Karst.The cave has been described by several speleologists (Kliment ed., 2000) as well as by the archaeologist JurajBárta (1963) who published a short report on his find ofLate Bronze Age pottery from a shallow test pit in the cave fill
The first molluscan and vertebrate records came from an excavation situated at the cave entrance started in 1976 and continued in 1981 which was undertaken in cooperation with the State Nature Conservancy of the
The aim was to collect a sufficient number of fossils for a detailed analysis of its development within the south-eastern West-Carpathian foothill area, where glacial refugees of a number of climatically demanding mid-European snail and mammal species might be expected (Ložek 2006)

Summary

Introduction

The Great Drienčanská Cave (Veľká Drienčanská jaskyňa) is situated in the Drienčanský Karst, a small isolated karstland area in the western vicinity of the Slovak Karst. The first molluscan and vertebrate records came from an excavation situated at the cave entrance started in 1976 and continued in 1981 which was undertaken in cooperation with the State Nature Conservancy of the Slovak Republic. The aim was to collect a sufficient number of fossils for a detailed analysis of its development within the south-eastern West-Carpathian foothill area, where glacial refugees of a number of climatically demanding mid-European snail and mammal species might be expected (Ložek 2006). Windblown material and loose CaCO3 precipitations from dripping water and moistened rock walls are nearly absent

Methods

Conclusions