Timing of the Saalian- and Elsterian glacial cycles and the implications for Middle \u2013 Pleistocene hominin presence in central Europe

Tobias Lauer,Marcel Weiss

doi:10.1038/s41598-018-23541-w

Abstract

By establishing a luminescence-based chronology for fluvial deposits preserved between the Elsterian- and Saalian tills in central Germany, we obtained information on the timing of both the Middle Pleistocene glacial cycles and early human appearance in central Europe. The luminescence ages illustrate different climatic driven fluvial aggradation periods during the Saalian glacial cycle spanning from 400–150 ka. The ages of sediments directly overlying the Elsterian till are approximately 400 ka and prove that the first extensive Fennoscandian ice sheet extension during the Quaternary correlates with MIS 12 and not with MIS 10. Furthermore, the 400 ka old fluvial units contain Lower Paleolithic stone artefacts that document the first human appearance in the region. In addition, we demonstrate that early MIS 8 is a potential date for the onset of the Middle Paleolithic in central Germany, as Middle Paleolithic stone artefacts are correlated with fluvial units deposited between 300 ka and 200 ka. However, the bulk of Middle Paleolithic sites date to MIS 7 in the region. The fluvial units preserved directly under the till of the southernmost Saalian ice yield an age of about 150 ka, and enable a correlation of the Drenthe stage to late MIS 6.

Highlights

The timing of the Middle Pleistocene glacial-interglacial cycles and the feedback mechanisms between climatic shifts and earth-surface processes are still poorly understood
One key issue is the onset of the Elsterian glaciation, which was the first and southern-most ice advance of Fennoscandian ice sheets into the European continent[1], and its relationship with the Middle Pleistocene Revolution
All overlying units of the SMT have been attributed to cold climate[56] as evidenced by the fluvial facies architecture and cryoturbation features including several levels of ice wedges. Mammal remains such as Mammuthus primigenius or Ovibos moschatus are suggestive of the formation of the SMT in a periglacial environment

Summary

Introduction

The timing of the Middle Pleistocene glacial-interglacial cycles and the feedback mechanisms between climatic shifts and earth-surface processes are still poorly understood. To understand the feedback between earth ice sheets and the MPR, it is crucial to understand when this southern-most advance of Fennoscandian glaciers occurred The timing of this important event is still a matter of debate[1,6,7,8,9]. For the Holsteinian, a correlation with MIS 11 or MIS 9 is still debated, as it is mainly linked to the chronology of the Bossel-profile[7,18], Lower Saxony/Germany. With regard to the Saalian glacial cycle, more chronological data is needed to reconstruct the timing and extension of the two significant ice advances and spatial variations among different parts of Europe

Methods

Results

Conclusion