Cromerian Research Articles

Morphostructural evolution of the Labe and Jizera rivers confluence area (the Bohemian massif, Czechia)

This article investigates the morphostructural evolution of the Labe and Jizera rivers confluence area in the Bohemian Massif of Czechia. The main stages of morphostructural evolution are identified and related landform patterns are described. The lithological and tectonic character of this contact area between the Barrandian and the Bohemian Cretaceous Basin has been gradually evolving since the Early Palaeozoic. Tectonic subsidence of the northeastern part of the Bohemian Massif and the Cretaceous transgression of the sea caused extensive marine sedimentation, which covered the pre-Cenomanian relief. The uplift of the Bohemian Massif during the Santonian initiated a widespread erosion and denudation in the Tertiary. The Labe River valley constitutes a remarkable boundary between the morphostructural plateaus in the south and the system of river accumulation terraces of the Labe and Jizera in the north. The originally extensive and currently considerably eroded III. river terrace of the Labe was formed in the Elsterian glacial period (Cromerian complex c). The conspicuous Jizera alluvial fan developed during the aggradation phase of the VII. river terrace in the Upper Pleistocene. Subsidence along the NW-SE-trending Labe Fault zone, deciphered from the vertical throw of the VII. terrace rock bases of Labe as well as related paleochannels of its local tributaries, which caused the current asymmetry of the Labe valley, reached up to 14 meters prior to the Holocene. The different rock resistance to weathering, arrangement of fault structures and neotectonic movements that took place even during the late Quaternary significantly influenced the intensity of varied climate-morphogenetic processes.

Early Middle Pleistocene Fauna Of Fossil Rodents And LoessPaleosol Series Of The Pekla Key Section (Taman Peninsula, Russia)

The history of the early Middle Pleistocene small mammal faunas of Eastern Europe is very complicated. The early Middle Pleistocene which spanned from the Brunhes-Matuyama transition (772.9 ka BP, within MIS 19) till the beginning of the Likhvin Interglacial (424 ka BP, MIS 11) includes a number of interglacials and glaciations. Rodent species of the Tiraspolian faunal assemblage were found in the Chaudian fluvial deposits of the Cape Pekla section (northern coast of the Taman Peninsula). The evolutional level of the Pekla rodents are similar to those from the stratotype section of the Tiraspolian faunal assemblage in the Kolkotova Balka in Moldova (MIS 17) , which includes Eolagurus sp., Mimomys savini, Microtus (Terricola) arvalidens, Microtus (Alexandromys) ex gr. oeconomus and other species. The Pekla fauna also resembles the rodent fauna from famous English West Runton Freshwater Bed locality formed during the Cromerian Interglacial II and some other East and West European faunas. In the current work the entire loess-paleosol sequence of the Pekla section was described with five paleosols from the Middle to the Late Pleistocene. The sequence reflects the complexity of climatic fluctuations from the early Middle Pleistocene to the Holocene.

Dagmar Cave (Czech Republic, Moravian Karst), a unique palaeontological site of the Cromerian Interglacial

Dagmar Cave, Czech Republic, is the first locality in the Moravian Karst where sediments of Cromerian age have been discovered and it is the first locality with such a large number of species of molluscs of this age. It was originally a swallow hole initiated in the Neogene, which has since accumulated sediments. Basal sediments are palaeontologically-sterile stream boulders, originating from weathered Lower Carboniferous rock. After this, fossiliferous, loamy sediments were carried in from the entrance by streams and/or gravity. Molluscan and vertebrate assemblages, along with palynological remains, are indicative of interglacial conditions. Faunal analysis determined that this could only consist of one interglacial, either Cromerian III or IV. This is the first record of Middle Pleistocene molluscan fauna in the Moravian Karst. Palynology demonstrated a humid and thermophilic vegetation typical of a Cromerian interglacial, with forest, and probably water, and an open grassy/bushy area close to the cave. The age is constrained by a MIS 7 U-Th date (182 ka) on the calcite flowstone that overlies the interglacial material and underlies the palaeontologically more sterile upper sediments.

Terrestrial versus marine archives: biostratigraphical correlation of the Middle Pleistocene lacustrine records from central Europe and their equivalents in the deep-sea cores from the Portuguese margin

The palaeolake from Ossowka, eastern Poland, is an unusual example of basin, in which sedimentation lasted from the beginning of the Holsteinian through several climatic oscillations until the Early Saalian, i.e. over a period of ~70,000 years. This provides us with the opportunity of correlating the dynamically changing events on land with their potential equivalents in the marine profiles. Alkenone-based temperature reconstructions using U k′ 37 are an unusual tool in this respect. Nevertheless, as a result, we successfully relate this pollen sequence to the changing SST (sea surface temperature) values in the colder phases of MIS 11. The bipartite Ferdinandovian Interglacial was previously correlated with the upper part of the Cromerian complex (MIS 13 and MIS 15). Having at our disposal limits in the SST alkenone-based record, we clearly identify the stratigraphic position of the second warm phase of MIS 15 and a small fragment of MIS 14. In our opinion, the Rhume Interglacial, identified in Germany, should be located within MIS 13. Using the available orbitally tuned chronology, we also give a substantial input to estimate duration of these terrestrial interglacials, indicating the starting and ending points of their equivalents in the alkenone records

Timing of fluvial sedimentation in the Upper Rhine Graben since the Middle Pleistocene: constraints from quartz and feldspar luminescence dating

The Heidelberg Basin (HDB) hosts one of the thickest Quaternary sediment successions in central Europe. To establish a reliable Middle and Upper Pleistocene chronology for a recently drilled core from the depocentre of the Heidelberg Basin, we applied multiple luminescence dating approaches, including quartz optically stimulated luminescence (OSL), two feldspar post‐IR IRSL protocols using second IR stimulation temperatures of 225 °C (pIRIR225) and 290 °C (pIRIR290), and two fading correction models. Relatively high anomalous fading was observed for both the pIRIR225 and pIRIR290 signals, with mean fading rates of 2.13±0.27 and 2.08±0.49%/decade, respectively. Poor dose recovery behaviour of the pIRIR290 signal suggests that the pIRIR290 ages are not reliable. The comparison of two fading correction methods for the K‐feldspar ages indicates that the correction method proposed by Kars et al. (2008) Radiation Measurements 43, 786, yields reliable ages, whereas the dose‐rate correction method proposed by Lamothe et al. (2003) Radiation Measurements 37, 493, does not. A chronology for the HDB is established using the quartz ages and reliable fading corrected feldspar pIRIR225 ages. Our chronology shows that the sediments in the upper Mannheim Formation were deposited during Marine Isotope Stage (MIS) 4 (c. 70 ka), constrained by two quartz ages in the upper 20 m of the core. Four fading corrected pIRIR225 ages of c. 400 ka show that the upper Ludwigshafen Formation was deposited during MIS 12–11, correlated with the Elsterian‐Holsteinian stage. Two ages of 491±76 and 487±79 ka indicate that the Middle and Upper Ludwigshafen Formation were probably deposited during the Cromerian Complex. This luminescence chronology is consistent with palynological results. It also indicates that the IR‐RF ages reported earlier are probably underestimated due to anomalous fading.

New palaeoclimate reconstructions based on multidisciplinary investigation in the Ferdynandów 2011 stratotype site (eastern Poland)

Drilling carried out in 2011 at Ferdynandow (E Poland), serving as a stratotype for the Ferdynandovian Interglacial, enabled its re-examination with high-resolution palynological, plant macroremains, and sedimentological analyses. Lacustrine sediments included a record of the Late Sanian 1 (= Elsterian 1) Glaciation, a complete Ferdynandovian succession, and the Early Sanian 2 (= Elsterian 2) Glaciation. Particular similarities in the succession observed between the Ferdynandow 2011 profile and the adjacent sites of the same age in Łukow-3A and Zdany provide a basis for detailed palaeoclimate interpretation. The Ferdynandovian succession of all the three pollen profiles can be clearly divided into two distinct interglacials separated by a sequence of pollen spectra typical of a glacial succession with pollen zones of stadial-interstadial fluctuations. Warm units in the Ferdynandow 2011 succession correspond to climatostratigraphic units of Ferdynandovian 1 and 2, while the cold unit – to Ferdynandovian 1/2. This division can be applied to all Ferdynandovian successions in Poland and allows their correlation with the early Middle Pleistocene Cromerian Complex of Western Europe (Cromerian II Westerhoven and Cromerian III Rosmalen) as well as with Marine Isotope Stages (MIS) 13–15. For each biostratigraphic unit, mean temperatures of the warmest and coldest months, and mean annual temperature and precipitation were reconstructed. For the comparison with the Ferdynandow 2011 pollen diagram the data based on modern pollen analogues for the Łukow-3A pollen diagram were used.

Quaternary stratigraphy and palaeogeography of Poland

Abstract Though the stratigraphical and palaeogeographical framework of the Quaternary in Poland is still to be completed, several crucial points have been confirmed recently. The preglacial series, accepted for years as belonging to the Lower Pleistocene, is undoubtedly of Early Pliocene age, with a huge hiatus above almost until the uppermost Lower Pleistocene. The earliest glaciation in Poland (Nidanian) occurred at about 900 ka BP when the ice sheet reached the mid-southern part of the country. The following Podlasian Interglacial embraced the Brunhes/Matuyama boundary in the middle, in a similar fashion to the corresponding Cromerian Complex in Western Europe. The late Early and early Middle Pleistocene interglacials in Poland comprised 2–3 optima each, whereas every one of the younger interglacials was characterised by a single optimum only. The Late Vistulian ice sheet was most extensive in the western part of Poland (Leszno Phase) whereas the younger Poznań Phase was more extensive in the central and eastern part of the country. This was due to the varied distance from the glaciation center in Scandinavia, making the ice sheet margin reach a terminal position in different times. Palaeoclimatological research in the Tatra Mountains has provided new evidence for the atmospheric circulation over Europe. During cold phases of the Pleistocene in Poland a continental climate extended further westwards, quite the opposite that occurring during warmer intervals.

Vegetation of the Ferdynandovian interglacial (MIS 13–15) based on plant macrofossils from a new profile of the stratotype site

Abstract Early Middle Pleistocene palaeolacustrine sediments of the Ferdynandów site (E Poland), serving as a stratotype for the Ferdynandovian interglacial, were subjected to a new drilling in 2011. The obtained profile, covering the late Sanian 1 glaciation, two interglacial successions (Ferdynandovian 1 and 2), the cold Ferdynandovian 1/2 interval, and the early Sanian 2 glaciation, permitted a high-resolution plant macroremains analysis, correlated with the results of a palynological examination. In detailed studies of plant macroremains from the profile, new taxa were discovered for the Polish Pleistocene flora: specifically, species that are extinct or not found nowadays in Poland. On the basis of the taxonomic diversity and occurrence of bioindicators, the division into warm and cold units of the Ferdynandovian interglacial as well as units associated with the Sanian 1 and 2 glaciations, already applied in pollen studies, were confirmed, and the periods were described in terms of plant macroremains. The Ferdynandovian succession is correlated with the Cromerian Complex (Cromerian III and IV) in the Early Middle Pleistocene of Western Europe, as well as with Marine Isotope Stages (MIS) 13-15. New geological and palaeobotanical data enabled a description of the palaeogeographic context and conditions of functioning, as well as the evolution of the interglacial lake at the stratotype site. The outcome of plant macroremains analysis is presented and interpreted in comparison with corresponding results previously obtained for the Ferdynandów B profile, studied by Janczyk-Kopikowa (1975). Particular consideration is given to similarities between the succession of Ferdynandów 2011 and the profiles of Ferdynandów B and the nearby drilled Łuków 3A. Study of the macrofossil flora of Ferdynandów 2011 revealed the presence of species absent in the archival Ferdynandów B. Taxa not formerly recorded in early Middle Pleistocene floras, such as Brasenia borysthenica, Aldrovanda borysthenica, Pilularia borysthenica, Caulinia goretskyi, and Potamogeton saryanensis, were identified. These species and other taxa of stratigraphic or climatic significance provided the basis for a more detailed description of the Ferdynandovian flora, afterwards compared with other stratigraphically corresponding Polish and European early Middle Pleistocene floras. The composition of characteristic taxa also was used for comparisons between two bimodal interglacial sequences, namely the Ferdynandovian (correlated with MIS 13-15) and Augustovian (correlated with MIS 19-21), and the Domuratovian succession (correlated with MIS 17).

Nowe dane paleobotaniczne z profilu Ferdynandów 2011 na stanowisku stratotypowym

<p>Stanowiska z zapisem ferdynandowskiej sukcesji pyłkowej są rzadko spotykane, a zwłaszcza te z zapisem paleobotanicznym dwu okresów ciepłych i dzielącego je ochłodzenia. Na tym tle, na szczególną uwagę zasługuje obszar Południowego Podlasia, na którym zostało rozpoznanych 8 stanowisk z osadami interglacjału ferdynandowskiego. Są one udokumentowane badaniami palinologicznymi (Żarski i in. 2009a; Ryc. 1). Na tym obszarze zlokalizowane jest również stanowisko stratotypowe Ferdynandów B z 1963 roku, dla którego opisano w 1981 roku nową wówczas sukcesję pyłkową, określoną jako sukcesja ferdynandowska (Janczyk-Kopikowa i in. 1991; Mojski, 1985; Janczyk-Kopikowa 1991; Rzechowski 1996).</p>

Morphostratigraphical correlation of river terraces in the central part of the Bohemian Massif with the European stratigraphical classification of the QuaternarY

The results of geomorphological research, focused on identification of larger remains of fluvial terrace sedimentary sequences in the Želivka, Sázava, Berounka, Vltava and Labe river-drainage basins in the Bohemian Massif, are presented. The terrace flights are characterised by a variable structure which is conditioned by the bedrock and drainage-network configuration created prior to the Pleistocene. They are formed by the specific hydrodynamic processes during the Quaternary. A series of transverse-valley profiles and longitudinal profiles have been constructed. This has enabled the differentiation of seven main terrace surfaces underlain by Quaternary fluvial sediments. However, the uppermost levels are underlain by Neogene-age deposits that comprise both fluvial and fluvio-lacustrine sediments at altitudes up to 135 m above the present valley floor. The Quaternary incision of the Sázava and Vltava valleys reaches an average depth of over 100 m. This was induced by neotectonic uplift of the Bohemian Massif. The terrace flights include incised meanders and bends, most of which formed during the Middle Pleistocene. Based on the currently accepted Quaternary chronostratigraphical scheme, the terrace system throughout the Bohemian Massif is mostly of Middle and Late Pleistocene age that is the period from the Cromerian Complex to the Weichselian stages of the NW European scheme. A marked erosional episode, that pre-dates the accumulation of terrace I sediments, occurred at the end of the Early Pleistocene Subseries. Older levels of fluvial sediments in the central part of the Bohemian Massif, occupying higher topographical positions, previously classified as of Pliocene age, are now considered to date from the Early Pleistocene. <b>Morfostratigrafická korelace říčních teras střední části Českého masivu s evropskou stratigrafickou klasifikací kvartéru</b> Říční terasy Želivky, Sázavy, Berounky, Vltavy a Labe mají ve střední části Českého masivu rozmanitou strukturu, která vznikala specifickými morfostrukturními a hydrodynamickými procesy při vývoji údolní sítě v mladším kenozoiku. Geomorfologický výzkum reliktů fluviálních sedimentů v těchto údolích umožnil rozlišit sedm kvartérních akumulačních teras (Tabulka 1) a dvě úrovně fluviálních a fluvio-lakustrinních sedimentů neogenního stáří. Relikty předkvarterních uloženin se vyskytují až 135 m nad současnými dny říčních údolí střední části Českého masivu. Erozivní zahloubení této antecedentní a epigenetické říční sítě bylo podmíněno neotektonickými zdvihy a během kvartéru dosáhlo více než 100 m. Charakteristické zakleslé meandry a ohyby říčních údolí vznikaly převážně ve středním pleistocénu. Podle současného statigrafického členění kvartéru se systém říčních akumulačních teras v údolích střední části Českého masivu vytvořil zejména ve středním a mladém pleistocénu, a to od Cromerského komplexu do Viselského období. Erozní procesy před vznikem říční akumulační terasy I probíhaly koncem staršího pleistocénu. Je také ukázáno, že dynamiku fluviálních procesů je vhodné studovat ve vztahu ke zvětrávání, denudaci, erozi a svahovým pohybům v kvartéru.

Palynostratigraphy and vegetation changes during the early Middle Pleistocene, based on new studies of deposits from Ferdynandów (central eastern Poland)

Abstract New palynological data from the Ferdynandów site are presented and interpreted against the background of the earlier division of this stratotype pollen sequence by Janczyk-Kopikowa (1975), with special attention to a comparison with the nearest profile of a complete Ferdynandovian succession in Łuków (Łuków Plain). The proposed division of the new pollen diagram from Ferdynandów - into two warm periods of interglacial rank separated by a succession typical of glacial periods - is based on the new division of the Ferdynandovian pollen sequence s.l., applied for the first time by Mamakowa (1996) to the Podgórze B1 pollen profile close to Nowe Miasto on the Pilica river. The two warm units and the cold one between them in the new pollen diagram from the Ferdynandów site correspond to the climatostratigraphic units named Ferdynandovian 1 and 2. Together with the cooling/glaciation (Ferdynandovian 1/2) separating them, the whole Ferdynandovian sequence s.l. can be related to the early Middle Pleistocene Cromerian Complex (Cromerian II Westerhoven and Cromerian III Rosmalen) and Marine Isotope Stages (MIS) 13-15.

Middle Pleistocene stratigraphy of the deposits in Za Hájovnou Cave (Javoříčko Karst, northern Moravia, Czech Republic)

Middle Pleistocene stratigraphy of the deposits in Za Hájovnou Cave (Javoříčko Karst, northern Moravia, Czech Republic)

Pollen-based vegetation and climate reconstruction of the Ferdynandovian sequence from Łuków (eastern Poland)

ABSTRACT Early middle Pleistocene deposits from Łukow, correlated with the Cromerian complex, represent rare bi-partite Ferdynandovian pollen sequence encompassing two interglacial warmings (F1 and F2) separated by F1/2 cooling/glaciation and related to MIS 15-13. The paper presents pollen-based palaeoecological and palaeoclimate investigations in which plant climate indicators were applied. Additionally modern pollen dataset from the Roztocze region was used to evaluate vegetation history in terms of forest communities and presence and abundance of tree taxa sensitive to air temperature and humidity. Climate changes derived from pollen data indicate strong oceanic features of the climate of the first interglacial (F1) resembling those typical for the beginning of the Eemian, followed by cooling (F 1/2) with plant communities typical of the Pleistocene steppetundra, which undoubtedly indicate strong continentality, and subsequent return of more oceanic climate (F2) with mean remperature of the warmest month exceeding 18°C. Both pollen succession and climate changes recorded in the Łukow sediments correlate well with other bi-partite successions known from eastern part of European Lowlands.

Pollen based quantitative climate reconstructions from the Middle Pleistocene sequences in Łuków and Zdany (E Poland): Species and modern analogues based approach

The aim of the study was to estimate the range of climate variability during the Ferdynandovian climatostratigraphic unit (MIS 13–15). The studied pollen sequences encompass two interglacials (Ferdynandovian I and II — F I and F II), the glaciation separating them (F I/II), the late glacial of the Sanian I (=Elsterian 1) and the early glacial of the Sanian II (=Elsterian 2) and are correlated with the Cromerian Complex in Western Europe. The modern analogue technique and plant indicator taxa method are applied to two high resolution pollen records (Zdany and Łuków-3a) from E Poland to infer total annual precipitation, mean annual temperature and temperatures of the warmest and the coldest months. The results of the two methods create a coherent picture of climate changes.The succession starts with steppe–tundra and boreal forests, reflecting a cool, late glacial continental climate and develops into widespread Ulmus and Quercus dominated communities, followed by Corylus expansion in warm (at least 18°C in July), oceanic conditions (~800–900mm annual precipitation) during the first interglacial optimum (F I). The cold, continental climate of the glaciation (F I/II) with annual precipitation of ~420mm and mean January temperature less than −12°C separated the two interglacials. The second interglacial (F II) characterized by Carpinus dominated forests was found to be warm (mean July temperature up to 19°C) but slightly less oceanic, which is consistent with the scarcity of indicators of a warm and humid climate. Principal components analysis (PCA) confirmed the distinctive climatic features of the two interglacials and showed that the cooling F I/II has palynological characteristics similar to the stadial/interstadial changes within the Sanian I and Sanian II glaciations.

The Early and early Middle Pleistocene context of human occupation and lowland glaciation in Britain and northern Europe

This paper reviews the stratigraphical and environmental contexts of early human occupation and lowland glaciation in Britain and northern Europe. It highlights the fragmentary nature of most of the critical sequences and the inadequacy of existing stratigraphical frameworks. The earliest archaeology known from NW Europe has been reported from Happisburgh 3, a site on the Norfolk coast. The flint artefacts from here were recovered from sediments previously assigned to the Pastonian Stage of the Early Pleistocene. However, the mammalian assemblage from Happisburgh 3 differs from other local sites attributed to the ‘Pastonian’, indicating a younger age within the Early Pleistocene. The sediments have reversed palaeomagnetic polarity and have palynological features inviting correlation with the Leerdam interglacial in the Dutch ‘Bavelian Complex’. The interglacials of the British ‘Cromerian Complex’ are compared and their archaeological record reviewed. At most of these sites, the archaeology includes hand-axes associated with a mammalian assemblage containing the water vole Arvicola but at Pakefield, Suffolk, a core-and-flake industry is associated with the ancestral Mimomys savini. This, together with the even older record from Happisburgh 3, indicates earlier periods of human occupation than previously known from NW Europe. At least five temperate episodes with distinct faunal assemblages are now recognized in the British early Middle Pleistocene but these are unlikely to equate directly with odd-numbered stages of the marine isotope record. This biostratigraphical framework conflicts with a ‘New glacial stratigraphy’ for East Anglia, which proposes glaciations during MIS 16, 12, 10 and 6. Evidence is reviewed from Sidestrand and Trimingham, where datable organic sediments occur directly beneath and above the Middle Pleistocene glacial succession, indicating that it was emplaced entirely during the Anglian glacial stage (MIS 12). A new stratigraphical framework is provided ranking British sites in order of relative age, which is then compared with a revised scheme for the Dutch late Early and early Middle Pleistocene succession. The revisions involve the relocation of the Waardenburg interglacial (‘Interglacial 1’) to the ‘Bavelian Complex’ and the use of the Brunhes-Matuyama palaeomagnetic reversal to define both the base of the Dutch ‘Cromerian Complex’ and the Early/Middle Pleistocene boundary. Moreover, following recent re-interpretation, the Noordbergum interglacial (‘Interglacial IV’) and ‘Glacial C’ are removed from the ‘Cromerian Complex’ and are correlated with MIS 11 and MIS 12 respectively. This scheme imposes greater consistency between the British and Dutch successions, as well as conformity with guidelines recommended by the International Stratigraphic Commission.

A Cromerian Complex palaeolake sediment sequence from the Zidini site, south-eastern Latvia

Abstract This study is based upon palaeobotanical reinvestigation of the Pleistocene deposit strata revealed by test drillings in the buried valley at the Zidini site, southeastern Latvia. Up to 100 m thick lake sediment strata covered by three different till layers have been found in three 120–171 m deep test drillings. New palynological and plant macroremain analysis for sediment samples from core No. 43 have been done. These results and data from the earlier investigations at Zidini were compared. Clearer insights into depositional environment and vegetation change during the accumulation of sediments in the palaeolake have been acquired. According to recent studies and correlation of obtained palaeobotanical data, the palaeolake sediments were accumulated from the Elsterian 1 Late Glacial, through the Cromerian Complex, including two interglacials (Cromer III and Cromer IV) separated by cooling of Glacial C and hiatuses. The upper part of the palaeolake sediment sequence accumulated during Elsterian 2 Early Glacial stadial and interstadial conditions.

The earliest occupation of north-west Europe: a coastal perspective

Recent discoveries from Pakefield and Happisburgh (Britain) have provided clear evidence for an unexpectedly early hominin occupation of north-west Europe. The sites, found in the deposits of interglacial rivers and estuaries on the southern rim of the ancient North Sea coast, span the older and younger parts of the ‘Cromerian Complex’ Stage. The older of these sites pre-date ∼0.5 Ma based on the presence of a Mimomys micromammal fauna, and may be as old as 0.78–1.0 Ma. On the European continent, stone artefacts unambiguously as old derive from the Mediterranean. The earliest archaeological evidence that has been discovered inland in Europe north of the Alps is associated with an Arvicola fauna (younger than ∼0.5 Ma), and was deposited in temperate conditions near rivers that flowed into the North Sea. Only after the ‘Cromerian Complex’ is there evidence for hominin activity in cooler conditions, and also in locations east of the Rhine valley. This spatial and temporal pattern in site distribution occurs despite the long history of research in north-west Europe and the presence of deposits of the same age from both the coast and rivers. This paper explores the idea that the changes in site distribution before and after the ‘Cromerian Complex’ signal that early hominin occupation in northern Europe during the earlier period was an ‘Atlantic’ phenomenon, i.e. restricted to the milder temperate climates in the coastal continental regions. Dispersal to more inland habitats originated in the coastal regions. The conditions explaining preservation of the oldest sites from a geological perspective are investigated, providing a geographical, climatological and habitat context for the wider surroundings of the sites. Because of differences in the potential for preserving archaeology in fluvial and coastal contexts, poor long-term preservation of coastal depositional contexts and low numbers of sites, it is difficult to disentangle the influence of hominin habitat preference (or even: tolerance) from habitat preservation. However, the hypothesis that the earliest hominins in Europe were restricted to the temperate Atlantic parts of Europe provides a testable framework for evaluating future archaeological discoveries, and makes it possible to formulate research strategies for locating new hominin occupation sites in Europe, especially its Atlantic regions.

A new Middle Pleistocene interglacial sequence from Måløv, Sjælland, Denmark

Interglacial deposits in Denmark have traditionally been referred to the Cromerian complex (Hareskovian), Holsteinian or Eemian stages. However, based on studies of sediment cores from the deep sea many more than three Quaternary interglacials have been documented, and in other parts of north-western Europe it is becoming increasingly clear that the on-shore Quaternary sequences are much more complex than previously believed. Interglacial deposits are characterised by plant and animal remains indicating longer periods with climatic conditions similar to or warmer than today, whereas interstadial deposits were formed during shorter time spans and usually contain remains of relatively cold-adapted, arctic or sub-arctic species. Interglacial and interstadial deposits can be dated more or less precisely, and thus provide information about the relative age of glacial deposits.

The West Runton Freshwater Bed and the West Runton Mammoth: Summary and conclusions

1. IntroductionThis paper aims to synthesize the main conclusions from thevariouscontributionstothisissuecoveringthepalaeoenvironment,palaeoclimate and age of the West Runton Freshwater Bed (WRFB),as well as the life and death of the West Runton Mammoth (WRM)itself.Selectedpreviousresearchisalsobrieflydiscussed.Thewealthand breadth of the available information for the WRFB is almostunprecedented for any Pleistocene site. Although there are somerelativelyminordifferencesininterpretation,forthemostpartthereis verygood agreement between the various lines of evidence.For completeness, several mammalian taxa not otherwiseconsidered in this volume are included in Table 1, which lists thecomplete vertebrate fauna so far recorded from the WRFB.2. Sediments and depositional environmentAsdiscussedbyGibbardetal.(2010),FieldandPeglar(2010)andMaul and Parfitt (2010), West (1980) described a composite vege-tational sequence pieced together from pollen and plant macro-fossil assemblages at several localities along the WRFB exposure.He distinguished a Beestonian late glacial cold assemblage (l Be) atthe base of the sequence, succeeded by a series of Cromeriantemperate/interglacial assemblages (pollen subzones Cr Ia, Cr Ib, CrIIa and Cr IIb, of the Cromerian Interglacial). Although the entiresequence is not present at any one place, and the depositsundoubtedly include hiatuses and some reworking (see Gibbardet al., 2010), the various phases of vegetational development ofthe first part of the Cromerian are represented. However, siltshigherinthecliffwestofWestRuntonGap,whichWestassignedtothe second half of the Cromerian interglacial, almost certainlybelong to a distinct, younger episode (Zagwijn, 1996; Preece andParfitt, 2000).Gibbard et al. (2010) consider that the WRFB sediments weredeposited in a fluvial valley-floor accumulation, at least 100 mwide, which trended west to east, sub-parallel to the modern cliffline. The internal sequence of the WRFB is highly complex andshows considerable lateral and vertical discontinuity of individualunits, representing widely varying rates of deposition and hiatusesduetonon-depositionand/orsubsequenterosion. The depositionalbasin was subject to episodes of flooding on the one hand andperiodic drying out on the other. Nevertheless, Gibbard et al.consider that as a whole the WRFB represents the late part of theBeestonian and the first half of the Cromerian interglacial, which isconsistent with the pollen sequence described byWest (1980). Thisinterpretation implies that the composite WRFB sequence spansseveral thousand years, although there was never continuity ofdeposition at any one location.According to Gibbard et al. deposition of theWRFB began duringthelate-glacial partof theBeestonian cold stage, infilling an unevengravel surface that was inherited from a pre-existing braided cold-climate stream, and continued into the first half of a temperate-climate, interglacial event (the Cromerian Stage s.s.). Initial activestreamchannelswerefollowedbylowerenergyconditionsinwhichfine-grained silt was deposited in standing water, punctuated byshort intermittent flood events which washed in sand, while localerosion of channel banks and floors also occurred. Subsequentdecreased flood intensity resulted in vertical accretion of fine-grained, organic, fossiliferous sediments in carbonate-rich springwater, followed by increased organic deposition that producedatransitiontoblackdetritalsediment.Run-offandriver-flowvelocitydiminished later as forest vegetation stabilised catchment andvalley-floor ground surfaces. The lower part of the WRFB wasdisturbed syndepositionally by water-release structures and bio-turbation by large mammals. The mollusc fauna (Preece, 2010) alsoindicates faster-flowing conditions at the base of the sequence.

The bird remains from the West Runton Freshwater Bed, Norfolk, England

The bird remains from the West Runton Freshwater Bed in Norfolk, England are described and identified taxonomically. Their significance to the palaeoenvironment of the deposits is discussed. The deposit is dominated by waterfowl such as ducks, geese, swans, a moorhen, a great cormorant, undetermined waders and a crane. Other birds include a thrush, starlings and small corvids. Among the large number of anatine remains there is a tarsometatarsus formerly identified as a distinct form of eider Somateria gravipes but which is now considered to belong to a diving duck but not in the eider genus Somateria. The taphonomic origins of the assemblage are discussed, as is the relationship of the West Runton fauna to those of other Cromerian Complex sites in Britain and Europe. The relatively early Pleistocene date for the assemblage prompts a discussion of the age of modern bird species as molecular biologists have recently questioned whether modern bird species have their origins in the Pleistocene or the Neogene.