Palaeoenvironmental analyses of animal remains from the Kůlna Cave (Moravian Karst, Czech Republic)

0440788 - ARÚB 2015 RIV DE eng J - Článek v odborném periodiku
Nerudová, Z. - Nývltová Fišáková, Miriam - Míková, J.
Palaeoenvironmental analyses of animal remains from the Kůlna Cave (Moravian Karst, Czech Republic).
Quartär. Roč. 61, listopad (2014), s. 147-157. ISSN 0375-7471
Institucionální podpora: RVO:68081758
Klíčová slova: Micoquian * Magdalenian * Epi-Magdalenian * seasonality analyses * 13C/12C * 15N/14N * 87Sr/86Sr
Obor OECD: Archaeology
http://www.quartaer.eu/pdfs/2014/2014_08_nerudova.pdf

The excavations in the Kůlna Cave yielded a quantity of archaeological finds dating from MIS 6 to MIS 2, these represent an extraordinary information potential for the reconstruction of human behaviour in the context of the natural environment from the Middle Pleistocene to the beginning of the Holocene. Apart from the reconstruction of human activities that were under way in the cave, e.g. through GIS applications, the researchers analysed the seasonality and migration of the preserved fauna. The results show that at various periods of time the cave served different purposes, while during the Magdalenian (layer 5) it was occupied in spring, during the Upper Micoquian (layers 6a, 6b) it was a spring and autumn seasonal settlement, and during the Lower Micoquian (layer 7a) it was inhabited from autumn to spring. We propose that the function of the cave gradually changed from an overwintering location in the Lower Micoquian (layer 7a) to a seasonal settlement locality (Upper Micoquian, Magdalenian). Strontium analyses have shown that the majority of the studied animal individuals came from the nearby surrounding area of the cave, most likely the Moravian Karst area, with the exception of two animals with values from beyond the karst region. From this we deduce that not only Neanderthals, but later on also Anatomically Modern Humans took advantage of the location of the cave at the boundary between two different ecosystems, i.e. an open landscape and the karst area, in their hunting strategies. The humans who occupied the cave at different periods made use of different biotopes to provide themselves with supplies. The ratios of C and N isotopes correlate with changes in the character of the natural environment of archaeological layers 7a - 4 and render more precise the information previously acquired by malacological and other faunal analyses.
Trvalý link: http://hdl.handle.net/11104/0243872