Multidisciplinary research at Švédův Stůl Cave in the Moravian Karst

0534862 - ARÚB 2021 DE eng A - Abstrakt
Mlejnek, O. - Nejman, L. - Nývltová Fišáková, Miriam - Škrdla, Petr - Lisá, Lenka
Multidisciplinary research at Švédův Stůl Cave in the Moravian Karst.
Back to the Gravettian. 62nd Conference of the Hugo Obermaier-Society, April 14th-18th 2020, Brno. Erlangen: Hugo Obermaier-Gesellschaft für Erforschung des Eiszeitalters und der Steinzeit e.V., 2020 - (Maaß, U.). s. 69-70. ISBN 978-3-946387-26-8
Institucionální podpora: RVO:68081758 ; RVO:67985831
Klíčová slova: excavations * Middle Palaeolithic * Švédův Stůl Cave * Moravian Karst
Obor OECD: Archaeology; Archaeology (GLU-S)
http://obermaier-gesellschaft.de/en/2020_brno/conference_proceedings_2020.pdf

This contribution introduces a Czech-Australian project re-excavating Švédův Stůl Cave in the southern part of the Moravian Karst (Czech Republic). This cave became well-known after the so-called Ochoz Neanderthal mandible (Unterkiefer von Ochos) was discovered there in 1905 by student Karl Kubasek and was published the following year by Brno professor Anton Rzehak. Martin Kříž conducted excavations inside the cave in 1886-1887 and Bohuslav Klíma in 1953-1955. We were recently able to examine Klíma‘s original documentation and this has helped our interpretations. The biologist Jaromír Vaňura conducted more research in this cave and his daughter discovered a Neanderthal molar in the discarded sediment outside the cave. On 28. 8. - 13. 9. 2019 we conducted a new excavation outside the cave entrance. One test pit targetted the spoil heap from previous excavations and a second test pit extending from the cave entrance towards the spoil heap targetted an area of possible intact sediments. All sediments were wet-sieved using 2 mm sieves. It is clear that the the previous excavations did not remove all of the intact sediments outside the cave. Devonian limestones were subject to intense erosion, which has resulted in the formation of Neogene sands and relicts have been preserved. Quaternary sediments were deposited on top, probably mainly during MIS3 and the LGM. The stratigraphy outside the cave entrance is complex because it has been impacted by sedimentation from the sedimentary cone at the cave entrance. Further analyses will be conducted on the cultural layers with OSL playing a key role. Remains of glacial fauna in these layers confi rm our expectation that these layers were probably deposited during the last glacial period. Faunal taxa include cave bear, woolly rhino, horse, wolf, bison, polar fox, red fox, cave lion, cave hyena, reindeer, red deer, polar hare, common hare and auroch. A large number of bones have also
been recovered from the excavation of the spoil heap, but these have not been analyzed yet. Analysis of microfauna has not been completed. Human remains have not been identified as yet. Other fi nds include stone artefacts with some backed blades that can be classifi ed as Magdalenian. Several large stone tools can be considered Middle Palaeolithic. An interesting fi nd is an intentionally engraved fragment of limestone, which may represent a ‚cutting board‘, or a symbolic engraved object. The fi eld research will continue for the next two years. One goal is to wet-sieve the maximum amount of spoil heap sediments, and also to find Neandetrhal remains that may have been missed during the original excavations and accidentally discarded. Such remains could be analysed in detail using modern anthropological and genetic methods. Another goal will be detailed excavation and analysis of intact sediments outside the cave entrance. Some samples have already been collected from these sediments for geoarchaeological (micromorphology, geochemistry), OSL dating, and sediment DNA analysis. In the future, we plan to extend the excavation of intact sediments, collect more samples for analyses and OSL dating and date tooth enamel using ESR. More information will be provided about this research in upcoming years.
Trvalý link: http://hdl.handle.net/11104/0318724