Articles | Volume 69, issue 2
https://doi.org/10.5194/egqsj-69-247-2020
© Author(s) 2020. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
https://doi.org/10.5194/egqsj-69-247-2020
© Author(s) 2020. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Research article
| 
14 Dec 2020
Research article |
| 14 Dec 2020
| 14 Dec 2020
Snail assemblages in Holocene floodplain research – an example from the southern Caucasus
Hans von Suchodoletz
CORRESPONDING AUTHOR
Institute of Geography, Leipzig University, Johannisallee 19a, 04103 Leipzig, Germany
Christiane Richter
Institute of Geography, Technische Universität Dresden,
Helmholtzstrasse 10, 01069 Dresden, Germany
Frank Walther
Zoological Museum, Universität Hamburg, Martin-Luther-King-Platz 3, 20146 Hamburg, Germany
Marcel Bliedtner
Institute of Geography, Friedrich Schiller University Jena,
Löbdergraben 32, 07743 Jena, Germany
Mariam Eloshvili
Bioarchaeology Department, University of Warsaw, Krakowskie
Przedmieście 26/28, 00-927 Warsaw, Poland
Levan Losaberidze
Society of Young Archaeologists of Georgia, Kipiani 4, 0119
Tbilisi, Georgia
Bernhard Hausdorf
Zoological Museum, Universität Hamburg, Martin-Luther-King-Platz 3, 20146 Hamburg, Germany
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E&G Quaternary Sci. J., 72, 185–187, https://doi.org/10.5194/egqsj-72-185-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/egqsj-72-185-2023, 2023
Azra Khosravichenar, Morteza Fattahi, Alireza Karimi, Hassan Fazeli Nashli, and Hans von Suchodoletz
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This article discusses the first basic framework of Quaternary landscape evolution in a main large river valley of the drylands of northeastern Iran and the first geomorphic frame for human migrations in the important migration corridor of central Asia.
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This study investigates the age and origin of leaf wax n-alkanes from a fluvial sediment–paleosol sequence (FSPS) by compound-class 14C dating. Our results show varying age offsets between the formation and sedimentation of leaf wax n-alkanes from well-developed (paleo)soils and fluvial sediments that are mostly due to their complex origin in such sequences. Thus, dating the leaf wax n-alkanes is an important step for more robust leaf-wax-based paleoenvironmental reconstructions in FSPSs.
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Hans von Suchodoletz, Stefanie Berg, Eileen Eckmeier, Lukas Werther, and Christoph Zielhofer
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It was possible to define the turning point from extremely clayey and organic- rich sedimentation in the Early and Middle Holocene towards the deposition of coarser-grained and less organic overbank fines in the lower Pleiße valley near Leipzig, NW Saxony. This change occurred between 4000 and 3300 BCE more than 1000 years after the beginning of Early Neolithic settlement and was obviously linked with land clearance by the first farmers.
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The study of past environmental changes and their effects on cultures provides key information to reconstruct human–environmental interactions and model how climate change affects cultures and possible avenues of future adaptation. The Shiraki Plain is an uninhabited plain largely devoid of water resources. However, traces of extensive Bronze Age civilization with complex social organization were revealed, featuring the typology of settlements, their ages, and spatial planning.
Sudip Acharya, Maximilian Prochnow, Thomas Kasper, Linda Langhans, Peter Frenzel, Paul Strobel, Marcel Bliedtner, Gerhard Daut, Christopher Berndt, Sönke Szidat, Gary Salazar, Antje Schwalb, and Roland Zech
E&G Quaternary Sci. J., 72, 219–234, https://doi.org/10.5194/egqsj-72-219-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/egqsj-72-219-2023, 2023
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Julia Meister, Hans von Suchodoletz, and Christian Zeeden
E&G Quaternary Sci. J., 72, 185–187, https://doi.org/10.5194/egqsj-72-185-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/egqsj-72-185-2023, 2023
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We reconstructed a wetland environment for a late Middle to Upper Pleniglacial (approx. 30–20 ka) loess sequence in western Germany. Typically, these sequences reveal terrestrial conditions with soil formation processes during this time frame. The here-investigated section, however, was influenced by periodical flooding, leading to marshy conditions and a stressed ecosystem. Our results show that the landscape of the study area was much more fragmented during this time than previously thought.
Paul Strobel, Marcel Bliedtner, Andrew S. Carr, Peter Frenzel, Björn Klaes, Gary Salazar, Julian Struck, Sönke Szidat, Roland Zech, and Torsten Haberzettl
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Johannes Hepp, Imke Kathrin Schäfer, Verena Lanny, Jörg Franke, Marcel Bliedtner, Kazimierz Rozanski, Bruno Glaser, Michael Zech, Timothy Ian Eglinton, and Roland Zech
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Biogeosciences, 17, 567–580, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-17-567-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-17-567-2020, 2020
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We present leaf wax n-alkanes and their compound-specific (CS) δ13C isotopes from semi-arid and/or arid Mongolia to test their potential for paleoenvironmental reconstructions. Plants and topsoils were analysed and checked for climatic control. Chain-length variations are distinct between grasses and Caragana, which are not biased by climate. However CS δ13C is strongly correlated to climate, so n-alkanes and their CS δ13C show great potential for paleoenvironmental reconstruction in Mongolia.
Christopher Lüthgens, Daniela Sauer, Michael Zech, Becky Briant, Eleanor Brown, Elisabeth Dietze, Markus Fuchs, Nicole Klasen, Sven Lukas, Jan-Hendrik May, Julia Meister, Tony Reimann, Gilles Rixhon, Zsófia Ruszkiczay-Rüdiger, Bernhard Salcher, Tobias Sprafke, Ingmar Unkel, Hans von Suchodoletz, and Christian Zeeden
E&G Quaternary Sci. J., 68, 243–244, https://doi.org/10.5194/egqsj-68-243-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/egqsj-68-243-2020, 2020
Hans von Suchodoletz, Stefanie Berg, Eileen Eckmeier, Lukas Werther, and Christoph Zielhofer
E&G Quaternary Sci. J., 68, 237–240, https://doi.org/10.5194/egqsj-68-237-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/egqsj-68-237-2020, 2020
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In this editorial, we give a short state of the art of geoarchaeology, including recent advancements and challenges, and shortly present the seven contributions to our special issue.
Christian Tinapp, Susann Heinrich, Christoph Herbig, Birgit Schneider, Harald Stäuble, Jan Miera, and Hans von Suchodoletz
E&G Quaternary Sci. J., 68, 95–105, https://doi.org/10.5194/egqsj-68-95-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/egqsj-68-95-2019, 2019
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It was possible to define the turning point from extremely clayey and organic- rich sedimentation in the Early and Middle Holocene towards the deposition of coarser-grained and less organic overbank fines in the lower Pleiße valley near Leipzig, NW Saxony. This change occurred between 4000 and 3300 BCE more than 1000 years after the beginning of Early Neolithic settlement and was obviously linked with land clearance by the first farmers.
Johannes Hepp, Lorenz Wüthrich, Tobias Bromm, Marcel Bliedtner, Imke Kathrin Schäfer, Bruno Glaser, Kazimierz Rozanski, Frank Sirocko, Roland Zech, and Michael Zech
Clim. Past, 15, 713–733, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-15-713-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-15-713-2019, 2019
Marcel Bliedtner, Imke K. Schäfer, Roland Zech, and Hans von Suchodoletz
Biogeosciences, 15, 3927–3936, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-15-3927-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-15-3927-2018, 2018
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In this study, we systematically analyze leaf wax derived n-alkane patterns in eastern Georgia to test their potential for paleoenvironmental reconstructions in the semi-humid to semi-arid central southern Caucasus region. We investigated the influence of vegetation types on the leaf wax signal in modern plants and topsoil material. Our results show distinct and systematic differences in the n-alkane patterns between vegetation types and prove their potential for vegetation reconstructions.
Related subject area
Paleo-ecology
Holocene forest and land-use history of the Erzgebirge, central Europe: a review of palynological data
A tribute to Ložek (1965): The problem of loess formation and the loess molluscs
A tribute to Menke (1970): Results of pollen analysis on the Pleistocene stratigraphy and the Pliocene–Pleistocene boundary in Schleswig-Holstein
Knut Kaiser, Martin Theuerkauf, and Falk Hieke
E&G Quaternary Sci. J., 72, 127–161, https://doi.org/10.5194/egqsj-72-127-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/egqsj-72-127-2023, 2023
Short summary
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The ongoing ecological conversion of mountain forests in the Erzgebirge conceptually also requires a historical perspective on the very long-term vegetation and land-use dynamics. We collected and evaluated 121 pollen diagrams. Pollen indications of a local prehistoric human impact also in the higher altitudes find archaeological parallels in the region. The pollen data show that immediately before the medieval clearing, forests were mainly dominated by beech and fir and complemented by spruce.
Denis-Didier Rousseau
E&G Quaternary Sci. J., 70, 229–233, https://doi.org/10.5194/egqsj-70-229-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/egqsj-70-229-2021, 2021
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A year after his doctoral thesis, Ložek chose to share with the international community not only his vision but also the one that the Czechoslovakian researchers working on loess deposits had at that time, through a paper published in the well-established E&G journal. It represented a detailed and complete state of the art of loess and mollusc studies at that time, an extraordinarily synthetic review that still yields a modern flavor as many of the points made remain relevant today.
Roberta Pini
E&G Quaternary Sci. J., 70, 239–242, https://doi.org/10.5194/egqsj-70-239-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/egqsj-70-239-2021, 2021
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Menke (1970) presented a clear overview of the state of the art of Pleistocene stratigraphy for Schleswig-Holstein. After 50 years, a reconsideration of the original paper is needed to check if statements are still valid. Four issues were selected and reconsidered in the light of research progress made in the past decades.
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Short summary
We studied snails from Holocene river sediments of the upper Alazani River in the southeastern Caucasus. Since no natural floodplain forests existed in the river valley until ca. 4500 years ago, our snail data confirm a formerly suggested regional settlement center from the ca. 8000 years unknown thus far. Furthermore, increasing proportions of water-related snails for ca. 4000 years indicate a shift of the river course possibly linked with the formation of the Greater Caucasus.
We studied snails from Holocene river sediments of the upper Alazani River in the southeastern...
