Supervisor: Frank LehmkuhlCo-Supervisor: Helmut BrücknerDissertation online: 10.18154/RWTH-2018-01253
The presented doctoral dissertation uses luminescence dating techniques to
reconstruct the paleoenvironmental and paleoclimatic conditions in the
middle and lower Danube catchments, especially during the period of
anatomically modern humans' emergence in Europe. The thesis is embedded in
the CRC806 “Our Way to Europe” project. To increase one's understanding of the
environmental and climatic conditions during the last 150 ka, four
loess-paleosol sequences (LPS) and one fluvial section were investigated (Fig. 1).
The research area is located at the junction of Atlantic, Mediterranean and
continental climatic regimes, which makes it sensitive to climatic changes.
Moreover, the geographical position between Asia, Near East and Central
Europe and the vast river network connecting these regions make the area a
favorable pathway for anatomically modern human migration. The sediments of
the five investigated sites cover various time frames from the penultimate
interglacial to the Holocene. The methodological approach focused on
optically stimulated luminescence dating, but for some of the sections the
geochronological methods were combined with physical, biological and
geochemical proxy data to reconstruct the paleoenvironmental conditions.
The map shows the location of the investigated sections,
Aurignacian findspots (only middle Danube basin; Hauck et al., 2017), the LGM glacial
extent (Ehlers et al., 2011) and dry continental shelf (Willmes, 2015), and
the elevation (credit: AW3D30, JAXA).
In the middle Danube basin three sites were investigated. The Ságvár
LPS is located in the central basin and its sediments accumulated during the
last glacial maximum (LGM) from approximately 25–17 ka (Bösken et al.,
2018). The sequence can be correlated to two Gravettian occupation layers.
Paleoenvironmental conditions changed rapidly and Gravettian occupation took
place during a typically cold LGM phase. This shows that environmental
conditions were not uniform during MIS 2 and that paleoenvironmental changes
can be observed even on short (millennial) timescales within rather pure
loess formation.
The Bodrogkeresztúr LPS is located in the foothills of the Carpathians
in the northern edge of the basin. Its sediments accumulated between
33.5±2.5 and 28.0±2.1 ka, and the site is characterized by a
well-developed MIS 3 paleosol indicating humid paleoclimatic conditions
(Bösken et al., 2019). Also during loess deposition, relatively mild
paleoclimatic conditions prevailed. Measurements of the anisotropy of the
magnetic susceptibility revealed that the loess likely originated from the
Tisza floodplain from a northeastern wind direction. The findings highlight
the unique microclimatic conditions at the foothills of the Carpathians,
which may have offered a favorable environment for Upper Paleolithic
populations.
The Crvenka-At site contains fluvial sediments and Aurignacian artifacts
that were found in sediments with an age between 41.3±3.6 and
33.9±2.9 ka. This age range fits well with other dated Aurignacian
findings in the Banat region, points to a more widespread occurrence of
anatomically modern humans than previously thought and shows that also
lowland areas were attractive for occupation.
Further south, the Stalać section is located in the interior of the
Central Balkan region, in a zone of paleoclimatic shifts between continental
and Mediterranean climate regimes. A firm chronology framing the last two
glacial cycles was established (Bösken et al., 2017a). The lowermost
paleosol (MIS 7) was characterized by stronger weathering indicating more
humid and warmer paleoenvironmental conditions. The paleoclimate likely
changed from a Mediterranean influence to more continental conditions with a
trend of decreasing precipitation. During MIS 5 and MIS 3 similar climatic
conditions prevailed, which is shown by the formation of three Kastanozems.
Further paleoenvironmental analysis was conducted in Obreht et al. (2016).
Finally, the Urluia LPS in the lower Danube basin was investigated. The
section was dated from 144.9±12.2 to 21.0±1.6 ka. While the
chronology of the upper 7 m of the section is supported by independent age
control in form of the Campanian Ignimbrite/Y-5 tephra, the lower part of
the sequence remains less well constrained. A rapid increase in ages between
∼7 and 9 m is followed by rather constant ages >130 ka in the lower 7 m of the profile. These ages are in contrast with the
correlation of a well-developed paleosol at the bottom of the section to MIS 5. Several hypothesis trying to explain these findings were explored but
could not be solved satisfactorily. A first paleoenvironmental study is
presented by Obreht et al. (2017).
The doctoral dissertation demonstrates that a detailed investigation is
necessary in order to build robust age models. Luminescence signal (fading)
and saturation characteristics need to be examined next to the usual applied
tests, especially for minerals with high doses. The investigations at Urluia
and Stalać demonstrated that, while it is possible to date polymineral
samples with higher doses than quartz samples, it remains unclear up to
which dose range age estimates are reliable. Another important aspect is the
discrepancy between measured values of α efficiency (a value) and
used literature values. A new a value for pIRIR290 protocols was
suggested in another publication that includes data measured for this
dissertation (Schmidt et al., 2018).
Overall, this doctoral dissertation highlights the importance of
luminescence dating in paleoenvironmental and geoarchaeological studies. It
demonstrates how the combination of multiple proxy data enhances the
paleoenvironmental interpretations and identifies remaining challenges. The
paleoclimatic dynamics in the research area at the junction of Atlantic,
Mediterranean and continental climatic regimes are discussed. Finally,
paleoenvironmental conditions during phases of Upper Paleolithic occupation
were equally diverse, highlighting anatomically modern humans' ability to
adapt to changing paleoenvironments.
Data availability
The research data of this dissertation are available within the appendix and the supplementary materials of Bösken et al. (2017a, 2018, 2019). Further data from the Ságvár LPS can be accessed at 10.1594/PANGAEA.868360 (Bösken et al., 2016a), 10.1594/PANGAEA.868361 (Bösken et al., 2016b), 10.1594/PANGAEA.868362 (Bösken et al., 2016c), 10.1594/PANGAEA.868363 (Bösken et al., 2016d), 10.1594/PANGAEA.868364 (Bösken et al., 2016e), 10.1594/PANGAEA.868365 (Bösken et al., 2016f), 10.1594/PANGAEA.868368 (Bösken et al., 2016g), 10.1594/PANGAEA.879801 (Bösken et al., 2017b), and 10.1594/PANGAEA.879802 (Bösken et al., 2017c).
Competing interests
The author declares that there is no conflict of interest.
Acknowledgements
The dissertation was carried out in the CRC806 “Our way to Europe” project, funded
by the German Research Foundation (DFG, grant no. 57444011).
Financial support
This research has been supported by the DFG (SFB 806, grant no. 57444011).The article processing charge was funded by the Quaternary scientific community, as represented by the host institution of EGQSJ, the German Quaternary Association (DEUQUA).
Review statement
This paper was edited by Christopher Lüthgens and reviewed by one anonymous referee.
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