Abstract
Modern Czech research of Mesolithic settlements in pseudo-karst rock shelters started in 1950, with the work of F. Prošek and V.
Ložek at Zátyní (Prošek, Ložek 1952). This was the first time the Mesolithic had been identified in an excavation in the Czech Republic.
The material from this site has now been dated. Mesolithic settlement in the Český ráj (Bohemian Paradise) region was identified only in connection with the extensive excavations carried out by J.
Svoboda (2003; 2007). Since then the number of sites has been increasing and an important set of radiocarbon data have been obtained which complements an extensive set of radiocarbon data from the regions of Českosaské Švýcarsko and Česká Lípa.
The dataset from Český ráj includes samples from two layers of the Mesolithic settlement. The Lower Mesolithic (8300-6500 BC) was identified from six samples taken from five sites, while eight samples from three other sites were identified as Upper Mesolithic (6500-5500 BC).
No Mesolithic settlement between 9300-8300 BC has yet been identified, but we assume it will be found underlying the hori- zons of dated samples in some sites. The most comprehensive stratigraphy, and a series of radiocarbon dates, came from a small 3 sq. m trench, at Kristova Cave, where three overlapping charcoal lenses of fireplaces were successfully dated to within a short 700 year time span (distance of two means of limiting 14c values).