Geoarchaeology of Upper Palaeolithic loess sites located within a transect through Moravian valleys, Czech Republic
Abstract
The Middle and Upper Palaeolithic sites situated within the system of Moravian and South Silesian valleys are key localities for understanding the patterns of seasonal mobility that enabled humans to exploit the North European Plain, and a possibility to distinguish the importance of the weather and climate for their subsistence practises. Loess accumulations that have covered the best preserved open air Palaeolithic sites in Central Europe display the climatic record covering at least 30,000 years.
The sedimentological, microstratigraphical and geochemical record of three studied Upper Palaeolithic loess sites show significant changes, documenting increased precipitation towards the north. A progressive coarsening of the loess deposits during the Upper Pleniglacial, contrasting with the progressive fining toward the North European glaciation was detected.
This methodological approach explains more precisely the context of formation processes connected also with human activity within the corridor between the North European Plain and the Danube Basin, through which a wide range of organisms, including humans and their prey species, were channelled.