The vegetation of the Gravettian in eastern Central Europe. A review of current knowledge and the contribution of new findings
Abstrakt
Since its rapid development in the 1920s, pollen analysis has become the main source of knowledge regarding the vegetation of Quaternary environments. Pollen is well preserved under different situations and its analysis can be a rather robust technique, as it provides large data sets (tens of thousands of pollen grains are found within one cubic centimetre of sediment).
On the other hand, reservations are often expressed as to the representative depiction of rare species, and the use of this method in palaeogeographical reconstruction. Plants that produce a small amount of pollen (insect- pollinated species, those not flowering for some reason or those with a low population density) are difficult to detect amongst highly-productive species.
In addition, pollen can be spread over long distances. For example, if, in a sample from the Last Glacial Maximum, we find pollen grains of termophilous plants - as quite regularly happens (see below) - it is correct to assume that such pollen might have been wind-transported from distant, more favourable locations.
The other possibility is that the pollen may have been reworked from sediments deposited in previous warmer periods in which case it is likely due to the high intensity of re-deposition under periglacial conditions. Compared to pollen finds, we encounter a somewhat better situation when using macroscopic charcoal pieces and other kinds of plant macrofossils.
In this case, long-distance transport is less likely to occur and re-deposition from older sediment layers can be filtered out by direct radiocarbon dating as samples from the Last Glacial period with which we are concerned here, lie within the range of radiocarbon dating. The fossil charcoal is frequently found in soils and loess with no or only poor pollen preservation.
Therefore charcoal analysis can be used to enhance the interpretation of other archaeological on-site records and may also provide independent ecological and palaeoclimatic information.