New finding of the horse (Equus ferus germanicus Nehring, 1804) in the Upper Pleistocene loess at Stradonice near Nižbor
Abstract
Summary: A new fossiliferous Upper Pleistocene section located on slopes of the Berounka River valley was found at the village of
Stradonice (Beroun District, Czech Republic). The section (marked as A in the text below) lies approx. 35m above the present-day level of the river. It consists of prevailing mixed eolian-deluvial and eolian sediments with exposed thickness of 90cm. The finding includes fragments of a horse mandible (Equus ferus germanicus Nehring, 1804), rare mollusks (Pupilla muscorum, Pupilla triplicata, Helicopsis striata) and bones, and bone fragments of small vertebrates
(Microtus gregalis/arvalis, Microtus sp.). The collagen of horse bones yielded a calibrated radiocarbon age of 29 366-28 771 BC, chronologically fitting into the Marine Isotope Stage 3 (MIS 3), a period of variable climate prior to the onset of the Last Glacial
Maximum. A layer of brown-red soil with cubic to polyhedral structure which may belong to MIS 2 sits on the top of eolian deposits. The exposed section is covered by recent soil containing ceramic shards and animal bones coming from a period stretching from the Middle Ages until today (the oldest bone is 1 458-1 539 cal. AD). Another section (marked as B) lying at a distance of ca 20m from section A, and 4m higher, and close to the upper edge of the gorge, was identified. It consists of eolian-deluvial sediments also corresponding to MIS 3, and containing rare mollusks (Pupilla muscorum, Helicopsis striata) and seeds of yew (Taxus baccata).
The age of section A can in general be compared to the occurrence of macrofauna found in nearby locality at Hýskov
(2km downstream), located at a similar height above the current river level. On the contrary, the section at Karlštejn-Altán (17km downstream), developed at the same level, is apparently much older
(probably MIS 9-7), and its lithology is also markedly different.