Correlation between Loess profiles on the basis of mineralogical, malacological, and anthropogenic indicators

A case study from Moravany-Lopata, western Slovakia

Bibliographic Data

ID12133385
AuthorsM Pawlikowski (0000-0001-8604-7552, Institute of Metallurgy and Materials Science, corresponding author), Stefan Witold Alexandrowicz (0000-0002-5403-6696, Institute of Metallurgy and Materials Science), Witold P Alexandrowicz, Ladislav Bánesz (Institute of Archaeology of the Slovak Academy of Sciences), Josef Hromada (Institute of Archaeology of the Slovak Academy of Sciences), Janusz K Kozłowski, Krzysztof Sobczyk, Barbara Kazior
Year1998
Volume13
Issue6
Pages565-594
Publication date1998-08-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueGeoarchaeology (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0883-6353 • E-ISSN: 1520-6548
PublisherWiley (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1002/(sici)1520-6548(199808)13:6<565::aid-gea3>3.0.co;2-x
OpenAlexW2044004712
LanguageEN
Citations received5
References cited2

Moravany-Lopata, located in the complex of sites in the middle Vah basin, dates to the period immediately preceding the LGM. The authors use this site to demonstrate the usefulness of mineralogical, sedimentological, palaeomalacological, and anthropogenic criteria for the correlation of loess profiles. This analysis is especially concerned with sites in loess territories where the loess layers covering archaeological levels are not thick. Such sites occur frequently on the plateaus of the northern part of Central Europe, though they appear most notably in the areas in which the last loess cover, corresponding to the period after the last Pleniglacial and/or Late Glacial postloess sediments, is absent. The archaeological levels dated to before or directly after the LGM occur in the upper portion of the loess, overlain by the Holocene soil. The investigations at the Moravany-Lopata site have confirmed the usefulness of the anthropogenic indicators in the 0.1–1.0 mm fraction for the identification of occupation levels extending even beyond the area of occurrence of macrofinds and evident type structures. On this basis, a relationship could be established between two occupational levels and two ice-wedge generations in the period from 21.4 to 20 ky. Gravettian settlement in western Slovakia seems to have persisted up to the maximum of the LGM. Population groups representing the end of the shouldered points horizon (pointes à cran) appeared in western Slovakia in the intervals between the formation of large networks of ice wedges. The next settlement phase in that territory falls at about 18–17 ky B.P. This is the Epigravettian settlement, which is culturally unrelated to the shouldered points horizon. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Inc

Archaeology · Geography · Geomorphology · Holocene · Last Glacial Maximum · Loess · Period (music · Physical geography · Population · Structural basin · Ancient and Medieval Archaeology Studies · Historical and Archaeological Studies · Image Processing and 3D Reconstruction · Geology · Paleontology

Tools

Open DOISci-Hub