I earned my PhD at the University of Tübingen (Germany), working under the supervision of Prof. Chris Miller and Prof. Nick Conard. My doctoral research focused on the reconstruction of landscape changes in the Ach and Lone valleys around the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM, 24.000-20.000 14C BP) and the impact of these changes on the preservation of Late Pleistocene deposits within the karst system of this region. After completing my PhD, I applied for and received an Innovation Grant from the University of Tübingen. This type of grant helps young researchers to develop their PhD research into a small cultural or commercial product. Thanks to this funding I designed and built an innovative, interactive museum exhibit to share my PhD research with the general public. Since May 2019 I am Post-doc at the Interdisciplinary Center for Archaeology and Evolution of Human Behaviour (ICArEHB) at the University of Faro, working with Dr. Vera Aldeias and Dr. Nuno Bicho. Currently, I am working on projects focusing on sedimentation and population dynamics during the Middle to Upper Paleolithic transition LGM in Portugal and Germany. Supervisors: Nuno Bicho and Vera Aldeias
Accomplishing long-term plans to harvest and modify natural resources has been a crucial skill fo... more Accomplishing long-term plans to harvest and modify natural resources has been a crucial skill for the survival of our species since early Prehistory. Research on this first step of production mostly focuses on the provenience study of lithic artifacts uncovered at archaeological sites, using petrographic and geochemical analyses to correlate the artifacts with potential geological outcrops. Although fundamental for understanding key aspects of landscape use and mobility, regional raw material economy, and extraction technology, Palaeolithic raw material sources have been less intensively investigated, as they are often difficult to locate and challenging to tackle with traditional archaeological approaches. Lojanik in the Central Balkans is one of the largest Prehistoric quarrying areas known in Europe, showing numerous lithic raw material outcrops exploited from the Middle Palaeolithic to the Chalcolithic periods, over an area of 18 hectares. In this paper, we present the results ...
Mwanganda's Village (MGD) and Bruce (BRU) are two open-air site complexes in northern Mal... more Mwanganda's Village (MGD) and Bruce (BRU) are two open-air site complexes in northern Malawi with deposits dating to between 15 and 58 thousand years ago (ka) and containing Middle Stone Age (MSA) lithic assemblages. The sites have been known since 1966 and 1965, respectively, but lacked chronometric and site formation data necessary for their interpretation. The area hosts a rich stone artifact record, eroding from and found within alluvial fan deposits exhibiting poor preservation of organic materials. Although this generally limits opportunities for site-based environmental reconstructions, MGD and BRU are located at the distal margins of the alluvial fan, where lacustrine lagoonal deposits were overprinted by a calcrete paleosol. This has created locally improved organic preservation and allowed us to obtain ecological data from pollen, phytoliths, and pedogenic carbonates, producing a regional- to site-scale environmental context for periods of site use and abandonment. Here, we integrate the ecological data into a detailed site formation history, based on field observations and micromorphology, supplemented by cathodoluminescence microscopy and μ-XRF. By comparing local, on-site environmental proxies with more regional indicators, we can better evaluate how MSA hunter-gatherers made decisions about the use of resources across the landscape. Our data indicate that while tree cover similar to modern miombo woodland and evergreen gallery forest prevailed at most times, MSA hunter-gatherers chose more locally open environments for activities that resulted in a lithic artifact record at multiple locations between 51 and 15 ka.
Mwanganda's Village (MGD) and Bruce (BRU) are two open-air site complexes in northern Malawi with... more Mwanganda's Village (MGD) and Bruce (BRU) are two open-air site complexes in northern Malawi with deposits dating to between 15 and 58 thousand years ago (ka) and containing Middle Stone Age (MSA) lithic assemblages. The sites have been known since 1966 and 1965, respectively, but lacked chronometric and site formation data necessary for their interpretation. The area hosts a rich stone artifact record, eroding from and found within alluvial fan deposits exhibiting poor preservation of organic materials. Although this generally limits opportunities for site-based environmental reconstructions, MGD and BRU are located at the distal margins of the alluvial fan, where lacustrine lagoonal deposits were overprinted by a calcrete paleosol. This has created locally improved organic preservation and allowed us to obtain ecological data from pollen, phytoliths, and pedogenic carbonates, producing a regional- to site-scale environmental context for periods of site use and abandonment. Here, we integrate the ecological data into a detailed site formation history, based on field observations and micromorphology, supplemented by cathodoluminescence microscopy and m-XRF. By comparing local, on-site environmental proxies with more regional indicators, we can better evaluate how MSA hunter-gatherers made decisions about the use of resources across the landscape. Our data indicate that while tree cover similar to modern miombo woodland and evergreen gallery forest prevailed at most times, MSA hunter-gatherers chose more locally open environments for activities that resulted in a lithic artifact record at multiple locations between 51 and 15 ka.
In the Swabian Jura (Southwest Germany) the Ach and Lone valleys host a number of cave sites, whi... more In the Swabian Jura (Southwest Germany) the Ach and Lone valleys host a number of cave sites, which have been repeatedly occupied by groups of hominins since at least the last interglacial. From the excavation of these Prehistoric cave deposits generations of archaeologists have discovered deep sequences and spectacular finds that help to illuminate the evolution of our species and the extinction of Neanderthals. The current understanding of the relationship between caves, cave deposits, human occupation and landscape evolution in the Ach and Lone valleys relies on data coming almost exclusively from cave sites and rockshelters. Conversely, the few geological studies that focused on the geomorphological evolution of the Ach and Lone valleys were mostly designed to answer questions unrelated to the study of the human occupation of this region. This dissertation intends to bridge the gap existing (not only in the Ach and Lone valleys) between the micromorphological analysis of cave deposits and the study of the paleolandscape. To this end, we investigated the deposits accumulated inside the cave site of Hohlenstein-Stadel (in the Lone Valley) with micromorphological analysis and FTIR methods. Additionally we studied the sediment archives preserved in the Ach and Lone valleys by means of auggering, deeper coring, geophysics, micromorphology, FTIR and 14C dating. By integrating our results with previous studies we have been able to evaluate the impact of landscape and environmental changes on the sedimentary and diagenetical processes that occurred inside the cave sites of this region. Our findings carry significant implications for models used to explain the arrival of early modern humans in the Swabian Jura and the human depopulation that this region seem to have experienced around the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM). Previous studies have argued that the early Aurignacian deposits at the sites of Hohle Fels and Geißenklösterle are characterized by deposition of fresh loess, less intensive phosphatization, and the forma [...]
The use of mineral pigments, specifically iron-oxide rich mineral pigments called ochre, has been... more The use of mineral pigments, specifically iron-oxide rich mineral pigments called ochre, has been put forward as a key element in the development of symbolic and non-utilitarian behaviors in human evolution. However, the processes of ochre procurement, trade and use are difficult to conceptualize without the identification and characterization of the sources where these materials were acquired. We present the results of geochemical analyses of ochre source samples collected from the Swabian Jura, Black Forest, and other localities in southern and eastern Germany. The goal of this study was to build the groundwork for future investigations on the range of ochre behaviors at archaeological sites in the region. We aimed to determine whether specific ochre outcrops could be differentiated based on their geochemical signatures. Using data from Neutron Activation Analysis (NAA), we were able to determine that the ochre source regions exhibit greater source inter-variability than intra-variability when observed using a range of statistical techniques, therefore satisfying the provenance postulate. Furthermore, the data provide the foundation for a Central European database of ochre sources to allow the comparison of ochres from different regions to archaeological ochres from important nearby and perhaps distant sites.
The Ach and Lone valleys of the Swabian Jura represent two key areas for the study of the dispers... more The Ach and Lone valleys of the Swabian Jura represent two key areas for the study of the dispersal of modern humans into central Europe, owing to the presence of numerous cave sites in the region that contain stratigraphic sequences spanning the Middle and Upper Paleolithic. However, despite the relatively complete sequences contained within these caves, previous studies hypothesize that phases of erosion have influenced the preservation of Upper Paleolithic deposits, particularly those dating to the Gravettian. Furthermore, these same studies suggest that during the Late Glacial and Holocene, colluvial sediments subsequently covered these unconformities. In this paper we present a dataset that helps us evaluate how geomorphological processes active at the regional scale around the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) have impacted the preservation of the archaeological record within the cave sites of the Ach and Lone valleys. To this end we applied and integrated a variety of methods, including geophysical prospection, coring, micromorphology, Fourier Transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, and radiocarbon dating. Our results show that alternating phases of soil formation, hillside denudation, river valley incision and floodplain aggradation have been the major processes active in Lone and Ach valleys throughout the Pleistocene and Holocene. These processes impacted the formation histories of the caves in the two valleys, thereby significantly influencing how we interpret the archaeological record of the region. In particular our data support the hypothesis arguing for the erosion of Gravettian-aged deposits (which are dated between 29.000 and 27.000 14C BP) from the caves of Bockstein, Hohle Fels and possibly Hohlenstein-Stadel. Shortly after this erosive phase, increased depositional rates of loess nearly free of gravel and reworked soils marked in both the Ach and Lone valleys a shift towards colder and drier conditions corresponding with the LGM. Deteriorating climate likely forced Gravettian groups to abandon the Swabian Jura. The Magdalenian recolonization of the region took place in a cool interstadial (13.500–12.500 14C BP) that was followed by a period of climate deterioration with minor phases of erosion in the caves and bedrock denudation. Towards the beginning of the Holocene the accumulation of frost debris (Bergkies) at the cave entrances marked the cessation of erosion within the caves.
Accomplishing long-term plans to harvest and modify natural resources has been a crucial skill fo... more Accomplishing long-term plans to harvest and modify natural resources has been a crucial skill for the survival of our species since early Prehistory. Research on this first step of production mostly focuses on the provenience study of lithic artifacts uncovered at archaeological sites, using petrographic and geochemical analyses to correlate the artifacts with potential geological outcrops. Although fundamental for understanding key aspects of landscape use and mobility, regional raw material economy, and extraction technology, Palaeolithic raw material sources have been less intensively investigated, as they are often difficult to locate and challenging to tackle with traditional archaeological approaches. Lojanik in the Central Balkans is one of the largest Prehistoric quarrying areas known in Europe, showing numerous lithic raw material outcrops exploited from the Middle Palaeolithic to the Chalcolithic periods, over an area of 18 hectares. In this paper, we present the results ...
Mwanganda's Village (MGD) and Bruce (BRU) are two open-air site complexes in northern Mal... more Mwanganda's Village (MGD) and Bruce (BRU) are two open-air site complexes in northern Malawi with deposits dating to between 15 and 58 thousand years ago (ka) and containing Middle Stone Age (MSA) lithic assemblages. The sites have been known since 1966 and 1965, respectively, but lacked chronometric and site formation data necessary for their interpretation. The area hosts a rich stone artifact record, eroding from and found within alluvial fan deposits exhibiting poor preservation of organic materials. Although this generally limits opportunities for site-based environmental reconstructions, MGD and BRU are located at the distal margins of the alluvial fan, where lacustrine lagoonal deposits were overprinted by a calcrete paleosol. This has created locally improved organic preservation and allowed us to obtain ecological data from pollen, phytoliths, and pedogenic carbonates, producing a regional- to site-scale environmental context for periods of site use and abandonment. Here, we integrate the ecological data into a detailed site formation history, based on field observations and micromorphology, supplemented by cathodoluminescence microscopy and μ-XRF. By comparing local, on-site environmental proxies with more regional indicators, we can better evaluate how MSA hunter-gatherers made decisions about the use of resources across the landscape. Our data indicate that while tree cover similar to modern miombo woodland and evergreen gallery forest prevailed at most times, MSA hunter-gatherers chose more locally open environments for activities that resulted in a lithic artifact record at multiple locations between 51 and 15 ka.
Mwanganda's Village (MGD) and Bruce (BRU) are two open-air site complexes in northern Malawi with... more Mwanganda's Village (MGD) and Bruce (BRU) are two open-air site complexes in northern Malawi with deposits dating to between 15 and 58 thousand years ago (ka) and containing Middle Stone Age (MSA) lithic assemblages. The sites have been known since 1966 and 1965, respectively, but lacked chronometric and site formation data necessary for their interpretation. The area hosts a rich stone artifact record, eroding from and found within alluvial fan deposits exhibiting poor preservation of organic materials. Although this generally limits opportunities for site-based environmental reconstructions, MGD and BRU are located at the distal margins of the alluvial fan, where lacustrine lagoonal deposits were overprinted by a calcrete paleosol. This has created locally improved organic preservation and allowed us to obtain ecological data from pollen, phytoliths, and pedogenic carbonates, producing a regional- to site-scale environmental context for periods of site use and abandonment. Here, we integrate the ecological data into a detailed site formation history, based on field observations and micromorphology, supplemented by cathodoluminescence microscopy and m-XRF. By comparing local, on-site environmental proxies with more regional indicators, we can better evaluate how MSA hunter-gatherers made decisions about the use of resources across the landscape. Our data indicate that while tree cover similar to modern miombo woodland and evergreen gallery forest prevailed at most times, MSA hunter-gatherers chose more locally open environments for activities that resulted in a lithic artifact record at multiple locations between 51 and 15 ka.
In the Swabian Jura (Southwest Germany) the Ach and Lone valleys host a number of cave sites, whi... more In the Swabian Jura (Southwest Germany) the Ach and Lone valleys host a number of cave sites, which have been repeatedly occupied by groups of hominins since at least the last interglacial. From the excavation of these Prehistoric cave deposits generations of archaeologists have discovered deep sequences and spectacular finds that help to illuminate the evolution of our species and the extinction of Neanderthals. The current understanding of the relationship between caves, cave deposits, human occupation and landscape evolution in the Ach and Lone valleys relies on data coming almost exclusively from cave sites and rockshelters. Conversely, the few geological studies that focused on the geomorphological evolution of the Ach and Lone valleys were mostly designed to answer questions unrelated to the study of the human occupation of this region. This dissertation intends to bridge the gap existing (not only in the Ach and Lone valleys) between the micromorphological analysis of cave deposits and the study of the paleolandscape. To this end, we investigated the deposits accumulated inside the cave site of Hohlenstein-Stadel (in the Lone Valley) with micromorphological analysis and FTIR methods. Additionally we studied the sediment archives preserved in the Ach and Lone valleys by means of auggering, deeper coring, geophysics, micromorphology, FTIR and 14C dating. By integrating our results with previous studies we have been able to evaluate the impact of landscape and environmental changes on the sedimentary and diagenetical processes that occurred inside the cave sites of this region. Our findings carry significant implications for models used to explain the arrival of early modern humans in the Swabian Jura and the human depopulation that this region seem to have experienced around the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM). Previous studies have argued that the early Aurignacian deposits at the sites of Hohle Fels and Geißenklösterle are characterized by deposition of fresh loess, less intensive phosphatization, and the forma [...]
The use of mineral pigments, specifically iron-oxide rich mineral pigments called ochre, has been... more The use of mineral pigments, specifically iron-oxide rich mineral pigments called ochre, has been put forward as a key element in the development of symbolic and non-utilitarian behaviors in human evolution. However, the processes of ochre procurement, trade and use are difficult to conceptualize without the identification and characterization of the sources where these materials were acquired. We present the results of geochemical analyses of ochre source samples collected from the Swabian Jura, Black Forest, and other localities in southern and eastern Germany. The goal of this study was to build the groundwork for future investigations on the range of ochre behaviors at archaeological sites in the region. We aimed to determine whether specific ochre outcrops could be differentiated based on their geochemical signatures. Using data from Neutron Activation Analysis (NAA), we were able to determine that the ochre source regions exhibit greater source inter-variability than intra-variability when observed using a range of statistical techniques, therefore satisfying the provenance postulate. Furthermore, the data provide the foundation for a Central European database of ochre sources to allow the comparison of ochres from different regions to archaeological ochres from important nearby and perhaps distant sites.
The Ach and Lone valleys of the Swabian Jura represent two key areas for the study of the dispers... more The Ach and Lone valleys of the Swabian Jura represent two key areas for the study of the dispersal of modern humans into central Europe, owing to the presence of numerous cave sites in the region that contain stratigraphic sequences spanning the Middle and Upper Paleolithic. However, despite the relatively complete sequences contained within these caves, previous studies hypothesize that phases of erosion have influenced the preservation of Upper Paleolithic deposits, particularly those dating to the Gravettian. Furthermore, these same studies suggest that during the Late Glacial and Holocene, colluvial sediments subsequently covered these unconformities. In this paper we present a dataset that helps us evaluate how geomorphological processes active at the regional scale around the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) have impacted the preservation of the archaeological record within the cave sites of the Ach and Lone valleys. To this end we applied and integrated a variety of methods, including geophysical prospection, coring, micromorphology, Fourier Transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, and radiocarbon dating. Our results show that alternating phases of soil formation, hillside denudation, river valley incision and floodplain aggradation have been the major processes active in Lone and Ach valleys throughout the Pleistocene and Holocene. These processes impacted the formation histories of the caves in the two valleys, thereby significantly influencing how we interpret the archaeological record of the region. In particular our data support the hypothesis arguing for the erosion of Gravettian-aged deposits (which are dated between 29.000 and 27.000 14C BP) from the caves of Bockstein, Hohle Fels and possibly Hohlenstein-Stadel. Shortly after this erosive phase, increased depositional rates of loess nearly free of gravel and reworked soils marked in both the Ach and Lone valleys a shift towards colder and drier conditions corresponding with the LGM. Deteriorating climate likely forced Gravettian groups to abandon the Swabian Jura. The Magdalenian recolonization of the region took place in a cool interstadial (13.500–12.500 14C BP) that was followed by a period of climate deterioration with minor phases of erosion in the caves and bedrock denudation. Towards the beginning of the Holocene the accumulation of frost debris (Bergkies) at the cave entrances marked the cessation of erosion within the caves.
The Ach and Lone valleys of the Swabian Jura, in the State of Baden-Württemberg (southwest German... more The Ach and Lone valleys of the Swabian Jura, in the State of Baden-Württemberg (southwest Germany), represent two key areas for the study of the first anatomically modern humans in central Europe, dated to 40.000 years ago. Previous and current excavations conducted within Hohle Fels Cave, in The Ach Valley, have shown the presence of an extensive erosional surface affecting the Gravettian and underlying layers. We hypothesized that this erosional phase was linked to changes in fluvial dynamics outside of the caves. Following this erosion, the caves were subsequently infilled by sediments containing Magdalenian artifacts. The sedimentary processes postdating the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) are characterized by a shift in the sediment source likely related to the initiation of colluviation originating from outside the cave entrance. Interestingly, a similar sequence has also been documented by excavations conducted in the Hohlenstein Cave in the Lone Valley. During the LGM, Swabia was likely depopulated owing to the extreme cold condition and the proximity of the region to the northern extent of the alpine glaciation. Repopulation of the region first occurred during the Magdalenian. The aim of our project is to investigate how major environmental and geomorphological changes occurring during and after the LGM shaped the record of the human reoccupation in the Swabian region. Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR) coupled with field surveys conducted in front of Hohlenstein and Hohle Fels reveal colluvial deposits, river channel migrations and eroded surfaces. By tracing these buried features we were able to produce 3D models that help reconstruct past landscapes. The subsequent coring campaign has allowed us to verify these models and collect samples for dating and micromorphology. Finally, the data from the cores is compared to the results of micromorphological studies of the deposits within Hohle Fels and Hohlenstein. By integrating different scales of observations, we are able to identify the formation processes of the sequences deposited within the caves and determine correlations between them and the major sedimentation processes active in the valleys.
The Ach and Lone valleys of the Swabian Jura (Baden-Württemberg) represent two key areas in the s... more The Ach and Lone valleys of the Swabian Jura (Baden-Württemberg) represent two key areas in the study of the dispersal of anatomically modern humans into central Europe. Previous geoarchaeological research conducted in the cave sites located in the two valleys suggests that phases of erosion within the caves may have been related to large scale geomorphological processes active during the Late Glacial Maximum. The goals of our project are to reconstruct these landscape changes, to investigate their impact on the sedimentation processes within the caves and examine how these changes in sedimentation within the caves shape the record of human occupation in the Swabian region. To achieve these goals we combine geophysical prospecting, coring and micromorphology. GIS and database software are used to manage all the collected data. Here we present our preliminary results of the ground-penetrating radar (GPR) surveys we have conducted in the Ach and Lone valleys. The prospecting has been organized into different phases. As a first step, we have collected more than 70 profiles with different antennae in both the valleys. Our aims were to evaluate the most suitable GPR setting and to define key areas to be further investigated. After having compared the data collected with GSSI 100MHz bistatic, GSSI 200MHz monostatic and GSSI 400MHz monostatic antennae we could assess that the 200MHz monostatic antenna represented the best compromise between penetration and resolution. Moreover, combining the result of this survey with geological and geomorphological mapping we were able to detect significant buried features located just outside the entrance of Hohle Fels cave, in the Ach Valley, and in the areas in front of Hohlenstein and Bockstein caves, in the Lone Valley. On the basis of these data we have conducted focused GPR surveys in these three key areas. The geophysical prospection conducted outside of the entrance of Hohle Fels cave, in the Ach Valley, has revealed the depth of the bedrock (-3 m circa) and a preserved deposit coming from the entrance of the cave. These results provide important information about the extent of a possible migration of the Ach River towards the entrance of the cave during and after the LGM. Additionally, the GPR has clearly documented the presence of Late Pleistocene or early Holocene colluvial deposits that dip towards the entrance of the cave. The data collected in front of Hohlenstein and Bockstein, in the Lone Valley, indicate phases of channel migration and colluviation. Based on the GPR data, we have also produced high resolution 3D models and georeferenced time slices in order to obtain an accurate geographic positioning and enhance our understanding of the identified features. According to the information obtained from the geophysical surveys, we were able to identify key areas to be further investigated by coring and trenching. The data obtained from the geophysical and coring survey of the Ach and Lone valleys are compared to the results of micromorphological studies of the deposits from Hohle Fels and Hohlenstein caves. By integrating different scales of observation, we are able to identify the processes that have led to the formation of the sequences deposited within the caves and determine correlations between them and the major sedimentation processes active on a regional scale.
The caves located within the Ach and Lone valleys of the Swabian Jura (State of Baden-Württemberg... more The caves located within the Ach and Lone valleys of the Swabian Jura (State of Baden-Württemberg, southwestern Germany) are key sites to study the arrival of our ancestors in the central European continent. In the last sixty years, archaeological excavations conducted in these cave sites have provided spectacular finds that date the earliest presence of anatomically modern humans in the Swabian region back to the Aurignacian, starting 40.000 years ago.
Previous geoarcheological studies have stressed the similarities between the archaeological and natural records deposited in the caves of Hohlenstein, in the Lone valley, and Hohle Fels, in the Ach valley. Indeed gullies and rills document stratigraphic discontinuity between the Gravettian and the Magdalenian deposits within both the caves. Additionally thick colluvial infilling of the caves suggest that drastic changes in environment and landscape took place after the Late Glacial Maximum.
The aims of our research are to reconstruct these landscape changes, to verify their impact on the sedimentation processes within the caves and examine how these changes in sedimentation within the caves shape the record of human occupation in the Swabian region. To achieve these goals we decided to use an innovative approach combining geophysical and geomorphological prospecting, coring and micromorphology. Here we present an overview about our first results.
Thanking more than two hundreds 1 m-long cores we collected in the Lone valley we were able to produce a detailed map of the surface sediments present in the area between Bockstein and Vogelherd caves. Combining these information with the data we got from a first ground-penetrating radar (GPR) campaign, we planned a new GPR survey focusing on key areas of both the valleys. The geophysical prospection conducted just outside of the entrance of Hohle Fels cave, in the Ach valley, has revealed the depth of the bedrock (-3 m circa) and a preserved deposit coming from the entrance of the cave. Remarkably this datum could give important information about the extent of a possible migration of the Ach towards the entrance of the cave during and after the LGM. Additionally the GPR has well documented the presence of Holocene colluviation dipping towards the entrance of the cave. On the contrary the data we collected in front of Hohlenstein and Bockstein, in the Lone valley, have indicated phases of channel migration and colluviation. Based on the GPR data, we have also produced high resolution 3D models and georeferenced time slices in order to obtain an accurate geographic positioning and enhance our understanding of the identified features. According to the information obtained from the geophysical survey, we were able to identify key areas to be further investigated by coring and opening of trenches. Finally we started to analyze the micromorphological samples coming from the caves of Hohlenstein and Hohle Fels. The goals of this micromorphological analysis are to define the processes that have led to the formation of the sequences deposited within the caves and find correlations between them and the major sedimentation processes active on a regional scale.
The prehistoric cave sites of the Ach and Lone valleys in the Swabian Jura (Germany), have provid... more The prehistoric cave sites of the Ach and Lone valleys in the Swabian Jura (Germany), have provided important information on the arrival of our ancestors into central Europe around 40.000 years ago, and their relation with the endemic Neanderthals. In The Ach Valley, previous micromorphological studies conducted at Geißenklösterle suggested the presence of a discontinuity at the Middle to Upper Paleolithic transition marked by an erosive surface that was subjected to phosphatization and clay translocation. This surface was overlain by a deposit of fresh calcareous löss that contained the earliest Aurignacian artifacts at the site. At Hohle Fels, also in the Ach Valley, geoarchaeologists noticed that the Middle to Upper Paleolithic transition was marked by a conformable transition from extensively phosphatized to non-phosphatized sediment. At Hohle Fels, geoarchaeologists noted field evidence for a phase of erosion that occurred shortly after the Last Glacial Maximum and potentially affected the preservation of the Gravettian deposits. Similarly, in the Lone Valley, archaeologists have noted a lack of Gravettian-aged deposits within the caves and have hypothesized that the caves of this valley might have experienced heavier erosion than those located in The Ach Valley. From 2008 to 2013 the State Office for Cultural Heritage Baden-Württemberg has conducted new excavations in the Hohlenstein Stadel Cave, in The Lone Valley, and in front of the cave entrance (Vorplatz) aiming at verifying the data collected during previous excavations in the first half of the twentieth century. This new field season gave us the chance to collect micromorphological samples from both Hohlenstein Stadel Cave and the Vorplatz covering the lowermost sterile layer, most of the Middle Paleolithic and the transition to the Upper Paleolithic deposit. Additionally we have performed geophysical prospecting, coring and mapping in The Lone Valley. In the study presented here we discuss the impact of major landscape changes on the formation and preservation of the archaeological sequence deposited within Hohlenstein Stadel Cave. In particular, we focus on the results from Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) spectrometry and thin section analysis. As expected from the archaeological evidence, the presence of clear anthropogenic features in the sequence is very little and it is usually related to thin surfaces associated with calcined bones. The sedimentation processes are mainly natural and are dominated by low-energy surface runoff and gravitational grain flow. As in Hohle Fels, reworked löss, clay aggregates, medium-sized quartz gravel and Bohnerz are present in almost all the Stadel cave sediments. These components were originally deposited on top of the Jura plateau and were subsequently incorporated in to the karstic system. Different depositional episodes of varying energies are present in the Middle Paleolithic deposit, in particular an erosional surface that marks the transition between the sterile layer and the Middle Paleolithic deposits. Unlike at Hohle Fels, no microstructures resulting from freeze-thaw cycles were found within the cave probably because the sampled profile was located far inside from the cave entrance. As in Hohle Fels, the Hohlenstein sediments are extensively phosphatized. Remarkably, as in Hohle Fels, the Upper Paleolithic sediments display a much lower occurrence of calcite dissolution.
The Ach and Lone valleys of the Swabian Jura (Baden-Württemberg) represent two key areas in the s... more The Ach and Lone valleys of the Swabian Jura (Baden-Württemberg) represent two key areas in the study of the dispersal of anatomically modern humans into central Europe. Previous geoarchaeological research conducted in the cave sites located in the two valleys suggests that phases of erosion within the caves may have been related to large scale geomorphological processes active during the Late Glacial Maximum. The goals of our project are to reconstruct these landscape changes, to investigate their impact on the sedimentation processes within the caves and examine how these changes in sedimentation within the caves shape the record of human occupation in the Swabian region. To achieve such goals we combine geophysical prospecting, coring and micromorphology. GIS and database software are used to manage all the collected data. Here we present some preliminary results about a detailed GPR survey and a preliminary coring campaign we conducted in front of Hohlenstein Cave, in the Lone Valley, and Hohle Fels Cave, in the Ach Valley. Combining these two methods we were able to reconstruct different phases of colluviation and channel migration in front of the cave sites. Additionally we were able to hypothesize how the changes of the watercourse has impacted both the valley landscape and the archaeological deposits within the two caves. Finally, we were able to define key areas to be further investigated with the opening of trenches and excavations.
Since the first half of the twentieth century, research conducted in the cave sites located withi... more Since the first half of the twentieth century, research conducted in the cave sites located within the Ach and Lone valleys of the Swabian Jura (State of Baden-Württemberg) have improved our knowledge about the first arrival of our ancestors in the central European continent, dated to 40.000 years ago. These previous studies have also documented the presence of phases of erosion within the caves that may have been related to large scale geomorphological processes active during or shortly after the Late Glacial Maximum. Our goals are to reconstruct these landscape changes and examine how they impact the record of human occupation in the Swabian region. To this end we combine geophysical and geomorphological prospecting, coring and micromorphology. Here we present preliminary results of the surface mapping of the Lone Valley and a detailed GPR survey we conducted in front of the Hohlenstein Cave, in the Lone valley, and the Hohle Fels Cave, Ach valley. In particular, the surface mapping allowed us to define the main facies of surface sediments present within the valley. In addition, thanks to data collected with the GPR we were able to identify significant buried features that indicate phases of channel migration and colluviation. Based on the GPR data, we have also produced high resolution 3D models and georeferenced time slices in order to obtain an accurate geographic positioning and enhance our understanding of the identified features. According to the information obtained from the geophysical survey, we were able to identify key areas to be further investigated by coring and opening of trenches.
Landscape changes, cave site formation and human occupation during the Late Pleistocene: a geoarchaeological study from the Ach and Lone valleys (Swabian Jura, SW Germany, 2019
In the Swabian Jura (Southwest Germany) the Ach and Lone valleys host a number of cave sites, whi... more In the Swabian Jura (Southwest Germany) the Ach and Lone valleys host a number of cave sites, which have been repeatedly occupied by groups of hominins since at least the last interglacial. From the excavation of these Prehistoric cave deposits generations of archaeologists have discovered deep sequences and spectacular finds that help to illuminate the evolution of our species and the extinction of Neanderthals. The current understanding of the relationship between caves, cave deposits, human occupation and landscape evolution in the Ach and Lone valleys relies on data coming almost exclusively from cave sites and rockshelters. Conversely, the few geological studies that focused on the geomorphological evolution of the Ach and Lone valleys were mostly designed to answer questions unrelated to the study of the human occupation of this region. This dissertation intends to bridge the gap existing (not only in the Ach and Lone valleys) between the micromorphological analysis of cave deposits and the study of the paleolandscape. To this end, we investigated the deposits accumulated inside the cave site of Hohlenstein-Stadel (in the Lone Valley) with micromorphological analysis and FTIR methods. Additionally we studied the sediment archives preserved in the Ach and Lone valleys by means of auggering, deeper coring, geophysics, micromorphology, FTIR and 14C dating. By integrating our results with previous studies we have been able to evaluate the impact of landscape and environmental changes on the sedimentary and diagenetical processes that occurred inside the cave sites of this region. Our findings carry significant implications for models used to explain the arrival of early modern humans in the Swabian Jura and the human depopulation that this region seem to have experienced around the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM). Previous studies have argued that the early Aurignacian deposits at the sites of Hohle Fels and Geißenklösterle are characterized by deposition of fresh loess, less intensive phosphatization, and the formation of ice lenses. These data support the hypothesis that modern humans entered the Ach Valley in the course of a period characterized by cold climate. Our micromorphological analysis showed that inside Hohlenstein-Stadel (in the Lone Valley) the transition from the Middle Paleolithic to early Aurignacian deposits displays decreasing phosphatization. However, at Hohlenstein-Stadel we did not observe features diagnostic for ground freezing (such as ice lenses). Therefore inside this cave there is no direct evidence supporting the occurrence of a colder climatic period at the time of the arrival of modern humans. The data we collected from Ach and Lone valleys suggest that this region has been variably shaped by phases of soil formation, soil denudation, loess accumulation and river valley incision. Our study revealed that these changes in the landscape might have shaped significantly the archaeological record originally accumulated inside the cave sites of this region. Accordingly to a widely accepted model, Southwest Germany was abandoned by Gravettian groups around 26.000 14C BP. After a major chronostratigraphic gap Magdalenians recolonized the region starting 13.500 14C BP. Such chronostratigraphic gap (12.500 14C years) have been regarded as indicative of the depopulation that the region experienced during the LGM. Our data, however, show that the beginning of this long-lasting phase of apparent depopulation coincides with the occurrence of erosional phases at some cave sites of Ach and Lone valleys. Although the relation between cave erosion and Gravettian emigration needs to be further verified, we hypothesize that humans might have been present in this region also during the period 26.000-13.500 14C BP and erosional processes might have cancelled the archaeological evidence for such occupations.
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During the LGM, Swabia was likely depopulated owing to the extreme cold condition and the proximity of the region to the northern extent of the alpine glaciation. Repopulation of the region first occurred during the Magdalenian. The aim of our project is to investigate how major environmental and geomorphological changes occurring during and after the LGM shaped the record of the human reoccupation in the Swabian region.
Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR) coupled with field surveys conducted in front of Hohlenstein and Hohle Fels reveal colluvial deposits, river channel migrations and eroded surfaces. By tracing these buried features we were able to produce 3D models that help reconstruct past landscapes. The subsequent coring campaign has allowed us to verify these models and collect samples for dating and micromorphology. Finally, the data from the cores is compared to the results of micromorphological studies of the deposits within Hohle Fels and Hohlenstein. By integrating different scales of observations, we are able to identify the formation processes of the sequences deposited within the caves and determine correlations between them and the major sedimentation processes active in the valleys.
The goals of our project are to reconstruct these landscape changes, to investigate their impact on the sedimentation processes within the caves and examine how these changes in sedimentation within the caves shape the record of human occupation in the Swabian region. To achieve these goals we combine geophysical prospecting, coring and micromorphology. GIS and database software are used to manage all the collected data.
Here we present our preliminary results of the ground-penetrating radar (GPR) surveys we have conducted in the Ach and Lone valleys. The prospecting has been organized into different phases. As a first step, we have collected more than 70 profiles with different antennae in both the valleys. Our aims were to evaluate the most suitable GPR setting and to define key areas to be further investigated. After having compared the data collected with GSSI 100MHz bistatic, GSSI 200MHz monostatic and GSSI 400MHz monostatic antennae we could assess that the 200MHz monostatic antenna represented the best compromise between penetration and resolution. Moreover, combining the result of this survey with geological and geomorphological mapping we were able to detect significant buried features located just outside the entrance of Hohle Fels cave, in the Ach Valley, and in the areas in front of Hohlenstein and Bockstein caves, in the Lone Valley. On the basis of these data we have conducted focused GPR surveys in these three key areas. The geophysical prospection conducted outside of the entrance of Hohle Fels cave, in the Ach Valley, has revealed the depth of the bedrock (-3 m circa) and a preserved deposit coming from the entrance of the cave. These results provide important information about the extent of a possible migration of the Ach River towards the entrance of the cave during and after the LGM. Additionally, the GPR has clearly documented the presence of Late Pleistocene or early Holocene colluvial deposits that dip towards the entrance of the cave. The data collected in front of Hohlenstein and Bockstein, in the Lone Valley, indicate phases of channel migration and colluviation. Based on the GPR data, we have also produced high resolution 3D models and georeferenced time slices in order to obtain an accurate geographic positioning and enhance our understanding of the identified features. According to the information obtained from the geophysical surveys, we were able to identify key areas to be further investigated by coring and trenching. The data obtained from the geophysical and coring survey of the Ach and Lone valleys are compared to the results of micromorphological studies of the deposits from Hohle Fels and Hohlenstein caves. By integrating different scales of observation, we are able to identify the processes that have led to the formation of the sequences deposited within the caves and determine correlations between them and the major sedimentation processes active on a regional scale.
Previous geoarcheological studies have stressed the similarities between the archaeological and natural records deposited in the caves of Hohlenstein, in the Lone valley, and Hohle Fels, in the Ach valley. Indeed gullies and rills document stratigraphic discontinuity between the Gravettian and the Magdalenian deposits within both the caves. Additionally thick colluvial infilling of the caves suggest that drastic changes in environment and landscape took place after the Late Glacial Maximum.
The aims of our research are to reconstruct these landscape changes, to verify their impact on the sedimentation processes within the caves and examine how these changes in sedimentation within the caves shape the record of human occupation in the Swabian region. To achieve these goals we decided to use an innovative approach combining geophysical and geomorphological prospecting, coring and micromorphology. Here we present an overview about our first results.
Thanking more than two hundreds 1 m-long cores we collected in the Lone valley we were able to produce a detailed map of the surface sediments present in the area between Bockstein and Vogelherd caves. Combining these information with the data we got from a first ground-penetrating radar (GPR) campaign, we planned a new GPR survey focusing on key areas of both the valleys. The geophysical prospection conducted just outside of the entrance of Hohle Fels cave, in the Ach valley, has revealed the depth of the bedrock (-3 m circa) and a preserved deposit coming from the entrance of the cave. Remarkably this datum could give important information about the extent of a possible migration of the Ach towards the entrance of the cave during and after the LGM. Additionally the GPR has well documented the presence of Holocene colluviation dipping towards the entrance of the cave. On the contrary the data we collected in front of Hohlenstein and Bockstein, in the Lone valley, have indicated phases of channel migration and colluviation. Based on the GPR data, we have also produced high resolution 3D models and georeferenced time slices in order to obtain an accurate geographic positioning and enhance our understanding of the identified features. According to the information obtained from the geophysical survey, we were able to identify key areas to be further investigated by coring and opening of trenches. Finally we started to analyze the micromorphological samples coming from the caves of Hohlenstein and Hohle Fels. The goals of this micromorphological analysis are to define the processes that have led to the formation of the sequences deposited within the caves and find correlations between them and the major sedimentation processes active on a regional scale.
At Hohle Fels, geoarchaeologists noted field evidence for a phase of erosion that occurred shortly after the Last Glacial Maximum and potentially affected the preservation of the Gravettian deposits. Similarly, in the Lone Valley, archaeologists have noted a lack of Gravettian-aged deposits within the caves and have hypothesized that the caves of this valley might have experienced heavier erosion than those located in The Ach Valley.
From 2008 to 2013 the State Office for Cultural Heritage Baden-Württemberg has conducted new excavations in the Hohlenstein Stadel Cave, in The Lone Valley, and in front of the cave entrance (Vorplatz) aiming at verifying the data collected during previous excavations in the first half of the twentieth century. This new field season gave us the chance to collect micromorphological samples from both Hohlenstein Stadel Cave and the Vorplatz covering the lowermost sterile layer, most of the Middle Paleolithic and the transition to the Upper Paleolithic deposit. Additionally we have performed geophysical prospecting, coring and mapping in The Lone Valley.
In the study presented here we discuss the impact of major landscape changes on the formation and preservation of the archaeological sequence deposited within Hohlenstein Stadel Cave. In particular, we focus on the results from Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) spectrometry and thin section analysis.
As expected from the archaeological evidence, the presence of clear anthropogenic features in the sequence is very little and it is usually related to thin surfaces associated with calcined bones. The sedimentation processes are mainly natural and are dominated by low-energy surface runoff and gravitational grain flow. As in Hohle Fels, reworked löss, clay aggregates, medium-sized quartz gravel and Bohnerz are present in almost all the Stadel cave sediments. These components were originally deposited on top of the Jura plateau and were subsequently incorporated in to the karstic system. Different depositional episodes of varying energies are present in the Middle Paleolithic deposit, in particular an erosional surface that marks the transition between the sterile layer and the Middle Paleolithic deposits. Unlike at Hohle Fels, no microstructures resulting from freeze-thaw cycles were found within the cave probably because the sampled profile was located far inside from the cave entrance. As in Hohle Fels, the Hohlenstein sediments are extensively phosphatized. Remarkably, as in Hohle Fels, the Upper Paleolithic sediments display a much lower occurrence of calcite dissolution.
The goals of our project are to reconstruct these landscape changes, to investigate their impact on the sedimentation processes within the caves and examine how these changes in sedimentation within the caves shape the record of human occupation in the Swabian region. To achieve such goals we combine geophysical prospecting, coring and micromorphology. GIS and database software are used to manage all the collected data.
Here we present some preliminary results about a detailed GPR survey and a preliminary coring campaign we conducted in front of Hohlenstein Cave, in the Lone Valley, and Hohle Fels Cave, in the Ach Valley. Combining these two methods we were able to reconstruct different phases of colluviation and channel migration in front of the cave sites. Additionally we were able to hypothesize how the changes of the watercourse has impacted both the valley landscape and the archaeological deposits within the two caves. Finally, we were able to define key areas to be further investigated with the opening of trenches and excavations.
Our goals are to reconstruct these landscape changes and examine how they impact the record of human occupation in the Swabian region. To this end we combine geophysical and geomorphological prospecting, coring and micromorphology.
Here we present preliminary results of the surface mapping of the Lone Valley and a detailed GPR survey we conducted in front of the Hohlenstein Cave, in the Lone valley, and the Hohle Fels Cave, Ach valley. In particular, the surface mapping allowed us to define the main facies of surface sediments present within the valley. In addition, thanks to data collected with the GPR we were able to identify significant buried features that indicate phases of channel migration and colluviation. Based on the GPR data, we have also produced high resolution 3D models and georeferenced time slices in order to obtain an accurate geographic positioning and enhance our understanding of the identified features. According to the information obtained from the geophysical survey, we were able to identify key areas to be further investigated by coring and opening of trenches.
The current understanding of the relationship between caves, cave deposits, human occupation and landscape evolution in the Ach and Lone valleys relies on data coming almost exclusively from cave sites and rockshelters. Conversely, the few geological studies that focused on the geomorphological evolution of the Ach and Lone valleys were mostly designed to answer questions unrelated to the study of the human occupation of this region.
This dissertation intends to bridge the gap existing (not only in the Ach and Lone valleys) between the micromorphological analysis of cave deposits and the study of the paleolandscape. To this end, we investigated the deposits accumulated inside the cave site of Hohlenstein-Stadel (in the Lone Valley) with micromorphological analysis and FTIR methods. Additionally we studied the sediment archives preserved in the Ach and Lone valleys by means of auggering, deeper coring, geophysics, micromorphology, FTIR and 14C dating. By integrating our results with previous studies we have been able to evaluate the impact of landscape and environmental changes on the sedimentary and diagenetical processes that occurred inside the cave sites of this region. Our findings carry significant implications for models used to explain the arrival of early modern humans in the Swabian Jura and the human depopulation that this region seem to have experienced around the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM).
Previous studies have argued that the early Aurignacian deposits at the sites of Hohle Fels and Geißenklösterle are characterized by deposition of fresh loess, less intensive phosphatization, and the formation of ice lenses. These data support the hypothesis that modern humans entered the Ach Valley in the course of a period characterized by cold climate. Our micromorphological analysis showed that inside Hohlenstein-Stadel (in the Lone Valley) the transition from the Middle Paleolithic to early Aurignacian deposits displays decreasing phosphatization. However, at Hohlenstein-Stadel we did not observe features diagnostic for ground freezing (such as ice lenses). Therefore inside this cave there is no direct evidence supporting the occurrence of a colder climatic period at the time of the arrival of modern humans.
The data we collected from Ach and Lone valleys suggest that this region has been variably shaped by phases of soil formation, soil denudation, loess accumulation and river valley incision. Our study revealed that these changes in the landscape might have shaped significantly the archaeological record originally accumulated inside the cave sites of this region. Accordingly to a widely accepted model, Southwest Germany was abandoned by Gravettian groups around 26.000 14C BP. After a major chronostratigraphic gap Magdalenians recolonized the region starting 13.500 14C BP. Such chronostratigraphic gap (12.500 14C years) have been regarded as indicative of the depopulation that the region experienced during the LGM. Our data, however, show that the beginning of this long-lasting phase of apparent depopulation coincides with the occurrence of erosional phases at some cave sites of Ach and Lone valleys. Although the relation between cave erosion and Gravettian emigration needs to be further verified, we hypothesize that humans might have been present in this region also during the period 26.000-13.500 14C BP and erosional processes might have cancelled the archaeological evidence for such occupations.