TY - JOUR

T1 - Evidence for the age and timing of environmental change associated with a Lower Palaeolithic site within the Middle Pleistocene Reinsdorf sequence of the Schöningen coal mine, Germany

AU - Tucci, Mario

AU - Krahn, Kim J.

AU - Richter, Daniel

AU - van Kolfschoten, Thijs

AU - Álvarez, Bárbara Rodríguez

AU - Verheijen, Ivo

AU - Serangeli, Jordi

AU - Lehmann, Jens

AU - Degering, Detlev

AU - Schwalb, Antje

AU - Urban, Brigitte

N1 - We thank the Ministry of Science and Culture, Hannover, Germany , (PRO*Niedersachsen, Projekt: 74ZN1230 ) and the German Science Foundation (DFG: UR25/11-1, SCHW671/22-1 ) for partially funding this study. Daniel Richter and Brigitte Urban acknowledge I. Stein for sample preparation and help with measurements and Johannes Heitmann for access to the luminescence laboratory, both from the TU Freiberg. We acknowledge Nicolas Conard as director of the Project Schöningen, Thomas Terberger from Niedersächsisches Landesamt für Denkmalpflege (NLD) Hannover as well as the excavation-team for their support of this research. The authors wish to thank Peter A. Kershaw, Manfred Frechen, Thomas J. Algeo and Howard Falcon-Lang for their constructive and valuable comments which significantly helped to improve our manuscript.

PY - 2021/5/1

Y1 - 2021/5/1

N2 - The discovery of a tusk and a rib of a straight-tusked elephant within layer 13 II-2c3 of the famous Lower Palaeolithic archaeological site Schöningen (district Helmstedt, Lower-Saxony, Germany) provided the reason for studying the climatic and ecological conditions of this part of the Middle Pleistocene Reinsdorf sequence in high resolution in relation to new chronometric data. Sediment, pollen, aquatic microfossil (diatoms, ostracods, gyrogonites of charophytes) and micro mammalian analyses provide evidence for a strong environmental change and landscape opening following the post-temperate boreal forest phase of the Reinsdorf Interglacial. Palynological and palaeontological evidence from this horizon suggest increasing dryness and seasonality. The high proportions of non-arboreal pollen including Poaceae as well as a major decrease of thermophile tree taxa indicate the development of zonal steppe environments. The assemblage of small mammal remains includes indicators of temperate as well as cold climatic conditions. A bone tool together with flint artefacts clearly show the presence of hominins in this context. Based on palaeoecological evidence and new luminescence dating, previous correlations of the Reinsdorf sequence to Marine Isotope Stage (MIS) 9 and thus of the interglacial sediments to MIS 9e are confirmed and the onset of the first post-interglacial steppe phase represented by layer 13 II-2c3 to MIS 9d is proposed.

AB - The discovery of a tusk and a rib of a straight-tusked elephant within layer 13 II-2c3 of the famous Lower Palaeolithic archaeological site Schöningen (district Helmstedt, Lower-Saxony, Germany) provided the reason for studying the climatic and ecological conditions of this part of the Middle Pleistocene Reinsdorf sequence in high resolution in relation to new chronometric data. Sediment, pollen, aquatic microfossil (diatoms, ostracods, gyrogonites of charophytes) and micro mammalian analyses provide evidence for a strong environmental change and landscape opening following the post-temperate boreal forest phase of the Reinsdorf Interglacial. Palynological and palaeontological evidence from this horizon suggest increasing dryness and seasonality. The high proportions of non-arboreal pollen including Poaceae as well as a major decrease of thermophile tree taxa indicate the development of zonal steppe environments. The assemblage of small mammal remains includes indicators of temperate as well as cold climatic conditions. A bone tool together with flint artefacts clearly show the presence of hominins in this context. Based on palaeoecological evidence and new luminescence dating, previous correlations of the Reinsdorf sequence to Marine Isotope Stage (MIS) 9 and thus of the interglacial sediments to MIS 9e are confirmed and the onset of the first post-interglacial steppe phase represented by layer 13 II-2c3 to MIS 9d is proposed.

KW - Aquatic microfossils

KW - Luminescence dating

KW - Marine isotope stage 9

KW - Palynology

KW - Small mammals

KW - Ecosystems Research

UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85102602244&partnerID=8YFLogxK

UR - https://www.mendeley.com/catalogue/bd2155a4-fd6a-3419-a924-b7a6ac5a5410/

U2 - 10.1016/j.palaeo.2021.110309

DO - 10.1016/j.palaeo.2021.110309

M3 - Journal articles

AN - SCOPUS:85102602244

VL - 569

JO - Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology

JF - Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology

SN - 0031-0182

M1 - 110309

ER -