The lion-like pantherine cat and woolly mammoth from Mousterian level of Molodova V Paleolithic site (Dniestr basin): Results of detail morphological approach

Full text

Materials only for purposes of the conference
"European Middle Palaeolithic during MIS 8 - MIS 3".
Not for sale.
Interna onal Conference
European Middle Palaeolithic during MIS 8 – MIS 3
cultures – environment – chronology
Wolbrom, Poland, September 25th–28th, 2012
Guidebook
&
Book of Abstracts
Organizers
Ins tute of Archaeology, Nicolaus Copernicus University, Toruń
Ins tute of Geological Sciences, Polish Academy of Sciences, Warszawa
Department of Evolu onary Biology and Ecology, University of Wrocław, Wrocław
Ins tute of Systema cs and Evolu on of Animals, Polish Academy of Sciences, Kraków
Faculty of Earth Sciences, University of Silesia, Sosnowiec
Commi ee on Quaternary Research, Polish Academy of Sciences, Warszawa
Toruń 2012

Materials only for purposes of the conference
"European Middle Palaeolithic during MIS 8 - MIS 3".
Not for sale.
Scien fi c Commi ee
Prof. Wojciech Chudziak, Ins tute of Archaeology, Nicolaus Copernicus University, Toruń
Prof. Krzysztof Cyrek, Ins tute of Archaeology, Nicolaus Copernicus University, Toruń
Prof. Stefan K. Kozłowski, Ins tute of Archaeology, Warsaw University, Warszawa
Prof. Teresa Madeyska, Ins tute of Geological Sciences, Polish Academy of Sciences, Warszawa; and Com-
mi ee on Quaternary Research, Polish Academy of Sciences, Warszawa
Prof. Adam Nadachowski, Department of Evolu onary Biology and Ecology, University of Wrocław,
Wrocław; and Ins tute of Systema cs and Evolu on of Animals, Polish Academy of Sciences, Kraków
Organizing Commi ee
Krzysztof Cyrek (Chair), Ins tute of Archaeology, Nicolaus Copernicus University, Toruń
Łukasz A. Czyżewski, Ins tute of Archaeology, Nicolaus Copernicus University, Toruń
Maciej T. Krajcarz (Secretary), Ins tute of Geological Sciences, Polish Academy of Sciences, Warszawa
Magdalena Krajcarz, Ins tute of Geological Sciences, Polish Academy of Sciences, Warszawa
Teresa Madeyska, Ins tute of Geological Sciences, Polish Academy of Sciences, Warszawa;
and Commi ee on Quaternary Research, Polish Academy of Sciences, Warszawa
Adrian Marciszak, Department of Evolu onary Biology and Ecology, University of Wrocław, Wrocław
Adam Nadachowski, Department of Evolu onary Biology and Ecology, University of Wrocław, Wrocław;
and Ins tute of Systema cs and Evolu on of Animals, Polish Academy of Sciences, Kraków
Paweł Socha, Department of Evolu onary Biology and Ecology, University of Wrocław, Wrocław
Krzysztof Stefaniak, Department of Evolu onary Biology and Ecology, University of Wrocław, Wrocław
Magdalena Sudoł, Ins tute of Archaeology, Nicolaus Copernicus University, Toruń
Andrzej Tyc, Faculty of Earth Sciences University of Silesia, Sosnowiec
Editors: Krzysztof Cyrek, Łukasz A. Czyżewski, Maciej T. Krajcarz
DTP: Łukasz A. Czyżewski
Conference takes place with the contribu on of:
Rector of the Nicolaus Copernicus University
Toruń
Municipal Council of Wolbrom
Wolbrom Cultural Centre
All materials only for the purposes of the conference
© Copyright by Ins tue of Archaeology, Nicolaus Copernicus University, Toruń & Polish Academy of Science, Warszawa
Edi on I: 200 copies
ISBN 978-83-231-2939-4
Printed by Nicolaus Copernicus University Press

Materials only for purposes of the conference
"European Middle Palaeolithic during MIS 8 - MIS 3".
Not for sale.
Table of Contents
Programme of the Conference ................6
Guidebook ............................................. 9
Excursion 1 (Biśnik Cave, Stajnia Cave) ........................ 11
Excursion 2 (Ciemna Cave, Nietoperzowa Cave) ......... 29
Book of Abstracts ................................. 39
Lectures ...................................................41
G. Abrams, K. Di Modica, S. Pirson, D. Bonjean
An other way to understand the human behaviuor
beyond natural fi lters: Recent archaeological data
from Scladina Cave (Belgium) ...................................... 41
V. Baygusheva, V. Titov
Bison priscus as the basic hun ng object in the Middle
Palaeolithic at the Sea of Azov Region: paleoecological
and hun ng evidences ................................................ 42
C. Berto, B. Sala
Clima c fl uctua ons and their rela onship with Isotopic
Stages inferred by varia ons in small and large
mammals from selected Middle Paleolithic sites
of the Italian peninsula ................................................ 44
J.M. Burdukiewicz
Symbolic behaviour of the Middle Palaeolithic
humans ........................................................................ 44
R. Croitor, K. Stefaniak, P. Wojtal, M. Stach
Giant deer Megaloceros giganteus Blumenbach, 1799
(Cervidae, Mammalia) from Palaeolithic of Eastern
Europe ......................................................................... 45
K. Cyrek
Middle Pleistocene fl int assemblages
from the Biśnik Cave .................................................... 47
K. Cyrek
Short history of archaeological studies
in the Biśnik Cave ........................................................ 49
T. van Kolfschoten
The Palaeolithic record from the locality Schöningen
(Germany) in a biostra graphical and archaeozoolo-
gical perspec ve .......................................................... 49
M. Kot
Technological aspects of earliest Middle Palaeolithic
leaf points in Central Europe ....................................... 50
J.K. Kozłowski
Middle Palaeolithic variability in Central Europe:
cultural tradi ons versus technological
and func onal adapta ons ......................................... 50
J.M. López-García, H.-A. Blain
Environmental and clima c context of northeastern
Iberian Neanderthals during the MIS 3 ....................... 51
J. van der Made
The accelera on of faunal change towards the end
of the Pleistocene ........................................................ 52
M.T. Krajcarz, T. Madeyska
Geology and chronostra graphy of sediments
from the Biśnik Cave .................................................... 56
A. Marciszak
Bloody canines and claws around the Biśnik Cave during
OIS 8 – 3. The state of research of carnivore assemblage
coexisted with humans during the last 200 Ka ............ 58
P. Neruda, Z. Nerudová
The chronostra graphic posi on of Middle Palaeolithic
horizons in Kůlna Cave (Moravian Karst,
Czech republic) ........................................................... 58
A.K. Otcherednoy, E.V. Voskresenskaya, L. Vishnyatsky
New geoarcheological studies of the Middle Paleolithic
sites in the Upper Desna River basin, Russia ............... 59
X. Roda Gilabert, S. Samper Carro, J.C. Mar , M. Roy
Sunyer, R. Mora Torcal, J. Mar nez-Moreno, A. Beni-
to-Calvo
Variability, mobility and site func on in Pre-Pyrenean
Middle Paleolithic. The examples of Roca dels Bous
and Cova Gran (Iberian south-eastern
Pre-Pyrenees) ............................................................. 61
S.C. Samper Carro, J. Mar nez-Moreno
Mousterian occupa ons or hyena dens? Cova del

Materials only for purposes of the conference
"European Middle Palaeolithic during MIS 8 - MIS 3".
Not for sale.
European Middle Palaeolithic during MIS 8 – MIS 3: cultures – environment – chronology4
Gegant (Sitges, Spain) as a controversial Middle
Palaeolithic assemblage .............................................. 62
T. Sato, F. Khenzykhenova, A. Simakova, N. Mar-
tynovich, G. Danukalova, E. Morozova, E. Semenei,
H. Kato, K. Yoshida, D. Kunikita, E. Lipnina, G. Medve-
dev, K. Suzuki, D. Lokhov, R. Sawaura, T. Kisloshchaeva
Biota of Karginian Interstadial of the Fore-Baikal area:
paleogeographical reconstruc ons ............................. 64
P. Socha
Small mammal assemblages from the Biśnik Cave:
palaeoecological and palaeoclima c reconstruc on .. 64
K. Stefaniak, P. Wojtal
Changes in the ungulate fauna (Proboscidea, Perisso-
dactyla and Ar odactyla) of the Biśnik Cave from the
Middle Palaeolithic to the Holocene ........................... 66
T. Strukova, E. Markova, A. Borodin
Late Quaternary paleontological cave sites in the Ural
Mountains: taphonomy, chronology and environmental
gradients ...................................................................... 67
M. Sudoł
Upper Pleistocene fl int assemblages from
the Biśnik Cave ............................................................ 68
A. Tyc
The origin and morphology of the Biśnik Cave ............ 70
M. Urbanowski
Stajnia Cave, the LMP site from Polish Jura ................. 71
P. Valde-Nowak
New details about the oldest layers
of Obłazowa Cave ........................................................ 72
M. Żarski, H. Winter, B. Marcinkowski, K. Rywoc-
ka-Kenig
Palaeoenvironment and climate oscilla ons record from
Stajnia Cave (Częstochowa Upland, Poland) – geological
and palynological data ................................................ 72
Posters .....................................................75
M. Adamczyk
Obora Rock Shelter ...................................................... 75
E. van Asperen, K. Stefaniak
The importance of Biśnik Cave for Quaternary horse
biostra graphy in Poland............................................. 75
M. Baca, P. Socha, P. Węgleński
Gene c and morphometric analyses of Late Pleistocene
Dicrostonyx gulielmi (Stanford 1870) from Bisnik Cave,
Poland.......................................................................... 76
E. M. E. Billia
Stephanorhinus kirchbergensis (Jäger, 1839) (Mamma-
lia, Rhinocero dae) from European Russia - A detailed
repertory of sites and material .................................... 77
H.-A. Blain, C. Sesé, J. Panera, S. Rubio-Jara, D. Uribe-
larrea, A. Pérez-González
Paleoclima c and paleoenvironmental proxies to
the Marine Isotope Stage 7e (Middle Pleistocene) in
central Spain (Valdocarros II, Madrid) by means of the
small-vertebrate assemblages ..................................... 77
J. Chlachula, R. Chlachula
New Middle Palaeolithic sites in Southern Moravia,
Czech Republic............................................................. 78
J. Chlachula, Yu. B. Serikov
The Middle Palaeolithic occupa on
of the Central Urals ..................................................... 80
K. Cyrek, M. Grelowska
Middle Palaeolithic hearths of the Biśnik Cave .......... 82
Ł. A. Czyżewski
Spa al analysis and visualiza on in the Biśnik Cave’s
digital documenta on system. The prac cal use of
‘cloud compu ng’ ........................................................83
P. D ąbrowski, W. Nowaczewska
The iden fi ca on of a carious lesion in a Neanderthal
permanent molar from the Stajnia Cave,
Polish Jura .................................................................... 84
K. Di Modica
Lithic produc on systems fl exibility in the Middle Paleo-
lithic: new data from Belgium ....................................... 84
M. Fominykh, S. Zykov
Bank voles (Clethrionomys) and mice (Apodemus, Mus)
from the Ural sites as the objects of paleoenvironment
reconstruc on ............................................................. 85
M. J. Gabucio Vilarrasa, I. Cáceres, A. Rodríguez-
-Hidalgo, J. Rosell, P. Saladié
A wild cat (Felis silvestris) butchered by Neanderthals in
the level O of the Abric Romaní site (Capellades, Barce-
lona, Spain) .................................................................. 87
M. Gasparik
Traces of mammoth hunters (?) from the vicinity of
Feldebrő (North Hungary) ........................................... 88
A. Kozyrev, A. Shchetnikov, A. Klement’ev,
F. Khenzykhenova, I. Filinov, E. Semenei
Geoarchaeological context of Late Pleistocene in the
Tunka ri valley (cis-Baikal region, Russia) .................. 89
M. Krajcarz, M. T. Krajcarz,
Adrian Marciszak
Palaeoecology of bears from the Pleistocene deposits
of Biśnik Cave based on stable isotopes (δ13C, δ18O)
and dental cementum analyses .................................. 89
M. Łanczont, T. Madeyska, M. Komar, A. Bogucki
Environment of the peri- and meta-Carpathian zone
during the Middle Palaeolithic se lement .................. 91
A. Marciszak
Biochronology of the cave lion line - the state
of research ................................................................... 91
A. Marciszak, P. Socha
Small mustelids in paleoecological analysis - the state
of research ................................................................... 94
A. Markova
The environments of the Crimea based on small mam-
mal data from Middle and Late Palaeolithic sites ....... 94
J. Mauch Lenardić
Bank vole Myodes (=Clethrionomys) glareolus (SCHRE-
BER, 1780) – rare fossil in the Croa an Late Pleistocene
sediments ...................................................................... 97

Materials only for purposes of the conference
"European Middle Palaeolithic during MIS 8 - MIS 3".
Not for sale.
European Middle Palaeolithic during MIS 8 – MIS 3: cultures – environment – chronology 5
A. E. Nekrasov
Avian remains in the Late Pleistocene locali es in the
Urals and Western Siberia ........................................... 98
K. Ochman, A. Nadachowski
Common Vole (Microtus arvalis) and Field Vole
(Microtus agres s) in the Middle and Late Pleistocene
of Poland as indicators of environmental and climate
changes ....................................................................... 98
G. Osipowicz
Preliminary results of use wear analyze of fl int ar facts
from the ‘Biśnik Cave’ site ........................................... 98
K. Pawłowska, P. Czubla
Mammalian remains in their deposi onal context in
Middle Poland (MIS 7–11?) ......................................... 99
P. Pazonyi, L. Kordos, E. Magyari, E. Marinova,
L. Fükõh, M. Venczel
Vertebrate faunas of the Sü õ Traver ne Complex
(Hungary) ................................................................... 100
Teresa Piskorska, Krzysztof Stefaniak
Quaternary remains of reindeer from the Biśnik Cave
and other locali es from Poland. .............................. 101
M. Połtowicz-Bobak, D. Bobak, J. Badura, Z. Jary, A.
Wacnik, K. Cywa
New data on Szele an se lement in Poland ............. 102
B. Ridush
Burshtyn: new Middle-Late Pleistocene paleofaunis c
site and its palaeogeographic signifi cance ................ 103
M. Sotnikova, I. Foronova
The lion-like pantherine cat and woolly mammoth from
Mousterian level of Molodova V Paleolithic site (Dniestr
basin): Results of detail morphological approach ..... 103
O. Sytnyk
Middle Palaeolithic of Dniester valley and Ojców Jura:
compara ve aspects .................................................. 106
A. Wiśniewski
Levallois technology in Central Europe: The ques on
of emergence ............................................................ 107
E. Zinovyev
Characteriza on of Eemian deposits (MIS 5e) from
Karymkary site (Low reaches of Ob River, West Siberia)
on the base of sub-fossil insect data and its comparison
with synchronous European faunas .......................... 107

Materials only for purposes of the conference
"European Middle Palaeolithic during MIS 8 - MIS 3".
Not for sale.
Programme of the Conference
25.09.2012, Tuesday
9.30 – 9.40 Opening and a short history of archaeological studies in the Biśnik Cave – K. Cyrek
9.40 – 11.00 Keynote lectures
Middle Palaeolithic variability in Central Europe: cultural traditions versus
technological and functional adaptations – J. K. Kozłowski
The acceleration of faunal change towards the end of the Pleistocene
– J. van der Made
11.00 – 11.30 discussion, coffee break
Session 1 (11.30 – 12.50)
11.30 – 11.50 The origin and morphology of the Biśnik Cave – A. Tyc
11.50 – 12.10 Geology and chronostratigraphy of sediments from the Biśnik Cave – M.T. Kraj-
carz, T. Madeyska
12.10 – 12.30 Middle Pleistocene fl int assemblages from the Biśnik Cave – K. Cyrek
12.30 – 12.50 Upper Pleistocene fl int assemblages from the Biśnik Cave – M. Sudoł
12.50 – 13.10 discussion, coffee break
Session 2 (13.20 – 14.20)
13.20 – 13.40 Small mammal assemblages from the Biśnik Cave: palaeoecological and palaeo-
climatic reconstruction – P. Socha
13.40 – 14.00 Changes in the ungulate fauna (Proboscidea, Perissodactyla and Artiodactyla)
of Biśnik Cave from the Middle Palaeolithic to the Holocene – K. Stefaniak,
P. Wojtal
14.00 – 14.20 Bloody canines and claws around the Biśnik Cave during OIS 8 – 3. The state
of research of carnivore assemblage coexisted with humans during the last
200 Ka – A. Marciszak
14.20 – 15.00 discussion
15.00 – 16.00 lunch
Session 3 (16.30 – 17.40)
16.30 – 16.50 Stajnia Cave, the LMP site from Polish Jura – M. Urbanowski
16.50 – 17.10 Palaeoenvironment and climate oscillations record from Stajnia Cave
(Częstochowa Upland, Poland) – geological and palynological data –
– M. Żarski, H. Winter, B. Marcinkowski, K. Rywocka-Kenig
17.10 – 17.30 New details about the oldest layers of Obłazowa Cave – P. Valde-Nowak
17.10 – 17.30 discussion, coffee break
17.30 – 18.30 exhibition “Biśnik Cave”

Materials only for purposes of the conference
"European Middle Palaeolithic during MIS 8 - MIS 3".
Not for sale.
European Middle Palaeolithic during MIS 8 – MIS 3: cultures – environment – chronology 7
26.09.2012, Wednesday
9.00 – 16.00 Excursion 1 to Biśnik Cave and Stajnia Cave
9.00 departure by bus from Wolbrom
9.30 arrival to Wodacą Valley in Smoleń
10.00 – 11.00 visit to Biśnik Cave in Strzegowa
13.00 – 14.00 lunch in Kroczyce
14.30 arrival to Mirów
14.30 – 15.30 visit to Stajnia Cave in Mirów
16.00 return to Wolbrom
17.00 – 18.30 Poster session
19.00 – social meeting (grill party in fornt of the venue)
27.09.2012, Thursday
Session 4 (9.00 – 10.20)
9.00 – 9.20 The chronostratigraphic position of Middle Palaeolithic horizons in Kůlna Cave
(Moravian Karst, Czech republic) – P. Neruda, Z. Nerudová
9.20 – 9.40 The Palaeolithic record from the locality Schöningen (Germany) in a biostrati-
graphical and archaeozoological perspective – T. van Kolfschoten
9.40 – 10.00 An other way to understand the human behaviuor beyond natural fi lters: Recent
archaeological data from Scladina Cave (Belgium) – G. Abrams, K. Di Modica,
S. Pirson, D. Bonjean
10.00 – 10.20 Environmental and climatic context of northeastern Iberian Neanderthals during
the MIS 3 – J.M. López-García, H.-A. Blain
10.20 – 10.50 discussion, coffee break
Session 5 (10.50 – 12.10)
10.50 – 11.10 Symbolic behaviour of the Middle Palaeolithic humans – J.M. Burdukiewicz
11.10 – 11.30 La variabilite du OIS 4 a Korolevo: une vertical ou une horisontal? – L. Kulakovska
11.30 – 11.50 Technological aspects of earliest Middle Palaeolithic leaf points in Central Europe
– M. Kot
11.50 – 12.10 Bison priscus as the basic hunting object in the Middle Palaeolithic at the Sea of
Azov Region: paleoecological and hunting evidences – V. Titov, V. Baygusheva
12.10 – 12.30 discussion
12.30 – 15.00 lunch
Session 6 (15.00 – 16.20)
15.00 – 15.20 Variability, mobility and site function in Pre-Pyrenean Middle Paleolithic.
The examples of Roca dels Bous and Cova Gran (Iberian south-eastern Pre-Pyre-
nees) – X. Roda Gilabert, S. Samper Carro, J.C. Martí, M. Roy Sunyer, R. Mora
Torcal, J. Martínez-Moreno, A. Benito-Calvo
15.20 – 15.40 Mousterian occupations or hyena dens? Cova del Gegant (Sitges, Spain) as a contro-
versial Middle Palaeolithic assemblage – S.C. Samper Carro, J. Martínez-Moreno
15.40 – 16.00 New geoarcheological studies of the Middle Paleolithic sites in the Upper Desna
River basin, Russia – A.K. Otcherednoy, E.V. Voskresenskaya, L. Vishnyatsky
16.00 – 16.20 Late Quaternary paleontological cave sites in the Ural Mountains: taphonomy,
chronology and environmental gradients – T. Strukova, E. Markova, A. Borodin
16.20 – 16.50 discussion, coffee break

Materials only for purposes of the conference
"European Middle Palaeolithic during MIS 8 - MIS 3".
Not for sale.
European Middle Palaeolithic during MIS 8 – MIS 3: cultures – environment – chronology8
Session 7 (16.50 – 17.50)
16.50 – 17.10 Climatic fl uctuations and their relationship with Isotopic Stages inferred by var-
iations in small and large mammals from selected Middle Paleolithic sites of the
Italian peninsula – C. Berto, B. Sala
17.10 – 17.30 Giant deer Megaloceros giganteus Blumenbach, 1799 (Cervidae, Mammalia) from
Palaeolithic of Eastern Europe – R. Croitor, K. Stefaniak, P. Wojtal, M. Stach
17.30 – 17.50 Biota of Karginian Interstadial of the Fore-Baikal area: paleogeographical recon-
structions – Sato T., Khenzykhenova F., Simakova A., Martynovich N., Danukalo-
va G., Morozova E., Semenei E., Kato H., Yoshida K., Kunikita D., Lipnina E.,
Medvedev G., Suzuki K., Lokhov D., Sawaura R., Kisloshchaeva T.
17.50 – 18.30 discussion, conclusions
19.00 – conference dinner (Klimtówka Hotel)
28.09.2012, Friday
9.00 – 16.00 Excursion 2 to Ciemna Cave and Nietoperzowa Cave
9.00 – departure by bus from Wolbrom
10.00 – arrival to Ojców in Ojcowski National Park
10.30 – 11.30 visit to the museum of Ojców National Park
12.00 – 13.00 visit to Ciemna Cave in Ojców
13.30 – 14.30 visit to Nietoperzowa Cave in Jerzmanowice
15.00 – 16.00 lunch in Jerzmanowice
16.00 End of the conference and return to Wolbrom or departure to Kraków

Materials only for purposes of the conference
"European Middle Palaeolithic during MIS 8 - MIS 3".
Not for sale.
Guidebook

Materials only for purposes of the conference
"European Middle Palaeolithic during MIS 8 - MIS 3".
Not for sale.
Base map a er: http://maps.google.com
Excursion
1 Map

Materials only for purposes of the conference
"European Middle Palaeolithic during MIS 8 - MIS 3".
Not for sale.
Excursion 1
Wolbrom – Smoleń – Wodąca Valley – Zegarowe Rocks – Biśnik Cave –
– Kroczyce – Mirów – Stajnia Cave
The Biśnik Cave
Middle Palaeolithic of the Biśnik Cave
Krzysztof Cyrek, Łukasz A. Czyżewski,
Magdalena Sudoł
Ins tute of Archaeology, Nicolaus Copernicus University,
Szosa Bydgoska 44/48, PL-87100 Toruń, Poland
e-mails: paleo@umk.pl, czyzewsk@umk.pl, sudol@umk.pl
The Biśnik Cave is situated on the western slope
of the Wodąca Valley, in the Niegownice-Smoleń
range, in the middle part of the Kraków-Częstocho-
wa Upland (fi g. 1). In the interdisciplinary archaeo-
logical works in the Biśnik Cave, carried out since
1992 under the supervision of K.Cyrek from the
Institute of Archaeology at the University of Nico-
laus Copernicus in Toruń took, or still take part:
T. Madeyska, J. Mirosław-Grabowska, T. Wiszniow-
ska, P. Socha, K. Stefaniak, A. Tyc, K. Kasprowska,
M. and M. T. Krajcarz, M. Sudoł and Ł. Czyżewski.
The Biśnik Cave is currently the oldest archaeo-
logical cave site in Poland, with a preserved pro-
fi le of sediments from the Middle Palaeolithic to
the Middle Ages (Cyrek 2002, 2003; Cyrek et al.
2009; Cyrek et al. 2010). The Biśnik Cave was fi rst
described in the memorable work “Jaskinie Polski”
(“The Caves of Poland”) by K. Kowalski in 1951
(Kowalski 1951).
The Biśnik Rock, in which the cave of the same
name is situated, lies at the site of the dry Wodąca
Valley, in the place where it changes direction from
the north-east to the south-west (fi g. 2). The cave
lies on the outskirts of the Wolbrom Gate joining the
vicinity of the Biśnik Cave with the Ojców Plateau,
situated about 30 km to the south. Likewise most
caves on the Kraków-Częstochowa Upland, the
Biśnik Cave was formed as a result of the Tertiary
(Miocene – Pliocene) karst processes, during the
tectonic fi ssure extending. The interior of the cave
was formed as a result of warm water, circulating in
the tropical climate conditions, which is proved by
circular corrosion niches and potholes visible in the
chamber roofs (Gradziński 2001, Cyrek, Sudoł 2009,
Tyc 2009). The entrance cave mouth, with the north-
west orientation is situated 400 m above the sea level
and 6m above the current bottom of the valley. The
cave is part of a system with several levels, includ-
ing the Psia Cave (Dog’s Cave). Currently it consists
of a few adjacent parts : a large overhang in front
of the chamber entrance, the main chamber lying
further down, the side chamber, side shelter, upper
shelter and a corridor leading into the rock, towards
a smaller chamber (fi g. 3). Throughout the whole
period of the Pleistocene, the inner cave division
underwent multiple changes, resulting from vari-
ous processes, caused by climatic changes. These
changed not only the cave itself but also the whole
rock complex. Most probably the overhang is what
remained after a large chamber, destroyed by the
weathering, slope processes and possibly tectonic.
The research carried out hitherto has revealed at
least 17 Middle Palaeolithic levels of the cave in-
habitation. The recently obtained results, including
the geochemical ones, have yielded new data for
the reconstruction of the environment in the con-
secutive climatic periods and verifi ed some of the
earlier assumptions, referring to the climatostratig-
raphy documented in the profi les of the Biśnik Cave
(Cyrek 2002; Mirosław-Grabowska 2002a,b; Cyrek
et al. 2009; Cyrek et al. 2010). Samples of cave loam
and bone remains, obtained from the cave during
the last several excavation seasons (Krajcarz 2009)
were the subject of detailed geochemical studies. As
regards the bones, the degree of their fossilisation
was examined, basing on the structural changes of
the bone tissue, changes in the mineral composition
and chemical changes. In the case of sediments the
subject of the research was micro-morphology, min-
eral composition and the chemical composition. The
analysis of contents of biomarkers phytosterols and
zoosterols (Krajcarz 2009) was essential and novel,
as regards cave sediments. The geochemical research
was supplemented by basic lithological analysis,
such as the analysis of sedimentary and post-sed-
imentary structures, determination of the sediment
pH or the degree of weathering of limestone rubble
(Krajcarz et al. 2010; Krajcarz, Cyrek 2011).

Materials only for purposes of the conference
"European Middle Palaeolithic during MIS 8 - MIS 3".
Not for sale.
European Middle Palaeolithic during MIS 8 – MIS 3: cultures – environment – chronology12
On the basis of the results of the sedimentolog-
ical and paleozoological analyses, it is possible to
reconstruct the paleo-environment in the vicinity of
the cave (fi g. 4).
The oldest cave layers (layers 20, 19b – 19d) con-
sist of clays and silty loams of varied contribution of
gravel (weathered and covered with secondary mineral
precipitates) (Mirosław-Grabowska 2002a, b; Cyrek
et al. 2009). Analysing those layers in the strati-
graphic pattern, one can clearly observe much small-
er contribution of gravel fraction in the lower layers,
in relation to layer 19, deposited on those sediments.
The paleo-climatic genesis of the oldest sediments
(layers 19a – c) is not entirely clear (Cyrek, Krajcarz
2011). The TL dating points to OIS 9. At present due
to a small number of organic fi nds and old chronolo-
gy, it is diffi cult to establish whether they are linked
with the phase as part of the Holstein Interglacial
(the so called “Great Interglacial”) , or south-Pol-
ish glaciations (Cyrek, Sudoł 2010). On the basis
of the geochemical data (analysis of biomarkers) it
was proved that man did not play a signifi cant role
in the accumulation of sediment in this layer (fi g. 5)
(Krajcarz 2009). Animal organic matter was ac-
cumulated in the cave and came from herbivorous
animals in the form of faeces, most probably of the
cave bear, which was the only herbivorous animal
inhabiting caves of central Europe in the Middle
Pleistocene. Much more information is provided by
layer 19, which is correlated with the older phase of
the Odra Glaciation, basing on the rubble weather-
ing data (Cyrek et al. 2009; Cyrek et al. 2010), or as
M. Krajcarz (2009) argues with the warm interstadi-
al, or the interglacial corresponding to the Lubawa
Intergacial (OIS 7). The paleozoological analysis,
based on very numerous, animal bone material al-
lowed the reconstruction of the cave surroundings
at the moment of sedimentation. The dominant role
of the steppe-tundra taxa has been observed, which
would point to the presence of open territories. The
taxa which prevailed included: the reindeer, Irish elk,
horse, woolly rhinoceros and steppe wisent. There
were less numerous examples, characteristic of the
forest zone, such as: red deer, roe deer, pine marten
and brown bear. The presence of such taxa as: the
elk or northern water vole proves the closeness of
marshy areas, as well as bodies of water (Sefaniak,
Marciszak 2009). The microstratygraphic and spatial
analysis of fl int artefacts, animal bones and remains
of several hearths indicated that the activity of man
at that time was mainly performed inside the cave,
and to a lesser extent in the sections near the cave
mouths (Cyrek, Sudoł 2010).
Layer 18 is also very rich in paleontological
fi nds (fi g. 5). It has a form of silty loam with coarse
gravel. The sediment from this layer is clearly dif-
ferent from the lower ones, which mainly manifests
itself in a lighter colour, indicating a smaller con-
tribution of organic matter (Mirosław-Grabowska
2002a,b). This points to the cooling of the climate
and changes in the surrounding ecosystems into
low-productive ones (yielding less organic matter),
such as the tundra. The deposition of the sediment
took place during the cool phase of the 2nd half of
the Odra Glaciation (Mirosław-Grabowka 2002a, b;
Cyrek et al. 2009), or as M. T. Krajcarz (2009) sug-
gests in the stadial period, corresponding to the
Warta, Wkra or Mławka stadial. This is supported
by bone remains, bearing traces of the frost weath-
ering. This means that the accumulation of the layer
happened in the periglacial conditions, at least peri-
odically, inside the cave. As in the case of the older
sediments (layers 19-19c), also in layer 18 eurytop-
ical animal taxa prevail. Among those the dominant
species is the cave bear. A very cold climate is also
confi rmed by such animal taxa as : the mammoth,
reindeer, chamois or arctic fox (Stefaniak, Mar-
ciszak 2009). A numerous fl int assemblage, animal
bones and remains of several smaller hearths prove
that also in that period short-lived campsites were
located in the inner parts of the cave, and to a lesser
extent in the sections near the cave mouths (Cyrek,
Sudoł 2010).
Layer 15 (fi g. 5) is made of typical silty loam
with weathered gravel, formed during the Lubawa
Interglacial (after Mirosław-Grabowska 2002a, b)
or late part of Warta Glaciation – OIS 6 (after Kraj-
carz 2009). There was a large amount of organic
matter in the layer, especially its roof part. Plant
humus resulting from the breakdown of the plant
material indicates a link with grassy fl ora and co-
niferous trees and has a similar composition to layer
19. This points to the presence of the taiga forest
around the cave, and consequently to the warming
of the climate during the accumulation of this layer
in comparison with the lower layer 18. The compo-
sition of clay minerals is similar to the composition
of layer 18. Basing on the observations it can be
deduced that the change of climate was not signif-
icant, but suffi cient to trigger fl ora changes in this
part of the Polish Jura (Krajcarz 2009; Krajcarz et
al. 2010).
In layer 15, fi fty-six mammal taxa have been
distinguished, with eurytopical forms dominating.
The fauna analysis is well correlated with the litho-
logical and sedimentological observations, pointing
to the presence of forest complexes and open areas
around the cave. The analysis has revealed the pres-
ence of the following forest taxa : edible dormouse,
vole, wild cat, lynx, pine marten, boar, elk, roe deer,
red deer. The forms which are typical of open areas
include: steppe wisent, chamois (Stefaniak, Mar-
ciszak 2009), as well as many rodent species, such
as: arctic lemming, Norwey lemming, grey hamster,

Materials only for purposes of the conference
"European Middle Palaeolithic during MIS 8 - MIS 3".
Not for sale.
Guidebook 13
European hamster, steppe polecat (Socha 2009). In
comparison with the older layers, we can observe
a signifi cant decrease in tundra forms. The number
of forest animals and eurytopical forms are on the
increase, whereas the number of aquatic taxa are on
the decrease (Cyrek et al. 2010). The spatial anal-
ysis has revealed that the situation was similar to
the time of accumulation of layers 19 an 18, during
the cave inhabitation. Archaeological excavations
have shown a visible preference to set up camp-
sites inside the rock feature. This is confi rmed by
very numerous fl int artefacts and clusters of char-
coal on the area of the main chamber (Cyrek, Sudoł
2010). It is an indirect proof that in spite of milder
conditions, the climate underwent cooler fl uctu-
ations. The intensive cave inhabitation during the
accumulation of layer 15 is additionally confi rmed
by the geo-chemical research. It shows that animal
organic matter bears clear traces of human faeces
(Krajcarz 2009).
The complex of layers 14 – 13 corresponds with
the warm interglacial, whereas layer 12 with the
cooler period of the stadial (after Krajcarz 2009). Ac-
cording to the earlier research layer 14 corresponds
with the Warta glaciation, and layers 13 and 12 with
the Eemian interglacial (after Miroslaw-Grabowska
2002 a,b; Cyrek et al. 2010). The paleozoological
analysis has indicated a clear warming during the
sedimentation of layer 13 and cooling in the case
of layer 12. In the deposits of layer 13 we can ob-
serve dominant eurytopical forms and forest forms
(roe deer, red deer, pine marten). In layer 12 there
is a visible increase in the percentage of taxa con-
nected with open areas, typical of the tundra and
steppe-tundra environment (horse, reindeer, steppe
wisent) in comparison with the material from layer
13. The deposition of the sediment from the layer
took place during harsh climatic conditions. At that
time steppe and steppe-tundra areas prevailed in the
vicinity of the cave, which has been confi rmed by
the analysis of the taxa characteristic of this type of
territory. The forest area decreased or vanished com-
pletely (Cyrek et al. 2010). The deposition of both
layers corresponds in time with the presence of the
aquatic environment near the Biśnik Cave (fi g. 6).
The cave was inhabited in both climatic phases,
but the most intensive settlement took place during
the transitory phase between the fi rst and the second
period. The most densely inhabited part of the cave
was the area in the side shelter, characteristic due to
a wide entrance leading directly towards the valley.
The evidence of this is provided by charcoal found
next to overheated stones, which can be interpreted
as the remains of at least 4 hearths. In the previous-
ly mentioned hearths the wood of spruce, larch and
pine tree was burned (Cyrek, Sudoł 2010).
The early-Vistulian layers 11 – 9 (fi g. 6) were
formed as sandy loams with a large amount of
weathered gravel (Mirosław-Grabowska 2002a, b).
They were seen in all parts of the cave. The spatial
analysis of assemblages unearthed in those layers
has revealed a similar distribution of both fl int arte-
facts and animal bone fragments, i.e. on both sides
of the entrance cave mouth to the main chamber, in
the shelter and in the side chamber. In the entrance to
the main chamber, each layer bore traces of hearths
(Cyrek, Sudoł 2010). The character of layers 9 – 11
points to the deposition of the sediment in the con-
ditions of a cool climate (Toruń stadial. This is con-
fi rmed by the material forming the sediment, blown
in direct ly from t he a reas ne ighb ou ri ng wit h he cave,
and the state of preservation of limestone gravel,
which is less weathered than in Eemian layers, de-
posited underneath (Mirosław-Grabowska 2002b).
We have to underline a constant presence of forest
taxa, particularly in layer 9 (Cyrek et al. 2009),
which can be linked with the approaching Gniew
interstadial, or may indicate that the cooling was
not too big. We also have to bear in mind the spe-
cifi c character of the Kraków-Częstochowa Upland
in the Pleistocene, where even in the cold periods,
the taxa typical of forest areas and lands on the
border of forest and open territories were present.
In general, it can be assumed that open areas with
the presence of some forested territories prevailed
(park forests, forest-steppes). The presence of the
remains of the horse, Irish Elk, steppe wisent, woolly
rhinoceros and the reindeer in the bone material in-
dicates a constant presence of open areas around
the cave, whereas the forest environment manifests
itself in the presence of the roe deer, pine marten,
fox or wolf (Sefaniak, Marciszak 2009).
The youngest sediments in which the Middle
Palaeolithic remains of settlement were discovered
come from the lower Plenivistulian (OIS 4) (fi g. 6).
They are made of layered sands, and their deposi-
tion in the cave can be explained by a high level of
water in the valley, at the bottom of the cave, which
is confi rmed the lithological research in the valley
(Cyrek, Sudoł 2009; Cyrek et al. 2010). At that time
the main chamber and the area under the overhang
underwent intensive inhabitation. Simultaneously,
other activities aiming at the far-reaching adapta-
tion of the living space were performed, such as
erecting the construction of a wind-shelter (fi g. 7;
Cyrek, Sudoł 2010). The deposition of the sediment
undoubtedly took place during the cold climate.
Open areas prevailed in the vicinity of the cave.
There were also instances of sparse forests and bod-
ies of water. The fauna is represented by eurytopical
forms of taxa. There are multiple taxa characteris-
tic of tundra and steppe-tundra territories, such as:

Materials only for purposes of the conference
"European Middle Palaeolithic during MIS 8 - MIS 3".
Not for sale.
European Middle Palaeolithic during MIS 8 – MIS 3: cultures – environment – chronology14
the horse, rhinoceros, Irish Elk, reindeer, steppe
wisent or muskox. There are clear traces of forest
taxa (red deer, roe deer) or aquatic ones (Sefaniak,
Marciszak 2009).
To sum up, we have to underline that twenty
research seasons in the Biśnik Cave have yielded
a large number of archaeological and paleo-envi-
ronmental data. The cave had a favourable location,
and thanks to the presence of the widely diversi-
fi ed environment in its vicinity, with areas of steppe,
tundra, forest and aquatic territories, it was condu-
cive to human inhabitation in the period of Middle
and Upper Pleistocene. The traces of short-lived
stays of Middle-Palaeolithic hunters-gatherers have
been observed in various environmental conditions
in the separate phases of the cave inhabitation.
Geology of the Biśnik Cave
Maciej T. Krajcarz
Ins tute of Geological Sciences,
Polish Academy of Sciences, Research Centre in Warsaw.
Twarda St. No 51/55, PL-00818 Warszawa, Poland
e-mail: mkrajcarz@twarda.pan.pl
Biśnik Cave is formed in massive Upper Jurassic
(Oxfordian) limestone, on the slope of Wodąca Val-
ley. The cave is a part of destroyed bigger cave sys-
tem that includes Psia Cave (on the rear side of the
Biśnik Hill) and the shelters neighboring to Biśnik
Cave. The valley bottom is built of Vistulian loess,
cut by riverine paleochannel fi lled with alluvial sed-
iments. In modern times the river has disappeared
and nowadays the valley is dry. However drillings
showed the presence of Lower Holocene channel
sediments and younger fl ood sediments connected
with weakening of water fl ow, what occurred since
Neolithic or Bronze Age.
Sediments occurring inside the Biśnik Cave
were object of research since 1991 – the begin-
ning of archaeological excavation. Geological re-
searches were conducted by: Teresa Madeyska
(since 1992), Joanna Mirosław-Grabowska (since
1992 to 2006), Katarzyna Kasprowska and Anna
Rogóż (occasionally) and Maciej T. Krajcarz (since
2006). The fi rst description of sediments, made on
the basis of researches of T. Madeyska and J. Mi-
rosław-Grabowska, was presented by Cyrek (1997)
and Mirosław-Grabowska (1998). These initial
studies tried to correlate the layers 12 – 13 with
Eemian Interglacial (= MIS 5e), layers 14 – 15 with
Middle Polish Glaciations (= Saalian, MIS 8 – 6),
and lower layers 18-19 with South Polish Glacia-
tions (=Elsterian, MIS 20–12).
The detailed stratigraphy, based on sedimento-
logical, geochemical and paleontological data was
presented by Mirosław-Grabowska (2002) and re-
peated by Cyrek et al. (2009, 2010). These publica-
tions showed different stratigraphical scheme, with
layers 14 – 19 included to Middle Polish Glaciations
(MIS 8 – 6). Cyrek et al. (2010) had excluded the
layer 12 from Eemian Interglacial and connected it
with early phase of the Last Glaciation. The attempt
of correlation of sediment from Biśnik Cave with
sediments of other caves from Kraków-Częstocho-
wa Upland was presented by Hercman et al. (2004).
Later detailed geochemical and micromorpho-
logical analyses of fossil bones and sediments were
presented by Krajcarz (2009), causing the change of
stratigraphical interpretation. The main change was
to established post–Eemian age of layers 12–13, and
to correlate layers 13a–14 with Eemian. Interglacial
position of these layers was confi rmed by the most
advanced weathering stage of limestone rubble and
bones, the high kaolinite/illite ratio and presence of
deciduous tree–derived molecular fossils (Krajcarz
et al. 2010). Layers 19–19a were correlated with
older interglacial (MIS 7) on the basis of limestone
rubble and bones weathering parameters and TL
dating (Krajcarz & Cyrek 2011). Older Pleistocene
layers precede MIS 7 and originated during several
mudslide events.
Cave fi lling is built of different sediments: sands,
loams, loess, clay and speleothems, containing
different amount of limestone rubble and organ-
ic matter. Sediments occur in all known chambers,
however only sediments from Main Chamber, Side
Chamber, Side Shelter and from Overhang were
excavated and analyzed (for more information on
cave morphology see text of A. Tyc in this volume,
or text of K. Cyrek in fi
eld trips guide, in this vol-
ume). Profi les of sediments from different parts of
cave are diverse and many lateral changes of layers
can be visible. The lowermost part of profi le is fully
formed in Main Chamber, the middle part – in Side
Chamber, and the uppermost part – in Side Shelter
and under Overhang, on outside plateau.
Maximal thickness of sediments reaches near
10 m. The profi le consists of 23 layers, numbered
downward (fi g. 8). The layers may be grouped in
fi ve series:
– I series – layers 23 – 21. Layers 23 – 22 are terra
rosa red clays, and layer 21 is redeposited terra
rosa clay interlayered with loess. The age of terra
rosa clays was not determined, the TL age of loess
indicates the early Middle Pleistocene.
– II series – layers 20 – 19b. These are the sediments
of cohesive fl ows, shaped in form of lenses. Sedi-
ments originated during early part of OIS 7.
– III series – layers 19a – 8. It is built mainly of
loam or silts rich in limestone rubble. The series
consists of loams with limestone rubble.
– IV series – layers 7 – 3 and S1 and S2. Series con-
sists of fl uvial and mudslide sediments.
– V series – layers 2 – 1a and E–A. These are loess
and humic Holocene sediments.

Materials only for purposes of the conference
"European Middle Palaeolithic during MIS 8 - MIS 3".
Not for sale.
Guidebook 15
The faunal remains of the Biśnik Cave
Paweł Socha, Krzysztof Stefaniak, Adrian Marciszak
Department of Evolu onary Biology and Ecology, University
of Wrocław, ul. Sienkiewicza 21, 50–335 Wrocław, Poland
e-mails: sochap@biol.uni.wroc.pl, stefanik@biol.uni.wroc.pl,
caspian8@wp.pl
The fi rst information on the cave Jaskinia Biśnik
(Biśnik Cave) was provided by Kowalski (1951),
who distinguished the cave itself (number 383) and
two shelters – the lower one (number 382) and the
upper one (number 384). The Biśnik Cave is situated
on the left, western slope of the valley Dolina Wodą-
ca (Smoleńsko–Niegowonickie range). It is a part
of a large cave system, composed of Biśnik Cave
and Dog Cave (Jaskinia Psia). It has many entranc-
es and is composed of a few chambers connected
by corridors (Kowalski 1951, Szelerewicz, Górny
1986, Polonius 1991, Cyrek et al. 2009, 2010). The
archaeological site is situated in the main chamber
of the cave, the area in front of the entrance, shel-
tered from three sides by rock walls and from above
by an overhang, as well as a lateral niche which is a
corridor leading to the second chamber, connected
with the main chamber by a narrow passage. The
NW–facing entrance is situated ca. 7 m above the
valley bottom.
Since 1991, more than 260m2 deposits have been
explored to the depth of 150–850 cm from the sur-
face. Over 150,000 vertebrate bone remains repre-
senting mainly birds and mammals (Socha 2009,
2010, Stefaniak, Marciszak 2009, Tomek et al. 2012)
were obtained.
The deposit comes from the middle Pliocene
or Lower Pleistocene (layers 23 and 22), Middle
Pleistocene (layers 21 – 15), Upper Pleistocene (lay-
ers 15 – 2, including Eemian layers 15 – 13a) to the
Holocene (layers 1b and 1a) (Krajcarz, Madeyska
2012). Till now, more than 1,000 bird remains have
been obtained from the cave. More than 800 have
been identifi ed and classifi ed into 134 species and
taxa (Podicipediformes – 1 taxon, Anseriformes –
21 taxa, Falconiformes – 17 taxa, Galliformes – 12
taxa, Gruiformes – 3 species, Charadriiforemes – 16
taxa, Columbiformes – 1 species, Cuculiformers –
1 species, Strigiformes – 11 taxa, Apodiformes – 1
species, Piciformes – 2 species, Passeriformes – 48
taxa) (Tomek et al. 2012).
The deposits of Biśnik Cave yielded a total of 97
taxa of small and large mammals: Erinaceomorpha
(Erinaceidae – 1 species), Soricomorpha (Soricidae
8 species, Talpidae – 3 species), Chiroptera (Vesper-
tilionidae – 14 taxa), Rodentia (Sciuridae – 3 species,
Gliridae – 3 species, Castoridae – 1 species, Dipo-
didae – 2 species, Cricetidae – 13 species, Muridae
– 2 species, Hystricidae – 1 species), Lagomorpha
(Ochotonidae – 1 species, Leporidae – 3 species),
Carnivora (Canidae – 6 species, Ursidae – 3 species,
Mustelidae – 10 species, Hyeanidae – 1 species, Fel-
idae – 5 species), Proboscidea (Elephantidae – 1 spe-
cies), Perissodactyla (Equuidae – 1 species, Rhinoc-
erotidae – 1 species), Artiodactyla (Suidae – 1 spe-
cies, Cervidae – 5 species, Bovidae – 8 taxa) (Socha
2009, 2010, Stefaniak, Marciszak 2009, Marciszak
et al. 2011).
With respect to habitat requirements, the most
numerous taxa of birds were forms associated with
wet areas, requiring water bodies or watercourses,
as well as forest and ecotone forms which used to
forage in open areas but nest in trees. The species
composition of the bird fauna indicates that during
deposition of the material, in the vicinity of the site,
a mosaic of habitats occurred. Various kinds of for-
ests prevailed (coniferous and deciduous, including
old stands), but open areas and water bodies (with
open water table) were also present. The analysis of
mammalian fauna composition and palaeoecologi-
cal analysis indicate that the deposition of bone re-
mains in Biśnik Cave took place in conditions of dy-
namically changing climate and environments, from
cold and open during glacial and stadial periods to
warm with forest during interglacials and the Holo-
cene (Cyrek at al. 2009, 2010, Socha 2010, Tomek
et al. 2012).
References
CYREK K., 1997, Wyniki interdyscyplinarnych badań wy-
kopaliskowych w schronisku skalnym Biśnik w Strzego-
wej, województwo katowickie. Badania archeologiczne
na Górnym Śląsku i ziemiach pogranicznych w 1994 roku
[Annual of Centrum Dziedzictwa Kulturowego Górnego
Śląska in Katowice], p. 21–35.
CYREK K., 2002, Rekonstrukcja zasiedlenia jaskini Biś-
nik [in:] Jaskinia Biśnik. Rekonstrukcja zasiedlenia ja-
skini na tle zmian środowiska przyrodniczego. K. Cyrek
(ed.), Tor uń.
CYREK K., 2003, Biśnik Cave: A reconstruction of the
site’s occupation in the context of environmental chang-
es. Eurasian Prehistory 1(1), p. 5–29.
CYREK K., SUDOŁ M., 2009., Środkowy paleolit w jaski-
ni Biśnik na tle zmian środowiska przyrodniczego, [in:]
L. Domańska, P. Kittel, J. Forysiak (eds), Środowisko
– Człowiek – Cywilizacja, tom 2, Seria wydawnicza
Stowarzyszenia Archeologii Środowiskowej, Środow-
iskowe uwarunkowania lokalizacji osadnictwa, Bogucki
Wydawnictwo Naukowe, Poznań, p. 15–27.
CYREK K., MIROSŁAW-GRABOWSKA J., STEFANIAK K.,
SOCHA P., 2009, Archaeology, stratigraphy and palaeo-
ecology of the Biśnik Cave. [in:] Stefaniak K., Tyc A.,
Socha P. (eds), Karst of the Częstochowa Upland and of
the Eastern Sudetes: palaeoenvironments and protection.
Studies of the Faculty of Earth Sciences, University of
Silesia, No. 56, Sosnowiec – Wrocław, p. 191–214.
CYREK K., SOCHA P., STEFANIAK K., MADEYSKA T., MI-
ROSŁAW -GRABOWSKA J., SUDOŁ M., CZYŻEWSKI Ł., 2010,
Palaeolithic of Biśnik Cave (Southern Poland) within the
environmental background [in]: Climate Dynamics and

Materials only for purposes of the conference
"European Middle Palaeolithic during MIS 8 - MIS 3".
Not for sale.
European Middle Palaeolithic during MIS 8 – MIS 3: cultures – environment – chronology16
Prehistoric Occupation: Eurasian Perspectives on Envi-
ronmental Archaeology, Jiri Chlachula and Norm Catto
(eds), Quaternary International, 220 (1–2), p. 5–30.
GRADZIŃSKI M., 2001, Kras i jaskinie Jury Krakow-
skiej – zarys problematyki [in:] Badania w południowej
części Wyżyny Krakowsko-Częstochowskiej. Materiały
konferencyjne – referaty, postery, sesje terenowe, Ojców,
p. 40–47.
HERCMAN H., MIROSŁAW-GRABOWSKA J., MADEYSKA T.,
2004, Record of the environment changes during the last
150 000 years in cave sediments of the Kraków-Często-
chowa Upland. [in:] Partyka J. (ed.) The diversifi cation
and transformation of natural and cultural environment
of the Kraków-Częstochowa Upland, Vol. 1 Nature.
Ojcowski Park Narodowy, Ojców, p. 83–88.
KOWALSK I K., 1951, Jaskinie Polski, t. 1, Warszawa.
KRAJCARZ M.T., 2009, Rekonstrukcja środowiska sedy-
mentacji i diagenezy plejstoceńskich osadów i szcząt-
ków kostnych z jaskini Biśnik (Jura Polska) na podst-
awie badań geochemicznych. Doctoral thesis, Faculty of
Geology, Warsaw University, Warszawa.
KRAJCARZ M.T., CYREK K., 2011, The age of the oldest
Paleolithic assemblages from Biśnik Cave (southern Po-
land) in the light of geological data. Przegląd Archeo-
logiczny 59, p. 55–74.
KRAJCARZ M.T., GOLA M.R., CYREK K., 2010, Preliminary
suggestions on the Pleistocene palaeovegetation around
the Biśnik Cave (Częstochowa Upland, Poland) based on
studies of molecular fossils from cave sediments. Studia
Quaternaria 27, p. 55–61.
MADEYSKA T., CYREK K., 2002, Cave fi lling a chronicle
of the past, Acta Geologica Polonica, 52(1), p. 75–95.
KRAJCARZ M.T., MADEYSKA T., 2012, Geology and chron-
ostratigraphy of sediments from Biśnik Cave, this issue
MARCISZAK A., SOCHA P., NADACHOWSKI A., STEFANIAK K.,
2011, Carnivores from Biśnik Cave. Quaternaire, Hors-
série 4, p. 101–106.
MIROSŁAW-GRABOWSKA J., 1998, Stratygrafi a osadów
czwartorzędowych wschodniej części Pasma Smoleńsko-
-Niegowonickiego (Wyżyna Krakowsko-Częstochow-
ska), Studia Geologica Polonica 113, p. 105–119.
MIROSŁAW-GRABOWSKA J., 2002a, Litologia i stratygrafi a
osadów Jaskini Biśnik [in:] Jaskinia Biśnik. Rekonstruk-
cja zasiedlenia jaskini na tle zmian środowiska przyrod-
niczego. K. Cyrek (ed.). Toruń, p. 143–180.
MIROSŁAW-GRABOWSKA J., 2002b, Geological value of
Biśnik Cave sediments (Cracow-Częstochowa Upland).
Acta Geologica Polonica, vol. 52, no. 1, p. 97–110.
POLONIUS A., 1991, Inwentaryzacja jaskiń i schronisk
rejonu Smolenia (Maszynopis w archiwum ZPKWŚ),
Będzin.
SOCHA P., 2009, Small mammals (Erinaceomorpha, Sori-
comorpha, Chiroptera, Lagomorpha, Rodentia) from
Pleistocene deposits of the Biśnik Cave. [in:] K. Stefa-
niak, A. Tyc, P. Socha (eds), Karst of the Częstochowa
Upland and the Eastern Sudetes – palaeoenvironments
and protection, Sosnowiec – Wrocław, p. 215–224.
SOCHA P., 2010, Czwartorzędowe gryzonie (Rodentia,
Mammalia) z osadów Jaskini Biśnik (Jura Krakowsko-
-Częstochowska), Unpublished PhD thesis, University of
Wrocław, Wrocław
STEFANIAK K., MARCISZAK A., 2009, Remains of large
mammals (Carnivora, Ungulata) from Pleistocene
deposits of the Biśnik Cave. [in:] K. Stefaniak, A. Tyc,
P. Socha (eds), Karst of the Częstochowa Upland and the
Eastern Sudetes – palaeoenvironments and protection,
Sosnowiec – Wrocław, p. 225–254.
SZELEREWICZ M., GÓRNY A., 1986, Jaskinie Wyżyny
Krakowsko-Wieluńskiej, Warszawa-Kraków.
TOMEK T., BOCHEŃSKI Z. M., SOCHA P., STEFANIAK K.,
2012, Continuous 300,000-year fossil record: changes in
the ornithofauna of Biśnik Cave, Poland. Palaeontologia
Electronica 15 (1), p. 1–20.
TYC A., 2009, Karst and Cave of the Częstochowa Upland
– morphology and the outline of speleogenesis. [in:] Ste-
faniak, K., Socha, P., Tyc, A. (eds), Karst of the Często-
chowa Upland and the Eastern Sudetes – palaeoenvi-
ronments and protection, Sosnowiec–Wrocław, p. 11–36.
WISZNIOWSKA T., SOCHA P., STEFANIAK K., 2001, Czwar-
torzędowa fauna z osadów Jaskini Biśnik [in:] Jaskinia
Biśnik. Rekonstrukcja zasiedlenia jaskini na tle zmi-
an środowiska przyrodniczego. K. Cyrek (ed.). Toruń,
p. 193–220.

Materials only for purposes of the conference
"European Middle Palaeolithic during MIS 8 - MIS 3".
Not for sale.
Guidebook 17
Fig. 2. The North–West view of the Biśnik rock in winter (phot. Ł. Czyżewski)
Fig. 1. General location of the Biśnik Cave on the territory of Poland and in Wodąca valley

Materials only for purposes of the conference
"European Middle Palaeolithic during MIS 8 - MIS 3".
Not for sale.
European Middle Palaeolithic during MIS 8 – MIS 3: cultures – environment – chronology18
Fig. 3. Plan of the Biśnik Cave. Legend: 1 – sections of the site, 2 – rock, 3 – overhang’s line, 4 – entrances on different
levels (drawn by Ł. Czyżewski, M. Sudoł)

Materials only for purposes of the conference
"European Middle Palaeolithic during MIS 8 - MIS 3".
Not for sale.
Guidebook 19
Fig. 4. Biśnik Cave – ecological and cultural stratigraphy (after Krajcarz M. T., Madeyska T., 2012, in this issue)

Materials only for purposes of the conference
"European Middle Palaeolithic during MIS 8 - MIS 3".
Not for sale.
European Middle Palaeolithic during MIS 8 – MIS 3: cultures – environment – chronology20
Fig. 5. Biśnik Cave. Selection of fl int tools from the Middle Pleistocene cultural levels: 1–2 – layer 19; 4 – layer 18; 3, 5–6 – layer 15 (drawn by M. Sudoł)

Materials only for purposes of the conference
"European Middle Palaeolithic during MIS 8 - MIS 3".
Not for sale.
Guidebook 21
Fig. 6. Biśnik Cave. Selection of fl int tools from Upper Pleistocene cultural levels: 1–2 – layer 14; 3 – layer 12; 4–5 – layer 5 (drawn by M. Sudoł)

Materials only for purposes of the conference
"European Middle Palaeolithic during MIS 8 - MIS 3".
Not for sale.
European Middle Palaeolithic during MIS 8 – MIS 3: cultures – environment – chronology22
Fig. 7. Biśnik Cave. Planigraphy and reconstruction of wind-screen from layers 5/6 (drawn by Ł. Czyżewski,
M. Sudoł)

Materials only for purposes of the conference
"European Middle Palaeolithic during MIS 8 - MIS 3".
Not for sale.
Guidebook 23
Fig. 8. Cross-section through the Biśnik Cave (drawn by M. T. Krajcarz)

Materials only for purposes of the conference
"European Middle Palaeolithic during MIS 8 - MIS 3".
Not for sale.
European Middle Palaeolithic during MIS 8 – MIS 3: cultures – environment – chronology24
Stajnia Cave, the LMP site from
Polish Jura
Mikołaj Urbanowski1, Marcin Żarski2,
Adam Nadachowski3
1 Department of Archaeology, University of Szczecin,
Krakowska Str. No 71–79, PL-71017 Szczecin, Poland
e-mail: webarcheo@poczta.onet.pl
2 Polish Geological Ins tute – Na onal Research Ins tute ,
Rakowiecka 4, Warszawa, Poland
3 Department of Evolu onary Biology and Ecology, University
of Wrocław, Sienkiewicza Str. No. 21, PL–50335, Wrocław,
Poland, e-mail: nadachowski@isez.pan.krakow.pl
Stajnia Cave is located within the northern slope
of Mirów Ridge in Częstochowa Upland (Nie-
gowa municipality in Myszkowski district) be-
tween Mirów and Bobolice villages (50°36’58’’ N
19°29’04” E). The entrance of this small karstic
cavity is located 359 m a.s.l. and opened towards
NE. The cave fl oor ascends towards deeper part of
the cave, which has a shape of one straight, 25 m
long corridor with two small chambers. The wide,
dry valley in front of the cave is the NW extension
of Białka river tectonic valley. As it was determined
due to the geophysical studies and drillings, the val-
ley below the cave is covered by sands of differenti-
ated origin and depth up to 17 m. Both the geological
Fig. 1. Stajnia Cave. View of the site during exploration
(phot. by. M. Urbanowski)
Fig. 2. Stajnia Cave. Chronostratigraphy of the cave’s
sediments (drawn by M. Urbanowski)

Materials only for purposes of the conference
"European Middle Palaeolithic during MIS 8 - MIS 3".
Not for sale.
Guidebook 25
research and archaeological fi nds suggest the
open water was present in the vicinity of the cave
in the past.
The cave has been known for a long time and used
for different purposes in historical times. The inten-
sity of usage resulted in partial destruction of sedi-
ments. The fi eld research has been conducted there
since 2006, under guidance of Szczecin University
with a cooperation of Polish Geological Institute,
Wrocław University, Polish Academy of Sciences,
Biax Consult Centre, Czech Academy of Sciences
and other institutions. Before the excavations was
stopped in 2010, the sediments had been excavated
to maximum depth of about 2,5 m from the “0” level
of the referencing grid. The geophysical research al-
lowed to estimate total depth of the cave infi llings as
about 6 metres. Six stratigraphical complexes were
distinguished. The youngest complex A represents
Holocene sediments. Most of them has been depos-
ited or reworked during last few centuries, however
single Late Neolithic artefact was also found. Sever-
al lenses of light yellow sandy deposits (complex B)
underlie the Holocene soil in central part of the
cave. The uppermost unit B0 was dated by the OSL
method to 8950 BP (GdTL-1126). Complex C con-
sists of several layers of poorly sorted loams and
sandy loams of a yellow to orange colours, contain-
ing a signifi cant amount of sharp - edged limestone
rubble. The youngest unit C6 was macroscopically
correlated with CG5 unit from nearby Obora Shel-
ter, dated to Younger Dryas by the OSL method (11
710 BP - GdTL-1128). Saiga tatarica mandible dat-
ed by the 14C AMS to 14506 ± 407 cal BC (Poz-
28891) comes from disturbed part of the sediments,
most probably from the C18 layer. The grey colour-
ed unit C19 represents the remains of the LGM or
pre-LGM sediments, seriously eroded during the
Last Glacial Maximum. Complex D of about 50 cm
average thickness is much better preserved than up-
per layers. It consists of units D1 (14C AMS OxA-
24 944: 44 600 ± 2 100 BP), D2 (U-Th W 1400-1417:
52 900 BP and 14C AMS Poz-28892: >49 000 BP)
and D3. All the units are dark-brown cave loams
deposited in relatively warm and wet conditions, very
rich in faunal remains and Late Middle Palaeolithic
(LMP) fl int artefacts. They are characterised also by
the highest content of organic matter. Complex D
is underlined by the light-grey unit E1 and dark -
grey unit E2. Both are archaeologically sterile, and
both contain signifi cant amount of limestone gravel
Below the E2 unit a relatively thin complex of heav-
ily reduced cave loams (complex F) was found.
It directly overlies the complex G, consisting main-
ly of the residual loams of intense orange colour,
resulting from high presence of phosphate and
aluminium. Complex G is also characterised by
the lowest content of limestone rubble. Both units
are heavily mixed, and the traces of a solifl uction
fl ow preceding deposition of layer E2 are clearly
visible. All the sediments deposited before complex
D were also the subjects of other post-depositional
deformation formed possibly in a cold environment,
including a sediment sinking or upward injections
of deeper units (mainly from complexes G and F).
The faunal assemblage analysed so far consists
of over 50 000 bones and fragments representing
non-analogous faunal association distinguished by
a mixture of boreal, steppe, eurytopic and rare
woodland species. The most rich in faunal remains
complex D is dominated by inhabitants of well-
drained and wet tundra species represented by the
collared lemming (Dicrostonyx gulielmi), the Nor-
way lemming (Lemmus lemmus), the narrow head-
ed vole (Microtus gregalis) and reindeer (Rangifer
tarandus), which together comprise over 60 % of the
remains. On the other hand, inhabitants of steppe
or other dry and open areas, such as the common
hamster (Cricetus cricetus), are very scarce, except
for the relatively numerous common vole (Micro-
tus arvalis). Species living in diverse biotopes are
represented by the root vole (Microtus oecono-
mus), the European water vole (Arvicola terres-
tris), wolf (Canis lupus), fox (Vulpes vulpes), small
mustelids and the most common carnivore species,
the cave bear (Ursus spelaeus). The most charac-
teristic woodland species is a bank vole (Myodes
glareolus), with a frequency of less than 3 % in
layer D1. The preliminary isotopic studies suggest
a slight climatic shift towards more arid conditions
between layer D2 and D1. The biostratigraphic
markers remain in accordance with the geological
and absolute dating. The dental morphology of the
root vole (Microtus oeconomus) from complex D
is characterised by very low frequency of so-called
“malei” morphotypes (Nadachowski et al. 2009),
which suggests the middle Weichselian age of the
fauna (MIS 3 and/or MIS 4). Among the older parts
of stratigraphical sequence (complexes F and G)
some representatives of pre-Weichselian fauna were
recorded, including the remains of Panthera pardus
and a small series of remains which on the morpho-
metrical base may be attributed to Ursus deningeri.
Most of the remains from archaeological layers rep-
resent adult individuals, and the cut marks were dis-
covered on the bones of two most frequent species
(reindeer and cave bear). The preliminary studies on
seasonality suggest the cave was used throughout
a whole year.
Palaeobotanical studies on complex D revealed
the presence of non-analogous fl oral association,
dominated by herbaceous and shrubby plants and
suggesting a relatively open landscape. The over-
representation of Cichorioideae family is typical
for Weichselian assemblages, although the pollens

Materials only for purposes of the conference
"European Middle Palaeolithic during MIS 8 - MIS 3".
Not for sale.
European Middle Palaeolithic during MIS 8 – MIS 3: cultures – environment – chronology26
of trees have been also recorded, including Pinus,
Betula and Salix. The analysis of charcoals from
layers D1 and D2 revealed the frequent presence of
Pinus cembra. This observation remains in accord-
ance with the research on phytoliths.
Archaeological fi nds younger than LMP are rel-
atively scarce at the site. All the pottery fragments
(1003) and one iron bolt coming from destructed
sediments of complex A belong to a time period
between the late Medieval and modern times. Only
one macrolithic blade core from layer A0 may be
attributed to late Neolithic. Eleven soft-hammer
bladelets coming from complex C and destroyed
sediments in- and outside the cave may be techno-
logically attributed to Magdalenian. Fifteen blades
and two single - platform cores may be both attrib-
uted to Middle or Upper Palaeolithic, however no
clear traces of Upper Palaeolithic industries have
been found so far. Vast majority of fl int artefacts
– either found in situ (layers D1 – D3) or outside
the original context - belong to LMP period. They
represent a range of human activities, including the
production of fl int tools and food processing. The
analysis of 4659 fl int artefacts that were recovered
(not counting 2157 chunks and fl int nodules inten-
tionally moved by hominins into the cave) revealed
the clear domination of backed forms, mostly unifa-
cial fl ake knives and scrapers. This allows to assign
the fl int assemblage to late Micoquian tradition,
however different from the fully bifacial, classical
forms known from e.g. Wylotne shelter (Kozłowski
2006). The dominance of the rectilinear cutting
edges and the rich component of Levallois artefacts
(however discoidal and single-platform technology
dominate), may be both attributed to the assem-
blages being either from the beginning or the end
of the Last Glacial Micoquian phase (Jöris 2006).
However, the overrepresentation of backed fl ake
forms may be observed in the late LMP industries
of Quina - type (Turq 1989) and some contempo-
rary industries from Central Europe. Such techno
- typological characteristics of the fl int assemblage
may be e.g. observed in the younger LMP assem-
blages from neighbouring Biśnik Cave (Cyrek
et al. 2010). The spatial distribution of the fi nds
reveals some patterning. Whereas most of the bones,
including the ones bearing the signs of human
activity (mostly reindeer and cave bear) were dis-
covered in the deeper part of the cave, the majority
of fl int tools and some selected bone remains (Bison
priscus) were found within the small depression in
the sediments of complex D, located alongside the
NW wall. This area (SC8), of about 2x1 m size, lo-
cated in the central part of the cave, contained also
deposit of raw fl int nodules and two from three ne-
anderthal teeth discovered in the cave (Urbanowski
et al. 2010). Also two human hairs were found dur-
ing the microscopic studies of the sediments. The
concentration of fi replaces was found in the neigh-
bouring area of about 9 sq.m. One isolated fi nd of
smoke condensate was analysed by the FTIR and
DTMS methods. The analysis of organic residues
suggested the presence of plant waxes or fats/lipids.
This observation may be connected with the traces
of starch remains found in the analysed sample of
the sediment. The morphology of starch was typical
of grass seeds of the Triticeae. This may suggest the
preparation of starchy food during the Neanderthal
settlement of the cave.
References
CYREK K., Socha P., STEFANIAK K., MADEYSKA T.,
MIROSŁAW-GRABOWSKA J., SUDOŁ M., CZYŻEWSKI Ł., 2010,
Palaeolithic of Biśnik Cave (Southern Poland) within the
environmental background. Quaternary International,
220 (1–2), p. 5–30.
JÖRIS O., 2006, Bifacially backed knives (Keilmesser) in
the Central European Middle Palaeolithic. In: Goren-In-
bar N, Sharon G (Eds) Axe Age: Acheulian Tool-making
from Quarry to Discard, Equinox Publishing Ltd, Lon-
don, p. 287–310.
KOZŁOWSK I S. K., (ed.) 2006, Wylotne and Zwierzyniec
Palaeolithic sites in Southern Poland, Kraków.
NADACHOWSKI A., ŻARSKI M., URBANOWSKI M., WOJTAL P.,
MIĘKINA B., LIPECKI G., OCHMAN K., KRAWCZYK M.,
JAKUBOWSKI G., TOMEK T., 2009, Late Pleistocene envi-
ronment of the Częstochowa Upland (Poland) recon-
structed on the basis of faunistic evidence from archaeo-
logical cave sites. Institute of Systematics and Evolution
of Animals, Polish Academy of Sciences, Kraków.
TURQ A., 1989, Approche technologique et économique
du faciès Moustérien de type Quina: étude préliminaire.
Bulletin de la Société Préhistorique Française, vol. 86,
no. 8., p. 244–256.
URBANOWSKI M., SOCHA P., DĄBROWSKI P., NOWACZEWSK A
W., SADAKIERSKA-CHUDY A., DOBOSZ T., STEFANIAK K.,
NADACHOWSKI A., 2010, The fi rst Neanderthal tooth
found North of the Carpathian Mountains. Naturwissen-
schaften, 97, p. 411–415.

Materials only for purposes of the conference
"European Middle Palaeolithic during MIS 8 - MIS 3".
Not for sale.

Materials only for purposes of the conference
"European Middle Palaeolithic during MIS 8 - MIS 3".
Not for sale.
Base map after: http://maps.google.com
Excursion 2
Map

Materials only for purposes of the conference
"European Middle Palaeolithic during MIS 8 - MIS 3".
Not for sale.
Excursion 2
Wolbrom – Ojców Na onal Park – ONP Museum – Prądnik Valley – Ciemna Cave –
Jerzmanowice – Nietoperzowa Cave
The Ciemna Cave
Archaeological excava ons 2007–2011
Bolesław Ginter1, Krzysztof Sobczyk1, Damian Ste-
fański2, Mirosław Zając2, Paweł Valde-Nowak1
1 Ins tute of Archaeology, Jagiellonian University
Gołębia Str. no 11, PL-31007 Kraków
e-mails: p.valde-nowak@uj.edu.pl,
krzysztof.sobczyk@uj.edu.pl
2 Archaeological Museum, Senacka Str. No 3,
PL-31002, Kraków, Poland
e-mails: Damian.Stefanski@ma.krakow.pl,
Miroslaw.Zajac@ma.krakow.pl
Ciemna Cave in Ojców, in the southern part of
Kraków-Częstochowa Upland, is a key Micoquian
site. Prądnik, a stream fl owing through the valley,
gave the name of characteristic group of asymmet-
rical knives, as well as the name of Prądnik indus-
try (by S. Krukowski) or “Micoquo-Prondnikiens”
assemblages (by W. Chmielewski). The excavation
of this site carried out in the early twentieth cen-
tury, provided a series of stratifi ed materials. The
published profi les explicitly indicated the diverse
stratigraphic situations in various parts of the site.
The most important part is called Ogrójec. This is
collapsed part of the cave, now forming the open
terrace. The collapsing event had occurred proba-
bly even before the advent of Palaeolithic man here.
There were two cultural layers recognized by Kru-
kowski within loess – upper with the Prądnik imple-
ments and lower which, according to Krukowski,
was blend of the Prądnik and the older cultural
units, including those with handaxes. The stratigra-
phy in Ogrójec was confi rmed by Stanisław Kowal-
ski in the 60’s. A different situation was found by
Krukowski at the actual entry to the cave, where
he discovered a much longer stratigraphic section
with a few scarcely recognizable cultural levels.
Although Krukowski has initially outlined the prob-
lems of the correlation of those profi les it still re-
mains the open issue. The attempt to connect both
parts of the site was made in the 60’s by Kowalski.
However, it was restricted to the upper part of the
profi le. In 2007 the current excavation started in the
chamber of the cave, where the sediments had not
been recognized before. New research are meant to
synchronize the two essential parts of the site and
the sediments inside the chamber. At this stage, we
have achieved almost complete cross-section of lay-
ers in the cave distinguishing 19 major geological
layers with 9 archeological levels. The correlation
with profi les at the entrance to the cave, was showed
at similar stratigraphic situation. Precise studies
have provided new material, that despite of weak
density, allows us to make a preliminary cultural
linkage. Initially, based on the hitherto geological
analysis it was assumed that the sequences of Pleis-
tocene layers can be dated from between 8 and 3
isotopic stages. The cultural units can be described
as follow: Holocene – I cultural level with Neolith-
ic, Early Bronze, Roman Period and Middle Ages
settlements; the disturbed layer – II cultural level,
a few mixed materials, including Holocene, Upper
Palaeolithic and Middle Palaeolithic; Interstadial
(3 OIS) – III and IV, micoquian; the lower Plenivis-
tulian (4 OIS) – V cultural level, micoquian; early
Vistulian: VI cultural level, taubachien like indus-
try; Eemian (5e OIS) – VII cultural level, mousteri-
an with levallois technique and VIII cultural level,
mousterian, Odranian (6 OIS) – IX cultural level,
unidentifi ed industry with traces of bifacial tech-
nique. For the upper part of the profi le with relative-
ly rich micouqian elements (III cultural level) and
for “main cultural level” from Stanislaw Kowalski’s
studies the authors obtained the radiocarbon dates.
These are oscillating around 41 000 BP, indicating
a very late position of Prądnik industry.
Geology of the Ciemna Cave
Maciej T. Krajcarz
Ins tute of Geological Sciences, Polish Academy of Sciences,
Research Centre in Warsaw.
Twarda St. No 51/55, PL-00818 Warszawa, Poland
e-mail: mkrajcarz@twarda.pan.pl
Ciemna Cave is situated on the east slope of
Prądnik Valley, the tributary of Vistula River. Valley
is cut in massive Jurassic limestone, and fi lled with

Materials only for purposes of the conference
"European Middle Palaeolithic during MIS 8 - MIS 3".
Not for sale.
European Middle Palaeolithic during MIS 8 – MIS 3: cultures – environment – chronology30
Fig. 1. Stone implements from the III cultural level (MIS 3). Relatively abundant, micoquian with parallel recourrant Levallois (= prądnician, „main cultural level”?, acc. Krukowski,
Kowalski) asymmetrical knives, retouched levallois blade, scrapers, endscrapers, bifacial elements

Materials only for purposes of the conference
"European Middle Palaeolithic during MIS 8 - MIS 3".
Not for sale.
Guidebook 31
Quaternary alluvial sediments. The cave is situat-
ed at altitude 372 m a.s.l., high on the slope, above
60 m above the valley bottom. It has one entrance,
now modifi ed by artifi cial wall with door built in
20th century. Entrance is exposed to SW. Cave con-
sists of one elongated chamber passing into long
corridor. In front of the entrance there exist the
zones called “Oborzysko Wielkie” (what means
“The Great Cowshed-Place”), and “Ogrojec” (what
means “The Garden”), which once formed parts of
a cave. These parts are now outside of the cave, due
to collapse of the ceiling during Pleistocene. Geo-
archaeological researches were initially conducted
in the outside parts (Krukowski 1939, Madeys-
ka 1981, Kowalski 2006). New researches, inside
of the chamber, started in 2007 and have not been
fi nished yet.
The sediments from outside parts (“Oborzysko
Wielkie” and “Ogrojec”) differ from the sediments
from the chamber. The outside sediments are main-
ly formed as loess with cultural layers. Profi le is
almost 8 m long and consists of ten layers, num-
bered downward. Loess from lower part of the se-
quence (layers 10–9) was correlated by Krukow-
ski (1939) with Saalian Glaciation (MOIS 6), and
loess from upper part (layers 7–2) with early Vis-
tulian (MOIS 5 or 4). Thin layer of loam, between
younger and older loess (layer 8), was connected
with Eemian Interglacial (MOIS 5e). Humic layer 1
was correlated with Holocene. However the strati-
graphic position of sediments was not supported by
chronostratigraphic dating and was based only on
archaeological fi ndings and lithology.
Sediments lying inside of the chamber are
formed as typical cave loams. Almost no traces of
loess were found there. The profi le is over 6 m long
and consists of 18 layers, numbered downward.
Whole sequence may be divided into four series,
however the differences between them are weakly
marked. The oldest one consists of layer 18. It is
terra rosa reddish clay. The age of the layer 18 was
not determined. Similar sediments are known from
many caves of Kraków-Częstochowa Upland (for
example from Biśnik Cave, Nietoperzowa Cave,
Cave in Dziadowa Skała, Koziarnia Cave), where
their age was estimated to Neogene or early Pleisto-
cene (Madeyska 1981, Mirosław-Grabowska 2002).
The second series is the biggest one and includes
layers 17–9. It is built mainly of loams or silts rich
in limestone rubble. Almost no sedimentary struc-
tures are visible, as the sediments were accumulated
by relatively low-energetic factors – frost weather-
ing and karst weathering, with addition of biogen-
ic accumulation. Post-sedimentary structures, like
subsidence disturbances, occur. The differences
between particular layers are marked fi rstly in col-
or, rubble content and granulation of fi ne fractions.
The detailed studies shown also the differences in
the weathering parameters of rubble and bones, and
composition of trace elements. The age of series
Fig. 2. Ciemna Cave. Basic plan of the cave (drawn by M. T. Krajcarz, after Górny, Szelerewicz 1983)

Materials only for purposes of the conference
"European Middle Palaeolithic during MIS 8 - MIS 3".
Not for sale.
European Middle Palaeolithic during MIS 8 – MIS 3: cultures – environment – chronology32
was preliminary determined on the basis of weath-
ering parameters and similarity to profi les of sedi-
ments from other caves, and ranges from MOIS 6 to
MOIS 5. The series includes several Middle Palaeo-
lithic cultural horizons (Sobczyk 2011).
The third series includes layers 8-2. It is built
mainly of limestone rubble with sandy or loamy
matrix. High participation of rubble indicates
the climatic cooling which caused intensive frost
weathering of cave walls and ceiling. On the basis
of weathering parameters of rubble and bones the
series is correlated with MOIS 4 and MOIS 3. Age
determination is supported by 14C dating.
The youngest series consists layer 1, a loam rich
in organic matter. Its Holocene age is proved by ar-
chaeological fi ndings, among others the metal arti-
facts from Middle Ages. Sediments from MOIS 2 are
not preserved and probably were not accumulated,
maybe due to temporary closing of the entrance by
rock fall.
The profi le of sediments from Ciemna Cave is
among the longest sequence of cave sediments from
Poland, comparable only with profi les of Nietoper-
zowa Cave and Biśnik Cave.
Paleozoology of the Ciemna Cave
Piotr Wojtal
Ins tute of Systema cs and Evolu on of Animals,
Polish Academy of Sciences
Sławkowska St. No 17, PL-31016 Kraków, Poland
e-mail: wojtal@isez.pan.krakow.pl
The present day Ciemna Cave is part of a former
larger cave system, recently divided into two caves.
A collapsed cave called “Oborzysko Wielkie” is lo-
cated to the right of the entrance of Ciemna Cave
proper. The ceiling of “Oborzysko Wielkie” is for
the most part destroyed. This cave is currently com-
posed of a small corridor, called “Tunel”, which
leads to “Ogrójec”. “Ogrójec” is the main part of
the second cave devoid of a ceiling. The fi nal part of
“Oborzysko Wielkie” is the second corridor called
“Tunel Południowy” or cave “W Leszczynie”.
The upper, Holocene part of the sediments was
excavated by Czarnowski at the end of the XIX cen-
tury. Subsequently, Stefan Krukowski conducted
fi eldwork from 1918 to 1919 in which a few trench-
es were made in the entrance of the main chamber
and in “Oborzysko Wielkie”. In the XX century the
last excavation work was conducted by Stanisław
Kowalski between 1963 – 1968. A new fi eld works
were started in the 2007 by Institute of Archaeology
Jagiellonian University and Institute of Systematics
and Evolution of Animals, PAS.
During excavations in the 1960's in total, 10895
remains of large mammals were found in four
trenches. Only 470 bones and teeth could be identi-
fi ed as belonging to 16 taxa.
Carnivore remains dominate the palaeontologi-
cal material from all trenches, numbering altogeth-
er 412 bones and teeth. Herbivores are represented
by only 58 specimens. As in other cave sites of the
Kraków-Częstochowa Upland, and especially the
Kraków area, cave bears (Ursus spelaeus) clearly
dominate if the number of remains and number of
individuals are taken into account. In all layers of
Ciemna Cave, this species yielded 141 bones and
teeth, 30 % of the total number of large mammal re-
mains. If the category Ursus sp. (234 specimens) is
considered, the Ursidae remains (NISP = 375) great-
ly outnumber other mammal species and represent
nearly 80 % of the whole assemblage.
Trenches I, IV, and V yielded only 86 large mam-
mal remains. The most complete sediment sequence
is visible in Trench II, where the greatest number of
large mammals and total number of bone fi nds at
Ciemna Cave were discovered, i.e. 384 bones and
teeth in all. All taxa from Trench II are represented
by a small number of remains and in each layer only
single bones or teeth of both carnivores and herbi-
vores were noted. There is only one exception – the
cave bear remains (NISP =115), which dominate in
the palaeontological material. Other well represent-
ed species are wolf (Canis lupus) and foxes (specif-
ically polar fox Vulpes lagopus and red fox Vulpes
vulpes). In all layers 12 specimens belonging to six
wolf individuals were found. In the entire assem-
blage of Trench II, 14 bones and teeth of foxes were
found, four of which are uncharacteristic, i.e., they
cannot be unambiguously attributed to either species.
Herbivores were far less abundant than car-
nivores. In Trench II only 40 bone fragments and
ungulate teeth were discovered, most belonging to
the Cervids. Remains of red deer (Cervus elaphus)
yielded the largest number of specimens (NISP = 5,
MNI = 3). These are small, compact foot bones
and one tooth. Another Cervidae species, reindeer
(Rangifer tarandus) which is very well represented
at other Polish Late Pleistocene sites, is limited only
to two bones, a patella and lunatum bone.
The occurrence of two species associated with
mountainous areas should be noted – the chamois
(Rupicapra rupicapra) and ibex (Capra cf. ibex).
Chamois is represented by nine specimens in the
palaeontological material. The most important
discoveries in the faunal material of Ciemna Cave
are the remains of another species associated with
a mountainous environment – ibex. Seven bones
and teeth of this species were noted in all trenches.
Capra ibex was widely distributed during the Vis-
tulian (Weichselian, Würm) in Europe. It is known
from Germany, France, Italy, Greece, Bulgaria,
Hungary, and even Belgium or Holland, among oth-
er regions. Isolated remains were also discovered in
the Czech Republic and Austria Thus, it cannot be

Materials only for purposes of the conference
"European Middle Palaeolithic during MIS 8 - MIS 3".
Not for sale.
Guidebook 33
excluded that some isolated populations of Capra
ibex were able to reach southern Poland. On the oth-
er hand it is also possible that the Ojców area was
inhabited by Capra caucasica. The distribution of
this species included the Black Sea region. During
the Vistulian (Weichselian, Würm) period, in West-
ern and Central Europe Capra caucasica is known
only from sites in the Central Massif of France, mi-
grating from Transcaucasia at the beginning of the
Vistulian. However, other localities with remains
of Capra caucasica are unknown, leading Cre-
gut-Bonnoure to suggest a route north of the Alps
for the migration of this species.
It should be noted that the original list of pal-
aeontological material from Ciemna Cave included
woolly mammoth (Mammuthus primigenius). The
entire collection yielded only seven small frag-
ments of both tusks and teeth lamella. Even small
teeth fragments (a few centimetres in length) are
very easy to recognize in palaeontological material.
It should be pointed out that Krukowski (in 1939)
mentioned that mammoth remains were also present
in the site’s cultural layer.
One of the most important features of the Ciem-
na Cave site is the very large number of burned
bones in the main Micoque-Prondnikian layer. Both
Krukowski and Kowalski noted their presence in
the sediment and pointed out that they produced
the dark grey sediment colour. Also noted was a
lack of charcoal in the cultural layer. During Kow-
alski’s excavations more than 3462 bone remains
were found which have traces of fi re. Burned bones
were collected in all trenches. Unfortunately all are
unidentifi able fragments. None of the identifi able
bones was burned. Only 555 fragments (~16% of
all burned fragments) are above 2 cm in length; the
other 2907 fragments are smaller.
The largest number of burned bone fragments
among all Polish Palaeolithic cave sites was found
in Ciemna Cave. Usually from several up to dozens
of fragments with traces of fi re have been discov-
ered at other Palaeolithic sites. The most probable
explanation of such a large number of burned bones
at Ciemna Cave is that they were used by Nean-
derthals as fuel for hearths. It cannot be excluded
that bones were burned in order to make them less
attractive to large carnivores such as cave hyenas
or wolves, although this possibility is diffi cult to
prove. It would have been much easier just to throw
the bone remains over the front edge of the cave, es-
pecially since Ciemna Cave is located a few dozen
meters above the bottom of the valley, making this
action an effi cient way to eliminate the unwanted
animal remains.
References
KOWALSK I S., 2006, Uwagi o osadnictwie paleolitycznym
w Jaskini Ciemnej i Mamutowej w świetle badań z lat
1957 – 1974. [in:] Lech J., Partyka J. (eds), Jura Ojcows-
ka w pradziejach i początkach państwa polskiego,
Ojców, p. 335–354.
KRUKOWSK I S., 1939, Paleolit. [in:] Prehistoria ziem pols-
kich. Encyklopedia Polska, vol. IV, part I – part V, Pols-
ka Akademia Umiejętności, Kraków, p. 1–117.
MADEYSKA T., 1981, Środowisko człowieka w środ-
kowym i górnym paleolicie na ziemiach polskich w świ-
etle badań geologicznych. Studia Geologica Polonica 69,
p. 1–125.
MIROSŁAW-GRABOWSKA J., 2002, Geological value of
Biśnik Cave sediments (Cracow-Częstochowa Upland).
Acta Geologica Polonica 52(1), p. 97–110.
SOBCZYK K., 2011, Jaskinia Ciemna – archeologiczne
dylematy. Materiały 45 Sympozjum Speleologicznego:
p. 94–95.

Materials only for purposes of the conference
"European Middle Palaeolithic during MIS 8 - MIS 3".
Not for sale.
European Middle Palaeolithic during MIS 8 – MIS 3: cultures – environment – chronology34
The Nietoperzowa Cave
Archaeology
Krzysztof Cyrek
Ins tute of Archaeology, Nicolaus Copernicus University,
Szosa Bydgoska 44/48, PL-87100 Toruń, Poland
e-mail: paleo@umk.pl
The cave lies on the monadnock situated on the
plateau, c.a. 440 m above sea level. In 1918 it was
researched by L. Kozłowski, and subsequently,
between 1956–1963 by W. Chmielewski (1961).
The Nietoperzowa Cave (fi g. 1) bears the fi rst
traces of human penetration of the area of the Ojców
Jura (Chmielewski 1975). These were fi nds un-
earthed in the layer of loess with sharp-edged rubble
(lower section of layer 14). The character of sedi-
ment, as well as its stratigraphic position indicate that
the layer comes from the fi nal part of the Wartanian
glacial period (Madeyska-Niklewska 1969, Madey-
ska 2006) (fi g. 2). It contained 34 fl int artefacts
made with the use of the Levallois technique, in the
form of fl akes, blades and Levallois points (fi g. 3).
They were used by the Neanderthal during his short
stay at the cave, which is additionally proved by
scattered charcoals. The bones of large mammals
included the following taxa: the cave bear (Ursus
spelaeus), steppe wisent (Bison priscus),wildcat
(Felis silvestris), cave lion (Panthera leo spelaea),
fox (Vulpes vulpes), wooly rhinoceros (Coelo-
donta antiquitanis), horse, red deer (Cervus ela-
phus), Irish elk (Megaloceros giganteus), roe deer
(Capreolus capreolus), wild boar (Sus scrofa), rein-
deer (Rangifer tarandus). The bones of the steppe
wisent bear traces of removing the hide.
Within the clay Eemian layer 13 three cultural
levels have been distinguished. They contained bi-
facial fl int points (fi g. 4), side-scrapers and blade
fl int artifacts (tools). One of the cultural levels (layer
13d) was interpreted by W. Chmielewski as a sepa-
rate pre-Szeletian culture (Chmielewski 1975).
The distinguished fauna includes taxa, such as :
the horse, auroch (Bos primigenius), steppe wisent
(bison priscus), and common wolf (Canis lupus).
Layer 13 bore traces proving the intensive cave use.
Hearth remains were accompanied by the bones
of the cave bear (Ursus spelaeus) and the horse,
all covered with multiple cuts, which proves fi llet-
ing and removing the hide off the hunted trophies
(Wojtal 2007) (fi g. 5).
The fi nds from layers : 14, 13 and 12 are Middle
Palaeolithic assemblages with the use of the Leval-
lois technique, revealing links to post-Acheulian as-
semblages of the Piekary type.
Layer 6 was most abundant in artefacts. It was
made up of dusty clay with fi ne, smoothed rubble
and pieces of charcoal. The C14 dating indicates
that the age of this Middle Vistulian layer is between
36 210 + 12 501 B.C. (Grn-2881). The fauna includ-
ed taxa, such as : the cave bear (Ursus spelaeus),
horse and snow hare (Lepus timidus). The 131 fl int
artefacts include among other things : side-scrapers,
burins, truncated pieces, retouched blades and 50
bifacial leaf-shaped blade points (fi g. 6). The lat-
ter are artefacts distinctive of the Early Upper Pal-
aeolithic Jerzmanowice culture, distinguished by
W. Chmielewski (1961). Two other levels of this
culture have been found in layers 5 and 4, strati-
graphically younger.
It is in the Upper Palaeolithic levels that the trac-
es of an interesting method of hunting cave bears
(Ursus spelaeus) were found. Next to the entrance
there was a row of hearths. Bifacial fl int leaf-shaped
points were also lying around there, which are most
probably preserved fragments of javelin points.
It can be assumed that they were used to frighten off
and kill the bears inhabiting the cave. The animals
escaping from the cave fi lled with smoke, fell prey
to the hunters who had set the trap.
Fig. 1. View of the Nietoperzowa Cave (phot. by
M. Sudoł)

Materials only for purposes of the conference
"European Middle Palaeolithic during MIS 8 - MIS 3".
Not for sale.
Guidebook 35
Geology of the Nietoperzowa Cave
Teresa Madeyska
Ins tute of Geological Sciences, Polish Academy of Sciences,
Research Centre in Warsaw.
Twarda St. No 51/55, PL-00818 Warszawa, Poland
e-mail: tmadeysk@twarda.pan.pl
The Nietoperzowa Cave is situated on the slope
of the upper part of the Będkowska Valley, near
the highest point of the Krakow Upland. The cave
opening, looking to SSW is situated 15 m above the
valley bottom, 447 m a.s.l. The cave found itself
between the biggest caves in the Polish Jura Chain.
It has three chambers and horizontal corridors,
300 m long. Originally, a big part of the cave was
fi lled with sediments. They were removed at the end
of 19th century for agricultural purposes and used as
fertilizer. During this digging, archaeological arti-
facts and animal bones were collected by F. Römer.
The fi rst excavation was provided by L. Kozłowski
(1922). From 1956 to 1963 systematic explorations
were provided by W. Chmielewski (1961, 1975)
with participation of geologists and zoologists.
The exploration covered the whole chamber situated
at the entrance part of the cave.
The cave fi lling consist of two different series
of sediments: the older one consists of laminated
sands and silts accumulated by fl owing water and
residual clays. They fi ll the bottom channel with
smooth, chemically weathered walls. The upper
series (5–7 m thick) – layers 16 – 1 fi lls the wider
part of the cave, with mechanically weathered walls
(Figure). This series originated in dry cave and con-
sists of loam with limestone rubble. Its grain size
composition and weathering degree of the lime-
stone rubble resulted from the climatic conditions
changes (Madeyska-Niklewska 1969).
Layer 13 consists of grey brown loam with
strongly chemically weathered limestone rubble
covered with phosphate crust. A weathered stalag-
mite was found in this layer. These features point to
the warmest climatic conditions in the scale of the
whole sediments profi le of the cave. The lithologi-
cal composition of the layers 12 – 10 still points to
warm conditions, temperate and rather wet climate.
The limestone rubble is rounded and weathered.
Fig. 2. The main profi le of the
Nietoperzowa Cave (after
T. Madeyska)

Materials only for purposes of the conference
"European Middle Palaeolithic during MIS 8 - MIS 3".
Not for sale.
European Middle Palaeolithic during MIS 8 – MIS 3: cultures – environment – chronology36
Fig. 3. The Nietoperzowa Cave, layer 14. Flint artefacts of levalois-mousterian culture (Chmielewski 1975, fi g. 14)
Fig. 4. The Nietoperzowa Cave, layer 13d. Bifacial point
(Chmielewski 1975, fi g. 22)
The loam contains residual clay. The characteris-
tics of layers 8 – 6 is similar, but points to a little
bit cooler climatic conditions. Layers 14, 9 and 5 – 2
contain loess and angular limestone rubble. In the
layers 3 – 2 it is very fresh, unweathered. These fea-
tures point to cold climatic conditions. The climat-
ic fl uctuations reconstructed basing on lithological
features are lately confi rmed by weathering degree
of bones (Krajcarz, Madeyska 2010).
The only fl oristic material found in the sediments
were charcoals. The wood of Fraxinus was found on
the surface of layer 14, other deciduous in layer 13,
Pinus and Picea vel Larix in layers 13 – 11, 6 and 4.
Bones of vertebrates were found in all the layers
of the second series of sediments. (Kowalski 1961,
1964, Wojtal 2007). Beside big mammals and birds,
rodents are very important. The differentiation of
fauna composition in the profi le of sediments, ac-
cording to ecological requirements of particular
animal species provides a possibility to reconstruct
environmental changes during the time of sedimen-
tation (Madeyska 1981).
Based on geological, zoological and botanical
data it was concluded that the oldest part of sedi-
ments originated in dry cave (layers 15 – 14) could
be dated to the younger part of Penultimate Glacia-
tion (MIS 6). Upper part of layer 14 and layer 13 are
correlated with the Eemian interglacial (MIS 5e).
Layers 12 – 10 are correlated with the Early Glacial
of the Vistulian (MIS 5a–d), layers 8 – 6 – with so
called Interplenivistulian (MIS 3). Layers 9 and
5 – 2 with Lower and Upper Plenivistulian, it means
with MIS 4 and 2 respectively.
Paleozoology of the Nietoperzowa Cave
Piotr Wojtal
Ins tute of Systema cs and Evolu on of Animals,
Polish Academy of Sciences
Sławkowska St. No 17, PL-31016 Kraków, Poland
e-mail: wojtal@isez.pan.krakow.pl
It was discovered in 1848, and the fi rst excava-
tions were conducted by J. Zawisza in 1871 and than
by F. Römer in 1878 and 1879. Bat guano, which
had accumulated in large quantities in the cave, was
exploited from 1872 to 1879. During these activi-
ties about 4,000 cave bear canine teeth were found.

Materials only for purposes of the conference
"European Middle Palaeolithic during MIS 8 - MIS 3".
Not for sale.
Guidebook 37
Fig. 5. Jaskinia Nietoperzowa, layer 12. Cave bear (Ursus speleaus) metapodium with cutmarks (Wojtal 2007,
phot. VII. 28, 29)
Fig. 6. Jaskinia Nietoperzowa, layer 6. Bifacial leaf
point
In 1918 L. Kozłowski carried out archaeological
studies near the entrance of the cave. Between 1956
and 1963, archaeological studies were conducted by
W. Chmielewski, who situated trenches in front of
the cave, in the corridor, in the entrance of the cham-
ber, and inside the chamber. His studies demonstrat-
ed that most of the sediments had not been disturbed
by earlier work.
Nietoperzowa Cave is a stratigraphically impor-
tant site because it has yielded the most complete
sequence of Upper Pleistocene sediments – from
Eemian interglacial till end of Pleistocene.
During eight years, of excavations in the 1960s,
about 11000 large mammal bone remains were dis-
covered, belonging to 19 taxa. As in other Polish
cave sites, carnivore remains greatly outnumber
herbivores. In all Pleistocene layers (from 16 to 4)
4607 bones and teeth were found belonging to nine
large Carnivore species. This material is clear-
ly dominated by the cave bear (Ursus spelaeus)
(NISP=5687, MNI=67), a taxon noted in all layers
except the deepest Layer 17. The second most nu-
merous carnivore species in Nietoperzowa Cave is
the wolf (Canis lupus) (NISP=56, MNI=10), whose
remains were noted in nine layers. Other large car-
nivores often present in the late Pleistocene materi-
als from other cave sites are the cave lion (Panthera
spelaea) (NISP=25, MNI=10) and cave hyena (Cro-
cuta spelaea) (NISP=28, MNI=7). Foxes are very
poorly represented by only fi ve fi nds from layers
8, 9, 14, and 15. Isolated bones or teeth of species
rarely noted in Polish Late Pleistocene sites were
also found in Nietoperzowa Cave, including badger
(Meles meles), wolverine (Gulo gulo), and wildcat
(Felis silvestris).
As in other Polish cave sites, reindeer (Rangifer
tarandus) (NISP=87, MNI=16) is the best repre-
sented herbivore species in the bone assemblage. It
is noted in nearly all layers except the three oldest
– 15, 16, and 17. In sediments of the Eemian inter-

Materials only for purposes of the conference
"European Middle Palaeolithic during MIS 8 - MIS 3".
Not for sale.
European Middle Palaeolithic during MIS 8 – MIS 3: cultures – environment – chronology38
glacial (layers 13-15), it is very poorly represent-
ed by only fi ve bones, but in layers associated with
the Vistulian glaciation this species is much better
represented and clearly dominates among herbi-
vores. The next most abundant group of ungulates
is the Bovidae. They were noted in nearly all layers
except 5, 9, 12, 15, and 17. Most of the bones and
teeth were discovered in layers 8, 10 (where the
largest number [NISP=17] was recovered), and 11.
Four taxa from the family Cervidae were discov-
ered in the site: reindeer, as already mentioned, plus
roe deer (Capreolus capreolus) (NISP=17, MNI=4),
red deer (Cervus elaphus) (NISP=33, MNI=10),
and giant deer (Megaloceros giganteus) (NISP=8,
MNI=5). Roe deer is a forest species, and its re-
mains were found only in sediments of the Eemian
layers: 15, 14, and 13. Red deer remains, recovered
from a larger number of layers, is also well repre-
sented in the oldest sediments. It clearly dominates
among herbivores in Layer 14. Giant deer bones or
teeth were found in fi ve layers.
Two Perissodactyl taxa were noted in this cave,
namely woolly rhinoceros (Coelodonta antiquita-
tis) and horse (Equus sp.) (NISP=39, MNI=12). The
horse is the second best represented species, after
reindeer, among ungulates.
The largest ungulates, woolly rhino (Coelodonta
antiquitatis) (NISP=8, MNI=6) and woolly mam-
moth (Mammuthus primigenius) (NISP=1), are repre-
sented by single fi nds. Woolly rhino remains include
single bones or teeth in each of six layers. Woolly
mammoth is represented by only one bone, a frag-
ment of a rib shaft about 30 cm long found in Layer 5.
As noted above, rare mammal species for Polish
Pleistocene sites were discovered in Nietoperzowa
Cave, mainly taxa associated with a forest environ-
ment, such as wildcat, wild boar and roe deer. All
were found in the oldest sediments from 16 to 13,
which could be connected mainly with the Eemian
interglacial. It should be mentioned that also in this
cave, as in other cave sites of the Kraków-Często-
chowa uplands, the remains of chamois (Rupicapra
rupicapra) (NISP=4) were found. The presence
should be noted of a musk ox (Ovibos moschatus)
left lower M3 in the sediments of Layer 9.
Palaeontological material collected during the
Chmielewski excavations is very rich, although
it is clearly dominated by bones and teeth of cave
bears found in all layers and constituting more than
90% of the large mammal assemblage. In spite of
the large amount of cave bear bones and the pres-
ence of numerous fl int artefacts in some layers of
Nietoperzowa Cave, the suggestion of Chmielewski
that both Neanderthals and modern humans often
hunted cave bear is not well supported. Most of
the cave bear bones come from nonviolent deaths
during hibernation, although it cannot be excluded
that some cave bear individuals were preyed upon
by Palaeolithic hunters, because isolated cut marks
were found on some bones.
References
CHMIELEWSKI W., 1961, Civilisation de Jerzmanowice,
Ossolineum, Wrocław–Warszawa–Kraków, p. 1–92.
CHMIELEWSKI W., 1975, Paleolit środkowy i górny, [in:]
Chmielewski W., Hensel W. (eds), Paleolit i mezolit. Pra-
historia ziem polskich, vol. 1, Warszawa, p. 9–158.
KOWALSK I K., 1961, Plejstoceńskie gryzonie jaskini Nie-
toperzowej w Polsce. Folia Quaternaria 5, p. 1–22.
KOWALSK I K., 1964, Pleistocene rodents from the Nietop-
erzowa cave in Poland, [in:] Report of the VIth INQUA
Congress, vol. 2, Warszawa: 527-533.
KOZŁOWSK I L, 1922, Starsza epoka kamienia w Polsce
(paleolit), [in:] Prace Komisji Archeologicznej, vol. 1,
Poznań, p. 1–52.
KRAJCARZ M.T., MADEYSKA T., 2010, Application of the
weathering parameters of bones to stratigraphical inter-
pretation of the sediments from two caves (Deszczowa
Cave and Nietoperzowa Cave, Kraków-Częstochowa
Upland, Poland). Studia Quaternaria 27, p. 43–54.
MADEYSKA T., 1981, Środowisko człow ieka w środkowym
i górnym paleolicie na ziemiach polskich w świetle
badań geologicznych, Studia Geologica Polonica 69,
p. 1–125.
MADEYSKA T., 2006, Tło przyrodnicze osadnictwa paleo-
litycznego Jury Ojcowskiej [in:] J. Lech, J. Partyka (ed.),
Jura Ojcowska w pradziejach i w początkach państwa
polskiego, Ojców, p. 270–312.
MADEYSKA-NIKLEWSKA T., 1969, Górnoplejstoceńskie
osady jaskiń Wyżyny Krakowskiej (Summary: Upper
Pleistocene deposits in caves of the Cracow Upland).
Acta Geologica Polonica 19(2), Warszawa, p. 341–392.
Wojtal P., 2007, Zooarchaeological studies of the Late
Pleistocene sites in Poland. Institute of Systematics
and Evolution of Animals, Polish Academy of Science,
Kraków, p. 28–29.

Materials only for purposes of the conference
"European Middle Palaeolithic during MIS 8 - MIS 3".
Not for sale.
Book of Abstracts

Materials only for purposes of the conference
"European Middle Palaeolithic during MIS 8 - MIS 3".
Not for sale.

Materials only for purposes of the conference
"European Middle Palaeolithic during MIS 8 - MIS 3".
Not for sale.
Recent archaeological data from Scladina
Cave (Belgium): a mul disciplinary
approach to understanding human
behaviour through natural fi lters
Grégory Abrams1, Kévin Di Modica1, Stéphane Pir-
son2, Dominique Bonjean1
1 Centre archéologique de la gro e Scladina, Rue Fond des
Vaux 339D, B-5300 Sclayn (Belgique)
2 Direc on générale de l’Archéologie, Service public de
Wallonie, Rue des Brigades d’Irlande 1, B-5100 Jambes
(Belgique)
In Scladina Cave (Belgium), two main Middle
Palaeolithic archaeological complexes were iden-
tifi ed shortly after excavation began in 1978 (Otte
et al., 1983). The complex from sedimentary unit
1A was deposited during the Weichselian Middle
Pleniglacial Period and was dated to approximately
37 000 – 40 000 14C years BP (MIS 3). The second
archaeological complex comes from the sedimenta-
ry unit 5, which was deposited during a cold phase of
the Weichselian Early Glacial Period (MIS 5d or 5b)
(Bonjean et al. 2011). This presentation will de-
monstrate the recent results for both assemblages
that were obtained through multidisciplinary re-
search both in the fi eld and on the collections. This
includes assessing the state of preservation and to
evaluating the degree of reworking of the objects in
the two complexes. This has been done as a preface
to archaeological interpretation.
In the fi eld, new observations since 2003 have al-
lowed for a refi nement of the stratigraphic sequence
(Pirson 2007) and an adaptation of the excavation
method. These recent modifi cations have only
been applied during the excavation beyond the 23rd
meter in the cave and have led to the association of
artefacts to precise layers within both units. These
layers relate to a diversity of sedimentary deposi-
tional processes, mainly solifl uction, runoff, and
debris fl ow. This highlights the complexity of the
sedimentary deposition, where strong erosion and
accumulation processes intervened (Pirson 2007).
Between the entrance of the cave and the 23rd meter,
most of the archaeological material was excavated
during the 1980s. At that time, the infl uence of sed-
iment dynamic on archaeological materials was un-
derestimated and the complexity of the stratigraphy
was not understood as clearly as it is now. Both unit
1A and unit 5 were considered individually homo-
geneous during excavation.
In the collections, an intensive program of refi t-
ting is in progress, both on lithic artefacts and faunal
remains. Furthermore, spatial distribution analyses,
as well as the interaction between taphonomic ob-
servations and fi eldwork, are both components of
the research (Bonjean et al. 2011).
The ± 4500 lithic artefacts from unit 1A are char-
acterised by a heterogeneous taphonomy: numer-
ous patina and differential states of weathering on
both the edges and surfaces. Spatial distribution and
refi tting both show that the material is spread over
an area of about 20 meters long inside the cave,
varying in width. Interstratigraphic refi tting of ob-
jects from 3 different layers of unit 1A and 4 other
layers of the overlying unit T shows that the arte-
facts were successively reworked, with each event
altering the spatial distribution and taphonomical
properties of the anthropogenic material. In the low-
est layer that contains artefacts (1A-GL), the lithics
exhibit a high state of preservation; however, up-
wards through the sequence of units 1A and T a con-
tinuum of increasing states of weathering is present.
The faunal remains were affected as well; while the
large quantity of teeth is quite well preserved, the
preservation of the bones is less (Lamarque 2003).
This is probably due to depositional processes, but
also to the intense scavenging of hyenas, which has
erased any possible traces of anthropogenic activity
(Bourdillat 2008). Only burned bones, which share
the same spatial distribution as the lithics, directly
refl ect human activity (Bonjean et al. 2011).
Lectures

Materials only for purposes of the conference
"European Middle Palaeolithic during MIS 8 - MIS 3".
Not for sale.
European Middle Palaeolithic during MIS 8 – MIS 3: cultures – environment – chronology42
With ± 13000 artefacts, the lithic series of unit
5 is the most important at Scladina. The spatial dis-
tribution is as large as unit 1A, and, again, refi tting
demonstrates reworking of the material. Most of
the artefacts exhibit a homogeneous state of preser-
vation. Up to now, no refi ttings have been made
between the artefacts within the sedimentary unit
5 and those from other units. This suggests that
low-energy processes reworked this lithic series.
Supporting this, the faunal remains from unit 5 are
well preserved, and the fractured edges of bones
are still fresh compared to those of unit 1A. Only
a few bones show evidence of gnawing by scaven-
gers. Human activity is well documented in unit 5:
a large amount of bones, mainly chamois, exhibit
anthropogenic marks, and these are accompanied by
± 1000 burned bone fragments.
All these data show that both occupations in
units 1A and 5 have been clearly reworked, but in
different ways. The 1A archaeological complex is
more heterogeneous in terms of taphonomy and is
dispersed into different layers. The faunal remains
were affected by the intensive action of scavengers
and climatic/environmental agents, and were also
reworked into successive layers by strong sedi-
mentary processes. The archaeological complex of
unit 5 is more homogeneous. It seems to be better
preserved than 1A, considering the freshness of the
osseous surfaces and the shapes of the fragmented
edges. Added to observations made in active per-
iglacial environments (Gavarnie project; Lenoble
et al. 2009), as well as in archaeological sites lo-
cated in France (Bertran et al. 2010) or in Belgium
(Walou Cave; Pirson 2007), these results contribute
to the comprehension of the effects of sedimentary
processes on spatial and stratigraphic distribution of
osteological remains and artefacts in cave settings.
The results from Scladina are encouraging. By
observing the effects of sedimentary reworking
through the multidisciplinary approach discussed
above, the extent of information that an archaeolog-
ical complex can provide about past human activi-
ties becomes more understood. As for most Middle
Palaeolithic sites, the original spatial distribution
of the artefacts has been disturbed. This causes the
identifi cation of the superposition of successive oc-
cupations in each archaeological complex, as well
the interpretation of the spatial distribution of hu-
man activity sites, to both be impossible. Despite
these limitations, a large amount of information
can still be obtained. By determining the fi rst lay-
er containing artefacts, the chronology of the two
occupations can be better estimated. Because of
the refi tting of objects, precise data can be obtained
about raw material procurement, tool production
strategies, and the exploitation of faunal resources.
Rerefences
BERTRAN P., KLARIC L., LENOBLE A., MASSON B., VALLIN L.,
2010, The impact of periglacial processes on Palaeolithic
sites: The case of sorted patterned grounds. Quaternary
International 214 (1–2), p. 17–29.
BONJEAN D., DI MODICA K., ABRAMS G., PIRSON S.,
OTTE M., 2011, La grotte Scladina: bilan 1971–2011,
[in:] M. Toussaint, K. Di Modica and S. Pirson (eds), Le
Paléolithique moyen en Belgique, Mélanges Marguerite
Ulrix-Closset, Liège, p. 323–334.
BOURDILLAT V., 2008, Hommes – Carnivores? Car-
actériser l’action de l’hyène des cavernes : de l’utilisation
des données fossiles pour l’interprétation des sites mix-
tes. Départemement de Préhistoire, Thèse de Doctorat,
Muséum National d’Histoire Naturelle, Paris.
LAMARQUE F., 2003, Les ours spéléens de la grotte de
Scladina (Namur, Belgique): essai d’explication du
déséquilibre entre la conservation des dents et des os de
la couche 1A, [in:] M. Patou-Mathis and H. Bocherens
(eds), Le rôle de l’environnement dans les comporte-
ments des chasseurs-cueilleurs préhistoriques. Actes du
XIVe Congrès de l’UISPP, Université de Liège, Belgique,
2-8 septembre 2001, Section 3 : Paléoécologie. Colloque
C3.1, Oxford, p. 111–119.
LENOBLE A., BERTRAN P., BOULOGNE S., MASSON B.,
VALLIN L., 2009, Evolution des niveaux archéologiques
en contexte périglaciaire : apport de l’expérience Gavar-
nie. Les Nouvelles de l’archéologie 118, p. 16–20.
OTTE M., LÉOTARD J.-M., SCHNEIDER A.- M., GAUTI ER A.,
GILOT É., AITKEN M. J., 1983, Fouilles aux grottes de
Sclayn (Namur). Helinium 23, p. 112–142.
PIRSON S., 2007, Contribution à l’étude d es dépôts d’en-
trée de grotte en Belgique au Pléistocène supérieur.
Stratigraphie, sédimentologie et paléoenvironnement.
Faculté des Sciences, Thèse de Doctorat, Université
de Liège, Liège.
Some paleoecological aspects of Late
Pleistocene Bison priscus Bojanus from
the Sea of Azov Region (Russia)
Vera S. Baygusheva1, Vadim V. Titov2
1 Azov museum reserve, Azov, Russia
2 Ins tute of arid zones SSC RAS, Rostov-on-Don, Russia,
e-mail:vv tov@yandex.ru
At the Middle and Upper Pleistocene of south
of Eastern Europe remains of bison are the most
common fossils, both in the Paleolithic sites and in
the natural localities. These animals were the main
hunting object of the ancient man in the region (Bay-
gusheva, Titov, 2007). In particular, in the North
Caucasus, the Sea of Azov and Lower Volga re-
gions they are known from a number of the Middle
Palaeolithic Mousterian (Il’skaya, Rozhok 1,
Biruchya Balka 2, Sukhaya Mechetka) and Upper
Palaeolithic sites (Kamennaya Balka, Tretiy Mys,
Muralovka, Amvrosievka, Zolotovka 1). In the area

Materials only for purposes of the conference
"European Middle Palaeolithic during MIS 8 - MIS 3".
Not for sale.
Book of Abstracts 43
of open and semi-open landscapes of the southern
Russian Plain bison lived untill 16th–17th centuries.
A large degree of morphological variability requires
careful studying and analysis of regional character-
istics of populations at different periods of polymor-
phic group of genus Bison existence.
Since the main material of the Late Pleistocene
bison primarily are from Palaeolithic sites, some fea-
tures of the biology and ecology of these animals are
scantily known. Important for solution of some these
issues is the material of B. priscus obtained during
excavations in 2003 and by the surface prospection
in following years near Port-Katon village (Rostov
Region, Russia). Fossiliferous layer was at a depth
of 7 m in the 30 m cliff of the southern shore of Ta-
ganrog Bay of the Sea of Azov. Fossil remains of
animals of one species were confi ned to the ravine
fi lled with fi nely homogeneous loess-like loams.
Based on the fact that sorting of the material was
poor, and remains have been preserved in anatom-
ical junction (vertebrae, ribs, distal parts of limbs),
we assume that the burial took place near the place
of animals’ death. Due to the same degree of preser-
vation of bones, confi ned localization of the materi-
al, the ratio of the age and sex, the lacking of traces
of human handling on bones and the absence of im-
plements, we can assume the simultaneous death of
the bison’s herd because of natural catastrophe. The
minimal number of detected individuals is 43. The
collection includes more than 1 800 specimens which
are stored in the collection of Azov museum reserve
(coll. KP-30053). Radiocarbon dating of the bones
shows that animals lived about 46 000 years ago.
Palynological data indicate the predominance in the
region of mixed coniferous-deciduous leaved spe-
cies forests and meadow-steppe plant communities
typical for the middle Valdai interstadial warming
(Baygusheva et al. 2012).
The determination of the age structure of bison’s
herds from Port-Katon was performed on the basis
of the wear degree and stage of teeth eruption, as
well as the character of epiphyses growing on the
astragals and metapodiums. At one of the lower
jaw with dp2-m1 an unerupted incisor preserved. It
begins to function in modern species of the genus
Bison only at the age of 1 year (Klevezal, 2007).
Unerupted second permanent molar tooth m2 is
entirely in the jaw. Such a degree of deciduous and
permanent teeth wearing have met at two more in-
dividuals. The comparison of our data with those of
N. Belan (Krotova, Belan 1993) on B. priscus from
Amvrosievka (Late Palaeolithic, Ukraine) and with
the modern bison allow us to determine the age of
the young animals from the Port-Katon’s sample as
about 8 months. Thus, taking the birth time of calves
in the April-June, we conclude that the loss of the
herd has occurred in December-February.
Analysis of the wearing degree of 22 teeth m3 of
B. priscus from Port-Katon showed that the consid-
erable part of collection belong to remains of young
individuals. In contrast to the large sample of bison
remains from kitchen wastes of Amvrosievka site in
a herd from Port-Katon the young individuals up to
4 years are more abundant, animals older (10 years
and above) are also more abundant, but individu-
als 7 – 9 years old are less abundant. Judging by the
calcaneal tuber fusion, the share of young animals
reaches 41,2% of the herd. Juvenile features of as-
tragalus’ bone tissue and their relative size also in-
dicates the large number of young animals (41,7 %).
This is also evidenced by the state of posterior meta-
podiums’ epiphyses - 43 %.
Sex composition of the herd was determined pri-
marily on the characteristics and size of astragali
and metapodiums, as well as in comparison with B.
priscus from Amvrosievka site. Among 66 astragali
only 10 ones belong to males (20,8 %), to females -
18 (37,5 %), and to immature individuals – 20 bones
(41,7 %). Among the last one three age’s groups can
be traced. In the group of males only one specimen
can be interpreted as an adult one, which is similar
to the data of Belan (Krotova, Belan, 1993). Rela-
tive size of posterior metapodiums shows that only
2 from 42 bones belong to adult males. And one of
them was younger, according to incomplete fusion
of lower epiphysis.
Bisons from Port-Katon were not relatively large.
The comparison of correlation of anterior metapodi-
ums’ parameters (the length of the bone and the in-
dex of width to length of a bone; Sher, 1997) shows
that they are intermediate in size between those from
Roter Berg (Saalfeld, Thuringia) and Mosbach. Horn
cores of B. priscus from Port-Katon are rather long
(the length by the line reaches 535.0 mm), relatively
thin and insignifi cantly curved – (index of curvature
is 97,4 %). The horny shape resembles that of the bi-
son from Süssenborn and longicorn B. priscus longi-
cornis from the Late Pleistocene of Angara valley in
Siberia, as well as the Trans-Baikal bison described
by K. K. Flerov as B. p. gigas. Based on the rela-
tively straight long horns it may be assumed that B.
priscus from Port-Katon was not a forest form.
There was carried out the studying of enamel
mesowear (Fortelius, Solounias, 2000; Rivals et al.,
2007), fi xing the character of herbivorous animal
feeding based on analysis of the degree of sharpness
of the teeth. The examination of 22 specimens of
upper teeth M2 indicates that the mesowear scores
of B. priscus from Port-Katon is 1.11 points. This
feature is similar to the data of modern North Amer-
ican forest bison B. bison athabascae Rhoads (1,00
points) and differs from the modern plains bison
B. bison bison (L.) (2,73 points). The character of
enamel microwearing also indicates the presence

Materials only for purposes of the conference
"European Middle Palaeolithic during MIS 8 - MIS 3".
Not for sale.
European Middle Palaeolithic during MIS 8 – MIS 3: cultures – environment – chronology44
of mixed feeding at bison from Port-Katon and the
similarity to those of modern forest bisons, and dif-
fers greatly from those of the North American plains
bison, which together with the food get much more
abrasive particles (Rivals et al. 2007).
Thus, the materials from Port-Katon show that in
the open landscapes of the south of Eastern Europe
in the Late Pleistocene bisons gathered in herds of
several dozen individuals during the winter months.
Females and young individuals were the most abun-
dant in the herds. The feeding of these predominant-
ly steppe animals were quite various throughout the
year, and included not only herbaceous plants, but
stick and leaf fodder.
References
BAYGUSHE VA V. S., TITOV V. V., 2007, The natural environ-
ment and living conditions of bison hunters in the Sea of
Azov Region. Journal of Anthropology, 15, p. 113–119.
BAYGUSHE VA V. S., TITOV V. V., TIMONINA G. I., SIMAKO-
VA A. N., TESAKOV A. S., 2012, Mass grave of Late Pleistocene
bisons in the Nort h-Eastern Sea of Azov Region (Por t-Ka-
ton, Rostov Region). Doklady Earth Sciences, in press.
FORTELIUS, M., SOLOUNIAS, N., 2000, Functional charac-
terization of ungulate molars using the abrasion-attrition
wear gradient: A new method for reconstructing paleo-
diets. American Museum Novitates, 3301, p. 1–36.
KLEVEZAL G. A., 2007, Principles and methods of age
determination of mammals, Moscow.
Krotova A.A., Belan N.G., 1993, A unique Upper Pale-
olithic site in Eastern Europe, [in:] O. Soffer, N. D.
Praslov (eds), From Kostenki to Clovis/ Upper Paleolith-
ic-Paleo-Indian Adaptations. Plenum press, New York,
London, p. 124–142.
RIVALS F., SOLOUNIAS N., MIHLBACHLER M. C., 2007, Ev-
idence for geographic variation in the diets of late Pleis-
tocene and early Holocene Bison in North America, and
differences from the diets of recent Bison Quaternary
Research, 68, p. 338–346.
SHER A. V., 1997, An Early Quaternary bison popula-
tion from Untermassfeld: Bison menneri sp.nov., [in:]
R.-D.Kahlke (ed.), Das Pleistozan von Untermassfeld
bei Meiningen (Thuringen), Teil 1. Monographien des
Romisch-Germanishen Zentralmuseums Mainz, 40 (1),
p. 101–180.
Clima c fl uctua ons and their
rela onship with Isotopic Stages inferred
by varia ons in small and large mammals
from selected Middle Paleolithic sites of
the Italian peninsula
Claudio Berto, B. Sala
Università degli Studi di Ferrara - Dip.to di Biologia ed
Evoluzione, C.so Ercole I d’Este, 32 44121, Ferrara, Italy
Several deposits with anthropic remains and/or
Middle Paleolithic industry are present in the Italian
peninsula. The isotopic stages, and the climatic
fl uctuations within these, are sometimes inferred by
small and large mammal fauna coming from these
sites. Relevant deposits, which allow to explain
how much their geographic and geomorphologic
position affect the mammal fauna are presented,
pointing out a strong regionalism.
Symbolic behaviour of the Middle
Palaeolithic humans
Jan Michał Burdukiewicz
Ins tute of Archaeology, University of Wrocław
e-mail: jan.burdukiewicz@archeo.uni.wroc.pl
In a research on the human origins, one of the
most important events is the appearance of sym-
bols, language and abstract thinking, the combined
effects of symbolic culture, often regarded as the
constitutive features of humanity. Several research-
ers assume currently that the spiritual life originat-
ed about 40 ka BP, with appearance of “anatomi-
cally modern humans” as are some time described
Homo sapiens sapiens (Klein 1999). It means that
there was no spiritual life at the time when Neander-
thals dominated Europe – the period 300 – 40 ka BP
(D’Errico, Nowell 2000).
In considering the history of mankind, there are
two basic trends. Supporters of one of them, believe
that humanity has developed evolutionarily, which
gradually progress through, and the Neanderthals are
among the population from which modern humans
are derived. About 30 years ago, some researchers
began to preach the concept of “human revolution”,
a sudden change of about 40 ka BP, which led to the
spread in the Old World “anatomically modern hu-
mans”, or Homo sapiens sapiens (Klein 1999). They
had to replace the “archaic humans”, including the
Neanderthals and then took the lead to the creation of
“behavioural modernity” (see Mellars, Stringer 1989).
The symbols are in the most general view, rep-
resentations or other terms and charac-ters. They
are considered to be a distinctive feature of human-
ity in the world of living beings. In other words,
the appearance of symbols is considered one of the
main criteria to separate humanity. It is commonly
believed that the symbols enabled the creation of
abstract thinking, faster communication and mental
structures, which are often implemented in everyday
life, ensuring the survival and development of the
people to limit or even replace biological adap-ta-
tion. These features are usually associated by the re-
searchers with our species, Homo sapiens sapiens.
Therefore, some scholars of human history as T.W.
Deacon (1993) defi ne people as “symbolic species”.
To avoid biased examination of the differences
between individuals recognized as Homo neander-

Materials only for purposes of the conference
"European Middle Palaeolithic during MIS 8 - MIS 3".
Not for sale.
Book of Abstracts 45
thalensis or the contemporary Homo sapiens A. Sani-
otis and M. Henneberg (2010) presented the average
characteristics of the two populations. They showed
that these differences are much smaller than some
researchers show. Therefore, it is diffi cult to agree
with the researchers emphasizing the fundamental
differences in the physical structure of Ne-anderthals
compared to their contemporaneous Homo sapiens.
Most discussions cause genetic test results,
which, until recently, completely exclude Neander-
thals share genetic heritage of the people living to-
day. Last study of the genome from the bones of Ne-
anderthals, compared with other populations showed
a similar DNA of people from outside Africa and
Neanderthals in the range 1 – 4% (Green et al. 2010).
It is important argument that the Neanderthals cross-
breeded with Homo sapiens, but some scholars still
does not eliminate the concept of denying their par-
ticipation in the cultural development of man-kind
(Mellars 2011) or a signifi cant roughness in relation
to the contemporary Homo sapiens.
The processes to accelerate the emergence of
phenomena classifi ed by some scholars to “mod-
ern behavior” observed in various parts of the Old
World included also the Neanderthals. Now it is ev-
ident that they presented symbolic behavior, in par-
ticular used colors, burials, body modifi cations and
rarely fi gurative art. For cognitive skills it should
be also included the use of complex tools (different
materials), complex processes and repeatability, and
advanced forms of diets, organization camps, and
residential construction. For the period 160 – 40 ka
BP, researchers have distinguished these 98 signs
of symbolic or “complex” behavior, with the criti-
cal evaluation of the left 49 fi ndings, which did not
raise any doubts (Langley et al. 2008). Several fi nds
point out that Neanderthals developed their spiritual
culture in a way comparable to the people “anatomi-
cally modern” in Africa (Zilhão 2010).
One of the main arguments of the supporters of
Neanderthal lineage exclusion from modern human-
ity origin and their lack of spiritual manifestations
was the absence of symbolic and fi gurative rep-
resentations even in the form of cave paintings so
characteristic for Europe-an Upper Palaeolithic. Last
new forms of art dating of uranium in 11 caves in
Spain (eg Alta-mira, El Castillo and Tito Bustillo)
have shown that dates back more than 40 ka BP and
are at least about 10 thousands years older than pre-
viously assumed. The origins of rock art dates back
to the late Middle Palaeolithic, so the time when in
this part of the world acted only Ne-anderthals (Pike
et al. 2012).
In other words, Eurasian Neanderthals were no
much different from contemporaneous Africans
when it comes to the appearance of new forms of
spiritual culture. Contrary to some simplistic views,
it can not be linked to the development of symbolic
culture-specifi c human biological populations. Fur-
ther research is needed to explain the origins and
early development of symbolic culture.
References
D’ERRICO F., NOWELL A., 2000, Origins of symboling in
the Near East: a new look at the Berekhat Ram fi gurine.
Cambridge Archaeological Journal 10, p. 123–167.
DEACON, T. W., 1993, The symbolic species: the co-evo-
lution of language and the brain. W.W. Norton & Com-
pany, Inc, New York.
GREEN R. E., KRAUSE J., BRIGGS A. W., 2010, A Draft Se-
quence of the Neandertal Genome. Science 328 (5979),
p. 710– 722.
KLEIN R. G., 1999, The Human Career: Human Biolog-
ical and Cultural Origins. University of Chicago Press,
Chicago.
LANGLEY M. C., CLARKSON C., ULM S., 2008, Behaviour-
al Complexity in Eurasian Neanderthal Populations:
a Chronological Examination of the Archaeological Evi-
dence. Cambridge A rchaeological Journal 18, p. 289–307.
MELLARS, P. A., 2011. The earliest modern humans in
Europe. Nature 479, p. 483–484.
MELLARS P. A., STRINGER C. B. (eds), 1989, The Human
Revolution: Behavioral and Biological Perspectives on
the Origins of Modern Humans, Edinburgh.
PIKE, A. W. G., HOFFMANN D. L., GARCÍA-DIEZ M., PET-
TITT P. B., ALCOLEA J., DE BALBÍN R., GONZÁLEZ-SAINZ C.,
DE LAS HERAS C., LASHERAS J. A., MONTES R., ZILHÃO J.,
U-Series Dating of Paleolithic Art in 11 Caves in Spain,
Science 336, p. 1409–1413.
SANIOTIS A., HENNEBERG M., 2010, Rehabilitating Nean-
dertals*: anthropological constructions of Neandertals
in the process of ‘othering’. Before Farming 4, p. 1–11.
Zilhâo, J., 2010, Did Neandertals Think Like Us?, Scien-
tifi c American, June 2010, p. 72–75.
Giant deer Megaloceros giganteus
Blumenbach, 1799 (Cervidae, Mammalia)
from Palaeolithic of Eastern Europe
Roman Croitor1, Krzysztof Stefaniak2, Piotr Wojtal3,
Małgorzata Stach
1 Ins tute of Cultural Heritage, Academy of Sciences of Moldo-
va, Stefan Cel Mare Str. No. 1, MD-2001, Kishinau, Moldova
e-mail: romancroitor@europe.com
2 Department of Evolu onary Biology and Ecology, University of
Wrocław, Sienkiewicza Str. No 21, PL-50335, Wrocław, Poland
e-mail: stefanik@biol.uni.wroc.pl
3 Ins tute of Systema cs and Evolu on of Animals, Polish
Academy of Sciences, Sławkowska St. No 17, PL-31016,
Kraków, Poland
e-mail: wojtal@isez.pan.krakow.pl
Biśnik Cave (Poland). The giant deer from
Biśnik is represented by a rather small-sized form.
Upper and lower tooth rows are generally shorter
than in the sample from Ireland, just slightly over-
lapping with the smallest individuals from Ireland.

Materials only for purposes of the conference
"European Middle Palaeolithic during MIS 8 - MIS 3".
Not for sale.
European Middle Palaeolithic during MIS 8 – MIS 3: cultures – environment – chronology46
The lower premolar series is relatively longer than
in Irish giant deer and the available material does
not show overlapping of premolar/molar ratio of the
compared samples. The upper tooth series lengths
and proportions of the giant deer from Biśnik Cave
are quite similar to those of Megaloceros giganteus
from Italy reported by Caloi (1973). A very weak
development of the cingulum, which is hardly vis-
ible in the majority of molars is another peculiar
character of the giant deer dentition from Biśnik.
Only few specimens show a moderate development
of cingulum. The postcranial material from Biśnik
is also rather small: the complete radius Nr. 1703
is signifi cantly smaller than the specimen from
Schlutup, Germany (according to data from Pfeiffer
1999) and still smaller if compared to the specimen
of Irish giant deer stored in the Museum of Natu-
ral History in Paris. The radius from Biśnik is also
characterized by the relatively narrowest upper ep-
iphysis among forms involved in the comparison.
The size and proportions of the metacarpal Nr. 1654
suggest that the giant deer from Biśnik belongs to
the group of short-limbed forms, such as Irish gi-
ant deer from Dublin, and the sample from Bruine
Bank (Holland). Again, the metatarsal from Biśnik
is characterized by the narrowest epiphyses among
the compared forms.
Częstochowska Upland (Poland). Although
the complete metatarsus from the Częstochowska
Upland (the exact location is unknown) can not be
directly compared to the sample from the Biśnik
Cave, apparently it belongs to a different form of
giant deer. The metatarsal bone under consideration
is very long, much longer than the metatarsal from
Brynzeni-I and involved in the study specimens
from Dublin, but also is longer than the metatarsal
of a large and long-limbed form from Lysmosen
(Danemark). The metatarsal from the Częstochows-
ka Upland is characterized by the relatively narrow-
est epiphyses among the compared forms of giant
deer, thus belonging to a particularly long-limbed
gracile form of giant deer.
Ofatinti and Duruitoarea Veche (Moldova).
The oldest remains of giant deer from Moldova are
yielded by the late Mikulian interglacial period de-
posits of Ofatinti (120 000 – 130 000 years: fi de Ani-
siutkin 2001) and Riss glacial strata of Duruitoarea
Veche (ca. 70 000 years: ibidem). The lower mandi-
ble thickness and length of lower molar series from
Ofatinti and Duruitoarea Veche are similar to sam-
ples from Ireland and Rhine Basin. However, unlike
the sample form from Ireland, the only known in
Moldova complete lower tooth row from Duruitoar-
ea Veche is characterized by relatively long premo-
lar series as in the giant deer from Biśnik. Cingulum
in upper molars of the giant deer from Moldova is
also very weak as in the sample from Poland. There-
fore, one can assume that the earliest giant deer from
Moldova are characterized by “normal” large body
size; however they still maintain a relatively long
premolar series and weak development of cingulum.
Lister (1994) reports comparatively small teeth for
the synchronous giant deer from Ipswichian/Eemian
Interglacial of Western Europe, but this, apparently,
is not the case of the giant deer from Moldova.
Brynzeni-I (Moldova). The third layer of Bry-
nzeni-I corresponds to the early stage of Late Pale-
olithic (radiometric dating indicated the age var-
ying from 26 000 to 18 000 years: Rogachev &
Anikovich, 1984). The complete upper tooth row is
rather large, slightly exceeding the total length of the
largest specimens from Ireland, and falling within
the range of size variation of the sample from Rhine
Basin of Holland and Germany (according to data
from Caloi 1973). Unlike the Irish form of giant
deer, the specimen from Brynzeni-I is characterized
by relatively long premolar series, as the samples
from Biśnik Cave and Rhine Basin. The giant deer
from Brynzeni-I also is characterized by very weak
development of cingulum. The single complete met-
atarsal from Brynzeni-1 approaches the Moldavian
giant deer to short-limbed forms, such as the giant
deer from Ireland.
Comments. According to Lister (2004), the ear-
liest remains of M. giganteus are dated back to ca.
450 000 years. Therefore, the remains of the giant
deer yielded by the lower layers of the Biśnik cave,
dated by the period from Odranian Glaciation to ear-
ly Vistulian and Torun stadials (Cyrek et al. 2010),
are among the oldest remains of M. giganteus. The
set of characters of the fossil material from Biśnik
suggest that we are dealing with a smaller primitive
form of giant deer with relatively long premolar se-
ries, weak cingula of molars, and short metapodi-
als. The relatively narrower epiphyses of limb bones
could be correlated with smaller body size of the gi-
ant deer from Biśnik. Megaloceros giganteus from
Biśnik is quite different from the ancient form from
Holsteinian of Steinheim (ca. 400 or 300 k yr BP),
which is reported by Lister (1994) as a giant deer of
“normal” body size (as large as the sample from Ire-
land), with possibly elongate distal limb elements.
The Polish giant deer is also signifi cantly smaller if
compared to Lister’s (1994) supposed oldest known
giant deer from the Late Anglian of Homersfi eld,
Norfolk, England, characterized by particularly large
size rivaling the largest specimens from Ireland.
Van der Made (2006) analyzed the proportions of
metacarpals of M. giganteus from Rhine Basin and
distinguished two morphological forms: the older
M. giganteus “antecedents/germaniae” with slender
metacarpals, and younger Eemian M. giganteus ssp.
with robust metacarpals. The position of metacarpal
bone from Biśnik is rather uncertain if compared to

Materials only for purposes of the conference
"European Middle Palaeolithic during MIS 8 - MIS 3".
Not for sale.
Book of Abstracts 47
the data of van der Made (ibidem). The specimen
from Biśnik possesses rather narrow distal epiphy-
sis as in the “slender” type, and comparatively broad
and short shaft as in the “robust” type.
The mandibular pachyostosis is a constant char-
acter trough the time, since the earlier jaws, includ-
ing the specimens reported in the present study, are
as wide for their size as those from Ireland (Lister
1994). The mandibles of females are relatively nar-
rower than in males, therefore the mandibular pach-
yostosis is exposed to a strong sexual dimorphism. It
is important to note that, according to the mandible
thickness, females are predominating in the sam-
ples from the Biśnik Cave and Moldavian grottos,
unlike the sample from Ireland dominated by males
(Barnosky 1985). Therefore, the results of compar-
ative analysis may be affected by the taphonomical
conditions of fossil material accumulation. Lister
(1994) regards the jaw thickening in M. giganteus
as a part of a generally enhanced skeletal calcium
store, related to the unusually large size of the ant-
lers. Perhaps, the strongly ossifi ed vomer, reduced
size of foramen ovale and strong obliteration of cra-
nial sutures should be regarded as characters caused
by pachyostosis (Croitor 2008). The nature of cingu-
lum is unclear. This character is very variable. The
cingulum is well-developed in the sample of giant
deer from Ireland (but still very variable), while it is
poorly developed in specimens discovered in East-
ern Europe. Perhaps, the cingulum represents a sort
of dental hypertrophy related to the hyperostosis of
head skeleton in giant deer (Croitor 2008). There-
fore, the dental cingulum may be a dimorphic char-
acter biased by the male/female ratio in the sample.
References
ANISIUTKIN N. K., 2001, Mousterian Age of South-West
of Russian Plane, Sankt-Petersburg.
BARNOSKY A. D., 1985, Taphonomy and herd structure of
the extinct I rish elk, Megaloceros giganteus , Science, 228,
p. 340–44.
CALOI L., 1973, Cranio di Megaceros giganteus (Blum.)
nel Muzeo del Servizio geologico d’Italia. Bolettino del
Servizio geologico d’Italia, 93, p. 195–221.
CROITOR R., 2008, Giant deer Megaloceros giganteus
(Cervidae , Mammalia) from Late Pleistocene of Mol-
dova. Oltenia. Studiile şi comunicări. Ştiinţele Naturii,
24, p. 262–266.
CYREK K., SOCHA P., STEFANIAK K., MADEYSKA T., MI-
ROSLAW-GRABOWSKA J., SUDOL M., CZYŻEWSKI Ł, 2010,
Palaeolithic of Biśnik Cave (Southern Poland) within the
environmental background. Quaternary International,
220, p. 5–30.
LISTER A. M., 1994, The evolution of the giant deer, Meg-
aloceros giganteus (Blumenbach). Zoological Journal of
the Linnaean Society, 112, p. 65–100.
MADE, VAN DER J., 2006, The evolution and biogeogra-
phy of the Pleistocene giant deer Megaloceros giganteus
(Cervidae, Mammalia). Courrier Forsch.-Institut Senck-
enberg, 256, p. 117–129.
PFEIFFER T., 1999, Der Riesenhirsch, Megaloceros gi-
ganteus (Blumenbach 1799) von Schlutup bei Lübeck
mit einer Analyse funktioneller Adaptationen des Skel-
ettes. Berichte des Vereins „Natur und Heimat“ und des
Naturhistorischen Museums zu Lübeck, „Museum für
Natur und Umwelt“, Heft 25/26, p. 138–159.
ROGACHEV A. N. & ANIKOVICH M. V., 1984, Late Palaeo-
lithic of Russian Plane and Crimea. Archaeology of the
USSR: Palaeolithic of the USSR: Moscow, p. 162–271.
Middle Pleistocene Flint Assemblages
from the Biśnik Cave
Krzysztof Cyrek
Ins tute of Archaeology, Nicolaus Copernicus University,
Szosa Bydgoska 44/48, PL-87100 Toruń, Poland
e-mail: paleo@umk.pl
The Biśnik Cave is currently the cave site with
the oldest archaeological assemblages in Poland,
with a preserved sediment profi le from the period
between the Middle Palaeolithic and the Middle
Ages. The entrance cave mouth, with the north-west
orientation is situated 400 m above the sea level and
6 m above the current bottom of the valley. On the
basis of the results of the sedimentological and pale-
ozoological analyses, it is possible to reconstruct
the paleo-environment in the vicinity of the cave.
The research carried out hitherto has revealed at least
17 Middle Palaeolithic levels of the cave inhabita-
tion (Cyrek 2002; Mirosław-Grabowska 2002a, b;
Cyrek et al. 2009; Krajcarz 2009, Cyrek et al. 2010).
The paper aims at presenting current results
referring to the technology, chronology and cultur-
al identity of the pre-Vistulian cultural levels at the
Biśnik Cave correlated with other selected middle
Palaeolithic sites in Europe. The oldest fl int arte-
facts were found in the main chamber in layers
19b/19c, 19d and 19a (fi g. 1). Recently, M. T. Kraj-
carz has considered that layers to be deluvium of
cave clays formed during the fi nal Oder Glaciation
or Lublin Interglacial (MIS 8 – 7) (Krajcarz, Cyrek
2011). There are a lot of arguments in favour of the
fact that layer 19a is the fi rst and oldest cave layer
located in its primary deposit including 10 artefacts
made with the use of the Levallois technique. These
are mainly side-scrapers and denticulate-notched
tools with the Musterian stylistics. Taking into con-
sideration the “Oder” (MIS 8) and “Lublin” (MIS 7)
age of layer 19a and the unearthed assemblage A7,
it can be supposed that it is of a very old, local
origin of the Musterian tradition with the use of the
Levallois method.
A more numerous assemblage (A6) was found
in layer 19 which was formed either in the older
part of the Oder Glaciation (Cyrek et al. 2009) or

Materials only for purposes of the conference
"European Middle Palaeolithic during MIS 8 - MIS 3".
Not for sale.
European Middle Palaeolithic during MIS 8 – MIS 3: cultures – environment – chronology48
in the Lubawa Interglacial, or possibly in the Pilica
Interstadial (Krajcarz 2009). They are all of simi-
lar typological-technical character, regarded as the
Musterian one with the Levallois technique. It can
be supposed that even stratigraphically older levels
(layers 19abcd) are of very old, local origin of the
Musterian tradition, with the use of the Levallois
method in the eastern and western part of the Car-
pathian outskirts.
Other assemblages (A5) come from layer 18,
which was formed in the younger part of the Oder
glacial period (Cyrek et. al. 2009), during the stadi-
al, characterized by particularly harsh climatic con-
ditions (Krajcarz 2009). 68 fl int artefacts occurred
in two surveying levels. It is quite striking that
there is a considerable number of blade forms made
with the use of the Levallois technique. Most forms
(denticulate and notched tools) can be considered to
belong to the diversifi ed Musterian tradition. More-
over, we cannot rule out the contribution of single
elements of the Micoquian culture in the form of
asymmetrical backed knife and and para-burin spall.
In this situation the discussed assemblage would be
(metaphorically speaking) a palimpsest formed as
a result of several, short stays of groups of people
at the cave. They could have interchangebly used
Musterian and Micoquian fl int tools (?).
The next Middle Palaeolithic level is layer 15
(including assemblage A4) in older studies dated
to the Lubawa Interglacial (Mirosław-Grabowska
2002 b), and recently to the Wartanian Glaciation
(MIS 6). The asssemblage is characterised by the
Levallois technique – better developed than in the
older layers. In the case of both levels (inhabitation
phases ?) of the cave, during the sedimentation of
layer 15 we come across elements of the Micoquian
culture, in the form of bifacial tools (e.g. bifacial
knives - the oldest in the Biśnik Cave) and dentic-
ulate tools, typical of the Musterian culture. Layer
15, which is now regarded to have been formed dur-
ing the Wartanian glacial period, is the last sediment
including pre-Eemian fi nds.
To sum up the review of the oldest phases of the
Biśnik Cave inhabitation, it has to be stated (dis-
regarding the damaged cultural levels) that it was
frequently and sporadically inhabited in the pe-
riod between MIS 8 and MIS 6, i.e. over the time
span of 150 000 years. At least 7 phases have been
distinguished at that time, which can be interpret-
ed as single campsites set up by the cave inhab-
itants. Judging by the number of the hearths left
(between over a dozen and several dozen), these
were short-lived stays, during which particular
sections of the cave were used to a varying ex-
tent. Culturewise, the presence of elements of both
cultures is discernible in the cave: the Musterian
and Micoquian ones.
References
CYREK K., 2002, Rekonstrukcja zasiedlenia jaskini Biś-
nik [in:] Jaskinia Biśnik. Rekonstrukcja zasiedlenia jaskini
na tle zmian środowiska przyrodniczego, K. Cyrek (ed.),
Toruń, p. 9–142.
CYREK K., MIROSŁAW-GRABOWSKA J., STEFANIAK K., SO-
CHA P., 2009, Archaeology, stratigraphy and palaeoecolo-
gy of the Biśnik Cave. [in:] Stefaniak K., Tyc A., Socha P.
(eds), Karst of the Częstochowa Upland and of the East-
ern Sudetes: palaeoenvironments and protection. Studies
of the Faculty of Earth Sciences, University of Silesia,
No. 56, Sosnowiec – Wrocław, p. 191–214.
CYREK K., SOCHA P., STEFANIAK K., MADEYSKA T., MI-
ROSŁAW-GRABOWSKA J., SUDOŁ M., CZYŻEWSKI Ł., 2010,
Palaeolithic of Biśnik Cave (Southern Poland) within the
environmental background, in.: Climate Dynamics and
Prehistoric Occupation: Eurasian Perspectives on Envi-
ronmental Archaeology, ed. Jiri Chlachula and Norm Cat-
to, Quaternary International 220 (1–2), p. 5–30.
KRAJCARZ M.T., 2009, Rekonstrukcja środowiska sedy-
mentacji i diagenezy plejstoceńskich osadów i szczątków
kostnych z jaskini Biśnik (Jura Polska) na podstawie
badań geochemicznych. Doctoral thesis, Faculty of Geol-
ogy, Warsaw University, Warszawa.
KRAJCARZ M.T., CYREK K., 2011, The age of the oldest
Paleolithic assemblages from Biśnik Cave (southern Po-
land) in the light of geological data, Przegląd Archeo-
logiczny 59, p. 55–74.
Fig. 1. Biśnik Cave. Chronostratigraphy of the layers
15 – 19 with assemblages A4 –A8.

Materials only for purposes of the conference
"European Middle Palaeolithic during MIS 8 - MIS 3".
Not for sale.
Book of Abstracts 49
MIROSŁAW-GRABOWSKA J., 2002a, Litologia i stratygrafi a
osadów Jaskini Biśnik, [in:] Jaskinia Biśnik. Rekonstruk-
cja zasiedlenia jaskini na tle zmian środowiska przyrod-
niczego, K. Cyrek (ed.), Toruń, p. 143–180.
MIROSŁAW-GRABOWSKA J., 2002b, Geological value of
Biśnik Cave sediments (Cracow-Częstochowa Upland).
Acta Geologica Polonica, 52(1), p. 97–110.
Short history of archaeological studies in
Biśnik Cave
Krzysztof Cyrek
Ins tute of Archaeology, Nicolaus Copernicus University,
Szosa Bydgoska 44/48, PL-87100 Toruń, Poland
e-mail: paleo@umk.pl
Biśnik Cave lies on the western slope of Wodąca
Valley, within the boundaries of the Smoleń-Nie-
gownice range, in the central part of Kraków-Czę-
stochowa Upland.
The participants of the interdisciplinary research,
carried out since 1992 and supervised by K. Cyrek
from the Institute of Archaeology UMK, are as
follows: T. Madeyska, J. Mirosław-Grabowska,
T. Wiszniowska, P. Socha, K. Stefaniak, P. Woj-
tal, A. Tyc, M. & M. T. Krajcarz, M. Sudoł and
Ł. Czyżewski.
Currently Biśnik Cave is the oldest cave site in
Poland with a preserved cross-section of sediments,
formed between MIS 8 and MIS 3.
Hitherto, the research has revealed at least 17
mid-Palaeolithic levels of cave inhabitation. The
results from recent years, including geo-chemical
output, have provided new data to allow the recon-
struction of the environment during the consecutive
climatic periods and verifi ed some earlier fi nds as
regards the climate-stratigraphy documented in the
cross-sections. Biśnik Cave gives a rare opportunity
to track down the cultural changes of pre- and Ne-
anderthal cave inhabitants in relation to the natural
environment over the period of 300 000 years.
The Palaeolithic record from the locality
Schöningen (Germany) in a biostra gra-
phical and archaeozoological perspec ve
Thijs van Kolfschoten
Faculty of Archaeology, Leiden University,
P.O. Box 9515, 2300 RA Leiden, The Netherlands,
e-mail: t.van.kolfschoten@arch.leidenuniv.nl
Since the discovery in 1992 of the fi rst Palae-
olithic artefacts in Schöningen vertebrate remains
have been collected from late Middle Pleistocene
deposits exposed in the upper levels of the open-cast
lignite quarry. A number of different sites have been
excavated in the exploited area and thousands of
vertebrate fossils have been collected. The archaeo-
logical site Schö 13 I yielded the oldest assemblage,
a small amount of mammalian remains suggesting
a rather open habitat and cool climate conditions.
Slightly younger are the sediments in Channel II
with its fi ve depositional phases (1 – 5), with a very
rich mammalian fauna. Most of the larger mammal
material has been collected from deposits referred
to depositional phase 4 (Schö 13 II-4), the famous
wooden spear horizon. But from the sites Schö 12 B
and Schö 13 II we know that also the levels 1, 2, and
3 are rich in mammalian remains.
The site Schö 12 B in the lower part of the Chan-
nel II infi lling yielded a fauna indicating interglacial
conditions and a forested environment. The mam-
malian fauna indicates furthermore that there is a
stratigraphical hiatus between the base of the Chan-
nel II deposits and the underlying Elster deposits.
The site Schö 13 II yielded more faunal remains
also from the upper depositional phases, from Chan-
nel II levels 1,2,3 and 4. Thousands of fossil remains
of smaller and, in particular, larger mammals have
been revealed. The mammalian fauna from level 4
(the spear horizon; Schö 13 II-4) is diverse although
less diverse than the fauna from level 1 (Schö 12B).
Equus mosbachensis is the most numerous species
in the fauna, accounting for over 85 % of the iden-
tifi able remains. The fauna indicates a more open en-
vironment and a climate less warm than the intergla-
cial maximum climate of Schöningen 12 B.
Biostratigraphically it is important to stress that
the fauna from Channel II contains relicts from the
early Middle Pleistocene (Sorex (Drepanosorex)
sp., Trogontherium cuvieri). This feature, together
with the high so-called Schmelz Differenzierungs
Quotient (SDQ) values of the Arvicola molars from
Schöningen in the range of ± 130 – 115 indicates
that we are dealing with fauna that are relatively
speaking, old. Correlation between the faunal re-
cord from Schoeningen and the different English
faunal assemblages referred to MIS 11 – MIS 7 so
far only supports the “old” age. The relict species in
the Schoeningen record suggest a correlation with
the Hoxnian (=Holsteinian) MIS 11 faunas. Howev-
er, the SDQ-values of the Schöningen water voles
are clearly lower than those of the MIS 11 faunas
and suggest a correlation between the Schoeningen
Channel II deposits and MIS 9.
The majority of the large mammal remains
(e.g. carnivores, straight-tusk elephant, rhinoceros
(2 species), horse, cervids, bovids) has been found
at the site Schö 13 II-4 (the Horse Butchery Site)
where well-preserved horse bones have been found
next to the famous wooden spears. Many bones
have been modifi ed artifi cially. The analyses of the
faunal assemblages presented here apply evidence
for Middle Pleistocene hominin subsistence and
hunting strategies.

Materials only for purposes of the conference
"European Middle Palaeolithic during MIS 8 - MIS 3".
Not for sale.
European Middle Palaeolithic during MIS 8 – MIS 3: cultures – environment – chronology50
Technological aspects of earliest Middle
Palaeolithic leaf points in Central Europe
Małgorzata Anna Kot
Ins tute of Archeology, Warsaw University
Krakowskie Przedmieście Str. 26/28, PL-00927, Warszawa
e-mail: omimea@gmail.com
Middle Palaeolithic leaf point industries are
widely spread in Central Europe. Leaf points be-
came a kind of index fossils for MP/UP transitional
industries. For last 50 years many researches were
done on the oldest leaf-point horizons (MIS 5d – 3).
As a result few dozens of sites can be recently as-
cribed as early leaf-point industries spread all over
the Eastern, Central and Southern Europe.
The aim of the project was to check if there are
any signifi cant differences between leaf points and
between leaf points and other bifacial tools among
all earliest leaf-point collections. In total 41 collec-
tions of leaf points from 8 countries were analyzed
by a scar pattern analysis to reconstruct the chaîne
opératoire.
The results show that the analysed artifacts are
not coherent from the perspective of the technology.
On most of the analyzed tools one may fi nd a few
separate techno-functional units which were treated
in different ways in the course of knapping and cor-
recting. The tools have a long straight cutting edge
and a long straight distal posterior part converging
with the cutting edge at the tip. One can see that re-
movals performed from different directions had dif-
ferent purposes whilst the cutting edge was only of
practical use and any further corrections were aimed
at its repair. The edge of the distal posterior part can
be perceived as being of technical use. The objec-
tive of its repair was to thin the cutting edge near the
tip, correct its thickness and the tip itself. Although
both edges converge symmetrically at the tip they
had a totally different function in a tool. Throughout
the course of repairs the knappers aimed at keeping
a long, straight and sharp cutting edge. The entire
process of production and rejuvenation was subject-
ed to this aim. It is especially visible in all the parts
where some elements of the tools were resigned
from on behalf of others. The knapping might have
sometimes resulted in creating a symmetrical tool
with an expose tip set in the tool’s axis but those
tools were not made to be symmetrical. Their sym-
metry is a side effect in the process. One cannot ob-
serve any trials of making the tool more symmetri-
cal. Those tools can be called bifacial knives.
Among the analysed collection there were only
few pieces which are symmetrical and were aimed
to be such. Their shaping took place in separate
stages and all other steps considered the aimed
shape. The most important elements of those tools
were the two symmetrical edges converging at the
tip. The sole exposure of the tip was genuinely of
much importance, still the tip was not necessarily
sharp. What was more important was to set it in the
axis. Only such tools from the technological point
of view can be called leaf points.
On the basis of the analyses the author would
like to present a technological defi nition of the leaf
point as a tools which is symmetrical and was made
to be such, the tool which has two symmetrical edg-
es converging at the tip; both edges were treated in
the same way in the course of knapping.
Middle Palaeolithic variability in Central
Europe: cultural tradi ons versus
technological and func onal adapta ons
Janusz K. Kozłowski
Ins tute of Archaeology, Jagiellonian University
Gołębia Str. No 11, PL-31007 Kraków
The objective of this paper is to justify the hy-
pothesis which claims the parallel development of
two basic cultural traditions in the Middle Palae-
olithic of Central Europe, namely the Micoquian
and the Mousterian, starting from OIS 8. The or-
igin of the Micoquian is probably complex: west
of the “Movius line” the Micoquian was rooted in
the classical Acheulian, but east from this line the
bifacial technology was probably an independent
innovation.
Further development of the Micoquian, in OIS 6,
shows internal differentiation that gave rise to évo-
lution buissonnante, manifested in the whole gamut
of bifacial chaines operatoires, varying tool mor-
phology, and different blank production methods.
During OIS 5e the number of Micoquian sites
decrease; this was probably caused by the impeded
access to raw materials in new, forested environ-
ments and diffi culties in adapting Micoquian hunt-
ing strategies to interglacial environments. In OIS
5e in Central Europe the most common facies of the
Mousterian was Taubachian with microfl ake tech-
nology.
The number of Micoquian sites increased again
in OIS 4 and the beginning of OIS 3. This was also
a period of further growing diversity of the Mico-
quian, continuing its évolution buissonnante. In-
stances of the Micoquian/Mousterian interstratifi -
cation come from this time interval, but there are
no grounds for the interpretation of these cases as
functional differences of sites or various degrees of
tool reduction, differing access to raw materials or
adaptation strategies.

Materials only for purposes of the conference
"European Middle Palaeolithic during MIS 8 - MIS 3".
Not for sale.
Book of Abstracts 51
Environmental and clima c context of
northeastern Iberian Neanderthals during
the MIS3
Juan Manuel López-García1,2,
Hugues-Alexandre Blain1,2
1IPHES, Ins tut Català de Paleoecologia Humana i Evolució
Social, C/Escorxador s/n, 43003 Tarragona, Spain, e-mail:
jmlopez@iphes.cat
2Àrea de Prehistòria, Universitat Rovira i Virgili (URV),
Avinguda de Catalunya 35, 43002 Tarragona, Spain, e-mail:
hablain@iphes.cat
The Marine Isotopic Stage 3 (MIS3) (ca. 60 – 30 ka)
in Iberia is characterized, according to pollen anal-
ysis, by dynamic alternations of the phases of forest
development and expansion of semi-arid areas, in
accordance with the warming and cooling, respec-
tively, of the marine surface temperatures. In this
context of rapid fl uctuations are located the sites
of Neanderthal occupations in the northeastern
Iberian Peninsula. In this work we are going to ex-
pose the environmental and climatic data obtained
from the small vertebrates (herpetofauna and small
mammals) of Neanderthals localities situated in the
northeastern Iberia (Cova del Gegant, Abric Rom-
ani, l’Arbreda cave and Teixoneres cave). Using
quantitative (Habitat Weighting) and qualitative
(Mutual Climatic Range) methods to reconstruct
the palaeoenvironment and palaeoclimate in the
mentioned sites and comparing these data with
other Iberian sites with presence of Neanderthals
(El Conde and Gorham’s cave), we observe that
the Middle Paleolithic occupations in Iberia are
closely related to the presence of woodland forma-
tions, irrespective of the climatic conditions (fi g. 1)
(López-García et al. 2012). Although there are dif-
ferences in percentage of forest formations from
the south to the north of Iberia (fi g. 1), the southern
Iberia (Gorham’s cave) was much forested than the
northern parts (El Conde, A. Romaní, l’Arbreda,
Teixoneres or C. Gegant) (fi g. 1). The observation
is coinciding with the attribution of the southern-
most Iberian Peninsula as a climatic refuge, where
Neanderthals survived until ca. 28 ka BP (Jennings
et al. 2011, among others).
Acknowledgments
We want to thank all members and directors of
the excavations mentioned in this work for allowing
us to study the material of small vertebrates. Fur-
thermore, this paper is part of projects CGL2009-
07896 and SGR2009-324. J.M.L.-G. has been
supported by a postdoctoral grant from the Juan
de la Cierva Subprogram (JCI-2009-04026), with
the fi nancial sponsorship of the Spanish Ministry of
Science and Innovation.
Fig. 1. Comparison between the
average (Δ) Mean Annu-
al Temperatures (MAT)
and Mean Annual Precip-
itations (MAP) obtained
from small vertebrate as-
semblages of the studied
sites with isotope oxygen
curve of the MIS3 (mod-
ifi ed from Sánchez-Goñi
and d’Errico, 2005). H:
Heinrich Events: Is: In-
terstadials; Gr: Gorham’s
cave; TX: Teixoneres;
CC: El Conde; ARB:
l’Arbreda; AR: Abric
Romaní; CG: Cove del
Gegant; Below: Environ-
mental comparison be-
tween researched sites.
Black bars indicates the
participation of woodland
formations; grey bars –
the open meadows.

Materials only for purposes of the conference
"European Middle Palaeolithic during MIS 8 - MIS 3".
Not for sale.
European Middle Palaeolithic during MIS 8 – MIS 3: cultures – environment – chronology52
References
JENNINGS R., FINLAYSON C., FA D., FINLAYSON G., 2011,
Southern Iberia as a refuge for the last Neanderthal pop-
ulations. Journal of Biogeography 38, p. 1873–1885.
LÓPEZ-GARCÍA J. M., BLAIN H.-A., BURJACHS F., BAL-
LESTEROS A., ALLUÉ E., CUEVAS-RUIZ G. E., RIVALS F.,
BLASCO R., MORALES J. I., RODRÍGUEZ HIDALGO A., CAR-
BONELL E., SERRAT D., ROSELL J., 2012, A multidisci-
plinary approach to reconstructing the chronology end
environment of southwestern European Neanderthals:
the contribution of Teixoneres cave (Moià, Barcelona,
Spain). Quaternary Science Reviews 43, p. 33–44.
SÁNCHEZ-GOÑI M. F., D’ERRICO F., 2005, La historia de la
vegetación y el clima del último ciclo climático (OIS5-
OIS1, 140.000e10.000 años BP) en la Península Ibérica y
su posible impacto sobre los grupos paleolíticos. Museo
y Centro de Investigación de Altamira. Monografías 20,
p. 115–129.
The accelera on of faunal change
towards the end of the Pleistocene
Jan van der Made
Consejo Superior de Inves gaciones Cien fi cas, Museo
Nacional de Ciencias Naturales, c. José Gu érrez Abascal 2,
28006 Madrid
e-mail: mcnjv538@mncn.csic.es
The longevity of species and the rate of evo-
lution or faunal change became interesting when
radiometric methods made it possible to measure
geological time. Immediately it was recognized that
these parameters are not constant in time. Kurtén
(1959) estimated that Paleocene, Neogene and Pleis-
tocene mammalian species had average longevities
of 1,5, 5,2 and 0,62 Ma, respectively. He also noted
that there are differences in average longevity be-
tween different orders, with Neogene Proboscidea
and Chiroptera having longer longevities than, for
instance, Artiodactyla, Carnivora and Primates.
Later, patterns in the variation of these parame-
ters were searched for and it was attempted to re-
late these to climatic change or astronomic cycles.
Vrba (1996) proposed that pulses in evolution are
related to climatic change and Van Dam et al. (2006)
proposed a relationship between mammal turn over
and the 2,37 Ma eccentricity and 1,2 Ma obliquity
Milankovich cycles.
The variation in duration of biozones or biostrati-
graphic units could be taken as an indirect indica-
tion of variation in the rate of faunal change. Al-
ternatively, shorter biozones result in more precise,
and usually shorter, temporal ranges of the species.
MP (Schmidt-Kittler et al. 1987), MN (Mein 1975)
and MNQ units (Guérin 1982) and are a series of
biostratigraphic units based on mammals that cover
most of the Paleogene, Neogene and Quaternary.
In fi gure 1, the duration of each unit is plotted
against the average of the ages of the upper and low-
er limits of that unit. There is much variation in the
duration of the units, which probably is related to pe-
riods of climatic change or faunal exchange. Using
a running average, a clearer tendency is seen: Pale-
ocene, Eocene and Early Miocene units are of simi-
lar durations, while the Oligocene units tend to be
a little shorter, from the Middle Miocene and es-
pecially from the Pliocene onward there is a rapid
decrease in the duration of the biostratigraphic units.
A local Spanish biozonation does not cover the
Pleistocene, its units are shorter, but there is a sim-
ilar tendency. A sequence of African biostratigraph-
ic units have durations comparable to the European
MN units, but the African sequence is too short to
show much of a tendency. This tendency of the units
to become shorter with decreasing age might refl ect
increasing rates of faunal turnover, but alternatively
might refl ect a greater effort or need for stratigraphic
precision or an increased abundance of the fossil
record. There are indeed indications that the number of
fossil localities increases in the younger stratigraphic
units (Van der Made 2011, fi gure 1), which implies
a better known record.
Kurtén (1959) published his estimates of species
longevity when “absolute” dating of the fossil record
was just beginning. By now, many localities have been
dated, using an increasing array of methods. As a re-
sult, it is possible to establish the longevity of many
species, albeit with varying degrees of precision.
Here species longevity of African and European
large mammals from the past 20 Ma are compared
(Figure 2). For the African mammals the recent
Cenozoic Mammals of Africa (Werdelin & Sanders,
2010) is used (with exception of the suids). There is
a series of problems with this data set: the uneven
temporal and geographic distribution of the fossil
record, the different representation of the different
groups for taphonomic reasons, the different format
of the information on stratigraphic distribution in the
different chapters, the different treatment of taxon-
omy of the authors of the different chapters, and so
on. The European record has similar problems. Nev-
ertheless, studying the different groups separately or
all together, a general view appears that is probably
more or less correct. However, there is one problem
that is particularly relevant here: we do not know
how long living species will continue to live and as
a consequence, their longevity in the analysis is too
short. (The same applies for the species that existed
already 20 Ma ago.) If living species are eliminated
from the analysis, relatively few Late Pleistocene
species remain.
In fi gure 2, the average longevity of the species
living at a certain time is plotted against that time.
It can be seen that proboscidean species tend to live

Materials only for purposes of the conference
"European Middle Palaeolithic during MIS 8 - MIS 3".
Not for sale.
Book of Abstracts 53
Fig. 1. Trends in the duration of the biostratigraphic units, based on mammals. Plotted is the duration of each unit
against the midpoint of the age of the unit. The duration varies wildly; the running average of three and fi ve
units gives a clearer view of the trend in decreasing duration in the Plio-Pleistocene units. The series MP,
MN and MNQ for the Paleogene, Neogene and Quaternary of Europe: MP 1-30, MN 1-17 and MNQ 18-26
(Schmidt-Kittler et al., 1987; Mein, 1975, 1990; De Bruijn et al.1992; Guérin, 1982), with ages after Gradstein
et al. (2004), Agustí et al. (2001) and Guérin (1982). A series of Spanish local units (after Van Dam et al.,
2006). The faunal sets for Africa after Pickford (1981).
longer than suoid species and in general it seems
that species with larger body size tend to live longer.
The living species in these graphs are few (1 and 3
in European and African suoids; and 0 and 1 in the
proboscideans) and they originated 0,9 Ma or less
ago, so that their incomplete longevities affect the
graphs only for that time range. There is a notable
decrease in species longevity from the Late Miocene
onwards. Over six hundred African large mammal
species taken together show the same pattern. While
most European localities are not directly dated, but
have estimated ages on the basis of their position in
biostratigraphic units, African localities are often di-
rectly dated. For this reason, the duration of biozones

Materials only for purposes of the conference
"European Middle Palaeolithic during MIS 8 - MIS 3".
Not for sale.
European Middle Palaeolithic during MIS 8 – MIS 3: cultures – environment – chronology54
does not interfere so much with the estimated spe-
cies longevity. The fact that also in African localities
species longevity decreases, suggests that the rates
of evolution and faunal change increased in more re-
cent geologic time. So it seems that, at least in part,
the younger biostratigraphic units have shorter du-
rations because a faster rate of faunal change allows
the defi nition of shorter units, rather than that shorter
species longevities are the result of shorter biostrati-
graphic units.
Faunal turn over is the sum of entries (dispersal,
evolution from a different species or subspecies)
and exits (extinction, local extinction, evolution
into a different species or subspecies). For the past
2 Ma of Western Europe faunal turn over is given
in fi gure 3. The frequency of the events increases
towards the end of the Pleistocene. The running
average gives a clearer view and shows an increase
in faunal turnover from about 1,2 Ma onward, be-
coming more pronounced within the Middle and
still more in the Late Pleistocene.
The actual rate of evolution can be calculated in
the cases where a measurable parameter changes.
This is possible with size changes in an anagenetic
lineage. Size change as measured from a particular
bone or tooth may refl ect general size change of the
organism, or morphological change (for instance,
third molars becoming longer as a masticatory ad-
aptation). Size changes in insular environment may
be very rapid. In continental environments, such
changes tend to be slower. Size changes in large
mammals tend to be faster during the Pleistocene
and Holocene than during the Mio- and Pliocene.
There are examples from the Miocene of fast mor-
Fig. 2. The variation in average species longevity in European and African Suoidea and Proboscidea during the
past 20 Ma. The average species longevity of the species present in time slices of 0,1 Ma is plotted against
geological age. Proboscidea from Africa after Sanders et al. (2010) and from Europe after Mazo & Van der
Made (2012) (including a subspecies Gomphotherium angustidens steinheimensis) and Van der Made & Mazo
(2001). Own data were used for the Suoidea from Africa and Europe.

Materials only for purposes of the conference
"European Middle Palaeolithic during MIS 8 - MIS 3".
Not for sale.
Book of Abstracts 55
Fig. 3. Turn over (entries + exits)
of the large mammals in
Western Europe of the
past two million years
(data from Van der Made,
2005). Because of the
Late Pleistocene, the scale
is 10 ka. However, for the
Middle and Early Pleisto-
cene, the temporal ranges
are not known in this de-
tail and are estimated ac-
cording to oxygen isotope
stages, paleomagnetism
and other evidence. Not
included are insular and
domestic species. The
running average shows
the trend in increasing
turnover more clearly.
phological change of a type that can be measured.
Such changes are probably adaptations to environ-
mental change. Though it is not possible to compile
a large dataset of homogenous data on rates of evo-
lution from the past 20 Ma or so, the impression is
that moments of high rates of evolution may have
occurred at any time, but became more frequent
during the Pleistocene.
The different proxies of faunal change indicate
that the rate of faunal change increased from the Mi-
ocene to the Late Pleistocene and that it accelerated
even more towards and during the Late Pleistocene.
References
AGUSTÍ J., CABRERA L., GARCÉS M., KRIJGSMAN W.,
OMS O., PARÉS J. M., 2001, A CALIBRATED MAMMAL SCALE
FOR THE NEOGENE Of Western Europe. State of the art.
Earth-Science Reviews, 52, p. 247–260.
BRUIJ N H. DE, DAAMS R., DAXNER-HÖCK G., FAHLBUSCH V.,
GINSBURG L., MEIN P., MORALES J., HEIZMANN E., MAY-
HEW D. F., MEULEN, VA N DER A. J., SCHMIDT-KITTLER N.,
TELLES ANTUNES M., 1992, Report of the RCMNS work-
ing group on fossil mammals, Reisensburg 1990. –
Newsletters on Stratigraphy, 26(2/3), p. 65–118.
DAM J. A. VA N, AZIZ H. A., ÁLVA R E Z SIERRA M. Á.,
HILGEN F. J., HOEK OSTENDE L. W. VAN DEN, LOURENS L. J.,
MEIN P., MEULEN A. J. VA N DER, PELÁEZ-CAMPOMANES P.,
2006, Long-period astronomical forcing of mammal
turnover. Nature, 44, p. 687–991, supplementary infor-
mation linked to www.nature.com/nature.
GRADSTEIN F., OGG J., SMITH A., 2004, A Geologic Time
Scale, Cambridge.
GUÉRIN C., 1982, Première biozonation du Pléistocène
européen, principal résultat biostratigraphique de
l’étude des Rhinoceortidae (Mammalia, Perissodactyla)
du Miocène terminal au Pléistocène supérieur d’Europe
occidentale. Geobios, 15, p. 593–598.
KURTÉN B., 1959, On the longevity of mammalian spe-
cies in the Tertiary. Commentationes Biologicae 21(4),
p. 1–14.
MADE J. VAN DER, 2005, La fauna del Pleistoceno eu-
ropeo, [in:] E. Carbonell (ed.), Homínidos: las primeras
ocupaciones de los continentes, Capítulo 4 - Europa;
Sección 4.4. Ariel, p. 394–432.

Materials only for purposes of the conference
"European Middle Palaeolithic during MIS 8 - MIS 3".
Not for sale.
European Middle Palaeolithic during MIS 8 – MIS 3: cultures – environment – chronology56
MADE J. VAN DER, A. V. MAZO, 2001, Spanish Pleistocene
proboscidean diversity as a function of climate. [in:]
G. Cavarretta, P. Gioia, M. Mussi, M.R. Palombo (eds),
The world of elephants. Proceedings of the 1st inter-
national congress. Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche,
Roma, p. 214–218.
MAZO A. V., MADE J. VA N DER, 2012, Iberian masto-
donts: geographic and stratigraphic distribution. Qua-
ternary International, 255, p. 239–256. Doi:10.1016/j.
quaint.2011.07.047.
MEIN P., 1975, Proposition de biozonation du Néogène
Mediterranéen à partir des mammifères. Trabajos sobre
Ne ogeno-Cuater n a r io, 4, p. 112 –113.
MEIN P., 1990, Updating of MN zones, [in:] E. H. Lind-
say, V. Fahlbusch & P. Mein (eds) European Neogene
mammal chronology. Plenum, New York, p. 73–90.
PICKFORD M., 1981, Preliminary Miocene Mammalian
Biostratigraphy for Westem Kenya. Journal of Human
Evolution, 10, p. 73–97.
SANDERS W. J., GHEERBRANT E., HARRIS J. M., SAEGUSA
H., DELMER C., 2010, Proboscidea. [in:] L. Werdelin &
W. J. Sanders (eds), Cenozoic Mammals of Africa. Uni-
versity of California Press, Berkeley, Los Angeles &
London, p. 161–251.
SCHMIDT-KITTLER N. (ed.), 1987, International Symposi-
um on Mammalian Biostratigraphy and Paleoecology of
the European Paleogene – Mainz, February 18th–21st
1987. Münchener Geowissenschaftliche Abhandlungen,
Reihe A Geologie und Paläontologie, 10.
VRBA E.S., 1995, On the connections between palaeo-
climate and evolution. [in:] E. S. Vrba, G. H. Denton,
T. C. Partidge & L. H. Burckle (eds): Palaeoclimate and
evolution with emphasis on human origins. Yale Univer-
sity Press, New Haven & London, p. 24–45.
WERDELIN L. & SANDERS W. J. (eds), 2010, Cenozo-
ic Mammals of Africa. University of California Press,
Berkeley, Los Angeles & London.
Geology and chronostra graphy of
sediments from Biśnik Cave
Maciej T. Krajcarz, Teresa Madeyska
Ins tute of Geological Sciences, Polish Academy of Sciences,
Research Centre in Warsaw. Twarda St. No 51/55,
PL-00818 Warszawa, Poland
e-mails: mkrajcarz@twarda.pan.pl, tmadeysk@twarda.pan.pl
Biśnik Cave is situated on the south slope of
Wodąca Valley – the dry valley cut in massive lime-
stone, fi lled with Quaternary loess and sands. The
cave has two entrances, both exposed to NW. Cave
consists of three connected chambers – one called
the Main Chamber, achievable by eastern entrance,
the second called the Side Chamber, achievable
by the next entrance and connected with the Main
Chamber; and the Third Chamber, connected with
the Side Chamber. Beyond the Third Chamber the
long corridor is located. There also exists a collapsed
remain of the other chamber, now preserved as the
shelter external to the cave, called Under Hanging.
The Biśnik Cave is a part of destroyed bigger cave
system that includes Psia Cave and the neighboring
shelters.
The cave was fi lled with sediments of near 10 m
thickness. Only the sediments of the shelter Under
Hanging, the Main Chamber and the Side Cham-
ber were researched. The profi le consists 23 layers,
numbered downward. The layers may be grouped in
fi ve series (fi g. 1).
The oldest series includes layers 23 – 21. These
are terra rosa red clays interlayered with loess. The
age of terra rosa clays was not determined, how-
ever the TL age of loess indicates the early Middle
Pleistocene.
The second series includes layers 20 – 19a. These
are the sediments of cohesive fl ows, shaped in form
of lenses. The alimentary material were terra rosa
clays and early Middle Pleistocene loams, the last
totally destroyed by mudslides and not preserved
till today. The age of series is MOIS 8 or early part
of MOIS 7, established on TL and U/Th dating and
stratigraphic position (Krajcarz & Cyrek 2011).
The third series is the biggest one and include
layers 19 – 8. It is built mainly of loam or silts rich
in limestone rubble. Almost no sedimentary struc-
tures are visible, as the sediments were accumulated
by relatively low-energetic factors –frost weather-
ing and karst weathering, with addition of aeolian
and biogenic accumulation. The only sedimenta-
ry structures are connected with redeposition of
loess by solifl uction processes (layers 16 and 12).
However the post-sedimentary structures, like frost
wedges, subsidence disturbances and animal bur-
rows, are common. The differences between partic-
ular layers are marked fi rstly in color, rubble con-
tent and granulation of fi ne fractions. The detailed
studies shown also the differences in composition
of organic matter, in the weathering parameters of
rubble and bones, in kaolinite/illite proportion and
composition of trace elements (Krajcarz 2009, Kraj-
carz et al. 2010, Mirosław-Grabowska 2002). The
age of series was determined on the basis of many
methods: U/Th dating, TL dating of sediments and
burned cherts, climatostratigraphy and biostratigra-
phy (Cyrek et al. 2009, Cyrek et al. 2010, Herc-
man & Gorka 2002, Mirosław-Grabowska 2002,
Wiszniowska et al. 2002), and ranges from MOIS 7
to MOIS 4. The series includes the most of Middle
Palaeolithic cultural horizons of the Biśnik Cave
(Cyrek et al. 2009, 2010).
The fourth series consists of fl uvial and mud-
slide sediments, connected with infl ow of surfi cial
water to the cave (Mirosław-Grabowska 2002). The
series includes layers 7 – 3 and S1 and S2. Rich Mi-
coquian horizons were found in lower part of that
series (Cyrek et al. 2009, 2010). The age of sedi-

Materials only for purposes of the conference
"European Middle Palaeolithic during MIS 8 - MIS 3".
Not for sale.
Book of Abstracts 57
Fig. 1. Lithological and stratigraphic profi le of sediments from Biśnik Cave and correlation with marine oxygen iso-
tope stages
ments is determined to MOIS 4 and MOIS 3 accord-
ing to TL and 14C dating.
The youngest series consists of loess (layer 2)
and Holocene humic layers (1b, 1a) developed on
loess. The aeolian accumulation of loess had a place
during Last Glacial Maximum and Late Glacial
(MOIS 2), according to TL and 14C dating.
The profi le of sediments from Biśnik Cave is the
longest sequence of cave sediments from Poland,
comparable only with profi les of Nietoperzowa
Cave and Ciemna Cave.
References
CYREK K., MIROSŁAW-GRABOWSKA J., STEFANIAK K., SO-
CHA P., 2009, Archaeology, stratigraphy and palaeoecol-
ogy of the Biśnik Cave. [in:] Stefaniak K., Tyc A., Socha
P. (eds), Karst of the Częstochowa Upland and of the
Eastern Sudetes: palaeoenvironments and protection.
Studies of the Faculty of Earth Sciences, University of
Silesia, No. 56, Sosnowiec – Wrocław, p. 191–214.
CYREK K., SOCHA P., STEFANIAK K., MADEYSKA T.,
MIROSŁAW-GRABOWSKA J., SUDOŁ M., CZYŻEWSKI Ł., 2010,
The Palaeolithic of the Biśnik Cave (Southern Poland)

Materials only for purposes of the conference
"European Middle Palaeolithic during MIS 8 - MIS 3".
Not for sale.
European Middle Palaeolithic during MIS 8 – MIS 3: cultures – environment – chronology58
against the environmental background,. Quaternary In-
ternational 220, p. 5–30.
HERCMAN H., GORKA P., 2002, Analizy metodą uranowo-
torową kości kopalnych z Jaskini Biśnik, [in:] Cyrek K.
(ed.), Jaskinia Biśnik. Rekonstrukcja zasiedlenia jas-
kini na tle zmian środowiska przyrodniczego, Toruń,
p. 181–192.
KRAJCARZ M. T., 2009, Rekonstrukcja środowiska sedy-
mentacji i diagenezy plejstoceńskich osadów i szcząt-
ków kostnych z jaskini Biśnik (Jura Polska) na podsta-
wie badań geochemicznych. Doctoral thesis, Faculty of
Geology, Warsaw University, Warszawa.
KRAJCARZ M. T., CYREK K., 2011, The age of the oldest
Paleolithic assemblages from Biśnik Cave (southern Po-
land) in the light of geological data. Przegląd Archeolo-
giczny 59, p. 55–74.
KRAJCARZ M. T., GOLA M. R., CYREK K., 2010, Prelimi-
nary suggestions on the Pleistocene palaeovegetation
around the Biśnik Cave (Częstochowa Upland, Poland)
based on studies of molecular fossils from cave sedi-
ments. Studia Quaternaria 27, p. 55–61.
MIROSŁAW-GRABOWSKA J., 2002, Geological value of
Biśnik Cave sediments (Cracow-Częstochowa Upland),
Acta Geologica Polonica 52(1), p. 97–110.
WISZNIOWSKA T., SOCHA P., STEFANIAK K., 2002, Czwar-
torzędowa fauna z osadów Jaskini Biśnik, [in:] Cyrek
K. (ed.), Jaskinia Biśnik. Rekonstrukcja zasiedlenia jas-
kini na tle zmian środowiska przyrodniczego, Toruń,
p. 193–220.
Bloody canines and claws around the
Bisnik Cave during OIS 8 – 3. The state of
research of carnivore asseblage coexisted
with humans during the last 200 Ka
Adrian Marciszak
Department of Evolu onary Biology and Ecology, University
of Wrocław, ul. Sienkiewicza 21, 50–335 Wrocław, Poland
e-mail: caspian8@wp.pl
The carnivore community from Biśnik Cave, re-
presented by at least 23 species, belonged to 5 fa-
milies, can be divided into three major assemblages.
The oldest one is represented by archaik spe-
cies like Ursus deningeri, Vulpes praeglacialis and
Panthera onca gombaszoegensis, which scare mate-
rial was found in lowermost part of sediments (layers
19a – d). For all these species occurence from Biśnik
Cave is regarded as on of the youngest one.
The second, the most richest assemblage is rep-
resented by carnivores typical for the late Middle
Pleistocene, like wolf, red and polar fox, cave and
brown bear, lynx, cave lion, wildcat, badger, pine
marten, stoat, least weasel and cave hyena. Together
with those species, form usually rarely founded in
cave sediments are also present: dhole, steppe pole-
cat, wolverine and leopard.
Third, youngest assemblage is chracterized
by much less number of the species and also fi rst
occurence of species typpical for Holocene in
Europe like European mink and stone marten. In
this assemblage also few domestic species like
domestic dog and cat were also found.
The whole fauna is now dated roughly at OIS 9
to 1 (some lowermost layers can be older). It give
the opportunity to study morphological changes
in evolutionary lineages and lead to provide some
biogeographical and palaeocological analysis. The
most interesting examples are: size increasing in
wolf, big body size fl uctuation under climatic con-
ditions and changes in Pleistocene lion dental mor-
phology.
Carnivore assembalge from Biśnik Cave is
strongly dominatem by Ursidae, which remains con-
sist almost 90 % of all bones. Bones are represent-
ed by all part of the skeleton (among them isolated
teeth, metapodials, additional bones and phalanges
are the most numerous). Most bones are strong-
ly disarticulated and many of them have tracks of
bitting and gnawing.
The chronostra graphic posi on of
Middle Palaeolithic horizons in the Kůlna
Cave (Moravian Karst, Czech Republic)
Zdeňka Nerudová, Petr Neruda
Anthropos Ins tute, Moravian museum, Brno, Czech Republic
e-mails: znerudova@mzm.cz, pneruda@mzm.cz
Since 2011 Anthropos Institute of Moravian
Museum is applicant of the new grant project fo-
cused on the revision and reconstruction of chrono-
stratigraphic model of the Kůlna Cave. The project for
dating of the Kůlna Cave includes layers 3 to 7c that
capture the development from the younger phase of the
Vistula Glacial to the Allerød period (Valoch 1988).
Solving the problem of dating of Palaeolithic ho-
rizons we should take into account also stratigraphy
of the cave. Layer 7a is relatively easy distinguish-
able but the uppermost Micoquian layer 6a in the
entrance of the cave is situated in the same sediment
with limestone blocks as the oldest Magdalenian lay-
er 6. Even the Gravettian fi replace was found in the
same horizon. It means it was possible to distinguish
archaeological fi nds in most cases but sometime the
correlation of fi nds and layers was rather diffi cult.
For these reasons selection of samples looks the
most important task. Only items with unequivocally
determined spatial localization (sector, unit, depth,
and layer) were included into the analysis, both from
the entrance of the cave and it´s interior. All samples
are represented by hard animal materials (bone and
antler), and items bearing proofs of anthropic impact
on their surfaces (scraping, cut marks, retouching etc.)
are preferred.
We reconstructed also the spatial distribution
of archaeological layers essential for the project.

Materials only for purposes of the conference
"European Middle Palaeolithic during MIS 8 - MIS 3".
Not for sale.
Book of Abstracts 59
The intact sediments with layers 3, 4 and 5 (both
Epimagdalenian and Magdalenian) have been
presented only in the entrance of the cave. Older
Magdalenian layer 6 has been detected also in the
centre of the cave. The Gravettian fi nds have been
concentrated only in the sectors J and G1. Mico-
quian layers that have been expected to be datable
(layers 7a + 7a1 and 6a + 6b) are spread out over all
sectors of the Kůlna Cave but the density of fi nds
differs. We take into account also fi nds from layers
7c (7c + 7α) mostly distributed in the entrance and in
the sector E (on the left part of the cave).
Results of data: The most recent Palaeolithic
stratum in the Kůlna Cave is represented by layer 3.
One date correlates with the Neolithic and is in con-
formity with this. The second date (OxA-25283)
can be considered acceptable because of its agree-
ment with the assumed position of Epimagdalenian.
The dating of Epimagdalenian layer 4 was carried
out using three samples. The fi rst two (OxA-25284
and OxA-25285) are older than the overlying layer 3;
the third sample (OxA-25286) is more recent and can
be correlated with layer 3.
Located in the substratum was the younger layer
of Magdalenian (layer 5), out of which four samples
were analysed although only two were successfully
dated. One of the dates corresponds to Epimagdaleni-
an layer 3 (OxA-25287), while the other more likely
correlates with the chronologic position of the Mag-
dalenian layer 6 (OxA-25288).
A relatively close dataset is available for the older
Magdalenian layer 6 (OxA-25289-25291). Accord-
ing to these data the occupation of the cave can be
rather reliably dated to the period around 12 500 BP.
The samples taken off from fi nds associated with
Gravettian cultural horizon provides a problematic
group of data, because the Gravettian and Magdale-
nian artefacts were found in macroscopically identi-
cal sediment – thus possible contaminations cannot
be dismissed.
The key question of the project was the chrono-
logical position of the most recent Micoquian hori-
zon represented by layer 6a (in the entrance and the
centre of the cave) and layer 6b (inside of the cave;
cf. Neruda et al 2011). Fourteen samples were sent
for analysis, and absolute dates were acquired for 12
of these. Seven samples yielded a general datum tes-
tifying that the Micoquian occupation is not young-
er than the obtained value, which oscillates between
45 900 and 50 500 years BP. The OxA-25308 sample,
which provided the absolute date of 47 300±2 800
BP, falls within this framework as well. It is impor-
tant that the prevalence of data fall within the Middle
Palaeolithic period (older phase of MIS 3).
From the underlying Micoquian layer 7a also
fourteen samples were analysed, out of which thir-
teen provided some data on the age of osteological
material. Only one datum can be calibrated (OxA-
25315), and its age comes near the absolute data
obtained earlier (Valoch, 1988). The remaining data
place the occupation into an older period than the
45 800–50 300 BP interval.
In view of our assumption that the age of the fi nds
from layer 7c would be beyond the limits of the 14C
method, only two samples were analysed (OxA-
25324-25325) to indicate that the occupation of the
cave was not younger than 49 300 BP.
References
NERUDA P., LÁZNI CKOVÁ-GALETOVÁ M., DRESLEROVÁ D.,
2011, Retušéry a kosti s rýhami z jeskyně Kůlny
v Moravském krasu. Interdisciplinární analýza tvrdých
živočišných materiálů ze středopaleolitických horizontů
(Retouchers and Bones with Grooves from the Kůlna
Cave in the Moravian Karst. Interdisciplinary Analy-
sis of Hard Animal Material from Middle Palaeolithic
Horizons), Brno.
VALOCH K., 1988, Die Erforschung der Kůlna-Höhle
1 961–1976, Brno.
New geoarcheological studies at the
Middle Paleolithic sites of the Upper
Desna basin, Russia
Alexander K. Ocherednoi1, Ekaterina V.
Voskresenskaya2, Leonid B. Vishnyatsky1
1 Ins tute for the History of material Culture, Russian
Academy of Sciences, St. Petersburg, Russia
2 Ins tute of Geography, Russian Academy of Sciences,
Moscow, Russia
The stratifi ed Middle Paleolithic sites were dis-
covered on the right bank of the Desna river in the
1950's – 1970's, and excavated by F.M. Zavernyaev’s
and L.M. Tarasov’s expeditions in the 1960's – 1980's.
In 2009 the fi eld works were resumed by the Upper
Desna Expedition of the Institute for the History of
Material Culture of the Russian Academy of Sciences.
The newly obtained results allow to reconsider
some of the previous notions about both chronology
and techno-typological particularities of the Middle
Paleolithic assemblages of Khotylevo I and the Be-
tovo group.
The recent fi eldworks were aimed fi rst of all at
the study of the depositional history of the Middle
Paleolithic culture-bearing strata and clarifi cation of
their stratigraphic and chronological position. With
this purpose in mind in 2009 we cleaned the walls of
L.M. Tarasov’s trenches at Betovo, Korshevo I and
Korshevo II, and in 2010 analogous works were con-
ducted at Khotylevo I. The new sedimentological
and stratigraphic observations made in the course of
the fi eldwork and supplemented with the results of
palynological and paleomagnetic analyses, as well

Materials only for purposes of the conference
"European Middle Palaeolithic during MIS 8 - MIS 3".
Not for sale.
European Middle Palaeolithic during MIS 8 – MIS 3: cultures – environment – chronology60
as radiocarbon dating, make it possible to character-
ize the site formation process in much more detail
than has been possible before.
Previously the Middle Paleolithic materials of
Khotylevo I were thought to occur in a redeposited
context in sandy-gravel sediments of the basal al-
luvium horizon of the Desna. The formation of the
alluvium deposits was dated to the transitional stage
between the Mikulino interglacial (OIS 5) and Ear-
ly Valdai glacial (OIS 4). However, as was shown
by the 2010 works, the culture bearing layers were
associated with diluvium deposits with humus ho-
rizons. In addition, the works demonstrated the ex-
istence of several culture bearing layers differing in
both the number and typological composition of ar-
tifacts and the degree of their post-depositional dis-
location. In all likelihood, the formation of these de-
Fig. 1. A tentative correlation of the Middle Paleolithic sites in the Upper Desna region
posits took place during the fi rst half of the Middle
Valdai megainterstadial (OIS 3). For the time being
just one radiocarbon date obtained on a humus sam-
ple is available for Khotylevo I, and it falls within
this time interval: 42 270±3 300 (GIN-14414).
The culture bearing layers of the Betovo group
sites are associated with redeposited buried soils
disturbed by cryogenic processes, resting on the
Cenomanian (Upper Cretaceous) sands, and over-
lain with the Late Valdai loess-like sandy loams and
loams.
The results obtained in 2009 – 2010 permit to
hope that the continuation of fi eld explorations at the
Middle Paleolithic sites of the Upper Desna region
will contribute to clarifying many questions relat-
ed to the chronology, genesis, and variability of the
Micoquian industries in the Russian Plain.

Materials only for purposes of the conference
"European Middle Palaeolithic during MIS 8 - MIS 3".
Not for sale.
Book of Abstracts 61
Variability, mobility and site func on in
Pre-Pyrenean Middle Paleolithic. The
examples of Roca dels Bous and Cova
Gran (Iberian south-eastern
Pre-Pyrenees)
Xavier Roda Gilabert1, So a Samper Carro1, Joel
Casanova Mar 1, Miquel Roy Sunyer1, Rafael Mora
Torcal1,2, Jorge Mar nez-Moreno1, Alfonso Beni-
to-Calvo3
1 Centre d’Estudis del Patrimoni Arqueològic de la Prehistoria
(CEPAP). Facultat de Filosofi a i Lletres. Universidad
Autònoma de Barcelona. 08193 Bellaterra. Spain
e-mail: Javier.Roda@uab.cat
2 ICREA Academia Program
3 Centro Nacional de Inves gación sobre la Evolución Humana
(CENIEH). Paseo Sierra de Atapuerca s/n. 09002 Burgos. Spain
This paper presents the techno-economic data
documented in the Mousterian archaeological lev-
els at Roca dels Bous (N10 and N12 units) and Cova
Gran (S1B and S1C units). Located in the fi rst foot-
hills of the Pre-Pyrenees, the occupations document-
ed in these sites have been chronometrically dated
to the late Middle Palaeolithic (MIS 3) (Martínez-
-Moreno et al. 2010a; 2010b; Mora et al. 2011).
Regarding the lithic assemblages analysis, we
will discuss the interrelationship between raw ma-
terial acquisition patterns and their incidence in
the technological systems. The technical systems
observed indicate a coexistence of expedient and
organized knapping methods which generate ar-
tefacts with few standardized technological traits
but versatile to tackle their subsistence (Mora et
al. 2008; Casanova et al 2009; Martínez-Moreno et
al. 2010b). These artefacts suffer intense reduction
processes, while at the same time determined type
of blanks are recycled. This behaviour is not related
to a scarcity of raw materials.
This framework permits raising a discussion
about concepts such as technical variability, and the
evaluation of the chaîne opératoire fragmentation
degree in each occupation. The variability observed,
in addition to the evaluation of diverse contextual
elements such as hearths, permits making inferences
about site function aspects, but also related to Nean-
derthals mobility patterns (Geneste 1992).
Data presented in this paper place the archaeolog-
ical sites of Roca dels Bous and Cova Gran within
a regional network of sites, which allow establishing
a comparative frame in which assess these tech-
no-complexes from a diachronic perspective (Dela-
gnes et al. 2007; Casanova et al. 2009). The scenario
observed shows a territory in which technical behav-
iour has maintained homogenous between MIS 5 – 3.
Fig. 1. Regional setting and sites discussed in the paper. a) Plan with the situation of the regional network of sites and
the location of the areas of raw materials acquisition; b) location in the Iberian península; c) general view of
Roca dels Bous site; d) general view of Cova Gran site

Materials only for purposes of the conference
"European Middle Palaeolithic during MIS 8 - MIS 3".
Not for sale.
European Middle Palaeolithic during MIS 8 – MIS 3: cultures – environment – chronology62
The archaeological contexts analysed provide
relevant data to understand the late Middle Palae-
olithic occupations in the North of the Iberian Pen-
insula (Maroto el al. 2012) and to evaluate Nean-
derthals’ techno-economic behaviour in the Iberian
south-eastern Pre-Pyrenees.
References
DELAGNES A., JAUBE RT J., MEIGNEN L., 2007, Les techno-
complexes du Paléolithique moyen en Europe occiden-
tal dans leur cadre diachronique et géographique, Les
Néandertaliens. Biologie et culture, París, p. 213–229.
CASANOVA J., MARTINEZ-MORENO J., MORA R., TORRE,
DE LA I., 2009, Stratégies techniques dans le Paléo-
lithique Moyen du sud-est des Pyrénées., L’Anthropol-
ogie 113, p. 313–340.
GENESTE J. M., 1992, L’approvisionnement en matières
premières dans les systèmes de production lithique: la
dimension spatiale de la technologie, Tecnología y ca-
denas operativas líticas. Treballs d’Arqueologia 1, Bel-
laterra, p. 1–36.
MAROTO J., VAQUERO M., ARRIZABALAGA A., BAENA J.,
BAQUEDA NO E., JORDÀ J., JULIÀ R., MONTES R., PLICHT VAN
DER J., RASINES P., WOOD R., 2012, Current issues in late
Middle Palaeolithic chronology: New assessments from
Northern Iberia, Quaternary International 247, p. 15–25.
MARTÍNEZ-MORENO J., MORA R., DE LA TORRE I., 2010a,
Technical variability and changes in the pattern of set-
tlement at Roca dels Bous (Southeastern Prepyrenees,
Spain), Settlement Dynamics of Middle Paleolithic and
Middle Stone Age, Vol. III, p. 485–507, Tübingen.
MARTÍNEZ-MORENO J., MORA R., DE LA TORRE I., 2010b,
The Middle-to-Upper Palaeolithic transition in Cova
Gran (Catalunya, Spain) and the extinction of Neander-
thals in the Iberian Peninsula, Journal of Human Evolu-
tion 58, p. 211–226.
MORA R., MARTÍNEZ-MORENO J., CASANOVA J., 2008,
Abordando la noción de “variabilidad musteriense” en
Roca dels Bous (Prepirineo suroriental, Lleida), Traba-
jos de Prehistoria 65, p. 13–28.
MORA R., BENITO-CALVO A., MARTÍNEZ-MORENO J., GON-
ZALEZ-MARCEN P., DE LA TORRE I., 2011, Chrono-stratigra-
phy of the Upper Pleistocene and Holocene archaeolog-
ical sequence in Cova Gran (south-eastern Prepyrenees,
Iberian Peninsula), Journal of Quaternary Science 26,
p. 635–644.
Mousterian occupa ons or hyena
dens? Cova del Gegant (Sitges, Spain)
as a controversial Middle Palaeolithic
assemblage
So a Cris na Samper Carro 1, Jorge Mar nez-Moreno
1
1 Centre d’Estudis del Patrimoni Arqueològic de la Prehistoria
(CEPAP). Facultat de Filosofi a i Lletres. Universidad
Autònoma de Barcelona. 08193 Bellaterra. Spain.
e-mail: sofi acris na.samper@e-campus.uab.cat
The analysis of Middle Palaeolithic faunal as-
semblages permits the interpretation of Neanderthal
lifestyle. However, zooarchaeological assemblag-
es are subject to a wide variety of factors that may
modify them, distinct from mere human actions.
In these terms, the presence of mixed occupations
in which traces of both carnivore and human activi-
ties can be tracked, provides an interesting example
Fig. 1. Location and site plan of Cova del Gegant. A: Location of Cova del Gegant; B: Current access to Cova del
Gegant, showing the encroachment of the sea. C: Site Plan of Cova del Gegant, showing the distribution of
GL-1 and GL-2

Materials only for purposes of the conference
"European Middle Palaeolithic during MIS 8 - MIS 3".
Not for sale.
Book of Abstracts 63
of accumulations generated by diverse taphonomic
agents. In these cases, some criteria have been es-
tablished in an attempt to distinguish carnivore from
hominid accumulations (Cruz-Uribe 1991; Marean
et al. 1992; Pickering 2002). Cova del Gegant con-
stitutes a case of study of successive occupation in
a cave context.
Cova del Gegant is located in north-eastern
Spanish Mediterranean coast, near the city of Sit-
ges (1º 46'27.33'' E – 41º 13'24.75'' N). Formed in
a small karstic system, currently the cave access is
limited both by sea and through a natural vertical
shaft, although during the Neanderthal period it has
been calculated that the coastline were 8 – 13 km.
away from nowadays location (López García et al.
2008). It consists of a principal chamber and two gal-
leries that branch off, one more interior (GL-2) and
the other closer to the sea (GL-1). The proposed dat-
ing for GL-1 deposits span 49,4±1,8 – 60,0±3,9 ka
(MIS 3), according to the chronology obtained for
the residual deposits preserved (Daura et al. 2010)
Previous studies have remarked the importance
of the deposit (Martínez Moreno 1990; Martínez
Moreno et al. 1985, 1990), in which the vast osse-
ous assemblage recovered include the recognition
of a Neanderthal mandible as well as scarce lithic
material (Mora 1988; Daura et al. 2005). However,
a systematic taphonomic analysis of the macro
mammal assemblage has not been conducted.
Numerous evidences of carnivore involvement
are observed in the assemblage, such as tooth
marks, an important quantity of carnivore remains
or trace fossils (i.e. hyenas’ coprolites). In addition,
the proper topography of the cave indicates that
human presence, although justifi ed, should not be
considered as the unique agent responsible for the
faunal assemblage accumulation.
This paper will evaluate the factors that have
infl uenced the skeletal representation and preserva-
tion of GL-1 macro mammals assemblage to estab-
lish the more suitable taphonomic agents responsi-
ble for this accumulation.
References
CRUZ-URIBE K, 1991, Distinguishing hyena from homi-
nid bone accumulations, Journal of Field Archaeology
18 (4), p. 467–486.
DAURA J. et al, 2005, A Neanderthal mandible from the
Cova del Gegant (Sitges, Barcelona, Spain), Journal of
Human Evolution 49, p. 56–70.
DAURA J. et al. 2010. Stratigraphic context and direct dat-
ing of the Neanderthal mandible from Cova del Gegant
(Sitges, Barcelona), Journal of Human Evolution, 59,
p. 109–122.
LÓPEZ GARCÍA J. M. et al., 2008, Chronological, environ-
mental and climatic precisions on the Neanderthal site of
the Cova del Gegant (Sitges, Barcelona, Spain), Journal
of Human Evolution 55, p. 1151–1155.
MAREAN C. W. et al., 1992, Captive hyena bone choice
and destruction, the schlepp effect and Olduvai archaeo-
faunas, Jour nal of Archaeological Science 19, p. 101–121.
MARTÍNEZ MORENO J., 1990, Informe técnico de los res-
tos óseos de la Cova del Gegant (Sitges, Garraf). Servei
d’Arqueologia i Paleontologia, Centre d’Informació i
Documentació del Patrimoni Cultural de la Generalitat
de Catalunya, Barcelona, Unpublished archaeological
report.
MARTÍNEZ MORENO J. et al., 1985, Memòria de l’excava-
ció d’urgència de la Cova del Gegant 1985, Servei d’Ar-
Fig. 2. Carnivore modifi cations observed in Cova del Gegant. A: Gnawed humerus of bovid, showing the differential
preservation of the most robust epiphysis (distal) and the destruction of the least dense (proximal); B: Sample
of regurgitated bones; C: Nibling stick. Example of a horse metapodial showing an intense gnawing by hyena
cubs. D: Metapodia of bovid in which both epiphyses were destroyed, resulting in both crenulated edges

Materials only for purposes of the conference
"European Middle Palaeolithic during MIS 8 - MIS 3".
Not for sale.
European Middle Palaeolithic during MIS 8 – MIS 3: cultures – environment – chronology64
queologia i Paleontologia, Centre d’Informació i Docu-
mentació del Patrimoni Cultural de la Generalitat de Ca-
talunya, Barcelona, Unpublished archaeological report.
MARTÍNEZ MORENO J. et al., 1990, Memòria d’excavació
a la Cova del Gegant 1989, Servei d’Arqueologia i Pa-
leontologia, Centre d’Informació i Documentació del
Patrimoni Cultural de la Generalitat de Catalunya, Bar-
celona, Unpublished archaeological report.
MORA R., 1988, El Paleolítico medio en Cataluña,
Unpublished PhD Thesis, Barcelona.
PICKERING T. R., 2002, Reconsideration of criteria for dif-
ferentiating faunal assemblages accumulated by hyenas
and hominids, International Journal of Osteoarchaeo-
logy 12, p. 127–141.
Biota of Karginian Interstadial of the
Fore-Baikal area: paleogeographical
reconstruc ons
Sato T.1, Khenzykhenova F.2, Simakova A.3, Mar-
tynovich N.4, Danukalova G.5, Morozova E.5, Seme-
nei E.6, Kato H.7, Yoshida K.8, Shchetnikov A.9, Filinov
I.9, Sawaura R.1, Kisloshchaeva T.2
1 Department of Archaeology and Ethnology, Keio University,
Tokyo, Japan, e-mail: sato@fl et.keio.ac.jp, sawaura@
a3.keio.jp
2 Geological Ins tute, Siberian Branch (SB), Russian Academy
of Sciences (RAS), 6a Sakhjanovoi str., Ulan-Ude, Russia,
e-mails: khenzy@mail.ru, khenzy@gin.bscnet.ru,
tkgota@yandex.ru
3 Geological Ins tute, RAS, Moscow, Russia, e-mail:
simak2001@mail.ru
4 Krasnoyarsk Regional Natural Museum, Krasnoyarsk, Russia,
e-mail: martynovichn@mail.ru
5 Ins tute of Geology, Ural Branch of RAS, Ufa, Russia,
e-mail: guzel59@mail.ru, jane.morozova@gmail.com
6 Ins tute of Geology and Mineralogy, SB of RAS, Russia,
e-mail: simali_na@yahoo.com
7 Hokkaido University Center for Ainu & Indigenous Studies,
Sapporo, Japan, e-mail: h-kato@let.hokudai.ac.jp
8 University Museum, University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan,
e-mail: gara@um.u-tokyo.ac.jp
9 Ins tute of Earth Core, SB of RAS, e-mail: shchet@crust.irk.ru
Excavations in the Fore-Baikal area at the Palae-
olithic sites: Bol’shoi Naryn as a part of the Japa-
nese Research Project and Gerasimov’s site and the
faunistic locality Ust’-Odinskoe in the south of East
Siberia were aimed at detailed studies of thin layers
within the Karginian paleosol and deposits (MIS 3)
including the cultural layer of these sites. The se-
quence has been studied using a multidisciplinary
approach. Biotic data has been obtained on the
composition of fauna species and includs species
of mollusks, birds, and mammals. For the fi rst time
pollen and spores from the site B.Naryn section
have also been studied. The results obtained allow
a more detailed reconstruction of the Early man en-
vironments of the Fore-Baikal subregion at the time
of MIS 3. The taxa of vertebrate fossils from MIS 3
paleosoils all belong to the Mammoth faunal com-
plex that is characteristic of the Late Pleistocene
period in Eurasia. Complex data shown that human
paleoenvironment during Karginian interstadial in
the Baikal region was not warm and very comfort-
able for ancient people: ice wedges in the subarial
deposits, rather big part of tundra voles in the small
mammal associations testifi ed it. We can purpose
that the B.Naryn site and Gerasimov’s site were
surrounded by open landscapes: steppe and mead-
ow-steppe, bogs, forest-steppe and local parts of
tundra type. Climate was temperate cold and humid.
Small mammal assemblages from Biśnik
Cave: palaeoecological and palaeoclima c
reconstruc on
Paweł Socha
Department of Palaeozoology, University of Wrocław,
Sienkiewicza Str. No. 21, Pl-50335, Wrocław, Poland
email: sochap@biol.uni.wroc.pl
In Biśnik Cave remains of 51 small mammal
species belonging to 31 genera and 13 families
were found. They represent following orders: Er-
inaceomorpha (1 species), Soricomorpha (2 fami-
lies, 5 genera, 11 species), Chiroptera (1 family, 5
genera, 10 species), Lagomorpha (2 families, 3 gen-
era, 4 species) and Rodentia (7 families, 17 genera,
25 species) (Socha 2009). Remains originate from
a sequence of sediments dated from late Middle
Pleistocene (MIS 8) to the end of Vistulian (=We-
ichselian) glaciation (MIS 2) (Cyrek 2002; Cyrek et
al. 2009, 2010). Among described small mammals,
33 species are extant in Poland, 10 do not occur at
present in Poland, and 8 are extinct. For several
taxa (Erinaceus roumanicus, Sorex thaleri, Sciurus
vulgaris, Spermophilus citelloides, Dryomys nit-
eduta, Muscardinus avallanarius, Lagurus lagurus,
Cricetulus migratorius and Oryctolagus cuniculus)
Biśnik Cave is the fi rst late Middle Pleistocene re-
cord in Poland. The presence of remains of the fi ve-
toed jerboa (Allactaga major) in layer 13, dated to
the Eemian Interglacial (MIS 5e), indicates that the
species was present in Poland prior to Vistulian Gla-
ciation (Socha 2009). Porcupine (Hystrix) remains
from layers 15 and 14 provide the fi rst information
on the occurrence of this species in the Pleistocene
of Poland.
For small mammal assemblages from particu-
lar layers the qualitative and quantitative changes
were traced. The indices used for comparison com-
prised the species richness (Margalef index), over-
all species diversity (Shannon-Wiener index) and
similarity (Jaccard index). Changes in the species
composition were correlated with a stratigraphic
scheme of the site. Margalef index values for rodent
assemblages fl uctuated from 1,7 to 2,8, for most
assemblages from 2,0 to 2,6. The highest value of

Materials only for purposes of the conference
"European Middle Palaeolithic during MIS 8 - MIS 3".
Not for sale.
Book of Abstracts 65
the ratio was obtained for assemblage from layer
13 (MIS 5e), and the lowest for assemblages from
layers 6, 4 and 1 (MIS 4 – 2). The highest values of
the Shannon-Wiener index, falling in the range from
1,4 to 2,2, were obtained for layers 15 and 13 (MIS
6 – 5d). Relatively high values were also found for
assemblages from layers dated to MIS 8 – 6 and
MIS 5d – a. The lowest values of Shannon-Wiener
index characterize layer 5 and 4 (MIS 3).
Reconstruction of climatic conditions was
mainly based on rodent assemblages. In order to
determine the climatic conditions, the climatic re-
striction index (CRI) was used to calculate the bi-
oclimatic component (BC). Results were used to
calculate the discriminating function to identify the
greatest likelihood of appurtenance of the assem-
blages to particular climate zones. The BC values
were subject to multiple linear regression using
values of the following climatic factors: T – annu-
al mean temperature, Tmin - mean temperature of
the coldest month; Tmax – mean temperature of the
warmest month; Tp – annual positive temperature;
Mta – mean annual thermal amplitude; It – ther-
micity index; Itc – compensated thermicity index;
W – winter length; VAP – vegetative activity peri-
od; FVAP – free vegetative activity period; Io – om-
brothermic Index; P – annual total precipitations;
D – drought length months (Hernández Fernández
2001a, b).
Assemblages from Biśnik Cave included small
mammal species found today in the following cli-
mates: equatorial (with mainly vegetation type: ever
green tropical rain forest), tropical with summer
rains (with mainly vegetation type: tropical decid-
uous forest), warm–temperate (with mainly veg-
etation type: temperate evergreen forest), typical
temperate (with mainly vegetation type: nemoral
broadleaf–deciduous forest), arid–temperate (with
mainly vegetation type: steppe to cold desert);
cold–temperate- boreal (with mainly vegetation
type: boreal coniferous forest- taiga), arctic (with
mainly vegetation type: tundra).
Reconstructed mean monthly temperatures ranged
from +0,5° C to +5,0° C in various layers. The high-
est values of the mean monthly temperatures , which
fl uctuated in the range from +3,2° C to +5,0° C, were
obtained for layers from late Middle Pleistocene
(MIS 8–6). In layers from the Late Pleistocene cor-
responding to MIS 5e, MIS 3 and MIS 2, tempera-
tures ranged from +3,5° C to +4,3° C. The lowest
mean monthly temperatures, ranging from +0,7° C to
+1,6° C, were characteristic for layers formed during
the Vistulian Glaciation, corresponding to MIS 4–3.
The largest fl uctuations in the value of lowest mean
monthly temperatures were found in layers corre-
sponding to MIS 5c–a. At that time, average monthly
temperatures ranged from +1,5° C to +3,3° C.
The warmest month mean temperatures ranged
from +12,1° C to +16,2° C. The highest mean tem-
perature of the warmest month, ranging from
+15,0° C to +16,2° C, was found in layers corre-
sponding to MIS 8 – 6 and 5e. In the Vistulian Gla-
ciation (MIS 5d – 2), the mean temperature of the
warmest month ranged from +12,1° C to +15,0° C.
The coldest month mean temperatures ranged
from -11,9° C to -5,4° C. In layers dated to MIS 8 – 6,
the value of this parameter fl uctuated from -8,2° C
to -5.4° C. In the Eemian (MIS 5e), the mean value
of this parameter ranged from -10.6° C to -7.3° C.
While during the Vistulian Glaciation (MIS 5d – 2),
they ranged from -11,9° C to -5,9° C.
The mean annual thermal amplitude ranged from
19,60 to 26,50 C. The highest values of this param-
eter were found in layers from 13 to 4 (MIS 5e – 3)
and they ranged from 22,1° C to 26,5° C. Howev-
er, in layers deposited in the fi nal period of the late
Pleistocene (MIS 2) were the lowest and fl uctuated
between 19,6° C and 20,9° C. In layers from MIS
8 – 6, the parameter values ranged from 21,2° C to
22,0° C.
Reconstruction of total annual precipitation (P)
indicates that during deposition of sediments in the
Biśnik Cave they ranged from 803 to 1237 mm. The
highest values of P were found in layers 3 – 1 (MIS
3 – 2), with of the total annual precipitation ranged
from 1111 to 1237 mm. In the other layers of the
total annual precipitation was lower and did not ex-
ceed 1050 mm.
Accumulation of layers 19 – 13 (MIS 8 – 5d) took
place during the most favorable climatic conditions.
Layers 11 – 8 (MIS 5c – 4?) were deposited during
the highly changeable climate conditions, including
warmer and cooler periods. Accumulation of lay-
ers 7 – 5 (MIS 4 – 3) occurred in progressive dete-
rioration of the climate. However, the deposition of
layers 4 – 2 (MIS 3 – 2) occurred during the gradual
improvement of climatic conditions.
Reconstruction of environmental conditions
shows that the prevalent landscape in the environs
of the Biśnik Cave was a mosaic of open and for-
ested areas, with constant presence of wetlands,
streams and lakes.
References
CYREK K. (ed.), 2002, Jaskinia Biśnik. Rekonstrukcja
zasiedlenia jaskini na tle zmian środowiska przyrod-
niczego, Toruń.
CYREK K., Mirosław-Grabowska J., Socha P., Stefaniak
K. 2009. Archaeology, stratigraphy and palaeoecology
of the Biśnik Cave. [in:] K. Stefaniak, P. Socha, A. Tyc
(eds), Karst of the Częstochowa Upland and the Eastern
Sudetes – palaeoenvironments and protection, Studies
of the Faculty of Earth Sciences, University of Silesia,
No. 56, Sosnowiec – Wrocław, p. 77–98.

Materials only for purposes of the conference
"European Middle Palaeolithic during MIS 8 - MIS 3".
Not for sale.
European Middle Palaeolithic during MIS 8 – MIS 3: cultures – environment – chronology66
CYREK K., SOCHA P., STEFANIAK K., MADEYSKA T.,
MIROSŁAW-GRABOWSKA J., SUDOŁ M., CZYŻEWSKI Ł. 2010.
Palaeolithic of Biśnik Cave (Southern Poland) within the
environmental background, Quaternary International,
220 (1–2), p. 5–30.
HERNÁNDEZ FERNÁNDEZ M. 2001a. Bioclimatic discrim-
inant capacity of terrestrial mammal faunas. Global
Ecology and Biogeography, 10, p. 189–204.
HERNÁNDEZ FERNÁNDEZ M, 2001b, Análisis paleoecológi-
co y paleoclimático de las sucesiones de mamiferos del
Plio-Pleistoceno Ibérico, Madrid.
SOCHA P., 2009, Small mammals (Erinaceomorpha,
Soricomorpha, Chiroptera, Lagomorpha, Rodentia) from
Pleistocene deposits of the Biśnik Cave, [in:] K. Stefa-
niak, A. Tyc, P. Socha (eds), Karst of the Częstochowa
Upland and the Eastern Sudetes – palaeoenvironments
and protection, Studies of the Faculty of Earth Sciences,
University of Silesia No. 56, Sosnowiec – Wrocław:
p. 215–224.
Changes in the ungulate fauna
(Proboscidea, Perissodactyla and
Ar odactyla) of Biśnik Cave from the
Middle Palaeolithic to the Holocene
Krzysztof Stefaniak1, Piotr Wojtal2
1 Department of Palaeozoology, University of Wrocław,
Sienkiewicza Str. No 21, PL-50335, Wrocław, Poland,
email: stefanik@biol.uni.wroc.pl
2 Ins tute of Systema cs and Evolu on of Animals, Polish
Academy of Sciences, Sławkowska Str. No 17,
PL-31016, Kraków, Poland,
email: wojtal@isez.pan.krakow.pl
The sediments of Biśnik cave are unique for
Poland in providing a more or less continuous se-
quence of deposits dating from MIS 8 through to the
Holocene (Cyrek 2002; Cyrek et al. 2009, 2010).
The cave is one of very few sites to produce rela-
tively numerous remains of Middle Pleistocene un-
gulate fauna. Research on this site presents an im-
portant advance in our knowledge of faunal changes
especially of the late Middle Pleistocene and early
Late Pleistocene in Central Europe. Nearly all lay-
ers have produced ungulate faunal remains, howev-
er the frequency of particular species differs signifi -
cantly among layers. Proboscideans are represented
by very few remains (for of all isolated lammelae)
of Mammuthus primigenius found in some layers
only and a large fragment of innominate from layer
18, belonging probably to another species. Among
odd-toed ungulates - equids, which can be attrib-
uted to Equus ferus, are numerous (NISP = 260)
in almost all sediments (van Asperen & Stefaniak,
2011). Less frequent (over 50 speciemns) are rhi-
noceroses represented by Coelodonta antiquitatis,
found in late Middle and early Late Pleistocene
deposits, and a single tooth of Stephanorhinus ex-
cavated from layer 19 (MIS 7 or MIS 8). Hoofed
mammals are represented mainly by large and me-
dium sized species (Stefaniak & Marciszak 2009).
Bovids are represented fi rst of all by Bison priscus
(NISP = 250). Remains of this species were noted in
whole profi le, both in glacial and interglacial sed-
iments. Remains of aurochs Bos primigenius were
much less numerous and were present mainly in the
Holocene sediments, although few teeth fragments
were found in other layers. It should be mentioned
that likely remains of wisent Bison bonasus were
found in layer 1. Musk ox Ovibos moschatus was
discovered in few layers of Middle and Late Vis-
tulian (Weichselian) age. Remains of the medium
sized bovids belong to relatively common chamois
Rupicapra rupicapra and rare saiga antelope Saiga
tatarica. However, we cannot exclude that some re-
mains in the late Middle Pleistocene layers belong
to ibex Capra ibex (identifi cation to be confi rmed).
Among cervids the most common (over 480 speci-
mens) was reindeer Rangifer tarandus found across
whole profi le. The red deer Cervus elaphus (about
270 teeth and bones) was also very common in all
sediments of Biśnik Cave. In contrast remains of gi-
ant deer Megaloceros giganteus (90 specimens) and
roe deer Capreolus capreolus (170 remains) were
present mainly in the Middle Pleistocene and ear-
ly Late Pleistocene part of the section. The remains
of the latter species from MIS 8-MIS 6 belong to
of large form of this taxon, but their dimensions
are smaller than that of Capreolus suessenborn-
ensis. Although, the elks are represented by small
number of remains, they represent two species. In
sediments of layers 19, 16 and 15 remains of the
middle Pleistocene genus Cervalces (Cervalces cf.
postremus) were found. The modern elk Alces alces
remains were present only in the Holocene. The
wild boar Sus scrofa bones and teeth (NISP = 212)
were found mainly in the Holocene layers but some
remains also occurred in Middle Pleistocene layers.
Changes in fauna composition of hoofed mammals
in sediments of Biśnik Cave were not signifi cant.
Nevertheless it should be mentioned the presence
of forest or forest-steppe species in deposits which
character could be described as glacial. For instance
the reindeer, a species connected with steppe-tundra
environment, were found in interglacial and inter-
stadial layers. The permanent presence of species
belonging to different oecological groups together,
in almost all layers across the section, is noticeable.
It could suggest the refugial character of Często-
chowska Upland in the studied time span. It should
be mentioned that some remains show traces of both
human and/or large carnivores activity. There were
found few cut marks made by Neanderthal hunters
on large ungulate bones. Also some burned bones
were found in the cave sediments. It cannot be
excluded that large carnivores, such wolves and
cave hyenas, were responsible for accumulation at

Materials only for purposes of the conference
"European Middle Palaeolithic during MIS 8 - MIS 3".
Not for sale.
Book of Abstracts 67
least part of large herbivore remains, on some bones
were found carnivore gnawing marks and other
were digested. The taphonomic and zooarchaeolog-
ical analyses are still in progress and more detailed
results will be appear in the future.
References
CYREK K. (ed.), 2002, Jaskinia Biśnik. Rekonstrukcja
zasiedlenia jaskini na tle zmian środowiska przyrod-
niczego, Toruń.
CYREK K., MIROSŁAW-GRABOWSKA J., SOCHA P., STEFAN-
IAK K. 2009. Archaeology, stratigraphy and palaeoeco-
logy of the Biśnik Cave, [in:] K. Stefaniak, P. Socha,
A. Tyc (eds), Karst of the Częstochowa Upland and the
Eastern Sudetes – palaeoenvironments and protection,
Sosnowiec – Wrocław, p. 77–98.
CYREK K., SOCHA P., STEFANIAK K., MADEYSKA T., MI-
ROSŁAW -GRABOWSKA J., SUDOŁ M., CZYŻEWSKI Ł., 2010,
Palaeolithic of Biśnik Cave (Southern Poland) within the
environmental background. Quaternary International,
220 (1–2), p. 5–30.
STEFANIAK K., MARCISZAK A., 2009, Large mammals
(Carnivora, Ungulata) from Pleistocene sediments of the
Biśnik Cave, [in:] K. Stefaniak, A. Tyc, P. Socha (eds),
Karst of the Częstochowa Upland and the Eastern Sude-
tes: palaeoenvironments and protection. Studies of the
Faculty of Earth Sciences, University of Silesia, No. 56,
Sosnowiec-Wrocław, p. 225–254.
ASPEREN, VA N E. N., STEFANIAK K, 2011, Bisnik Cave and
its biostratigraphical position based on equid remains.
Acta Zoologica Cracoviensia, 54A (1–2), p. 55–76.
Late Quaternary paleontological cave
sites in the Ural Mountains: taphonomy,
chronology and environmental gradients
Ta ana Strukova, Evgenia Markova,
Aleksandr Borodin
Ins tute of Plant and Animal Ecology, Ural Branch of the
Russian Academy of Sciences Yekaterinburg, ul. 8 Marta, 202
e-mail: strukova@ipae.uran.ru
Quaternary deposits in the caves and grottos of
the Urals provide information about the environ-
mental history and human development in the region
encompassing a large area in the central part of
Northern Eurasia. The deposits yielding mammal
remains are confi ned to the sites of several types.
1. Speleogenous sites in karst cavities. This type
includes caves, grottos, rock shelters in karst rock
formations. The deposits are formed by the break-
down of rocks into fragments of different size –
from boulders to clays. Most of the sites known in
the Urals belong to this type. The deposits corre-
spond to the period from MIS 3 – MIS 2 to the Holo-
cene (Smirnov et al. 1990, Smirnov 1993, Fadeeva,
Smirnov 2008, Bachura, Kosintsev 2007, Kuzmina
2009 and others).
2. Speleogenous sites in karst cavities with fl uvi-
al cave deposits. Formation of deposits is related to
both karst development and permanent streams. In
the caves of this type, reworking and redeposition of
faunal materials should be taken into account. At the
present time the only site of this type is described in
the Northern Urals (Cheremukhovo-1). The deposits
correspond to the period from MIS 3 – MIS 2 to the
Holocene (Strukova et al., 2006).
3. Non-karst cave sites. This type includes shal-
low cavities in rock massifs when one or several big
blocks form a shelter or a grotto. The sites are typi-
cal for the areas where the basalt and granite rocks
are prevalent. The sites of this type are Shaytanoo-
zersky Kamenny Ostrov and Shabry (Middle Urals)
which correspond to MIS 2 – Holocene.
Bone accumulation and distribution in cave de-
posits depends on several factors - cave morpholo-
gy, climatic conditions, as well as the activities of
humans and animals. Most of the bones found in
cave deposits are those of small mammals, especial-
ly rodents. These are mainly remains of the prey of
bird and mammalian predators that used the caves
as temporary or permanent shelters. Archeological
data suggest that the human use the caves in the Urals
from the end of Middle Paleolithic. However, the
caves have never been used as long-lasting dwelling
places (Borodin, Kosintsev 1997). The caves repre-
sented the places of short-term sites and sanctuaries.
The sanctuaries comprise the remains of large
and middle-sized mammals (hunted or domestic).
The role of human in the formation of the Quater-
nary micromammal assemblages is not detected
(Smirnov et al. 1990, Borodin, Kosintsev 1997).
The cave sites are situated all over the Ural
Mountain ridge stretching meridionally from the
Kara Sea in the North to the Mugodzhar Hills of
Kazakhstan in the South. The three environmental
gradients are refl ected in the modern fauna and fl ora
of the region: 1) the North-South gradient refl ected
in natural zonation, 2) the West-East gradient relat-
ed to the role of the Ural mountains in circulation
of air masses, and 3) the altitudinal gradients which
are not always clearly pronounced due to the rela-
tively low altitudes of the Urals. At the present time,
the overall number of cave sites yielding the small
mammal faunas is more than 100. This amount of
paleofaunal data may serve as a source of informa-
tion for studying the paleoenvironmental gradients
in the central part of Northern Eurasia and link them
to the data on the European and Asian part of the con-
tinent. Analysis of the published and original data
on the faunas of the Urals suggest that the three en-
vironmental gradients could be revealed at different
stages of the Quaternary when analyzing the faunal
composition and frequency of particular arvicoline
species in caves of the Polar, Northern, Middle and

Materials only for purposes of the conference
"European Middle Palaeolithic during MIS 8 - MIS 3".
Not for sale.
European Middle Palaeolithic during MIS 8 – MIS 3: cultures – environment – chronology68
Southern Urals. The latitudinal gradient is refl ected
in both the gradual change in faunal composition
and frequency of particular taxa along the north-
south gradient at any given stage of the Quaternary
(Smirnov 2001, Borodin et al. 2011). The differences
between the western and eastern slopes of the
Urals are also shown for the late Pleistocene and
Holocene (Smirnov et al., 1990 and others). Here,
we show that the west-east faunal gradient may be
inferred when analyzing the frequency of arvico-
line species with European and Asiatic pattern of
the present-day distribution. We show that the role of
European species in the arvicoline fauna has become
more important from the Late Pleistocene to the Late
Holocene and present day in the northern, middle,
and southern parts of the Urals and adjacent areas. In
contrast to the latitudinal and longitudinal patterns
of faunal change which refl ect the continentwide
environmental gradients, the altitudinal pattern may
be revealed at regional scale when comparing the
data on relatively small areas. Our data suggest
that the differences between the plain areas of the
Middle Trans-Urals and the foothills of the Middle
Urals are refl ected in the indices of species diversity
which are higher in the foothills due to the habitat
heterogeneity (Strukova, Borodin, 2002).
The study is supported by RFBR (grant no. 12-
04-01377) and the Program of the Ural Branch of
RAS (program no. 12-C-4-1034).
References
BACHU RA O., KOSINTSEV P., 2007, Late Pleistocene
and Holocene small- and large-mammal faunas from
the Northern Urals, Quaternary International, 160,
p. 121–128.
BORODIN A. V., KOSINTSEV P. A., 1997, Human Use of the
Northern Urals Caves from Late Pleistocene to Modern
Times: an archeozoological perspective, The Human
Use of Caves, Oxford, p. 136–143.
BORODIN A., MARKOVA E., ZINOVYEV E., STRUKOVA T.,
FOMINYK H M., ZYKOV S., 2012, Quaternary rodent and
insect faunas of the Urals and Western Siberia: Connec-
tion between Europe and Asia, Quaternary Internation-
al, in press, doi:10.1016/j.quaint.2011.07.050.
FADEEVA T. V., SMIRNOV N. G., 2008, Small mammals in
the Perm Pre-Urals during the Late Pleistocene and Hol-
ocene periods, Yekaterinburg (in Russian).
KUZMINA E. A., 2009, Late Pleistocene and Holocene smal l
mammal faunas from the South Trans-Urals, Quater-
nary International, 201(1–2), p. 25–30.
STRUKOVA T. V., BACHU RA О. P., BORODIN A. V., STEPHA-
NOVSKY V. V., 2006. Mammal Fauna First Found in Allu-
vial-Speleogenic Formations of the Late Neopleistocene
and Holocene, Northern Urals, Locality Cheremukho-
vo-1, Stratigraphy and Geological Correlation, Vol. 13(6),
p. 125–136 (in Russian).
Smirnov N. G., 1993, Small mammals of the Middle
Urals in Late Pleistocene – Holocene, Yekaterinburg
(in Russian).
SMIRNOV N. G., 2001, Zonal distribution of mammals in
the Urals over the Late Pleistocene time, [in:] Rozanov
A.Yu. (ed.), Mammoth and Its Environment: 200 Years
of Investigations, Moscow, p. 209–219.
SMIRNOV N. G., BOL’SHAKOV V. N., KOSINTSEV P. A., PANO-
VA N. K., KOROBEYNIKOV YU. I., OL’SHVANG V. N., ERO-
KHIN N. G., BYKOVA G. V., 1990, Historical Ecology of
animals in the Southern Urals, Sverdlovsk (in Russian).
STRUKOVA T. V., BORODIN A. V., 2002, Micromammal
species diversity in the foothills and plains of the Mid-
dle Trans-Urals in the Quaternary / Ecological problems
of the mountain territories, Ekaterinburg, p. 210–215
(in Russian).
Upper Pleistocene Flint Assemblages from
the Biśnik Cave
Magdalena Sudoł
Ins tute of Archaeology, Nicolaus Copernicus University,
Szosa Bydgoska 44/48, PL-87100 Toruń, Poland
e-mail: sudol@umk.pl
The aim of the article is a multi-aspect presenta-
tion of fl int assemblages from the Upper Pleistocene
sediments at Biśnik Cave, district of Wolbrom, prov-
ince of Little Poland (Cyrek 2002; Cyrek et al 2010).
They consist of sediments of various origin, dated to
the periods, between the Eemian Interglacial (layers
14 – 13a) and the middle Plenivistulian (layers 5 – 6).
The layers have yielded artefacts of various techno-
logical character and cultural identity, indicating at
least 8 cave inhabitation phases (assemblages: A3,
A2, A1, B, C, D, E, F) (fi g.1).
The complex of layers between 14 and 13 refers
to the warm interglacial period (OIS 5e), whereas
layer 12 is connected with a colder period of the
stadial (OIS 5d) (after Krajcarz 2009). Assemblag-
es from layers 14, 13a and 13 (A3 – A2) are charac-
terised by bifacial knives pointing to the Micoquian
cultural tradition and the presence of the Levallois
technique. The presence of notched and denticulate
tools, which are typical of the Musterian culture,
implies the co-occurrence of both cultural tradi-
tions during that period. Assemblage A1 unearthed
in layer 12, unlike older levels, contains new typo-
logical elements, such as bifacial tools in the shape
of points and micro-hand axes. It is probably linked
with changes of hunting techniques resulting from
the altering environmental conditions. A paleo-zo-
ological analysis has proved considerable warming
during the sedimentation of layers 13 and cooling in
the case of layer 12. The cave was inhabited during
both climatic phases. Particularly intensive inhabi-
tation process occurred during the transitory phase
between the fi rst and the second period, which is
proved by multiple hearths containing burned ani-
mal bones and fl int artefacts unearthed in the side
shelter (Cyrek, Sudoł 2010).

Materials only for purposes of the conference
"European Middle Palaeolithic during MIS 8 - MIS 3".
Not for sale.
Book of Abstracts 69
In the complex of the early-Vistulian layers 11 – 9
(OIS 5c – a) (Mirosław-Grabowska 2002, Kraj-
carz 2009), three cultural levels have been recorded
(B, C, D). On the basis of the technological-typo-
logical analysis and a similar state of preservation
of fl int tools, the previously mentioned assemblages
can be allocated to the same cultural tradition. This
is proved by the presence of recurring features in
the assemblages, such as : the Levallois technique
co-occurring with the technique of the discoidal
core, the dominance of fl ake denticulate-notched
tool forms over uni-facial side-scrapers, frequently
convergent, also of the La Quina type and the pres-
ence of microlithic forms. It seems that these are
Musterian assemblages with the use of the Levallois
technique, formally linked with the both la Quina
and denticulate facies (Cyrek 2006). Human activ-
ity at that time affected the whole area of the cave,
which is additionally proved by multiple hearths.
The youngest and at the same time most numer-
ous Middle Palaeolithic fl int assemblages (E and F)
have been recorded in sandy sediments from the
period of lower and middle Pleniglacial (OIS 4 – 3).
The structure of the assemblages clearly indicates
the prevalence of semi-product and cores over tools,
which proves fl int processing on site (Cyrek 2006).
The assemblages are characterised by the presence
of uni- and bi-facial knives, typical of the Micoqui-
an culture in this part of Europe, as well as the use
of the Levallois technique “recurrent”, dominating
over the fl ake technique of the discoidal core. The
older cultural level (E) clearly shows that human ac-
tivity concentrated in the area of the main chamber,
whereas the younger one (F) is distinguished by a
more extensive adaptation of the inhabitation area.
The most spectacular are the unearthed remains of
a stone-bone construction in front of the entrance to
the chamber of the feature. Most artefacts have been
found within the boundaries of the construction and
the chamber (Cyrek, Sudoł 2009; Cyrek et al. 2010).
The analysis of fl int assemblages from the Upper
Pleistocene levels of Biśnik Cave inhabitation indi-
cates the presence of both, the Micoquian and Mus-
terian cultural tradition. However, in the sediments
from the period OIS 5e – d both traditions co-occur,
whereas period 5c-a is marked by the presence of
Musterian assemblages exclusively and OIS 4 – 3
only by the Micoquian tradition. Moreover, a detailed
analysis of the location of archaeological and pale-
ontological fi nds has indicated considerable differ-
ences linked with the inhabitation of separate sec-
tions of the cave in the consecutive climatic phases.
References
CYREK K. (ed.), 2002, Jaskinia Biśnik. Rekonstrukcja
zasiedlenia jaskini na tle zmian środowiska przyrod-
niczego, Toruń.
CYREK K., 2006, Środkowopaleolityczne vistuliańskie
zespoły wyrobów kamiennych z Jaskini Biśnik, [in:] In
Memoriał Valdemari Chmielewski, Światowit, vol. XI,
Warszawa, p. 93–121.
CYREK K., SOCHA P., STEFANIAK K., MADEYSKA T.,
MIROSŁAW-GRABOWSKA J., SUDOŁ M., CZYŻEWSKI Ł., 2010,
Palaeolithic of Biśnik Cave (Southern Poland) within the
environmental background [in:] Climate Dynamics and
Prehistoric Occupation: Eurasian Perspectives on Envi-
ronmental Archaeology, Jiri Chlachula and Norm Catto
(eds), Quaternary International, 220(1–2), p. 5–30.
CYREK K., SUDOŁ M., 2009, Środkowy paleolit w jaskini
Biśnik na tle zmian środowiska przyrodniczego, [in:]
L. Domańska, P. Kittel, J. Forysiak (eds), Środowisko
– Człowiek – Cywilizacja. Środowiskowe uwarunkowa-
nia lokalizacji osadnictwa, tom 2, Seria wydawnicza
Stowarzyszenia Archeologii Środowiskowej, Poznań,
p. 15–27.
CYREK K., SUDOŁ. M., 2010, Zasiedlenie Jaskini Biśnik
w plejstocenie, Annales Universitatis Mariae Cu-
rie-Skłodowska, Lublin Polonia, sectio B, vol. LXV,
z. 2, p. 57–68.
KRAJCARZ M. T., 2009, Rekonstrukcja środowiska sedy-
mentacji i diagenezy plejstoceńskich osadów i szcząt-
ków kostnych z jaskini Biśnik (Jura Polska) na podstawie
badań geochemicznych. Praca doktorska, Uniwersytet
Warszawski, Wydział Geologii.
Fig. 1. Biśnik Cave. Chronostratigraphy for layers 5 – 14

Materials only for purposes of the conference
"European Middle Palaeolithic during MIS 8 - MIS 3".
Not for sale.
European Middle Palaeolithic during MIS 8 – MIS 3: cultures – environment – chronology70
MIROSŁAW-GRABOWSKA J., 2002, Litologia i stratygrafi a
osadów Jaskini Biśnik, [in:] Cyrek K. (ed.), Jaskinia
Biśnik. Rekonstrukcja zasiedlenia jaskini na tle zmian
środowiska przyrodniczego, Toruń, p. 143–192.
The origin and morphology
of the Biśnik Cave
Andrzej Tyc
Department of Geomorphology, University of Silesia,
Będzińska Str. No. 60, PL-41200 Sosnowiec, Poland,
e-mail: andrzej.tyc@us.edu.pl
The Kraków-Częstochowa Upland is composed
largely of Upper Jurassic limestone. They are dom-
inated by complexes of massive carbonate buildups
of Oxfordian age. The buildups range spatially and
in profi le from small sponge and sponge-microbi-
al bioherms, through microbial-sponge structures
to microbial reef mounds (Matyszkiewicz et al.
2004). The carbonate buildups tend to form isolat-
ed complexes separated by less compacted bedded,
somewhat chalky limestone (inter-reefal facies).
The massive limestone of the carbonate buildups
have been more resistant to geomorphic processes
and construct monadnocks or pinnacles in the land-
scape. Lithological differences and complex tecton-
ic structure have considerable effect on the karstifi -
cation and speleogenesis of the Kraków-Częstocho-
wa Upland. Typical karst morphology is not evident
in this region (Tyc 2009b).
The Biśnik Cave (or Na Biśniku Cave) is lo-
cated in the area of Smoleń in the middle part of
the Kraków-Częstochowa Upland. Cave is one of
underground features – small caves and rock shel-
ters – developed in the Biśnik Hill built of massive
limestone. The Biśnik Cave has several entrances
and consists of several chambers/cavities joined into
one cave by small passages or windows. Open space
of the cave as well as its morphology changing in
time during archaeological excavations of cave sedi-
ments. Total length of the cave is ca. 100 m.
According to cave morphology studies (Polonius
1999; Pulina et al. 2005; Myśliwiec 2009; Tyc 2009a
and recently by the author) the Biśnik Cave is a poly-
genetic and multi-stage feature. Hemispherical
chambers and related small-scale features, result-
ed of hypogene ascending speleogenesis, have
been reshaped by later processes – e.g. corrosion
infl uenced by bats’ colony and corrosion on the
rock-sediment contacts. Hypogene caves with their
high cupolas and isolation from air currents in cave
environment make ideal habitats for bats, which
enter caves soon after initial entrances form. They
can deposit metres of guano and initiate corrosion
below it. Pure phosphate crust in the lower part of
Main Chamber in the Biśnik Cave can be remain
of the bats’ colony presence in the past. Original-
ly cave chambers have been isolated from the sur-
face. Opening of the Biśnik Cave to surface pro-
cesses action and to processes of cave infi lling by
sediments has two reasons/stages at least – (1) by
fi ssures and joints (re-deposited, older surface sed-
iments, e.g. residual clays, infi ltrating or moving in
mass through fi ssures to the cave) and (2) by cave
entrances opened due to lateral rock-wall retreating
along main joints (younger, Pleistocene sediments
moved to the cave space in mass, e.g. mud or debris
fl ow, solifl uction). Breakdown is not evident in the
cave, debris occurring in the inner part of the cave
is related to the outer environment (retreating wall
as a result of freezing). Almost all cave segments
excavated during archaeological studies are locat-
ed close to entrances (few metres of distance). In
result most of sediments of the Biśnik Cave are of
entrance facies.
The research leading to these results has re-
ceived funding from the Ministry of Science and
High Education of Poland under grant agreement
No. NN109318237 and from the [European Commu-
nity’s] Seventh Framework Programme [FP7/2007-
2013] under grant agreement No. 247616.
References
MATYSZKIEW ICZ J., KRAJEWSKI M., TYC A., KRÓL K.,
KĘDZIERSKI J., JĘDRYS J., ŚWIĄDER J., 2004, Facial de-
velopment of the Upper Jurassic complex of the Ze-
garowe Rocks near Smoleń (Kraków-Wieluń Upland;
southern Poland). [in:] J. Partyka (ed.), Zróżnicowanie
i przemiany środowiska przyrodniczo-kulturowego
Wyżyny Krakowsko-Częstochowskiej. Vol. 1 Przyroda.
Ojcowski Park Narodowy, Ojców, p. 35–42, (in Polish,
English summary).
MYŚLIWIEC B., 2009, Geneza wybranych jaskiń i form
skalnych w Dolinie Wodącej na Wyżynie Krakowsko-
-Częstochowskiej, [MSc thesis, Department of Geomor-
phology, University of Silesia], Sosnowiec.
POLONIUS A., 1999, Rola konwekcji w powstaniu nie-
których form jaskiniowych w Dolinie Wodącej, [in:]
A. Tyc (ed.), Materiały 33. Sympozjum Speleologiczne-
go Sekcji Speleologicznej Polskiego Towarzystwa Przy-
rodników im. Kopernika, Jeziorowice, 22-24.10.1999,
p. 32–33, (in Polish).
PULINA M., ŻABA J., POLONIUS A., 2005, Relation between
karst forms of the Smoleń-Niegowonice Range and
tectonic activity of Kraków-Wieluń Upland base. Kras
i Speleologia, 11(XX), p. 39–85 [in Polish, English
summary].
TYC A., 2009a, Hypogenic ascending speleogenesis in
the Kraków-Częstochowa Upland (Poland) – evidence
in cave morphology and surface relief. [In:] A.B. Klim-
chouk, D. C. Ford (eds), Hypogene Speleogenesis and
Karst Hydrogeology of Artesian Basins. Ukrainian In-
stitute of Speleology and Karstology, Special Paper 1,
Simferopol, p. 201–208.

Materials only for purposes of the conference
"European Middle Palaeolithic during MIS 8 - MIS 3".
Not for sale.
Book of Abstracts 71
TYC A., 2009b, Karst and caves of the Częstochowa
Upland – morphology and the outline of speleogenesis.
[In:] K. Stefaniak, A. Tyc, P. Socha (Eds), Karst of the
Częstochowa Upland and of the Eastern Sudetes: pala-
eoenvironments and protection. Studies of the Faculty
of Earth Sciences, University of Silesia, No. 56, Sos-
nowiec-Wrocław, p. 11–36.
Stajnia Cave, the LMP site
from Polish Jura
Mikołaj Urbanowski1, Marcin Żarski2, Adam Nad-
achowski3
1 Department of Archaeology, University of Szczecin,
Krakowska Str. No. 71–79, PL-71017 Szczecin, Poland
e-mail: webarcheo@poczta.onet.pl
2 Polish Geological Ins tute – Na onal Research Ins tute ,
Rakowiecka Str. No. 4, Warszawa, Poland
3 Department of Evolu onary Biology and Ecology, University
of Wrocław, Sienkiewicza Str. No. 21, PL–50335, Wrocław,
Poland, e-mail: nadachowski@isez.pan.krakow.pl
Stajnia Cave, located in northern part of Polish
Jura (50°36'58'' N, 19°29'04'' E, 359 m a.s.l.) is
a small carstic object. The fi eld research has been
conducted there since 2006, under guidance of
Szczecin University with a cooperation of Polish
Geological Institute, Wrocław University, Polish
Academy of Sciences, Biax Consult Centre, Czech
Academy of Sciences and other institutions. Six
stratigraphical complexes were distinguished there.
The youngest complex A represents Holocene sed-
iments - mostly deposited or reworked during last
few centuries. The complex B consists of several
isolated lenses of yellow sandy deposits with its
uppermost part dated by the OSL method to 8950
BP (GdTL-1126). Complex C consists of several
layers of poorly sorted loams and sandy loams of
a yellow to orange colours, containing a signifi cant
amount of sharp - edged limestone rubble. Dating
of the younger part of the complex may be support-
ed by the correlation with some dated sediments
from nearby karstic object (11 710 BP - OSL GdTL-
1128), whereas older sediments may were dated by
14C AMS to 14506 ± 407 cal BC (Saiga tatarica
mandible, Poz-28891). Complex D of about 50 cm
average thickness is much better preserved than up-
per layers. It consists of units D1 (14C AMS OxA-
24 944: 44 600 ± 2 100 BP), D2 (U-Th W 1400-1417:
52 900 BP and 14C AMS Poz-28892: >49 000 BP)
and D3. All the units are dark-brown cave loams de-
posited in relatively warm and wet conditions, very
rich in faunal remains and Late Middle Palaeolithic
(LMP) fl int artefacts. Complex D is underlined by
the light-grey unit E1 and dark - grey unit E2. Both
are archaeologically sterile, and both contain signif-
icant amount of limestone gravel. Below the E2 unit
a relatively thin complex of heavily reduced cave
loams (complex F) was found. It directly overlies
the complex G, consisting mainly of the residual
loams of intense orange colour, resulting from high
presence of phosphate and aluminium. All the sed-
iments deposited before complex D were also the
subjects of post-depositional deformation formed
possibly in a cold environment, including solifl uc-
tion fl ow, sediment sinking or upward injections of
deeper units (mainly from complexes G and F).
The faunal assemblage represents non-analo-
gous faunal association distinguished by a mixture
of boreal, steppe, eurytopic and rare woodland spe-
cies. The most abundant mammal assemblage of
the complex D is dominated by inhabitants of well-
drained and wet tundra species represented by the
collared lemming (Dicrostonyx gulielmi), the Nor-
way lemming (Lemmus lemmus), the narrow head-
ed vole (Microtus gregalis) and reindeer (Rangifer
tarandus). On the other hand, inhabitants of steppe
or other dry and open areas, such as the common
hamster (Cricetus cricetus), are very scarce, except
for the relatively numerous common vole (Micro-
tus arvalis). Species living in diverse biotopes are
represented by the root vole (Microtus oeconomus),
the European water vole (Arvicola terrestris), wolf
(Canis lupus), fox (Vulpes vulpes), small mustelids
and the most common carnivore species, the cave
bear (Ursus spelaeus). The preliminary isotopic stud-
ies suggest a slight climatic shift towards more arid
conditions between layer D2 and D1. The biostrati-
graphic markers remain in accordance with absolute
dating. The dental morphology of the root vole (Mi-
crotus oeconomus) from complex D suggests the
middle Weichselian age of the fauna (Nadachowski
et al. 2009). Among the older parts of stratigraphi-
cal sequence (complexes F and G) some representa-
tives of pre-Weichselian fauna were recorded. Most
of the remains from archaeological layers represent
adult individuals, and the cut marks were discov-
ered on the bones of two most frequent species
(reindeer and cave bear). The preliminary studies on
seasonality suggest the cave was used throughout
a whole year. Palaeobotanical studies on complex
D revealed the presence of non-analogous fl oral
association, dominated by herbaceous and shrubby
plants and suggesting a relatively open landscape
dominated by the representants of Cichorioideae
family. Some pollens of trees have been also recorded,
including Pinus, Betula and Salix. The analysis of
charcoals from layers D1 and D2 revealed the fre-
quent presence of Pinus cembra. This observations
were supported by the research on phytoliths.
The archaeological fi nds are dominated by the
fl int tools, chunks and nodules of LMP chronolo-
gy, coming mostly from the complex D. Younger
fi nds, coming from complexes A and C, as well as
from the destroyed part of the sediments in- and
outside the cave, are relatively scarce. The analysis
of 4659 fl int artefacts and 2157 chunks and fl int

Materials only for purposes of the conference
"European Middle Palaeolithic during MIS 8 - MIS 3".
Not for sale.
European Middle Palaeolithic during MIS 8 – MIS 3: cultures – environment – chronology72
nodules intentionally moved by hominins into the
cave revealed clear domination of backed forms,
mostly small unifacial fl ake knives and scrapers
referring to the late Micoquian tradition. The dom-
inance of the rectilinear cutting edges and the rich
component of Levallois artefacts (however dis-
coidal and single-platform technology dominate),
may be both attributed to the assemblages being
either from the beginning or the end of the Last
Glacial Micoquian phase (Jöris 2006). However,
the overrepresentation of backed fl ake forms may
be observed in the late LMP industries, including
some assemblages from neighbouring Biśnik Cave
(Cyrek et al. 2010). Majority of the bones, includ-
ing the ones bearing the signs of human activity
(mostly reindeer and cave bear) were discovered
in the deeper part of the cave, whereas most of the
fl int tools were found within the small depression
in the sediments of complex D, located alongside
the NW wall. This area of about 2x1 m size con-
tained also deposit of raw fl int nodules and two
from 3 neanderthal teeth discovered in the cave
(Urbanowski et al. 2010). Also two human hairs
were found during the microscopic studies of the
sediments. The concentration of fi replaces was
found in the neighbouring area of about 9 sq. m.
One isolated fi nd of smoke condensate analysed by
the FTIR and DTMS methods suggested the pres-
ence of plant waxes or fats/lipids. This observation
may be connected with the starch remains, found
in the analysed sample of the sediment.
All the aforementioned observation suggest a
relatively stable Neanderthal settlement north of
Carpathians durng the MIS 3 period.
References
CYREK K., SOCHA P., STEFANIAK K., MADEYSKA T., MI-
ROSŁAW -GRABOWSKA J., SUDOŁ M., CZYŻEWSKI Ł., 2010,
Palaeolithic of Biśnik Cave (Southern Poland) within the
environmental background, Quaternary International,
220 (1–2), p. 5–30.
JÖRIS O., 2006, Bifacially backed knives (Keilmesser) in
the Centra l European Midd le Palaeolithic, [in:] Goren-In-
bar N., Sharon G. (eds), Axe Age: Acheulian Tool-mak-
ing from Quarry to Discard, London, p. 287–310.
NADACHOWSKI A., ŻARSKI M., URBANOWSKI M., WOJ TAL P. ,
MIĘKINA B., LIPECKI G., OCHMAN K., KRAWCZYK M.,
JAKUBOWSKI G., TOMEK T., 2009, Late Pleistocene envi-
ronment of the Częstochowa Upland (Poland) recon-
structed on the basis of faunistic evidence from archaeo-
logical cave sites, Institute of Systematics and Evolution
of Animals, Polish Academy of Sciences, Kraków.
URBANOWSKI M., SOCHA P., DĄBROWSKI P., NOWACZEW-
SKA W., SADAKIERSKA-CHUDY A., DOBOSZ T., STEFANIAK K.,
NADACHOWSKI A., 2010, The fi rst Neanderthal tooth
found North of the Carpathian Mountains. Naturwissen-
schaften, 97, p. 411–415.
New details about the oldest layers of the
Obłazowa Cave
Paweł Valde-Nowak
Ins tute of Archaeology, Jagiellonian University
Gołębia Str. No 11, PL-31007, Kraków, Poland
The cave site in the Obłazowa Rock (Sub-Tatra
Region, West Carpathians) entered the second step of
the fi eld research very lately. During this campaign
the rocky bottom has been reached. The oldest part
of the sequences as well as assemblages, described
on the fi rst time of the recognition (1985-95), have
been vastly enriched. The oldest settlement struc-
ture is featured by small dimensional industry and
documented with the fi re-camp. These relics fi t into
already known in Central West Carpathians, but still
barely recognized, Eemian and early Vistulian sites
series, linked to hot sources.
During the last exploration of the oldest se-
quence of layers is clearly recognized micoquian
cultural element. This completes the picture of the
settlement of the cave and extends our understand-
ing of the dynamics of micoquian colonization in
Central Europe. Artefacts with these characteristics
have been found within the XVIII layer, previously
recognized as archaeologically sterile. Currently the
middle (XVIIIb) part of this layer has been consid-
ered as the primary deposit of micoquian artifacts.
Palaeoenvironment and climate
oscilla ons record from Stajnia Cave
(Częstochowa Upland, Poland) –
geological and palynological data
Marcin Żarski, Hanna Winter, Bogusław Mar-
cinkowski, Krystyna Rywocka-Kenig
Polish Geological Ins tute – Na onal Research Ins tute ,
Rakowiecka Str. No. 4, Warszawa, Poland
The Stajnia Cave is located on the northern slope
of Mirowska Elevation in Czestochowa Upland at
the altitude of 359 m a.s.l. at Niegowa municipality
(Myszkowski district) between Mirów and Bobolice
villages. Coordinates of the cave are 50° 36'58'' N,
19° 29'04'' E .
The cave is a single corridor of 23 m length, of
2 – 3 m average width and of about 6 m height, with
the exposition in the direction of NE. Fissure cave
suggests character of its development on the tectonic
fault. It has been developed in the Upper Jurassic
rocky limestone of the Upper Oxfordian. Before the
cave development, about a dozen meters wide terrace
had been leaning towards the bottom of the valley.

Materials only for purposes of the conference
"European Middle Palaeolithic during MIS 8 - MIS 3".
Not for sale.
Book of Abstracts 73
Stajnia Cave is fi lled with loams which consist of
limestone rubble, sand, silts and clays. Loams were
formed by weathering of limestone rock. Sand, dust
and silts got inside the cave by aeolian and water
transport. The following layers succession was dis-
tinguished (from the bottom to the top): layers G, F,
E2, E1, E, D3, D2b, D2, C9, C7, C6, C2, B7 and
B6. Samples from these layers were investigated by
lithological-petrographic methods, geochemical and
palinological analysis. They have been studies also
by geophysical methods. These methods were ap-
plied for a terrace and dry valleys to assess thickness
of sediments fi lling the cave and terrace.
Basic geological investigations have been made
in the Polish Geological Institute under the direction
of M. Żarski with the participation of H. Winter,
K. Rywocka-Kenig, B. Marcinkowski, P. Zientara,
M. Bojakowska and M. Pindara. L. Lena (Acade-
my of Sciences of the Czech Republic) and J. Mi-
rosław-Grabowska (Polish Academy of Sciences,
Warsaw) contributed to elaboration of results
of the studies.
The analyses confi rmed differences in kinds of
sediments and their mineral and lithological char-
acteristics. These differences are related to climatic
fl uctuations during the accumulation of the studied
sequence.
The layers C2, C6 and C7 were probably accu-
mulated in the colder climates in comparison to oth-
er layers. Age of the their deposition can be related
to MIS 2 -Younger Plenivistulian. B6 and B7 layers
were deposited in cool climate conditions and could
correlate with 2 / 1 MIS (Late Vistulian). C9 and D1
layers were deposited probably during 3/2 MIS (In-
terplenivistulian /Plenivistuliann) in a little warmer
climate but the cool climatic conditions, and D2 lay-
er may be accumulated during late Interplenivistu-
lian- 3MIS. Defi nitely warmer climatic conditions
prevailed during the accumulation of sediments in
D2b and D3 layers which comprise climatic records
represented the middle part of the marine stage 3 (in-
terplenivistulian). The slightly cooler climatic con-
ditions are recorded in the deposits of E1 layer and
it could be suggested that the accumulation started
at the beginning of 3 MIS or at the end of 4 MIS
(Plenivistulian). It seems that E2, F and G2 layers
were accumulated during Early Vistulian. The warmer
climatic conditions recorded in E2 and G2 layer
allow to correlate age of the accumulation of them
with 5a stage (Odderade Interstadial) and 5c stage
(Brørup Intersadial). Sediments from F layer could
be accumulated in slightly cooler climates and are
correlated with the marine stage 5b (Early Vistulian
- Redestall?).
Results of pollen analysis evidenced by a presence
of Neogene pollen found within the unit C18 and unit
C7, as well as the single occurrence of Dinofl agellata
plankton in unit C7, may suggest the deposition of
some sediments were infl uenced by water penetrat-
ing towards the cave through older sediments.
The pollen spectra from all the layers are charac-
terised by a strong domination of NAP with high pro-
portions of Cichorioideae pollen, what suggests an
open environment and a local character of the vege-
tation. The opening of a landscape is emphasized also
by the occurance of Helianthemum, Artemisia and
Chenopodiaceae pollen. Several pollen types repre-
sent the humid biotopes, as like Cichorioideae, Cirsi-
um t., Brassicaceae, Thalictrum. The grass communi-
ty biotopes was a source of pollen of Potentilla t., Ga-
lium t., Apiaceae and Bupleurum falcatum t. Steppe
fl ora is represented by Artemisia, Poaceae, Chenop-
odiaceae, Helianthemum nummularia t., Asteraceae
and Centaurea. The presence of pollen belonging to
Ericaceae, Polygonum bistorta t., P. aviculare t., Po-
lemonium, Valeriana, Plantago media, Ranunculus
acris t. is an indicator of meadow-tundra vegetation.
Arctic and Alpine - type of fl ora is represented by
Saxifraga hirculus t., S. oppositifolia t., S. stellaris
t., Polygonum bistora t. i Selaginella selaginoides.
On the base of palinological data during the
deposition of the investigated sediments the climatic
conditions were relatively cold, with an infl uence of
continental climate. A closer look reveals some dif-
ferentiation among the stratigraphical units, which
might be connected with the sequence of last glacial
climatic changes. The analysis of the species which
may serve as the environmental and climatic indica-
tors in the studied region shows some clear trends,
connected with a systematic increase of continental
climate infl uence, starting from unit D2 and continu-
ing towards units C19 and C18, which seem to repre-
sent most severe conditions. The palynological data
are consistent as well with the geological records.

Materials only for purposes of the conference
"European Middle Palaeolithic during MIS 8 - MIS 3".
Not for sale.

Materials only for purposes of the conference
"European Middle Palaeolithic during MIS 8 - MIS 3".
Not for sale.
Posters
Obora Rock Shelter
Michał Adamczyk
Department of Archaeology, Szczecin University,
Krakowska Str. No. 71-79, PL-71017, Szczecin, Poland,
e-mail: michal.adamczyk.us@gmail.com
Poster presents results of research in Obora Shel-
ter, located in Mirów-Bobolice Ridge in Polish Jura
Highland. The site is a part of the same rock system as
Stajnia and Sucha Caves. It is located about 15 m east
from Stajnia Cave. Formerly it was described as the
“Upper Shelter”, and this name is still parallel used.
Fieldworks were held in 2009 – 2010 seasons as a
part of the Stajnia Cave research program mainly in
order to verify the Stajnia stratigraphy. Surveying the
geological sediments from the site located in close
proximity to Stajnia was conducted to broaden the
knowledge about the sedimentation processes at both
sites. The second objective was to check the Obora
Shelter for potential archaeological traces, especially
from the periods represented at the main site, in order to
compare their character, and possible differentiation.
During two seasons of excavation a very few of
artifacts were found, and most of them have Medi-
eval and Post-Medieval origin. The most important
prehistoric fi nds from Obora are two pendants made
of wolf teeth.
The importance of Biśnik Cave for
Quaternary horse biostra graphy in
Poland
Eline van Asperen1 and Krzysztof Stefaniak2
1 Liverpool John Moores University, James Parsons Building,
Byrom Street, L3 3AF, Liverpool, UK
e-mail: envanasperen@palaeo.eu
2 Department of Palaeozoology, University of Wrocław,
Sienkiewicza Str. No. 21, PL-50335, Wrocław, Poland,
email: stefanik@biol.uni.wroc.pl
Biśnik Cave is situated in the Kraków-Częstocho-
wa Upland. It is one of the few sites in Europe that
has produced a more or less complete depositional
sequence covering the period of MIS 8 to the Hol-
ocene. Excavations from 1991 onwards have so far
covered 260 m2 to a depth of between 1,5 and 8,5 m.
The site contains 10 Middle Palaeolithic levels,
and about 200 000 bones and more than 4 000 stone,
bone and antler artefacts have been recovered
(Cyrek 2002, Cyrek et al. 2010). The remains of an-
imals adapted to forest environments are found in
both warm- and cold-period sediments, indicating a
possible refugial role for the south Polish uplands
during the Middle and Late Pleistocene (Tomek et
al. 2012). Because of the completeness of its sedi-
mentary sequence, Biśnik Cave is one of only a few
sites in Europe where we can follow the evolution
of faunal assemblages over a large part of the late
Middle Pleistocene.
Apart from a single specimen from Żabia Cave,
Biśnik Cave produced the only Middle Pleistocene
horse assemblage in Poland, and the easternmost
representatives of the Middle Pleistocene equid lin-
eage (Van Asperen & Stefaniak 2011). Caballoid
horse remains present an important source of infor-
mation on the biostratigraphical position of Middle
and Late Pleistocene sites, as well as furnishing in-
formation on climatic conditions and biogeography
(Van Asperen 2012). During the Middle Pleistocene,
a single caballoid horse lineage, characterised by a
cyclical development of various ecotypes adapted
to glacial, oceanic interglacial and continental in-
terglacial environments, inhabited Europe north of
the Alps (Van Asperen 2010). Little size and shape
variation occurs in horse dental elements over the
course of the late Middle and Late Pleistocene. The
size and robusticity of the postcranial elements, in
contrast, give clues to the age and environmental
context of the horses. The latest large-sized Middle
Pleistocene horses are generally referred to as Equus
taubachensis.
During the Late Pleistocene, caballoid hors-
es gradually reduced in size, which is refl ected in
a change in the species name for the horses of the
Early Vistulian, known as Equus germanicus. During
the Middle Vistulian, a more gracile ecotype (Equus

Materials only for purposes of the conference
"European Middle Palaeolithic during MIS 8 - MIS 3".
Not for sale.
European Middle Palaeolithic during MIS 8 – MIS 3: cultures – environment – chronology76
gallicus) can be found in Western Europe, whereas in
Eastern Europe, a more robust ecotype (Equus latipes)
occurs. The horses of the Last Glacial Maximum are
particularly small and referred to as Equus arcelini.
The Biśnik Cave horse remains provide an im-
portant framework for large mammal biostratigra-
phy in Poland, and are here compared with horse
specimens from other Polish Late Pleistocene
sites (table 1; Hyra 2011). A gradual morpholog-
ical change is documented in the Polish late Mid-
dle and Late Pleistocene horses. Large, robust and
somewhat primitive specimens were recovered from
layers in Biśnik Cave dating to MIS 6 – 5d, indicat-
ing a highly productive but relatively open environ-
ment. These fossils are similar to other European
late Middle Pleistocene horse remains. From the
Early Vistulian onwards, horses began to decrease
in size, but remained robust, indicating a cool and
less hospitable environment. Advanced evolutionary
traits appear from late MIS 4 onwards. The Biśnik
Cave MIS 4 – 3 horses are of an ecotype similar to
the Western European Equus gallicus. Polish horses
remained robust in the cold and increasingly margin-
al environments of the Vistulian Glacial.
References
CYREK K., 2002, Rekonstrukcja zasiedlenia jaskini
Biśnik, [in:] Cyrek K. (ed.), Jaskinia Biśnik. Rekonstruk-
cja zasiedlenia jaskini na tle zmian środowiska przyrod-
niczego, Toruń, p. 9–142.
CYREK K., SOCHA P., STEFANIAK K., MADEYSKA T.,
MIROSŁAW-GRABOWSKA J., SUDOŁ M., CZYŻEWSKI Ł., 2010,
Palaeolithic of Biśnik Cave (Southern Poland) within the
environmental background, Quaternary international 220
(1–2), p. 5–30.
HYRA A., 2011, Szczątki koniowatych (Equidae, Mamma-
lia) z wybranych stanowisk plejstocenu Polski, Master‘s
thesis, University of Wrocław.
TOMEK T., BOCHEŃSKI Z. M., SOCHA P., STEFANIAK K., 2012,
Continuous 300,000 year fossil record: changes in the or-
nithofauna of Biśnik Cave, Poland, Palaeontologia elec-
tronica 15, p. 1–20.
VAN ASPEREN E. N., STEFANIAK K., 2011, Biśnik Cave and
its biostratigraphical position based on equid remains,
Acta zoologica cracoviensia 54A(1–2), p. 55–76.
VAN ASPEREN E. N., 2010, Ecomorphological adaptations
to climate and substrate in late Middle Pleistocene ca-
balloid horses, Palaeogeography, palaeoclimatology, pal-
aeoecology 297, p. 584–596.
VAN ASPEREN E. N., 2012, Late Middle Pleistocene horse
fossils from northwestern Europe as biostratigraphic indi-
cators. Journal of archaeological science 39, p. 1974–1983.
Gene c and morphometric analyses of
Late Pleistocene Dicrostonyx gulielmi
(Stanford, 1870) from Biśnik Cave, Poland.
Mateusz Baca1, Paweł Socha2, Piotr Węgleński3
1 Center for Precolumbian Studies, University of Warszawa,
Krakowskie Przedmieście 26/28, PL–00927, Warszawa,
Poland
2 Department of Palaeozoology, University of Wrocław,
Sienkiewicza Str. No. 21, PL–50335, Wroclaw, Poland
3 Centre of New Technologies, University of Warsaw,
Miecznikowa Str. No. 1, PL–02096 Warsaw, Poland
e-mails: bacamat@gmail.com, sochap@biol.uni.wroc.pl
Collared lemming Dicrostonyx gulielmi was
widespread in Europe and Asia during Late Pleisto-
cene (Kowalski 2001). Traditionally it’s considered
as a different species from contemporary Dicrostonyx
torquatus inhabiting northern parts of Asia. This
distinction is based on differences in morphology
of occlusal surface of fi rst and second molars. The
transition between those two species occurred ca.
14 000 – 12 000 years ago (Smirnov, Fedorov 2003).
However, it was shown that the tempo of this tran-
sition varies in different locations, and archaic mor-
photypes persisted in some localities (eg. Bolshevik
Island) (Abramson et al. 2004).
We have performed genetic analysis of D.
gulielmi from Biśnik Cave, Wolbrom, Poland. We
obtained 1kb fragment of cytochrome b sequences
from 47 samples of D. guilielmi from layers 10 – 1,
Table 1. Horse specimens from Middle and Late Pleistocene horse sites
Site Layer Period MIS Specimens
Biśnik Cave
15 Saalian Glaciation 6 metacarpal, metatarsal,
anterior fi rst phalanx
13 Early Vistulian 5d metatarsal
11 Early Vistulian 5c metatarsal
9 Early Vistulian 5a metacarpal
8 Lower Plenivistulian 4 metacarpal
7 Interplenivistulian 3 metatarsal
5 Interplenivistulian 3 metatarsal
Deszczowa I VI Middle Plenivistulian 3 metatarsal
Deszczowa II VIII Upper Plenivistulian 2 anterior fi rst phalanx
Dziadowa Skała8 Upper Plenivistulian 2 anterior fi rst phalanx
7 Upper Plenivistulian 2 metacarpal
Northern Rockshelter in Mount
Birów (Cave 4 in Mount Birów) 5 Upper Plenivistulian 2 posterior fi rst phalanx

Materials only for purposes of the conference
"European Middle Palaeolithic during MIS 8 - MIS 3".
Not for sale.
Book of Abstracts 77
what corresponds to nearly entire Vistulian glacia-
tion period (MIS 5 – MIS 1) (Cyrek et al. 2010; Kraj-
carz and Madeyska, unpublished). To determine
phylogenetic position of lemmings from Biśnik
Cave we used available sequences of Dicrostonyx
torquatus and performed multimethod phylogenet-
ic analyses. Obtained trees and haplotype network
shows high diversity of Pleistocene Dicrostonyx
mtDNA lineages. Despite high sequence diversity
there were no signifi cant morphological differenc-
es between lemmings from subsequent layers as the
dominance of only one morphotype were observed
throughout all layers.
Modern mtDNA lineages sampled from entire
D. torquatus range (Fedorov and Goropashnaya
1999) do not forms a separate clade but falls with-
in one of D. gulielmi clades. Dense sampling of
Pleistocene D. gulielmi is required to elucidate in
details its geographic diversity and population his-
tory. However, placement of modern Dicrostonyx
mtDNA lineages within one of Pleistocene clades
do not support, despite morphological differences,
distinction between D. gulielmi and D. torquatus.
References
KOWALSK I K., 2001, Pleistocene Rodents of Europe, Folia
Quaternaria, 72, p. 1–389.
SMIRNOV N. G., FEDOROV V. B., 2003, Holarctic Collared
Lemmings: Traces of Their Spread as Related to the
History of the Arctic Biota, Russian Journal of Ecology,
34(5), p. 332–338.
ABRAMSON N. I., SMIRNOV N. G., TIKHONOVA P. E., 2004,
orphological studies on collared lemmings (Rodentia,
Arvicolidae, Dicrostonyx) from Bolshevik Island of the
Severnaya Zemlya Archipelago, with notes on evolution
and taxonomic position. Russian Journal of Theriology,
3(2), p. 63–70.
CYREK K., SOCHA P., STEFANIAK K., MADEYSKA T.,
MIROSŁAW-GRABOWSKA J., SUDOŁ M., CZYŻEWSKI Ł., 2010,
Palaeolithic of Biśnik Cave (Southern Poland) within the
environmental background. Quaternary International,
220 (1–2), p. 5–30.
FEDOROV B. V., GOROPASHNAYA V. A., 1999, The impor-
tance of ice ages in diversifi cation of Arctic collared
lemmings (Dicrostonyx): evidence from mitochondrial
cytochrome b region. Hereditas, 130, p. 301–307.
Stephanorhinus kirchbergensis (Jäger,
1839) (Mammalia, Rhinocero dae) from
European Russia – A detailed repertory of
sites and material
Emmanuel M. E. Billia
The aim of this attendance is that to present a
status review performed on the fossil remains dis-
covered in European Russia and assigned to Steph-
anorhinus kirchbergensis (Jäger, 1839). Just as in
areas other than Russia, despite of its wide distri-
bution, this taxon appears rare on this area as well.
Furthermore, a large part of the S. kirchbergensis
material reported in literature is presently untrace-
able in the Russian museum collections. In fact,
from twenty-one sites on the whole, the material is
physically available from three of them only. The
rhinoceros remains from the Verkhoyansk district
(Yakutya) reported by some authors may confi dent-
ly be assigned to Coelodonta antiquitatis (Blum.).
The few available material has been studied using
morphological and non-metric characters. As far as
the Russian-Siberian area is concerned, the related
sites and material have previously been treated in
detail by the author.
Paleoclima c and paleoenvironmental
proxies to the Marine Isotope Stage 7e
(Middle Pleistocene) in central Spain
(Valdocarros II, Madrid) by means of the
small-vertebrate assemblages
Hugues-Alexandre Blain1,2, Carmen Sesé3, Joaquín
Panera4, Susana Rubio-Jara4, David Uribelarrea5,
Alfredo Pérez-González6
1 IPHES, Ins tut Català de Paleoecologia Humana i Evolució
Social, C/ Escorxador s/n, E- 43003 Tarragona, Spain.
2 Area de Prehistoria, Universitat Rovira i Virgili (URV),
Avinguda de Catalunya 35, E-43002 Tarragona, Spain.
3 Departamento de Paleobiología. Museo Nacional de Ciencias
Naturales. C.S.I.C. C/ José Gu érrez Abascal 2, E-28006
Madrid, Spain.
4 IDEA, Ins tuto de Evolución en África. Museo de los
Orígenes. Plaza de San Andrés 2, E-28005 Madrid, Spain.
5 Departamento de Geodinámica. Facultad de Ciencias
Geológicas. Universidad Complutense de Madrid. C/ Jose
Antonio Novais 2, E-28040 Madrid, Spain.
6 CENIEH, Centro Nacional de Inves gación sobre la Evolución
Humana. Paseo de la Sierra de Atapuerca s/n, E-09004
Burgos, Spain.
The successive fossil small vertebrate assem-
blages from the Middle Pleistocene archaeological
site of Valdocarros II (Madrid, central Spain) pro-
vide an unique opportunity to characterize the cli-
matic and environmental shift from cold to warm
conditions during the transition from MIS 8 to
MIS 7 (also called Termination III) in a continen-
tal sequence (Blain et al. 2012). Archaeological site
is in an abandoned meander. This palaeochannel is
partially preserved, showing 40 m width, 4 m depth
and ca. 180 m of radius of curvature (Uribelarrea
2008). Along 836 m2 were excavated, revealing four
thin archeological layers, from bottom to top num-
bered 1, 2, 3 and 4 respectively and fi ning upwards
from silt to silty-clay each one, 30 to 50 cm thick
and several tens of meters wide (Panera et al. 2011).
A total of 2 750 bone remains of large mammals
have been recovered. Cervus elaphus is the most

Materials only for purposes of the conference
"European Middle Palaeolithic during MIS 8 - MIS 3".
Not for sale.
European Middle Palaeolithic during MIS 8 – MIS 3: cultures – environment – chronology78
abundant species, followed by Equus caballus, Bos
primigenius and in a minor way by small-sized cer-
vids (Capreolus sp., Dama sp.) and Elephas sp. Also
a small number of remains pertain to carnivores like
Felis sp., Canis lupus and Vulpes vulpes (Yrave-
dra & Domínguez-Rodrigo 2009). At least Erina-
ceus europaeus, Crocidura aff. russula, Eliomys
quercinus, Castor fi ber, Apodemus sp., Cricetulus
(Allocricetus) bursae, Arvicola aff. sapidus, Micro-
tus brecciensis and Oryctolagus cuniculus have also
been identifi ed (Sesé et al. 2011). The zooarchaeo-
logical analysis suggested that hominids were the
main accumulating agent of large mammal bone
remains and that the various carcases were brought
to the site almost complete and from short distances
(Yravedra & Domínguez-Rodrigo 2009). The asso-
ciated lithic industry is of Acheulean type (Panera
2009): 3 009 lithic artifacts and 1 119 pebbles have
been recovered.
In level 4, that has been correlated with the begin-
ning of the MIS 7e, the amphibian and reptile bone
remains include 300 elements, which correspond to
a minimum of 81 specimens, representing at least
11 taxa, including toads (Pelobates cultripes, Bufo
bufo and Bufo calamita) and frog (Pelophylax pe-
rezi), turtles (Turtle indet.), lacertid (Timon lepidus
and Psammodromus cf. algirus) and scincid (Chal-
cides striatus and Chalcides sp.) lizards, and two
snakes (Natrix maura and Coronella girondica).
By applying the Mutual Climatic Range method on
the fossil herpetofaunal assemblage, the intergla-
cial MIS 7e can be estimated to have been 1,4° C
warmer than the current mean annual temperature
in the central Iberian Peninsula, with a high atmo-
spheric temperature range. The summer was warm
and the winter was temperate. Rainfall was low and
its distribution was fairly regular, occurring prin-
cipally during winter and to a lesser extent during
spring and late autumn. The aridity indexes suggest
a semi-humid to humid, continental Mediterranean
climate with three dry months in summer. Recon-
struction from the amphibian and reptile assemblag-
es suggests that during the late Middle Pleistocene
there was a patchy landscape with a large represen-
tation of dry meadows, scrublands and rocky habi-
tats. Some taxa, such as P. algirus and Ch. striatus
preferentially live in sunny and rather open biotopes
with loose soils. P. cultripes, T. lepidus and to a less-
er extent B. calamita are inhabitants of drier open
environments, with poor and short plant cover and
with loose or stony soils. Because the site was lo-
calized close to the main river, water-edge environ-
ments are fairly well represented, with the presence
of typical inhabitants of aquatic environments such
as P. perezi, turtles and N. maura. Riverine wood-
lands are somewhat well represented, reaching 34 %
of the total landscape surface. Such reconstructions
are concordant with the results obtained from other
Iberian sites, like the Gran Dolina Cave (level TD10)
in Atapuerca.
References
BLAIN H.-A., PANERA J., URIBELARREA D., RUBIO-JARA S.,
PÉREZ-GONZÁLEZ A., 2012, Characterization of a rapid
climate shift at the MIS 8/7 transition in central Spain
(Valdocarros II, Autonomous Region of Madrid) by
means of the herpetological assemblages. Quaternary
Science Reviews, 47, p. 73–81.
PANERA, J., 2009. La ocupación del medio fl uvial en el
Paleolítico antiguo. Caracterización geoarqueológica de
depósitos pleistocenos del valle del río Jarama (Madrid)
y estudio tecnoeconómico de la industria lítica, PhD
thesis, Universidad Nacional de Educación a Distancia,
Madrid.
PANERA J., TORR ES T., PÉREZ-GONZÁLEZ A., ORTIZ J. E.,
RUBIO-JARA S., URIBELARREA DEL VAL D., 2011. Geo-
cronología de la Terraza Compleja de Arganda en el
valle del río Jarama (Madrid, España). Estudios Ge-
ológicos, 67 (2), p. 495–504.
SESÉ C., PANERA J., RUBIO-JARA S., PÉREZ-GONZÁLEZ A.,
2011, Micromamíferos del Pleistoceno Medio y Pleis-
toceno Superior en el Valle del Jarama: yacimientos
de Valdocarros y HAT (Madrid, España). Estudios Ge-
ológicos, 67 (1), p. 131–151.
URIBELARREA, D., 2008. Dinámica y evolución de las lla-
nuras aluviales de los ríos Manzanares, Jarama y Tajo,
entre las ciudades de Madrid y Toledo, PhD thesis, Uni-
versidad Complutense de Madrid.
YRAVEDRA J., DOMÍNGUEZ-RODRIGO M., 2009, The shaft-
based methodological approach to the quantifi cation of
long limb bones and its relevance to understanding hom-
inid subsistence in the Pleistocene: application to four
Palaeolithic sites, Journal of Quaternary Science, 24,
p. 85–96.
New Middle Palaeolithic sites in Southern
Moravia, Czech Republic
Jiri Chlachula1,2, Radim Chlachula3
1Laboratory for Palaeoecology, Tomas Bata University Zlin,,
Czech Republic;
2Ins tute of Geoecology and Geoinforma on, Adam
Mickiewicz University, Poznan, Poland;
3Nerudova 1625, Staré Město-Znojmo, Moravia, Czech
Republic; Altay@seznam.cz
Moravia is the tradit ional oiku mene of the Central
European Middle Palaeolithic preceding the regional
and well-know Upper Palaeolithic cultures with the
World-famous Gravettian sites found in the loess
belt extending along the eastern slopes of the Czech
Massive from the foothills of the Palava Hills (Dol-
ní Věstonice, Pavlov) through the central Moravia
(Předmostí u Přerova) to the NE part of the country
(Petřkovice u Karviné). In general, the Moravian ter-
ritory represents due to its geographic position one

Materials only for purposes of the conference
"European Middle Palaeolithic during MIS 8 - MIS 3".
Not for sale.
Book of Abstracts 79
of the key loci of the initial (Early and Middle
Pleistocene) human dispersal from the southern
European regions into the centre part of the
continent. The earliest records of the Early and
Middle Palaeolithic were reported in the 1980’s
from the Svratka Basin and the Lower Moravi-
an Basin (Chlachula 1994). They are generally
represented by simply fl aked “pebble-tool“ in-
dustries displaying a typical range of typolog-
ical inventories of expedient stone tool types
made from local alluvial gravels and varieties of
the exploited bedrock materials of exclusively
local as well as imported “exotic” origin. Some
occupation localities that can be interpreted as
workshops are positioned in a vicinity of rocky
or mineral outcrops of various origin and ge-
ological structure (granites, gneiss, quartzites,
limestones, radiolarites, etc), yet, they retain
typical archaic tool forms including the diag-
nostic side-scarpers and other fl ake instruments
(Chlachula 1992). The Late Pleistocene occupa-
tion, including the Middle Palaeolithic (MIS
5 – 4), is documented in the Moravian river ba-
sins and the adjacent uplands, but largely rep-
resent records of open-air sites from disturbed
contextual geological settings shallowly buried
under the present surface. Geologically in-situ
localities relate to the Middle Palaeolithic (Ne-
anderthal) cave sites centering in the Moravian
Karst with the principal multilayer inhabita-
tion in the Kůlna Cave culturally assigned to
the Mousterian and Micoquien (Valoch 2011),
and the Šipka Cave near Štramberk in NE
Moravia, being also the two single sites where
fossil Neanderthal skeletal remains were found
(Valoch 1996).
Geoarchaeology and Quaternary geology
investigations in the Dyje/Thaya River Basin
along the Moravian-Austrian border during
the last fi ve years have completed evidence on
the geography of the Early-Middle Palaeolithic
cultural occurrences. The surface-exposed sites
(>50) are mapped at patterned geomorphic po-
sitions of relics of the Early and Middle Pleisto-
cene alluvia of the former Dyje River drainage
system at elevations 10 – 80 m above the present
river. The highest concentrations of the presum-
ably early Middle Palaeolithic (MIS 12 – 6) lo-
cations are associated with the 30 – 50 m-high
terraces built by massive, quartz-dominated
sandy gravels overlying the pre-Quaternary sed-
imentary formations or the weathered granitic
bedrock. The cultural lithics display a uniform
mode of anthropogenic working, with choppers,
cobble cores and simple fl akes. Well-elaborated
artifacts (such as bifaces, side-retouched fl akes,
Fig. 1. Distribution of the mapped open-air pre-Upper Palae-
olithic sites in the Dyje/Thaya River basin, southern
Moravia/Lower Austria, associated with the Early and
Middle Pleistocene fl uvial terraces (the 2006–2012 in-
vestigations) (unpublished data)
Fig. 2. The Middle Palaeolithic locality at Znojmo, south-
ern Moravia. A: The investigated area with the lithic
industry distribution sealed in a partly gleyed silty
clay sedimentary matrix and indicating some partial
short-distance slopewash distortion of the original cul-
tural horizon. B: The characteristic component of the
recorded lithic assemblage are standardized polyhe-
dral cores and retouched or otherwise modifi ed quartz
fl akes worked into scraping and pointed tools
B
A

Materials only for purposes of the conference
"European Middle Palaeolithic during MIS 8 - MIS 3".
Not for sale.
European Middle Palaeolithic during MIS 8 – MIS 3: cultures – environment – chronology80
regular cores) are relatively rare what may also re-
fl ect the abundance of widely available clastic raw
materials. The relative chronological proxy indica-
tors (i.e., the differential artifact surface abrasion
degree, patination and the non/uniform technolog-
ical level of stone-tool production) attest, together
with the geomorphic position of single sites, to sev-
eral stages of human occupation of the researched
area. The heavily wind-polished and reddish miner-
al-stained implements presumably relate to the early
Middle Pleistocene interglacials. A most signifi cant
site with typical Middle Palaeolithic stone tool in-
ventories made on quartz was found in situ (sensu
lato) in spring 2012 near Znojmo. The cultural ma-
terial represented by a series of typifi ed polyhedral
cores and retouched fl akes (side-scrapers with the
characteristic Mousterian types) was concentrated
within an area of about 10x10 m in gleyed clayey
pockets within a fi ne-grained sedimentary colluvial
formation overlain by the thin (30-50 cm) residual
last glacial loess. The revealed workshop-occupa-
tion site took advantage of the suitable geomorphic
position of the former Dyje valley with an abun-
dance of the expedient clastic raw material from
earlier riverine alluvia as well as quartz veins pene-
trating the pre-Quaternary granitic bedrock. Stratig-
raphy of the locally exposed and contextually asso-
ciated fl uvial deposits indicates open palaeo-valley
environments with in-fl ow shallow lakes and mean-
dering river streams. Distribution of some archaic
and strongly abraded Palaeolithic collections on the
lower terraces (in places only 10 – 20 m above the
present Dyje River plain) in the eastern portion of
the investigated area attest to a rather reduced Qua-
ternary geomorphology dynamics and a low inci-
sion rate of the past fl uvial systems. The fi eld stud-
ies are in progress.
References
CHLACHULA J., 1992, Une industrie calcaire du paléo-
lithique en Moravie (République tchéque), Anthropolo-
gie (Brno), XXX(3), p. 241–267.
CHLACHULA J., 1994, Le site du Paléolithique inférieur de
Staré Město, Moravie du Sud., L’Anthropologie (Paris)
98(2), p. 387–412.
VALOCH K., 1996, Le Paléolithique en Tchequie et
Slovaquie. La Prehistoire de l’Europe, No. 3, Grenoble.
VALOCH K. et al., 2011, Kůlna. Historie a Význam
Jeskyně, Acta Speleologica 2/2011.
The Middle Palaeolithic occupa on of the
Central Urals
Jiri Chlachula1,2, Yuriy B. Serikov3
1 Laboratory for Palaeoecology, Tomas Bata University Zlin,,
Czech Republic; Altay@seznam.cz
2 Ins tute of Geoecology and Geoinforma on, Adam
Mickiewicz University, Poznan, Poland;
3 Department of History, Nizhniy Tagil’ State Academy, Nizhniy
Tagil’, Russian Federa on
The Urals, representing a major mountain system
separating the East European Plains and the West
Siberian Lowland, is the key area for understanding
migration processes and cultural adaptation strate-
gies of the Middle Palaeolithic people in the context
of climate history and the associated palaeoenviron-
mental transformations during the Middle and early
Late Pleistocene. The central massive with the lowest
(700 – 1 300 m a.s.l.) topographic relief of the entire
mountain system (1895 m a.s.l.) is built by smooth and
broad mountain ranges separated by intermountain
depressions with the principal E – W oriented fl uvial
Fig.1. A: Geographic map of the investigated study area of the central Urals. B: Chusovaya River valley
B
A

Materials only for purposes of the conference
"European Middle Palaeolithic during MIS 8 - MIS 3".
Not for sale.
Book of Abstracts 81
drainage discharge largely empting into the upper
Kama River basin. The particular geographic loca-
tion of the mountain zone transected by a network of
small river valleys and aligned by broken foothills,
linking the southern (parkland-) steppe zone of the
northern the Black Sea – Azov regions and the for-
est-tundra zone of Siberia, predisposed very suitable
inhabitation conditions for early humans. Interaction
of the past climate variations and the regional top-
ographic modelling triggered by neotectonic activ-
ity refl ected by pronounced natural transformations
attest to the complexity of the Quaternary develop-
ment in the Central Urals, affecting timing and inten-
sity of the earliest human occupation of this territory.
The initial peopling of the adjoining central-west-
ern (Fore-Ural) area is associated with the Early–
Middle Palaeolithic dispersal into this marginal part
of the East European Plain probably during the cli-
matically most favourable Middle Pleistocene inter-
glacials (MIS 11, 9, 7). This is evidenced by quanti-
ties of the Middle Palaeolithic stone industries, some
of the typical Levallois oblique, made on high-qual-
ity raw materials and by anthropogenically worked
fossil skeletal remains from alluvial deposits of the
Kama River underneath loess beds. Early human be-
havioural adjustment to cold periglacial habitats of
tundra-steppe and forest-steppes during glacial stag-
es (MIS 10, 8, 6) is linked with a progressing cultural
and biological evolution during the Middle and par-
ticularly the early Late Pleistocene. The pronounced
climatic warming at the beginning of the Last In-
terglacial (MIS 5e) recorded in the loess-palaeosols
sections across the East European Plain throughout
to southern Siberia brought a strengthened environ-
mental continentality and a northern expansion of
xenotheric parkland-steppes presumably promoting
migrations of the Middle Palaeolithic (Neanderthal/
early Homo sapiens?) people. Regression of the hu-
man oikumene in the central Ural region is linked
with the onset of the early Last Glacial (MIS 4) stage
presumably reducing the formerly inhabited areas to
the periglacial steppe zone around the Southern Urals
and repeatedly during the late Last Glacial (MIS 2).
The most intensive late Middle / early Upper Palaeo-
lithic geographic expansion occurred during the mid-
Last Glacial interstadial interval (MIS 3, 55 – 24 ka
BP) reaching the northernmost regions of the Urals
and the adjacent territories of northern Europe and
NW Siberia (e.g., Pavlov et al. 2001).
The Middle Palaeolithic peopling in the Central
Urals is principally associated with the cave complex
in the Chusovaya River valley cutting E – W through
the central mountain range. The valley was also one
of the main physiogeographic corridors for the Mid-
dle Palaeolithic (and subsequent) migrations into the
eastern as well as northern (Trans-Ural) regions of
West Siberia The investigated cave sites (15) dis-
tributed in the karstic formation over a distance of
ca. 200 km encompass a long cultural sequence
spanning from the Late Pleistocene till Holocene
(Serikov 2001). Presently the earliest Middle Pal-
aeolithic record from the largest and multi-stratifi ed
occupation cave site in the Bolshoy Glukhoy Cave
attests to a repeated inhabitation of the river valley
throughout the last interglacial-glacial cycle. Palae-
oenvironmental data are still rather limited, yet they
point to mosaic and biotically productive low-moun-
tain habitats interspersed by parkland-steppe eco-
systems refl ecting evolutionary regional climate and
environmental changes.
Contrary to the western regions of the Central
Urals and the Perm Fore-Urals in the upper Kama
River basin, where the pre-Upper Palaeolithic, pre-
dating the mid-Last Glacial (MIS 3), is fi rmly estab-
lished (Chlachula 2010), its presence in the eastern
(Trans-Ural) area is still marginal and insuffi ciently
documented. The local Middle Palaeolithic occu-
pation may be evidenced by the archaic industries
associated with exploitation of weathered bedrock
outcrops that provided readily available raw ma-
terials for stone tool production (e.g. the Galyan-
skaya site with bifacially fl aked implements). The
pre-Upper Palaeolithic site Golyy Kamen located
on an elevated plateau at the Nizhniy Tagil periph-
ery probably represents a workshop using quartzite
tuffs from local outcrops with a broad formal varie-
ty of artefacts including massive bifacial forms em-
bedded in the below slope deposits (Serikov 1999)
with small jasper and quartz fl akes on pebbles from
local alluvia. The Levallois technique evidenced on
prepared-platform nuclei suggest some links to the
Middle Palaeolithic cultural milieu of the southern
Ural. Fluctuating climate stages caused colluviations
of the cultural horizons of both the open-air as well
as cave site occupation settings.
The contextual geology and palaeoecology
records from the investigated archaeological sites and
stratifi ed Quaternary sections provide evidence of
pronounced environmental dynamics and landscape
transformations triggered by past climate change as
well as geomorphic processes over the broader area
of the Central Urals. The Pleistocene climate cycles
regulated the spatial and temporal movements of
early people from the southern regions of the Euro-
pean continent. New detailed palaeoenvironmental
multi-proxy data coupled with cultural archives will
complete the present perceptions on timing, natural
contexts and overall cultural trajectories of the Mid-
dle Palaeolithic occupation of this most signifi cant,
yet still marginally explored part of Eurasia.
References
CHLACHULA J., 2010, Environmental context and human
adaptation of Palaeolithic peopling of the Central Urals.
Quaternary International 220 (1–2), p. 47–63.

Materials only for purposes of the conference
"European Middle Palaeolithic during MIS 8 - MIS 3".
Not for sale.
European Middle Palaeolithic during MIS 8 – MIS 3: cultures – environment – chronology82
PAV L OV, P., SVENDSEN, J.I., INDRELID, S., 2001, Human
presence in the European Arctic nearly 40,000 years
ago, Nature 413, p. 64–67.
SERIKOV YU. B., 1999, Palaeolithic of the Central Urals,
Nizhniy Tagil University Press.
SERIKOV YU. B., 2001, The Cave Palaeolithic of the
Chusovaya River valley and problems of the initial peo-
pling of the Central Urals. Problems of Prehistoric Cul-
ture, Ufa, p. 117–135.
Middle Palaeolithic hearths of Biśnik Cave
Krzysztof Cyrek, Maria Grelowska
Ins tute of Archaeology, Nicolaus Copernicus University,
Szosa Bydgoska 44/48, PL-87100 Toruń, Poland
e-mail: paleo@umk.pl
Hearths on Middle Palaeolithic sites in Poland
have not been previously subject of separate studies.
Biśnik Cave is one of the sites which has yielded
many traces of using fi re in different periods. The
presence of hearths in all Middle Palaeolithic layers
leads to the conclusion that this cave was repeated-
ly inhabited in the Middle and Late Pleistocene, re-
gardless of changeable climatic conditions.
Basing on detailed analysis and the divisions
proposed in the literature (Galanidou 2000; Bailey,
Galanidou 2009), three types of charcoal concentra-
tions in Biśnik Cave have been distinguished:
Type A – concentration of charcoals surrounded
by stones,
Type B – concentration of charcoals without
stones (open hearths),
Type C – concentration of charcoals with fl at
stones arranged within,
as well as charcoal dust and single, distracted
charcoals that do not compose clear concentrations.
The table below (Table 1) presents the amount of
hearths in respective layers in different parts of the
cave. Until now 68 concentrations of charcoals in
Biśnik Cave have been found.
Studies have shown that the hearths differ from
each other in many ways. The position of a hearth de-
pended on changeable climatic conditions: in warm
periods they were located near the entrance to the
main chamber, whereas in cold periods hearths were
located in the centre of the main chamber. They were
burned on large areas in a side shelter as well, where
they separated the side chamber from the entrance and
could heat and light up a large area inside the cave.
The nearest Middle Palaeolithic sites in Poland
and central Europe on which hearths were found are
located in Zwierzyniec (Poland), Bilzingsleben (Ger-
many) and Kulna Cave (Czech Republic). It is note-
worthy that hearths surrounded by stones were not
present on the aforementioned sites. In this respect
Biśnik Cave, where such hearths and the feature in the
side shelter between layers 12/13 were found, is an ex-
ception not only among Polish, but also foreign sites.
The presented results are part of a bachelor thesis
“Middle Palaeolithic hearths of Biśnik Cave”, written
in 2012 under the supervision of Krzysztof Cyrek.
References
BAILEY G., GALANIDOU N., 2009, Caves, palimpsests
and dwelling spaces: examples from the Upper Palae-
olithic of south-east Europe, World Archaeology, 41:2,
p. 215–241.
CHMIELEWSKI W., HENSEL W., 1975, Prahistoria Ziem
Polskich, t. 1, p. 23.
GALANIDOU N., 2000, Patterns In Caves: Foragers, Horti-
culturists and the Use of Space, Journal of Anthropolo-
gical Archaeology 19, p. 243–275.
Table. 1. The amount of charcoal concentrations in the layers in different parts of the cave. Indications: MC – main
chamber, O – overhang, SB – side shelter, SC – side chamber. The hearth between layers 12/13 is not in-
cluded in the table because it presents the combination of types A and C and it can be treated as a separate
feature
Type of
concentration Type A Type B Type C fuzzy/distracted
charcoals
Layer/Location MC O SS SC MC O SS SC MC O SS SC MC O SS SC
19 - - - - 2 - - - - - - - 5 - - -
18 - - - - 3 - - - - - - - 1 - -1
15 - - - - - -1 - - - - - - - - -
14 - - - - 1 - - - - 1 - - - - 2 -
13 - - - - - -1 - - - - - - - -1
12 - - - - - 1 - - - - - - - 113
11 - - - - 3 - 1 - - - - - - 1 2 2
10 - - - - 2 - 1 1 - - - - - 1 1 -
9 - - - - 3 2 4 - - - - - 2 1 2 -
8 - - - - - 1 - - - - - - - - - -
7 - - - - - 1 - - - - - - 2 13 -
51 - - - - 4 - - - - - - 1 - - -
Total: 1 - - - 14 9 8 1 - 1 - - 11 5 11 7

Materials only for purposes of the conference
"European Middle Palaeolithic during MIS 8 - MIS 3".
Not for sale.
Book of Abstracts 83
Spa al analysis and visualiza on in the
Biśnik Cave’s digital documenta on
system. The prac cal use of ‘cloud
compu ng’.
Łukasz A. Czyżewski
Ins tute of Archaeology, Nicolaus Copernicus University,
Szosa Bydgoska 44/48, PL-87100 Toruń, Poland
e-mail: czyzewsk@umk.pl
For over 10 years now we have been working to
digitize the collections and documentation related to
research in the Biśnik Cave. The efforts have resulted
in the development of a platform-independent soft-
ware system for the collection, collation and spatial
analysis of data, dedicated to studying such sites.
The types of data to be digitized include plans,
profi les, object lists, photo documentation, and pub-
lications. The project also involved site visualization
and spatial modeling, meant to facilitate a more de-
tailed and comprehensive interpretation and pres-
entation of the site (Czyżewski 2009a, 2009b, 2011).
The work resulted in an extensive database with
a dedicated 3D visualization module. The system’s
main advantage for researchers was its independence
from commercial developers of specialist software;
the main disadvantage was its reliance on a network
connection, which could be problematic during
in situ research. From a technical standpoint, the sys-
tem uses standard IT solutions (dynamic web inter-
face based on php and MySQL), complemented by
3D data presentation tools based on advanced fl ash
module. Initially, data were to be fully vectorized,
which would enable easy scaling of the resulting vis-
ualized models. Unfortunately, the limited capabili-
ties of web browsers in 2003-2008, when the system
was being designed, made it necessary to implement
partial solutions, i.e. estimating vectors from point
clouds, supplemented by raster imagery.
In practice the solution proved to be effective, al-
though the modeling of cultural layers will probably
require the process to be simplifi ed. The answer was
to use voxel-based volumetric display for 3D imag-
ing. The space of the site is divided into voxels (3D
equivalent for 2D pixel) which are generated in a
given scale, with voxels ranging from 1 m3 to 5 cm3
in size. The technology seems to yield satisfactory
results as far as the reconstruction of cultural strata is
concerned (fi g. 1).
The need to process archive materials has led to
the development of functionalities normally absent
from technical applications (which naturally require
precise measurements), such as features for approxi-
mating the location of those objects whose descrip-
tions are not precise enough by modern standards.
The use of such new approximate data, in turn, makes
it possible to model the site’s space during various
stages of inhabitation in more detail than before.
One of the research projects based on data from
the Biśnik Cave that received comprehensive IT as-
sistance was a BA project involving the analysis of
hearth remains (Cyrek, Grelowska 2012, this issue).
The project is based on exhaustive planigraphy of
bulk material and the location of hearth remains in
particular cultural strata. Superimposing these addi-
tional data layers over the site grid (featuring profi les,
individual objects and layer ranges) enabled a more
precise analysis and a more comprehensive visuali-
zation of the site’s hearth zones.
It took several years to implement a fully func-
tional system and the solution is surely far from
complete. The present work and projects focus on
incorporating other similar sites as comparative da-
tasets, preparing platform migration to mobile devic-
es, and adding a number of new tools useful during
fi eld work. Coupled with efforts to make the system
partially independent from network access for in
situ data collection as well as simple simulation and
Fig. 1. Biśnik Cave. Sam-
ple 3D visualisa-
tion of the layer 19
with correspond
profi les

Materials only for purposes of the conference
"European Middle Palaeolithic during MIS 8 - MIS 3".
Not for sale.
European Middle Palaeolithic during MIS 8 – MIS 3: cultures – environment – chronology84
synchronization within a site, these new features are
intended to facilitate using the system during in situ
research.
References
CZYŻEWSKI Ł., 2009a, Bisnik Cave. Final project results.
The idea of Open Archaeology in interdisciplinary pro-
jects, [in:] W. Börner & S. Uhlirz (eds), Workshop 13.
Archäologie und Kompute r 13. Kulturelles Erbe u nd Neue
Technologien. Abstracts. Workshop 13. Archäologie und
Komputer 13. Kulturelles Erbe und Neue Technologien.
Vienna: Stadt Archäologie Wien, 21 pp. (CD–ROM).
CZYŻEWSKI Ł., 2009b, Metody cyfrowe w interpretacji
wyników badań archeologiczno-przyrodniczych Jaskini
Biśnik (Digital methods in the interpretation of results
of archaeological and palaeoenvironmental research in
the Biśnik Cave), PhD thesis, available at Institute of Ar-
chaeology NCU, Toruń.
CZYŻEWSKI Ł., 2011, Metody cyfrowe w interpretacji
wyników badań archeologiczno-przyrodniczych Jaskini
Biśnik, [in:] R. Zapłata & Z. Kobyliński (eds), Digitali-
zacja dziedzictwa archeologicznego – wybrane zagad-
nienia. Wiedza i Edukacja. Cyfrowa przeszłość I, 7-8
maja 2009, Warszawa, p. 92–119.
The iden fi ca on of a carious lesion in a
Neanderthal permanent molar from the
Stajnia Cave, Polish Jura
Paweł Dąbrowski, Wiole a Nowaczewska
Department of Human Biology, University of Wrocław,
Kuźnicza Str. No. 35; PL-50138, Wrocław, Poland
e-mail: wnowacz@wp.pl
Introduction: In 2007, an isolated second upper
molar (S5000) was discovered in the Middle Palaeo-
lithic sediment, the age of which was established as
>49 000 years BP (by AMS 14C) and about 52,9 ka
BP (by U-Th), in the Stajnia Cave within the strati-
graphic complex associated with the Micoquian tra-
dition. Previous research allowed for a description
of the complex of traits on which the S5000 tooth
was identifi ed as a Neanderthal molar belonging to
an individual whose age at death was evaluated to be
about 20 years.
Aim: Characterisation of the micro and macro-
scopic evaluations of the carious lesion occurring on
the occlusal surface of the Neanderthal molar.
Methods: All lesions of fi ssures and pits on the
occlusal surface of the S5000 molar were examined
using traditional methods based on SEM, x-ray tech-
niques and mechanical diagnostics. The specifi c cri-
teria for verifying the pathological defects led to the
investigation of the carious lesion by using a laser
diode device - DIAGNOdent.
Results and conclusions: The use of convention-
al diagnostic instruments and x-ray images did not
allow for the thorough examination of fi ssures on the
occlusal surface of the S5000 molar. Eventually, the
results of the analysis based on a non-invasive diag-
nostic method (DIAGNOdent using natural dental
autofl uorescence) confi rmed the presence of a super-
fi cial condition of dental caries. The assessment of
the carious lesion in the S5000 molar may be benefi -
cial to the study of the epidemiology of dental caries
in Palaeolithic human populations.
Lithic produc on systems fl exibility in the
Middle Paleolithic: new data from Belgium
Kévin Di Modica
Centre archéologique de la gro e Scladina, Rue Fond des
Vaux 339d, BE - 5300 Andenne-Sclayn,
e-mail : kevin_dimodica@yahoo.fr
Although Belgium is confi ned within a small
geographical area, it is composed of an apposition
of diverse geological and geographical regions. In
a synopsis, Belgium can be divided into two parts;
each part is located on opposite sides of the oro-hy-
drographic furrow formed by the Middle Meuse and
its main tributary, the Sambre. The part on the north
of this furrow consists of chalky, sandy and loamy
plains and plateaus, which relate to the great Euro-
pean plain. The part on the south is topographically
higher relief notched by deep valleys composed by
Paleozoic formations of the Ardennes and surround-
ing areas. This portion of the country is an extension
of the Rhenish Slate Mountains and relates to Pale-
ozoic reliefs, which, bordering southern great Euro-
pean plain, extends from the Massif Central to the
Carpathians. This confi guration provided a diverse
framework for prehistoric populations, where only
certain regions contained caves and rock shelters,
and where the availability of lithic resources varied
greatly from one area to another. Because of this,
Belgium is an ideal place to study the relationship be-
tween humans and their mineralogical environment.
A large amount of archaeological research has
revealed a lot of information related to the Middle
Paleolithic in Belgium. A recent inventory has al-
ready identifi ed more than 442 archaeologcial sites of
variable quality within the region: from the discovery
of an isolated artefact during surface survey, to rich
sites where a complex stratigraphy reveals anthropo-
genic material from numerous different time periods.
Each provides varying degrees of information on the
relationship between Neanderthals and their environ-
ment. The unequal distribution of the sites clearly
shows that two types of environments are favored
for settlements: the chalky plains, rich in fl int, and
the karsts in the Meuse basin (Di Modica et al. 2011).
This results in the identifi cation of complex pro-
curement strategies for the acquisition of raw mate-
rials as well as intricate lithic productions systems,

Materials only for purposes of the conference
"European Middle Palaeolithic during MIS 8 - MIS 3".
Not for sale.
Book of Abstracts 85
based on the geological environment adjacent to the
occupied site.
Depending on the distance between each indivi-
dual site and a fl int source, the Middle Paleolithic
industries in Belgium vary greatly. On or close to
the cretaceous outcrops, where fl int is easily availa-
ble in its primary or slightly reworked context, lithic
productions are not constrained by the availability
of raw material. This availability allows for a free
expression of debitage concepts, especially Leval-
lois, which lead to the production of standardized
lithic series. These series are very comparable to
others found in the rest of Northwest Europe (Goval
2008, Locht et al. 2010). However, when high quality
cretaceous fl int nodules were not locally availa-
ble, neanderthals established a combination of fl int
importation and the use of local materials of lower
quality. This generates two constraints: one that is
economic and linked to the transportation distance,
and another that is technical and linked to the quality
of the raw material. Both infl uence the fi nal appear-
ance of lithic industries, including: signifi cant block
reduction, fl exibility of debitage concepts, and low
standardization of the fi nal product. The lithic series
are therefore more variable, revealing the complex
relationship between different debitage concepts, and
highlighting the neanderthals’ responses to their en-
vironmental constraints. Through these observations,
the Middle Paleolithic in Belgium illustrates a model
of the fl exibility of lithic production based on envi-
ronmental parameters.
Of course, other parameters generate variability,
including: chronology, site functions, duration of oc-
cupation, etc. (Delagnes et al. 2007, Delagnes & Jau-
bert 2007). However, the diversity of lithic produc-
tion according to geographical parameters appears to
be a ‘primary diversity system’. This is supported by
the fact that sites within a same environment have
more similarities, regardless of their chronology and
function, than penecontemporaneous sites that are
associated with different geological contexts. This
variability model also raises the question of cultural
signature in lithic assemblages: atypical assemblages
previously attributed to Charentian must be reinter-
preted, in light of current data, as the result of adap-
tation to contexts where good raw materials are miss-
ing. However, some technical or stylistic traits appear
to be not infl uenced by geographical and geological
variability: this is the case of assemblages integrating
a laminar volumetric component, and also of bifacial
production partly related to Western Europe MTA and
Eastern Europe KMG (Ruebens & Di Modica 2011 ).
References
DE LAGNES A., JAUBERT J., MEIGNEN L., 2007, Les techno-
complexes du Paléolithique moyen en Europe occiden-
tale dans leur cadre diachronique et géographique, [in:]
B. Vandermeersch & B. Maureille (éds.), Les Néander-
taliens. Biologie et Cultures. Documents Préhistoriques,
23. Paris, éditions du Comité des Travaux Historiques et
Scientifi ques, p. 213–229.
DI MODICA K., PIRSON S., TOUSSAINT M., 2011, Le Paléo-
lithique moyen en Belgique, essai de synthèse 2011,
[in:] M. Toussaint, K. Di Modica & S. Pirson (éds),
Le Paléolithique moyen en Belgique. Mélanges Margue-
rite Ulrix-Closset. Bulletin des Chercheurs de la Wall-
onie - Études et Recherches Archéologiques de l’Un iver-
sité de Liège, Hors-Série N°4 – 128, Liège, p. 407–413.
GOVAL, É., 2008. Défi nitions, analyses et caractérisia-
tions des territoires des Néandertaliens au Weichselien
ancien en France septentrionale (Approches tech-
nologiques et spatiales des industries lithiques, élar-
gissement au Nord-Ouest de l’Europe). Thèse de Doc-
torat, Université des Sciences et Technologies de Lille I,
École Doctorale SESAM.
JAUBERT J., DELAGNES A., 2007, De l’espace parcouru
à l’espace habité au Paléolithique moyen, [in:] B. Vander-
meersch & B. Maureille (éds.), Les Néandertaliens. Biol-
ogie et Cultures. Documents Préhistoriques, 23, éditions
du Comité des Travaux Historiques et Scientifi ques,
p. 263–281.
LOCHT J.-L. , G OVAL É. & ANTOINE P., 2010. Reconstructi ng
Middle Palaeolithic Hominid Behaviour During OIS 5
in Northern France, [in:] N. J. Conard & A. Delagnes
(eds), Settlement Dynamics of the Middle Paleolithic
and Middle Stone Age. Volume III. Tübingen, Kerns
Verlag, p. 329–355.
RUEBENS K. & DI MODICA K., 2011, Les productions
bifaciales du Paléolithique moyen sur le territoire bel-
ge. Présentation d’industries entre deux mondes, [in:]
M. Toussaint, K. Di Modica & S. Pirson (eds), Le Paléo-
lithique moyen en Belgique. Mélanges Marguerite Ul-
rix-Closset. Bulletin des Chercheurs de la Wallonie -
Études et Recherches Archéologiques de l’Université de
Liège, Hors-Série N°4 - 128. Liège, p. 239–260.
Bank voles (Clethrionomys) and mice
(Apodemus, Mus) from the Ural sites
as the objects of paleoecological
reconstruc on
Maria A. Fominykh, Sergiej V. Zykov
Ins tute of Plant and Animal Ecology, Ural Branch of RAS,
Yekaterinburg, Russia
e-mail: elf13z@mail.ru, sega_2000@hotbox.ru
In this study, we analyzed the distribution and
proportion of bank voles (genus Clethrionomys =
Myodes) and mice (genera Apodemus and Mus)
based on published and our data on the structure of
micromammal faunas from the Late Quaternary and
modern sites in the Ural Mountains. The ecological
specifi city and the differences in habitat and troph-
ic preferences of this species may serve a source of
information for paleoecological reconstruction. The
proportions of bank voles (genus Clethrionomys)
and mice (genus Apodemus) in fossil faunas may

Materials only for purposes of the conference
"European Middle Palaeolithic during MIS 8 - MIS 3".
Not for sale.
European Middle Palaeolithic during MIS 8 – MIS 3: cultures – environment – chronology86
serve as the indicators of forest biotopes. Accord-
ing to faunal data from the Ural Quaternary sites,
the proportions of bank voles and mice depended on
geographical position and geological age of sites. It
was shown that Clethrionomys and Apodemus ex-
panded their ranges to the north since Late Pleisto-
cene to Holocene (Borodin et al. 2011; Kuznetsova
et al. 2009; Mammals of Polar Ural Mountains 2007;
Markova et al. 2010, Smirnov et al. 1986). The fos-
sil remains of Cl. glareolus are known only from
the Pleistocene in the South Urals and South Trans-
Urals (Borodin, 1988, 1992a; Historical Ecology of
Animals in the Southern Urals 1990). Its ancestral
form is known from the Eopleistocene deposits in
the South Urals (Smirnov et al. 1986). Rare fossil
remains of Cl. glareolus are found in Holocene in
the Middle Urals (Borodin 1995). Cl. rufocanus
and Cl. rutilus are known from the Quaternary sites
since Middle Pleistocene and it’s a common spe-
cies in Pleistocene and Holocene faunas in the Urals
(Smirnov et al. 1986). The proportions of Cl. rufo-
canus and Cl. rutilus increased at the Pleistocene/
Holocene boundary in the Northern and Polar Urals
(Smirnov et al. 1986). The fossil remains of mice are
numerous in the South Urals (Historical Ecology of
Animals in the Southern Urals 1990). The earliest
Apodemus remains are known from the Late Pleis-
tocene sites in the Southern Pre-Urals and Southern
Urals (Historical Ecology of Animals in the South-
ern Urals 1990, Yakovlev 2009). In the Middle
Urals the fossil remains of mice from the Pleisto-
cene sites are rare, but they become abundant since
the Middle Holocene (Smirnov 1993). M. muscu-
lus is found from the Late Holocene deposits in the
Urals (Historical Ecology of Animals in the South-
ern Urals 1990, Kuz’mina 2006, Yakovlev 2009).
Along with the paleontological data the modern
species distribution data are involved for studying the
range dynamics of bank voles and mice. Clethrion-
omys and Apodemus in the Ural faunas are represent-
ed by the species of both the European (Cl. glare-
olus, A. fl avicollis and A. uralensis) and Asian (Cl.
rufocanus, Cl. rutilus, A. agrarius) origin. Cl. ruti-
lus, Cl. rufocanus inhabit boreal forests (taiga zone)
where they exhibit zonal pattern of distribution; Cl.
glareolus is a polyzonal species related to nemoral
and boreal forests (Borodin et al. 2011). According
to the modern data, Cl. glareolus expands its range to
the Polar Urals (Mammals of Polar Ural Mountains
2007, Kuznetsova et al. 2009). The genera Apode-
mus and Mus is represented by the four species: A.
uralensis and A. agrarius are numerous in different
forests biotopes in the South and Middle Urals (Gro-
mov, Erbaeva 1995, Land animals of Russia 2002).
A. agrarius expands its range using anthropogeni-
cally transformed areas (Zykov 2011). A. fl avicollis
is a species occurring in the nemoral zone. At the
eastern boundary of its geographic distribution in the
South Pre-Urals and South Urals A. fl avicollis inhab-
its mixed coniferous-broad-leaved forest and broad-
leaved forests (Bol’shakov et al. 1986, Shvarz, Pav-
linin 1960, Smirnov et al. 1990). Recently it’s found
in the mixed coniferous-broad-leaved forests in the
South of the Middle Urals where the Pedunculate oak
is distributed (Izvarin et al. 2012). M. musculus is
a synanthropic species and inhabits human settle-
ments in the Urals.
Correct species diagnostics is the important prob-
lem in paleontological and neontological studies.
The diffi culties of morphological diagnostics of Cl.
glareolus – Cl. rutilus and A. agrarius – A. uralensis
in sympatry may lead to incorrect paleoecological
reconstructions. We use traditional methods for the
diagnostics of modern and fossil Clethrionomys spe-
cies (Borodin et al. 2005, Borodin 2009) and original
scheme of morphometric characteristics of the occlu-
sal surface of the fi rst lower molar (m1) (Fominykh
et al. 2010, Fominykh 2011). Besides, the diffi culties
of species diagnostics are represented by hybrid indi-
viduals. One of such with morphological character-
istics from both the mother (Cl. rutilus) and paternal
(Cl. glareolus) species is described from the Middle
Ural locality (Borodin et al. 2011). For the modern
and fossil diagnostics of mice we also use qualita-
tive characteristics of the fi rst lower molar (m1) to
identify Apodemus, Sylvaemus and Mus (Zykov et
al. 2010). Moreover, to identify modern and fossil
species and to account for the age component of var-
iation, morphological characteristics are analyzed
within particular age classes. By the example of Cl.
rufocanus and Cl. glareolus we show that both in-
tra- and interspecifi c comparisons should be carried
out within one ontogenetic stage or age class only
(Borodin et al. 2006, 2007, Fominykh et al. 2010).
Cranial and tooth system characteristics may
serve as one of the indicators of species adaptation to
the habitat conditions. By the example of two species
(Cl. glareolus and A. uralensis) we estimate the in-
fl uence of their trophic specialization to the mandible
morphology. Both species inhabit the same biotopes
and are characterized by similarity in types of food
(Okulova, Antonetz 2002; The European bank vole,
1981, Vorontsov 1961). As a result of morphologi-
cal analysis we show the interspecifi c differences in
mandible morphology, related to the specifi c feeding
adaptations: A. uralensis is characterized by a narrow
and elongated mandible shape and a position of pro-
cesses refl ecting more granivory; Cl. glareolus mandi-
ble morphology is refl ecting more herbivory (Zykov,
Fominykh 2012). These mandible transformations
relate to masticatory system changes because of the
different chewing movements in bank voles and mice
(Satoh 1997, Vorontsov 1982). Besides we analyze
the enamel microstructure on molars for studying spe-
cifi c feeding adaptations with using a scanning elec-
tron microscope and show signifi cant interspecifi c

Materials only for purposes of the conference
"European Middle Palaeolithic during MIS 8 - MIS 3".
Not for sale.
Book of Abstracts 87
about the Neanderthals “complex behaviour”. This
site is a rock shelter situated in the north-eastern corner
of the Iberian Peninsula. The stratigraphic sequence
(20 m) is composed of at least 25 archaeological lev-
els interbedded between travertine platforms. This se-
quence was dated by radiocarbon analysis and U-series
between 40 and 70 kyrs BP (Bischoff et al. 1988).
In the level O of the Abric Romaní (dated around
55 kyrs) several evidences of human activities were
identifi ed on Cervus elaphus, Bos primigenius and
Equus ferus, but also on a nearly complete individual
of Felis silvestris (Gabucio 2007). This paper focus-
es on the specifi c case of this felid. Surface modifi -
cations (cut marks), breakage patterns (missing one
or both epiphyses of some long bones) and spatial
dispersion of the remains (concentrated and partly
in anatomical connection) are studied to explain the
anthropogenic use of this wild cat. The methodology
applied is based on zooarchaeological and ethnoar-
chaeological studies (Jones 1983, Marshall 1994).
The results are compared with the other taxa iden-
tifi ed at level O, other carnivores recovered at Abric
Romaní and other sites with similar chronology.
References
ARRIBAS A., 1997, Un leopardo, Panthera pardus (Lin-
naeus, 1758), en el Pleistoceno de la Cueva de los Tor-
rejones (Tamajón, Guadalajara, España). Geogaceta, 22,
p. 19–22.
AUGUSTE P., 1995, Chasse et char ognage au Paléolith-
ique Moyen: l’apport du gisement de Biache-Saint-Vaast
(Pas-de-Calais), Bulletin de la Société Préhistorique
Française, 92 (2), p. 155–167.
BISCHOFF J. L., JULIÀ R., MORA R., 1988, Uranium-series
dating of the Musterian Occupation ar Abric Romaní,
Spain. Nature, 332, p. 68–70.
BLASCO R., FERNÁNDEZ-PERIS J., 2012, A uniquely broad
spectrum diet during the Middle Pleistocene at Bolomor
Cave (Valencia, Spain), Quaternary International, 252,
p. 16–31.
Fig. 1. Example of cut mark on a second phalanx of Felis silvestris recovered at level O of Abric Romaní site. General
view of the phalanx (left). Microscopic image (ESEM FEI QUANTA 600) at 170× (right)
differences in the number of scratches on molar
enamel (Fominykh, Zykov, 2012).
Thus, correct diagnostics of fossil forms, which
allow to describe fauna structure correctly, as well as
cranial and tooth system morphological characteris-
tics are important in paleoecological reconstructions.
These data allow one to describe the habitat condi-
tions of species in the past and to infer their evolu-
tionary history in this region.
The work is supported by the Russian Founda-
tion for Basic Research (research grant 10-04-96102)
and the grant for support of the Leading Scientifi c
Schools of Russia No..5325.2012.4.
A wild cat (Felis silvestris) butchered by
Neanderthals in the level O of the Abric
Romaní site (Capellades, Barcelona,
Spain)
Maria Joana Gabucio Vilarrasa, Isabel Cáceres, Anto-
nio Rodríguez-Hidalgo, Jordi Rosell, Palmira Saladié
Ins tut Català de Paleoecologia Humana i Evolució Social,
C/ Escorxador s/n, 43003 Tarragona, Spain
e-mail: mjgabucio@iphes.cat
The most common preys of humans during the
European Middle Palaeolithic were large ungulates.
However, there are few evidences of human pro-
cessing of small animals such as rabbits, tortoises,
birds, fi sh and molluscs (Stiner 1994, Stringer et al.
2008, Blasco & Fernández-Peris 2012). Likewise,
carnivores (ursids, felids, canids, hyaenids...) were
also butchered by humans in exceptional cases (Au-
guste 1995, Arribas 1997, Pérez-Ripoll et al. 2010,
Rodríguez-Hidalgo 2010). These evidences suggest
that Neanderthals had a more diverse diet and higher
cognitive capacities than previously thought.
The Abric Romaní (Capellades, Barcelona, Spain)
is one of the archaeological sites that provides more data

Materials only for purposes of the conference
"European Middle Palaeolithic during MIS 8 - MIS 3".
Not for sale.
European Middle Palaeolithic during MIS 8 – MIS 3: cultures – environment – chronology88
Fig. 1. Snapshot from the excavation at Feldebrő on 4th of
April 2012.
COCHARD D., BRUGAL J-P., MORIN E., MEIGNEN L., 2012,
Evidence of small game explotation in the Middle Paleo-
lithic of Les Canalettes Aveyron, France, Quaternary
International, 264, p 32–51.
GABUCIO M. J., 2007, Gestió dels recursos faunístics fa
55.000 anys: el nivell O de l’Abric Romaní (Capellades,
Barcelona), Unpublished Master Thesis, Universitat Ro-
vira i Virgili, Tarragona.
JONES K. T., 1983, Forager Archaeology: the Aché of east-
ern Paraguay. In (The University of Calgary Archaeolo-
gy Association, ed.): Carnivores, human scavengers and
predators. Aquestion of bone technology. University of
C a l g a r y , A r c h a e o l o g i c a l A s s o c i a t i o n , C a l g a r y , p . 1 7 1 – 1 9 1 .
MARSHALL F., 1994, Food Sharing and Body Part Rep-
resentation in Okiek Faunal Assemblages. Journal of
Archaeological Science, 21, p. 65–77.
PÉREZ-RIPOLL ET AL., 2010, Presence of the genus Cuon
in upper Pleistocene and initial Holocene sites of the
Iberian Peninsula: new remains identified in archaeo-
logical contexts of the Mediterranean region. Journal of
Archaeological Science, 37 (2010), p. 437–450.
RODRÍGUEZ-HIDALGO A., 2010, The scavenger or the scav-
enged? Journal of Taphonomy, vol. 1, p. 75–76.
STINER M. C., 1994, Honor among thieves: a zooarchaeo-
logical study of Neanderthal ecology, Princeton Univer-
sity Press, Princeton.
STRINGER C. B., FINALYSON J. C., BARTON R. N. E.,
FERNÁNDEZ-JALVO Y., CÁCE RES I., SABIN R. C., RHODES
E. J., CURRANT A. P., RODRÍGUEZ-VIDAL J., GILES-PAC HECO
F., RIQUELME-CANTAL J. A., 2008, Neanderthal exploita-
tion of marine mammals in Gibraltar, Proceedings of the
National Academy of Sciences of the United States of
America (PNAS), 105 (38), p. 14319–14324.
Traces of mammoth hunters (?) from the
vicinity of Feldebrő (North Hungary)
Mihály Gasparik
Hungarian Natural History Museum, Department of
Palaeontology and Geology, H-1431 Budapest, Pf. 137,
Hungary, e-mail: gasparik@nhmus.hu
In the spring of 2011 some limnoquartzite fl akes
and a proximal fragment of a mammoth tibia were
turned up on a fi eldland at Feldebrő (North Hungary).
The remains were found on the foreland of the Mátra
Hills, from where several palaeolithic remains have
been known.
In November of the same year the owner of the
land (Mr. Gábor Farkas) asked one of his friends to
plough a part of the area a bit deeper than normal-
ly. During this work two mammoth limb bones were
unearthed from about 50 cm depth: a right ulna and
a right humerus, belonging to one and the same indi-
vidual. Other remains (a fragmentary scapula and the
proximal half of a right femur) were found during a
one-day rescue excavation in the end of November.
Below the femur some small fragments of burnt bones
and a yellowish-red chalcedony stone tool were found.
The remains laid in yellowish-brown sandy loess.
In April of 2012 a fi ve-day excavation was made
at the locality commanded by Dr. Mihály Gasparik
(Hungarian Natural History Museum, Department of
Palaeontology and Geology). During this work three
large trenches were excavated, two of them contained
further remains. Limnoquartzite pieces and splinters,
animal bones and bone fragments were collected
from the sandy loess. The bone-containing deposits
are from cca. 40 cm till cca. 70 cm depths below the
ground surface.
The remains have been collected in 2011 and in
2012 very probably belonged to at least two individ-
uals of woolly mammoth, both of them were rather
young, cca. 10 year old specimen. Unfortunately no
molar or molar fragment was found, hence the es-
timation on the age of the animals is rather uncer-
tain. Besides also the taxonomic determination of the
bones is speculative. The remains were ranked into
the Mammuthus primigenius species as the age of the
locality is Late Pleistocene. The collected animal re-
mains are following:
– larger individual:
– right ulna and humerus,
– proximal half of the right femur,
– fragmentary scapula,
– a hind section of the vertebrate column
with 6 vertebrae (3 vertebra thoracalis,
3 vertebra lumbalis);
– smaller individual:
– a fore section of the vertebrate column
with 5 vertebrae (all of them are vertebra
thoracalis),
– an isolated vertebra thoracalis,
– right ulna.
In addition some ribs and rib fragments, a 50 cm
long apical fragment of a tusk, a burnt fragment of
distal epiphysis of a humerus and a hind section of
the tail (5 vertebrae caudalis) were turned up, which
can belong whether to the larger or to the smaller
individual.
The accompanying fauna is rather poor unfortu-
nately. During the excavation some red fox (Vulpes

Materials only for purposes of the conference
"European Middle Palaeolithic during MIS 8 - MIS 3".
Not for sale.
Book of Abstracts 89
vulpes) bones (left and right tibia, left and right fe-
mur, caudal vertebrae, mandibular fragments with
teeth) were unearthed, during the washing of the
loess some snake vertebrae and a very few gastro-
pods were separated. This work will be continued
and hopefully we get enough microvertebrate and/or
gastropod material for both the biostratigraphical and
the palaeoecological evaluations.
During the excavations three circular spots were
discovered in the loess. Their diameter extends from
cca. 8 to cca. 12 cm, they were situated semicircular-
ly around the bone deposit. Their dark-brown colour
were easily distinguishable from the light-yellow-
ish-brown loess. This interesting feature let us to
suppose that these spots are the traces of (wooden)
poles and the site probably was a temporary camp
of the palaeolithic men where they must sheltered a
fi replace or a food-store.
The chalcedony and limnoquartzite rocks and
pieces were carried away to the Hungarian Nation-
al Museum, where the colleagues-archaeologists
(Dr. Viola T. Dobosi and Dr. András Markó) exam-
ined them. They confi rmed the provisional opinion
about the archaeological remains, as most of them
are not tools, but secondary products only. Probably
there are two nucleus in the material, but the other
pieces (altogether cca. 20 specimen) are not tools or
splinters, but fl akes only. They determined the spec-
imens as the Gravettian culture, so the age of the lo-
cality can be dated between 30 000 and 10 000 BP.
As the Mammuthus primigenius disappeared from
the Carpathian Basin at about 15 000 BP, we can re-
strict the age of the site between 30 000 and 15 000
BP. Within this period its fi rst half is more probable.
Recently some woolly mammoth bone fragments
were carried to the ATOMKI (Institute of Nuclear
Research of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences,
Debrecen) for radiocarbon dating, this probably will
be made till the middle of September 2012.
Geoarchaeological context of Late
Pleistocene in the Tunka ri valley
(cis-Baikal region, Russia)
A. Kozyrev, Alexander Shchetnikov1, A. Klement’ev,
Fedora Khenzykhenova2, Ivan Filinov1, Elena Semenei3
1 Ins tute of the Earth’s Crust SB RAS,
Lermontov Str. No. 128, 664033, Irkutsk, Russia,
e-mails: shchet@crust.irk.ru, fi linov@crust.irk.ru
2 Geological Ins tute SB RAS, Sakhjanovoi Str. No. 6a,
670047, Ulan-Ude, Russia, e-mail: khenzy@mail.ru
3 Ins tute of Geology and Mineralogy SB RAS,
Koptyuga prospect 3, 630090, Novosibirsk, Russia,
e-mail: simali_na@yahoo.com
Stratigraphical research of the Tunka rift basin
has determined the archaeological component for
three geological sections, species composition for
paleofauna from cultural formations, its paleoeco-
logical environment, and chronostratigraphical
framework. First experience has been obtained
with radiocarbon method for dating the Late Pleis-
tocene archaeological materials within the Tunka
valley, geomorphological trends have been found in
location and identifi cation of the Late Pleistocene
archaeological sites.
Palaeoecology of bears from the
Pleistocene deposits of Biśnik Cave based
on stable isotopes (δ13C, δ18O) and dental
cementum analyses
Magdalena Krajcarz1, Maciej T. Krajcarz1, Adrian
Marciszak2
1) Ins tute of Geological Sciences, Polish Academy of Sciences,
Research Centre in Warsaw, Twarda St. No 51/55, PL-00818
Warszawa, Poland. Email: magdakraj@twarda.pan.pl,
mkrajcarz@twarda.pan.pl
2) Department of Evolu onary Biology and Ecology, University
of Wrocław, Wrocław, Poland. Email: caspian8@wp.pl
The deposits in the Biśnik Cave yielded numer-
ous cave bear remains from more than last 200 000
years of the Pleistocene. Long lasting deposition of
animal bones in cave sediments created great oppor-
tunity to examine palaeoecology of Ursus spelaeus
species. In some layers of Biśnik Cave the sparse
remains of U. deningeri and U. arctos were discov-
ered along with U. spelaeus.
In this paper important aspects of palaeoecology
(diet, age, season of death and mean annual tempera-
tures of habitats) of U. spelaeus, U. deningeri and U.
arctos from Biśnik Cave are presented. To achieve the
goal of presented study the stable isotope ratios (δ13C,
δ18O) analysis of tooth enamel were applied (method-
ology after García García et al. 2009, Koch et al. 1997)
in combination with examination of seasonal deposi-
tion of dental cementum (methodology after Matson
et al. 1993). The provenance of studied material was
verifi ed with use of geochemical fossil provenance
analysis (method presented by Trueman et al. 2006)
based on content of REE and other trace elements.
Counting of cementum annulation of U. spelaeus
teeth showed that most of specimens died young, in
age of probably <2 years. Only four individuals of U.
spelaeus were older than 5 years and the oldest stated
individual was >7 years old. The results for U. denin-
geri showed that individuals that died in Biśnik Cave
were old, even older than 14 years. Only one result
was achieved for U. arctos (Table 1).
The season of death of all examined specimens
and species was winter/spring period, what indicates
that death during hibernation was a main cause of
bears mortality in Biśnik Cave.

Materials only for purposes of the conference
"European Middle Palaeolithic during MIS 8 - MIS 3".
Not for sale.
European Middle Palaeolithic during MIS 8 – MIS 3: cultures – environment – chronology90
The achieved δ18O values allowed to determine
the mean annual temperatures (method presented by
Dotsika et al. 2011) for different climatic periods of
inhabitation of cave by bears (fi g. 1).
Analysis of carbon isotopes ratio showed that
during the whole interval of Pleistocene preserved
in sediments the diet of U. spelaeus was constant.
There is no correlation between δ18O and δ13C val-
ues (R2=0.075), what indicates that diet of cave bear
was independent of climatic fl uctuations. Values of
δ13C range from -20.5 to -15.6 ‰ VPDB (fi g. 1) and
indicate the diet rich in C3 plants. The diet of U.
spelaeus was more diverse than diet of U. arctos or
U. deningeri. The δ13C values achieved for Middle
Pleistocene U. arctos are higher than mean value for
all studied bear species and similar to data achieved
for Holocene U. arctos from Biśnik Cave (fi g. 1).
The research was supported by Polish Ministry
of Science and Higher Education, grant number
No. 307 061540.
References
DOTSIKA E., ZISI N., TSOUKALA E., POUTOU KIS D., LYKOUD-
IS S., GIANNAKOPOULOS A., 2011, Palaeoclimatic informa-
tion from isotopic signatures of Late Pleistocene Ursus
ingressus bone and teeth apatite (Loutra Arideas Cave,
Macedonia, Greece), Quaternary International 245 (2),
p. 291–301.
GARCÍA GARCÍA N., FERANEC R. S., ARSUAGA J. L., BERMÚ-
DEZ DE CASTRO J. M., CARBONELL E., 2009, Isotopic analy-
sis of the ecology of herbivores and carnivores from the
Middle Pleistocene deposits of the Sierra De Atapuerca,
northern Spain, Journal of Archaeological Science 36,
p. 1142–1151.
KOCH P. L., TUROSS N., FOGEL M. L., 1997, The Effects of
Sample Treatment and Diagenesis on the Isotopic Integ-
rity of Carbonate in Biogenic hydroxylapatite, Journal
of Archaeological Science 24, p. 417–429.
MATSON G., VAN DAELE L., GOODWIN E., AUMILLER L.,
REYNOLDS H., HRISTIENKO H., 1993, A laboratory man-
ual for cementum age determination of Alaska brown
bear fi rst premolar teeth. Alaska Department of Fish
and Game, Division of Wildlife Conservation, Matson’s
Laboratory, Milltown.
TRUEMA N C. N., BEHRENSMEYER A. K., POTTS R ., TUROSS N.,
2006, High-res olution records of location and st ratigraph-
ic provenance from the rare earth element composition
of fossil bones. Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta 70,
p. 4343– 4355.
Table 1. Results of dental cementum analysis of bear teeth from Biśnik Cave
layer tooth age season of death layer tooth age season of death
Ursus spelaeus Ursus arctos
10a I3 dex >7 winter/spring 15/16 M1 sin <3 winter/spring
10 I2 dex <2 winter/spring
13 M2 sin >4 winter/spring Ursus deningeri
13 M1 sin <2 winter/spring 19a C1 dex >9 winter/spring
13 I2 sin >6 winter/spring 19b M2 sin >14 winter/spring
13a I3 dex <2 winter/spring 19b M2 sin >13 winter/spring
13a C >6 winter/spring
15 I3 sin >8 winter/spring
15 I2 dex <2 winter/spring
16 M1 dex <2 winter/spring
19 I1 dex <3 winter/spring
Fig. 1. Results of stable isotopes ratios analysis of bear teeth from Biśnik Cave

Materials only for purposes of the conference
"European Middle Palaeolithic during MIS 8 - MIS 3".
Not for sale.
Book of Abstracts 91
Environment of in the peri- and meta-
Carpathian zone during the Middle
Palaeolithic se lement
Maria Łanczont1, Teresa Madeyska2, Maryna
Komar3, Andryi Bogucki4
1 Department of Geoecology and Palaeogeography, Maria
Curie-Skłodowska University, al. Kraśnicka 2 c,d, 20-718
Lublin, Poland; e-mail: lanczont@poczta.umcs.lublin.pl;
2 Ins tute of Geological Sciences, Polish Academy of Sciences,
Twarda 51/55, 00-818 PL, Warszawa;
e-mail: tmadeysk@twarda.pan.pl;
3 Ins tute of Geological Sciences, Na onal Academy of
Sciences of Ukraine, O. Gonchar str. 55-b, 01054, Kyiv,
Ukraine, e-mail: makom@ukr.net;
4 Department of Geomorphology and Palaeogeography, Ivan
Franko Na onal University, Doroshenka 41, 79000 Lviv,
Ukraine
Investigations of environment and its changes
occurring since MOIS 7 to MOIS 3, i.e. in the period
of the Middle Palaeolithic settlement, were conduct-
ed in archaeological sites and supplemented with
the examination of geological profi les situated in
their vicinity. The area under study covered the Po-
dolia Upland, Prydnistrov’ja region, and Carpathian
Foreland where the settlement traces were found in
loess-soil sequences. The results of the studies were
correlated with those obtained for the deposit pro-
fi les in the selected cave sites situated in the Cracow-
-Częstochowa Upland.
Palaeoenvironmental reconstructions carried
out in loess sites1 were based on the results of the
following analyses: sedimentological, lithological,
geochemical (in it stable isotope analysis), and pal-
aeopedological (in it micromorphological analysis).
The picture of plant succession was obtained from
the results of pollen analysis and the preliminary
results of plant biomarker analysis carried out in
several profi les. Malacological analysis provided
information about biotopes. The reconstructed se-
quences of environmental changes were correlated
with the published data concerning the environmen-
tal changes recorded in the profi les of cave deposits,
especially the Biśnik Cave profi le. Thermolumines-
cence dating results were used for chronological in-
terpretations.
The oldest traces of settlement occur in paleo-
sols representing a warm period, with the features of
1 This work has been fi nanced by the funds for science in the
years 2010–2014 as the project 691-N/2010/0 Ukraine entitled
”Palaeolithic Oecumene of the peri- and meta-Carpathian
zone  a study of environment changes of Western Ukraine
and South-Eastern Poland in Pleistocene and their infl uence
on primeval settlement and migration pattern (based on loess
and cave sites)”. There were also used the results of investiga-
tions carried out as part of the project NN306 426 234 entitled
“Palaeogeographic conditions of phenomenon of persistent
Palaeolithic settlement in the Carpathian Foreland - Podolia
zone” (2008–2011).
cold interglacial or very warm interstadial, which is
correlated with MOIS 7. Many archaeological sites
occur in the interglacial-interstadial soil complexes
of MOIS 5. Moreover, few traces of settlement are
found in weakly developed soils of interstadial type
or gleyed horizons within the deposits representing
MOIS 6.
The picture of environment and its changes, re-
constructed using different methods, is not always
unambiguous but most often is indicates the com-
mon co-occurrence of different biotopes  both in
warm and cold periods (fi g. 1, next page). Such mo-
saic of landscapes was formed as a result of varaible
relief and topoclimate conditions. The infl uence of
continental climate, distinctly increasing eastwards,
is visible in the over-regional scale.
Biochronology of the cave lion line - the
state of research
Adrian Marciszak
Division of Palaeozoology, Department of Evolu onary
Biology and Ecology, Faculty of Biological Sciences,
University of Wrocław, Wroclaw, Poland.
e-mail: caspian8@wp.pl
Remains of large cats from genus Panthera
Oken, 1816, commonly known as a “cave lion”, are
permanent members of so called “mammoth fauna”
and are found since two centuries. Their stratigraph-
ical position is still unclear and some authors ac-
cepted separate species range as Panthera spelaea,
other believe that is represent an extinct, large sub-
species of modern lion Panthera leo.
Excluded stratigraphical position, also the evo-
lution of this cat is rather unclear. Some suggest-
ed two (or even three) migration events to Europe
from territory of Asia and Africa via Iberian Penin-
sula and Asia Minor. Other believe that main popu-
lations of extinct lion evolved in situ since arrived
in late Early Pleistocene and both form, steppe
lion Panthera spelaea fossilis Reicheanu, 1906
and cave lion Panthera spelaea spelaea Goldfuss,
1810 represented in fact on evolutionary line and
both should be consider rather as chronosubspecies.
Both forms are rather well separated using especial-
ly dental morphology. Generally steppe lion existed
in Europe since Cromerian till Holsteinian and is
recognized as very large, primitive form. Cave lion
is typical for the last glacial and considered as large
(larger than modern African lion), highly specia-
lized form lived in open grasslands as well as in
mountain habitats.
Here the name “intermediate” is propose for lions
from Saalian period (late Middle Pleistocene), since
almost all those lions are characterized by less or
more pronounced intermediate features typical to

Materials only for purposes of the conference
"European Middle Palaeolithic during MIS 8 - MIS 3".
Not for sale.

Materials only for purposes of the conference
"European Middle Palaeolithic during MIS 8 - MIS 3".
Not for sale.
Fig. 1. Schematic compilation of the results to date of natural investigations of the most important Palaeolithic sites in
the peri- and meta-Carpathian zone (by Łanczont M., Madeyska T., in press1). 1  A horizon, 2  Eet horizon,
3a  Bt horizon, 3b  Bbr horizon, 4  subarctic brown soil, 5a  gley soil, 5b  gleifi cation signs, 6  loess, 7 
aeolian loess accumulation, 8  aeolian-deluvial loess accumulation, 9  deluvial-solifl uction, post-pedogenetic
processes, 10  erosional surfaces, 11  ice wedges, 12  fi ssures with primary mineral infi lling, 13  solif-
luction processes, 14  angular, unweathered limestone rubble, 15  rounded, chemically weathered limestone
rubble, 16  tundra, mosses, lichens, 17  steppe, meadows, 18  pioneer trees, 19  coniferous trees, 20  decid-
uous trees. Fauna composition, left column  species spectrum of mammals, right column  spectrum of rodent
individuals: 21  forest element, 22  steppe element, 23  tundra element, 24  eurytopic element. Settlement:
25  black fi gurines  cultural layers or artefacts in situ, open fi gurines  redeposited artefacts.
1 Transdisciplinary study as a source of information about the Palaeolithic oecumene in the peri- and meta-Carpathian zone of
Poland and Ukraine, Archaeologia Polona

Materials only for purposes of the conference
"European Middle Palaeolithic during MIS 8 - MIS 3".
Not for sale.
European Middle Palaeolithic during MIS 8 – MIS 3: cultures – environment – chronology94
both, fossilis and spelaea forms. The name was
fi rst proposed by Mr Alain Argant on 16th Cave
Bear Conference in Aze. After all author agree with
conception to use name Panthera spelaea interme-
dia Argant, 2010, as a third lion chronosubspecies,
typical for the Saalian period, with different body
size and different lion. This name is also propose for
the abundant lion remains from Biśnik Cave, which
was compared with remains of extinct lion from nu-
merous other localities.
Small mustelids in paleoecological
analysis - the state of research
Adrian Marciszak, Paweł Socha
Division of Palaeozoology, Department of Evolu onary
Biology and Ecology, Faculty of Biological Sciences,
University of Wrocław, Wroclaw, Poland.
e-mail: caspian8@wp.pl
Small mustelids, mainly weasels (Mustela
nivalis Linnaeus, 1766) and stoats (Mustela ermin-
ea Linnaeus, 1758), are extremely sensitive to the
pressure of climatic conditions. The most noticeable
is size variation, which is also well detect to focus
on fossil material. Using abundant and stratigraphi-
caly well-positioned fossil material from the Biśnik
Cave, we discuss the importance of these small car-
nivores in the palaeoecological analysis.
In analysis the lower carnassial (M1) crown
length as one of the best factors, strongly correlate
with body size is use. The estimated body mass,
using the surface of the lower carnassial is given
(the method of Legendre & Roth 1988 was used). In
general both species (weasel and stoat) do not fol-
low Bergman’s rule and the smallest specimens can
be found in the northernmost border of geograph-
ical range, while the largest live around the coasts
of Mediterranean Sea. The estimated size and body
mass was correlated with average, monthly ampli-
tude of temperature (which was using method given
by Hernandez Fernandez 2001). It were found big
differences between late Middle and Late Pleisto-
cene layers, as well as between single specimens.
The environments of the Crimea based on
small mammal data from Middle and Late
Palaeolithic sites
Anastasia Markova
Ins tute of Geography RAS, Moscow, Russia,
e-mail: amarkova@list.ru
The numerous Middle and Late Palaeolithic sites
were discovered in the Crimean Mountains. They
were investigated by the Ukrainian archeologists:
V. P. Chabai, A. I. Yevtushenko, Yu. E. Demidenko,
A. P. Veselsky, and others. Integrated geological, ge-
omorphological, palaeontological and geochronolog-
ical studies were performed on these sites. Several
thousands of small mammal remains were recovered
from seven multilayered sites in the Crimea, provid-
ing the basis for reconstructions of environments at
different stages of human occupation (fi g. 1).
The earliest fi nds of small mammal bones recov-
ered from the lower units of Middle Palaeolithic Ka-
bazi II site (units V-VI). These units were attributed
to Mikulino (=Eemian) interglacial (MIS 5e – d) on
the base of pollen and geological data (Gerasimenko,
2005; Chabai, 2004, 2005). Fourteen species of ro-
dents, insectivores and lagomorphs have been identi-
fi ed from these layers, including Crocidura leucodon,
Lepus sp., Spermophilus pygmaeus, Marmota bobac,
Spalax microphtalmus, Ellobius talpinus, Dryomys
nitedula, Apodemus fl avicollis, Cricetus migratorius,
Eolagurus luteus, Lagurus lagurus, Arvicola terres-
tris, Microtus (Stenocranius) gregalis, Microtus (Mi-
crotus) obscurus (Markova, 1999, 2005). This fauna
indicates the distribution of open steppe landscapes
on the plateaus and sunlit slopes of mountains alter-
nated with forest and bush biocoenoses on shaded
slopes and depressions during Mikulino interglacial.
The cold-adapted species are absent in this fauna.
More poor fauna were discovered from the depos-
its related to Early Valdai (MIS 5c-b), which were
described from Kabazi II site (units IV, III/8e, III/7,
III/6). Spermophilus pygmaeus, Allactaga major,
Ellobius talpinus, Eolagurus luteus, Lagurus lagu-
rus and Arvicola terrestris remains were found in
IV unit. These fauna is correlated with Brørup (=St.
Germain = Priluki) interstadial. Possibly this fauna
refl ects some cooling and increase in aridity.
The faunas found in units III/8e, III/7 and III/6 of
Kabazi II are rather poor and includes only steppe-
like animals and seemingly belonged to MIS 4 (ear-
lier stage of the Valdai = Weichselian).
Several Crimean sites (Chokurcha I, layer IV and
Starosele, horizons 3 and 4) referred to the begin-
ning of megainterstadial of last glaciation, to the
fi rst part of MIS 3 (Chabai, 2004). Small mammal
faunas include animals typical of open steppe land-
scapes (Markova, 2004a).
Several more late faunas (Kabazi V, III/5 and
III/4; Starosele, 1 and 2; Karabi Tamchin, III) are
correlated by radiocarbon dates with Hengelo in-
terstadial (Chabai 2008a, b, Yevtushenko 1998a, b).
The core of these faunas includes the steppe-like
animals. Some forest-adapted rodents and insecti-
vores were found also (Apodemus fl avicollis, Talpa
sp., Sorex araneus) (Markova 1999, 2004b, 2007). It
seems likely that the Hengelo interstadial warm cli-
mate infl uenced on wider distribution of forested and
bush areas.

Materials only for purposes of the conference
"European Middle Palaeolithic during MIS 8 - MIS 3".
Not for sale.
Book of Abstracts 95
By archaeological and geological data Kabazi V,
III/3 and III/2, and Buran Kaya III, C cultural layers
were attributed to following stadial cooling. These
localities includes considerable number of species:
Spermophilus pygmaeus, Marmota bobac, Allactaga
major, Pygerethmus pumilio, Ellobius talpinus, Dry-
omys nitedula, Apodemus fl avicollis, Cricetus migra-
torius, Arvicola terrestris, Eolagurus luteus, Lagurus
lagurus, Microtus (Stenocranius) gregalis, Microtus
(Microtus) obscurus. The fauna is similar in species
composition to the previous units of Kabazi V. It in-
dicates the rather moderate climatic conditions of this
interval. Only the fauna recovered from Buran Kaya
III, C, includes exceptionally the species typical of
open landscapes (Markova, 2004c).
The fauna of Bryansk (=Denekamp) interstadi-
al (the very end of MIS 3, Early Upper Palaeolithic)
were described from Siuren I (Fb2, Ga, Gb1) and Bu-
ran Kaya III, unit B, sites (Demidenko, Otte, 2007,
Demidenko et al., 2012). The Siuren I cultural layers
include animals of open landscapes, as well as the
forest animals (Markova, 2012). Buran Kaya III, unit
B yielded no forest species. Steppe-like and even de-
sert-like animals were distinguished from this unit:
Spermophilus pygmaeus, Stylodipus telum, Allactaga
major, Cricetus cricetus, Eolagurus luteus, Microtus
obscurus (Markova, 2004c). The presence of thick-
tailed three-toed jerboa (Stylodipus telum) indicates
arid desert or semi-desert environments near the site,
which were distributed mostly likely on plateau.
Forest-adapted animals (Sorex araneus, Dryomys
nitedula) together with steppe-like small mammals
were distinguished from horizons II, III/1 of Kabazi
V site which are correlated also with Bryansk inter-
stadial. In common with other Crimean sites the fau-
na of the Kabazi V horizons related to the Bryansk
warming was dominated by Altaic vole Microtus ob-
scurus (Markova 2007). This animal prefers moder-
ately wet biotopes with well-developed grass stand.
The mosaic landscapes of the Crimean Mountains
permitted steppe and semi-desert animals to habituate
in the vicinity of forest and meadow species habitats.
Conclusions
All small mammal faunas of the Palaeolithic sites
in the Crimea lacks cold-adapted animals, such as
collared lemming, Siberian lemming, Arctic shrew.
Animals of open landscapes are the dominant
in all of the faunas. Some of them are distributed in
Crimean Mountains at present, but other disappeared
from the Crimea (Eolagurus luteus, Microtus grega-
lis, Stylodipus telum, Pygeretmus pumilio) (fi g. 2).
Only few forest mammals were distinguished
in the cultural layers of the Palaeolithic sites of the
Crimea. They were found in the faunas synchronous
to the Mikulino (Eemian) interglacial, to the Hengelo
and Denekamp interstadials. Their presence indicates
more humid environments during these warm inter-
vals. However there is no doubt that forest animals
persisted in the Crimea even during stadial coolings,
but reduced their ranges.
The Crimean small mammal diversity during Late
Pleistocene was very close to the present state, but
the species composition changed very strongly. Such
species as yellow steppe lemming, narrow skulled
vole, lesser fi ve-toed jerboa and thick-tailed three-
toed jerboa, mole rat, bobac marmot now are absent
in the Crimea.
The study of small mammals from the seven
Middle and Late Palaeolithic sites of the Crimea
allows the conclusion that this peninsula (island in
Fig. 1. The position of
Middle and Late
Palaeolithic sites
of the Crimea

Materials only for purposes of the conference
"European Middle Palaeolithic during MIS 8 - MIS 3".
Not for sale.
European Middle Palaeolithic during MIS 8 – MIS 3: cultures – environment – chronology96
the Mikulino Interglacial) was a refugee during Late
Pleistocene, including the time of last glaciation. It
could be explained by the geographical position of
the Crimea and stability of climate in this area. The
complete absence of cold-tolerant small mammals
suggests rather mild climatic conditions in the re-
gion. Such environments with high diversity of local
habitats were hospitable to mammals and also to Pal-
aeolithic humans.
Acknowlegments
I am very grateful to Victor Chabai, Alexander
Yevtushenko, Yury Demidenko and Constantine
Mikhailesku for their help in collecting of the small
mammals during the excavation of the Crimean Pa-
laeolithic sites and for the very useful discussion of
the results obtained. This study was supported by
RFBR grant No. 11-05-0031.
References
CHABAI V. P., 2004, The Middle Paleolithic of Crimea:
stratigraphy, chronology, typological variability & East-
ern European context, Simferopol. (in Russian).
CHABAI V. P., 2005, Kabazi II: stratigraphy and archae-
ological sequence, V. P. Chabai, J. Richter, Th. Uthmei-
er (eds), Kabazi II: Last Interglacial Occupation, Envi-
ronment & Subsistence. Palaeolithic sites of Crimea, 1,
Simferopol-Colonge, p. 1–24
CHABAI V. P., 2008a, Kabazi V in the context of the
Crimean Middle Palaeolithic. In: V. Chabai, J. Richter &
Th. Uthmeier (eds), Kabazi V: interstratifi cation of Mi-
coquian & Levallois-Mousterian camp sites, Palaeolith-
ic Sites of Crimea, Vol. 3, Part 2, Simferopol – Cologne,
p. 509–524.
CHABAI V. P., 2008b, Kabazi V, Unit IV: Western Crime-
an Mousterian [in:] V. P. Chabai, J. Richter & Th. Uth-
meier (eds), Kabazi V: interstratifi cation of Micoquian
& Levallois-Mousterian camp sites, Palaeolithic Sites of
Cr ime a, vol . 3, P ar t 2 , Si mfe ropol – Col og ne, p . 39 5– 426.
GERASIMENKO N. I., 2005, Vegetation evolution of Kabazi II
site, V. Chabai, J. Richter, Th. Uthmeier (eds), The Palaeo-
lithic Sites of Crimea , vol. 1. Sim feropol-Cologne, p. 89–95
DEMIDENKO YU. E., OTTE M., 2007, Siuren I (Crimea) as
a key site for Aurignacian industries of Krems-Dufour
type in Eastern Europe, From the Mediterranean basin
to the Portuguese Atlantic shore: Papers in Honor of An-
thony Marks , Faro, Un iversid ade do Algarve, p. 101–107.
DEMIDENKO YU. E., OTTE M., NOIRET P. (eds), 2012, Siuren
I Rock Shelter from late Middle Paleolithic in Crimea.
Etudes et Recherches Archeologigues de L’Universite de
Liege, Liege.
MARKOVA A. K., 1999, Small mammal fauna from Ka-
bazi II, Kabazi IV, and Starosele: paleoenvironments
and evolution, The Paleolithic of Crimea, II. The Mid-
dle Paleolithic of Western Crimea, vol. 2, V. P. Chabai,
K. Monigal (eds), ERAUL 87, Liege, p. 75–98
MARKOVA A. K., 2004a, Rodent (Rodentia) fauna from
the Chokurcha 1 Unit IV, The Middle Paleolithic and
Early Upper Paleolithic of Eastern Crimea, vol. 3, V. P.
Chabai, K. Monigal, A. E. Marks (eds), ERAUL 104,
Liege, p. 371–376.
MARKOVA A. K., 2004b, Rodent fauna from the Middle
Paleolithic site Karabi Tamchin, The Middle Paleolithic
and Early Upper Paleolithic of Eastern Crimea, vol. 3,
V. P. Chabai, K. Monigal, A. E. Marks (eds), ERAUL
104, Liege, p. 189–194.
MARKOVA A. K., 2004c, Small mammal fauna from
Buran-Kaya III, The Middle Paleolithic and Early Up-
per Paleolithic of Eastern Crimea V. 3, V. P. Chabai,
Fig. 2. The ecological futures of small mammal faunas from the Middle and Late Palaeolithic sites of the Crimea

Materials only for purposes of the conference
"European Middle Palaeolithic during MIS 8 - MIS 3".
Not for sale.
Book of Abstracts 97
K. Monigal & A. E. Marks (eds), ERAUL 104, Liege,
p. 35–48.
MARKOVA A. K., 2005, Small mammals from the Palae-
olithic site Kabazi II, Western Crimea, The Palaeolithic
Sites of Crimea, vol. 1, V. Chabai, J. Richter, Th. Uth-
meier (eds), Simferopol-Cologne p. 59–73.
MARKOVA A. K., 2007, Small mammal fauna from the
Middle Palaeolithic site Kabazi V. Palaeoenvironmen-
tal Reconstraction, Palaeolithic sites of Crimea. Vol. 3.
Part 1. Kabazi V: Interstratifi cation of Micoquian & Le-
vallois-Mousterian Camp Sites, V. Chabai, J. Richter, T.
Uthmeier (eds), Simferopol – Cologne, p. 69–88.
MARKOVA A. K., 2012, Small Mammal From Paleolith-
ic Site Siuren I, Siuren I Rock Shelter from late Mid-
dle Paleolithic in Crimea Y. E. Demidenko, M. Otte,
P. Noiret (eds), Etudes et Recherches Archeologigues de
L’Universite de Liege, Liege, p. 65–72.
YEVTUSHENKO A. I., 1998a, Kabazi V: introduction and
excavations, The Middle Paleolithic and Early Upper
Paleolithic of Eastern Crimea, vol. 1, A. E. Marks V. P.
Chabai (eds), ERAUL 84, Liege, p. 287–322.
YEVTUSHENKO A. I., 1998b, Kabazi V: assemblages from
selected levels, The Middle Paleolithic and Early Up-
per Paleolithic of Eastern Crimea, vol. 1, A. E. Marks,
V. P. Chabai (eds), ERAUL 84, Liege, p. 287–322.
Bank vole Myodes (=Clethrionomys)
glareolus (SCHREBER, 1780) – rare fossil in
the Croa an Late Pleistocene sediments
Jadranka Mauch Lenardić
Ins tute for Quaternary paleontology and geology Croa an
Academy of Sciences and Arts, Ante Kovačića 5, HR–10000
Zagreb, Croa a; e-mail: jml@hazu.hr
A small sample of 44 teeth of bank vole Myodes
(=Clethrionomys) glareolus (SCHREBER, 1780)
is presented. The fi ndings origin from four Late
Pleistocene Croatian localities (three Istrian and
one continental site). From the faunal „assemblag-
es“ only lower molars (M1, M2, and M3) have been
selected and morphometrically analysed. The most
abundant remains (33 teeth) are those from the Vin-
dija Cave (NW Croatia), layers/complexes I to B
(MIS 5 to MIS 1; dated at approximatelly 88 ka BP
to Holocene according to Wild et al. 2001), while
very small sample (8 molars) has been discovered
from the Romualdova pećina Cave (W Istria; lay-
er B – Postglacial according to Malez 1968). Only
one fragment of mandible with M1 and M2 has been
found in the fossil material from the Marlera I site
(S Istria; MIS 3 – 2; Mauch Lenardić 2005), and one
molar originates from the Ljubićeva pećina Cave (S
Istria; MIS 2-1 after Percan 2009). The fossil fi nds
of bank vole are very rare elements in the faunal
samples from all four localities, if taken into con-
sideration that several thousands of micromammal
specimens have been found and determined among
other faunal remains.
Short geological settings for each locality have
been presented, as well as morphometrical analyses
and descriptive statistics, and the results have been
compared with the data for the localities/samples
of the same age from the different European sites
(Slovenia, Austria, Poland, Bulgaria).
In the Vindija Cave sample, although it is such
small, the slightly increase of the molar length can
be observed from the older G (>42 – 27 ka BP; mean
value is 2,28 mm) to the younger E+F complex
(27 – 18,5 ka BP; mean value is 2,38 mm; Mauch Le-
nardić, 2005), while A/L indices show similar val-
ues (42,7). The M1 mean length value for the whole
Vindija Cave sample is the smallest (2,29 mm) in
comparison to mentioned European localities of the
same age or younger, and recent samples from Slo-
venia as well (Toškan 2002), but the A/L index is
higher (43,06). The most common is morphotype
B, while morphotypes C and D are less presented.
Six teeth from Romualdova pećina Cave have quite
high length mean value (2,58 mm), and the A/L in-
dex is higher (44,0) than in the previous site sample.
Morphotype D is the most common.
During longer periods of sedimentation in the
Vindija and Romualdova pećina Caves, the sur-
roundings of these sites were not covered by wood,
what the species like bank vole preferes, but more
open and grassy habitats existed. That is obvious
from the presence of other, more abundant vole/
small mammal species, which are indicators of
meadows or similiar environments, like Microtus ex
gr. arvalis/agrestis, Arvicola terrestris (both sites),
Marmota marmota (Vindija Cave), and Dinaromys
cf. bogdanovi (Romualdova pećina Cave), respec-
tively. Myodes glareolus is for the fi rst time deter-
mined from the Romualdova pećina and Ljubićeva
pećina Caves, and the both sites have been recently
sistematically excavated, thus it is to expect that the
future investigations of the small mammal remains
will give new fi ndings of the bank vole from the
Late Pleistocene layers of these Croatian localities.
References
MALEZ M., 1968, Tragovi paleolita u Romualdovoj pećini
kod Rovinja u Istri [Traces of Paleolithic in Romualdova
pećina Cave near Rovinj in Istria]. Arheološki radovi Ju-
goslavenske akademije znanosti i umjetnosti, 6, p. 7–26.
(in Croatian)
MAUCH L ENARDIĆ J., 2005, Metrijska i morfotipsk a analiza
z u ba g o r nj o pl e i st o c e ns k i h vo l u ha r i c a H r v a t sk e ( Me t r i ca l
and morphological analyses of the Late Pleistocene vole
teeth of Croatia). PhD Thesis, Natura l-matematics faculty,
University of Zagreb, (in Croatian with English abstract
and summary)
PERCAN T., 2009, Redni broj 175, Lokalitet: Ljubićeva
pećina [Number 175, Locality: Ljubićeva pećina Cave].

Materials only for purposes of the conference
"European Middle Palaeolithic during MIS 8 - MIS 3".
Not for sale.
European Middle Palaeolithic during MIS 8 – MIS 3: cultures – environment – chronology98
Hrvatski arheološki godišnjak, 6, p. 360–363, Zagreb.
(in Croatian)
TOŠKAN B., 2002, Dinamika v združbi malih sesalcev
(Insectivora, Chiroptera, Rodentia) in vrstni obrati
južno od alpske poledenitve v mlajšem pleistocenu in
starejšem holocenu. Master Thesis, Biotechnological
faculty, University of Ljubljana. (in Slovenian with Eng-
lish abstract and summary)
WILD E. M., PAU NOV IĆ M., R ABEDER G., STEFFAN I., STEIER P. ,
2001, Age determination of fossil bones from the Vin-
dija Neanderthal site in Croatia, Radiocarbon, 43/2B,
p. 1021–1028.
Avian remains in the Late Pleistocene
locali es in the Urals and Western Siberia
Aleksey Nekrasov
Ins tute of Plant and Animal Ecology, UB RAS
8 Marta Str. No. 202, 620144, Ekaterinburg, Russia
e-mail Nekrasov@ipae.uran.ru
Analysis of avian remains in the localities of dif-
ferent types in the Ural Mountains and West Siberian
plain is undertaken in the context of taphonomy
and paleoenvironmental reconstructions. Avian re-
mains are rare in the fl uvial localities of the West
Siberia but even the single specimens could be used
to refi ne paleoenvironmental interpretations. In the
caves of the Ural Mountains the avian remains are
more numerous. Accumulation of bird remains in
caves was the result of the activity of predators and
human, although the natural death was also the con-
tributing factor. Based on the bird remains in caves
we can reconstruct both the environmental condi-
tions and human activities.
Common Vole (Microtus arvalis) and Field
Vole (Microtus agresƟ s) in the Middle and
Late Pleistocene of Poland as indicators of
environmental and climate changes
Katarzyna Ochman, Adam Nadachowski
Ins tute of Systema cs and Evolu on of Animals, Polish
Academy of Sciences, Sławkowska Str. No. 17,
PL-31016 ,Kraków, Poland
e-mails: ochman@isez.pan.krakow.pl,
nadachowski@isez.pan.krakow.pl
In the Middle and Late Pleistocene of Poland
distinct changes in the structure of small mammal
assemblages took place due to environment and cli-
matic fl uctuations. It is also visible in changes of rela-
tive proportions of two vole species - the Common
Vole (Microtus arvalis) and the Field Vole (Microtus
agrestis), that at present live sympatrically in Central
Europe. They show signifi cant ecological differences
despite very similar morphology. The Common Vole
recently lives mostly in dry open grassy environ-
ments, whilst the Field Vole prefers distinctly more
humid areas with thicker plant cover. In the opinion
of most authors the fossil materials of these voles are
in most cases indistinguishable and often described
as a species group Microtus arvalis/agrestis. We de-
veloped a new statistical method of identifi cation of
these two species in the fossil record using only six
measurements on the grinding surface of fi rst low-
er molar (M1) tooth. Correct classifi cation of fossil
specimens based on discriminant function analysis
reaches about 97 %. Reconstruction of proportions
of the Common and Field voles in small mammal
assemblages, dated by different methods (e.g. AMS
14C), showed their response to the environment and
climatic fl uctuations from MIS 6 to MIS 1. Both of
the species are present during the whole considered
time span, but their proportions change signifi cant-
ly. The most abrupt changes took place during the
MIS 3. In cold and dry climatic phases of MIS 3
M. arvalis repeatedly prevails in fossil assemblag-
es. When the climate becomes milder, an increase
of M. agrestis remains is observed. The complete
conversion of domination structure takes place only
after the LGM and in Late Glacial, when Microtus
agrestis becomes the dominant species in sediments
(except Younger Dryas), and in younger part of the
Holocene when M. arvalis predominates due to sub-
stantial deforestation connected with human activity.
Preliminary results of use wear analyze of
fl int ar facts from the ‘Biśnik Cave’ site
Grzegorz Osipowicz
Ins tute of Archaeology, Nicolaus Copernicus University,
Szosa Bydgoska 44/48, PL-87100 Toruń, Poland
e-mails: grezegor@umk.pl
Use wear analysis of fl int artifacts from the Mid-
dle Stone Age sites (particularly the cave ones) are
very diffi cult. The artifacts identifi ed there, were
subject to a different kind of post-depositional pro-
cesses, which nature is unfortunately not clear for us
today. The results of its infl uence can be observed as
a different kind of surface destruction, with origin
typically abrasive (retouches, peckness, striations)
but also chemical (patinas, some polishes). Some-
times, these destructions completely cover or destroy
possible traces of use. Huge interpretative problems
can cause some of Middle Paleolithic fl int knapping
techniques, which used (together with post-depo-
sitional destructions), can create very similar traces
to visible on the tolls for hard materials works.
All these factors cause, that the results of use wear
analysis of fl int tools from Middle Paleolithic cave
sites should be treat very carefully. Similar situation

Materials only for purposes of the conference
"European Middle Palaeolithic during MIS 8 - MIS 3".
Not for sale.
Book of Abstracts 99
can be notice in Biśnik Cave. Until now, the use
wear analyze was performed on the 522 Middle
Paleolithic artifacts from the layers VIIa, VIII, IX,
XV, XVIII and IX on the site. As a result, 102 ar-
tifacts with traces of use or possible traces of use
was identifi ed. Preliminary results of these obser-
vation shows the poster. This presentation include
also some fi rst conclusions about manners of use of
some morphological tools from Biśnik Cave and the
correlation between some morphological forms and
their function.
Mammalian remains in their deposi onal
context in Middle Poland (MIS 7–11?)
Kamilla Pawłowska1, Piotr Czubla2
1 Ins tute of Geology, Adam Mickiewicz University, Maków
Polnych Str. No. 16, PL-61606, Poznań, Poland,
e-mail: koka@amu.edu.pl
2 Laboratory of Geology, Faculty of Geographical Sciences,
University of Łódź, Narutowicza Str. No. 88, PL-90139, Łódź,
Poland, e-mail: piczubla@geo.uni.lodz.pl
Mammalian remains were found in sandy-gravel
deposits (173 – 175 m a.s.l.) in the lower member of
the Chojny Formation in an open-cast mine at Beł-
chatów. We analyzed both the animal bones and the
sediments in which they were found.
The Bełchatów outcrop is situated inside the
Kleszczów Graben, which stretches E – W and is
fi lled with thick, mostly organic Miocene deposits
(lignite exploited in the Bełchatów and Szczerców
outcrops) and overlying clastic sediments (The
maximum thickness of Neogene and Quaternary
deposits is about 400 m – see Krzyszkowski 1995).
The Pleistocene sediments identifi ed within the Beł-
chatów outcrop can be subdivided into two struc-
tural stages—a lower, strongly deformed stage, and
an upper stage lying approximately horizontally.
The Chojny Formation (Brodzikowski 1982, 1987,
Goździk 1980, Krzyszkowski 1991) makes up the
lowest part of the undeformed structural unit. The
maximal thickness of the formation is about 30 m.
In the Chojny Formation, lower and upper members
with different spatial distributions can be distin-
guished. The animal bones were located in the lower
member, which contains clastic sediments that are
increasingly fi ner towards the top, and was recog-
nized by Krzyszkowski (1990) as having been de-
posited by a meandering stream. Not less than three
depositional cycles were identifi ed. These begin with
a basal gravel lag (lying approximately 165 m a.s.l.)
overlain by cross-bedded sand. The uppermost
part of this member consists of silt and sand with
isolated lenses and discontinuous thin beds of or-
ganic sediments. The lower member was deposited
in a 0,5 – 1 km wide linear depression incised by an
ancient river (Krzyszkowski 1991).
The Chojny Formation has been primarily dat-
ed as belonging to the Pilica Interstadial, lying be-
tween the older and younger Saalian. Recent inves-
tigations (Balwierz et al. 2006, 2008) suggest that
these deposits may be much older. In the same top-
ographic position, and in a similar geological sit-
uation in the Kleszczów Graben, organic deposits
of Masovian (Holsteinian) age were recognized.
A similar opinion was put forward by Baraniecka &
Sarnacka 1971 on the basis of boreholes.
The bone assemblage (NISP = 58) consists of the
remains of mammoths (Mammuthus trogonterii,
Mammuthus sp.), red deer (Cervus elaphus), and
reindeer (Rangifer tarandus). They represent both
cranial and postcranial parts. The minimum num-
ber of individuals (MNI) was determined based on
the minimum number of elements (MNE) of each
species. The age of bones will be determined us-
ing the uranium-lead method, but an analysis of the
context allows us to assume that they were found in
a secondary deposit, which means they have been
redeposited.
From the taphonomic point of view, the bone as-
semblage contains a record of its depositional his-
tory. The bones were transported a short distance,
as indicated by their surface condition and the na-
ture of these edges. Most of the elements are almost
completely preserved. Human and carnivore activi-
ty has been recorded.
References
BALWIERZ Z., GOŹDZIK J., MARCINIAK B., 2006, Palinolog-
iczne i diatomologiczne badania osadów interglacjału
mazowieckiego z odsłonięcia w kopalni Bełchatów, Prz.
Geol. 54 (1), Warszawa, p. 61– 67.
BALWIERZ Z., GOŹDZIK J., MARCINIAK B., 2008, Geneza
misy jeziornej i warunki środowiskowe akumulacji
limniczno-bagiennej w interglacjale mazowieckim w
rowie Kleszczowa (środkowa Polska), Biul. Państw. Inst.
Geol. 428, Warszawa, p. 3–22.
BARANIECKA M. D., SARNACKA Z., 1971, Stratygrafi a
czwartorzędu i paleogeografi a dorzecza Widawki. Biul.
Inst. Geol. 254, Warszawa, p. 157–270.
BRODZIKOWSKI K., 1982, Wykształcenie osadów fl uwi-
olimnicznych oraz fl uwialnych okresów międzylodow-
cowych, [in:] Baraniecka et al. (eds) Czwartorzęd rejonu
Bełchatowa, I Sympozjum, Kom. Bad. Czwart. PAN,
Wyd. Geol., Wrocław-Warszawa, p. 257–259.
BRODZIKOWSKI K., 1987, Charakterystyka oraz interpre-
tacja paleogeografi czna osadów formacji Chojny, [in:]
Baraniecka et al. (eds) Czwartorzęd rejonu Bełchatowa,
II Sympozjum, Kom. Bad. Czwart. PAN, Wyd. Geol.,
Wrocław-Warszawa, p. 47–62.
GOŹDZIK J., 1980, Zastosowanie morfoskopii i granifor-
mametrii do badań osadów w kopalni węgla brunatnego
”Bełchatów”, Studia Regionalne IV (IX), p. 101–114.

Materials only for purposes of the conference
"European Middle Palaeolithic during MIS 8 - MIS 3".
Not for sale.
European Middle Palaeolithic during MIS 8 – MIS 3: cultures – environment – chronology100
KRZYSZKOWSKI D., 1990, Litostratygrafi a osadów czwar-
torzędowych w rowie Kleszczowa, Geol. AGH 16,
p. 111–137.
KRZYSZKOWSKI D., 1991, Saalian sediments of the
Bełchatów outcrop, central Poland. Boreas 20, p. 29–46.
KRZYSZKOWSKI D., 1995, An outline of the Pleistocene
stratigraphy of the Kleszczów Graben, Bełchatów out-
crop, Central Poland. Quatern. Sc. Rev. 14, p. 61–83.
KRZYSZKOWSKI D., BRODZIKOWSK I K., 1987, Budowa ge-
ologiczna czwartorzędu w odkrywce KWB Bełchatów.
[in:] Przew. II Symp. „Czwartorzęd rejonu Bełchatowa”,
Bełchatów 1987, p. 7–20.
Archaeological sites of the Sü ő
Traver ne Complex (Hungary) and their
faunas
Piroska Pazonyi
MTA-MTM-ELTE Research Group for Paleontology, POB 137,
1431Budapest, Hungary, e-mail: pazonyi@nhmus.hu
The Süttő Travertine Complex was kno wn in the
geological literature as a series of paleontological
sites for more than a century ago. The town Süttő is
located in northern Hungary, about 60 km northwest
of Budapest, close to the right bank of the river Da-
nube (47º44.26' N, 18º26.87' E). Süttő is one of the
largest travertine occurrences of the Gerecse Hills.
The travertine covers an area of more than 1 km2.
The minimum age of the travertine is Late Pliocene
based on fossils like Anancus arvernensis and Ta-
pirus arvernensis found within the travertine cover
(Jánossy & Krolopp 1981). The eroded surface of
the travertine is covered by loose Upper Pleistocene
eolian sediments: Riss-Würmian loess and Holocene
top-soil. In the lower part of the loess section a reddish
palaeosol horizon can be found that developed dur-
ing the last interglacial (Pécsi et al. 1982; Novothny
et al. 2009, 2011).
The new researches indicated far younger, Midd-
le Pleistocene age in the case of travertine at Süttő.
Based on their uranium-series (230Th/234U) dating,
formation of travertine at Süttő was between 310 and
240 ka (Sierralta et al. 2010), but several sites’ fos-
sils indicate the older travertine occurrences in two
quarries (Pazonyi et al. 2012). In the last three years
several papers were published about the loess-pale-
osoil sequence at Süttő (Novothny et al. 2009, 2011).
They examined the loess deposits, which are up to
20 m thick, and contain two greyish, laminated ho-
rizons, three brownish steppelike soils and a thick
pedocomplex including a dark brown chernozem-
-like paleosoil and a reddish-brown paleosoil, in
many respects (Novothny et al. 2011).
Although there are some vertebrates in the tra-
vertine and one important site in the loess-paleosoil
sequence (Süttő 6), most of the vertebrate sites are
situated in fi ssures of the travertine. Beside vertebra-
te sites, two archeological sites also were described
from this area (Fleissig & Kormos, 1934).
Kormos and Kubacska found the fi rst human
traces at Süttő in 1926 (Kormos 1926; Fleissig &
Kormos 1934), further on Fleissig and Komos ex-
cavated at this place in 1932 (Fleissig & Kormos
1934). They found a paleolithic fi re pit in the road
cut of the way, which lead from Süttő to the quarries
(Süttő-Diósárok). In the 5 – 8 m high loess profi le in
the eastern side of the road cut, about 4 m deep from
the surface was found the fi re pit, which was 3–4 m
length. The thickest part of this one was 10–15 cm.
They found lot of charcoal and bone fragments from
the red burned loess. The most of charcoal rema-
ins were larch/spruce (Larix–Picea sp., 107 pcs.),
but they also found four pieces of Pinus sp., and
from these two are probably P. cembra (Vértes
1965). Typical loess mollusc fauna was also found
from surroundings of the site (Fleissig & Kormos
1934), but it wasn’t collected bed-by-bed, and its
stratigraphical position is uncleared. The fauna
probably represents MIS 2 (30 000 – 14 500 cal yr
BP), but the composition of the fl ora doesn’t allude
to this period, it denotes less continental conditions
(Vértes 1965).
Every silex fl akes were produced from gravels of
the Danube (mainly gray or reddish brown fi restones
and jaspers), but among these ones few were proces-
sed. However, the blades, end-scrapers and borers
one and all allude to the Magdalenian (Fleissig &
Kormos 1934). In Vértes’s opinion, among of the
ten silex fl akes, which are in collection of Hungari-
an National Museum, none of them is typical Upper
Paleolithic tool, they rather suggest to the tools from
Tata. His mind the fi ndings from Süttő-Diósárok are
Moustérian (Vértes 1965) was confi rmed by the later
researches.
Tata is an important middle Moustérian loca-
lity, which is connected with the Brørup interstadial
(MIS 5c), and it was described, than a warm and dry
period (Vértes, 1965). The site age, based on urani-
um series dates, is ~100 ka BP (Schwarcz & Skofl ek
1982). This data is well correlated the ages of a
dark brown chernozem-like paleosoil layer of the
loess-paleosoil sequence, which luminescence age is
93,7 ± 21,1 ka and which corresponds with MIS 5c
(Novothny et al. 2011). Based on their results of soil
micromorphology, it is a good marker of a warm, but
drier climate with steppe-like vegetation. This pale-
osoil layer also appeared in the site of Süttő 6 (2 – 3
layers), and based on the vertebrate and snail faunas
and their paleoecological investigations, the fauna of
layers well correlated with other fi ssure faunas (Süttő
3, 9 and 12/A) (Pazonyi et al., 2012). It may be
hypothesized, that the tools was collected from same
layer of loess-paleosoil sequence.

Materials only for purposes of the conference
"European Middle Palaeolithic during MIS 8 - MIS 3".
Not for sale.
Book of Abstracts 101
Another archeological site was found on the north-
ern wall of Diósvölgyi quarry, on the site Süttő 1.
The site was a shorter, lenghtwise fi ssure, which was
widen like an cavity. From this small cavity were
turned up artifi cal fractured bones (red deer, deer and
bovine bones and teeth, some bear (Ursus arctos)
teeth and turtle (Testudo suttoensis) remains). Part
of these bone fragments were worked by humans. In
the lowest layer of the cavity they found trace of a
paleolithic fi re pit, which was a 5 – 6 cm thick reddish
brown burned layer, with charcoal fragments and
black burned bones. The complete list of the verte-
brates is found in work of Fleissig & Kormos (1934).
From the layer of fi re pit, except the bear teeth
also were found long bone fragments of greater
(ruminants) vertebrates. Among these ones some
were adapted for tools or weapons by their shapes.
In turn, six pieces were traces of the human work.
They thought these fi nds belong to the Lower Pale-
olithic era, the Chelles Culture (Fleissig & Kormos
1934). Unfortunately these elaborated bones are
wanting. In Vértes’s opinion, these fi ndings perhaps
were antecedents of the Tata Culture (Vértes 1965).
Althought, in Jánossy’s opinion (Jánossy & Kro-
lopp 1981) Kormos collected the fauna of site Süttő 1
from two places, in my opinion the small mammal
and snail faunas probably weren’t mixed. The paleo-
ecological investigations indicated warm, humid cli-
mate and forest vegetation. We know a similar fauna
from Süttő (Süttő 7/L), which probably correlated
with MIS 5e (Pazonyi et al. 2012), so maybe site
Süttő 1 also connected with the Eemian interglacial
period. This result confi rms Vértes’s assumption.
References
FLEISSIG J. & KORMOS T., 1934, Die ältesten Menschenspu-
ren in Ungarn. Arbeiten des Archaeologischen Instituts
der Kön. Ung. Franz-Josef Universität in Szeged 9–10
(1–2), p. 16–29.
JÁNOSSY D. & KROLOPP E., 1981, Die pleistozänen Sch-
necken- und Vertebraten-Faunen von Süttő (Travertine,
Deckschichten und Spalten). Fragmenta Mineralogica et
Palaeontologica 10, p. 31–58.
KORMOS T., 1926, Die Fauna des Quellenkalk-Komplexes
von Süttő. Állattani Közlemények 22 (3–4), p. 248–253.
NOVOTH NY Á., FRECHEN M., HORVÁTH E., BRADÁK B.,
OCHES E. A., MCCOY W. D., STEVENS T., 2009, Lumines-
cence and amino acid racemization chronology of the
loess–paleosol sequence at Süttő, Hungary, Quaternary
International 198, p. 62–76.
NOVOTH NY Á., FRECHEN M., HORVÁTH E., WACHA L., ROLF C.,
2011. Investigating the penultimate and last glacial cycles
of the Sütto loess section (Hungary) using luminescence
dating, high-resolution grain size, and magnetic suscepti-
bility data. Quaternary International 234, p. 75–85.
PAZONYI P., KORDOS L., MAGYA RI E., MARINOVA E.,
FÜKŐH L., VENCZEL M., 2012, Palaeoecological and
stratigraphical studies of vertebrate faunas of the Süttő
Travertine Complex (Hungary), 15. Magyar Őslénytani
Vándorg yűlés 22, Uzsa (in Hungarian).
PÉCSI M., SCHEUER GY., SCHWEITZER F., 1982, Geomorp-
hological and chronological classifi cation of Hungarian
travertines. Quaternary Studies in Hungary. Geographi-
cal Research Institute of the Hungarian Academy of Sci-
ences, Budapest, p. 113–117.
SCHWARCZ H. P., SKOFLEK I., 1982, New dates for the Tata,
Hungary archaeological site, Nature 295, p. 590–591.
SIERRALTA, M., KELE, S., MELCHER, F., HAMBACH, U., REIN-
DERS, J., VA N G ELDERN, R. & FRECHEN, M., 2010, Chara cteri-
s at io n a nd Ur a ni um-se ri es dat i ng of Tr aver ti n e f ro m S üt -
tő i n H u ng a ry , Q u at e rn a r y I n te r na t io n al , 2 2 2, p. 178 –19 3.
VÉRTES L., 1965, Az őskőkor és az átmeneti kőkor emlé-
kei Magyarországon. Akadémiai Kiadó, Budapest.
Quaternary remains of reindeer from
the Biśnik Cave and other locali es from
Poland
Teresa Piskorska1, Krzysztof Stefaniak2
1 Division of Palaeozoology, Department of Evolu onary
Biology and Ecology, University of Wrocław, Sienkiewicza 21,
Wrocław 50-335, Poland, email: tpiskorska@gmail.com
2 Division of Palaeozoology, Department of Evolu onary
Biology and Ecology, University of Wrocław, Sienkiewicza 21,
Wrocław 50-335, Poland, email: stefanik@biol.uni.wroc.pl
The reindeer Rangifer tarandus Linnaeus, 1758
– the most common cervid in cave localities of Po-
land (Stefaniak et al. 2009, 2012 in press) – is the
most abundant cervid in the deposits of Biśnik Cave,
and is present in all the layers. The paper deals with
osteometric analysis of the reindeer remains from
Biśnik Cave against the background of the species’
variation in Eurasia. The results were compared with
materials from 23 localities in Poland (Stefaniak
et al. 2012 in press) and with literature data from
Upper Pleistocene of Poland and Eurasia
The results show that the Late Pleistocene rein-
der from the analysed localities was intermedi-
ate between the slender and smaller reindeer from
north-western Europe and the larger reindeer from
southern and eastern Europe. Some measurements
of post-cranial bones (width of distal epiphysis of
tibia, talus length, length of phalanges 1 and 2) of
the Middle Pleistocene reindeer from Biśnik Cave
reached greater values than those from the Upper
Pleistocene, and were similar to those from eastern
Eurasian sites (fi g. 1).
The tooth structure of the reindeer from the ana-
lysed caves indicates adaptation to life in a forest-tun-
dra – the wide molars making it possible to crush
and masticate the food may suggest hard food (e.g.
shrub twigs and some tree bark). Such food proba-
bly originated from shrub- or even tree-rich tundra.
During their migration, the reindeer herds may have
reached the zone of forest tundra where the conditions
made it possible to survive winter (Croitor 2010).

Materials only for purposes of the conference
"European Middle Palaeolithic during MIS 8 - MIS 3".
Not for sale.
European Middle Palaeolithic during MIS 8 – MIS 3: cultures – environment – chronology102
The reindeer remains from the analysed sites in
Poland represent mainly the tundra form of Ran-
gifer tarandus. The single specimens of antlers of
the forest form may have been brought by humans,
or represent single individuals of the forest ecotype
which wandered into the area during their seasonal
migrations. Most of the preserved antlers belonged
to females which is in agreement with the observa-
tions of other authors (Czyżewska & Usnarska 1980,
Stefaniak et al. 2012 in press)
The individual age of the reindeer remains was de-
termined based on the wear of crowns of the teeth. In-
dividuals of the age classes: 5 – 6 years and 6 – 7 years
prevailed in the Polish sites. There were no indivi-
duals below 2 years which may result from the poor
fossilisation potential of juvenile remains. The huge
mortality of the youngest age class is mainly caused
by predators; in most wild populations of the rein-
deer half of the young do not survive till the age of 6
months. In older age classes, besides predation, the
mortality results from higher reproductive costs of
the males and higher mortality of the females during
early winters (Leader-Williams 1988; Kojola 1991).
The reindeer was an important part of the diet
of humans inhabiting Biśnik Cave in the Middle
and Upper Pleistocene. Its remains were present
in settlement levels and bore traces of processing.
No doubt it was also prey of predators (cave hyena,
cave lion and others) as indicated by the traces of
digestion on its remains.
References
CROITOR R. V., 2010. The history of reindeer in the palae-
olithic Moldova. Stratum Plus, 1, p. 137–168.
CZYŻEWSKA T., USNARSKA K., 1980. Remains of the rein-
deer Rangifer tarandus (L.) from Raj Cave near Kielce
(Poland). Folia Quaternaria, 51, p. 17–30.
KOJOLA I., 1991. Infl uence on age on the reproductive
effort of male reindeer. Journal of Mammalog y, 72,
p. 208–210.
LEADER-WILLIAMS N., 1988, Reindeer in South Georgia,
Cambridge.
STEFANIAK K., NADACHOWSKI A., TOMEK T., SOCHA P.,
2009, Palaeontological studies in the Częstochowa up-
land [in:] Stefaniak K., Tyc A., Socha P. (eds), Karst of
the Częstochowa upland and of the eastern Sudetes: pa-
laeoenvironments and protection. Studies of the Facul-
ty of Earth Sciences, University of Silesia, Sosnowiec
– Wrocław., p. 85–191.
Stefaniak K., Piskorska T., Witkowska A., Wojtal P.,
2012. Morphometric variation of reindeer remains
(Rangifer tarandus Linnaeus, 1758) from Late Pleisto-
cene cave localities of Poland. Annales Societatis Ge-
ologorum Poloniae (in press).
New data on Szele an se lement in
Poland
Marta Połtowicz-Bobak, Dariusz Bobak, Janusz Ba-
dura, Zdzisław Jary, Agnieszka Wacnik, Katarzyna
Cywa
Ins tute of Archaeology, University of Rzeszów,
Hoff manowej Str. No. 8, PL-50016, Rzeszów, Poland,
e-mails: marta.pb@archeologia.rzeszow.pl, deni@lithics.eu
On this poster we would like to present new
informations concerning the Szeletian settlement in
Poland, focusing on sites located in polish part
of Moravian Gate. The results of excavations on
Fig. 1. Length of phalanx I of reindeer from Polish and other Eurasian sites

Materials only for purposes of the conference
"European Middle Palaeolithic during MIS 8 - MIS 3".
Not for sale.
Book of Abstracts 103
Lubotyń 11 site, which provided rich palaeoen-
vironmental, chronological and archaeological
record, will be accented.
Burshtyn: new Middle-Late
Pleistocene paleofaunis c site and its
palaeogeographic signifi cance
Bogdan Ridush
Deparment of Physical Geography and Natural
Management, Chernivtsi „Fed’kovych” Na onal University,
Kotsubynskogo Str. No. 2, 58012, Chernivtsi, Ukraine, e-mail:
ridush@yahoo.com
New Middle-Late Pleistocene paleofaunistic site
was discovered in upper part of the Dnister River
basin (Western Ukraine). The site is situated close
to Burshtyn City (Ivano-Frankivsk region). It is
associated with fl uvial deposits in the bottom of the
Gnyla Lypa River valley (left tributary of the Dnister
River). This part of the river valley is covered now
by the Burshtyn Lake, which is a reservoir of the
Burshtyn Thermal Power Station. A dredge is pump-
ing sand pulp from the bottom at the northern part
of lake for purpose of deepening the lake along with
developing of sand for industrial use. The sand pulp
contains numerous subfossil bones and bone frag-
ments of mammoth faunal assemblage, including
Mammuthus primigenius, Coelodonta antiquitatis,
Bison priscus, Equus cf. latipes, Cervus elaphus,
Rangifer tarandus, Megaloceros giganteus, Rupi-
capra rupicapra (?), Canis sp., Crocuta spelaea,
Homo sp., Pisces etc. Bones are of different stage
of fossilization, but most of them are strongly fos-
silized. Due to the fact that sand pulp passes a long
way (near 1 km) inside the steel tube, many bones
are strongly fragmented. Besides bone material, rare
Paleolithic tools from fl int, bone and antler material
were found. The faunal assemblage is characteristic
for the Late Pleistocene, but could exist also during
the fi nal stages of the Middle Pleistocene.
Geological section of Quaternary deposits of the
river valley bottom contain 4 – 5,5 m thick layer of
sandy and sandy-gravel deposits, bedded immedi-
ately on the parent-rock limestone. The pulp consists
mainly (up to 95 %) of white quartz sand, which orig-
inates from Neogene marine sands, with inclusions
of gravel of Neogene bioherm limestone, rare chert
concretions and very rare granite pebbles. Some
bones and mammoths teeth are very well rounded.
Both Neogene sands and bioherm limestone are bed-
ded upstream to the North. Recent palaeogeographic
maps show us the Holocene age of valley bottom
sediments. But the composition of sandy sediments
indicates their fl uvio-glacial origin. As well the fl at
bottom of the valley, reaching up to 2,5 km in width,
is disproportionately wide for such a small river.
The nearest source of fl uvial-glacial material,
dated by the Dnieper (Saalian) Glaciation, is situated
in the depression of Small Polissya, which is divided
from the Dnister R. basin by range of law biohermal
hills Holohory. During the glacier retreat this depres-
sion was the lake, fed by glacial runoff.
The character of river valley morphology and
compound of deposits suggest that sometimes the
lake level had been increased so much, that water
overfl owed the range Hologory via few spillways,
and the Gnyla Lypa River was one of them. In this
case the river valleys of other left tributaries of the
Dniester River, such as Strypa R., Zolota Lypa R.,
Svirzh R. and, probably, some other were developed
by fl uvio-glacial streams during the Dnieper (Saalian)
Glaciation. The mode of these streams remains un-
clear. It could be more or less regular and fl uent
discharge, or rised as periodical catastrophic fl ood.
A Lion-like Pantherine Cat and Woolly
Mammoths from Mousterian of Molo-
dova V Paleolithic Site (Dniester Basin):
Results of Detailed Morphological Study
Marina Sotnikova1, Irina Foronova2
1 Geological Ins tute of RAS, Pyzhevsky line 7,
Moscow, 119017, Russia, e-mail: sotnik@ginras.ru
2 Sobolev Ins tute of Geology and Mineralogy, SB of RAS,
pr. Ak. Kop uga 3, Novosibirsk, 63090, Russia,
e-mail: irina_foronova@mail.ru
The archeological site Molodova V is an extreme-
ly remarkable European Paleolithic locality situated
on the right bank of the Dniester River in the Cher-
novtsy region of Ukraine. Numerous cultural beds
and horizons associated with a thick loess-like loam
sequence with buried soils, cover the interval from
the Mousterian (Bed 12, 11 and 10) to Mesolithic in-
clusive (Chernysh 1987). The paleontological mate-
rial studied was derived from the most informative
Bed 11 that was accumulated in the severe climatic
conditions between the Brorup and Odderade inter-
stadials. This bed is overlain by the sediments with
the available 14C datings of over 40 300 BP (GrN
4017) and over 45 600 BP (LG-17) (Ivanova 1987).
Bed 11 contains the remains of a mammoth complex
members Mammuthus primigenius, Ursus arctos,
Panthera spelaea, Coelodonta antiquitatis, Equus
caballus, Bison priscus, Rangifer tarandus, and
Cervus elaphus. Small mammals are represented by
Dicrostonyx cf. torquatus, Lemmus (?) sp., Micro-
tus (Microtus) ex. gr. arvalis-agrestis, and Microtus
(Stenocranius) gregalis. The faunal composition
indicates the occurrence of vast open landscapes
and numerous fi ndings of collared lemming and
reindeer infers a very cold and dry climate during
the time of the bed accumulation (Alekseeva 1987).

Materials only for purposes of the conference
"European Middle Palaeolithic during MIS 8 - MIS 3".
Not for sale.
European Middle Palaeolithic during MIS 8 – MIS 3: cultures – environment – chronology104
The material presented in this paper is depo-
sited in the Geological Institute RAS collection
(GIN 4364). Since it is considerably informative
and well-stratifi ed, its detailed morphological anal-
ysis is interesting for understanding of the specia-
tion processes in separate groups in the transition
from the Middle to Late Pleistocene, as well as for
paleoecological reconstructions.
The large pantherine cat of the lion group is rep-
resented by associated two mandibular branches
with a half-destroyed right canine and the right and
left p4-m1 (GIN 4364/MV60-K8). Originally this
material was attributed to Panthera spelaea (Alek-
seeva, 1987). Recent analysis showed that the man-
dible from Molodovo V demonstrates most of fea-
tures of P. (L.) fossilis: a large size, high and mas-
sive mandibular body with deep, distinctly outlined
and highly positioned anterior part of the masseteric
fossa. As in P. (L.) fossilis the proportionally long p4
has a relatively short protoconid and strong anterior
cusp. The developed posterior cingular basin miss-
ing a distinct cingular cusp and the roots subequal
in size are also the characteristics of the forth lower
premolar. The length and width of a large lower ca-
nine (L/W=33.1/23.1 mm) are in a size limit given
by Argant (2010, fi g. 29) for canine of P. (L.) fossilis.
At the same time the check teeth of the lion from
Molodovo V are proportionally narrow, as in p4-m1
of P. (L.) spelaea.
Traditionally it is considered that P. (L.) fossi-
lis was distributed in Europe in the fi rst half of the
Middle Pleistocene (Argant et al., 2007). At the end
of the Middle Pleistocene at the Saalian–Eemian
boundary or in the Eemian the forms with “mixed”
characters of fossilis and spelaea appeared; from the
late Eemian only P. (L.) spelaea occurred in Europe
(Barycka 2008, Marciszak, Stefaniak 2010, Argant
2010). However, regarding the results of our anal-
ysis, we can state that the forms with predominant
characters of P. (L.) fossilis have continued to exist
in Europe at the beginning of the Weichselian. This
is confi rmed by the data of Altuna (1981) who de-
scribed a large fossil lion differing from the typical
last-glacial P. (L.) spelaea, from the most ancient
Würmian beds in the cave of Arrikrutz (Basken-
land, Spain). Indications of occurrence of atypical
forms of lion-like felids bearing characters of P. (L.)
fossilis and P. (L.) spelaea in the Austrian site Re-
polusthöhle (late Middle–Late Pleistocene age ac-
cording to Döppels et al. 2008) were also reported
by Schütt and Hemmer (1978), Marciszak and Ste-
faniak (2010), and by Sabol (2011).
The relationships between the European lions,
cave P. (L.) spelaea and steppe P. (L.) fossilis are not
fully elucidated. Most of scientists consider them
as chronosubspecies of P. spelaea (Barycka 2008,
Marciszak, Stefaniak 2010, Argant 2010) or P. leo
(Schütt, Hemmer, 1978). Meanwhile, Sotnikova
and Nikolsky (2006) based on the cranial charac-
ters believe that P. (L.) spelaea и P. (L.) fossilis are
different species and thus admit the possibility of
their parallel evolutin. Finally, Hankó and Korsós
(2007) inferred from cladistic analysis that P. (L.)
spelaea is not a direct descendant of P. (L.) fossilis,
but represents a separate more advanced lineage.
The latter data agree well with the scenario by Sabol
(2011), according to which in the Middle Pleisto-
cene (approximately in OIS 6) cave lions were sepa-
rated from ancient local populations of lion-like
felids that penetrated into the Alpine regions. Then
P. (L.) spelaea became widespread initially in the
mountain areas of Europe and in the late Pleisto-
cene throughout Eurasia. At the same time relict
populations of fossil steppe lions could have been
retained on the European plains by the last glacial
time, i.e. until the time of global distribution of cave
lions in Eurasia. This scenario is well supported by
morphological features and stratigraphic position of
the lion-like pantherine cat from Molodova V.
The greatest amount of bone remains in Bed 11
of the Molodovo V site belongs to mammoths. We
analyzed only the last generation of molars (M3),
which morphometric features are the most inform-
ative as to the taxonomic rank and ecological char-
acteristics of these animals. A set of 20 M3 is ho-
mogeneous and belongs to a mammoth form similar
to the early type of M. primigenius (classifi cation
by Vangengeim, 1961). The teeth described are
characterized by 23 – 24 plates; small crown width
ranging from 77,0 to 90,0 mm; plate frequency
on 100 mm of a crown is 7,5 – 8,0; average length
of one plate is 12,6 mm (from 11,5 to 13,2 mm);
average enamel thickness is 1.4 mm (from 1,0 to
1,5 mm). At the same time the teeth of Molodova
V are characterized by a peculiar combination of
features that was noted previously, but could not
fi nd an explanation of the researchers (Alekseeva,
1987). It lies in the fact that the plate frequency and
length values of these mammoths completely cor-
respond to the same parameters of the early forms
of M. primigenius. Whereas another important fea-
ture, the enamel thickness, is beyond its variability
in early mammoths and corresponds to the values of
a later form. Such “inconsistent” changes of these
two major teeth diagnostic characters (in contrast to
the traditional view of their dependent and gradual
change in the process of evolution) take place and
are periodically recorded in the mammoth lineage
during the whole period of its occurrence starting
with the most ancient forms.
The analysis of this material with the use of
multi-dimensional diagrams (models) of the varia-
bility of mammoth line elephants (Foronova, Zudin
1986, 1999, Foronova 2001, fi gs. 17–21, 26; 2007,

Materials only for purposes of the conference
"European Middle Palaeolithic during MIS 8 - MIS 3".
Not for sale.
Book of Abstracts 105
fi gs. 2–9, etc.) explains this discrepancy. Multi-di-
mensional diagrams (shown in the above publica-
tions) have been constructed in the coordinates of
enamel thickness and plate length/frequency using
several thousand of M3 derived from numerous
locations and archaeological sites in Europe and
Asia. In general, the diagrams illustrate a consid-
erable variability, directional selection and discrete
evolutionary processes in the mammoth lineage.
A complex structure of the lineage mainly consists
of the so-called thick- and thin-enamel adaptive
peaks (forms) considered as ecological adaptations.
The diagrams clearly show that during the exist-
ence of the lineage mostly the thin-enamel pheno-
type was repeatedly fi xed on by selection. In other
words, it have been just thin-enamel forms which at
the boundaries of Pleistocene major climatic turno-
vers to the cold and arid climate, could be pioneers
in settlement of new adaptive zones and provided
the advanced development of the mammoth lineage.
A peculiar combination of the plate length/fre-
quency and enamel thickness values noted above
was manifested in all thin-enamel forms in a rela-
tively widely spaced narrow plates in a crown due
to the increased interplate cement space. From the
morphofunctional point of view, this provided an
even more effective cutting and milling capability
(rasp effect) of the chewing surfaces of teeth of
mammoths adapted to severe environmental condi-
tions and dieting on rough vegetation.
Summarizing, we can say that according to com-
plex morphometric data on M3 and the results of
a detailed analysis of major characters in the con-
text of our method, the mammoths from Bed 11
of Molodova V are typical representatives of
thin-enamel members of Mammuthus. Previously
(Foronova 2001, 2007, fi gs. 2 – 9) using numerous
Eurasian material we have identifi ed and briefl y
described within this genus the four thin-enamel
forms of different taxonomic rank (mainly subspe-
cies) and preliminary names: I – Mammuthus sp.;
II – M. primigenius cf. fraasi; III – M. primigenius
ssp.; and IV – M. primigenus primigenius (fi g. 1).
Each of these forms, best adapted to the periglacial
environment of the Middle and Late Pleistocene,
had its own distribution area within Eurasia from
the extreme Northeast to Western Europe inclusive.
Mammoths of the Molodova V, according to the
plate frequency and enamel thickness reported by
Alekseeva (1987), were referred by us in the above
papers to form II (Foronova, 2001, 2007).
The current revision of the material and the in-
clusion of plate length values along with frequen-
cy values in our analysis, permitted the refi nement
of position of these mammoths in the evolutio-
nary sequence. In the diagram of variability of the
Fig. 1. Overlapping outlines of clusters, or “adaptive peaks’’ representing main phenotype stages of European, West-Si-
berian, and East-Siberian mammoths Mammuthus primigenus s. l. Coordinates: PL – plate length; E – enamel
thickness. Contours of regional ‘‘adaptive peaks’’: 1 (thin solid line) – Europe, 2 (thick solid line) – West Siberia,
and 3 (thin double line) – East Siberia. Cross marks: 4 – Mammuthus primigenus fraasi, the holotype, 5 – Mam-
muthus primigenus primigenius, the neotype a nd 6 – Mammuthus pr imigenius f rom archeologic al site Molodovo V.
Thin-enamel ‘‘groups of adaptive peaks’’ or forms are shaded; dots mark the centers of clusters or optimums
of stages. Roman numbers correspond to: I – Mammuthus sp. (E: 1,3 – 1,75 mm); II – M. primigenus cf. fraasi
(E: 1 – 1,5 mm); III – M. primigenus ssp. (E: 1,1 – 1,5 mm); IV – M. primigenus primigenius (E: 1,0 – 1,3 mm)

Materials only for purposes of the conference
"European Middle Palaeolithic during MIS 8 - MIS 3".
Not for sale.
European Middle Palaeolithic during MIS 8 – MIS 3: cultures – environment – chronology106
elephants of the mammoth lineage in Eurasia they
occupy an intermediate position between forms
II and III, or between the early and intermediate
forms of M. primigenius (after Vangengeim 1961),
and even correspond to a small separate adaptive
peak between them (fi g. 1). The early and inter-
mediate forms of mammoths occurred in the time
span from the terminal Saalian to the fi rst half of
the Weichselian/Wurm inclusive. Accordingly, the
mammoths of the Molodova V can be presumably
correlated with the beginning of Wurm. The ecolog-
ical confi nement of the mammoths described and
the relative geological age determined from their
position within the mammoth lineage (in accord-
ance with the M3 parameters), agree well with other
faunal and paleobotanical data, as well as with the
results of comprehensive studies of Bed 11 of the
Molodova V site (Ivanova 1987).
References
ALEKSEEVA L. I., 1987, Theriofauna of the multilayered
site Molodova V., [in:] Ivanova I. K., Tzeitlin S. M. (eds),
Multilayered Paleolithic Site Molodova V. The Stone
Age Men and Environment. For the XII Congress of IN-
QUA, ’’Nauka’’, Moscow, p. 153–162, (in Russian).
ALTU NA J., 1981, Fund eines Skeletts des Höhlenlöwen
(Panthera spelaea Goldfuss) in Arrikrutz, Baskenland.
Bonnerzoologische Beiträge 32 (1–2), p. 31–46.
ARGAN T A., 2010, Carnivores (Canidae, Felidae et Ur-
sidae) de Romain-la-Roche (Doubs, France) Revue de
Paléobiologie, Genève, 29 (2), p. 495–601.
ARGAN T A., JEANNET M., ARGANT J., ERBAJEVA M., 2007,
The big cats of the fossil site Château Breccia Northern
Section (Saône-et-Loire, Burgundy, France): stratigra-
phy, palaeoenvironment, ethology and biochronological
dating. Courier Forschunginstitut Senckenberg, Frank-
furt a. M., 259, p. 121–140.
BARYCKA E., 2008, Middle and Late Pleistocene Felidae
and Hyaenidae of Poland. Fauna Poloniae – Fauna Polski
2ns, Museum and Istitute of Zoology Polish Academy of
Science, Warszawa.
CHERNYSH A. P., 1987, The standard multilayered site
Molodova V. Arche ology, [in:] Ivanova I. K., Tzeitlin S. M.
(eds), Multilayered Paleolithic Site Molodova V. The
Stone Age Men and Environment. For the XII Congress
of INQUA, ’’Nauka’’, Moscow, p. 7–93 (in Russian).
DÖPPES D., KEMPE S., ROSENDAHL W., 2008, Dated Pale-
ontological cave sites of Central Europe from Late Mid-
dle Pleistocene to Upper Pleistocene (OIS 5 to OIS 8),
Quaternary International, 187, p. 97–104.
FORONOVA I. V., 2001, Quaternary Mammals of the
South-East of Western Siberia (Kuznetsk Basin): Phy-
logeny, Biostratigraphy, and Palaeoecology. Publishing
House of Siberan Branch, Russian Academy of Sciences,
GEO, Novosibirsk, (in Russian).
FORONOVA I. V., 2007, Thin-enamel dental specialization
in mammoth evolution: An example of direction selec-
tion, Quternary International, 169–170, p. 95–104.
FORONOVA I. V., ZUDIN A. N., 1986, A new approach to the
study of north Eurasian fossil elephants of the Archid-
iskodon–Mammuthus lineage, [in:] Arkhipov S. A. (ed.),
Biostratigraphy and Paleoclimates of the Pleistocene in
Siberia. Novosibirsk, p. 6–31, (in Russian).
FORONOVA I. V., ZUDIN A. N., 1999, The structure of the
lineage Archidiskodon–Mammuthus in Eurasia and pe-
culiarities of its evolution, [in:] Haynes G., Klimovicz J.,
Reumer J. W. F. (eds), Mammoths and the Mammoth
Fauna: Studies of Extinct Ecosystems. Proceedings of
the First International Mammoth Conference, Dein-
sea 9, Rotterdam, p. 103–118.
HANKÓ E., KORSÓS Z., 2007, A cladistic analysis of the
teeth and mandible morphological characters of Pleisto-
cene lions from Hungary, Állattani Közlemének, 92(1),
p. 39–51.
IVAN OVA I. K, 1987, Paleogeography and Paleoecology
of the environment of stone age men inhabitance in the
Middle Dniestr. Site of Molodova V, [in:] Ivanova I. K.,
Tzeitlin S. M. (eds), Multilayered Paleolithic Site Molo-
dova V. The Stone Age Men and Environment. For the
XII Congress of INQUA, ‘‘Nauka’’, Moscow, p. 94–123,
(in Russian).
MARCISZAK A., STEFANIAK K., 2010, Two forms of cave
lion: Middle Pleistocene Panthera spelaea fossilis Re-
ichenau, 1906 and Upper Pleistocene Panthera spelaea
spelaea Goldfuss, 1810 from the Biśnik Cave, Poland.,
Neues Jahrbuch für Geologie und Paläontologie Ab-
handlungen. 258(3), p. 339– 351.
SABOL M., 2011, Masters of the lost word: A hypothetical
look at the temporal and spatial distribution of lion-like
felids, Quaternaire, Hors-serie, 4, p. 229–236.
SCHÜTT, G., HEMMER, H., 1978, Zur Evolution des Löwen
(Panthera leo L.) im europäischen Pleistozän. Neues
Jahrbuch f ür Geologie und Paläontologie, Monatshefte, 4,
p. 228–255.
SOTNIKOVA M., NIKOLSKY P., 2006, Systematic position
of the cave lion Panthera spelaea (Goldfuss) based on
cranial and dental characters. Quaternary International
142–143, p. 218–228.
VANGENGEIM E. A., 1961, Paleontological Foundation
of the Anthropogene Stratigraphy of northeastern Si-
beria (on Mammals), Proceedings of Geological In-
stitute, Academy of Sciences of the USSR, Moscow,
(in Russian).
Middle Palaeolithic of Dniester valley and
Jura Ojcowska: compara ve aspects
Olexander Sytnyk
Ivan Krypyakevich Ins tute of Ukrainian Studies, Na onal
Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, Vinnichenka 24, Lviv,
Ukraine
In many ways the nature of Southern Poland
and Western Ukraine (Carpathian and Podillia) are
similar - the same rugged hilly surface nearby and
in the area of the Carpathian Mountains crossed by
small and large rivers and their valleys. In geomor-
phological aspect it was single periglacial region of
penultimate and last glacial.
However, there are signifi cant differences exist.
The main ones are: presence of broad and deep

Materials only for purposes of the conference
"European Middle Palaeolithic during MIS 8 - MIS 3".
Not for sale.
Book of Abstracts 107
canyon-like valley of Dniester (upper and middle
parts of this region) in Ukraine and numerous karst
caves of Jura Ojcowska in Poland. In addition, the
presence in Ukraine of rich deposits of high-quality
“Volhynian” or Turonian fl int, and in the middle part
of Dniester region – Cenomanian ones. In southern
Poland fl int deposits are mainly belong to Jurassic
and Cretaceous period, they are relatively poorer.
In southern Poland (Ojcow) were many lime-
stone caves with wide open entrances, while in
Ukraine (Carpathian region) gypsum caves with
narrow and dark entrances dominated.
Some paleogeographic features of Dniester val-
ley and Jura Ojcowska obviously left their mark on
the character of ancient culture in Middle Paleolith-
ic time.
1) Most of the settlement of the Dniester valley
is situated on open areas near the natural deposits of
fl int (Molodove I, V, Korman IV, Ketrosy, Pronya-
tyn, Yezupil, Ihrovytsya).
In Southern Poland, cave sites dominate (Wylotne,
Koziarnia, Cemna, Mamutova, Netopezhova, Bisnik).
2) On the open sites in valley of Dniester
Levalloise technique of producing without bifacial
products dominated with a numerous collections of
artifacts.
In the cave complexes of Jura Ojcowska non-Le-
valloise technique of stone-working dominated with
a signifi cant number of bifacial forms: prądniks,
knives of Wyljotne-type and others. Number of ma-
terials in caves is relatively small.
3) There are some exceptions to this rule - pres-
ence of certain Levalloise products in caves (Bisnik,
Temna), presence of Micoque products in open-area
sites (Zvolen in Poland Yezupil I, layer II in Western
Ukraine). But they are few.
4) Some consistent pattern can be seen – high-
lands with limestone caves and grottoes is associated
with Micoquian technique (Jura Ojcowska in Po-
land, but also caves in Crimea), and sites in wide
valleys near rivers with rich deposits of fl int – with
Levalloise technique.
Thus, the traditional culture of stone-working
formed under the infl uence of many factors, with
domination of natural ones.
These conditions determined strategy of process-
ing of stone raw-materials - expenditure Levalloise
technique of renewal - Micoque. Later, traditions of
Levalloise and Micoque moved to other ecosystems
and ecological niches. In some cases they preserved
and accustomed to the new conditions, in others -
transformed and changed.
Example of different paleogeomorphological
conditions of Dniester valley and Jura Ojcowska
shows formation and development of various tech-
niques of stone-working, refl ected by different tra-
ditional Middle Paleolithic cultures of Europe.
Levallois technology in Central Europe:
The ques on of emergence
Andrzej Wiśniewski
Ins tute of Archaeology, University of Wrocław,
Szewska Str. No. 48 50-139, Wrocław, Poland,
e-mail: andrzej.wisniewski@archeo.uni.wroc.pl
The paper concerns the problem of the emer-
gence of Levallois technology in Central Europe.
It is generally accepted that the Levallois appeared
above 8 – 7 MIS in this region. It remains an open
question whether this implementation had only one
or several independent sources. The new records
indicate rather polycentric than monocentric ori-
gin of the Levallois. In this context the recognition
of process of spreading the technology seems very
interesting. Given the fact that in the end of the
Middle Pleistocene the climatic as well as the
demographic condition especially in Central Europe
was unstable, we should expect that Levallois and
other technological systems must have appeared
many times possibly in different forms.
Characteriza on of Eemian deposits (MIS
5e) from Karymkary site (Low reaches of
Ob River, West Siberia) on the base of
sub-fossil insect data and its comparison
with synchronous European faunas
Evgeniy Zinovyev
Ins tute of Plant and Animal Ecology, UB of RAS,
8th March Str. No. 202, 620144, Ekaterinburg, Russia,
The description of sub-fossil insect fauna from
“Karymakary” site (62°03' N, 67°22' E), which has
t h e r m o l u m i n e s c e n c e d a t i n g a s 1 3 1 0 0 0 + 3 1 0 0 0 y r B P ;
the palynological and paleocarpological descriptions
of this site are known from the literature. Sub-fossil
insect data corresponds with the results of paleobo-
tanical analysis, this comparison show the synchro-
nism in the changes of insect faunas and plant as-
sociations while formation of Karymkary peat bog.
Insect faunas from this locality corresponds with
synchronous European insect faunas and show the
presence of some boreal species (Trechus secalis),
which did not found in the localities dated by other
periods (MIS 4–3) of the Late Pleistocene.

Materials only for purposes of the conference
"European Middle Palaeolithic during MIS 8 - MIS 3".
Not for sale.