% IMPORTANT: The following is UTF-8 encoded. This means that in the presence
% of non-ASCII characters, it will not work with BibTeX 0.99 or older.
% Instead, you should use an up-to-date BibTeX implementation like “bibtex8” or
% “biber”.
@PHDTHESIS{Bsken:713554,
author = {Bösken, Janina Johanna},
othercontributors = {Lehmkuhl, Frank and Brückner, Helmut},
title = {{L}uminescence dating of eolian and fluvial archives in the
{M}iddle and {L}ower {D}anube catchment and the
paleoenvironmental implications},
school = {RWTH Aachen University},
type = {Dissertation},
address = {Aachen},
reportid = {RWTH-2018-01253},
pages = {1 Online-Ressource (xxi, 195 Seiten) : Illustrationen,
Karten},
year = {2017},
note = {Veröffentlicht auf dem Publikationsserver der RWTH Aachen
University; Dissertation, RWTH Aachen University, 2017},
abstract = {The presented doctoral dissertation uses luminescence
dating techniques to reconstruct the paleoenvironmental and
paleoclimatic conditions in the Middle and Lower Danube
catchments, especially during the period of anatomically
modern human emergence. It is embedded in the Collaborative
Research Center 806 "Our Way to Europe - Culture-Environment
Interaction and Human Mobility in the Late Quaternary". To
increase ones understanding of the environmental conditions
during the last 150 ka, four loess-paleosol sequences and
one fluvial section were investigated. The research area is
located at the junction of Atlantic, Mediterranean and
continental climatic regimes, which makes it sensitive to
climatic changes. Moreover, the geographical position
between Asia, Near East and Central Europe and the vast
river network connecting these regions, make the area a
favorable pathway for anatomically modern human migration.
The sediments of the five investigated sites cover various
time frames from the penultimate interglacial (MIS 7) to the
Holocene. The methodological approach focused on optically
stimulated luminescence dating, but for some of the sections
the geochronological methods were combined with physical,
biological, and geochemical proxy data to reconstruct the
paleoenvironmental conditions. In the Middle Danube Basin
three sites were investigated. The Ságvár loess-paleosol
sequence is located in the central basin and its sediments
accumulated during the last glacial maximum from
approximately 25 − 17 ka. The sequence can be correlated
to two Gravettian occupation layers. Paleoenvironmental
conditions changed from short grassland (25 − 24 ka), to a
mosaic of mammoth steppe, forest steppe, continental steppe,
and tundra (25 − 18 ka), towards continental grassland (<
18 ka). The data indicates that the Gravettian occupation
took place during a typically cold LGM phase. The
Bodrogkeresztúr loess-paleosol sequence is located in the
foothills of the Carpathians in the northern part of the
Middle Danube Basin. It is located in the vicinity of the
Gravettian Bodrogkeresztúr-Henye site. The chronological
data indicates rather high sediment accumulation rates, in
particular between 33.5 ± 2.5 and 28.0 ± 2.1 ka. Moreover,
generally more humid conditions during late MIS 3 and early
MIS 2 in comparison to other regions in the Carpathian Basin
were deduced. Nevertheless, two loess layers with high sand
abundance in the profile suggest colder and dryer conditions
with increased eolian dynamics during short periods within
MIS 2. The findings highlight the unique microclimatic
conditions at the foothills of the Carpathian Mountains,
which may have offered a favorable environment for Upper
Paleolithic populations. Another research site investigated
in the Middle Danube Basin is the Crvenka-At site. This site
contains fluvial sediments and Aurignacian artifacts.
Investigations here focused on the reconstruction of a
geochronology for the Early Upper Paleolithic occupation.
The Aurignacian artifacts were found in sediments with an
age between 33.9 ± 2.9 ka and 41.3 ± 3.6 ka. This age
range fits well to other dated Aurignacian findings in the
Banat region and points to a more widespread occurrence of
anatomically modern humans in the Banat region during this
time frame than previously thought. It demonstrates that not
only the upland regions, but also lowland areas were
attractive for early modern human occupation. Moving to the
southern part of the Middle Danube catchment, the Stalac
section was investigated. It is located in the interior of
the Central Balkan region, south of the typical loess
distribution, in a zone of paleoclimatic shifts between
continental and Mediterranean climate regimes. Detailed
investigations on the luminescence signal of a quartz
sample, which is unsuitable for dating, are presented. A
firm chronology framing the last two glacial cycles was
established using fine-grained polyminerals and the
post-infrared infrared stimulated luminescence (pIRIR)
protocol. The characteristics of the dated paleosols
indicate similar climatic conditions during the last
interstadial and interglacial phases, which were different
from the penultimate interglacial period. Finally, the
Urluia loess-paleosol sequence in the Lower Danube Basin was
investigated. This 16 m long sequence contains one paleosol
at the bottom of the profile and a vast accumulation of
loess above. The section was dated from 20.98 ± 1.6 ka to
144.9 ± 12.2 ka. While the chronology of the upper 7 m of
the section is supported by independent age control in form
of the Campanian Ignimbrite / Y-5 tephra, the lower part of
the sequence remains less well constrained. A rapid increase
in ages between ~7 and 9 m is followed by rather constant
ages > 130 ka in the lower 7 m of the profile. These ages
are in contrast with the expectation of a well developed MIS
5 paleosol in the lowermost part of the section. Several
hypothesis trying to explain these findings were explored,
but could not be solved satisfactorily.The doctoral
dissertation demonstrates that a detailed investigation is
necessary in order tobuild robust age models. For quartz
samples, the importance of preheat plateau and dose recovery
tests are pointed out. Some samples of Stalac and Urluia,
that have high equivalent doses, show falling preheat
plateaus, while the quartz samples of Crvenka-At are already
in saturation at very low doses. These findings indicate
that these samples cannot be dated reliably using the SAR
protocol. Most samples of this dissertation were dated with
the pIRIR protocol. The necessary first IR stimulation
temperature tests, dose recovery tests, fading experiments
and residual dose measurements are presented. It is
demonstrated that polymineral and kalifeldspar samples can
be dated with higher doses than quartz. However, it remains
unclear up to which dose range age estimates are reliable.
E.g. at Urluia, the lowermost samples approach saturation
even within the polymineral fraction and at Stalac the
lowermost two ages underestimate the accepted correlative
stratigraphy. Overall, this doctoral dissertation highlights
the importance of luminescence dating in paleoenvironmental
and geoarcheological studies. It demonstrates how the
combination of multiple proxy data enhances the
paleoenvironmental interpretations, and identifies remaining
challenges. The paleoclimatic dynamics in the research area
at the junction of Atlantic, Mediterranean and continental
climatic regimes are discussed. Finally, paleoenvironmental
conditions during phases of Upper Paleolithic occupation
were equally diverse highlighting anatomically modern
humans’ ability to adapt to changing paleoenvironments.},
cin = {551610 / 530000},
ddc = {620},
cid = {$I:(DE-82)551610_20140620$ / $I:(DE-82)530000_20140620$},
typ = {PUB:(DE-HGF)11},
doi = {10.18154/RWTH-2018-01253},
url = {https://publications.rwth-aachen.de/record/713554},
}
guest ::