Speleothem-based chronology and environmental context of deposits from the Mishin Kamik Cave, NW Bulgaria - A contribution to the archaeological study of the Late Pleistocene human occupation in the Balkans

The Balkan Peninsula represents one of the most important human pathways into and out of Europe during the Pleistocene. Mishin Kamik cave, located in the karst region of Western Stara Planina, has a rich faunal content and shows promising features indicating a human occupation site with the discover...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of Quaternary Science
Main Authors: Verheyden, Sophie, Marinova, Elena, Ivanova, Stefanka, Burlet, Christian, Cheng, Hai, Edwards, Lawrence R., Goovaerts, Thomas, Gurova, Maria
Format: Report
Language:English
Published: WILEY 2021
Subjects:
karst
Middle Palaeolithic
Neanderthal
MIS 6
speleothem
SEA-LEVEL
CLIMATE-CHANGE
ICE-SHEET
MIDDLE
EUROPE
GROWTH
BEAR
PALEOCLIMATE
OSCILLATIONS
STALAGMITES
Physical Geography
Geology
Geography
Physical
Geosciences
Multidisciplinary
Ice Sheet
Online Access:http://ir.ieecas.cn/handle/361006/16932
https://doi.org/10.1002/jqs.3364
Description
Summary:The Balkan Peninsula represents one of the most important human pathways into and out of Europe during the Pleistocene. Mishin Kamik cave, located in the karst region of Western Stara Planina, has a rich faunal content and shows promising features indicating a human occupation site with the discovery of potential bone artefacts and an intriguing accumulation of bear skulls and bones. Petrographic study and U-series dating of a stalagmite and other calcite deposits in the cave provide an absolute chronological frame for the detrital infillings and their archaeological content and inform the environmental and climatic context of the cave evolution. Most detrital deposits in the cave were probably deposited before Marine Isotope Stage (MIS) 5 and the cave morphology and sedimentary deposits display current morphologies since similar to 135 ka. Consequently, the palaeontological and archaeological findings are older than similar to 135 ka. Calcite dated on and under the accumulation of bear skulls and bones suggests deposition during MIS 7. A first depositional contextualization of the bone accumulation does not allow us to discriminate between a natural or anthropogenic origin. The study emphasizes the added value of speleothem studies in archaeological sites and particularly in bringing a well-constrained chronological and environmental framework. Copyright (c) 2021 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

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