| Summary: | The infill of the small rock shelter Abri 122, one of more than 100 caves from the Vârghiş Gorges, yielded numerous Middle Palaeolithic lithic elements. Large mammal fossil remains, some bearing cut marks, were also found at the site. The large mammal fauna included large bison or aurochs, and middle-sized ibex bovids, as well as large carnivores, such as the cave bear and the wolf. The age of the lowermost cultural layer, based on radiocarbon dating, was estimated to be older than 42 200 years calibrated BP, confirmed by biochronological analyses. Rodent teeth from a lower depth suggested an age around 30 000 years calibrated BP. Both age estimates fall within the late Weichselian, prior to the Last Glacial Maximum.Sediment screen-washing, from two depth intervals around the main cultural layer yielded numerous small vertebrate fossils. Herpetofaunal remains document the presence of fishes ?Salmonidae, anurans Rana temporaria, Hyla ex gr. arborea, snakes Natrix sp., Zamenis sp., and lizards Lacerta agilis, Lacerta viridis. Small mammals are also abundant and account for a diverse assemblage that included rodents Microtus arvalis, M. gregalis, Clethrionomys glareolus, Chionomys nivalis, Lagurus lagurus, Arvicola amphibius, Cricetulus migratorius, Cricetus cricetus, and one insectivore Sorex araneus. Fig. 1. Ecological affinities of small vertebrate taxa from the late Pleistocene of Abri 122 Middle Palaeolithic site, plotted against the present day landscape around the Vârghiş Gorges. Base map: Google Earth The microvertebrate assemblage includes taxa with diverse palaeoecological affinities, which help reconstruct the landscape present around the rock shelter used by Palaeolithic hunters Fig. 1. Some small vertebrates inhabited cold rocky habitats Chionomys nivalis, some prefered grasslands Lacerta agilis, Lacerta viridis, Microtus arvalis, Lagurus lagurus, Cricetus cricetus, while other lived in shrubberies and forests e.g. Clethrionomys glareolus, Sorex araneus, Hyla ex gr. arborea, Rana temporaria, in the ...
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