Holocene climate change and prehistoric settlement in the lower Danube valley

An analysis of the summed probability distributions of 293 radiocarbon dates from Late Glacial to mid-Holocene sites in the Danubian Iron Gates highlights the existence of well-marked 14C discontinuities at c. 9.5–9.0 ka, 8.65–8.0 ka and after 7.8 ka cal BP. These coincide with climate anomalies rec...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Quaternary International
Main Authors: Bonsall, C., Macklin, M.G., Boroneanţ, A., Pickard, C., Bartosiewicz, L., Cook, G.T., Higham, T.F.G.
Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
Language:English
Published: Elsevier Ltd and INQUA 2015
Subjects:
Greenland
Greenland ice cores
Online Access:http://eprints.gla.ac.uk/104461/
http://eprints.gla.ac.uk/104461/1/104461.pdf
Description
Summary:An analysis of the summed probability distributions of 293 radiocarbon dates from Late Glacial to mid-Holocene sites in the Danubian Iron Gates highlights the existence of well-marked 14C discontinuities at c. 9.5–9.0 ka, 8.65–8.0 ka and after 7.8 ka cal BP. These coincide with climate anomalies recorded in Greenland ice cores and palaeoclimate archives from the Danube catchment. Four possible explanations are considered: dwindling fish resources, changes in the social environment, flood-induced settlement relocations, and taphonomic effects. On present evidence, the last two factors are thought to be the most likely cause of the discontinuities observed in the Iron Gates Mesolithic–Early Neolithic radiocarbon record.

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