Evaluation of geochemical proxies and radiocarbon data from a loess record of the Upper Palaeolithic site Kammern-Grubgraben, Lower Austria

• Published in: E&G Quaternary Science Journal
• Main Authors: Reiss, Lilian, Stüwe, Christian, Einwögerer, Thomas, Händel, Marc, Maier, Andreas, Meng, Stefan, Pasda, Kerstin, Simon, Ulrich, Zolitschka, Bernd, Mayr, Christoph
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: 2022
• Subjects: ddc:550; Greenland; Tundra
• Online Access: https://opus4.kobv.de/opus4-fau/frontdoor/index/index/docId/23435; https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:bvb:29-opus4-234358; https://doi.org/10.5194/egqsj-71-23-2022; https://opus4.kobv.de/opus4-fau/files/23435/egqsj-71-23-2022.pdf

Two loess sections from the Upper Palaeolithic site of Kammern-Grubgraben (Lower Austria) were analysed to test geochemical proxies, as well as radiocarbon data of different components, for their reliability and consistency in an archaeological context. Only a reliable basal age (28.9–27.8 ka cal BP) was obtained from charcoal fragments derived from a tundra gley underlying the archaeological horizons and assigned to Greenland Interstadials 3 or 4. Grain size, organic and inorganic geochemistry, and stable isotopes of the fine organic fraction (δ13Corg) and of rhizoconcretions (δ13C, δ18O) were analysed to provide information on palaeoenvironmental conditions. Low-resolution geochemical and sedimentological analyses document a humidity-related variability, while δ13Corg values indicate predominant C3 vegetation. High-resolution elemental variations derived from X-ray fluorescence scanning exhibit increasing Ca and decreasing Fe and Ti values, indicating drier conditions towards the top. Secondary pedogenic carbonate concretions provide post-sedimentary (Holocene) ages and are not suitable for assessing climate and environmental changes for the Palaeolithic.