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- Interpreting gaps: a geoarchaeological point of view on the Gravettian record of Ach and Lone valleys (Swabian Jura, SW Germany)Publication . Barbieri, Alvise; Bachofer, Felix; Schmaltz, Elmar M.; Leven, Carsten; Conard, Nicholas J.; Miller, Christopher E.Unlike other Upper Paleolithic industries, Gravettian assemblages from the Swabian Jura are documented solely in the Ach Valley (35-30 Kcal BP). On the other hand, traces of contemporaneous occupations in the nearby Lone Valley are sparse. It is debated whether this gap is due to a phase of human depopulation, or taphonomic issues related with landscape changes. In this paper we present ERT, EC-logging and GPR data showing that in both Ach and Lone valleys sediments and archaeological materials eroded from caves and deposited above river incisions after 37-32 Kcal BP. We argued that the rate of cave erosion was higher after phases of downcutting, when hillside erosion was more intensive. To investigate on the causes responsible for the dearth of Gravettian materials in the Lone Valley we test two alternative hypotheses: i) Gravettian humans occupied less intensively this part of the Swabian Jura. ii) Erosion of cave deposits did not occur at the same time in the two valleys. We conclude that the second hypothesis is most likely. Ages from the Lone Valley show increasing multimillennial gaps between 36 and 18 Kcal BP, while a similar gap is present in the Ach Valley between 28 and 16 Kcal BP. Based on geoarchaeological data from previous studies and presented in this paper, we interpreted these gaps in radiocarbon data as indicating of cave erosion. Furthermore, we argued that the time difference across the two valleys show that the erosion of cave deposits began and terminated earlier in the Lone Valley, resulting in a more intensive removal of Gravettian-aged deposits. The hypothesis that cave erosion was triggered by regional landscape changes seems to be supported by geochronological data from the Danube Valley, which show that terrace formation at the end of the Pleistocene moved westwards throughout southern Germany with a time lag of few millennia.
- Hunter-gatherer environments at the Late Pleistocene sites of Mwanganda's Village and Bruce, northern MalawiPublication . Schilt, Flora; Miller, Christopher E.; Wright, David K.; Mentzer, Susan M.; Mercader, Julio; Moss, Patrick; Choi, Jeong-Heon; Siljedal, Gunnar; Clarke, Siobhán; Mwambwiga, Aloyce; Thomas, Kelly; Barbieri, Alvise; Kaliba, Potiphar; Gomani-Chindebvu, Elizabeth; Thompson, Jessica C.Mwanganda's Village (MGD) and Bruce (BRU) are two open-air site complexes in northern Malawi with deposits dating to between 15 and 58 thousand years ago (ka) and containing Middle Stone Age (MSA) lithic assemblages. The sites have been known since 1966 and 1965, respectively, but lacked chronometric and site formation data necessary for their interpretation. The area hosts a rich stone artifact record, eroding from and found within alluvial fan deposits exhibiting poor preservation of organic materials. Although this generally limits opportunities for site-based environmental reconstructions, MGD and BRU are located at the distal margins of the alluvial fan, where lacustrine lagoonal deposits were overprinted by a calcrete paleosol. This has created locally improved organic preservation and allowed us to obtain ecological data from pollen, phytoliths, and pedogenic carbonates, producing a regional-to site-scale environmental context for periods of site use and abandonment. Here, we integrate the ecological data into a detailed site formation history, based on field observations and micromorphology, supplemented by cathodoluminescence microscopy and mu-XRF. By comparing local, on-site environmental proxies with more regional indicators, we can better evaluate how MSA hunter-gatherers made decisions about the use of resources across the landscape. Our data indicate that while tree cover similar to modern miombo woodland and evergreen gallery forest prevailed at most times, MSA hunter-gatherers chose more locally open environments for activities that resulted in a lithic artifact record at multiple locations between 51 and 15 ka.(C) 2022 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.