TY - JOUR

T1 - The Middle Pleistocene tunnel valley at Schöningen as a Paleolithic archive

AU - Lang, Jörg

AU - Böhner, Utz

AU - Polom, Ulrich

AU - Serangeli, Jordi

AU - Winsemann, Jutta

N1 - Funding information: Financial support by the Niedersächsisches Ministerium für Wissenschaft und Kultur (MWK) is gratefully acknowledged (Project No. 51420035 and PRO Niedersachsen Project No. 11.2-76202-17-3/09 ). We would like to thank E.ON-Kraftwerke GmbH for permission to work on their property. Borehole data were generously provided by E.ON-Kraftwerke and the Niedersächsisches Landesamt für Bergbau, Energie und Geologie (LBEG). Fugro N.V. provided GeODin software for data management. W. Berkemer, N. Haycock, B. Köhler, M. Kursch, J. Lehmann, W. Mertens, and J. Neumann-Giesen are thanked for technical assistance and support in the field. M. Bagge, S. Cramm, E. Gro?mann, and W. Rode carried out the acquisition and processing of the seismic sections. F. Busch is thanked for GIS work. Many thanks are also due to N. Conard, C. Brandes, D. Steinmetz, and B. Urban for discussion. We appreciate constructive comments by Editor M. Teaford and the anonymous reviewers, which greatly helped to improve our manuscript.

PY - 2013/5/30

Y1 - 2013/5/30

N2 - Schöningen represents one of the key sites for Lower Paleolithic archaeology in central Europe, where a Middle to Late Pleistocene sedimentary succession, locally up to 45 m thick, has been preserved in an Elsterian tunnel valley. After deglaciation, the tunnel valley remained underfilled and provided the accommodation space for Holsteinian interglacial deposition and also kept the artifact-bearing strata below base level for subsequent erosion. The Holsteinian (MIS 9) succession consists of laterally and vertically stacked lacustrine delta systems, which were controlled by repeated lake-level changes. In the face of changing climatic and environmental conditions the long-lived interglacial lake provided an attractive site for animals and early humans. Artifacts were deposited on the subaerial delta plain and became embedded during lake-level rise. Although the area was considerably affected by erosion and glacitectonic deformation during the subsequent Saalian glaciation, the artifact-bearing Holsteinian strata were preserved in the deeper part of the tunnel valley.Tunnel valleys should be regarded as potential archives for interglacial deposits, which may contain important Paleolithic sites. Tunnel valleys may provide accommodation space and also have a high preservation potential. Interglacial lakes situated within underfilled tunnel valleys represented attractive sites for animals and early human hunter-gatherers.

AB - Schöningen represents one of the key sites for Lower Paleolithic archaeology in central Europe, where a Middle to Late Pleistocene sedimentary succession, locally up to 45 m thick, has been preserved in an Elsterian tunnel valley. After deglaciation, the tunnel valley remained underfilled and provided the accommodation space for Holsteinian interglacial deposition and also kept the artifact-bearing strata below base level for subsequent erosion. The Holsteinian (MIS 9) succession consists of laterally and vertically stacked lacustrine delta systems, which were controlled by repeated lake-level changes. In the face of changing climatic and environmental conditions the long-lived interglacial lake provided an attractive site for animals and early humans. Artifacts were deposited on the subaerial delta plain and became embedded during lake-level rise. Although the area was considerably affected by erosion and glacitectonic deformation during the subsequent Saalian glaciation, the artifact-bearing Holsteinian strata were preserved in the deeper part of the tunnel valley.Tunnel valleys should be regarded as potential archives for interglacial deposits, which may contain important Paleolithic sites. Tunnel valleys may provide accommodation space and also have a high preservation potential. Interglacial lakes situated within underfilled tunnel valleys represented attractive sites for animals and early human hunter-gatherers.

KW - Archaeological horizons

KW - Geoarchaeology

KW - Landscape evolution

UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84971554666&partnerID=8YFLogxK

U2 - 10.1016/j.jhevol.2015.02.004

DO - 10.1016/j.jhevol.2015.02.004

M3 - Article

C2 - 25747317

AN - SCOPUS:84971554666

VL - 89

SP - 18

EP - 26

JO - Journal of human evolution

JF - Journal of human evolution

SN - 0047-2484

ER -