The Epigravettian of Kůlna Cave?

Abstract

Several archaeological artefacts from Kůlna Cave (Blansko disctrict, Czech Republic) date its settlement to the last 250 thousand years. The stratigraphy both inside the cave and at the entrance was complicated, so that macroscopically similar sediments may have comprised of Magdalenian, Gravettian, and Micoquian industries. The first radiocarbon dates surprisingly showed one Epigravettian date, obtained from an animal bone from layer 5, supposedly belonging to the Magdalenian. Also, a further series of dates from strictly controlled contexts (i.e., those definitely correlated with a single layer) showed interstratification of finds between layers. The question of whether there was indeed an Epigravettian settlement phase of the cave was tested with the analysis of butts of debitage, and preserved cores from layers 5 and 6, to specify the used knapping technology. It became clear that the used technology was uniform throughout Magdalenian layers 5 and 6, but spatial analysis of hearths and heated artefacts indicate these were likely to have been disturbed and may also include older material.