Pub Date : 2026-01-22DOI: 10.1016/j.quascirev.2026.109810
György Lengyel , János Kovács , Bernadeta Kufel-Diakowska , Zsuzsa Lisztes-Szabó , Magdalena Moskal-del Hoyo , Gábor Újvári , Jarosław Wilczyński
The Gravettian site of Bodrogkeresztúr–Henye in northeastern Hungary has long been considered the oldest of its kind in the region. Fieldwork in 2019 revealed a stratigraphic succession spanning from the Late Aurignacian to the Late Gravettian. The Late Aurignacian component is represented by few artefacts and lacks archaeozoological remains, suggesting a short-term occupation, whereas the Late Gravettian yielded an abundant archaeological record indicative of a base camp within a highly mobile settlement system connected to Eastern Central (ECE) and Eastern Europe. The Late Aurignacian corresponds to a climatically milder phase, while the Late Gravettian is associated with colder conditions. The sequence is incomplete, lacking Early Gravettian and Pavlovian layers, comparable to Early–Middle Upper Palaeolithic sequences in Poland, Slovakia, and Hungary. These data suggest that the Early Gravettian in western ECE was contemporaneous with the Late Aurignacian in eastern ECE, and that eastern ECE experienced a brief human occupation hiatus during the Pavlovian. The Late Gravettian represents the Middle Upper Palaeolithic cultural that spread across Eastern Central and Eastern Europe with the onset of colder conditions at the MIS 3–2 transition, likely reflecting adaptive strategies to cold environments, including long-distance human mobility.
{"title":"The Early–Middle Upper Palaeolithic transition in Eastern Central Europe across MIS3–2 and the Bodrogkeresztúr–Henye site, NE Hungary","authors":"György Lengyel , János Kovács , Bernadeta Kufel-Diakowska , Zsuzsa Lisztes-Szabó , Magdalena Moskal-del Hoyo , Gábor Újvári , Jarosław Wilczyński","doi":"10.1016/j.quascirev.2026.109810","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.quascirev.2026.109810","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The Gravettian site of Bodrogkeresztúr–Henye in northeastern Hungary has long been considered the oldest of its kind in the region. Fieldwork in 2019 revealed a stratigraphic succession spanning from the Late Aurignacian to the Late Gravettian. The Late Aurignacian component is represented by few artefacts and lacks archaeozoological remains, suggesting a short-term occupation, whereas the Late Gravettian yielded an abundant archaeological record indicative of a base camp within a highly mobile settlement system connected to Eastern Central (ECE) and Eastern Europe. The Late Aurignacian corresponds to a climatically milder phase, while the Late Gravettian is associated with colder conditions. The sequence is incomplete, lacking Early Gravettian and Pavlovian layers, comparable to Early–Middle Upper Palaeolithic sequences in Poland, Slovakia, and Hungary. These data suggest that the Early Gravettian in western ECE was contemporaneous with the Late Aurignacian in eastern ECE, and that eastern ECE experienced a brief human occupation hiatus during the Pavlovian. The Late Gravettian represents the Middle Upper Palaeolithic cultural that spread across Eastern Central and Eastern Europe with the onset of colder conditions at the MIS 3–2 transition, likely reflecting adaptive strategies to cold environments, including long-distance human mobility.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":20926,"journal":{"name":"Quaternary Science Reviews","volume":"376 ","pages":"Article 109810"},"PeriodicalIF":3.3,"publicationDate":"2026-01-22","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146039884","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"地球科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2026-01-22DOI: 10.1016/j.quascirev.2025.109771
A.P. Palmer , J.M. Bendle , I.P. Matthews , A. MacLeod , R.A. Staff , P. Lincoln , W.Z. Hoek
Heinrich Stadial 1 (HS 1; 18-15 ka) was a climatically dynamic period during the Last Deglaciation, which is thought to have been driven by alterations in Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC), and which impacted terrestrial systems around the Northern Hemisphere. The event is usually divided into substages suggesting that conditions were not stable throughout the period. The middle- and high-latitude land masses adjacent to the North Atlantic were likely to have been most strongly impacted by such AMOC changes. However, very few records exist from these areas due to extensive ice cover which persisted over much of Europe and North America at this time, and because the impact of changing AMOC conditions on the melting ice masses and wider landscape is difficult to assess. This paper uses annually laminated lake-sediment cores from a glaciolacustrine system in South Wales to generate the first chronology of southern British Irish Ice Sheet (BIIS) deglaciation and associated environmental changes through HS 1. Microfacies analysis of two laminated core sections from Llangorse Lake yields a merged master varve chronology which spans 3506 ± 143 years. This chronology is tethered to an absolute age scale at the youngest point of the varve section using radiocarbon dates and extrapolating the Bayesian age model to date the onset and end of varve formation. The varve thickness data shows that an ice-dammed glacial lake formed circa 18.84 cal ka BP (20,034–17,648) and transitioned into a cold-climate lake system ∼18.75 cal ka BP (19,939–17,553). This later, nival lake persisted for ∼3400 years until ∼15.34 cal ka BP (16,207–14,463), spanning the period of HS 1, after which the lake transitioned to non-varved sediments. The LLaMVC21 varve thickness record is related to i) millennial scale transition from drier to wetter conditions during Heinrich Stadial 1, and ii) inter-annual to decadal variability in hydroclimate, with three multi-decadal periods of decreased varve thickness detected. The findings here supports a wetter late HS 1 with the timing of the change between drier and wetter conditions broadly consistent with more distant records in more northerly latitudes.
海因里希Stadial 1 （HS 1; 18-15 ka）是末次冰期的一个气候动力期，被认为是由大西洋经向翻转环流（AMOC）的变化所驱动的，并影响了北半球的陆地系统。这一事件通常分为几个阶段，表明整个时期的情况并不稳定。与北大西洋相邻的中纬度和高纬度陆地块可能受到这种AMOC变化的最强烈影响。然而，由于当时欧洲和北美大部分地区持续覆盖着广泛的冰层，这些地区的记录很少，而且AMOC条件的变化对融化的冰块和更广泛的景观的影响很难评估。本文利用南威尔士冰湖系统的年度层压湖泊沉积物岩心，生成了第一个通过HS 1的南英属爱尔兰冰盖（BIIS）消冰和相关环境变化的年表。通过对Llangorse湖两个层状岩心剖面的微相分析，得出了一个跨度为3506±143年的合并主控年代学。这一年代学通过放射性碳测年和外推贝叶斯年龄模型来确定瓣膜形成的开始和结束时间，并将其与瓣膜剖面最年轻点的绝对年龄尺度联系在一起。阀厚资料表明，约18.84 cal ka BP（20034 ~ 17648）形成一个冰坝冰湖，并在约18.75 cal ka BP（19939 ~ 17553）转变为一个寒冷气候湖泊系统。后来，湖泊持续了~ 3400年，直到~ 15.34 cal ka BP(16,207-14,463)，跨越了HS 1时期，之后湖泊转变为非分裂沉积物。LLaMVC21阀厚记录与1)Heinrich Stadial 1期间从干燥到湿润的千禧年尺度转变和2)水文气候的年际至年代际变化有关，其中有3个多年代际变化期阀厚下降。这里的发现支持了HS 1的湿润晚期，干旱和湿润条件之间变化的时间与更遥远的北纬地区的记录大体一致。
{"title":"A varve chronology for glacial retreat and hydroclimate changes during Heinrich Stadial 1 on the Northwest European margins","authors":"A.P. Palmer , J.M. Bendle , I.P. Matthews , A. MacLeod , R.A. Staff , P. Lincoln , W.Z. Hoek","doi":"10.1016/j.quascirev.2025.109771","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.quascirev.2025.109771","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Heinrich Stadial 1 (HS 1; 18-15 ka) was a climatically dynamic period during the Last Deglaciation, which is thought to have been driven by alterations in Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC), and which impacted terrestrial systems around the Northern Hemisphere. The event is usually divided into substages suggesting that conditions were not stable throughout the period. The middle- and high-latitude land masses adjacent to the North Atlantic were likely to have been most strongly impacted by such AMOC changes. However, very few records exist from these areas due to extensive ice cover which persisted over much of Europe and North America at this time, and because the impact of changing AMOC conditions on the melting ice masses and wider landscape is difficult to assess. This paper uses annually laminated lake-sediment cores from a glaciolacustrine system in South Wales to generate the first chronology of southern British Irish Ice Sheet (BIIS) deglaciation and associated environmental changes through HS 1. Microfacies analysis of two laminated core sections from Llangorse Lake yields a merged master varve chronology which spans 3506 ± 143 years. This chronology is tethered to an absolute age scale at the youngest point of the varve section using radiocarbon dates and extrapolating the Bayesian age model to date the onset and end of varve formation. The varve thickness data shows that an ice-dammed glacial lake formed circa 18.84 cal ka BP (20,034–17,648) and transitioned into a cold-climate lake system ∼18.75 cal ka BP (19,939–17,553). This later, nival lake persisted for ∼3400 years until ∼15.34 cal ka BP (16,207–14,463), spanning the period of HS 1, after which the lake transitioned to non-varved sediments. The LLaMVC21 varve thickness record is related to i) millennial scale transition from drier to wetter conditions during Heinrich Stadial 1, and ii) inter-annual to decadal variability in hydroclimate, with three multi-decadal periods of decreased varve thickness detected. The findings here supports a wetter late HS 1 with the timing of the change between drier and wetter conditions broadly consistent with more distant records in more northerly latitudes.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":20926,"journal":{"name":"Quaternary Science Reviews","volume":"376 ","pages":"Article 109771"},"PeriodicalIF":3.3,"publicationDate":"2026-01-22","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146039886","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"地球科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2026-01-22DOI: 10.1016/j.quascirev.2026.109820
Dongliang Ning , Xianqiang Meng , Qi Lin , Enfeng Liu , Zhenyu Ni , Weiwei Sun , Wenfang Zhang , Yao Wang , Rong Chen , Enlou Zhang
Climate change-induced algal blooms are increasingly threatening water resources in global temperate regions. However, the mechanisms underlying multi-forcing interaction remain controversial, largely due to the scarcity of reliable algal productivity proxies and a long-term perspective. Here, we quantified algae-sourced sediment organic matter as an indicator of lake primary productivity using Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR). A significant absorbance band around 1550 cm−1 in lake algae but absence in aquatic macrophyte and terrestrial plants guarantees the reliability of FTIR to separate the algal signal in lake sediments. On this basis, we reconstructed the Holocene trajectory of algal productivity in a remote crater lake, northeast China, and synthesized the regional Holocene algal productivity using Generalized Additive Models (GAM). The results indicated relatively high primary productivity during the mid-Holocene as well as some early and late episodes. Those periods of high productivity were synchronous with the changing pattern of regional precipitation. Our multivariate statistical modeling further revealed the dominant role of precipitation and the additive effects of temperature and dust deposition, underscoring the impact of precipitation-driven nutrient dynamics in stimulating algal blooms in a warming world.
{"title":"Precipitation dominates remote lake primary productivity: A Holocene perspective based on regional synthesis from northeastern Asia","authors":"Dongliang Ning , Xianqiang Meng , Qi Lin , Enfeng Liu , Zhenyu Ni , Weiwei Sun , Wenfang Zhang , Yao Wang , Rong Chen , Enlou Zhang","doi":"10.1016/j.quascirev.2026.109820","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.quascirev.2026.109820","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Climate change-induced algal blooms are increasingly threatening water resources in global temperate regions. However, the mechanisms underlying multi-forcing interaction remain controversial, largely due to the scarcity of reliable algal productivity proxies and a long-term perspective. Here, we quantified algae-sourced sediment organic matter as an indicator of lake primary productivity using Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR). A significant absorbance band around 1550 cm<sup>−1</sup> in lake algae but absence in aquatic macrophyte and terrestrial plants guarantees the reliability of FTIR to separate the algal signal in lake sediments. On this basis, we reconstructed the Holocene trajectory of algal productivity in a remote crater lake, northeast China, and synthesized the regional Holocene algal productivity using Generalized Additive Models (GAM). The results indicated relatively high primary productivity during the mid-Holocene as well as some early and late episodes. Those periods of high productivity were synchronous with the changing pattern of regional precipitation. Our multivariate statistical modeling further revealed the dominant role of precipitation and the additive effects of temperature and dust deposition, underscoring the impact of precipitation-driven nutrient dynamics in stimulating algal blooms in a warming world.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":20926,"journal":{"name":"Quaternary Science Reviews","volume":"376 ","pages":"Article 109820"},"PeriodicalIF":3.3,"publicationDate":"2026-01-22","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146039885","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"地球科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2026-01-21DOI: 10.1016/j.quascirev.2026.109799
Ramona Schneider , Ekaterina Kulakova , Bjarne Almqvist , Dominika Niezabitowska , Richard Leeding , Redzhep Kurbanov , Thomas Stevens
The last 1.2 million years have witnessed fundamental changes in global climate, including substantial intensification of global glaciations and a shift from obliquity-to eccentricity-paced glacial-interglacial cycles. However, the effect of these changes on prevailing wind direction and mineral dust transport pathways remains enigmatic. Here, we utilize anisotropy of magnetic susceptibility (AMS) of Tajik loess over the last 1.2 Ma to constrain past wind regimes in the Afghan-Tajik Basin of southern Central Asia. The area is located at the intersection of the Siberian High pressure system, the Mid-Latitude Westerlies, and the Indian Summer Monsoon, and acts as one of the largest dust-emitting regions globally. AMS measures the magnetic fabric of loess, a function of dust transporting wind directions and post-depositional processes, and here we apply the technique to three different loess-palaeosol sections on the Khovaling Loess Plateau, Tajikistan. In addition to constraining post depositional reworking, we show through comparison to modern modelled and observed wind regimes that AMS does indeed reflect the directions of dust-transporting winds that, while partly affected by meso-scale and local topography, are ultimately driven by regional wind systems. Our results demonstrate that the directions of these dust-transporting winds have remained stable for the last 1.2 million years. This remarkable resilience of the dust transporting wind regime suggests a stability of the wider synoptic wind field despite major global climate transitions and regional orogenic uplift.
{"title":"Stable dust-transporting winds in Central Asia over the last 1.2 million years","authors":"Ramona Schneider , Ekaterina Kulakova , Bjarne Almqvist , Dominika Niezabitowska , Richard Leeding , Redzhep Kurbanov , Thomas Stevens","doi":"10.1016/j.quascirev.2026.109799","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.quascirev.2026.109799","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The last 1.2 million years have witnessed fundamental changes in global climate, including substantial intensification of global glaciations and a shift from obliquity-to eccentricity-paced glacial-interglacial cycles. However, the effect of these changes on prevailing wind direction and mineral dust transport pathways remains enigmatic. Here, we utilize anisotropy of magnetic susceptibility (AMS) of Tajik loess over the last 1.2 Ma to constrain past wind regimes in the Afghan-Tajik Basin of southern Central Asia. The area is located at the intersection of the Siberian High pressure system, the Mid-Latitude Westerlies, and the Indian Summer Monsoon, and acts as one of the largest dust-emitting regions globally. AMS measures the magnetic fabric of loess, a function of dust transporting wind directions and post-depositional processes, and here we apply the technique to three different loess-palaeosol sections on the Khovaling Loess Plateau, Tajikistan. In addition to constraining post depositional reworking, we show through comparison to modern modelled and observed wind regimes that AMS does indeed reflect the directions of dust-transporting winds that, while partly affected by meso-scale and local topography, are ultimately driven by regional wind systems. Our results demonstrate that the directions of these dust-transporting winds have remained stable for the last 1.2 million years. This remarkable resilience of the dust transporting wind regime suggests a stability of the wider synoptic wind field despite major global climate transitions and regional orogenic uplift.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":20926,"journal":{"name":"Quaternary Science Reviews","volume":"376 ","pages":"Article 109799"},"PeriodicalIF":3.3,"publicationDate":"2026-01-21","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146039461","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"地球科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2026-01-21DOI: 10.1016/j.quascirev.2026.109809
Jinming Xie , Gang Hu , Liubing Xu , Shangzhe Zhou , Yanren Wang , Tinley Tsring , Huiying Wang , Ping Wang , Xiaoyan Yang
Archaeological evidence shows that high-elevation, deeply incised valleys of the southeastern Tibetan Plateau, despite geomorphic hazards and limited arable land, have supported widespread permanent human occupation since the Neolithic period, largely facilitated by the development of agriculture. To examine this adaptation, we reconstructed the latest Quaternary landscape evolution around the La phob archaeological site, the earliest known Neolithic settlement in Tibet (∼4800 cal BP), using OSL and 14C dating of fluvial, alluvial, and dammed-lake sediments. The site is situated on a debris-flow-dominated alluvial fan in the Bodui Zangbo River valley, southeastern Tibet. Our results reveal valley aggradation during the Last Glacial Maximum and last deglaciation, followed by incision and the formation of multi-level fill and cut-in-fill terraces in the early Holocene. At ∼4.8 ka, a debris-flow dam created a ∼11 km2 paleolake that persisted until ∼1.2 ka, depositing thick lacustrine sediments over pre-existing terraces. The paleolake would have provided a stable water source, and settlement and agriculture emerged adjacent to it. We propose that the site's location on an alluvial fan benefited from episodic debris flows that supplied fine-grained, fertile sediments suitable for cultivation, despite geomorphic instability. After dam collapse, populations likely migrated to lacustrine sediment-covered terraces, where fertile soils sustained continued agriculture. Integrated with regional evidence, our findings indicate that recurrent river-blocking events promoted valley widening through cycles of aggradation and incision. These geomorphic processes enhanced habitable and agricultural land availability and played a key role in shaping prehistoric settlement patterns and adaptive subsistence strategies on the Tibetan Plateau.
考古证据表明，青藏高原东南部高海拔、深切口的山谷，尽管地貌危险，可耕地有限，但自新石器时代以来，农业的发展在很大程度上促进了人类的广泛永久居住。为了研究这种适应性，我们利用OSL和14C测年技术对河流、冲积物和坝湖沉积物进行测年，重建了喇phob考古遗址周围最新的第四纪景观演变，喇phob考古遗址是西藏已知最早的新石器时代聚落（~ 4800 cal BP）。该遗址位于西藏东南部博堆藏布河谷以泥石流为主的冲积扇上。研究结果表明，末次盛冰期和末次消冰期为河谷淤积期，全新世早期为切口型梯田，形成多层次的充填梯田和充填梯田。在~ 4.8 ka，一个泥石流大坝形成了一个~ 11平方公里的古湖泊，该湖泊一直持续到~ 1.2 ka，在原有的阶地上沉积了厚厚的湖泊沉积物。古湖泊可能提供了稳定的水源，并在其附近出现了定居点和农业。我们认为，尽管地貌不稳定，但该遗址位于冲积扇上的位置受益于间歇性的泥石流，这些泥石流提供了适合耕种的细粒度、肥沃的沉积物。大坝倒塌后，人口可能迁移到湖泊沉积物覆盖的梯田，那里肥沃的土壤维持了农业的持续发展。结合区域证据，我们的研究结果表明，反复发生的河流阻塞事件通过淤积和切割循环促进了河谷的拓宽。这些地貌过程提高了可居住和农业用地的可获得性，并在形成青藏高原史前定居模式和适应性生存策略方面发挥了关键作用。
{"title":"Latest Quaternary landscape change and its influence on human activities in the Bodui Zangbo River valley, southeastern Tibet","authors":"Jinming Xie , Gang Hu , Liubing Xu , Shangzhe Zhou , Yanren Wang , Tinley Tsring , Huiying Wang , Ping Wang , Xiaoyan Yang","doi":"10.1016/j.quascirev.2026.109809","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.quascirev.2026.109809","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Archaeological evidence shows that high-elevation, deeply incised valleys of the southeastern Tibetan Plateau, despite geomorphic hazards and limited arable land, have supported widespread permanent human occupation since the Neolithic period, largely facilitated by the development of agriculture. To examine this adaptation, we reconstructed the latest Quaternary landscape evolution around the La phob archaeological site, the earliest known Neolithic settlement in Tibet (∼4800 cal BP), using OSL and <sup>14</sup>C dating of fluvial, alluvial, and dammed-lake sediments. The site is situated on a debris-flow-dominated alluvial fan in the Bodui Zangbo River valley, southeastern Tibet. Our results reveal valley aggradation during the Last Glacial Maximum and last deglaciation, followed by incision and the formation of multi-level fill and cut-in-fill terraces in the early Holocene. At ∼4.8 ka, a debris-flow dam created a ∼11 km<sup>2</sup> paleolake that persisted until ∼1.2 ka, depositing thick lacustrine sediments over pre-existing terraces. The paleolake would have provided a stable water source, and settlement and agriculture emerged adjacent to it. We propose that the site's location on an alluvial fan benefited from episodic debris flows that supplied fine-grained, fertile sediments suitable for cultivation, despite geomorphic instability. After dam collapse, populations likely migrated to lacustrine sediment-covered terraces, where fertile soils sustained continued agriculture. Integrated with regional evidence, our findings indicate that recurrent river-blocking events promoted valley widening through cycles of aggradation and incision. These geomorphic processes enhanced habitable and agricultural land availability and played a key role in shaping prehistoric settlement patterns and adaptive subsistence strategies on the Tibetan Plateau.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":20926,"journal":{"name":"Quaternary Science Reviews","volume":"376 ","pages":"Article 109809"},"PeriodicalIF":3.3,"publicationDate":"2026-01-21","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146039919","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"地球科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2026-01-20DOI: 10.1016/j.quascirev.2025.109778
Claudio Berto , Mateusz Baca , Helen Fewlass , Greta Brancaleoni , Hugues-Alexandre Blain , Angel Blanco-Lapaz , Barbara Bujalska , Maciej T. Krajcarz , Aleksandra Kropczyk , Adrian Marciszak , Magdalena Moskal del Hoyo , Andrea Pereswiet Soltan , Marcin Szymanek , Krzysztof Wertz , Aleksandra Żeromska , Małgorzata Kot
Łabajowa Cave, located in the Kraków-Częstochowa Upland (southern Poland), preserves a complex sedimentary sequence that documents environmental and depositional dynamics from the early Late Pleistocene to the Holocene. The cave's infill reflects a non-continuous, multi-phase sedimentary history shaped by both natural and potentially anthropogenic processes. Through an integrated multidisciplinary approach, combining micromorphology, radiocarbon and OSL dating, paleontology, anthracology, and ancient DNA studies on fossil voles, this study reconstructs the chronological, paleoenvironmental, and paleoclimatic framework of the site. The stratigraphic sequence reveals alternating phases of slow accumulation, erosion, and redeposition, with weak anthropogenic inputs in the lower units. Faunal assemblages dominated by small mammals, birds, and molluscs reflect significant climatic oscillations between Marine Isotope Stage (MIS) 5 and MIS 2/1, with shifts from mainly temperate to cold-adapted taxa. The presence of charcoal may also indicate episodic fire activity, probably of natural origin. The stratigraphic complexity of Łabajowa Cave provides a valuable record for reconstructing the interactions between sedimentary dynamics, climate variability, and faunal changes during the Late Pleistocene in Central Europe.
{"title":"Chronological, paleoclimatic, and paleoenvironmental data from Łabajowa Cave (Kraków-Częstochowa Upland, Poland): a comprehensive approach for investigating a complex Late Pleistocene sequence","authors":"Claudio Berto , Mateusz Baca , Helen Fewlass , Greta Brancaleoni , Hugues-Alexandre Blain , Angel Blanco-Lapaz , Barbara Bujalska , Maciej T. Krajcarz , Aleksandra Kropczyk , Adrian Marciszak , Magdalena Moskal del Hoyo , Andrea Pereswiet Soltan , Marcin Szymanek , Krzysztof Wertz , Aleksandra Żeromska , Małgorzata Kot","doi":"10.1016/j.quascirev.2025.109778","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.quascirev.2025.109778","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Łabajowa Cave, located in the Kraków-Częstochowa Upland (southern Poland), preserves a complex sedimentary sequence that documents environmental and depositional dynamics from the early Late Pleistocene to the Holocene. The cave's infill reflects a non-continuous, multi-phase sedimentary history shaped by both natural and potentially anthropogenic processes. Through an integrated multidisciplinary approach, combining micromorphology, radiocarbon and OSL dating, paleontology, anthracology, and ancient DNA studies on fossil voles, this study reconstructs the chronological, paleoenvironmental, and paleoclimatic framework of the site. The stratigraphic sequence reveals alternating phases of slow accumulation, erosion, and redeposition, with weak anthropogenic inputs in the lower units. Faunal assemblages dominated by small mammals, birds, and molluscs reflect significant climatic oscillations between Marine Isotope Stage (MIS) 5 and MIS 2/1, with shifts from mainly temperate to cold-adapted taxa. The presence of charcoal may also indicate episodic fire activity, probably of natural origin. The stratigraphic complexity of Łabajowa Cave provides a valuable record for reconstructing the interactions between sedimentary dynamics, climate variability, and faunal changes during the Late Pleistocene in Central Europe.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":20926,"journal":{"name":"Quaternary Science Reviews","volume":"376 ","pages":"Article 109778"},"PeriodicalIF":3.3,"publicationDate":"2026-01-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145996168","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"地球科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2026-01-19DOI: 10.1016/j.quascirev.2026.109808
F. Bulian , J. Sevink , L. Alessandri , A. Maurer , G. De Donno , V. Baiocchi , A. Guarnieri
Through an integrated geoarchaeological and palaeoenvironmental approach, we explored the origin, evolution, and anthropogenic modification of the Piscina Torta, a palaeochannel running across a beach ridge complex in the southern Tiber delta, from the inland Ostia palaeolagoon towards the sea. This channel was assumed to have played an important role in the activities at the connected Early Iron Age archaeological site of Piscina Torta, known for its salt production by briquetage. The research combines a range of methods and techniques: transect corings, high-resolution LiDAR mapping, electrical resistivity tomography (ERT), sedimentological and granulometric analyses, microfossil and plant macroremain studies, and AMS radiocarbon dating. These revealed that the base of the channel is in marine sands that form part of the early beach ridges in this area. Its fill consists of 1) highly calcareous marls that were deposited in a fresh water lake/lagoon, with a water level that ultimately reached to at least 1 m a.s.l. and dates from before the period in which the site was occupied (late 8th BCE); 2) peats formed over a long period (5th century BCE till modern times) and in an increasingly aquatic environment after the site was abandoned; 3) anthropogenically reworked sediments of modern age, containing abundant ancient ceramic fragments, likely consisting of surface materials, dumped to improve the drainage and trafficability of the area. During the late 8th to 6th century BCE, the marls in the central part of the channel were excavated, creating an anthropogenic channel (canal), which potentially had a connection with the sea in its lower, most seaward section of which the stratigraphy remained obscure, probably due to later coastal erosion. In the more inland section, which is situated within the large archaeological site, its base was distinctly above the contemporary sea level, implying that the channel/canal did not function as an open hydrological connection between the inland lagoon and the sea during the site’s occupation and more recent times. The period in which the site was occupied corresponds to significant socio-economic transformations in Central Italy and the emergence of Rome as a regional power. The study provides new insights into the interplay between coastal geomorphology, resource exploitation, and early state formation, emphasizing the role of environmental engineering in sustaining specialized production activities in dynamic coastal landscapes.
{"title":"Before Rome: Salt, settlement, and human–environment dynamics at the Early Iron Age site of Piscina Torta (Tyrrhenian coast)","authors":"F. Bulian , J. Sevink , L. Alessandri , A. Maurer , G. De Donno , V. Baiocchi , A. Guarnieri","doi":"10.1016/j.quascirev.2026.109808","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.quascirev.2026.109808","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Through an integrated geoarchaeological and palaeoenvironmental approach, we explored the origin, evolution, and anthropogenic modification of the Piscina Torta, a palaeochannel running across a beach ridge complex in the southern Tiber delta, from the inland Ostia palaeolagoon towards the sea. This channel was assumed to have played an important role in the activities at the connected Early Iron Age archaeological site of Piscina Torta, known for its salt production by briquetage. The research combines a range of methods and techniques: transect corings, high-resolution LiDAR mapping, electrical resistivity tomography (ERT), sedimentological and granulometric analyses, microfossil and plant macroremain studies, and AMS radiocarbon dating. These revealed that the base of the channel is in marine sands that form part of the early beach ridges in this area. Its fill consists of 1) highly calcareous marls that were deposited in a fresh water lake/lagoon, with a water level that ultimately reached to at least 1 m a.s.l. and dates from before the period in which the site was occupied (late 8th BCE); 2) peats formed over a long period (5th century BCE till modern times) and in an increasingly aquatic environment after the site was abandoned; 3) anthropogenically reworked sediments of modern age, containing abundant ancient ceramic fragments, likely consisting of surface materials, dumped to improve the drainage and trafficability of the area. During the late 8th to 6th century BCE, the marls in the central part of the channel were excavated, creating an anthropogenic channel (canal), which potentially had a connection with the sea in its lower, most seaward section of which the stratigraphy remained obscure, probably due to later coastal erosion. In the more inland section, which is situated within the large archaeological site, its base was distinctly above the contemporary sea level, implying that the channel/canal did not function as an open hydrological connection between the inland lagoon and the sea during the site’s occupation and more recent times. The period in which the site was occupied corresponds to significant socio-economic transformations in Central Italy and the emergence of Rome as a regional power. The study provides new insights into the interplay between coastal geomorphology, resource exploitation, and early state formation, emphasizing the role of environmental engineering in sustaining specialized production activities in dynamic coastal landscapes.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":20926,"journal":{"name":"Quaternary Science Reviews","volume":"375 ","pages":"Article 109808"},"PeriodicalIF":3.3,"publicationDate":"2026-01-19","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146038627","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"地球科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2026-01-18DOI: 10.1016/j.quascirev.2026.109811
Aleksandra Osika , Jacek Jania , Natalia Piotrowska , Dmitry Tikhomirov , Joanna Ewa Szafraniec , Dhanushka Devendra , Marcus Christl , Markus Egli , Andreas Vieli
Climate change affects the extent of glaciers in Svalbard, and warmer periods of the Holocene may serve as analogues for predicting their future decay. While the Holocene glacial history of central, western and northern Svalbard is relatively well-studied, knowledge of glacier fluctuations in southern Spitsbergen remains limited. We reconstruct the Holocene glacier dynamics in Hornsund and adjacent areas, using geomorphological, geochronological, and historical data. New and published radiocarbon (14C) and cosmogenic nuclide (10Be) dates were combined with historical maps dating back to the 1600s and photographs from 1872 to 1936. The ages of mollusc shells from till deposits and Little Ice Age (LIA) moraines suggest glacier retreat in the Early Holocene, enabling colonisation of glacier-free branches of Hornsund. During the first half of the Late Holocene, the extent of tidewater glaciers remained reduced compared to their LIA maxima. Their limited advance was likely constrained by increasing sea-surface temperatures and atmospheric warming between c. 2.2–1.8 and 1.5–0.7 cal ka BP. The maximum Late Holocene glacier extents were associated with surges, probably preceded by ice mass accumulation due to climatic cooling and increased precipitation. However, many surges may also have occurred under warmer conditions. Most glaciers in southern Spitsbergen are highly sensitive to climatic changes, both through mass balance and surging, due to their specific topographic settings (low-elevation, gently sloping, long, multi-branched glaciers with overdeepenings in the bedrock). The interaction between climate variability and glacier surging played a crucial role in glacier evolution throughout the Holocene.
气候变化影响了斯瓦尔巴群岛冰川的范围，全新世的温暖时期可以作为预测其未来衰退的类似物。虽然斯瓦尔巴中部、西部和北部的全新世冰川历史研究相对较好，但对斯匹次卑尔根南部冰川波动的了解仍然有限。我们利用地貌、地质年代学和历史资料重建了霍恩松德及其邻近地区的全新世冰川动态。新的和公布的放射性碳（14C）和宇宙核素（10Be）日期与可追溯到17世纪的历史地图和1872年至1936年的照片相结合。从沉积物和小冰河期冰碛中发现的软体动物壳的年代表明，全新世早期冰川退缩，使霍恩松岛无冰川分支得以殖民。在晚全新世的前半期，潮汐冰川的范围与它们的LIA最大值相比仍然缩小。它们有限的进展可能受到海面温度升高和大气变暖的限制，温度升高介于2.2-1.8和1.5-0.7 cal ka BP之间。最大的晚全新世冰川范围与涌浪有关，可能在此之前，由于气候变冷和降水增加，冰块积累。然而，许多波浪也可能发生在较温暖的条件下。斯匹次卑尔根南部的大多数冰川由于其特殊的地形环境（低海拔、缓坡、长、多分支的冰川，基岩过深），对气候变化高度敏感，既通过物质平衡，也通过汹涌而来。气候变率与冰川涌动之间的相互作用在整个全新世的冰川演化中起着至关重要的作用。
{"title":"Holocene glacial history of southern Spitsbergen","authors":"Aleksandra Osika , Jacek Jania , Natalia Piotrowska , Dmitry Tikhomirov , Joanna Ewa Szafraniec , Dhanushka Devendra , Marcus Christl , Markus Egli , Andreas Vieli","doi":"10.1016/j.quascirev.2026.109811","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.quascirev.2026.109811","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Climate change affects the extent of glaciers in Svalbard, and warmer periods of the Holocene may serve as analogues for predicting their future decay. While the Holocene glacial history of central, western and northern Svalbard is relatively well-studied, knowledge of glacier fluctuations in southern Spitsbergen remains limited. We reconstruct the Holocene glacier dynamics in Hornsund and adjacent areas, using geomorphological, geochronological, and historical data. New and published radiocarbon (<sup>14</sup>C) and cosmogenic nuclide (<sup>10</sup>Be) dates were combined with historical maps dating back to the 1600s and photographs from 1872 to 1936. The ages of mollusc shells from till deposits and Little Ice Age (LIA) moraines suggest glacier retreat in the Early Holocene, enabling colonisation of glacier-free branches of Hornsund. During the first half of the Late Holocene, the extent of tidewater glaciers remained reduced compared to their LIA maxima. Their limited advance was likely constrained by increasing sea-surface temperatures and atmospheric warming between c. 2.2–1.8 and 1.5–0.7 cal ka BP. The maximum Late Holocene glacier extents were associated with surges, probably preceded by ice mass accumulation due to climatic cooling and increased precipitation. However, many surges may also have occurred under warmer conditions. Most glaciers in southern Spitsbergen are highly sensitive to climatic changes, both through mass balance and surging, due to their specific topographic settings (low-elevation, gently sloping, long, multi-branched glaciers with overdeepenings in the bedrock). The interaction between climate variability and glacier surging played a crucial role in glacier evolution throughout the Holocene.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":20926,"journal":{"name":"Quaternary Science Reviews","volume":"375 ","pages":"Article 109811"},"PeriodicalIF":3.3,"publicationDate":"2026-01-18","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146038626","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"地球科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2026-01-14DOI: 10.1016/j.quascirev.2025.109769
S. Dean , N. Georgiou , R. Poirier , W.R. Doar III , D. Brill , D. Chauveau , C. Cerrone , J. Austermann , A. Rovere
The peak of the Last Interglacial (Marine Isotope Stage 5e; ∼128–117 ky) provides a valuable analogue for understanding sea level rise under future warming scenarios. Relative sea-level (RSL) indicators from passive margins are essential for constraining past sea levels and refining glacio-hydro-isostatic adjustment (GIA) models, thereby enhancing projections of future sea-level change and associated regional impacts. In this study, we present new luminescence ages from 17 sediment samples in outcrops along the Intracoastal Waterway near Myrtle Beach, South Carolina (USA). The sampling sites lie between a series of paleo beach ridges preserved as successive off-lapping deposits, the scarp toes of which have been previously identified as indicators of the maximum sea level during each associated sea-level highstand. Our results include ages corresponding with Marine Isotope Stages (MIS) 7 (∼200 ka), 5e (∼125 ka), 5c (∼105 ka), and the last deglacial period (∼14–12 ky). These new sea-level indicators, supplemented by the existing scarp elevation data, suggest that relative sea level in this region reached similar levels during MIS 5e and MIS 5c/5a. Comparison with GIA model outputs shows that more models fit our observations (from all time periods) when a peak GMSL of less than 5 m above present during MIS 5e is assumed, which makes those scenarios more likely.
{"title":"Last interglacial relative sea-level changes at Myrtle Beach, South Carolina","authors":"S. Dean , N. Georgiou , R. Poirier , W.R. Doar III , D. Brill , D. Chauveau , C. Cerrone , J. Austermann , A. Rovere","doi":"10.1016/j.quascirev.2025.109769","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.quascirev.2025.109769","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The peak of the Last Interglacial (Marine Isotope Stage 5e; ∼128–117 ky) provides a valuable analogue for understanding sea level rise under future warming scenarios. Relative sea-level (RSL) indicators from passive margins are essential for constraining past sea levels and refining glacio-hydro-isostatic adjustment (GIA) models, thereby enhancing projections of future sea-level change and associated regional impacts. In this study, we present new luminescence ages from 17 sediment samples in outcrops along the Intracoastal Waterway near Myrtle Beach, South Carolina (USA). The sampling sites lie between a series of paleo beach ridges preserved as successive off-lapping deposits, the scarp toes of which have been previously identified as indicators of the maximum sea level during each associated sea-level highstand. Our results include ages corresponding with Marine Isotope Stages (MIS) 7 (∼200 ka), 5e (∼125 ka), 5c (∼105 ka), and the last deglacial period (∼14–12 ky). These new sea-level indicators, supplemented by the existing scarp elevation data, suggest that relative sea level in this region reached similar levels during MIS 5e and MIS 5c/5a. Comparison with GIA model outputs shows that more models fit our observations (from all time periods) when a peak GMSL of less than 5 m above present during MIS 5e is assumed, which makes those scenarios more likely.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":20926,"journal":{"name":"Quaternary Science Reviews","volume":"375 ","pages":"Article 109769"},"PeriodicalIF":3.3,"publicationDate":"2026-01-14","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145978996","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"地球科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2026-01-14DOI: 10.1016/j.quascirev.2026.109807
Yanpeng Li , Shengrui Li , Hai Xu , Keliang Zhao , Guanhan Chen , Yaping Zhang , Jiacheng Ma , Junchi Liu , Yong Ge , Yan Zheng , Xinying Zhou , Xiaoqiang Li
Since the Holocene, marked transformations have occurred in patterns of human activity and modes of subsistence, with agriculture progressively becoming the principal means by which human societies modified and adapted to natural environments and sustained social development. The North China Plain (NCP) serves as the core region for the origin of millet agriculture in northern China and remains a pivotal area for understanding the genesis and evolution of Chinese civilization. By analyzing plant macrofossils from three sites—Zhujia, Dalaidian, and Wangzhuang—in the Qihe River basin (QRB), and integrating with crop assemblages from 54 representative sites across the North China Plain, this study systematically examines the synchrony between the evolution of Neolithic agricultural structures and climatic change in the region. The results demonstrate that multiple drought events had varying impacts on millet and rice agricultural systems in the NCP throughout the Neolithic period. Early communities responded to abrupt climatic perturbations by strategically adjusting agricultural structures to secure stable food supplies, thereby ensuring the sustained development of their societies. Furthermore, confronted with recurrent Neolithic drought events, prehistoric communities adopted diverse adaptive strategies, with their adaptive capacity progressively strengthening over time.
{"title":"Synchrony of prehistoric agricultural evolution and drought events in the North China Plain","authors":"Yanpeng Li , Shengrui Li , Hai Xu , Keliang Zhao , Guanhan Chen , Yaping Zhang , Jiacheng Ma , Junchi Liu , Yong Ge , Yan Zheng , Xinying Zhou , Xiaoqiang Li","doi":"10.1016/j.quascirev.2026.109807","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.quascirev.2026.109807","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Since the Holocene, marked transformations have occurred in patterns of human activity and modes of subsistence, with agriculture progressively becoming the principal means by which human societies modified and adapted to natural environments and sustained social development. The North China Plain (NCP) serves as the core region for the origin of millet agriculture in northern China and remains a pivotal area for understanding the genesis and evolution of Chinese civilization. By analyzing plant macrofossils from three sites—Zhujia, Dalaidian, and Wangzhuang—in the Qihe River basin (QRB), and integrating with crop assemblages from 54 representative sites across the North China Plain, this study systematically examines the synchrony between the evolution of Neolithic agricultural structures and climatic change in the region. The results demonstrate that multiple drought events had varying impacts on millet and rice agricultural systems in the NCP throughout the Neolithic period. Early communities responded to abrupt climatic perturbations by strategically adjusting agricultural structures to secure stable food supplies, thereby ensuring the sustained development of their societies. Furthermore, confronted with recurrent Neolithic drought events, prehistoric communities adopted diverse adaptive strategies, with their adaptive capacity progressively strengthening over time.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":20926,"journal":{"name":"Quaternary Science Reviews","volume":"375 ","pages":"Article 109807"},"PeriodicalIF":3.3,"publicationDate":"2026-01-14","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145978994","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"地球科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
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