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Last Glacial palaeoenvironments at Lascaux, southwest France, with special emphasis on MIS 4 (Ognon II interstadial)
A deep sequence of Last Glacial peats and slope deposits at the foot of the Lascaux hill was investigated using a large array of methods (geology, geophysics, C-14 and OSL dating, palynology, macro-remain analysis, entomology). The peaty levels, OSL dated to between similar to 73 and 60 ka, are found Within a doline developed in a fluvial terrace of the Vezere River. These gyttja and chalky gyttja deposits covered by fen peat yielded abundant beetle and plant (seeds, pollen) remains. Palaeoecological reconstructions suggest a cool steppe with willow stands compatible with an interstadial of marine isotopic stage (MIS) 4, probably Ognon II (GI-192). Aquatic and hygrophilous plants (sedges), which reflect local vegetation, and their dependent insects are equally well represented in the record. The peats are covered by a sequence of slope deposits: a coarse-grained lower unit deposited during late MIS 4, overlain by a heavily decalcified sandy unit with a boreal soil complex correlated with early MIS 3, and finally, a coarse grained, calcareous unit formed during late MIS 3 and MIS 2 in connection with slope dynamics typical of periglacial environments. The palaeosols yielded a small Middle Palaeolithic lithic assemblage.
Keyword(s)
MIS 4 peat, Ognon II interstadial, Weichselian slope deposits, Southwest France, Palaeoecology, Palaeotemperatures
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File | Pages | Size | Access | |
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Publisher's official version | 17 | 5 Mo | ||
Appendix A. Supplementary data | 6 | 3 Mo | ||
Author's final draft | 41 | 7 Mo |