Lateglacial insect assemblages from the palaeolithic site Slotseng : new evidence concerning climate and environment in SW Denmark

• The site Slotseng represents Paleolithic settlements of the Havelte phase of the Hamburgian culture (c. 15 to 14 cal yr BP). The Lateglacial sediment stratigraphy of an adjacent kettle hole was studied in a multidisciplinary project, including the analysis of pollen, macroscopic plant remains, vertebrate bones, and insect remains. In this article the results from the insect analysis are presented. Twelve samples were analysed from a monolith, which chronologically spans from 15,000 to 13,600 cal yr BP, and 108 taxa of Coleoptera and 15 taxa of Trichoptera, Hemiptera, Megaloptera, Diptera and Hymenoptera were recorded. The beetle assemblages indicate an open heath environment with a shrub and herb vegetation during this period, minor changes during the stadials and interstadials. This is in good agreement with the interpretations based on pollen and plant macrofossil analyses. The presence of dung beetles indicates that reindeer herds grazed in the vicinity of the site. A number of finds of the carrion beetle Thanatophilus dispar suggest that fish may have been a complementary food resource for the hunters at Slotseng. MCR reconstructions indicate arctic/subarctic climate conditions during the periods GS-2a (Pre-Bølling) and GI-1d (Older dryas) with mean summer temperatures ca. 9-13°C and mean winter temperatures ca. -3 to -20°C. During the interstadials GI-1e (Bølling) and GI-1c (Allerød 1) mean summer temperatures were ca. 14-16°C, but mean winter temperatures remained similar to those during the colder periods. The reconstructed environments and living conditions for the Paleolithic hunters show striking similarities with contemporaneous conditions reconstructed for Magdalenian/Azilian sites at the LakeNeuchâtel, Switzerland.

Subject headings

HUMANIORA  -- Historia och arkeologi -- Arkeologi (hsv//swe)

HUMANITIES  -- History and Archaeology -- Archaeology (hsv//eng)

NATURVETENSKAP  -- Geovetenskap och miljövetenskap (hsv//swe)

NATURAL SCIENCES  -- Earth and Related Environmental Sciences (hsv//eng)

NATURVETENSKAP  -- Geovetenskap och miljövetenskap -- Klimatforskning (hsv//swe)

NATURAL SCIENCES  -- Earth and Related Environmental Sciences -- Climate Research (hsv//eng)

NATURVETENSKAP  -- Biologi -- Ekologi (hsv//swe)

NATURAL SCIENCES  -- Biological Sciences -- Ecology (hsv//eng)

Keyword

Lateglacial

Denmark

Palaeolithic settlement

insect analysis

palaeoclimate

palaeoenvironment

Archaeology

arkeologi

environmental archaeology

miljöarkeologi

Entomology

entomologi

Quarternary Geology

kvartärgeologi

Paleoecology

Publication and Content Type

ref (subject category)

art (subject category)