Remarks on the age of loess deposits containing Palaeolithic sites in Poland

Abstract

Article in French.

ORIGINAL TITLE: Remarques sur l'âge du loess comportant des gisements paléolithiques en Pologne

Research conducted on Palaeolithic sites in Kraków–Zwierzyniec, Samborzec and other localities in southern Poland has made it possible to determine the relationship between the age of loess deposits and Palaeolithic settlement phases. Stratigraphic and petrographic analyses of the loess revealed two main sedimentary series separated by fossil soils, with the older one corresponding to the Hengelo interstadial and the younger to the Paudorf phase. The results also indicate differences in the composition of heavy minerals within particular loess series, reflecting changes in palaeoclimatic conditions and human occupation during the Late Pleistocene.