Large-scale excavations of complete Gravettian living-floors at Dolní Věstonice I were primarily realised between 1924-1952 whereas later fieldwork had rather a character of separate trenches. Here we report the results of last excavation organized at this site in 1990 and 1993. A series of trenches along the western and southern boundary brought additional chronostratigraphic and archaeological evidence concerning the overall situation of the site. In the lower part of the site we detected superimposed charcoal deposits dated by C14 to Early Gravettian but without artefactual context. In the uppermost part we identified the previously excavated units K2 and K3 and we show that these were discrete instalations dated to the Evolved Gravettian (Pavlovian). With the newly acquired data, this paper addresses the questions of general stratigraphy and local microstratigraphies, radiometric chronology, center-periphery relationships (on levels of the whole site and of the individual residential units), and structure of relevant faunal and lithic assemblages., Jiří Svoboda, Martin Novák, Sandra Sázelová, Šárka Hladilová, Petr Škrdla., and Obsahuje seznam literatury
Micromorphology in the archaeological context is a methodological tool of modern multidisciplinary archeology. It is basically a microscopic characterization of sediments in a direct context of archaeological situations with the aim of detecting formation processes, the knowledge of which is essential for further interpretations. This method was applied to the sediment fill of two features in a stratigraphic relationship from the locality Tvrdonice – “Pole od Týnecka”. Samples were taken from a La Tène recessed structure fill and an earlier Bronze Age pit that is superimposed below the La Tène feature. From a macroscopic and micromorphological point of view, it is evident that the fill of an Early Bronze Age feature consists of wind-blown sands in superposition with in situ or slightly displaced soil material. Micro-layers detected macroscopically are only related to object leveling. The layer of soil beneath the “floor” of the La Tène recessed building displays signs of long-term bioturbated soil, i.e. the La Tène building was founded in an existing depression. The active floor layer of the La Tène building is represented by alternating layers of lighter and darker laminae. While the darker laminae represent the trampled layer, the lighter laminae consist of recrystallized ash, which impregnates the trampled layer. On a social level, this finding can be interpreted as the creators of the La Tène recessed building choosing to minimize labour costs by using the recessed terrain and thus avoiding the excavation of the building floor. The utility area possessed a purposefully modified surface, which is related to ergonomic efficiency, but its function is unknown. The uppermost part of the fill is formed by backfill that does not show any signs of pedogenic influences, which indicates that the object was intentionally filled (leveled).
This paper presents preliminary evidence from new excavation at Pavlov I, a well-known Gravettian/Pavlovian site now prepared for the construction of a museum. In addition to the aims of large-scale preparatory and salvage excavations evoked by the construction, our focus was on more detailed stratigraphies of the cultural deposits and on spatial organisation of this extensive settlement. Obviously, Pavlov I has a longer prehistory (including early Gravettian and Early Upper Paleolithic layers in the subsoil) and a more complex spatial structure (including an adjacent mammoth bone deposit) than was previously thought. However processing and interpreting the associated paleobotanical, archaeozoological and archaeological material will be a long-term task., Jiří Svoboda, Martin Novák, Sandra Sázelová., and Obsahuje seznam literatury