Žulkus, Vladas

This study reconstructs vegetation and environmental changes in western Lithuania during the Middle and Late Holocene, based on multi-proxy analyses of the Aukštumala raised bog in the Nemunas Delta. Two parallel sediment cores were investigated using pollen, plant macrofossils, radiocarbon dating, loss-on-ignition (LOI), magnetic susceptibility, and geochemical analyses. Seven main stages of environmental development were identified and interpreted in a regional and broader Holocene context. Sedimentation began around 6000 cal yr BP, when coniferous forests dominated in relatively dry conditions. A short-lived presence of aquatic plants at ∼5400 cal yr BP indicates temporary open-water habitats. Between 5000 and 4300 cal yr BP, conifers declined while birch expanded, suggesting a more open landscape and reduced wetland cover. Around 4400 cal yr BP, rising water levels and cooler conditions promoted vegetation typical of raised bogs. From 4300 to 3200 cal yr BP, lowered water tables together with the dominance of peat-forming plants indicate a cooler, wetter phase. Between 3200 and 2700 cal yr BP, one core records the transition from an intermediate-type bog to a raised bog, while the other reflects open-basin conditions with abundant wetland taxa. From 2700 to 2100 cal yr BP, birch forests spread, landscapes became more open, and water levels rose around 2400 cal yr BP. After 2100 cal yr BP, the peatland gradually transformed into a raised bog, with increasing Sphagnum, expansion of ericaceous vegetation, and evidence of local fires, reflecting unstable hydrological conditions. These results provide new insights into long-term ecosystem dynamics and their links to Holocene climate variability in the southeastern Baltic region.

Palaeobiological data, supplemented by new 14C dates in conjunction with palaeobotanical and lithological information, have allowed reconstruction of Middle Weichselian (MIS 3) environmental fluctuations in the southern Eastern Baltic region. Palaeoenvironmental reconstructions implying non-glacial conditions during the Middle Weichselian (MIS 3) are supported by the spatial and temporal context of recently discovered remains of Mammuthus primigenius Blumenbach and Rangifer tarandus Linnaeus, 1758. Recording both cold and warm climatic reversals of MIS 3, representatives of the megafauna thrived in an environment characterized by a heterogeneity of vegetation and climate. 14C dating shows that the majority of the megafaunal remains analysed represent the 38–45 cal kyr BP time-interval, which correlates with the Nemunas 2c cold interval (cryomer), and the 31–34 cal kyr BP or MickÒnai 3 thermomer. From pollen data, the palaeovegetation pattern varied from tree-less tundra to birch-predominating forest with an admixture of temporal tree species providing additional information about the diet and habitat preferences of these herbivores in the context of the MIS 3 climatic events.

Poledynmečiu Baltijos jūros lygis keitėsi kelis kartus. Priešistorinio reliktinio kraštovaizdžio fragmentai buvo rasti jūroje 24–32 m gylyje, o vėlyvojo paleolito gyvenvietė aptikta Aukštumaloje. Litorinos laikotarpiu jūros transgresijos akmens amžiaus žmones vertė palikti gyvenvietes Smeltėje, Palangoje, Šventojoje. Nidos gyvenvietė kūrėsi sausumoje, pakilus vandeniui ji galėjo atsidurti saloje, vėliau – jau susiformavusioje Kuršių nerijoje. Transgresijos ir regresijos keitė pajūrio upių vagas, jų pėdsakų yra atrasta ir jūros dugne. Dabartinės pakrantės susidarė iš seklių įlankų, lagūnų, ežerėlių, pelkių ir pievų, todėl pajūris buvo apgyventas nevienodai tankiai. Įtakos pajūrio kraštovaizdžiui ir žmonių gyvensenai turėjo cunami bangos, uraganai ir audros bei intensyvūs smėlio pustymai.

Lithuanian Baltic Sea Coasts During the Holocenefocuses on the relicts of the cultural and natural landscapes that survived in the Baltic Sea during the final Paleolithic-Middle Neolithic period in Lithuania. Using a combination of interdisciplinary research methodologies from archaeology, physical and biomedical sciences, with innovative use of underwater technologies, the contributors identify complex underwater landscapes (relic forests, peat bogs, lagoons, paleodelts or palaeo-riverbeds) and cultural objects to determine the evolution of marine paleobasin formation, sea level fluctuations and climate change.

The search for sites inhabited by humans of the Late Palaeolithic to Mesolithic period on the coasts of Lithuania is closely related to the coastal and underwater relicts of the Early Holocene and palaeo-watercourses. This article presents the results of coastal, underwater and seismic seabed surveys. The estuaries of the rivers of the Late Mesolithic period could have been at the present seabed level at a depth of 30 m or even deeper. The watercourse sites of the Littorina Sea stage are in shallow coastal waters. At the latitude of Šventoji, Palanga, Klaipėda, Juodkrantė and the area of the Nemunas palaeo-estuary, the seabed was explored with side-scan sonar and by diving. An artefact from the Early Neolithic period has been found in the coastal area next to Klaipėda, and underwater, at a depth of 14.5 m, a relict tree stump has been detected. Two sites at a depth of 10–12 m can be associated with the relict Danė watercourse containing the preserved fragments of relict landscapes. During marine seismic survey, the probable Smeltalė River palaeo-watercourse was detected, and three sites of the former watercourses found to the south of Klaipėda could be the traces of the Dreverna palaeo-river estuary. This area has good prospects as regards the search for Early Mesolithic period settlements. The underwater survey showed no traces of human activity. A further search for the Stone Age sites would be more promising in locations where palaeo-landscapes have survived adjacent to the palaeo-watercourses.