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The oldest unequivocal evidence of mammoth hunting in prehistoric Central Europe has been found in the Gravettian archaeological site Kraków Spadzista (Poland). The site contains thousands of lithic artifacts and the remains of >100 woolly mammoths (Mammuthus primigenius), with radiocarbon dates clustering ∼25–24 ka uncal BP. A fragment of a flint shouldered point is embedded in a mammoth rib, and more than 50% of the site's flint shouldered points and backed blades bear diagnostic traces of hafting and impact damage from use as spear tips. Additional support for mammoth killing is the mortality profile of 112 mammoths from the site: some age groups may have been depleted due to recurring heavy hunting by humans during periods of environmental stress. The evidence for intensive human hunting could portend a development thousands of years later, at the end of the Pleistocene, when climate-caused habitat changes were more extreme, and, in combination with opportunistic human hunting, may have led to woolly mammoth extinction. • Kraków Spadzista contains the oldest direct evidence for mammoth-hunting in Central Europe. • Evidence includes used flint points and a point fragment embedded in a mammoth rib. • Certain age classes of the site's 112 mammoths had been depleted several times. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recent excavations in Ciemna Cave in the Prądnik valley near Ojców, southern Poland have brought to light new stratigraphic and techno-typological evidence concerning Late Middle Palaeolithic groups and their cultural affinities. In 2007, excavations began in the hitherto-unexplored main chamber of Ciemna Cave, with the goal of clarifying the results of previous work in other parts of the cave. During excavation the rocky floor of the cave was reached. About 1000 stone artifacts have been collected to date. Three cultural traditions have been documented: Mousterian, Taubachian, and Micoquian. Within the Micoquian tradition, three cultural levels were observed, which enriches the previous understanding of occupational phases at the site. These findings permit revision of the traditional terms “Prądnik industry” and “Prądnik technique.” [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The Dolní Věstonice I site is one of the most significant Pavlovian localities known from southern Moravia. Numerous lithic and osseous tools were discovered in different areas, associated with a vast assemblage of animal bones collected from the surface of the entire site. The materials in this study come from the upper part of the site (excavations carried out 1924–28 and 1948–52) where five dwelling structures were described, accompanied by fireplaces and mammoth bone concentrations. This area is located close to a huge mammoth bone accumulation in a natural depression. The faunal composition discovered at Dolní Věstonice I is typical for other Pavlovian localities primarily known from southern Moravia. The percentage of mammoth remains is high, although they do not dominate in this assemblage. Cut marks on mammoth bones discovered during the studies clearly show that the meat of these animals was consumed, but in addition to mammoth, an extremely important role in the subsistence practices was also played by reindeer, horse, and carnivores, which account for around 40% of the complete identifiable assemblage. Cut marks are found on numerous bones of carnivores, especially wolf and wolverine. We conclude that the carnivores, in addition to other taxa commonly discovered at Palaeolithic sites, were an important component of the diet of Pavlovian hunters. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Jaksice II Gravettian site was occupied when the landscape was a mosaic of steppe, tundra, and parkland (having rare groups of trees). Results from new excavations show that the site was part of a hunting camp inhabited by groups of Late Gravettian hunters 24,000–20,000 14 C BP. Archaeological and palaeontological assemblages consist of, among others, ivory artefacts and manufacturing debris, mollusc shell pendant, hematite fragments, and numerous backed lithic artefacts. The site also yielded a great quantity of bone remains from woolly mammoth and reindeer, which vastly outnumber the remains of other mammal species. These two species were the main sources of meat and raw material for the Gravettian hunter-gatherers at this site. The lithic assemblages include certain forms characteristic of Eastern European Gravettian sites (such as numerous backed artefacts, especially rectangles), but also lack diagnostic Gravettian tool forms such as Kostienki knives and shouldered points. The assemblage from Jaksice II site is widely different from the assemblage recovered in Kraków Spadzista, only 40 km away, and dated to the same period. This makes the recently investigated site at Jaksice II invaluable for improving our state of knowledge of the variability to be expected in Gravettian occupations, not only in Poland but in Central Europe. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article summarizes results of the 2011–12 excavations of trench C2 at the Kraków Spadzista Street site, expanding upon the published stone inventory and animal remains discovered there in 1980. The earlier excavations provided important data about the Gravettian settlement of southern Poland, but this more recent analysis has led to revision of the earlier information. Based on stratigraphic and planigraphical studies, the previous cultural classification of the discovered inventory has been corrected. Most importantly, the site area is now known not to have Pavlovian (early Gravettian) and Epigravettian occupations, as previously thought, and the Gravettian inventory from layer 6 is found to be richer and more diverse, with dates around 24–20,000 14 C BP. The once thought presence of Early Gravettian settlements in the western part of Lesser Poland is hereby refuted, and a more complex interpretation of the larger Kraków Spadzista sites' multiple loci has been synthesized. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Pathological change on mammoth bones is a difficult and scarcely explored subject. Among the most characteristic pathologies of mammoths are the holes and hollows in the spinous processes of vertebrae. Although they are rarely mentioned in the literature, they appear often in bone materials. Possible causes for these changes previously proposed by other authors include: genetic trait, abnormal ossification, and Kashin-Beck disease. None of these propositions have been explored or explained more widely. The present study was conducted on mammoth bones from some of the biggest mammoth bone assemblages in Central Europe: Kraków Spadzista, Milovice I, and Předmostí. They are located close to archaeological sites related to Gravettian culture. This vast amount of material enabled us to track the way this kind of mammoth bone pathology not only developed but also healed. For the first time, the changes in the spinous processes of mammoth vertebrae have been divided into classes indicating the stages of their development. The plausible etiology of the holes and hollows as well as other minor changes (before now not even mentioned in the literature) in mammoth vertebrae spinous processes is explained. The main cause seems to be the disorder of calcium and phosphate metabolism. It is suggested that the short-term climate changes had a significant impact on mammoth condition and on this kind of bone changes. The bone changes connected with metabolism disorder point to the decreased physical condition of the animals. Therefore another important question arises – how did the Gravettian hunters pick their prey? Did they choose sick individuals? [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Gravettian culture arose about 30 thousand years ago and expanded into nearly the whole of Europe during the next millennia. Gravettian cultural levels are known from caves as well as open-air sites. Pavlov I belongs to the latter category, which is typical in Central and Eastern Europe. Excavations at this site were conducted from 1952 to 1971. We were able to study materials collected during excavations at the south-east part of the site in the years 1952–56. They yielded enormous numbers of archaeological artefacts (e.g., stone and bone tools, personal ornaments, clay figurines) and more than 47,000 animal bones. Remains of small (birds, hares and foxes) and medium sized animals (reindeer) dominate the bone assemblage. In contrast to other Gravettian sites, mammoth remains are not so numerous at Pavlov I. A characteristic feature of the site is a very large number of carnivore remains, especially from wolves and foxes. All stages of processing (skinning, dismembering and filleting) are evidenced for different mammal taxa. For the Pavlovian people, herbivores (reindeer, woolly mammoth, and horse), carnivores (fox, wolf, wolverine, bears, and cave lion), and small animals (hares and birds) were an important source of food as well as raw material for tool production and ornaments. All skeletal parts of small, medium, and large animals were found, which indicates that hunters transported whole bodies of killed animals to the site. More than 300 cut marks were found on the animal bones. Other signs of human activity are not so numerous. Because the site was occupied for relatively long periods of time, carnivores had limited access to the remains and only 23 bones have tooth marks. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Between 50,000 and 20,000 years ago, Europe experienced a series of rapid climate change events known as the Dansgaard–Oeschger cycles, which may have made areas of northern Europe more attractive for occupation by early modern humans at certain times than at others. This paper investigates when humans were occupying northern Europe in relation to these climatic changes at the archaeological site of Kraków Spadzista Street (B), by applying oxygen isotope analysis of mammoth tooth enamel carbonates (δ18O and δ13C) found at the site. The new isotopic data suggest that mean annual temperatures at Kraków Spadzista were 4–9 C° colder than present and, based on comparisons with previously published isotopic data for mammoth in Europe, the Kraków assemblage most likely formed during a cold Dansgaard–Oeschger event. This suggests modern humans were able to occupy and survive in this area of northern Europe during the harsh cold phases that affected Europe at this time. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]