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14C Dating of the Upper Paleolithic Site at Krems-Hundssteig in Lower Austria

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  18 July 2016

E M Wild ,
C Neugebauer-Maresch ,
T Einwögerer ,
P Stadler ,
P Steier  and
F Brock
E M Wild*
Affiliation:
VERA Laboratory, Faculty of Physics, Isotope Research, University of Vienna, Währinger Strasse 17, A-1090 Wien, Austria
C Neugebauer-Maresch
Affiliation:
Prehistoric Commission of the Austrian Academy of Sciences (PK OEAW), Fleischmarkt 22, A-1010 Vienna, Austria
T Einwögerer
Affiliation:
Prehistoric Commission of the Austrian Academy of Sciences (PK OEAW), Fleischmarkt 22, A-1010 Vienna, Austria
P Stadler
Affiliation:
Natural History Museum Vienna, Department of Prehistory, Burgring 7, A-1014 Vienna, Austria
P Steier
Affiliation:
VERA Laboratory, Faculty of Physics, Isotope Research, University of Vienna, Währinger Strasse 17, A-1090 Wien, Austria
F Brock
Affiliation:
Oxford Radiocarbon Accelerator Unit, RLAHA, Dyson Perrins Building, University of Oxford, Oxford OX1 3QY, United Kingdom
*
Corresponding author. Email: [email protected]
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Abstract

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The open-air archaeological site at Krems-Hundssteig is a well-known Upper Paleolithic site located in Lower Austria. The site was discovered in the late 19th/early 20th centuries when a large number of archaeological remains were collected during the course of loess quarrying. Although no systematic excavation has ever been performed, Krems-Hundssteig has been described since its discovery as typical of the Aurignacian period in this region based on the numerous archaeological finds; accordingly, the culture has been named Kremsien by some authors. Surprisingly, the artifacts found in a recent excavation adjacent to this location showed solely Gravettian features, calling into question the original assignment to the Aurignacian. Although the earlier assignment was supported by a radiocarbon date of ∼35 kyr BP (Hahn 1977), new accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS) 14C dates proved that the recently excavated cultural layer originates from the Gravettian period. Older paleosols were also detected by sondage drillings at some depth below it.

The new results indicate that a large Aurignacian level and a substantial complex of Gravettian layers are present in this area. Therefore, it must be assumed that more than 1 cultural level was affected and destroyed by the historic loess quarrying, and that the assemblage of Krems-Hundssteig artifacts, traditionally ascribed to the Aurignacian, might be interspersed with Gravettian pieces.

Type
Articles
Information
Radiocarbon , Volume 50 , Issue 1 , 2008 , pp. 1 - 10
Copyright
Copyright © 2008 by the Arizona Board of Regents on behalf of the University of Arizona 

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