Garam Éva szerk.: Between East and West - History of the peoples living in hungarian lands (Guide to the Archaeological Exhibition of the Hungarian National Museum; Budapest, 2005)

The environment of ancient man (Katalin T. Bíró, Zsófia Medzihradszky, Andrea Torma, István Vörös)

1Ü and a January mean temperature no colder than -3 °C. During the cooler phases of the Mindel glacial, hornbeam and spruce forests appeared in the mountains; evidence for yew and honeysuckle have also been found. The climatic deterioration brought the dominance of conifer forests. The acidic soil in pine forests favoured the growth of horsetail, moss, club moss, heather and bilberry. The drier periods of the Mindel-Riss interglacial saw the spread of steppean vegetation in the Carpathian Basin, while the moister periods were marked by the appearance of deciduous forests. The vegetation of this interglacial was characterised by exotic species, such as shagbark hickory, Caucasian wingnut, Indian bean tree and oriental beech. The Riss glacial was far harsher than the earlier ones, causing lasting changes in the vegetation. The Great Hungarian Plain was covered with grasslands of goosefoot, mugwort and knotweed, while Transdanubia hosted taiga woods with pine, larch and stone pine. The Riss-Wiirm interglacial beginning 175 thousand years ago brought a milder and moister climate again favouring the spread of deciduous woodlands. The charcoal finds from the Szelim Cave near Tatabánya indicated an environment with elm, linden and nettletree, together with cypress, oak, downy oak and Turkey oak. The shrubs thriving in this area were hazel, cornelian cherry and wild cherry. In contrast, the Great Hungarian Plain remained covered with grasslands, only sporadically interrupted by groves and the occasional tree. In the last phase of the interglacial, the climate deteriorated, and the deciduous species were replaced by larch, pine and stone pine. Alder and birch survived in some spots. This period was followed by the coldest phase of the Ice Age. The vegetation of the Würm glacial, interspersed with colder and warmer spells, is fairly well known. At the beginning of the glaciation, mountains were covered with pine forests, while the Great Hungarian Plain had a forested-steppe landscape. When the climate turned drier, the conifer forests became fragmented and the plainlands were again colonised by cold steppean plant species. Deciduous trees expanded during the brief warm spells. The hot springs around Tata provided a pleasant microclimate, offering shelter not only to the early hominids settling there, but also to wannth loving deciduous tree species during harsher periods. The temporary mild spells saw the forestation of the Great Hungarian Plain to some extent, with pine forests appearing in the plainland. The ice-sheet reached its greatest extension about 20 thousand years ago during the Würm glaciation, when the world was frozen up to the 55th latitude. There is evidence for smaller spots with larch, stone pine and pine in Hungary. Typical tundra species, such as mountain avens, polar willow, dwarf birch and lesser clubmoss, also thrived during this period. The gradual retreat of the ice-sheet brought the renewed expansion of forest species. Even though smaller climatic fluctuations can be documented during the late glacial period, the climate definitely improved. The first phase of the Holocene is called the Pre-Boreal (or Pine-birch period by its traditional name). The first stage of forestation was the appearance of birch and pine during the interglacial cycle. The presence of réfugia in Hungary is an indication that deciduous species appeared fairly soon. The steppe of goosefoot and mugwort gave way to grasslands. Stonewort, coontail, broad-leaved pondweed and fan-leaved water crowtail appeared in the waters. The Boreal (or Hazel period) brought a warmer and drier climate, and the spread of mixed deciduous forests and oak woods with a shrub level rich in hazel in the central mountain ranges. In the Great Hungarian Plain, however, hazel was a rarity. Charcoal finds from various caves indicate the presence of oak, ash, linden, maple and sweet chesnut. While the central mountain ranges and the hilly regions gradually succumbed to forestation, the Great