Achaeometrical Research in Hungary II., 1988

ENVIRONMENT - Pál SÜMEGI - Ede HERTELENDI - Enikő MAGYARI - Mihály MOLNÁR: Evolution of the environment in the Carpatian basin during the last 30,000 BP years and its effects on the ancient habits of the different cultures

highly mobile reindeer and wild horses, characterised by a high potential for aggregation and being of relatively small weight (VÖRÖS, 1982: 60-63; STURDY, 1975: 55-69). During the Upper Pleistocene, one of the peripheric southern boundaries of the distribution of reindeer was the southern part of the Carpathian Basin (VÖRÖS, 1982: 62). According to the macromammalian analyses of Upper Palaeolithic sites in the region under discussion here (VÖRÖS, 1982: 63), one of the winter territories of reindeer was the Carpathian Basin, mainly its western, Transdanubian part. During the microinterstadial periods of the Ságvár stage (RUDNER et al. 1995: 15; WILLIS et al. 1995: 44-41; 1997: 4-5; SÜMEGI, 1996), the areas were covered by taiga spots and open coniferous forest with patches of steppe-like vegetation. Within the coniferous forest, there were also pockets of decidous trees such as Betula, Quer eus, Ulmus (STIEBER, 1967: 310-314). The nearest modern day analoque to this type of community can be seen at the southern edge of European boreal forest zone, where many of these types are present in small pockets within the forest (PASTOR and MLADENOFF, 1992: 221-232). During the microinterstadials, this special taiga environment that developed in the Carpathian Basin was the last aim of migration for reindeer herds. A comparable modern analogue to this type of reindeer migration can be seen between taiga and tundra zones in North America and the northern part of Euroasia, where the reindeer herds live in the tundra during the summer and the herds start migrating to the taiga zone at the end of the summer season. The reindeer herds spend the winter in the taiga zone, and start migrating back to the tundra zone when winter season closes. Thus Sturdy's hypothesis (STURDY, 1975: 69) that reindeer herds migrated "from High Germany into Hungary" seems possible, although this cyclic seasonal migration developed between the ancient European tundra areas and taiga regions of the Carpathian Basin. Palaeolithic hunters followed reindeer herds on their migration paths and hunted these animals in the Carpathian Basin during winter seasons (VÖRÖS, 1982: 63). When the loess formation in the Carpathian Basin had been accomplished, a new ecological stage developed. Radiocarbon data suggest, that the loess formation was finished around 12.000 BP years, when the climate became progressively wanner and cryophillous elements became extinct in the Carpathian Basin (e.g. Vallonia tenuilabris) or they started drawing back from the Pannonicum to the Carpathians (e.g. Columella columella). The forest environment extended in the Carpathian Basin, and the maximum expansion of the coniferous forest was reached. Within the coniferous forest, there were also pockets of deciduous trees such as Betula, Quercus, Ulmus, Tilia, Carpinus and Corylus (JARAIKOMLÓDI, 1987: 37-38; WILLIS et al. 1995: 42-43; 1997: 9-11). To date, his type of communities can be found at the southern edge of the European boreal forest. A number of fire charcoal layers (STIEBER, 1967; BORSY et al. 1982, 10-16; 1985, 6-10; LÓKI et al. 1995, 68) indicate cyclic natural wild fires in the region analysed. Coniferous vegetation declined and deciduous forest increased. Pollen data show that different mosaic environments developed in the Carpathian Basin, where a different development of vegetation formed during the late glacial/postglacial transition. During this transition period, a mixed coniferous/hardwood forest developed with Tilia as a predominant tree species in the southern and eastern parts of the Carpathian Basin. In the Northern Mountain Range and Transdanubia the dominant genera were Quercus, Corylus, Carpinus, Fraxinus, Ulmus. Radiocarbon data show that this vegetation change formed between 11.000-9000 BP years when cold-stage taxa declined and those of the warm-stage spread. For 2000 years, therefore, highly mixed communities characterised both the flora and the fauna. As is shown by the malacofauna (SÜMEGI, 1997: 154-155), the boreo- alpin woodland elements (e.g. Discus ruderatus) coexisted with Pontic (Euxin) and Central European woodland ele187