The age of the oldest Paleolithic assemblages from Biśnik Cave (southern Poland) in the light of geological data

Abstract

Biśnik Cave is a multi-layer site, which contains one of the oldest Paleolithic settlement levels in Poland. The character of the oldest inventory from the cave is depicted by the domination of the Levallois technique for obtaining flakes and blades. The tools included: forms with one side preparation technique connected with different types of side scrapers and small side scrapers, denticulate and notch forms. Bifacial artifacts are absent. Because of a small number of the inventory, we can only conclude that it is a typological collection of artifacts characteristic of the Mousterian tradition, broadly speaking. The oldest assemblages were found in Layers 19a, 19b, 19c and 19d. Sedimentological analysis show that the whole of Layers 19b-19c-19d should be treated as a deluvial sediment resulting from the series of several mudslides. The same interpretation could be concluded on the basis of geochemical data acquired for bone remains. Flint objects found in Layer 19a are the oldest artifacts in the position in situ. The date obtained for the Layer 19a (230 ± 51 ka) lets us determine the approximate age of the sediment and artifacts, which is oxygen isotope stage OIS 7. All of the older artifacts found in Layers 19d and 19b-19c are located on the secondary deposit. The TL date obtained for the sediment of one of the deluvial layers (569 ± 182 ka), as well as the date obtained for the burned flint tool (568 ± 131 ka) point to the early Middle Pleistocene age of at least some of the redeposited sediments and artifacts