Origin of black coloured laminae in speleothems from the Kraków-Wieluń; Upland, Poland

Authors: GRADZIŃSKI, MICHAŁ¹; GÓRNY, ANDRZEJ²; PAZDUR, ANNA³; PAZDUR, MIECZYSŁAW F.

Source: Boreas, Volume 32, Number 3, September 2003 , pp. 532-542(11)

Buy & download fulltext article:

The full text article is not available for purchase.

The publisher only permits individual articles to be downloaded by subscribers.

Abstract:

Black coloured laminae have been detected inside speleothems from nine caves situated in the Kraków-Wieluń Upland. The black colour results from the occurrence of charcoal particles and organic compounds. These particles originated inside the caves during wood combustion caused by prehistoric human activity. The ultrastructures of charcoal particles prove that most originated in temperatures ranging from 400 up to 600°C, suggesting that the charcoal is connected with domestic fires rather than torches. Although the laminae are proof of human activity in the caves, the occurrence of one particular lamina cannot be associated with a single episode of human occupation. It is due to the fact that depositional processes and corrosion control the number and thickness of the laminae discussed. The presence of black coloured laminae within the studied Holocene speleothems indicates that the investigated caves were settled in the Neolithic, the Bronze Age and later periods. This is consistent with the former archaeological data.

Document Type: Original article

DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/03009480310003414

Affiliations: 1: Institute of Geological Sciences, Jagiellonian University, Oleandry Str. 2a, PL-30-063 Kraków, Poland 2: Geological Museum, Academy of Mining and Metallurgy, Mickiewicza Str. 30, PL-30-059 Kraków, Poland 3: Department of Radioisotopes, Institute of Physics, Silesian Technical University, Krzywoustego Str. 2, PL-44-100 Gliwice, Poland

Publication date: 2003-09-01