Magdalenian environments and ecosystems of the northern Alpine foreland: the case of Gnirshöhle and Petersfels

Abstract

After the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM: ~ 26.5–19.0 ka cal BP), large-scale warming resulted in glacial retreat and climatic amelioration, prompting changes to local and regional ecosystems across Eurasia during the Late Glacial. Consequently, Magdalenian hunter-gatherers reoccupied parts of Central Europe that were mostly devoid of humans during the LGM. Petersfels and Gnirshöhle (~ 17.0–13.0 ka cal BP), two Magdalenian cave sites in the Hegau Jura of southwestern Germany, preserve the later stages of this recolonization and serve as archives of paleoenvironmental data. In this study, we examine carbon (δ¹³C) and oxygen (δ¹⁸O) stable isotopes in horse (Equus ferus) and bovine (Bos/Bison sp.) tooth enamel carbonate from both sites to investigate the microenvironment of the northern Alpine foreland. We contextualize our results within a broader geographical framework by comparing the Hegau Jura to Verberie (Le Buisson Campin), a contemporaneous Magdalenian site in northern France (~ 16.0–14.0 ka cal BP). The apparent difference in δ¹⁸O suggests that northern France was warmer with weaker seasonal climatic fluctuations than southwestern Germany. This difference likely affected cold-adapted fauna, such as reindeer (Rangifer tarandus), resulting in diverse animal ecologies that influenced hunter-gatherer subsistence behaviors across western and central Europe. Our exploration of Magdalenian landscapes reveals a mosaic of ecological variability, which likely influenced daily activities such as movement and food procurement, highlighting the interconnected relationship between environment and hunter-gatherer behavior during this period.