Articles | Volume 19, issue 4
https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-19-1135-2022
© Author(s) 2022. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-19-1135-2022
© Author(s) 2022. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Research article
| 
23 Feb 2022
Research article |
| 23 Feb 2022
| 23 Feb 2022
Human and livestock faecal biomarkers at the prehistorical encampment site of Ullafelsen in the Fotsch Valley, Stubai Alps, Austria – potential and limitations
Marcel Lerch
CORRESPONDING AUTHOR
Heisenberg Chair of Physical Geography with Focus on
Paleoenvironmental Research, Institute of Geography, Technische
Universität Dresden, Helmholtzstraße 10, 01069 Dresden, Germany
Soil Biogeochemistry Group, Institute of Agricultural and Nutritional
Sciences, Martin Luther University of Halle-Wittenberg, Von-Seckendorff-Platz
3, 06120 Halle (Saale), Germany
Tobias Bromm
Soil Biogeochemistry Group, Institute of Agricultural and Nutritional
Sciences, Martin Luther University of Halle-Wittenberg, Von-Seckendorff-Platz
3, 06120 Halle (Saale), Germany
Clemens Geitner
Institute of Geography, University of Innsbruck, Innrain 52f, 6020
Innsbruck, Austria
Jean Nicolas Haas
Institute of Botany, University of Innsbruck, Sternwartestraße
15, 6020 Innsbruck, Austria
Dieter Schäfer
Institute of Geology, University of Innsbruck, Innrain 52f, 6020
Innsbruck, Austria
Bruno Glaser
Soil Biogeochemistry Group, Institute of Agricultural and Nutritional
Sciences, Martin Luther University of Halle-Wittenberg, Von-Seckendorff-Platz
3, 06120 Halle (Saale), Germany
Michael Zech
Heisenberg Chair of Physical Geography with Focus on
Paleoenvironmental Research, Institute of Geography, Technische
Universität Dresden, Helmholtzstraße 10, 01069 Dresden, Germany
Soil Biogeochemistry Group, Institute of Agricultural and Nutritional
Sciences, Martin Luther University of Halle-Wittenberg, Von-Seckendorff-Platz
3, 06120 Halle (Saale), Germany
Related authors
Michael Zech, Marcel Lerch, Marcel Bliedtner, Tobias Bromm, Fabian Seemann, Sönke Szidat, Gary Salazar, Roland Zech, Bruno Glaser, Jean Nicolas Haas, Dieter Schäfer, and Clemens Geitner
E&G Quaternary Sci. J., 70, 171–186, https://doi.org/10.5194/egqsj-70-171-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/egqsj-70-171-2021, 2021
Fabian Seemann, Michael Zech, Maren Jenrich, Guido Grosse, Benjamin M. Jones, Claire Treat, Lutz Schirrmeister, Susanne Liebner, and Jens Strauss
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-3727, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-3727, 2025
This preprint is open for discussion and under review for Biogeosciences (BG).
Short summary
Short summary
Arctic coastal landscapes, like those in northernmost Alaska, often contain saline sediments that are more prone to thawing. We studied six sediment cores to understand how thawing and salinity affect organic carbon breakdown and land change. Our results show that salinity speeds up organic matter loss when permafrost thaws. This highlights the overlooked risk of salinity in shaping Arctic landscapes and carbon release as the climate continues to warm.
Marcel Ortler, Achim Brauer, Stefano C. Fabbri, Jean Nicolas Haas, Irka Hajdas, Kerstin Kowarik, Jochem Kueck, Hans Reschreiter, and Michael Strasser
Sci. Dril., 33, 1–19, https://doi.org/10.5194/sd-33-1-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/sd-33-1-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
The lake drilling project at Lake Hallstatt (Austria) successfully cored 51 m of lake sediments. This was achieved through the novel drilling platform Hipercorig. A core-log seismic correlation was created for the first time of an inner Alpine lake of the Eastern Alps. The sediments cover over 12 000 years before present with 10 (up to 5.1 m thick) instantaneous deposits. Lake Hallstatt is located within an UNESCO World Heritage area which has a rich history of human salt mining.
Katharina Ramskogler, Bettina Knoflach, Bernhard Elsner, Brigitta Erschbamer, Florian Haas, Tobias Heckmann, Florentin Hofmeister, Livia Piermattei, Camillo Ressl, Svenja Trautmann, Michael H. Wimmer, Clemens Geitner, Johann Stötter, and Erich Tasser
Biogeosciences, 20, 2919–2939, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-20-2919-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-20-2919-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
Primary succession in proglacial areas depends on complex driving forces. To concretise the complex effects and interaction processes, 39 known explanatory variables assigned to seven spheres were analysed via principal component analysis and generalised additive models. Key results show that in addition to time- and elevation-dependent factors, also disturbances alter vegetation development. The results are useful for debates on vegetation development in a warming climate.
Lucas Bittner, Cindy De Jonge, Graciela Gil-Romera, Henry F. Lamb, James M. Russell, and Michael Zech
Biogeosciences, 19, 5357–5374, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-19-5357-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-19-5357-2022, 2022
Short summary
Short summary
With regard to global warming, an understanding of past temperature changes is becoming increasingly important. Branched glycerol dialkyl glycerol tetraethers (brGDGTs) are membrane lipids used globally to reconstruct lake water temperatures. In the Bale Mountains lakes, we find a unique composition of brGDGT isomers. We present a modified local calibration and a new high-altitude temperature reconstruction from the Horn of Africa spanning the last 12.5 kyr.
Marcel Lerch, Julia Unkelbach, Florian Schneider, Michael Zech, and Michael Klinge
E&G Quaternary Sci. J., 71, 91–110, https://doi.org/10.5194/egqsj-71-91-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/egqsj-71-91-2022, 2022
Short summary
Short summary
Charcoals and leaf waxes from vegetation accumulate in the soil and provide information about past vegetation because they are mostly resistant against physical and biological degradation. Analyzing and comparing ratios of both element types helped us to improve the evidence for vegetation reconstruction. We found that the accumulation processes and preservation of these elements depend on different environmental conditions at forest- and steppe-dominated sites in the Mongolian forest–steppe.
Jakob Labahn, Lucas Bittner, Philip Hirschmann, Christopher-Bastian Roettig, Diana Burghardt, Bruno Glaser, Slobodan B. Marković, and Michael Zech
E&G Quaternary Sci. J., 71, 83–90, https://doi.org/10.5194/egqsj-71-83-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/egqsj-71-83-2022, 2022
Johannes Hepp, Christoph Mayr, Kazimierz Rozanski, Imke Kathrin Schäfer, Mario Tuthorn, Bruno Glaser, Dieter Juchelka, Willibald Stichler, Roland Zech, and Michael Zech
Biogeosciences, 18, 5363–5380, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-18-5363-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-18-5363-2021, 2021
Short summary
Short summary
Deriving more quantitative climate information like relative air humidity is one of the key challenges in paleostudies. Often only qualitative reconstructions can be done when single-biomarker-isotope data are derived from a climate archive. However, the coupling of hemicellulose-derived sugar with leaf-wax-derived n-alkane isotope results has the potential to overcome this limitation and allow a quantitative relative air humidity reconstruction.
Michael Zech, Marcel Lerch, Marcel Bliedtner, Tobias Bromm, Fabian Seemann, Sönke Szidat, Gary Salazar, Roland Zech, Bruno Glaser, Jean Nicolas Haas, Dieter Schäfer, and Clemens Geitner
E&G Quaternary Sci. J., 70, 171–186, https://doi.org/10.5194/egqsj-70-171-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/egqsj-70-171-2021, 2021
Christopher Lüthgens, Daniela Sauer, and Michael Zech
E&G Quaternary Sci. J., 69, 261–262, https://doi.org/10.5194/egqsj-69-261-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/egqsj-69-261-2021, 2021
Cited articles
Baeten, J., Marinova, E., Laet, V. de, Degryse, P., de Vos, D., and Waelkens,
M.: Faecal biomarker and archaeobotanical analyses of sediments from a
public latrine shed new light on ruralisation in Sagalassos, Turkey, J. Archaeol. Sci., 39, 1143–1159,
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jas.2011.12.019, 2012.
Birk, J. J., Teixeira, W. G., Neves, E. G., and Glaser, B.: Faeces deposition
on Amazonian Anthrosols as assessed from 5β-stanols, J.
Archaeol. Sci., 38, 1209–1220,
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jas.2010.12.015, 2011.
Birk, J. J., Dippold, M., Wiesenberg, G. L. B., and Glaser, B.: Combined
quantification of faecal sterols, stanols, stanones and bile acids in soils
and terrestrial sediments by gas chromatography–mass spectrometry, J.
Chromatogr. A, 1242, 1–10,
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chroma.2012.04.027, 2012.
Björkhem, I. and Gustafsson, J.: Microbial transformation of cholesterol
into coprostanol, Eur. J. Biochem., 21, 428–432,
https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1432-1033.1973.tb02968.x, 1971.
Bull, I. D., Simpson, I. A., Bergen van, P. F., and Evershed, R. P.: Muck “n”
molecules: organic geochemical methods for detecting ancient manuring,
Antiquity, 73, 86–96, https://doi.org/10.1017/S0003598X0008786X, 1999a.
Bull, I. D., Simpson, I. A., Dockrill, S. J., and Evershed, R. P.: Organic
geochemical evidence for the origin of ancient anthropogenic soil deposits
at Tofts Ness, Sanday, Orkney, Org. Geochem., 30, 535–556,
https://doi.org/10.1016/S0146-6380(99)00020-0, 1999b.
Bull, I. D., Betancourt, P. P., and Evershed, R. P.: An Organic Geochemical
Investigation of the Practice of Manuring at a Minoan site on Pseira Island,
Crete, Geoarchaeology, 16, 223–242,
https://doi.org/10.1002/1520-6548(200102)16:2<223::AID-GEA1002>3.0.CO;2-7, 2001.
Bull, I. D., Lockheart, M. J., Elhmmali, M. M., Roberts, D. J., and Evershed,
R. P.: The origin of faeces by means of biomarker detection, Environ.
Int., 27, 647–654,
https://doi.org/10.1016/S0160-4120(01)00124-6, 2002.
Bull, I. D., Elhmmali, M. M., Roberts, D. J., and Evershed, R. P.: The
application of steroidal biomarkers to track the abandonment of a Roman
wastewater course at the Agora (Athens, Greece), Archaeometry, 45, 149–161,
https://doi.org/10.1111/1475-4754.00101, 2003.
Bull, I. D., Elhmmali, M. M., Perret, V., Matthews, W., Roberts, D. J., and
Evershed, R. P.: Biomarker evidence of faecal deposition in archaeological
sediments at Çatalhöyük, in: Changing materialities at
Çatalhöyük: reports from the 1995–1999 seasons, edited by:
Hodder, I., British Institute at Ankara, McDonald Institute for Archaeological Research, Cambridge, Great Britain, 415–420, https://doi.org/10.18866/j.ctt1pk874x, 2005.
Cornelissen, M. and Reitmaier, T.: Filling the gap: Recent Mesolithic
discoveries in the central and south-eastern Swiss Alps, Quaternary
Int., 423, 9–22,
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.quaint.2015.10.121, 2016.
Egli, M., Mirabella, A., and Sartori, G.: The role of climate and vegetation
in weathering and clay mineral formation in late Quaternary soils of the
Swiss and Italian Alps, Geomorphology, 102, 307–324,
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.geomorph.2008.04.001, 2008.
Evershed, R. P., Bethell, P. H., Reynolds, P. J., and Walsh, N. J.: 5β-Stigmastanol and Related 5β-Stanols as Biomarkers of Manuring:
Analysis of Modern Experimental Material and Assessment of the
Archaeological Potential, J. Archaeol. Sci., 24, 485–495,
https://doi.org/10.1006/jasc.1996.0132, 1997.
Fontana, F., Visentin, D., and Wierer, U.: MesoLife. A Mesolithic perspective
on Alpine and neighbouring territories, Quaternary Int., 423,
1–4, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.quaint.2016.06.016, 2016.
Geitner, C. and Schäfer, D.: Interdisziplinäre Zusammenarbeit an der
Schnittstelle von Archäologie und Bodenkunde im Gebirge –
Grundsätzliche Überlegungen und Beispiele des Mesolithfundplatzes
Ullafelsen (Tirol), in: Archäologie in den Alpen: Alltag und Kult,
edited by: Mandl, F. and Stadler, H., ANISA 3, Nearchos 19, Verein für alpine Forschung, Haus im Ennstal, 25–42, ISBN 978-3-901-07121-8, 2010.
Geitner, C., Bussemer, S., Ehrmann, O., Ikinger, A., Schäfer, D., Traidl, R., and Tscherko, D.: Bodenkundlich-stratigraphische Befunde am Ullafelsen im hinteren Fotschertal sowie ihre landschaftsgeschichtliche Interpretation, in: Das Mesolithikum-Projekt Ullafelsen (Teil 1), Mensch und Umwelt im Holozän Tirols 1, edited by: Schäfer, D., Philipp von Zabern GmbH, Darmstadt, Germany, 109–151, ISBN 978-3-8053-4375-6, 2011.
Geitner, C., Schäfer, D., Bertola, S., Bussemer, S., Heinrich, K., and
Waroszewski, J.: Landscape archaeological results and discussion of
Mesolithic research in the Fotsch valley (Tyrol), in: From the foreland to
the Central Alps – Field trips to selected sites of Quaternary research in
the Tyrolean and Bavarian Alps (DEUQUA EXCURSIONS), E&G Quaternary Science Journal, edited by: Kerschner,
H., Krainer, K., and Spötl, C., Geozon Science Media, Berlin, Germany,
106–115, https://doi.org/10.3285/g.00011, 2014.
Gilck, F. and Poschlod, P.: The origin of alpine farming: A review of
archaeological, linguistic and archaeobotanical studies in the Alps,
Holocene, 29, 1503–1511, https://doi.org/10.1177/0959683619854511,
2019.
Glaser, B. and Birk, J. J.: State of the scientific knowledge on properties
and genesis of Anthropogenic Dark Earths in Central Amazonia (terra preta de
Indio), Geochim. Cosmochim. Ac., 82, 39–51,
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gca.2010.11.029, 2012.
Glaser, B., Haumaier, L., Guggenberger, G., and Zech, W.: The “terra preta”
phenomenon: a model for sustainable agriculture in the humid tropics,
Naturwissenschaften, 88, 37–41, https://doi.org/10.1007/s001140000193,
2001.
Hartmann, M.-A.: Plant sterols and the membrane environment, Trend. Plant
Sci., 3, 170–175, https://doi.org/10.1016/S1360-1385(98)01233-3,
1998.
Haurrault, L., Milek, K., Jarde, E., Jeanneau, L., Derrien, M., and Anderson,
D. G.: Faecal biomarkers can distinguish specific mammalian species in
modern and past environments, PLoS ONE, 14, 1–26,
https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0211119, 2019.
Holtvoeth, J., Vogel, H., Wagner, B., and Wolff, G. A.: Lipid biomarkers in
Holocene and glacial sediments from ancient Lake Ohrid (Macedonia, Albania),
Biogeosciences, 7, 3473–3489, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-7-3473-2010, 2010.
IUSS Working Group WRB: World Reference Base for Soil Resources 2014,
update 2015. International soil classification system for naming soils and
creating legends for soil maps, 106, World Soil Resources Reports FAO, FAO publications,
Rome, E-ISBN 978-92-5-108370-3, 2015.
Kemmer, I.: Die rezente Vegetation im inneren Fotschertal/Nördliche Stubaier Alpen, in: Das Mesolithikum-Projekt Ullafelsen (Teil 1), Mensch und Umwelt im Holozän Tirols 1, edited by: Schäfer, D., Philipp von Zabern GmbH, Darmstadt, Germany, 155–193, ISBN 978-3-8053-4375-6, 2011.
Kuhajda, K., Kandrac, J., Kevresan, S., Mikov, M., and Fawcett, J. P.:
Structure and origin of bile acids: An overview, Eur. J. Drug
Metab. Ph., 31, 135–143,
https://doi.org/10.1007/BF03190710, 2006.
Lauer, F., Prost, K., Gerlach, R., Pätzold, S., Wolf, M., Urmersbach,
S., Lehndorff, E., Eckmeier, E., and Amelung, W.: Organic Fertilization and
Sufficient Nutrient Status in Prehistoric Agriculture? – Indications from
Multi-Proxy Analyses of Archaeological Topsoil Relicts, PLoS ONE, 9, e106244,
https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0106244, 2014.
Lloyd, C. E. M., Michaelides, K., Chadwick, D. R., Dungait, J. A. J., and
Evershed, R. P.: Tracing the flow-driven vertical transport of
livestock-derived organic matter through soil using biomarkers, Org.
Geochem., 43, 56–66, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.orggeochem.2011.11.001,
2012.
Marion, S., Studer, N., Desharnais, L., Menin, L., Escrip, S., Meibom, A.,
Hapfelmeier, S., and Bernier-Latmani, R.: In vitro and in vivo
characterization of Clostridium scindens bile acid transformations, Gut
Microbes, 10, 481–503, https://doi.org/10.1080/19490976.2018.1549420,
2019.
Nittel, P.: Geologie, Hydrogeologie und Geomorphologie des Fotschertals – Kartierungsergebnisse Projekt “Sellrain”, in: Das Mesolithikum-Projekt Ullafelsen (Teil 1), Mensch und Umwelt im Holozän Tirols 1, edited by: Schäfer, D., Philipp von Zabern GmbH, Darmstadt, Germany, 61–92, ISBN 978-3-8053-4375-6, 2011.
Noda, M., Tanaka, M., Seto, Y., Aiba, T., and Oku, C.: Occurrence of
cholesterol as a major sterol component in leaf surface lipids, Lipids, 23,
439–444, https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02535517, 1988.
Ossendorf, G., Groos, A. R., Bromm, T., Tekelemariam, M. G., Glaser, B.,
Lesur, J., Schmidt, J., Akcar, N., Bekele, T., Beldados, A., Demissew, S.,
Kahsay, T. H., Nash, B. P., Nauss, T., Negash, A., Nemomissa, S., Veit, H.,
Vogelsang, R., Woldu, Z., Zech, W., Opgenoorth, L., and Miehe, G.: Middle
Stone Age foragers resided in high elevations of the glaciated Bale
Mountains, Ethiopia, Science, 365, 583–587,
https://doi.org/10.1126/science.aaw8942, 2019.
Piironen, V., Lindsay, D. G., Miettinen, T. A., Toiva, J., and Lampi, A.:
Plant sterols: biosynthesis, biological function and their importance to
human nutrition, J. Sci. Food Agr., 80,
939–966, https://doi.org/10.1002/(SICI)1097-0010(20000515)80:7<939::AID-JSFA644>3.0.CO;2-C, 2000.
Prost, K., Birk, J. J., Lehndorff, E., Gerlach, R., and Amelung, W.: Steroid
Biomarkers Revisited – Improved Source Identification of Faecal Remains in
Archaeological Soil Material, PLoS ONE, 12, 1–30,
https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0164882, 2017.
Reitmaier, T., Doppler, T., Pike, A. W. G., Deschler-Erb, S., Hajdas, I.,
Walser, C., and Gerling, C.: Alpine cattle management during the Bronze Age
at Ramosch-Mottata, Switzerland, Quaternary Int., 484, 19–31,
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.quaint.2017.02.007, 2018.
Sakai, K., Makino, T., Kawai, Y., and Mutai, M.: Intestinal Microflora and
Bile Acids – Effect of Bile Acids on the Distribution of Microflora and Bile
Acid in the Digestive Tract of the Rat, Microbiol. Immun., 24,
187–196, https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1348-0421.1980.tb00578.x, 1980.
Schäfer, D.: Das Mesolithikum-Projekt Ullafelsen – Landschaftlicher Rahmen und archäologische Befunde, Arbeitsstand 2009/2010, in: Das Mesolithikum-Projekt Ullafelsen (Teil 1), Mensch und Umwelt im Holozän Tirols 1, edited by: Schäfer, D., Philipp von Zabern GmbH, Darmstadt, Germany, 245–351, ISBN 978-3-8053-4375-6, 2011a.
Schäfer, D. (Ed.): Das Mesolithikum-Projekt Ullafelsen (Teil 1), Mensch und Umwelt im Holozän Tirols 1, Philipp von Zabern GmbH, Darmstadt, Germany, 560 pp., ISBN 978-3-8053-4375-6, 2011b.
Schäfer, D., Bertola, S., Pawlik, A., Geitner, C., Waroszewski, J., and
Bussemer, S.: The landscape-archaeological Ullafelsen Project (Tyrol,
Austria), Preistoria Alpina, 48, 29–38, 2016.
Schlosser, E.: Das Fotschertal – regionale Klimatologie und gebirgsmeteorologische Aspekte, in: Das Mesolithikum-Projekt Ullafelsen (Teil 1), Mensch und Umwelt im Holozän Tirols 1, edited by: Schäfer, D., Philipp von Zabern GmbH, Darmstadt, Germany, 11–16, ISBN 978-3-8053-4375-6, 2011.
Schroeter, N., Lauterbach, S., Stebich, M., Kalanke, J., Mingram, J.,
Yildiz, C., Schouten, S., and Gleixner, G.: Biomolecular Evidence of Early
Human Occupation of a High-Altitude Site in Western Central Asia During the
Holocene, Front. Earth Sci., 8, 1–20,
https://doi.org/10.3389/feart.2020.00020, 2020.
Shillito, L.-M., Whelton, H. L., Blong, J. C., Jenkins, D. L., Connolly, T.
J., and Bull, I. D.: Pre-Clovis occupation of the Americas identified by
human fecal biomarkers in coprolites from Paisley Caves, Oregon, Sci.
Adv., 6, 1–8, https://doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.aba6404, 2020.
Thomas, L. K. and Hale, M. G.: Effects of kinetin in the rooting medium on
root exudation of free fatty acids and sterols from roots of Arachis
hypogaea L. “argentine” under axenic conditions, Soil Biol.
Biochem., 15, 125–126, https://doi.org/10.1016/0038-0717(83)90131-1,
1983.
Verma, S. and Gupta, R.: Comparative estimation of β-sitosterol in
roots, leaves and flowers of Clerodendrum infortunatum L., Int.
J. Green Ph., 7, 131–135,
https://doi.org/10.4103/0973-8258.116394, 2013.
von der Lühe, B., Dawson, L., Mayes, R. W., Forbes, S. L., and Fiedler,
S.: Investigation of sterols as potential biomarkers for the detection of
pig (S. s. domesticus) decomposition fluid in soils, Forensic Sci.
Int., 230, 68–73, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.forsciint.2013.03.030,
2013.
von der Lühe, B., Birk, J. J., Dawson, L., Mayes, R. W., and Fiedler, S.:
Steroid fingerprints: efficient biomarkers of human decomposition fluids in
soil, Org. Geochem., 124, 228–237,
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.orggeochem.2018.07.016, 2018.
von der Lühe, B., Prost, K., Birk, J. J., and Fiedler, S.: Steroids aid
in human decomposition fluid identification in soils of temporary mass
graves from World War II, J. Archaeol. Sci.-Rep., 32,
102431, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jasrep.2020.102431, 2020.
Wiedner, K., Schneeweiß, J., Dippold, M., and Glaser, B.: Anthropogenic
Dark Earth in Northern Germany – The Nordic Analogue to terra preta de
Índio in Amazonia, Catena, 132, 114–125,
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.catena.2014.10.024, 2015.
Zech, M., Lerch, M., Bliedtner, M., Bromm, T., Seemann, F., Szidat, S., Salazar, G., Zech, R., Glaser, B., Haas, J. N., Schäfer, D., and Geitner, C.: Revisiting the subalpine Mesolithic site Ullafelsen in the Fotsch Valley, Stubai Alps, Austria – new insights into pedogenesis and landscape evolution from leaf-wax-derived n-alkanes, black carbon and radiocarbon dating, E&G Quaternary Sci. J., 70, 171–186, https://doi.org/10.5194/egqsj-70-171-2021, 2021.
Zech, W. and Wilke, B.: Vorläufige Ergebnisse einer
Bodenchronosequenzstudie im Zillertal, Mitt. Deutsch.
Bodenkundl. Gesell., 25, 571–586, 1977.
Zech, W., Schad, P., and Hintermaier-Erhard, G.: Böden der Welt, 2,
Springer Spektrum, Berlin Heidelberg, Germany, E-ISBN 978-3-642-36575-1, 164 pp., 2014.
Short summary
Faecal biomarker analyses present a useful tool in geoarcheological research. For a better understanding of the lives of our ancestors in alpine regions, we investigated modern livestock faeces and Holocene soils at the prehistorical encampment site of Ullafelsen in the Fotsch Valley, Stubai Alps, Austria. Initial results show a high input of livestock faeces and a negligible input of human faeces for this archeological site. Future studies will focus on mire archives in the Fotsch Valley.
Faecal biomarker analyses present a useful tool in geoarcheological research. For a better...
Altmetrics
Final-revised paper
Preprint