Ice Age geomorphological Ahorn Valley and Ailsbach River terrace evolution – and its importance for the cave use possibilities by cave bears, top predators (hyenas, wolves and lions) and humans (Neanderthals, Late Palaeolithics) in the Frankonian Karst: Case studies in the Sophie’s Cave near Kirchahorn, Bavaria

Abstract

Abstract. Die Sophienhöhle in Oberfranken, Bayern (Süddeutschland) erodierte in die massiven Ober-Jura Riff-Dolomite und ist eine perfektes Modell inklusive aller drei Höhlengenese-Stadien von 1. Ponor-Höhle, 2. Intermediate zeitweilig geflutete Höhle, 3. Trocken-Höhle. Die Schlüsselposition entlang des Ahorn-Tales, einem Seitental des größeren Wiesent-Flusstales, erlaubt eine genaue Höhlengenese und Verfüllungsrekonstruktion, die bereits im Pliozän begann. Die Hauptverfüllung mit Flussterrassen-Relikt-Sedimentserien fand im Mittel- bis Spät-Pleistozän statt. Sieben Höhlen-Genese und Verfüllungs-Stadien zwischen dem Pliozän und ausgehenden Spät-Pleistozän können in den Höhlenlagen zwischen 440 to 375 ü. N.N. unterschieden werden. Die Eintiefungsschritte des Ailsbachs im Ahorn-Tal sind wichtig für das Verständnis der Zugangsmöglichkeit der talnahen Höhlen für Eiszeittiere und paläolithische Menschen in verschiedenen Tälern von Oberfranken zu unterschiedlichen Zeiten, sowie den generellen Höhleneingangs-Öffnungen und -Schließungen während der Entwässerungs-Phasen in den Tälern.

Extinctions of Late Ice Age Cave Bears as a Result of Climate/Habitat Change and Large Carnivore Lion/Hyena/Wolf Predation Stress in Europe

“…A first new discussion about river terraces in Upper Franconia appeared with the new sedimentological research of the Zoolithen Cave along the Wiesent Valley, where 140 meters above today's river elevation the entrance must have been flooded after 35.000 BP, dated by cave bear tooth morphology and stratigraphy [2]. Obviously the Zoolithen Cave had been flooded (as already thought by Esper [14], but there is a different "biblical scenario"), and river terrace coarse dolomite pebbles were deposited in the main hall, in which the replaced most of the bone layers, which latter accumulated in bonebeds in strong flood events into the Figure 2: (a) Cave bear biogeography and possible migration models, evolution, and extinction with faunal exchange in Europe with the main different models ("cave bear" illustrations by G. "Rinaldino" Teichmann; Graphics: PaleoLogic) (cave bear evolution composed after [18][19][20][21] A first sedimentological study in the Sophie's Cave was made [25], of which herein only the main results are presented. Die Sophie's Cave eroded into massive Upper Jurassic sponge-reef-dolomites such as all caves in the surrounding of Franconian village Muggendorf [15,40] whereas the branches within the cave system are oriented on larger NNO-SSW cleft systems.…”

“…Those floods destroyed also parts of the middle parts of the sections and sediment sequences of the Middle Pleistocene and "intercalate" into those ( Figure 4). A single lower jaw found attached below the latest speleothem layer about 16.000-12.000 BP, (see [25]) date precisely a younger and larger cave bear (U. ingressus), from those (U. s. spelaeus/eremus) which were found below the speleothem layer in sands and clays. Within the speleothem layer of the Reindeer Hall (and also Sand Chamber) many shed reindeer antlers were encrusted somehow after 16.000 BP [25].…”

“…One of the pelvic halves (=coxa) seems to have been removed historically; a second half (another coxa) was excavated and prepared within the new campaign. This reindeer antler taphonomy is still in human origin discussion, but hyenas and wolves as accumulators of more then 100 shed and selected large male antlers must be excluded, whereas a "shamanic background of Late Magdalénians/Epipalaeolithics" in the final Ice Age has to be considered most [25].…”

“…Whereas in another publication [25] the sedimentology, valley, and cave genesis were studied in detail, the Pleistocene fauna is presented with taphonomically comparison to other Upper Franconian and mainly German cave bear den caves. Another target is the cave bear material dating, which indirectly dates the sediment layers in the cave.…”

“…Middle and Upper Jurassic ammonite and fossil fragments, and Jurassic Flintstones (fossilized spongee), and siltstones, but also Lower Cretaceous river quartzite (secondary reworked), which were eroded north, allowed the reconstruction of the river flow direction to the south. Most of those sediments reach up to the elevation about 415 a.s.l., which were finally covered by the first up to 20 cm thick speleothem layer (older generation see [25]), were eroded together within the Middle Pleistocene. At this time, the first cave entrance was opened (Bear's Passage entrance, today blocked), which was used later in the Late Pleistocene by cave bears and carnivores.…”