Reconstruction of vegetation, climate and human history based on pedological and geoarchaeological investigations of the mesolithic site Ullafelsen, Fotschertal next to Innsbruck, Austria

• Applicants: Professor Dr. Bruno Glaser; Professor Dr. Michael Zech
• Subject Area: Physical Geography
• Term: from 2016 to 2022
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 323696876

Since the finding of Ötzi the Iceman, a Chalcolithic mummy, on the Tisenjoch in the Ötztal Mountains in 1991, high mountain archaeology in Tyrol gained scientific and public attention world-wide. Thus, initiated and coordinated by the archaeologist Dieter Schäfer within the Mesolithic Project Ullafelsen, also the Fotsch Valley in the Stubai Mountains close to Innsbruck is intensively investigated for the last 20 years. Thereby, the archaeological research focuses on the Mesolithic site Ullafelsen in 1869 m asl., that was settled by human hunters from 11000 to 9500 BP during summer times. Within this research proposal, three main research objectives shall be addressed by the application of modern soil biogeochemical and archaeometric methods in order to complement the archaeological and soil-stratigraphical work carried out so far. First, the project aims at reconstructing the vegetation history on and around the Ullafelsen before, during and after the human settlement. Nowadays, the Ullafelsen is located in the range of the upper forest line (UFL); however, the UFL is very likely pushed downhill anthropo-zoogenetically. Therefore, it will be investigated whether shifts of the UFL can be proven and maybe even dated. Methodologically, this will be tackled by analysing plant-derived lipid and sugar biomarkers as well as charcoal biomarkers. The second research focus aims at reconstructing the climatic conditions having prevailed before, during and after human settlement of the Ullafelsen. This will be tackled by a coupled stable isotope approach (18O - 2H) carried out on plant-derived lipid and sugar biomarkers and include the application of a recently developed paleohygrometer as well as the application of reconstructed isotopic composition (18O und 2H) of paleoprecipitation and membrane lipids (GDGTs) of soil bacteria as proxies for paleotemperature. The third research focus will lie on the reconstruction of the human impact on the soils at and around the Ullafelsen based on faecal and charcoal biomarkers. In combination with phosphorous and stable nitrogen isotope (15N) analyses, type and intensity of human impact on the soils shall be found out. Answering the above-mentioned research questions using modern soil biogeochemical and archaeometric analytical methods will contribute also beyond the locality Ullafelsen to a better understanding of the Late Glacial and Holocene landscape and climate history of subalpine regions in due consideration of human impact.

• DFG Programme: Research Grants