Dating the Labajowa cave Poland

Labajowa Cave, located in the Kraków-Czestochowa Upland (southern Poland), preserves a complex stratigraphic sequence that documents environmental and depositional dynamics from the early Late Pleistocene to the Holocene. The cave's infill reflects a non-continuous, multi-phase sedimentary history shaped by both natural and potentially anthropogenic processes. Through an integrated multidisciplinary approach, combining micromorphology, radiocarbon and OSL dating, paleontology, anthracology, geochemistry, and ancient DNA studies on fossil voles, this study reconstructs the chronological, paleoenvironmental and paleoclimatic framework. The stratigraphical sequence reveals alternating phases of slow accumulation, erosion, and redeposition, with weak anthropogenic signals in the lower units. Faunal assemblages dominated by small mammals, birds, and molluscs reflect significant climatic oscillations between MIS 5 and MIS 2/1, with shifts from mainly temperate to cold-adapted taxa. The charcoal and the micromorphological analyses also indicate episodic fire activity, probably of natural origin. The stratigraphic complexity of Labajowa Cave provides a valuable record for reconstructing the interactions between sedimentary dynamics, climate variability, and faunal changes during the Late Pleistocene in Central Europe.