Shelter in Smoleń III – A unique example of stratified Holocene clastic cave sediments in Central Europe, a lithostratigraphic stratotype and a record of regional paleoecology

A cave site Shelter in Smoleń III (southern Poland) contains an approximately 2-m-thick stratified sequence of Upper Pleistocene and Holocene clastic sediments, unique for Central Europe. The sequence contents abundant fossil fauna, including mollusk, rodent and bat remains. The cave sites with long profiles of subfossil fauna present a great value for reconstructions of regional terrestrial paleoenvironment. We explore the stratigraphy of this site through analyses of the lithology and geochemistry of sediments, radiocarbon dating of faunal and human remains and charcoals, and archaeological study, as well as the paleoecology derived from the taxonomic composition of fossil faunal assemblages. Our data show that the entire period of the Holocene is recorded in the rockshelter, which makes that site an exceptional and highly valuable case. We present paleoenvironmental reconstructions of regional importance, and we propose to regard Shelter in Smoleń III as a regional stratigraphic stratotype of Holocene clastic cave sediments.波兰南部斯莫伦III号洞穴庇护所（Shelter in Smoleń III）保存有一套厚度约2米的上更新统（Upper Pleistocene）与全新统（Holocene）碎屑沉积（clastic sediments）层状序列，该序列在中欧地区极具特殊性。该层序产出丰富的化石动物群，涵盖软体动物、啮齿类与蝙蝠遗骸。这类保存有亚化石动物群完整剖面的洞穴遗址，对区域陆地古环境（paleoenvironment）重建具有极高科研价值。本研究通过沉积物岩性（lithology）与地球化学（geochemistry）分析、动物群及人类遗骸与炭屑的放射性碳定年（radiocarbon dating）、考古学研究，以及基于化石动物群组合分类学组成的古生态学（paleoecology）分析，对该遗址的地层学特征展开探究。我们的数据表明，该岩棚遗址完整记录了全新世的全部演化时期，这使其成为一个极具特殊性与高科研价值的研究案例。本研究提出了具有区域意义的古环境重建成果，并建议将斯莫伦III号洞穴庇护所定为全新统碎屑洞穴沉积物的区域地层型剖面（stratigraphic stratotype）。