Geoarchaeological approach of the prehistoric inhabitation reconstruction of a key-region (Brăila-Jijila) from the Lower Danube Valley

The stratigraphy of the lower reaches and floodplains store mineral sediments, organic matter, pollen, and charcoal which are important proxies for understanding the environmental evolution that directly interacts with human activity.

The present study is based on four sediment cores (7 to 19 m long) from the Lower Danube floodplain in NW Dobrudgea, close to Galați-Măcin area. The cores were carefully described and sampled for grain size, loess on ignition, magnetic susceptibility, charcoal, pollen and radiocarbon dating to reconstruct the paleoenvironmental changes in a key region for Neolithic cultures dispersal across SE Europe. The results of these combined analyses from the four cores with a special focus on Jijila mastercore (placed in a lake derived from a former embayment) bring new data about the mid and late Holocene floodplain environmental changes and a new perspective regarding the first settlements emplacement in the study area. Lower Danube floodplain inhabitation is still a hotly debated subject. The archaeological findings suggest the first settlements date from the Bronze Age (La Grădini – Jijila; Brăila), whereas recent human bones datings point to an earlier inhabitation during the Mesolithic-Neolithic period (Brăiliţa). The newly obtained charcoal and pollen profiles on Jijila core show two intervals of higher intensity human activity, the first during the Neolithic period and the second during the mid and late Bronze Age. Both periods are highlighted with peaks in charcoal particles and pollen grains (cereals) indicative of human activity.