Palaeoenvironment and geoconservation of mammoths from the Nosak loess-palaeosol sequence (Drmno, northeastern Serbia): Initial results and perspectives

Abstract

A Quaternary site at Drmno (comprising of Middle and Late Pleistocene loess-palaeosol sequences) near Kostolac, northeast Serbia, attracted attention from the general public and scientists, when several steppe mammoth and other mammal skeletons from Middle Pleistocene fluvial deposits were discovered in 2009 and 2012. This paper presents the combination of malacological and enviromagnetic analyses, preliminary luminescence dating, litho-pedostratigraphic and palaeo-relief investigations that were applied to the Nosak loess-palaeosol sequence for the 2012 findings. The results confirm and emphasize the antiquity of the sediments preserved in the Nosak section and demonstrate the significance of the detailed and relatively complete palaeoenvironmental record they contain. These discoveries can significantly contribute to setting the background towards an improved understanding of the evolution of mammoths on the European continent.