Sabol M. & Döppes D., 2019: The first radiocarbon dating of a cave lion fossil from the Slovakian Western Carpathians. Acta Geologica Slovaca, 11, 1, 11–14.

The first radiocarbon dating of a cave lion fossil from the Slovakian Western Carpathians

Martin Sabol¹ & Doris Döppes²

¹Department of Geology & Palaeontology, Faculty of Natural Sciences, Comenius University, Ilkovičova 6, SK – 84215 Bratislava, Slovak Republic, martin.sabol@uniba.sk
²Reiss-Engelhorn-Museen, Zeughaus C5, D-68159, Mannheim, Germany, doris.doeppes@mannheim.de

Abstract

So far, no fossils of cave lion (Panthera spelaea) from Slovak sites were dated by the radiocarbon method (AMS – ¹⁴C dating). The rib fragment of cave lion prime adult from Medvedia jaskyňa Cave in the Západné Tatry Mts. is the first cave lion fossil from Slovakia dated by this method in the Curt-Engelhorn-Centre Archaeometry (CEZA) in Mannheim. The analysis showed its age 44,350 ± 730 yrs BP, what is in good agreements with age of cave bear fossils from the same site, dated at the Vienna Environmental Research Accelerator Laboratory in Vienna. The obtained date corresponds well with the MIS 3 period, the warmer climate of which allowed also the cave lion penetration into the mountains areas.

Key words: Panthera spelaea, AMS – ¹⁴C dating, Last Glacial, Medvedia jaskyňa Cave in the Západné Tatry Mts., Slovakia

Manuscript received: 2018-11-15

Revised version accepted: 2019-05-30