Genesis of loess-like sediments and soils at the foothills of the Banat Mountains, Romania - Examples from the Paleolithic sites Româneşti and Coşava

Initial results indicate hints for a forest step and higher vegetation during MIS 3 at the foothills of the Carpathian Mountains in the Western Plain of Romania. These natural factors offer a local attractiveness of the region which could be the most important reason for the occurrence of first Anatomically Modern Humans. Our investigations lend a better understanding of the paleoenvironment as well as a first age control of Paleolithic levels for the region.