Archaeological sites of the Süttő Travertine Complex (Hungary) with stratigraphical and paleoecological implications from their faunas

The Süttő Travertine Complex in northern Hungary is known in the geological literature for more than a century as a series of paleontological sites. This site is one of the largest travertine occurrences of the Gerecse Hills. Loose Upper Pleistocene eolian sediments (mainly Riss-Würmian loess and Holocene topsoil) cover the eroded surface of the travertine. Beside vertebrate assemblages, two archaeological sites were described from this area. One (Süttő-Diósárok) was a Paleolithic fire pit situated in the road cut between Süttő and the quarries, while the other one was discovered in a fissure of the northern wall of Diósvölgy Quarry. The latter is part of the Süttő 1 vertebrate site.Vértes (1965) referred the artifacts from Süttő-Diósárok to the Moustérian (Tata Culture). This site is referred here to MIS 5c, based on the vertebrate and snail faunas representing warm and dry climate, and steppe-like vegetation, as well as the tool-bearing dark brown chernozem-like paleosol layer of the loess–paleosol sequence, with a luminescence age of 93.7 ± 21.1 ka.Artificially fractured bones were excavated from the small cavity of Süttő 1. Some of those remains display toolmarks. Unfortunately, these bones are currently missing from the collection. The latter artifacts most likely belong to a level which pre-dates the Tata Culture. Paleoecological inferences based on the mammalian and mollusc faunas indicated warm, humid climate and forest vegetation, therefore suggesting a stratigraphic correlation of Süttő 1 with the Eemian interglacial (MIS 5e).