Neandertaliečiai Lietuvoje? Prielaidos, tyrimai ir perspektyvos

LTStraipsnio autoriai siekia pradėti mokslinę diskusiją dar visai nauja Lietuvos archeologijoje mokslinių tyrimų kryptimi. Jie mano, kad geologų tyrimai Lietuvoje bei archeologų atradimai Vidurio, Šiaurės ir Rytų Europoje suteikia pagrindo hipotezei, kad Lietuvos teritorija buvo apgyvendinta žymiai seniau negu poledynmečiu, o senesnių už Homo sapiens hominidų pėdsakų galima aptikti atliekant tikslingus ir sistemingus ilgalaikius mokslinius tyrimus. Darbe apžvelgiamos viduriniojo ir vėlyvojo pleistoceno (800-10 tūkst. prieš dabartį) archeologinių tyrimų Lietuvoje teorinės prielaidos, archeologų atradimai ir tyrimai Europoje, geologų ir archeologų darbai tyrinėjant Merkinės tarpledynmečio paleoežerus Lietuvoje, tarpdisciplininių tyrimų šia kryptimi perspektyvos. [Iš leidinio]Reikšminiai žodžiai: Ankstyvasis žmogus; Homo neanderthalensis; Tarpledynmečiai; Paleoežerai; Early Man; Homo neanderthalensis; Interglacials; Palaeolakes.

ENThe goal of this publication is to initiate a scientific discussion on the question of the inhabitation of Lithuania's territory during the Pleistocene. The oldest traces of inhabitation in Lithuania's territory are currently known from the end of the Late Palaeolithic (12 500 BP) but geological research in Lithuania and archaeological finds in Central, Northern, and Eastern Europe provide a firm basis for the hypothesis that Lithuania's territory was inhabited much earlier than this. Purposive scientific research in search of the camps and other traces of Early Man in Lithuania was begun in 2009 through the interdisciplinary project of a group of Lithuanian and German scientists (The Reconstruction of Pleistocene Lakes and the Search for Traces of Early Human Activity in Southeast Lithuania). Geophysical, geological, and archaeological research was conducted at the Netiesos exposure in south Lithuania. During it, a fragment of an Eemian Interglacial lake bed was reconstructed and fish bones discovered in lacustrine sediments. No traces of Early Man were noticed during the small-scale excavations and in the borehole cores. Despite this the geological research data in Lithuania and archaeological finds in Central Europe allow the assertion to be made that the search for Early Man in Lithuanian territory is meaningful. Southeast Lithuania is convenient for such research since the uneroded old moraine relief, which was not turned over and destroyed by the ice sheet during the Weichselian glaciation, has survived on the Medininkai plateau. Beds of Pleistocene lakes not destroyed by the last glacier have survived in other places in southeast Lithuania. The majority of the palaeolakes are accessible in exposures located on river slopes.The question of whether a systematic search for Early Man will be begun in Lithuania can be rephrased as whether Lithuanian scientists will contribute to the research into the evolution of man as a species. The theoretical premises and necessary research technologies are available. Therefore everything depends on the enthusiasm of the scientists, their ability to work LIST OF TABLES with specialists from different fields, and, the attitude of broad public. Neither deep earthwork nor scientific research into the depths of the earth in search of the solution of geological questions has and will confirm the hypothetical assertion that the oldest people inhabited Lithuanian territory during the interglacials. The examination of large volumes of palaeolake littoral sediments is needed for successful field surveys. It is possible to check the hypothesis of the inhabitation of Lithuania's territoiy prior to the last glaciation only through long-term research: through the purposive, systematic study of the beds and shores of Pleistocene bodies of water, by scientists in different fields combining their knowledge, and through the employment of various deep earth research methods that are rapidly improving in the early 21st centuiy. Especially important in this case is the experience of scientists from those European countries where the remains of interglacial people have been found in various sedimentation environments and studied by interdisciplinary teams of specialists for many years. [From the publication]