The environmental setting for the Lateglacial recolonization of the Scheldt basin (North-west Europe) by the Federmesser Gruppen

In this paper the spatial distribution of Federmesser-Gruppen (FMG) sites in the Scheldt Basin is discussed. A clear pattern of focused occupation and exploitation of the dry banks of former dune slacks and freshwater lakes is observed, while the river floodplains were seemingly avoided. The latter may be due to the highly dynamic environment of the rivers, which were characterised by very high discharges and continuous erosion. During the late Allerød (GI-1a) and the transition towards the Younger Dryas (GS-1) the meandering rivers finally stabilised, gradually turning into slow running and shallow streams. This probably was the result of a general decrease of the ground water table, which also affected the inland lakes and ponds, reducing them to dry or swampy depressions. It is assumed that this marked hydrological event, which may be linked to cooling during the Intra Allerød Cold Period (GI-1b) and the subsequent Younger Dryas (GS-1), had a considerable impact on the settlement system of the FMG hunter-gatherers, who may have been forced to leave the Scheldt Basin.