Abstract. The Ullafelsen at 1869 m a.s.l. in the Tyrolean Stubai Alps next to Innsbruck is an important (geo-)archaeological reference site for the Mesolithic period. Buried fireplaces on the Ullafelsen plateau were dated at 10.9–9.5 cal. kyrs BP and demonstrate together with thousands of flint stone artifacts the presence of hunter-gatherers during the Early Holocene. Most recently, we demonstrated the great potential of n-alkane and black carbon biomarkers for contributing to a better understanding of pedogenesis and landscape evolution. In order to study the importance of human and/or animals for occupation of this relevant geoarchaeological site, we carried out steroid and bile acid analyses on two modern faeces samples from cattle and sheep and on 37 soil samples from seven soil profiles at the Ullafelsen. The modern animal faeces show a dominance of 5β-stigmastanol and deoxycholic acid for ruminants (cattle and sheep), which is in agreement with literature data. The OAh horizons, which have accumulated and developed since the Mesolithic, revealed high contents of steroids and bile acids; the E (LL) horizon coinciding with the Mesolithic living floor is characterized by medium contents of steroids and bile acids. By contrast, the subsoil horizons Bh, Bs and BvCv contain low contents of faecal biomarkers indicating that leaching of steroids and bile acids into the podsolic subsoils is not an important factor. Deoxycholic acid is the most abundant bile acid in all soil samples and gives evidence for strong faeces input of ruminants. The steroid and bile acid patterns and ratios indicate a negligible input of human faeces on the Ullafelsen. β-Sitosterol as plant-derived steroid has also a strong influence on the faecal biomarker pattern in our soils. Root input into the subsoils is likely reflected by β-sitosterol contents. In conclusion, our results reflect a strong faecal input by livestock, rather than by humans as found for other Anthrosols such as Amazonian Dark Earths. Further studies need to focus on the question of the exact timing of faeces deposition.

中文翻译：

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奥地利斯图拜阿尔卑斯山 Fotsch 山谷 Ullafelsen 史前营地的人类和牲畜粪便生物标志物——潜力和局限性

摘要。Ullafelsen 海拔 1869 米，位于因斯布鲁克附近的蒂罗尔施图拜阿尔卑斯山，是中石器时代重要的（地质）考古参考地点。Ullafelsen 高原上的地埋壁炉的测年时间为 10.9-9.5 卡路里。kyrs BP 并与数以千计的燧石文物一起展示了全新世早期狩猎采集者的存在。最近，我们展示了n的巨大潜力- 烷烃和黑碳生物标志物，有助于更好地了解成土作用和景观演变。为了研究人类和/或动物对占领这一相关地质考古遗址的重要性，我们对来自牛和羊的两个现代粪便样本以及来自 Ullafelsen 的七个土壤剖面的 37 个土壤样本进行了类固醇和胆汁酸分析。现代动物粪便显示5β-豆甾醇和脱氧胆酸对反刍动物（牛和羊）占优势，这与文献数据一致。从中石器时代开始积累和发展的 Oah 层显示出高含量的类固醇和胆汁酸；与中石器时代生活层重合的 E (LL) 地平线的特点是类固醇和胆汁酸含量中等。相比之下，底土层 Bh，Bs 和 BvCv 含有低含量的粪便生物标志物，表明类固醇和胆汁酸浸出到豆荚底土中不是一个重要因素。脱氧胆酸是所有土壤样品中含量最丰富的胆汁酸，并为反刍动物粪便的大量输入提供了证据。类固醇和胆汁酸的模式和比率表明 Ullafelsen 上的人类粪便输入可以忽略不计。β-谷甾醇作为植物衍生的类固醇，对我们土壤中的粪便生物标志物模式也有很大的影响。β-谷甾醇含量可能反映了根输入到底土中。总之，我们的结果反映了牲畜的强烈粪便输入，而不是像亚马逊黑暗地球等其他 Anthrosols 发现的人类粪便输入。进一步的研究需要关注粪便沉积的确切时间问题。