A detailed analysis of the spatial distribution of Schöningen 13II-4 ‘Spear Horizon’ faunal remains

García‐Moreno, Alejandro; Hutson, Jarod M.; Villaluenga, Aritza; Turner, Elaine; Gaudzinski‐Windheuser, Sabine

doi:10.1016/j.jhevol.2020.102947

Cited by 10 publications

(8 citation statements)

References 44 publications

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“…2; García‐Moreno et al . 2021). Here, around one‐third of the assemblage distributes across 1800 m 2 (almost 50% of the excavated surface).…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Valves were identified under a Leica M80 stereoscopic microscope using standard identification keys (e.g. Meisch 2000;Fuhrmann 2012).…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Different lines of evidence, including the orientation of finds (Peters & van Kolfschoten 2020; García‐Moreno et al . 2021), the taphonomy of faunal remains (Turner et al . 2018; Hutson et al .…”

Section: Figmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…2015; Peters & van Kolfschoten 2020; García‐Moreno et al . 2021) and micromorphology analysis (Stahlschmidt et al . 2015), indicate that high‐energy processes were not involved in the formation history of the site and, therefore, the assemblage was found in ‘primary position’ and yields potential for analysing the spatial traces of human activity.…”

Section: Figmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Spatial interpretation of high‐resolution environmental proxy data of the Middle Pleistocene Palaeolithic faunal kill site Schöningen 13 II‐4, Germany

Urban

Krahn

Kasper

et al. 2023

Boreas

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To spatially characterize the palaeolakeshore environment at the archaeological kill site Sch€ oningen 13 II-4 of the Middle Pleistocene Reinsdorf sequence, in-depth palynological, geochemical, aquatic microfossil and archaeological analyses were undertaken on sediment sections with an average thickness of about 15 cm, concordantly overlain by faunal remains, dominated by horse, from the unique 'Spear Horizon' layers of the 1995 excavation campaign. The data reveal a distinctive lake level drop, documented by the change from a carbonate-rich lake marl to a carbonate-free organic mud with increased carbon content and decreasing C/N, Si/Al, Si/K and Fe/Al ratios, indicating a higher pedogenic supply of organic matter and drier conditions at the site. Compared with older, similar transitional phases of lake level changes occurring within the Reinsdorf sequence, it is important that these youngest sediments are undisturbed, indicating continuous development. Ostracod and diatom analyses indicate a lowering water level with higher salinities and rich aquatic vegetation. Mesorheophilic ostracod species along with tychoplanktic diatom taxa point to flowing waters and turbulence at the lakeshore, presumably related to spring-fed streams originating from nearby highlands. Palynological results reveal a very diverse zonal vegetation pattern around the palaeolakeshore considering an area of investigation of approximately 50 9 75 m and a tessellated type of regional vegetation during the formation of the archaeological horizons. On topographically lower elevated areas, birch groves and taxa favouring wet, marshy conditions such as Cyperaceae, indicative of terrestrialization, were predominating, while other stands of this transitional phase reveal a very dry, grass-dominated steppe woodland favouring a rich wildlife with a striking number of megaherbivores. Our results suggest that the lithological differences of the 'Spear Horizon' layers containing the archaeological finds were due to their respective topographical situation and that the layers were deposited almost simultaneously during the beginning of the lake level drop. Human activities seem to have concentrated in sparsely vegetated areas along the palaeolakeshore, rather than in areas of adjacent denser birch swamp forest stands.

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“…2; García‐Moreno et al . 2021). Here, around one‐third of the assemblage distributes across 1800 m 2 (almost 50% of the excavated surface).…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Valves were identified under a Leica M80 stereoscopic microscope using standard identification keys (e.g. Meisch 2000;Fuhrmann 2012).…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Figmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Figmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 2 more Smart Citations

Spatial interpretation of high‐resolution environmental proxy data of the Middle Pleistocene Palaeolithic faunal kill site Schöningen 13 II‐4, Germany

Urban

Krahn

Kasper

et al. 2023

Boreas

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“…Our elephant window into Pleistocene subsistence strategies now shows unambiguously that Middle Paleolithic foragers not only hunted a wide array of prey animals, including the largest terrestrial mammals of the Pleistocene: They were also capable of dealing with large amounts of meat and fat in relatively short processing activities, easily and routinely managed by Neanderthals, as demonstrated by the exceptionally large food packages that they produced at Neumark-Nord 1. This opens up a new frame of reference for the interpretation of large accumulations of cut-marked and broken faunal remains, not only at Neumark-Nord 2 but also at other sites, e.g., the horses from the 300-ka-old site of Schöningen ( 49 , 50 ), the various faunal complexes from the 200-ka-old site Biache-Saint-Vaast (France), which include many cut-marked rhinoceros remains ( 46 ), or the rich reindeer assemblage from the Last Glacial (early Weichselian) site of Salzgitter-Lebenstedt ( 45 ). Often interpreted as the results of a single communal hunting event ( 40 ), the fat and protein products of such a reindeer hunt (MNI, 86) would have been rather similar to that of one 13–metric ton Neumark-Nord elephant.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Hunting and processing of straight-tusked elephants 125.000 years ago: Implications for Neanderthal behavior

Gaudzinski‐Windheuser

Kindler

MacDonald

et al. 2023

Sci. Adv.

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Straight-tusked elephants ( Palaeoloxodon antiquus ) were the largest terrestrial mammals of the Pleistocene, present in Eurasian landscapes between 800,000 and 100,000 years ago. The occasional co-occurrence of their skeletal remains with stone tools has generated rich speculation about the nature of interactions between these elephants and Pleistocene humans: Did hominins scavenge on elephants that died a natural death or maybe even hunt some individuals? Our archaeozoological study of the largest P. antiquus assemblage known, excavated from 125,000-year-old lake deposits in Germany, shows that hunting of elephants weighing up to 13 metric tons was part of the cultural repertoire of Last Interglacial Neanderthals there, over >2000 years, many dozens of generations. The intensity and nutritional yields of these well-documented butchering activities, combined with previously reported data from this Neumark-Nord site complex, suggest that Neanderthals were less mobile and operated within social units substantially larger than commonly envisaged.

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Not only domestic spaces: dismantling short‐term occupations in Level 497D of Cova Gran de Santa Linya (Pre‐Pyrenees, Spain)

Sánchez‐Romero,

Martínez‐Moreno,

Benito‐Calvo

et al. 2024

J Quaternary Science

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The Early Upper Paleolithic Level 497D of Cova Gran (Pre‐Pyrenees, Spain) comprises large assemblages of lithics, fauna, hearths, ash accumulations and well‐preserved refitting sequences. This provides exceptional information to analyze spatial patterns and deepen our understanding of the socio‐economic behavior of these human groups. This large interdisciplinary dataset has allowed us to carry out a detailed spatial study based on density analysis, geostatistics, fabric analysis and orientation techniques, revealing a structuring of the activities performed within the rock shelter. The distribution and accumulation of lithic artifacts, fauna and refits, and their association with the 10 hearths and ash accumulations, show that different types of activities were developed at the site, as well as showing the different uses of the hearths. 497D is a palimpsest where several short‐term occupations and/or activities could have occurred in a relatively short period of time, avoiding prolonged exposure to biotic and abiotic post‐depositional factors that could have significantly disturbed this well‐preserved assemblage. This level shows a place visited several times in relation to the development of specific activities, with movements throughout the landscape for the exploitation of local and regional resources, and less so its use as a domestic space. This implies that the central settlement, or dwelling space, would have been located somewhere other than Cova Gran.

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A detailed analysis of the spatial distribution of Schöningen 13II-4 ‘Spear Horizon’ faunal remains

Cited by 10 publications

References 44 publications

Spatial interpretation of high‐resolution environmental proxy data of the Middle Pleistocene Palaeolithic faunal kill site Schöningen 13 II‐4, Germany

Spatial interpretation of high‐resolution environmental proxy data of the Middle Pleistocene Palaeolithic faunal kill site Schöningen 13 II‐4, Germany

Hunting and processing of straight-tusked elephants 125.000 years ago: Implications for Neanderthal behavior

Not only domestic spaces: dismantling short‐term occupations in Level 497D of Cova Gran de Santa Linya (Pre‐Pyrenees, Spain)

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