New perspectives on human subsistence during the Magdalenian in the Swabian Jura, Germany

Abstract

The Swabian Jura of southwestern Germany is famous for its Paleolithic sites which have been studied since the 1860s. While there is a rich tradition of research on the Magdalenian, many of the best-known sites were not excavated using modern methods, and recently, few discoveries of new sites have been made. Thus, much of the information on this period comes from sites lacking data collected using modern standards. This has left open questions regarding the recolonization of the Swabian Jura and hunter-gatherer subsistence and settlement during the Magdalenian in the region. Langmahdhalde is a recently discovered rock shelter in the Lone Valley of the Swabian Jura that has intact, well-stratified horizons dating to the Magdalenian with associated lithic artifacts, faunal remains, and combustion features. In this paper, we present a study of the faunal materials from this new site. We use the macrofaunal remains to discuss human subsistence and a taphonomic analysis of the microfaunal remains to determine the spatial scale of our previously published paleoenvironmental interpretations. Our results on human subsistence support previous interpretations from other Magdalenian assemblages in Central Europe. Further, our taphonomic study of the microfauna suggests that our paleoenvironmental analyses are relatively local, within a maximum of 70 km2 from the rock shelter. We place these results within the larger context of human paleoecology in the region and suggest that the successful resettlement of the Swabian Jura by Magdalenian peoples during the Late Glacial was probably facilitated by the presence of a higher diversity of resources on the landscape compared to regions to the west.

Foxes in Retrospect—Unraveling Human-Fox Relationships through Fox Tooth Ornaments in the Swabian Jura

“…Most come from the Middle Paleolithic of Hohlenstein-Stadel (n = 17) [46], reflecting natural deaths from denning animals. The comparative dearth of juveniles from Upper Paleolithic contexts (Vogelherd Aurignacian, n = 1 [35]; Geißenklösterle Gravettian, n = 4 [39]; Vogelherd Magdalenian, n = 1 [35]; Langmahdalde Magdalenian, n = 6 [47]) may indicate issues with preservation or excavation techniques, that caves were not used as fox dens, or that humans did not intentionally hunt juveniles [44].…”

Paleoclimatic and paleoenvironmental reconstructions based on the small vertebrates from the Middle Paleolithic of Hohle Fels Cave, SW Germany

“…The caves and shelters that can be found along these valleys, such as in Hohle Fels, Geißenklösterle, Vogelherd, and Hohlenstein-Stadel (Conard et al 2009;Conard and Kind 2017), are renowned for the musical instruments and the ivory figurines that have been recovered there. The study of subsistence strategies during the Middle and Upper Paleolithic provides useful insights into the behaviour of human groups (Barth et al 2009;Conard et al 2013;Kitagawa 2014;Wong et al 2020b;Bertacchi et al 2021, among others) and recently the potential of small vertebrate studies for the reconstruction of the climatic and environmental conditions faced by those groups was highlighted by the publications of the small mammal assemblage at Hohle Fels (Rhodes et al 2019), Geißenklösterle (Rhodes et al 2018), and Langmahdhalde (Wong et al 2020a).…”