The Middle Pleistocene tunnel valley at Schöningen as a Paleolithic archive

Lang, Jörg; Böhner, Utz; Polom, Ulrich; Serangeli, Jordi; Winsemann, Jutta

doi:10.1016/j.jhevol.2015.02.004

Cited by 31 publications

(21 citation statements)

References 49 publications

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“…Stratigraphy, however, provides evidence of the older age of Sch€ oningen 13/I-1. These dating results clearly allow for an attribution of the sediments of Sch€ oningen 13/I-1 and 13/II-2 to the same isotopic stage, in accordance with the sedimentation model by Lang et al ( , 2015 and also with the occurrence of the mammals from 13/1 in 13/II, which might indicate a short time span between sediment depositions.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 84%

“…Additionally a disagreement of the presented dating result has to be stated with the mammalian record which correlates Sch€ oningen 13/I with MIS 11 (Van Kolfschoten, 2014), as well as with the palynological model if the Holsteinian is correlated with MIS 11. However, considering the model put forward by Lang et al ( , 2015, the sediments of Sch€ oningen 13/I and 13/II do not have to correspond to different MIS and the only discrepancy of the TL-dating result lies with the generally disputed correlation of the Holsteinian palynology to MIS 11.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 96%

“…The lens shaped interglacial sediments were interpreted as fillings of kettle holes (Elsner, 1987), tectono-climatologically driven channels reflecting the glacial series (Mania, 1995(Mania, , 2006, or as river delta/ lake deposits in a tunnel-valley Lang et al, , 2015.…”

Section: The Sedimentological Chronostratigraphic Modelsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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The age of the Lower Paleolithic occupation at Schöningen

Richter

Krbetschek

2015

Journal of Human Evolution

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 84%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 96%

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The age of the Lower Paleolithic occupation at Schöningen

Richter

Krbetschek

2015

Journal of Human Evolution

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“…The Paleolithic site complex of Sch€ oningen is preserved in an elongated trough, which dissects the underlying Paleogene marine bedrock. Lang et al (2012Lang et al ( , 2015 recently interpreted the trough as a tunnel valley that formed underneath the Elsterian ice shield. Mania (1995Mania ( , 2007 interpreted the formation of the trough as a result of salt dome solution, which resulted in lowering of the basin.…”

Section: Sch€ Oningenmentioning

confidence: 99%

On the evidence for human use and control of fire at Schöningen

Stahlschmidt

Miller

Ligouis

et al. 2015

Journal of Human Evolution

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When and how humans began to control fire has been a central debate in Paleolithic archaeology for decades. Fire plays an important role in technology, social organization, subsistence, and manipulation of the environment and is widely seen as a necessary adaptation for the colonization of northern latitudes. Many researchers view purported hearths, burnt wooden implements, and heated flints from Schöningen as providing the best evidence for the control of fire in the Lower Paleolithic of Northern Europe. Here we present results of a multianalytical study of the purported hearths along with a critical examination of other possible evidence of human use or control of fire at Schöningen. We conclude that the analyzed features and artifacts present no convincing evidence for human use or control of fire. Our study also shows that a multianalytical, micro-contextual approach is the best methodology for evaluating claims of early evidence of human-controlled fire. We advise caution with macroscopic, qualitative identification of combustion features, burnt flint, and burnt wood without the application of such techniques as micromorphology, Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, organic petrology, luminescence, and analysis of mineral magnetic parameters. The lack of evidence for the human control of fire at Schöningen raises the possibility that fire control was not a necessary adaptation for the human settlement of northern latitudes in the Lower Paleolithic.

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“…The analysis of the glacial drift demonstrates a Scandinavian or west-Baltic origin for the materials transported by the Elsterian glaciers in and around Sch€ oningen (Tschee, 1991;Hoffmann and Meyer, 1997). The erosional processes, including high pressure melt water occurring below the Elsterian ice sheet, produced a tunnel valley at the foot of the Elm ridge that overlooks Sch€ oningen Lang et al, , 2015. Within this depression the retreat of the Elsterian glacier from the northern edges of the Harz Mountains left behind till, meltwater sediments, and glaciolacustrine deposits.…”

Section: The Raw Materialsmentioning

confidence: 99%