Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, Apr 1, 2024
Ethnographic records show wooden tools played a pivotal role in the daily lives of hunter-gathere... more Ethnographic records show wooden tools played a pivotal role in the daily lives of hunter-gatherers including food procurement tools used in hunting (e.g. spears, throwing sticks) and gathering (e.g. digging sticks, bark peelers), as well as, domestic tools (e.g. handles, vessels). However, wood rarely survives in the archaeological record, especially in Pleistocene contexts and knowledge of prehistoric hunter-gatherer lifeways is strongly biased by the survivorship of more resilient materials such as lithics and bones. Consequently, very few Palaeolithic sites have produced wooden artefacts and among them, the site of Schöningen stands out due to its number and variety of wooden tools. The recovery of complete wooden spears and throwing sticks at this 300,000-year-old site (MIS 9) led to a paradigm shift in the hunter vs scavenger debate. For the first time and almost 30 years after their discovery, this study introduces the complete wooden assemblage from Schöningen 13 II-4 known as the Spear Horizon. In total, 187 wooden artefacts could be identified from the Spear Horizon demonstrating a broad spectrum of wood working techniques, including the splitting technique. A minimum of 20 hunting weapons is now recognised and two newly identified artefact types comprise 35 tools made on split woods, which were likely used in domestic activities. Schöningen 13 II-4 represents the largest Pleistocene wooden artefact assemblage worldwide and demonstrates the key role woodworking had in human evolution. Finally, our results considerably change the interpretation of the Pleistocene lakeshore site of Schöningen.
During the Upper Paleolithic, lions become an important theme in Paleolithic art and are more fre... more During the Upper Paleolithic, lions become an important theme in Paleolithic art and are more frequent in anthropogenic faunal assemblages. However, the relationship between hominins and lions in earlier periods is poorly known and primarily interpreted as interspecies competition. Here we present new evidence for Neanderthal-cave lion interactions during the Middle Paleolithic. We report new evidence of hunting lesions on the 48,000 old cave lion skeleton found at Siegsdorf (Germany) that attest to the earliest direct instance of a large predator kill in human history. A comparative analysis of a partial puncture to a rib suggests that the fatal stab was delivered with a wooden thrusting spear. We also present the discovery of distal lion phalanges at least 190,000 old from Einhornhöhle (Germany), representing the earliest example of the use of cave lion skin by Neanderthals in Central Europe. Our study provides novel evidence on a new dimension of Neanderthal behavioral complexity.
Rietberg - Große Höppe is an Azilian/ Early Federmesser site complex located in the Westphalian B... more Rietberg - Große Höppe is an Azilian/ Early Federmesser site complex located in the Westphalian Basin, Germany, that is radiocarbon dated to the early Allerød phase GI-1c3 (13.700 cal BP). Currently, it represents the earliest dated evidence for the re-colonization of Westphalia after the LGM. Pollen evidence suggests an open woodland landscape surrounding the Pleistocene Ems floodplain where the Rietberg sites are located. The three major sites Rietberg 1, 2 and 5 represent different activities spectrums. While Rietberg 1 stands for a typical bas camp structured by domestic and re-tooling activities, at Rietberg 2 a single fire place was entertained that likely served to repair projectiles. Rietberg 5 is structured by small flint knapping areas, fire activities and pit features. A sparsity of retouched tools combined with an abundance of knapping debris at Rietberg 5 supports the notion of a workshop site. Studies on the lithic techno-typology have shown similarities with Azilian assemblages in the Paris Basin, such as Conty, le Marais, niveau inférieur and Hangest-sur-Somme III.1, niveau inférieur. Other objects of interest found at Rietberg 1 are comprised of a shaft straightener and a perforated stone that may have served as a pendant; both are rare finds in Late Palaeolithic contexts in Central Europe. Reference: A. Maier & D. Leder 2018. Rietberg. Die spätglaziale Wiederbesiedlung Westfalens. In: J. Richter 2018 (Ed.), 111 Jahre Prähistorische Archäologie in Köln. Köln, Kölner Studien zur Prähistorischen Archäologie 9., 110-121. ISBN 978-3-86757-369-6
Lithics: The Journal of the Lithic Studies Society, 2017
The Levant occupies a particular geographic position between Africa and Europe that has made it p... more The Levant occupies a particular geographic position between Africa and Europe that has made it pivotal in understanding human dispersals between Africa and Eurasia. The so-called Middle to Upper Palaeolithic transition between 50–40 ka calBP is traditionally seen as related to the advent of Homo sapiens in the Levant (Out-of-Africa 2b). This time is characterised by substantial changes in material culture. Associated lithic assemblages are traditionally accommodated under the umbrella terms Transitional industries or Initial Upper Palaeolithic (IUP). The aim of this paper is to identify core reduction strategies carried out at the IUP sites of Ksar Akil and Abou Halka in Lebanon and their intended end products, providing new data on past human behaviour that shaped material culture. While most studies on lithic materials from IUP assemblages revolve around techno-typological data that were collected on individual artefacts (static approach), the approach chosen here partially follo...
The site of Schöningen (Germany), dated to ca. 300,000 years ago, yielded the earliest large-scal... more The site of Schöningen (Germany), dated to ca. 300,000 years ago, yielded the earliest large-scale record of humanly-made wooden tools. These include wooden spears and shorter double-pointed sticks, discovered in association with herbivores that were hunted and butchered along a lakeshore. Wooden tools have not been systematically analysed to the same standard as other Palaeolithic technologies, such as lithic or bone tools. Our multianalytical study includes micro-CT scanning, 3-dimensional microscopy, and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, supporting a systematic technological and taphonomic analysis, thus setting a new standard for wooden tool analysis. In illustrating the biography of one of Schöningen’s double-pointed sticks, we demonstrate new human behaviours for this time period, including sophisticated woodworking techniques. The hominins selected a spruce branch which they then debarked and shaped into an aerodynamic and ergonomic tool. They likely seasoned the wood ...
The paleoecology of the giant deer (Megaloceros giganteus), including its dietary preferences, is... more The paleoecology of the giant deer (Megaloceros giganteus), including its dietary preferences, is poorly known, mainly because reconstructions based on morphological characteristics have produced contradictory results. In this study, we propose to reconstruct the diet of the giant deer from five archaeological sites located in Southern Germany and the Harz Mountains using microwear and mesowear analyses. We also include the results of a review of tooth wear data published during the past decade for ten localities in Europe. The objective is to provide a largescale vision of the diet of the giant deer and to analyse the spatial and temporal diversity of its dietary habits. According to our results, the dietary traits of the giant deer were found to range from leaf browsing to grass-dominated mixed feeding, depending on the vegetation available regionally and seasonally. The combination of the two proxies, mesowear and microwear, allowed us to characterize the dietary flexibility of t...
The analysis of wood technologies created by stone tool-using cultures remains underdeveloped rel... more The analysis of wood technologies created by stone tool-using cultures remains underdeveloped relative to the study of lithic and bone technologies. In recent years archaeologists have begun to approach wood assemblages systematically, developing macro- and micro-analyses of natural and anthropogenic traces often with the assistance of experimental reference samples. The present a lack of established nomenclature hinders intra-site comparisons. Creating this glossary helps will help advance understanding of the use of wood for technological purposes in different times and places. Clear definitions of terms are useful to avoid confusion in ongoing and future evaluations of the biography of wood artefacts. This glossary and associated code is a first step towards a synthesis and standardisation of analytical terms for early wood technologies, focusing on archaeological assemblages from cultures that used stone tools. References and further reading support the selection of terms, and a...
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, Apr 1, 2024
Ethnographic records show wooden tools played a pivotal role in the daily lives of hunter-gathere... more Ethnographic records show wooden tools played a pivotal role in the daily lives of hunter-gatherers including food procurement tools used in hunting (e.g. spears, throwing sticks) and gathering (e.g. digging sticks, bark peelers), as well as, domestic tools (e.g. handles, vessels). However, wood rarely survives in the archaeological record, especially in Pleistocene contexts and knowledge of prehistoric hunter-gatherer lifeways is strongly biased by the survivorship of more resilient materials such as lithics and bones. Consequently, very few Palaeolithic sites have produced wooden artefacts and among them, the site of Schöningen stands out due to its number and variety of wooden tools. The recovery of complete wooden spears and throwing sticks at this 300,000-year-old site (MIS 9) led to a paradigm shift in the hunter vs scavenger debate. For the first time and almost 30 years after their discovery, this study introduces the complete wooden assemblage from Schöningen 13 II-4 known as the Spear Horizon. In total, 187 wooden artefacts could be identified from the Spear Horizon demonstrating a broad spectrum of wood working techniques, including the splitting technique. A minimum of 20 hunting weapons is now recognised and two newly identified artefact types comprise 35 tools made on split woods, which were likely used in domestic activities. Schöningen 13 II-4 represents the largest Pleistocene wooden artefact assemblage worldwide and demonstrates the key role woodworking had in human evolution. Finally, our results considerably change the interpretation of the Pleistocene lakeshore site of Schöningen.
During the Upper Paleolithic, lions become an important theme in Paleolithic art and are more fre... more During the Upper Paleolithic, lions become an important theme in Paleolithic art and are more frequent in anthropogenic faunal assemblages. However, the relationship between hominins and lions in earlier periods is poorly known and primarily interpreted as interspecies competition. Here we present new evidence for Neanderthal-cave lion interactions during the Middle Paleolithic. We report new evidence of hunting lesions on the 48,000 old cave lion skeleton found at Siegsdorf (Germany) that attest to the earliest direct instance of a large predator kill in human history. A comparative analysis of a partial puncture to a rib suggests that the fatal stab was delivered with a wooden thrusting spear. We also present the discovery of distal lion phalanges at least 190,000 old from Einhornhöhle (Germany), representing the earliest example of the use of cave lion skin by Neanderthals in Central Europe. Our study provides novel evidence on a new dimension of Neanderthal behavioral complexity.
Rietberg - Große Höppe is an Azilian/ Early Federmesser site complex located in the Westphalian B... more Rietberg - Große Höppe is an Azilian/ Early Federmesser site complex located in the Westphalian Basin, Germany, that is radiocarbon dated to the early Allerød phase GI-1c3 (13.700 cal BP). Currently, it represents the earliest dated evidence for the re-colonization of Westphalia after the LGM. Pollen evidence suggests an open woodland landscape surrounding the Pleistocene Ems floodplain where the Rietberg sites are located. The three major sites Rietberg 1, 2 and 5 represent different activities spectrums. While Rietberg 1 stands for a typical bas camp structured by domestic and re-tooling activities, at Rietberg 2 a single fire place was entertained that likely served to repair projectiles. Rietberg 5 is structured by small flint knapping areas, fire activities and pit features. A sparsity of retouched tools combined with an abundance of knapping debris at Rietberg 5 supports the notion of a workshop site. Studies on the lithic techno-typology have shown similarities with Azilian assemblages in the Paris Basin, such as Conty, le Marais, niveau inférieur and Hangest-sur-Somme III.1, niveau inférieur. Other objects of interest found at Rietberg 1 are comprised of a shaft straightener and a perforated stone that may have served as a pendant; both are rare finds in Late Palaeolithic contexts in Central Europe. Reference: A. Maier & D. Leder 2018. Rietberg. Die spätglaziale Wiederbesiedlung Westfalens. In: J. Richter 2018 (Ed.), 111 Jahre Prähistorische Archäologie in Köln. Köln, Kölner Studien zur Prähistorischen Archäologie 9., 110-121. ISBN 978-3-86757-369-6
Lithics: The Journal of the Lithic Studies Society, 2017
The Levant occupies a particular geographic position between Africa and Europe that has made it p... more The Levant occupies a particular geographic position between Africa and Europe that has made it pivotal in understanding human dispersals between Africa and Eurasia. The so-called Middle to Upper Palaeolithic transition between 50–40 ka calBP is traditionally seen as related to the advent of Homo sapiens in the Levant (Out-of-Africa 2b). This time is characterised by substantial changes in material culture. Associated lithic assemblages are traditionally accommodated under the umbrella terms Transitional industries or Initial Upper Palaeolithic (IUP). The aim of this paper is to identify core reduction strategies carried out at the IUP sites of Ksar Akil and Abou Halka in Lebanon and their intended end products, providing new data on past human behaviour that shaped material culture. While most studies on lithic materials from IUP assemblages revolve around techno-typological data that were collected on individual artefacts (static approach), the approach chosen here partially follo...
The site of Schöningen (Germany), dated to ca. 300,000 years ago, yielded the earliest large-scal... more The site of Schöningen (Germany), dated to ca. 300,000 years ago, yielded the earliest large-scale record of humanly-made wooden tools. These include wooden spears and shorter double-pointed sticks, discovered in association with herbivores that were hunted and butchered along a lakeshore. Wooden tools have not been systematically analysed to the same standard as other Palaeolithic technologies, such as lithic or bone tools. Our multianalytical study includes micro-CT scanning, 3-dimensional microscopy, and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, supporting a systematic technological and taphonomic analysis, thus setting a new standard for wooden tool analysis. In illustrating the biography of one of Schöningen’s double-pointed sticks, we demonstrate new human behaviours for this time period, including sophisticated woodworking techniques. The hominins selected a spruce branch which they then debarked and shaped into an aerodynamic and ergonomic tool. They likely seasoned the wood ...
The paleoecology of the giant deer (Megaloceros giganteus), including its dietary preferences, is... more The paleoecology of the giant deer (Megaloceros giganteus), including its dietary preferences, is poorly known, mainly because reconstructions based on morphological characteristics have produced contradictory results. In this study, we propose to reconstruct the diet of the giant deer from five archaeological sites located in Southern Germany and the Harz Mountains using microwear and mesowear analyses. We also include the results of a review of tooth wear data published during the past decade for ten localities in Europe. The objective is to provide a largescale vision of the diet of the giant deer and to analyse the spatial and temporal diversity of its dietary habits. According to our results, the dietary traits of the giant deer were found to range from leaf browsing to grass-dominated mixed feeding, depending on the vegetation available regionally and seasonally. The combination of the two proxies, mesowear and microwear, allowed us to characterize the dietary flexibility of t...
The analysis of wood technologies created by stone tool-using cultures remains underdeveloped rel... more The analysis of wood technologies created by stone tool-using cultures remains underdeveloped relative to the study of lithic and bone technologies. In recent years archaeologists have begun to approach wood assemblages systematically, developing macro- and micro-analyses of natural and anthropogenic traces often with the assistance of experimental reference samples. The present a lack of established nomenclature hinders intra-site comparisons. Creating this glossary helps will help advance understanding of the use of wood for technological purposes in different times and places. Clear definitions of terms are useful to avoid confusion in ongoing and future evaluations of the biography of wood artefacts. This glossary and associated code is a first step towards a synthesis and standardisation of analytical terms for early wood technologies, focusing on archaeological assemblages from cultures that used stone tools. References and further reading support the selection of terms, and a...
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