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Leder D, Lehmann J, Milks A, Koddenberg T, Sietz M, Vogel M, Böhner U, Terberger T. The wooden artifacts from Schöningen's Spear Horizon and their place in human evolution. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2024; 121:e2320484121. [PMID: 38557183 PMCID: PMC11009636 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2320484121] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/21/2023] [Accepted: 02/05/2024] [Indexed: 04/04/2024] Open
Abstract
Ethnographic records show that 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 archeological 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 Paleolithic sites have produced wooden artifacts 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-y-old site (MIS 9) led to a paradigm shift in the hunter vs. scavenger debate. For the first time and almost 30 y after their discovery, this study introduces the complete wooden assemblage from Schöningen 13 II-4 known as the Spear Horizon. In total, 187 wooden artifacts 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 recognized and two newly identified artifact types comprise 35 tools made on split woods, which were likely used in domestic activities. Schöningen 13 II-4 represents the largest Pleistocene wooden artifact 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.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dirk Leder
- Department of Archaeology, Lower Saxony State Office for Cultural Heritage, Hannover30175, Germany
| | - Jens Lehmann
- Department of Archaeology, Lower Saxony State Office for Cultural Heritage, Hannover30175, Germany
| | - Annemieke Milks
- Department of Archaeology, University of Reading, Earley, ReadingRG6 6AX, United Kingdom
| | - Tim Koddenberg
- Department of Wood Biology and Wood Products, Georg-August University Göttingen, Gottingen37077, Germany
| | - Michael Sietz
- Archaeological Conservation Unit, Lower Saxony State Office for Cultural Heritage, Hannover30175, Germany
| | - Matthias Vogel
- Archaeological Conservation Unit, Lower Saxony State Office for Cultural Heritage, Hannover30175, Germany
| | - Utz Böhner
- Department of Archaeology, Lower Saxony State Office for Cultural Heritage, Hannover30175, Germany
| | - Thomas Terberger
- Department of Archaeology, Lower Saxony State Office for Cultural Heritage, Hannover30175, Germany
- Department of Prehistoric Archaeology, Georg-August University Göttingen, Gottingen37073, Germany
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Lee OYC, Wu HHT, Besra GS, Minnikin DE, Jaeger HY, Maixner F, Zink A, Gasparik M, Pap I, Bereczki Z, Pálfi G. Sensitive lipid biomarker detection for tuberculosis in late Neanderthal skeletons from Subalyuk Cave, Hungary. Tuberculosis (Edinb) 2023; 143S:102420. [PMID: 38012927 DOI: 10.1016/j.tube.2023.102420] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/13/2023] [Revised: 10/05/2023] [Accepted: 10/06/2023] [Indexed: 11/29/2023]
Abstract
Skeletal remains of two Neanderthal individuals, a 25-35 year-old woman and a 3-4 year-old child, were discovered in a Subalyuk Cave in North-Eastern Hungary. Radiocarbon dating of the female and child remains revealed an age of 39,732-39,076 and 36,117-35,387 cal BP, respectively. Paleopathological studies of these Neanderthal remains revealed probable evidence of skeletal mycobacterial infection, including in the sacrum of the adult specimen and the endocranial surface of the child's skull. Application of PCR amplification to the juvenile cranium and a vertebra gave a positive result (IS6110) for tuberculosis, backed up by spoligotyping. Lipid biomarker analyses of the same two specimens revealed definitive signals for C32 mycoserosates, a very characteristic component of the Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex (MTBC). A vertebra from the adult provided weak evidence for mycocerosate biomarkers. The correlation of probable skeletal lesions with characteristic amplified DNA fragments and a proven lipid biomarker points to the presence of tuberculosis in these Neanderthals. In particular, the closely similar biomarker profiles, for two distinct juvenile cranial and vertebral bones, strengthen this diagnosis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Oona Y-C Lee
- Institute of Microbiology and Infection, School of Biosciences, University of Birmingham, B15 2TT, Birmingham, UK
| | - Houdini H T Wu
- Institute of Microbiology and Infection, School of Biosciences, University of Birmingham, B15 2TT, Birmingham, UK
| | - Gurdyal S Besra
- Institute of Microbiology and Infection, School of Biosciences, University of Birmingham, B15 2TT, Birmingham, UK.
| | - David E Minnikin
- Institute of Microbiology and Infection, School of Biosciences, University of Birmingham, B15 2TT, Birmingham, UK
| | - Heidi Y Jaeger
- Institute for Mummy Studies, Eurac Research, Bolzano, Italy
| | - Frank Maixner
- Institute for Mummy Studies, Eurac Research, Bolzano, Italy
| | - Albert Zink
- Institute for Mummy Studies, Eurac Research, Bolzano, Italy
| | - Mihály Gasparik
- Department of Palaeontology and Geology, Hungarian Natural History Museum, Hungary
| | - Ildikó Pap
- Department of Anthropology, Hungarian Natural History Museum, Hungary; Department of Anthropology, Eötvös Loránd University, Budapest, Hungary; Department of Biological Anthropology, University of Szeged, Hungary
| | - Zsolt Bereczki
- Department of Biological Anthropology, University of Szeged, Hungary
| | - György Pálfi
- Department of Biological Anthropology, University of Szeged, Hungary
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Milks A, Lehmann J, Leder D, Sietz M, Koddenberg T, Böhner U, Wachtendorf V, Terberger T. A double-pointed wooden throwing stick from Schöningen, Germany: Results and new insights from a multianalytical study. PLoS One 2023; 18:e0287719. [PMID: 37467169 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0287719] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/31/2022] [Accepted: 06/11/2023] [Indexed: 07/21/2023] Open
Abstract
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 to avoid cracking and warping. After a long period of use, it was probably lost while hunting, and was then rapidly buried in mud. Taphonomic alterations include damage from trampling, fungal attack, root damage and compression. Through our detailed analysis we show that Middle Pleistocene humans had a rich awareness of raw material properties, and possessed sophisticated woodworking skills. Alongside new detailed morphometrics of the object, an ethnographic review supports a primary function as a throwing stick for hunting, indicating potential hunting strategies and social contexts including for communal hunts involving children. The Schöningen throwing sticks may have been used to strategically disadvantage larger ungulates, potentially from distances of up to 30 metres. They also demonstrate that the hominins were technologically capable of capturing smaller fast prey and avian fauna, a behaviour evidenced at contemporaneous Middle Pleistocene archaeological sites.
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Affiliation(s)
- Annemieke Milks
- Department of Archaeology, University of Reading, Reading, United Kingdom
| | - Jens Lehmann
- Department of Hunter-Gatherer Archaeology, Niedersächsisches Landesamt für Denkmalpflege (Lower Saxony State Office for Cultural Heritage), Hannover, Germany
| | - Dirk Leder
- Department of Hunter-Gatherer Archaeology, Niedersächsisches Landesamt für Denkmalpflege (Lower Saxony State Office for Cultural Heritage), Hannover, Germany
| | - Michael Sietz
- Archaeological Conservation Department, Niedersächsisches Landesamt für Denkmalpflege (Lower Saxony State Office for Cultural Heritage), Hannover, Germany
| | - Tim Koddenberg
- Wood Biology and Wood Products, Faculty of Forest Sciences and Forest Ecology, University of Göttingen, Göttingen, Germany
| | - Utz Böhner
- Inventory and Heritage Atlas, Niedersächsisches Landesamt für Denkmalpflege (Lower Saxony State Office for Cultural Heritage), Hannover, Germany
| | | | - Thomas Terberger
- Department of Hunter-Gatherer Archaeology, Niedersächsisches Landesamt für Denkmalpflege (Lower Saxony State Office for Cultural Heritage), Hannover, Germany
- Department of Prehistoric Archaeology, University of Göttingen, Göttingen, Germany
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Verheijen I, Starkovich BM, Serangeli J, van Kolfschoten T, Conard NJ. Early evidence for bear exploitation during MIS 9 from the site of Schöningen 12 (Germany). J Hum Evol 2023; 177:103294. [PMID: 36566141 DOI: 10.1016/j.jhevol.2022.103294] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/14/2022] [Revised: 10/22/2022] [Accepted: 10/25/2022] [Indexed: 12/24/2022]
Abstract
A cutmarked bear metatarsal and phalanx from the German open-air sites of Schöningen 12 II-1 and 12 B, respectively, correlated with the interglacial optimum of MIS 9 (ca. 320 ka), provide early evidence for the exploitation of bear skins. Archaeological sites with evidence of bear exploitation from the Lower Paleolithic are rare, with only Boxgrove (United Kingdom) and Bilzingsleben (Germany) yielding cutmarked bear bones indicating skinning. We interpret these finds as evidence for bear hunting and primary access since bear skins are best extracted shortly after the animal's death. The very thin cutmarks found on the Schöningen specimens indicate delicate butchering and show similarities in butchery patterns to bears from other Paleolithic sites. The Eurasian Lower Paleolithic record does not show any evidence for the exploitation of bear meat; only Middle Paleolithic sites, such as Biache-Saint-Vaast (France; ca. 175 ka) and Taubach (Germany; ca. 120 ka), yield evidence for the exploitation of both skin and meat from bear carcasses. Bear skins have high insulating properties and might have played a role in the adaptations of Middle Pleistocene hominins to the cold and harsh winter conditions of Northwestern Europe.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ivo Verheijen
- University of Tübingen, Senckenberg Centre for Human Evolution and Paleoenvironment, Paläon 1, 38364 Schöningen, Germany; Forschungsmuseum Schöningen, Paläon 1, 38364 Schöningen, Germany.
| | - Britt M Starkovich
- Senckenberg Centre for Human Evolution and Paleoenvironment, University of Tübingen, Hölderlinstrasse 12, 72074 Tübingen, Germany; Institute for Archaeological Sciences, University of Tübingen, Hölderlinstrasse 12, 72074 Tübingen, Germany
| | - Jordi Serangeli
- University of Tübingen, Senckenberg Centre for Human Evolution and Paleoenvironment, Paläon 1, 38364 Schöningen, Germany
| | - Thijs van Kolfschoten
- Faculty of Archaeology, Leiden University, Einsteinweg 2, 2333 CC Leiden, The Netherlands; Institute of Cultural Heritage, Shandong University, 72 Binhai Highway, Qingdao, 266237, China
| | - Nicholas J Conard
- Senckenberg Centre for Human Evolution and Paleoenvironment, University of Tübingen, Hölderlinstrasse 12, 72074 Tübingen, Germany; Institute for Archaeological Sciences, University of Tübingen, Hölderlinstrasse 12, 72074 Tübingen, Germany; Department of Early Prehistory and Quaternary Ecology, University of Tübingen, Schloss Hohentübingen, 72070 Tübingen, Germany
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Zeller U, Göttert T. Humans, megafauna and landscape structure – Rock engravings from Namibia encourage a comparative approach to central Europe and southern Africa. VERTEBRATE ZOOLOGY 2021. [DOI: 10.3897/vz.71.e72811] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/12/2022]
Abstract
This paper deals with reflections that arose after observing prehistoric rock engravings at different locations in Namibia. These observations stimulated comparative considerations with focus on southern Africa and central Europe. Similar to the Aurignacian rock art of European origin, the most common motifs in the Namibian rock engravings are large animals. While in Europe, the species that served as a blueprint for the illustration of Aurignacian rock art have mostly disappeared, the megafauna illustrated on the rock engravings in Namibia can still be found in the immediate vicinity of the rock art. Against this background, we discuss and further develop a comparative regional approach. We reconstruct and evaluate the suitability of African savannas and still-existing megafauna communities as an appropriate reference-frame for natural European grassland systems and extinct associated warm-adapted megafauna (Eemian Interglacial megafauna). Special attention is laid on the unique situation in Africa in the light of a global extinction wave of megafauna following increasing human activity in the Late Quaternary. This leads us to discuss the use of domesticated ungulates as surrogate taxa to fulfill ecosystem functions in Europe as part of concepts termed “rewilding” or “naturalistic grazing”. After critically examining these concepts, we conclude that using domesticated forms as representatives of extinct or locally disappeared species in Europe has its justification to some extent. If, however, the naturally occurring megaherbivore community still exists (Africa), these naturally occurring species should be given priority due to their organismic abilities and limitations adapted to the harsh conditions in their specific environment. Finally, we discuss the application of (transboundary) protected areas as effective instruments to mitigate human-wildlife conflicts. A holistic approach, including nature conservation and preservation of cultural achievements (domesticated forms, grazing systems), appears promising for the effective protection of the natural African savanna ecosystems with their unique fauna elements, as illustrated in rock engravings that inspired us to write this paper.
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Pontzer H, Wood BM. Effects of Evolution, Ecology, and Economy on Human Diet: Insights from Hunter-Gatherers and Other Small-Scale Societies. Annu Rev Nutr 2021; 41:363-385. [PMID: 34138633 DOI: 10.1146/annurev-nutr-111120-105520] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
Abstract
We review the evolutionary origins of the human diet and the effects of ecology economy on the dietary proportion of plants and animals. Humans eat more meat than other apes, a consequence of hunting and gathering, which arose ∼2.5 Mya with the genus Homo. Paleolithic diets likely included a balance of plant and animal foods and would have been remarkably variable across time and space. A plant/animal food balance of 40-60% prevails among contemporary warm-climate hunter-gatherers, but these proportions vary widely. Societies in cold climates, and those that depend more on fishing or pastoralism, tend to eat more meat. Warm-climate foragers, and groups that engage in some farming, tend to eat more plants. We present a case study of the wild food diet of the Hadza, a community of hunter-gatherers in northern Tanzania, whose diet is high in fiber, adequate in protein, and remarkably variable over monthly timescales. Expected final online publication date for the Annual Review of Nutrition, Volume 41 is September 2021. Please see http://www.annualreviews.org/page/journal/pubdates for revised estimates.
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Affiliation(s)
- Herman Pontzer
- Evolutionary Anthropology and Duke Global Health Institute, Duke University, Durham, North Carolina 27708, USA;
| | - Brian M Wood
- Department of Anthropology, University of California, Los Angeles, California 90095, USA.,Department of Human Behavior, Ecology and Culture, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany 604103
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A detailed analysis of the spatial distribution of Schöningen 13II-4 'Spear Horizon' faunal remains. J Hum Evol 2021; 152:102947. [PMID: 33529840 DOI: 10.1016/j.jhevol.2020.102947] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/26/2020] [Revised: 12/21/2020] [Accepted: 12/23/2020] [Indexed: 11/20/2022]
Abstract
The Middle Pleistocene Schöningen 13II-4 'Spear Horizon' (Germany) is a key site for the study of human evolution, most notably for the discovery of Paleolithic wooden weaponry and evidence for developed hunting strategies. On the other hand, the 'Spear Horizon' offers an excellent opportunity to approach hominin spatial behavior, thanks to the richness of the archeological assemblage, its exceptional preservation, and the vast expanse of the excavated surface. Analyzing how space was used is essential for understanding hominin behavior at this unique open-air site and, from a wider perspective, for approaching how humans adapted to interglacial environments. In this article, we present an exhaustive spatial study of the complete Schöningen 13II-4 'Spear Horizon' faunal assemblage and its archeological context, combining zooarcheology and spatial analysis through the extensive application of geographic information systems. Our results indicate the existence of different activity areas related to changes in the position of the shoreline due to fluctuations of water table levels of the Schöningen paleolake. These activity areas were likely used on a seasonal basis, whereas the spatial patterning observed in the distribution of faunal remains suggests a diversity of behavioral strategies in terms of intensity and/or duration of occupations. This study refines previous interpretations of the site and reconstructs human behavioral adaptations and the occupational changing lakeland environment during the Middle Pleistocene in Europe.
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Conard NJ, Serangeli J, Bigga G, Rots V. A 300,000-year-old throwing stick from Schöningen, northern Germany, documents the evolution of human hunting. Nat Ecol Evol 2020; 4:690-693. [DOI: 10.1038/s41559-020-1139-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/28/2018] [Accepted: 02/10/2020] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
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Janssens LAA, Verheijen IKA, Serangeli J, van Kolfschoten T. Shoulder osteoarthritis in a European saber-toothed cat (Homotherium latidens) from the Lower Palaeolithic site of Schöningen (Germany). INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF PALEOPATHOLOGY 2019; 24:279-285. [PMID: 30777196 DOI: 10.1016/j.ijpp.2018.06.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/09/2018] [Revised: 06/06/2018] [Accepted: 06/09/2018] [Indexed: 06/09/2023]
Abstract
Evaluation of a right ventral scapula fragment from a mature Homotherium latidens from Schöningen, Germany (337-300 ka before present - MIS 9) revealed lesions consisting of an osteophyte at the caudal border of the glenoid cavity, and a large, multilobular, cystic feature in the medio-caudal glenoid cavity. Based on the type of lesions, their localization, their severity, and exclusion of several nutritional and other etiologies such as immune mediated disease, joint infection (septic arthritis), and joint tumors, we conclude that the lesion was caused by trauma or age-related shoulder osteoarthritis (or possibly both). We cannot speculate whether the condition was symptomatic, but if it was, the animal must have functioned well enough to hunt or scavenge, since it survived a significant period of lesion development.
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Affiliation(s)
- Luc A A Janssens
- Faculty of Archaeology, Leiden University, Einsteinweg 2, 2333 CC Leiden, The Netherlands; Evidensia Clinic for Referral Surgery of Companion Animals, Eerste Zeine 112, 5144AM, Waalwijk, The Netherlands; Faculty of Archaeology, Ghent University, Sint-Pietersnieuwstraat, 9000 Ghent, Belgium.
| | - Ivo K A Verheijen
- Faculty of Archaeology, Leiden University, Einsteinweg 2, 2333 CC Leiden, The Netherlands; Universität Tübingen/Senckenberg HEP, paläon 1, 38364 Schöningen, Germany
| | - Jordi Serangeli
- Universität Tübingen/Senckenberg HEP, paläon 1, 38364 Schöningen, Germany
| | - Thijs van Kolfschoten
- Faculty of Archaeology, Leiden University, Einsteinweg 2, 2333 CC Leiden, The Netherlands
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Elephant and Mammoth Hunting during the Paleolithic: A Review of the Relevant Archaeological, Ethnographic and Ethno-Historical Records. QUATERNARY 2018. [DOI: 10.3390/quat1010003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 47] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
Proboscideans and humans have shared habitats across the Old and New Worlds for hundreds of thousands of years. Proboscideans were included in the human diet starting from the Lower Paleolithic period and until the final stages of the Pleistocene. However, the question of how prehistoric people acquired proboscideans remains unresolved. Moreover, the effect of proboscidean hunting on the eventual extinction of these mega-herbivores was never seriously evaluated, probably because of the lack of acquaintance with the plethora of information available regarding proboscidean hunting by humans. The aim of this paper is to bridge this gap and bring to light the data available in order to estimate the extent and procedures of elephant and mammoth hunting by humans during the Quaternary. This study examines the archaeological evidence of proboscidean hunting during Paleolithic times, and provides a review of ethnographic and ethno-historical accounts, demonstrating a wide range of traditional elephant-hunting strategies. We also discuss the rituals accompanying elephant hunting among contemporary hunter-gatherers, further stressing the importance of elephants among hunter-gatherers. Based on the gathered data, we suggest that early humans possessed the necessary abilities to actively and regularly hunt proboscideans; and performed this unique and challenging task at will.
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Rodríguez-Hidalgo A, Saladié P, Ollé A, Arsuaga JL, Bermúdez de Castro JM, Carbonell E. Human predatory behavior and the social implications of communal hunting based on evidence from the TD10.2 bison bone bed at Gran Dolina (Atapuerca, Spain). J Hum Evol 2017; 105:89-122. [DOI: 10.1016/j.jhevol.2017.01.007] [Citation(s) in RCA: 47] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/07/2015] [Revised: 01/15/2017] [Accepted: 01/24/2017] [Indexed: 01/13/2023]
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Conard NJ, Serangeli J, Böhner U, Starkovich BM, Miller CE, Urban B, Van Kolfschoten T. Excavations at Schöningen and paradigm shifts in human evolution. J Hum Evol 2015; 89:1-17. [PMID: 26653207 DOI: 10.1016/j.jhevol.2015.10.003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 37] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/17/2015] [Accepted: 10/05/2015] [Indexed: 10/22/2022]
Abstract
The exceptional preservation at Schöningen together with a mixture of perseverance, hard work, and sheer luck led to the recovery of unique finds in an exceptional context. The 1995 discovery of numerous wooden artifacts, most notably at least 10 carefully made spears together with the skeletons of at least 20 to 25 butchered horses, brought the debate about hunting versus scavenging among late archaic hominins and analogous arguments about the purportedly primitive behavior of Homo heidelbergensis and Neanderthals to an end. Work under H. Thieme's lead from 1992 to 2008 and results from the current team since 2008 demonstrate that late H. heidelbergensis or early Neanderthals used sophisticated artifacts made from floral and faunal materials, in addition to lithic artifacts more typically recovered at Lower Paleolithic sites. The finds from the famous Horse Butchery Site and two dozen other archaeological horizons from the edges of the open-cast mine at Schöningen provide many new insights into the technology and behavioral patterns of hominins about 300 ka BP during MIS 9 on the Northern European Plain. An analysis of the finds from Schöningen and their contexts shows that the inhabitants of the site were skilled hunters at the top of the food chain and exhibited a high level of planning depth. These hominins had command of effective means of communication about the here and now, and the past and the future, that allowed them to repeatedly execute well-coordinated and successful group activities that likely culminated in a division of labor and social and economic patterns radically different from those of all non-human primates. The unique preservation and high quality excavations have led to a major paradigm shift or "Schöningen Effect" that changed our views of human evolution during the late Lower Paleolithic. In this respect, we can view the behaviors documented at Schöningen as a plausible baseline for the behavioral sophistication of archaic hominins of the late Middle Pleistocene and subsequent periods.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nicholas J Conard
- Department of Early Prehistory and Quaternary Ecology, University of Tübingen, Schloss Hohentübingen, 72070 Tübingen, Germany; Senckenberg Centre for Human Evolution and Palaeoecology, University of Tübingen, Schloss Hohentübingen, 72070 Tübingen, Germany.
| | - Jordi Serangeli
- Department of Early Prehistory and Quaternary Ecology, University of Tübingen, Schloss Hohentübingen, 72070 Tübingen, Germany
| | - Utz Böhner
- Niedersächsisches Landesamt für Denkmalpflege, Scharnhorststraße 1, 30175 Hannover, Germany
| | - Britt M Starkovich
- Institute for Archaeological Sciences, University of Tübingen, Rümelinstr. 23, 72070 Tübingen, Germany; Senckenberg Centre for Human Evolution and Palaeoecology, University of Tübingen, Rümelinstr. 23, 72070 Tübingen, Germany; School of Anthropology, University of Arizona, Tucson, USA
| | - Christopher E Miller
- Institute for Archaeological Sciences, University of Tübingen, Rümelinstr. 23, 72070 Tübingen, Germany; Senckenberg Centre for Human Evolution and Palaeoecology, University of Tübingen, Rümelinstr. 23, 72070 Tübingen, Germany
| | - Brigitte Urban
- Institute of Ecology, Leuphana University Lüneburg, Germany
| | - Thijs Van Kolfschoten
- Faculty of Archaeology, Leiden University, Einsteinweg 2, 2333 CC Leiden, The Netherlands
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Serangeli J, Böhner U, Van Kolfschoten T, Conard NJ. Overview and new results from large-scale excavations in Schöningen. J Hum Evol 2015; 89:27-45. [DOI: 10.1016/j.jhevol.2015.09.013] [Citation(s) in RCA: 25] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/31/2015] [Revised: 09/04/2015] [Accepted: 09/23/2015] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
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15
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The Spear Horizon: First spatial analysis of the Schöningen site 13 II-4. J Hum Evol 2015; 89:202-13. [DOI: 10.1016/j.jhevol.2015.10.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/31/2015] [Revised: 07/22/2015] [Accepted: 10/02/2015] [Indexed: 11/20/2022]
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16
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Van Kolfschoten T, Parfitt SA, Serangeli J, Bello SM. Lower Paleolithic bone tools from the ‘Spear Horizon’ at Schöningen (Germany). J Hum Evol 2015; 89:226-63. [DOI: 10.1016/j.jhevol.2015.09.012] [Citation(s) in RCA: 52] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/28/2015] [Revised: 08/14/2015] [Accepted: 09/17/2015] [Indexed: 10/22/2022]
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Julien MA, Rivals F, Serangeli J, Bocherens H, Conard NJ. A new approach for deciphering between single and multiple accumulation events using intra-tooth isotopic variations: Application to the Middle Pleistocene bone bed of Schöningen 13 II-4. J Hum Evol 2015; 89:114-28. [PMID: 25912820 DOI: 10.1016/j.jhevol.2015.02.012] [Citation(s) in RCA: 27] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/20/2013] [Revised: 01/31/2015] [Accepted: 02/15/2015] [Indexed: 11/25/2022]
Abstract
It is often difficult to differentiate between archaeological bonebeds formed by one event such as a mass kill of a single herd, and those formed by multiple events that occurred over a longer period of time. The application of high temporal resolution studies such as intra-tooth isotopic profiles on archaeological mammal cohorts offers new possibilities for exploring this issue, allowing investigators to decipher between single and multiple accumulation events. We examined (18)O and (13)C isotopic variations from the enamel carbonate of 23 horse third molars from the Middle Pleistocene archaeological site of Schöningen. We employed a new approach to investigate processes of fossil accumulation that uses both bulk and intra-tooth isotopic variations and takes into account animal behavior, age at death and dental development to test the degree of isotopic affinity of animals from the same fossil assemblage. Oxygen and carbon isotope bulk values indicate that the horses from Schöningen 13 II-4 experienced relatively similar climatic and dietary regimes. Inter-individual differences of the bulk values of the horses sampled in the current study present nevertheless inter-individual variability similar to individuals from multi-layered localities. In addition, the intra-tooth isotopic variation of specimens of the same age at death seems to indicate that the studied cohort corresponds to a mix of individuals that recorded both similar and different isotopic histories. Finally, the conditions recorded in the isotopic signal shortly before death (i.e., for teeth not fully mineralized) varied between sampled individuals, suggesting possible differences in the seasonality of death. Considering those results, we discuss the possibility that the horses from Schöningen 13 II-4 correspond to an accumulation of different death events.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marie-Anne Julien
- Institute for Archaeological Sciences, University of Tübingen, Rümelinstr. 23, 72070 Tübingen, Germany; Centre for the Archaeology of Human Origins, Archaeology Department, University of Southampton, Avenue Campus, Southampton SO17 1BF, UK; Unité Histoire Naturelle de l'Homme Préhistorique (UMR 7194), Sorbonne Universités, Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle, CNRS, 1 rue René Panhard, 75013 Paris, France.
| | - Florent Rivals
- Institució Catalana de Recerca i Estudis Avançats (ICREA), Barcelona, Spain; Institut Català de Paleoecologia Humana i Evolució Social, C. Marcel.lí Domingo s/n, Campus Sescelades URV (Edifici W3), 43007, Tarragona, Spain; Area de Prehistòria, Universitat Rovira i Virgili, Av. Catalunya 35, 43002, Tarragona, Spain
| | - Jordi Serangeli
- Department of Early Prehistory and Quaternary Ecology, University of Tübingen, Schloss Hohentübingen, 72070 Tübingen, Germany
| | - Hervé Bocherens
- Department of Geosciences, Biogeology, University of Tübingen, Hölderlinstr. 12, 72074, Tübingen, Germany; Senckenberg Centre for Human Evolution and Palaeoecology, Hölderlinstr. 12, 72074, Tübingen, Germany
| | - Nicholas J Conard
- Department of Early Prehistory and Quaternary Ecology, University of Tübingen, Schloss Hohentübingen, 72070 Tübingen, Germany; Senckenberg Centre for Human Evolution and Palaeoecology, University of Tübingen, Schloss Hohentübingen, 72070 Tübingen, Germany
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