Early evidence for bear exploitation during MIS 9 from the site of Schöningen 12 (Germany)

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.

Shoulder osteoarthritis in a European saber-toothed cat (Homotherium latidens) from the Lower Palaeolithic site of Schöningen (Germany)

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.

Excavations at Schöningen and paradigm shifts in human evolution

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.

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

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.

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

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.