Abstract
Abstract. The finding of a partially preserved elk skeleton from the Bavarian Alps is reported. Remnants of an adult male were found, together with skeletal elements of juvenile moose calves, at the base of a talus cone in the pit cave Stiefelschacht, next to Lenggries (southern Germany). The adult's bones exhibited anthropogenic traces like cut marks and were radiocarbon-dated to the Late Iron Age. A projectile hole in the left shoulder blade and cut marks on the bones are indicative of hunting and meat usage. The elk remains were associated with several wild and domestic species such as ungulates and hare but were not, however, accompanied by archaeological artefacts. Other archaeological sites of the Late Iron Age are so far not known within a distance of less than 30 km to the Stiefelschacht. While the presence of elk during prehistoric times in the Alps has already been known before, the finds and the location are unique in that they are the first evidence of elk hunting during the Late Iron Age in the northern Alps.
Highlights
Bone findings suggest that elk (Alces alces) were present at least since the Late Glacial in the northern Alps, but osteological evidence ends in medieval times (Schmölcke and Zachos, 2005; beginning of the early medieval period approx. 5th century–approx. 15th/16th century CE; Sommer, 2006)
Reports of sightings during the last decades prove that elk still appear occasionally in north-eastern Bavaria (LWF, 2011) and extra-Alpine Austria (Steiner, 1995), they remain extinct in the Alps since medieval times (Schmölcke and Zachos, 2005)
During the excavation in October 2018, a 310 cm wide section could be prepared within the sediment cone exhibiting the internal stratigraphy with a maximum thickness of 170 cm (Fig. 3d)
Summary
Bone findings suggest that elk (Alces alces) were present at least since the Late Glacial in the northern Alps, but osteological evidence ends in medieval times (Schmölcke and Zachos, 2005; beginning of the early medieval period approx. 5th century–approx. 15th/16th century CE; Sommer, 2006). New findings of elk bones were made in or close to the Bavarian Alps. They were found at two different localities, a pit cave named Stiefelschacht and a rivulet bed deposit. The findings of skeletal parts in the pit cave close to Lenggries are remarkable as they show traces of human hunting and butchering. These findings could provide new insights into potential causes of elk extinction in southern Bavaria and could contribute to the question of whether the Holocene elk population decline was triggered by humans. Radiocarbon investigations allow a precise dating of the finds
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