Vogelherd Research Articles

The origin of chert in the Aurignacian of Vogelherd Cave investigated by infrared spectroscopy.

The analyses of raw material provenance offers the possibility of tracing short and long-distance raw material transport. So far, most studies of raw material of flint and chert in Europe have been based on macroscopic analyses. We apply infrared spectroscopy to Aurignacian assemblages from Vogelherd cave and to the Magdalenian site Randecker Maar in southwestern Germany. We compare raw material samples from three chert-bearing areas in Germany with archaeological samples from Vogelherd. Our results show that infrared spectroscopy can distinguish between different raw materials. Our archaeological samples from Vogelherd correspond to the sampled geological cherts in terms of their spectral signature. Our comparison of reference samples and archaeological samples highlights problems in commonly used macroscopic identifications of chert raw materials.

Personal Ornaments of the Swabian Aurignacian

In the caves of the Swabian Jura (Southwest Germany) excavators found numerous mammoth ivory remains, which date to the Aurignacian. Among them were at least 600 beads. These beads come from the well stratified layers of Hohle Fels cave in the Ach Valley, while others derive from the backdirt in front of the Vogelherd cave in the Lone Valley, which was completely emptied during the excavation 1931. We give an overview about the variety of forms of the personal ornaments, although the double perforated bead dominates the inventories. This special bead form gives evidence of identity formation of the Aurignacian people.

Micro-PIXE/PIGE analysis of Palaeolithic mammoth ivory: Potential chemical markers of provenance and relative dating

Micro-Proton Induced X-ray and Gamma-ray Emission (micro-PIXE/PIGE) provide non-destructive methods for the evaluation of the major, minor and trace element compositions of archaeological material. The current study applies micro-PIXE/PIGE analysis to mammoth ivory artefacts from four Palaeolithic sites (Abri Castanet, Vogelherd Cave, Grottes de la Verpillière I and II) in France and Germany in order to assess the effectiveness of this approach to material older than 30,000yBP. It has thus far not been established whether such methods of analysis can yield results of scientific and archaeological interest on ivory material that has undergone such extended periods of diagenesis. This approach evaluated preservation state in terms of mean elemental concentrations (Mg vs. Ca) and a comparative assessment of F-content as an indication of relative burial time. The results also indicate that analysis of trace elements (Sr, Zn, Br) can provide chemical markers of archaeological provenance. The results of this study are compared to data in the existing database established by the same methods of analysis on ivory objects from several different time periods and archaeological sources. The implications of these results for the study of archaeological ivories from Palaeolithic contexts are discussed.

When Neanderthals and Modern Humans Met edited by Nicholas J. Conard The Paleolithic Occupation of Vogelherd Cave: Implications for the Subsistence Behaviors of Late Neanderthals and Early Modern Humans by Laura Niven

When Neanderthals and Modern Humans Met edited by Nicholas J. Conard The Paleolithic Occupation of Vogelherd Cave: Implications for the Subsistence Behaviors of Late Neanderthals and Early Modern Humans by Laura Niven

The Palaeolithic Occupation of Vogelherd Cave: Implications for the Subsistence Behavior of Late Neanderthals and Early Modern Humans. Laura Niven

<i>The Palaeolithic Occupation of Vogelherd Cave: Implications for the Subsistence Behavior of Late Neanderthals and Early Modern Humans</i>. Laura Niven

From carcass to cave: Large mammal exploitation during the Aurignacian at Vogelherd, Germany

Recent results from the zooarchaeological analysis of faunal remains from Vogelherd Cave, southwestern Germany, provide new insight into the subsistence behavior of early modern human groups during the Aurignacian. The results presented here represent the first comprehensive study of the archaeofauna from this site. Several episodes of occupation are inferred at this site, taking place primarily between 31 and 32 ka. Although a wide spectrum of Pleistocene mammals is represented in the Aurignacian at Vogelherd, reindeer ( Rangifer tarandus) and horse ( Equus ferus) were the primary prey taxa, and they are the most appropriate data sets with which to understand human subsistence on an intrasite level. Hunting of both taxa took place during the late summer and fall, coinciding with reindeer migrations and local abundance of horses. Complete or nearly complete prey carcasses were then transported from the kill locations to the cave for processing. This study shows that Vogelherd was a preferred locale of Aurignacian groups for a broad range of activities, including the time- and labor-intensive exploitation of ungulate prey for meat, marrow, and fat resources, as well as the production and maintenance of artifacts such as figurative artwork, personal ornaments, bone and ivory armatures, and lithic tools. With its rich faunal and artifact assemblages, the Aurignacian deposit at Vogelherd provides a wealth of information on this critical period of the early Upper Paleolithic, when cultural innovations were flourishing.

Lumbar spine fracture in a 34,100-year-old skeleton: the oldest known prehistoric spine fracture.

WE EXAMINED SPECIAL pathological changes of the lumbar spine from skeleton remains referred to as "Stetten 1," one of the earliest specimens of modern humans dating from the Early Stone Age (Upper Paleolithic). The skeleton was discovered during archaeological excavations under Riek in 1931 in the Vogelherd Cave near Stetten, close to the Lone Valley of southwestern Germany. The archaeological context is the so-called Aurignacian period (40,000-30,000 yr ago), representing the earliest cultural step of modern humans in Europe. Accelerator mass spectrometry with (14)C measurement yields a calibrated age of these remains averaging 34,100 years before the present. The L3-L4 vertebrae exhibit marginal bone fusion on the right side with a smooth surface. They show 20- to 30-degree kyphosis secondary to wedge impaction of the L4 vertebral body. The facet joints and vertebral bodies reveal small marginal osteophytes with even joint surfaces, indicating low degenerative changes. Stetten 1 is characterized by the presence of a healed lumbar spine fracture. It documents the earliest known case thus far of spine fracture among modern humans.

Unexpectedly recent dates for human remains from Vogelherd.

The human skeletal remains from the Vogelherd cave in the Swabian Jura of southwestern Germany are at present seen as the best evidence that modern humans produced the artefacts of the early Aurignacian. Radiocarbon measurements from all the key fossils from Vogelherd show that these human remains actually date to the late Neolithic, between 3,900 and 5,000 radiocarbon years before present (bp). Although many questions remain unresolved, these results weaken the arguments for the Danube Corridor hypothesis--that there was an early migration of modern humans into the Upper Danube drainage--and strengthen the view that Neanderthals may have contributed significantly to the development of Upper Palaeolithic cultural traits independent of the arrival of modern humans.

Genomic Differentiation of Neanderthals and Anatomically Modern Man Allows a Fossil–DNA-Based Classification of Morphologically Indistinguishable Hominid Bones

Southern blot hybridizations of genomic DNA were introduced as a relatively simple fossil-DNA-based approach to classify remains of Neanderthals. When hybridized with genomic DNA of either human or Neanderthal origin, DNA extracted from two Neanderthal finds-the Os parietale, from Warendorf-Neuwarendorf, Germany, and a clavicula, from Krapina, Croatia-was shown to yield hybridization signals that differ by at least a factor of two compared to the signals obtained with the use of fossil DNA of an early Homo sapiens from the Vogelherd cave (Stetten I), Germany. When labeled chimpanzee DNA was used as a probe, Neanderthal and human DNA, however, revealed hybridization signals of similar intensity. Thus, the genome of Neanderthals is expected to differ significantly from the genome of anatomically modern man, because of the contrasting composition of repetitive DNA. These data support the hypothesis that Neanderthals were not ancestors of anatomically modern man.