New picture of the people of the Upper Palaeolithic

Prehistorians from the Universities of Jena (Germany) and Neuchâtel (Switzerland) have re-analysed Palaeolithic animal bone finds that were excavated in the 1970s near Saalfeld in Thuringia. The new findings support the theory that people at this time did not live in large camps from which hunting expeditions started and returned, but that they travelled in small mobile groups, following the tracks of their next prey.

In the Thuringian Slate Mountains, south of Saalfeld, lies the so-called Devil's Bridge (Teufelsbrücke) at an altitude of around 400 metres. What appears to be a rock gate today is actually the ruins of a cave. Archaeologists excavated Palaeolithic finds in its vicinity between 1970 and 1972. They come from the so-called Magdalenian period - a culture that began around 20,000 years ago and lasted around 6,000 years. Prehistorians from the universities of Jena and Neuchâtel have now re-analysed these bones, which are kept at the Thuringian State Office for the Preservation of Monuments in Weimar. "In archaeology, it is common practice to re-evaluate older finds again and again," explains prehistorian Prof. Dr Clemens Pasda from the University of Jena. "As research methods change over time and new technical procedures, for example, offer additional opportunities for investigation, we are gaining new information from them today."

Marmots proven for the first time in Thuringia

In this case, the previous archaeologists had recorded 2,000 identifiable bones in the excavation publication - Clemens Pasda and his colleague Werner Müller have now discovered that the approximately 140 kilograms of bone material are distributed across a total of around 11,500 individual bones. This alone expands the view of the Teufelsbrücke site enormously. By radiocarbon dating 20 pieces, they discovered that the hunter groups only stayed in the Teufelsbrücke for a comparatively short period around 15,000 to 16,000 years ago. This makes the site one of the best dated Magdalenian archaeological sites in Europe.

The range of animal species identified is wide: classic prey animals for this period, such as hares, grouse, ibex and reindeer, are represented, as are the remains of mammoths and woolly rhinoceroses, whose presence in Thuringia at this time surprised the researchers. Bones of carnivores such as the cave lion, lynx and wolverine are also among the finds representing the fauna of the time. "The marmot has also been proven for the first time in central and eastern Germany," adds Clemens Pasda. "However, these are incisors, which - like the cut reindeer teeth found - served as decorative elements and could have been brought from other regions by the owners of the time."

Horse meat most frequently on the menu

However, the vast majority of the bones - around 80 per cent - come from horses, as is the case at many other sites from this period. At least 66, but probably around 200 animals were killed around this site during this period. Most of them were between two and ten years old, but there are also traces of older horses and foals just a few months old. This is probably the result of individual hunting events in which hunters in the area would attack entire herds, killing one to three animals at a time and then bringing their complete kill to a small camp in Teufelsbrücke.

"Here they used and consumed the entire horse, from the hide and meat to the bone marrow," explains Clemens Pasda. "As cut marks on the bones prove, they even used the horn from the hooves. This probably took place at fireplaces, where they repaired hunting weapons documented by archaeological finds, made flint blades suitable for cutting, cut sewing needles with an eye out of bone, worked mammoth ivory and engraved animal figures on stones.“

Mobile small groups instead of large camps

The newly analysed finds suggest that the people who moved through Thuringia at this time lived differently than previously accepted. "In this country, most scientists assume that people in the Magdalenian period already appeared to have lived in large centralised camps. From there, they are said to have launched individual hunting expeditions and then returned there so that the larger community could utilise the prey," explains the prehistorian from the University of Jena. Swiss colleagues, on the other hand, have been painting a completely different picture for some years now: based on some well-preserved archaeological sites in Switzerland, they assume that highly mobile small groups travelled around, some of their members went hunting and the prey was then processed by the entire group directly in the vicinity of the killing site.

"This would change our view of the Magdelénien", says Clemens Pasda. "Until now, it was assumed that cohabitation during this period developed from simple to complex, i.e. from individual small groups to larger organisations. However, this may not have changed that much." The Jena expert also attributes the finds at Teufelsbrücke to such a small group, which regularly stopped off here to hunt, process their prey and then move on.

The investigations were carried out as part of a project funded by the German Research Foundation.