The depositional environments of Schöningen 13 II-4 and their archaeological implications

Journal of Human Evolution
Mareike C StahlschmidtNicholas J Conard

Abstract

Geoarchaeological research at the Middle Pleistocene site of Schöningen 13 II-4, often referred to as the Speerhorizont, has focused on describing and evaluating the depositional contexts of the well-known wooden spears, butchered horses, and stone tools. These finds were recovered from the transitional contact between a lacustrine marl and an overlying organic mud, originally thought to be a peat that accumulated in place under variable moisture conditions. The original excavators proposed that hominin activity, including hunting and butchery, occurred on a dry lake shore and was followed by a rapid sedimentation of organic deposits that embedded and preserved the artifacts. Our geoarchaeological analysis challenges this model. Here, we present evidence that the sediments of Schöningen 13 II-4 were deposited in a constantly submerged area of a paleolake. Although we cannot exclude the possibility that the artifacts were deposited during a short, extreme drying event, there are no sedimentary features indicative of surface exposure in the sediments. Accordingly, this paper explores three main alternative models of site formation: anthropogenic disposal of materials into the lake, a geological relocation of the artifacts, and hu...Continue Reading

References

Jun 22, 1999·Journal of Human Evolution·E TrinkausS A Parfitt
Jan 1, 1991·Sedimentology·S W SquyresR A Wharton
Dec 1, 2007·Meat Science·Alan FisherGraham Purnell
Mar 10, 2015·Journal of Human Evolution·Jörg LangJutta Winsemann
Jun 20, 2015·Journal of Human Evolution·Mareike C StahlschmidtNicholas J Conard
Oct 8, 2015·Journal of Human Evolution·Werner H SchochThomas Terberger
Nov 26, 2015·Journal of Human Evolution·Jordi SerangeliNicholas J Conard

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Citations

Dec 15, 2015·Journal of Human Evolution·Marie-Anne JulienNicholas J Conard
Jun 20, 2015·Journal of Human Evolution·Mareike C StahlschmidtNicholas J Conard
Dec 3, 2015·Journal of Human Evolution·Utz BöhnerPascale Richter
Nov 26, 2015·Journal of Human Evolution·Jordi SerangeliNicholas J Conard
Sep 21, 2015·Journal of Human Evolution·Veerle RotsNicholas J Conard
Dec 15, 2015·Journal of Human Evolution·Nicholas J ConardThijs van Kolfschoten
Feb 3, 2021·Journal of Human Evolution·Alejandro García-MorenoSabine Gaudzinski-Windheuser
Jan 19, 2021·Archaeological and Anthropological Sciences·Glenn LambrechtCarolina Mallol

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