Die jungpaläolithische Fundstelle Aschenstein bei Freden an der Leine, Kr. Hildesheim (Niedersachsen) The Upper Palaeolithic site of Aschenstein, Freden an der Leine, Hildesheim District (Lower Saxony) (original) (raw)
This contribution discusses the site of Aschenstein in Lower Saxony, Germany, which was discovered during quarrying in 1959 and investigated over a period of several months under the direction of W. Barner. The excavator decided early on that the locality represented an Upper Palaeolithic site and claimed that numerous recovered reindeer antlers (mainly shed specimens of young and / or female animals) showed traces of human working or even artistic engravings. Later, on the evidence of a single conventional radiocarbon date (Kn 2712: 18 820 ± 180 BP), Aschenstein was assigned a context close to the second glacial maximum of the last glaciation. This attribution appeared to be supported by the faunal remains which, apart from the numerous specimens of reindeer antler and ribs, represent a variety of typically Pleistocene species, albeit represented by only one or two fragments. The evidence available for the present investigation consisted of the few details given by the excavator, two geoscientific reports and those finds from the site which can still be located. Many of those originally described can no longer be located and an appreciable quantity of faunal material was certainly destroyed in order to obtain the bulked sample for the radiocarbon measurement. Critical examination of these sources shows that the finds must originate from different zones of the previous quarry and the surrounding area. Traces of rust on some lithic artefacts suggest that they may even be plough damaged surface finds and that their attribution to an excavated site must be viewed most critically. The claimed numerous specimens of antler working and engraving must be rejected and only a very small number of finds of fauna and lithic artefacts remains as potential evidence for a human occupation site, probably in the scree debris in front of the Aschenstein dolomite cliff. One of the very few humanly modified faunal remains, a reindeer antler fragment showing traces of working by the groove and splinter technique, was directly dated by AMS to 12 366 ± 61 BP (KIA-33772), which would correspond to ca. 12 600 – 12 200 calBC and thus suggest a context within the younger Magdalenian. By contrast, an AMS result on an unmodified reindeer antler (KIA-33773: 19 570 ± 100 BP) dates this specimen to the period shortly after the second last glacial maximum and thus quite close to the previous bulked conventional result. The discrepant results suggest that the Aschenstein faunal material must represent a mixed assemblage. The older dates can be seen as confirmation that reindeer were present this far north quite soon after the last glacial maximum, possibly in connection with the climatic amelioration of Last Glacial Interstadial II. The occurrence of only young / female antlers suggests that this presence may have been seasonal and linked to migration to northern spring calving grounds. Details of local topography may suggest that a nearby ford was influential in determining their presence at this particular location.The younger date on a the single unquestionably modified antler probably indicates that humans were present at Aschenstein only at a much later period. The significance of this appearance is discussed in the context of the demonstrated late glacial Magdalenian presence along the northern edge of the Mittelgebirge upland zone and the subsequent spread of human presence onto the North European Plain in the guise of the Hamburgian and related groups.
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Der Beitrag diskutiert die 1959 in einem Steinbruch entdeckte und in den Folgejahren in mehrmonatigen Kampagnen unter der Leitung von W. Barner untersuchte Fundstelle Aschenstein, Lkr. Hildesheim. Der Ausgräber hatte sich früh auf die Ansprache als jungpaläolithische Fundstelle festgelegt und unter den zahlreichen überlieferten Rengeweihresten verschiedene Bearbeitungsspuren sowie auch künstlerische Gravuren postuliert. Aufgrund eines konventionellen Radiokarbondatums wurde die Station Aschenstein dann später zeitlich in die Nähe des zweiten Kältemaximums der letzten Eiszeit gestellt. Die Untersuchung musste sich auf wenige Angaben des Ausgräbers, zwei geowissenschaftliche Gutachten und die heute noch vorhandenen Funde stützen. Eine kritische Diskussion des Kontextes lässt erkennen, dass die Funde aus unterschiedlichen Bereichen des Steinbruches und des Umfeldes kommen. Die angeblichen zahlreichen Belege für Geweihzerlegung, ornamentale Gravuren und sonstige Artefakte müssen zurückgewiesen werden. Nur einzelne bearbeitete Faunenreste und Steinartefakte weisen auf eine ehemalige Fundschicht am Aschenstein hin, die vermutlich in den Schuttkegel einer Dolomitklippe verlagert wurde. Ein an einem Geweihabfallstück der Spangewinnungstechnik gewonnenes AMS-Datum spricht für einen Zusammenhang dieser wenigen Funde mit dem jüngeren Magdalénien (ca. 12 900 -12 300 calBC). Ein unbearbeitetes Rengeweihfragment datiert hingegen in die Zeit kurz nach dem zweiten Kältemaximum im engeren Sinne um ca. 21 000 calBC und bestätigt das früher gewonnene Datum. Das Datierungsergebnis spricht dafür, dass in dieser Zeit Rentiere im Zuge jahreszeitlicher Wanderungen in größerer Zahl in das Gebiet am Nordrand der Mittelgebirgszone gelangten und somit grundsätzlich die Voraussetzungen auch für die Anwesenheit des Menschen kurz nach dem Höhepunkt des zweiten Kältemaximums gegeben waren.
Gravierungen von Fundstellen des späten Jungpaläolithikums im mittleren Elstertal um Gera, Ostthüringen, 2003
In the middle Weiße Elster river valley around Gera (eastern Thuringia, Germany) are three Magdalenian sites with portable engravings. Gera-Binsenacker and Gleina are open air sites and the Magdalenian occupation of the Lindenthal hyena cave is confined to the terrace in front of it. This latter site produces a simple female representation of Gönnersdorf type, an unusual depiction of a mammoth on a small fragment of reindeer antler (the easternmost in the Magdalenian) and two plain bones engravings. Gleina produced three small slate plaques bearing geometrical symbols. All engravings fit in the normal range of Magdalenian art in Central Europe. At the third site, Binsenacker, there are clear indications for engraved slate plaquettes among the material of the 1938 excavation, wich are now lost. We know of twelve sites with portable art, from a total of about 75, in Central Germany. Figural and geometrical art coexist. If there is a sufficient number of decorated objects on a site, both kinds of art exist. The existence of figural and geometrical engravings connect Central Germany with Bohemia and Moravia and separate this regions in this aspect from western and southwestern Central Europe.
1985
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