Sabine Gaudzinski-Windheuser

Straight-tusked elephants ( Palaeoloxodon antiquus ) were the largest land mammals of the European Pleistocene. Abundant fossil remains have been recovered from Neumark-Nord [~125 thousand years ago (ka); Saxony-Anhalt, NE Germany], where over 70 individuals were accumulated by Neanderthal hunting and butchering activity. This study reconstructs the species’ paleoecology using a multiproxy approach that combines isotopic and paleoproteomic analyses of tooth enamel. LA-MC-ICPMS ⁸⁷ Sr/ ⁸⁶ Sr analyses on molar cross sections from four adults reveal subseasonal mobility over periods up to eight years. A specifically developed Sr isoscape facilitates tracking of elephant movements, using Bayesian analysis to map their Last Interglacial homerange. Amelogenin proteomic analysis identified three males and one likely female. Two male elephants exhibit elevated ⁸⁷ Sr/ ⁸⁶ Sr profiles, distinct from the local bioavailable ratios. Intra-tooth δ ¹³ C and δ ¹⁸ O analyses provide insights into paleodiet and drinking water sources, differing between individuals with low and elevated ⁸⁷ Sr/ ⁸⁶ Sr. The latter likely foraged up to 300 km away before arriving at Neumark-Nord, where they were ultimately killed and processed by Neanderthals.

Diet played a key role in human evolution, making the study of past diet and subsistence strategies a crucial research topic within paleoanthropology. Lipids are a crucial resource for hunter-gatherers, especially for foragers whose diet is based heavily on animal foods. Recent foragers have expended substantial amounts of energy to obtain this resource, including time-consuming production of bone grease, a resource intensification practice thus far only documented for Upper Paleolithic populations. We present archaeological data from the lake landscape of Neumark-Nord (Germany), where Last Interglacial Neanderthals processed at least 172 large mammals at a water’s edge site. Their (partial) carcasses were transported to this location for the extraction of within-bone nutrients, particularly bone grease. This “fat factory” constitutes a well-documented case of grease rendering predating the Upper Paleolithic, with the special task location devoted to extraction of nutritionally important lipids forming an important addition to our knowledge of Neanderthal adaptations.

The Schöningen 13II-4 archaeological site in Germany holds title to the most complete Paleolithic wooden hunting spears ever discovered, yet its age has never been properly settled. Initial estimates placed the site at around 400,000 years; this age was later revised to roughly 300,000 years. Here, we report age estimates for the “Spear Horizon” based on amino acid geochronology of fossils obtained directly from the find-bearing deposits. Together with a reassessment of regional Middle Pleistocene chronostratigraphy, these data place the Schöningen spears at ~200,000 years. This revised age positions the Spear Horizon alongside other sites that collectively record a shift toward communal hunting strategies. The Schöningen archaeological record exemplifies this behavioral transformation that arose within the increasingly complex social environments of Middle Paleolithic Neanderthals.

Straight-tusked elephants ( Palaeoloxodon antiquus ) were the largest terrestrial mammals of the Pleistocene, present in Eurasian landscapes between 800,000 and 100,000 years ago. The occasional co-occurrence of their skeletal remains with stone tools has generated rich speculation about the nature of interactions between these elephants and Pleistocene humans: Did hominins scavenge on elephants that died a natural death or maybe even hunt some individuals? Our archaeozoological study of the largest P. antiquus assemblage known, excavated from 125,000-year-old lake deposits in Germany, shows that hunting of elephants weighing up to 13 metric tons was part of the cultural repertoire of Last Interglacial Neanderthals there, over >2000 years, many dozens of generations. The intensity and nutritional yields of these well-documented butchering activities, combined with previously reported data from this Neumark-Nord site complex, suggest that Neanderthals were less mobile and operated within social units substantially larger than commonly envisaged.

Studies of ancient lake sites in Germany suggest landscape manipulation by prehistoric hunter-gatherers, 125,000 years ago.

Throughout (pre)history, non-flint rocks have been used to structure fireplaces, to retain heat, to boil liquids, and to cook food. Thus far, the identification of heated non-flint rocks in archaeological contexts largely depends on a visual (macroscopic) assessment using criteria thought to be diagnostic for thermal alteration. However, visual identification can be subject to observer bias, and some heat-induced traces can be quite difficult to distinguish from other types of weathering or discolouration. In this paper, we present feldspar luminescence analysis as an independent, objective way to identify heated non-flint rocks and to evaluate the results against the established visual macroscopic method for the identification of such pieces. This is done by submitting manuported rocks with and without inferred macroscopic characteristics of heating, originating from the Last Interglacial, Middle Palaeolithic site Neumark-Nord 2/2 (Germany), to feldspar luminescence analysis (pIRIR₂₉₀). Results of the feldspar luminescence analysis are compared with the visual assessments. This proof of concept study demonstrates the potential of luminescence analyses as an independent, quantitative method for the identification of heated rocks—and their prehistoric applications like hot-stone cooking, specifically for cases where macroscopic assessment cannot provide reliable determinations.

Recent zooarchaeological and isotope analyses have largely settled the debate surrounding Neanderthal hunting capacities, repeatedly demonstrating their successful acquisition of large ungulates. Nevertheless, the functional identification of individual tools as hunting weapons remains a methodological challenge. In-depth studies have focussed mainly on small subsets of lithic artefacts from selected assemblages assessing features of breakage patterns, retouch, shape and use wear. Studies focussing on associated hunting lesions are rarer and often focus on reconstructing very specific bone surface marks encountered in the archaeological record. This study aims to add to our understanding of the formation and characteristics of projectile impact marks (PIMs) on bone through a series of highly monitored, replicative experiments, using thrusting and throwing spears with replica Levallois points into two wild pig carcasses. In total, 152 shots were made, and for each a series of attributes was recorded, including velocity and location of impact. Subsequent quantitative analyses focussed on understanding the various factors underlying the formation of different types of projectile impact marks. These experiments demonstrate that PIM formation results from the properties of both the impacting projectile and bone element. PIMs can signal impacts caused by different delivery methods but only on some parts of the skeleton. These results are contextualised in relation to the occurrence and recognition of Palaeolithic PIMs and patterns of Neanderthal behaviour. These experiments are only a first step in improving the recognition of these signatures in the archaeological record and providing better insights into understanding of the mechanisms of Neanderthal hunting.