Ice Age Apparel—Changing Prey Patterns Towards the Last Glacial Maximum and the Role of Reindeer Fur for Clothing at Kammern-Grubgraben

Pasda K, Mayr C, Pfeifer SJ, Reiss L, Einwögerer T, Händel M, Buchinger N, Schwab W, Maier A (2025)

Publication Language: English

Publication Type: Journal article, Original article

Publication year: 2025

Journal

Book Volume: 8

Article Number: 15

DOI: 10.1007/s41982-025-00216-3

Abstract

The site of Kammern-Grubgraben in Lower Austria preserved one of the largest assemblages of stone constructions, lithic and organic artefacts, personal ornaments, and faunal remains of the Last Glacial Maximum (ca. 24–20 ka cal BP) in Europe. Conspicuously, the faunal remains attest to an occupation only during winter and are strongly dominated by reindeer (Rangifer tarandus), indicating a rather selective and narrow hunting focus despite the curated, long-term character of the site. This narrow focus contrasts with findings from older sites in the region, such as the Gravettian sites Krems-Hundssteig, Krems-Wachtberg, and Langenlois A, dated to between 33 and 29 ka cal BP, which show a main focus on mammoth. In this paper, we present new results on the age and sex distribution of reindeer at Kammern-Grubgraben. We argue that winter-hunting of reindeer, in addition to its role in providing energy-rich nutrition and raw material for organic tools, is also indicative of a focus on obtaining high-quality raw material for clothing. The fur of reindeer in winter is particularly valuable and convenient for the production of clothing for cold environments. Together with the recovered large number of eyed needles, a tool for tight and regular seams, our findings suggest that the production of clothing and other goods made of fur and skin was an important activity at Kammern-Grubgraben.

Authors with CRIS profile

Related research project(s)

Involved external institutions

Friedrich-Schiller-Universität Jena Germany (DE) Österreichische Akademie der Wissenschaften Austria (AT)

How to cite

APA:

Pasda, K., Mayr, C., Pfeifer, S.J., Reiss, L., Einwögerer, T., Händel, M.,... Maier, A. (2025). Ice Age Apparel—Changing Prey Patterns Towards the Last Glacial Maximum and the Role of Reindeer Fur for Clothing at Kammern-Grubgraben. Journal of Paleolithic Archaeology, 8. https://doi.org/10.1007/s41982-025-00216-3

MLA:

Pasda, Kerstin, et al. "Ice Age Apparel—Changing Prey Patterns Towards the Last Glacial Maximum and the Role of Reindeer Fur for Clothing at Kammern-Grubgraben." Journal of Paleolithic Archaeology 8 (2025).

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