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The cultural and chronostratigraphic context of a New Leaf Point from Hohle Fels cave in the Ach Valley of southwestern Germany

Conard NJ, Janas A, Marcazzan D, Miller C, Richard M, Schürch B, Tribolo C (2021)

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Publication Type: Journal article

Publication year: 2021

Journal

Book Volume: 30

Pages Range: 41-66

URI: https://kernsverlag.com/en/the-cultural-and-chronostratigraphic-context-of-a-new-leaf-point-from-hohle-fels-cave-in-the-ach-valley-of-southwestern-germany/

DOI: 10.51315/mgfu.2021.30003

Open Access Link: https://kernsverlag.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/mgfu_30_3_conard.pdf

Abstract

During the summer of 2020 the excavation team at Hohle Fels Cave in the Ach Valley of south-
western Germany recovered a leaf point (in German Blattspitze) made from gray Jurassic chert.
The find is well-preserved and remarkable for a number of reasons. First this is the only leaf
point recovered by a modern excavation in the Swabian Jura, and is the first leaf point discov-
ered in situ since 1936, when Gustav Riek’s crew recovered two well-preserved leaf points at
the excavation of Haldenstein Cave in the Lone Valley. The leaf point and associated finds orig-
inate from archaeological horizon (AH) X, 120 cm below the base of the rich Aurignacian de-
posits at the site that dates with radiocarbon to ca. 42 ka cal BP. Four ESR dates made on the
teeth of large mammals from AH IX overlying the new leaf point yielded an average age of 62.5 ± 4 ka BP. This date represents a minimum age for the new horizons, which based on con-
vention would be placed in the cultural taxonomic unit of the Blattspitzengruppe. Since the
Blattspitzengruppe is typically interpreted as the last Middle Paleolithic cultural unit, we were
intrigued to find an assemblage containing a Blattspitze in such an early chronostratigraphic
context. While in Germany the Blattspitzengruppe is usually associated with the end of the Mid-
dle Paleolithic, many researchers across Europe have described these leaf point assemblages
as being transitional industries at the interface between the Middle and Upper Paleolithic. His-
torically, some authors have even suggested a degree of cultural continuity between leaf point
assemblages of the Middle and Upper Paleolithic. Here we present the stratigraphic and chro-
nological context of the AH X and provide a preliminary description of the material cultural
record from this horizon. Keeping in mind that we so far have only excavated parts of 6 m2 of
the new find horizon and the underlying find horizon AH XI, the paper provides initial observa-
tions that will need revision as the excavation proceeds. These findings suggest that leaf points
represent a feature in the technological repertoire of the Late Pleistocene Neanderthals of
southwestern Germany rather than a reliable cultural stratigraphic marker for the last phase of
the Middle Paleolithic.

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How to cite

APA:

Conard, N.J., Janas, A., Marcazzan, D., Miller, C., Richard, M., Schürch, B., & Tribolo, C. (2021). The cultural and chronostratigraphic context of a New Leaf Point from Hohle Fels cave in the Ach Valley of southwestern Germany. Mitteilungen der Gesellschaft für Urgeschichte, 30, 41-66. https://doi.org/10.51315/mgfu.2021.30003

MLA:

Conard, Nicholas J., et al. "The cultural and chronostratigraphic context of a New Leaf Point from Hohle Fels cave in the Ach Valley of southwestern Germany." Mitteilungen der Gesellschaft für Urgeschichte 30 (2021): 41-66.

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