2023-05-31 13:42:00
At the end of May, German scientists from Westphalia presented the results of the next stage of excavations begun in one of the caves of this region in western Germany about twenty years ago.
The Blätterhöhle cave was discovered in 1983, but the first archaeological research was carried out here in the early 2000s during the inspection of the state of groundwater near the city of Hagen. Then the entrance was released, after which human remains were soon found.
Blatterhöle Cave
The uniqueness of the Bletterhöhle cave lies in the fact that for thousands of years it has remained untouched. It got its name because of the thick layer of old foliage (German Blätter – leaves, Höhle – cave), which filled the entrance to the ground.
As stated in the message of the Regional Communal Union of Westphalia-Lippe (LWL), during the previous stages, the remains of five people who lived here at the beginning of the Middle Stone Age (Mesolithic) 11200-10700 years ago, as well as six or seven people of the Late New Stone Age were found in the cave. century (Neolithic) 6000-5000 years ago.
Archaeologists have now reached an earlier layer and discovered remains dating back to the Old Stone Age (Paleolithic) about 12,000 years ago.
In this case, we are talking about the oldest traces of Homo sapiens on the territory of Westphalia – a fragment of the lower jaw, several teeth and fragments of the teeth of one about seven-year-old child and one badly hewn tooth of an adult.
Whether the child was buried in a cave or died here as a result of an accident, scientists still cannot say how and answer the question of what happened to other parts of the body? It is possible that they will be found during the next stage of excavations, which will begin in August this year.
Homo sapiens in Paleolithic times
During the Paleolithic, people preferred to spend a significant part of their time in front of the caves, which served as shelter from the weather. The Bletterhöhle cave provided such an opportunity and was located in a suitable place – near the valleys of streams and rivers, in which it was possible to get food, that is, to engage in gathering and hunting.
The analysis of human remains, flint products and other finds made in the cave during the research also made it possible to draw conclusions about the climatic conditions and circumstances of people’s lives in these places in different periods of the Stone Age.
Climate change
In general, the finds are evidence of rapid climate change in a very short period – during the liberation of this part of Europe from glaciers, the ability of people to quickly adapt to new conditions, as well as a high degree of mobility.
The newest finds belong to the so-called Ahrensburg culture (Ahrensburger Kultur) – an archaeological culture of the late Paleolithic period in the territories of modern northern Germany and the Netherlands. According to LWL archaeologist Prof. Dr. Michael Baales, at that time people in these places hunted reindeer (Rentier), which migrated here from the northern regions of Europe in the spring.
Reindeer bones were previously found at other sites in Westphalia, but they were not found in the Blatterhöhle cave, but bones of red deer (Rothirsch) were found here. This is evidence of the rapid change in the flora and fauna of the region.
The flint objects found in the cave were not made by the last reindeer hunters. They are typical for people who lived at that time in the territories of modern France and southern Germany, which indicates the migration of people on the continent in this period.
Homo sapiens in Europe
According to modern research, the settlement of Europe by primitive people began about 50 thousand years ago and took place in several stages over a long time. In all likelihood, we can talk about three big waves. The first modern humans originally coexisted with the Neanderthals, who lived here much longer, but later disappeared.
See also:
#Germany #jaw #child #lived #thousand #years