Archaeological excavation sites in the Schöningen opencast mine

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The archaeological excavation sites in the Schöningen opencast mine include around 50 sites from prehistoric times that were archaeologically investigated when the Schöningen opencast mine was opened in 1983 . The excavations are among the largest archaeological measures in Lower Saxony , which continue to this day in a small area. From 1994 they led to the discovery of the Schöningen spears and other important finds from the Paleolithic Age .

View of the Schöningen 13 II site on a protruding base (spear base) recessed from the Schöningen open-cast lignite mine

Emergence

From 1979 the Schöningen opencast mine in the Helmstedt lignite area was opened up first by a north and later by a south field on a total area of ​​around six km². Since a large number of archaeological sites were to be expected on the open-cast mining area, the archaeologist Hartmut Thieme from the Institute for Monument Preservation in Hanover initiated the long-term project Archaeological Focus Studies in the Helmstedt Brown Coal District (ASHB) in 1983 . It was made possible by the commitment of the Braunschweig coal mines to support the rescue excavations in the long term. The aim of the project was to document the prehistoric and early historical legacies of man on a large area without gaps. In addition, the project served to reconstruct the previous environmental conditions through geological and paleobotanical studies.

Excavation process

Archaeological excavation in the Schöningen opencast mine

Before the excavation by the bucket wheel excavator , archaeologists systematically examined the planned mining areas by means of approximately two meter wide search cuts in the ground at a distance of 100 meters. When archaeological findings were found, the search cuts were made more closely meshed or expanded to create excavation areas on which rescue excavations took place. Around 30 years after the start of the project, in 2012 areas of 400,000 m² were excavated. The search in the near-surface, Holocene deposits with Neolithic , Bronze Age and Iron Age sites formed the focus of the main archaeological investigations until 1991.

With the development of the southern opencast mine in 1992 by the mining company, the archaeological measures shifted deeper. This was made possible by excavation excavators that cut into the earth and exposed deposits from the Ice Age . The archaeologists' search in the Pleistocene strata focused on human remains from the Paleolithic Age.

Later, the lignite mine did not touch any archaeological sites. This changed the character of the excavations from rescue excavations under time pressure to subsidized research excavations. In 2016 the opencast mine was stopped. The archaeological investigations in the area around the site of the Schöningen spears are continued to this day.

Overview of sources

The numbering of the sites was largely from north to south. The discovery sites Esbeck 3, 6, 7, 8 and Schöningen 9 are in the north field of the opencast mine, the discovery sites Schöningen 10 and 11 and 13 to 15 in the south field. Schöningen 12 includes the area of ​​the Deutsche Bahn pillar that separates the two open-cast mining areas. Other sites not mentioned here are located outside the open pit (Esbeck 4 and 5) or were not recorded as part of the project (Esbeck 1 and 2).

Reference Excavation year Exposed area
Esbeck 3 1983 52,000 m²
Esbeck 6 1984 20,000 m²
Esbeck 7 and Schöningen 1984/1985 31,000 m²
Esbeck 8 and Schöningen 1984 4500 m²
Schöningen 9 1985 22,000 m²
Schöningen 10 1985, 2002 31,500 m²
Schöningen 11 1986/1987 53,000 m²
Schöningen 12 1986/1987 22,000 m²
Schöningen 13 1988-1994 66,000 m²
Schöningen 14 1989 2000 m²
Schöningen 15 2000-2002 35,000 m²

Pleistocene geology

Geological sequence

Soil profile in the southern spear horizon with the lake deposits

As part of the long-term project, Pleistocene layers were documented for the first time in 1991 and archaeologically relevant finds were discovered shortly thereafter. The area around Schöningen belongs to the Helmstedt brown coal basin , which forms the northwestern extension of the 70 km long Helmstedt-Staßfurt brown coal basin. This is divided in two by a Zechstein saddle. The open pit is located in the southwestern part of the northwest-southeast oriented rim depression of the narrow salt dome . It is filled with paleogenic deposits, on which up to 30 m thick Quaternary cover layers are deposited. The lower deposit units of the Paleogene, the so-called Schöningen Formation, are considered to be an important climatic archive from the transition from the Paleocene to the Eocene .

The basis of the Quaternary sequence is formed by the ground moraine and meltwater sands of the Elster glaciation . At least three gullies (Schöningen I, II, III) are sunk into this glacial sequence, which run parallel along the Zechstein saddle and partly overlap one another. They are filled with limnic-telmatic sediments that were deposited under warm-time conditions. The closer they are to the salt dome, the younger the gullies are. These three gullies are overlaid by the glacial series of the older Saale glaciation (Drenthe), which also sweeps over the remains of the Elster glaciation. A channel (Schöningen IV), which contains a doubled soil complex, is also sunk into the ground moraine from the Saale period. A mighty loess rests on the Saale moraine , which contains another channel (Schöningen V). A last channel is sunk into the loess (Schöningen VI).

The six channels were originally interpreted by Dietrich Mania as relics of an independent climate cycle. From a geological point of view, the Schöningen I to III gullies belong to the period between the Elster and Saale glaciations. According to Mania, each channel represents a warm period, with Schöningen I comprising the Holstein warm period , Schöningen II the Reinsdorf warm period and Schöningen III the Dömnitz warm period (Schöningen warm period). The fourth channel would then be classified in a warm period after the Drenthe ice advance (so-called “intrasaale warm period”), the fifth channel comprises the Eem warm period and the sixth the early Holocene . In support of this view, the sequence of channels from Schöningen should be found in the cycles of travertine sequences from Bilzingsleben in Thuringia .

Deviating from the original interpretation of the older three gullies by Schöningen as independent remnants of warm climatic climate cycles, in a newer version these are viewed as a single edge depression. This has its origin as a subglacial tunnel valley, which was only incompletely filled in the outgoing Elster glaciation and which existed as a lake in the subsequent warm period. This lake was then gradually filled in from the west with sediments from the Elm. The period in which the individual gullies were formed would be limited to one or a maximum of two warm periods. The absolute age dating obtained so far confirm this view. Accordingly, the Reinsdorf warm period would be identical to the Holstein warm period.

Landscape reconstruction

A rich fauna and flora community with both macroscopic and microscopic remains comes from the oldest three channels . According to pollen analyzes from the Schöningen II channel, the vegetation sequence deviates characteristically from the Holstein warm period and was therefore assigned to the Reinsdorf warm period. Macroscopic plant residues in the form of fruits, seeds and woods show the Tatar steppe maple as a typical element as an indication of a pontic- subcontinental climate. This was associated with the field maple , the winter linden , the common ash , the blackthorn , the red dogwood and others. They all point to an open landscape with individual forest islands, a forest steppe that is typical of Southeastern Europe today. As a result, however, the flora differs from that of the Bilzingsleben site, which is regarded as being at the same time, where a mixed boxwood and oak forest predominated.

The south-eastern European character of the flora of Rinne Schöningen II is reflected in the mollusc fauna, which is characterized by the snail Helicigona banatica . In the comprehensive more than 80 kinds mollusc community in addition to the general current Central European forms like coming garden and the grove snail and the Snail many South and Southeast European representatives before, including the pagoda snail that Enggenabelte crystal screw that aegopis verticillus and Bright cylinder whorl snail . They speak for a Mediterranean- influenced landscape of forests and open landscapes. The high-temperature-time mollusc is in overlying sedimentary layers of the channel Schoningen II by a Pupilla replaced embossed Lößsteppen- and Sumpflößfauna.

The vertebrates are indicated by fish , reptiles , birds and mammals . The large mammal fauna can be addressed as Palaeoloxodon antiqiuus fauna, as it is typical for the warm periods of Central Europe. In addition to their character form, the European forest elephant , steppe and forest rhinoceros , the Mosbach horse , the European wild ass , aurochs , steppe bison as well as red deer and roe deer are represented, as well as numerous predators. Among the small mammals, the old beaver ( Trogontherium ) can be highlighted, which indicates a pre-Saale age. Something similar suggests the water voles, whose enamel thickness (the so-called enamel band differentiation quotient) suggests an age comparable to that of Bilzingsleben. On the other hand, the horse remains , which their editor Rudolf Musil assesses as more modern than corresponding finds from Bilzingsleben, are different. The Desman appears as an exotic species within the small mammal fauna, the closest relative of which is the Russian Desman in Siberia .

Among the other vertebrates, the European pond turtle stands out as a warm climatic indicator , which occurs with individual shell fragments in the climate optimum and today in Central Europe is bound to the 20 ° C isotherm so that its clutches hatch. In addition, among the reptiles adder , grass snake and forest or sand lizard occupied, amphibians contact frog ( toad , spadefoot , frog ) and tailed amphibians ( Newt ), while the nearby lake by roach , rudd and pike appears. Burbot and bullhead indicate nearby running waters. As the lake silts up, the fish fauna changes significantly.

Pleistocene sites

Schöningen 13 I.

The Schöningen 13 I site is the archaeologically oldest in the entire Schöningen site. It is located in channel I, which is filled with mud , peat and basin clay . At the base of this sediment sequence , the first finds came to light in 1994. The area was then examined over an area of ​​around 120 m². Around 550 objects were found, including broken animal bones, most of which can be assigned to ungulates . Red deer, giant deer and aurochs can be identified with certainty. There are also remains of the steppe mammoth , rhinos from the genus Stephanorhinus and horses , possibly Equus mosbachensis (Mosbacher horse). The Fund horizon contained further artefacts from flint as evidence of the presence of early humans. In addition to numerous deductions as waste products from core and raw tuber processing, these also include individual devices. These mainly have simple edge processing in the form of bays and teeth, which is often associated with the processing of organic raw materials. In addition, pieces of debris and around 50 fire-cracked stones are recorded, which indicate a possible use of fire. Thermoluminescence dating on the fired silices showed a preliminary age of around 400,000 years, which speaks for a position within MIS 11. Later analyzes revised this to around 321,000 years ago, which points to a more recent warm-time cycle (MIS 9). Further excavation work took place in 1999 and 2014, which included smaller areas. Around 90 found objects were found on 30 m². About 1.5 m above this site, an inspection horizon with step seals from elephants, rhinos and other large mammals was discovered.

Schöningen 12

Clamp
shaft I

Schöningen 12, located on the northern edge of the southern opencast mine, belongs to the Schöningen II channel. The channel is filled with sediment series that represent five silting sequences. There is the first consequence of silting Beckenschluffen , various muds (silt, clay and calcareous muds), Lockertravertinen and peat (Flachmoor- and Bruchwaldtorfe) and displays the climatic optimum of a warm period before about 300,000 years ago. The four upper silting sequences already represent the cool climatic late interglacial. They are composed of Charakalkmudden and Flachmoortorfen. Frost structures already appear in the uppermost silting sequence. Several horizons were found in this channel. The Schöningen 12 site is in the first silting sequence. It was discovered in 1992 and subsequently excavated over an area of ​​around 150 m². Find layer 2, which is about 2 to 3 m higher, covers an area of ​​30 m². Both horizons were previously located directly on the lake shore. They contained flint material and bones, as well as wood artifacts. The bones of large mammals, in particular, are often smashed and show cut marks so that they can be interpreted as human remains. The flint artifacts include both chips and tools, cores and debris. The haircuts were usually won by the hard hit technique. Most of the devices have curved and serrated edges. Sometimes there are two working edges that are at right or acute angles, but the bifacial technique, i.e. pieces with two surfaces, are rare. The find layer 1 also produced three wooden shafts, which are between 17 and 32 cm long and each have an incised notch at one end. A fourth object is only 11 cm long, but has a notch at both ends. All pieces were made from the silver fir . The woods were probably used as clamp shafts. From find layer 2 there are several burned and charred pieces of wood that probably belonged to a fireplace.

Schöningen 12 II DB

These smaller sites adjoin Schöningen 12 immediately to the north and are located on the “Deutsche Bahn pillar”, which separates the southern construction site from the northern construction site. The individual smaller excavation areas from a few to almost 400 m² have been developed since 2007. They belong to different stratigraphic levels of the Schöningen II channel, distributed over the silting zones. The special features include the skull of a water buffalo and other possible clamp shafts from silting sequence 1, as well as a skull of the aurochs from silting sequence 4. Among the more than 1500 documented bone fragments there are also individual pieces that were used as devices or tools, such as retouchers or anvils.

Schöningen 13 II

Leg bones of the forest elephant from Schöningen from Schöningen 13 II-3

About 800 m south-east of Schöningen 12 is the Schöningen 13 II site , also embedded in the series of deposits of the Schöningen II channel. The entire site remained during the open-pit operation as a 60 by 50 m base on the western edge of the open-cast mine and could thus be extensively investigated. A more than 10 m high reference profile includes all silting effects and was created in 2003. Uranium-thorium data obtained from the peat layers of silting sequence 2 give it an age of around 294,000 years, which, according to the absolute values ​​from Schöningen 13 I, indicates a position in MIS 9. The site has separate sites in the lower four silting sequences ( Schöningen 13 II-1 , -2 , -3 , -4 ). The three older sites, Schöningen 13 II-1 to -3 , are largely smaller areas that were examined, each of which contained around 870 to 1030 objects, mostly broken bones of larger mammals and individual flint artifacts, occasionally also pieces of wood such as a charred wooden stick from Schöningen 13 II-1. They are interpreted as ephemeral places or low density sites , i.e. sites where people only stay for a short time, leaving only a few traces. However, in 2015 in Schöningen 13 II-2 a larger fragment of the rib and an approximately two meter long tusk of a European forest elephant were found together with small bone fragments. Cut traces have been handed down to the bones, which probably originate from flint tools and, according to the excavators' interpretation, possibly prove the hunt for this species. Only 15 m away from this find, but in Schöningen 13 II-3 and thus around 1.5 m higher, a largely complete individual of a European forest elephant was found in 2017 . The bone remains of the older female animal with a reconstructed shoulder height of 3.2 m were distributed over an area of ​​around 64 m². It died of natural causes on the lakeshore.

Animal bones in Schöningen 13 II-4
The Schöninger Speer  VII found in Schöningen 13 II-4

The most prominent site is Schöningen 13 II-4 , the so-called “spear find horizon” or the “wild horse camp” from the fourth silting up sequence. First cut in 1994, it has since been uncovered to around 3900 m² and yielded around 14,600 finds. Originally the site was on the western edge of the lake. It shows a clear structure with a storage of the main part of the finds in a 10 m narrow and 50 to 60 m long documented strip, which runs approximately north-south. Up to 150 objects per square meter were found here, including stone artifacts and the majority of all mammal remains. An area of ​​11 by 15 m within this strip was characterized by a particularly wealth of finds. To the east towards the inner lake, the density of finds decreases significantly. Bones of larger mammals dominate, many of which have been smashed and show cut marks so that they can be interpreted as leftover food from the hunted prey. Sometimes they were in dense concentrations. About 90% are bones of wild horses, the Mosbach horse, including completely preserved skulls. In total they represent about 20 individuals. Steppe bison, aurochs and red deer are much rarer. Other remains of the fauna include the forest and steppe rhinoceros as well as various predators such as wolf , red fox , ermine and weasel . These probably occurred naturally in the area, as well as the beavers , which are represented by the European beaver and the old beaver . Among the flint artefacts there are 1,500 retouching scraps of only 2 to 3 mm in size and around 50 devices. These are usually finely edged and can be classified as scrapers and point-like devices. Bow, interchangeable and pointed scrapers appear under the scrapers. What is striking is the lack of artifacts from the so-called basic form production (cores and large cuts) from which the devices were then made. It can therefore be assumed that the devices were not manufactured on site, but merely resharpened. In the absence of larger boulders, bony retouchers were probably used, for example made from metapodia from wild horses. Already in the first year of the excavation a 78 cm long spruce rod pointed at both ends could be found, which is interpreted as throwing or vertebral wood , possibly for bird hunting. Between 1995 and 1999 a total of nine wooden spears and a lance came to light in this horizon , which are among the oldest hunting weapons of this type in the world. With one exception, they are made of spruce wood and are between 180 and 250 cm long. The tips of the spears have been carefully carved out of the base of the logs and run out to the side of the pith as the weakest part of the wood. It is suspected that this apparent asymmetrical position of the spearhead is based on intention and could be substantiated by experimental investigations. The center of gravity of the shaft is again in the front third, making these pieces clear throwing devices. Investigations on replicas of these spears showed their excellent flight characteristics, which correspond to those of today's competition spears. There is also a wooden stick about 80 cm long, the knots of which have been removed (except for the top one) and which has scorch marks at one end. It is possible that this charred wooden stick is a kind of “skewer” for preparing meat or a “poker” for maintaining the fire. In addition to these unique wooden implements, a few other processed woods have been found whose purpose is unknown. There were also four areas interspersed in the horizon, which were initially interpreted as fireplaces due to their reddish background color. However, further investigations in 2010 and 2011 did not reveal any evidence of fire use in the form of charcoal or burnt bones. The overall findings with the hunting spears, the high proportion of horse remains and the special use of tools aimed at re-sharpening indicate that a hunting event is documented with Schöningen 13 II-4 . The scope for interpretation currently ranges from a one-time hunt for a whole herd of wild horses and subsequent laying down of the hunting weapons to multiple, short-term events in which individual horses were repeatedly killed. Investigations on the orientation of the individual bony finds, however, show a more complex history of the origins of the entire site. According to this, a larger part of the horse bones, especially in the concentrations on the former lake shore, can be traced back to an anthropogenic origin, which however does not necessarily reflect a one-off event. Numerous other remains, for example from some horses, but also from large cattle or deer, were of course deposited and were later possibly slightly relocated due to the increasing influence of water.

Schöningen 13 II Berme

Throwing wood from Schöningen in the find location, 2016

The berm adjoining the base of Schöningen 13 II to the south has been the target of archaeological investigations since 2002. Here, too, the individual silting effects of the Schöningen II channel could be followed. Corresponding to Schöningen 13 II , the lower siltation series, located on the lower berm, contained only sparse remains, including flint artifacts and remains of large mammals. However, there were stamps from the European forest elephant in the soft lake shore sediment. The area is located around 100 m from the site where the forest elephant skeleton of Schöningen 13 II was found . It includes traces that may be traced back to adult and young individuals who ran parallel to the lake shore. Since 2011, the silting sequence 4 on the upper berm has been developed, which continues the “spear find horizon” to the south and is accordingly also referred to as the “spear horizon south”. The continuation of the horse hunting camp on the former lakeshore could thus be demonstrated, the new excavation section is located about 80 m southeast of Schöningen 13 II-4 . By 2015, over 400 bones from large animals and 20 stone artifacts were found at the new site. Among them were several teeth of a saber-toothed cat of the genus Homotherium , an additional long bone fragment was recognized in the excavation material from Schöningen 13 II-4 . This bears individual impact marks and probably acted as a retoucher for working stone tools. The finds represent two individuals of the rare big cat. Not only are they some of the most recent records of homotherium in Europe, they also raised the question of whether the spears were not only used as weapons of prey, but also for defense. The same find layer also contained another, this time around 65 cm long throwing wood , also made of spruce wood.

Holocene sites

During the prospecting of the opencast mining site, a large number of archaeological sites from the Neolithic, Bronze and Iron Age up to the birth of Christ were discovered in the near-surface Holocene deposits. These were mainly settlement and grave findings. The first archaeological measure was carried out in 1982 by means of a rescue excavation, with which the Esbeck earthworks, known since 1974 from the time of the band ceramic culture, were examined. With an age around 5500 BC. It was the oldest finding. The plant was not located in the open-cast mining area, but at a location where the Buschhaus power plant was to be built to generate electricity from the lignite .

About 25 house floor plans were found among the settlements. From the time of the Rössen culture around 4500 BC. There were several house plans and part of a palisade . Also still in the Middle Neolithic were among several settlement pits whose characteristic ceramic material, including much mature bowls with circumferential groove decoration on the shoulders and above the standing base (so-called funnel edge bowls) and pans with a typical arcade edges, in the year 1991 on the establishment of Schöninger group by Jonas Beran led. In a more modern perspective, this is sometimes referred to as the "Schiepziger Group", named after the village of Schiepzig near Salzmünde in Saxony-Anhalt . From the time of the late Neolithic Schönfeld culture around 2500 BC. A 25 m long post house was excavated. House floor plans from the early Bronze Age Aunjetitz culture were also discovered.

The grave finds included around 90 burials from different periods. These included a small burial ground from the Bell Beaker Culture, a larger burial ground from the Aunjetitz culture with 20 body graves and a stool grave from the Rössen culture. A special grave was a double burial of the Kugelamphoren culture with an adult and a child.

In 1988, a Neolithic earthworks with two 8 m wide base ditches was discovered. It had a complicated gate system 10 meters wide with a defense structure above, which led into the earthwork as a 15 m long gate lane. It is attributed to a Middle Neolithic culture.

literature

  • The largest archaeological excavation in Lower Saxony. Significant discoveries about prehistory in the Schöningen opencast mine. In: Mamoun Fansa et al. (Ed.): Archeology I Land I Lower Saxony. 25 years of the Monument Protection Act - 400,000 years of history. Archaeological Communications from Northwest Germany, Supplement 42 (exhibition catalog), Stuttgart, 2004, pp. 294–299
  • Nicholas J. Conard , Christopher E. Miller, Jordi Serangeli and Thijs van Kolfschoten (eds.): Excavations at Schöningen. New Insights into Middle Pleistocene Lifeways in Northern Europe . Journal of Human Evolution 89, 2015 ( abstracts )
  • Karl-Ernst Behre (Ed.): The chronological classification of the palaeolithic sites of Schöningen Research on prehistory from the Schöningen 1 opencast mine, Mainz, 2012 ( online )
  • Thomas Terberger and Stefan Winghart (eds.): The geology of the palaeolithic sites of Schöningen Research on prehistory from the Schöningen 2 opencast mine, Mainz, 2015 ( online )
  • Hartmut Thieme (ed.): The Schöninger spears. Humans and hunting 400,000 years ago. Stuttgart, 2007
  • Hartmut Thieme and Reinhard Maier: Archaeological excavations in the open-cast brown coal mine in Schöningen. Hannover, 1995, pp. 1-191
  • Gerlinde Bigga: The plants of Schöningen. Research on prehistory from the Schöningen 3 opencast mine, Mainz, 2018 ( online )

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c d e Jordi Serangeli , Utz Böhner , Henning Haßmann and Nicholas J. Conard: The Pleistocene sites in Schöningen - An introduction. In: Karl-Ernst Behre (Hrsg.): The chronological classification of the Palaeolithic sites of Schöningen. Mainz, 2012, pp. 1–22
  2. ↑ Hartmut Thieme, Dietrich Mania, Brigitte Urban and Thijs van Kolfschoten: Hunting remains and stone tools of primitive man. Communications Braunschweigische Kohlen-Bergwerke AG Helmstedt and Subsidiaries 11, 1992, pp. 3-9
  3. ↑ a b Hartmut Thieme, Dietrich Mania, Brigitte Urban and Thijs van Kolfschoten: Schöningen (North Harz Foreland) - An old Paleolithic site from the Middle Ice Age. Archäologisches Korrespondenzblatt 23, 1993, pp. 147-163
  4. ↑ a b c d e f Hartmut. Thieme: Older Paleolithic from the area between the Weser and Elbe. In: Lutz Fiedler (Hrsg.): Archeology of the oldest culture in Germany. Wiesbaden, 1997, pp. 328-355
  5. ↑ a b c d e f g h i j k l Hartmut. Thieme: Old Palaeolithic wooden tools from Schöningen, district of Helmstedt - Significant finds for the cultural development of early humans. Germania 77, 1999, pp. 451-487
  6. ^ Walter Riegel, Volker Wilde and Olaf K. Lenz: The Early Eocene of Schöningen (N-Germany) - an interim report. Austrian Journal of Earth Sciences 105 (1), 2012, pp. 88-109
  7. ↑ Katharina Methner, Olaf Lenz, Walter Riegel, Volker Wilde and Andreas Mulch: Paleoenvironmental response of midlatitudinal wetlands to Paleocene – early Eocene climate change (Schöningen lignite deposits, Germany). Climate of the Past 15, 2019, pp. 1741–1755
  8. ↑ a b c Dietrich Mania, The Quaternary of the Saale region and the Harz foreland with special consideration of the travertines of Bilzingsleben - A contribution to the cyclical structure of the Eurasian Quaternary. In: Dietrich Mania (Hrsg.): Bilzingsleben V. Homo erectus - his culture and environment. Bad Homburg, Leipzig, 1997, pp. 23-104
  9. ↑ a b Dietrich Mania: Old Paleolithic and early Middle Paleolithic in the Elbe-Saale area. In: Lutz Fiedler (Hrsg.): Archeology of the oldest culture in Germany. Wiesbaden, 1997, pp. 86-194
  10. ↑ Jörg Lang, Jutta Winsemann, Dominik Steinmetz, Ulrich Polom, Lukas Pollok, Utz Böhner, Jordi Serangeli, Christian Brandes, Andrea Hampel and Stefan Winghart: The Pleistocene of Schöningen, Germany: a complex tunnel valley fill revealed from 3D subsurface modeling and shear wave seismics. Quaternary Science Reviews 39, 2012, 86-105
  11. ^ Jörg Lang and Jutta Winsemann: The 12 II DB outcrop section at Schöningen: sedimentary facies and depositional architecture. In: Karl-Ernst Behre (Hrsg.): The chronological classification of the Palaeolithic sites of Schöningen. Mainz, 2012, pp. 39–59
  12. ↑ a b c d e f g Jordi Serangeli, Utz Böhner, Thijs Van Kolfschoten and Nicholas J. Conard: Overview and new results from large-scale excavations in Schöningen. Journal of Human Evolution 89, 2015, pp. 27-45
  13. ↑ a b Brigitte Urban, Melanie Sierralta and Manfred Frechen: New evidence for vegetation development and timing of Upper Middle Pleistocene interglacials in Northern Germany and tentative correlations. Quaternary International 241, 2011, pp. 125-142
  14. ^ A b Daniel Richter and Matthias Krbetschek: The age of the Lower Paleolithic occupation at Schöningen. Journal of Human Evolution 89, 2015, pp. 46-56
  15. ^ Brigitte Urban, R. Lenhard, Dietrich Mania and B. Albrecht: Middle Pleistocene in the Schöningen opencast mine, Ldkr. Helmstedt. Journal of the German Geological Society 142, 1991, pp. 351–372
  16. ↑ Brigitte Urban: Middle Pleistocene Interglacial in the Schöningen opencast mine. Ethnographisch-Archäologische Zeitschrift 34, 1993, pp. 620–622
  17. ↑ Henriette Jechorek: The fossil flora of Reinsdorf interglacial. Paleocarpological investigations on Middle Pleistocene deposits in the Schöningen open-cast lignite mine. Praehistoria Thuringica 4, 2000, pp. 7-17
  18. ↑ Henriette Jechorek, Alexander Czaja and Dieter-Hans Mai: The vegetation of the Reinsdorf warm period, reconstructed by a fossil fruit and seed flora. In: Hartmut Thieme (Ed.): The Schöninger Speere. Humans and hunting 400,000 years ago. Stuttgart, 2007, pp. 93-98
  19. ↑ Dietrich Mania: The fossil molluscs from the basin sediments of the Schöningen II cycle (Reinsdorf-Interglacial). In: Hartmut Thieme (Ed.): The Schöninger Speere. Humans and hunting 400,000 years ago. Stuttgart, 2007, pp. 99-104
  20. ↑ a b Thijs van Kolfschoten: The vertebrates of the interglacial of Schöningen 12B. Ethnographisch-Archäologische Zeitschrift 34, 1993, pp. 623-628
  21. ↑ Thijs van Kolfschoten: The remains of small mammals from the Reinsdorf interglacial from Schöningen. In: Hartmut Thieme (Ed.): The Schöninger Speere. Humans and hunting 400,000 years ago. Stuttgart, 2007, pp. 112-117
  22. ^ Rudolf Musil: Morphological and metric differences of the horses of Bilzingsleben and Schöningen (preliminary report). Praehistoria Thuringica 8, 2002, 143-148
  23. ↑ Rudolf Musil: The horses of Schöningen: skeletal remains of a whole herd of wild horses. In: Hartmut Thieme (Ed.): The Schöninger Speere. Humans and hunting 400,000 years ago. Stuttgart, 2007, pp. 136-140
  24. ↑ a b Thijs Van Kolfschoten, Elfi Buhrs and Ivo Verheijen: The larger mammal fauna from the Lower Paleolithic Schöningen Spear site and its contribution to hominin subsistence. Journal of Human Evolution 89, 2015, pp. 138-153
  25. ↑ Gottfried Böhme: Remains of fish, amphibians and reptiles from the site Schöningen 12 near Helmstedt (Lower Saxony) - first results. Praehistoria Thuringica 4, 2000, pp. 18-27
  26. ^ Gottfried Böhme: remains of fish, amphibians and reptiles from the sequence of layers of the Reinsdorf interglacial from Schöningen. In: Hartmut Thieme (Ed.): The Schöninger Speere. Humans and hunting 400,000 years ago. Stuttgart, 2007, pp. 105-111
  27. ↑ Daniel Richter: Age determination of the layers of finds from Schöningen with dosimetric dating methods. In: Hartmut Thieme (Ed.): The Schöninger Speere. Humans and hunting 400,000 years ago. Stuttgart, 2007, pp. 62-65
  28. ^ Daniel Richter and Hartmut Thieme: The first chronometric date for the Lower Palaeolithic occupation at Schöningen 13 I. In: Karl-Ernst Behre (ed.): The chronological classification of the Palaeolithic sites of Schöningen. Mainz, 2012, pp. 171-182
  29. ↑ a b Hartmut Thieme and Reinhard Maier: Archaeological excavations in the open-cast lignite mine in Schöningen. Hannover, 1995, pp. 1-191
  30. ↑ a b Hartmut Thieme: The old Paleolithic site of discovery Schöningen 13 I: The oldest evidence of human settlement in Lower Saxony to date. In: Hartmut Thieme (Ed.): The Schöninger Speere. Humans and hunting 400,000 years ago. Stuttgart, 2007, pp. 211-216
  31. ↑ a b Hartmut Thieme and Werner H. Schoch: The old Paleolithic site at Schöningen 12 (Reinsdorf warm period). In: Hartmut Thieme (Ed.): The Schöninger Speere. Humans and hunting 400,000 years ago. Stuttgart, 2007, pp. 191-210
  32. ↑ Hartmut Thieme and Dietrich Mania: "Schöningen 12" - a middle Pleistocene interglacial occurrence with Paleolithic finds. Ethnographisch-Archäologische Zeitschrift 34, 1993, pp. 611-619
  33. ↑ Marie-Anne Juliena, Bruce Hardy, Mareike C. Stahlschmidt, Brigitte Urban, Jordi Serangeli and Nicholas Conard: Characterizing the Lower Paleolithic bone industry from Schöningen 12 II: A multi-proxy study. Journal of Human Evolution 89, 2015, pp. 264-286
  34. ↑ Utz Böhner, Jens Lehmann, Michael Meier, Gabriele Schulz, Jordi Serangeli and Thijs van Kolfschoten: An over 300,000 year old aurochs from the lake sediments of Schöningen. Findings, first zoological interpretation, salvage and restoration. Reports on the preservation of monuments in Lower Saxony 3, 2010, pp. 89–93 ( [1] )
  35. ↑ Melanie Sierralta, Manfred Frechen and Brigitte Urban: 230 Th / U dating results from open cast mine Schöningen. In: Karl-Ernst Behre (Hrsg.): The chronological classification of the Palaeolithic sites of Schöningen. Mainz, 2012, pp. 143–154
  36. ↑ a b c Hartmut. Thieme: A charred wooden stick from the old Paleolithic site at Schöningen 13 II-4. In: E. Cziesla, T. Kersting and S. Pratsch (eds.): Tension the bow ... Festschrift for Bernhard Gramsch on his 65th birthday. Weißbach, 1999, pp. 15-27
  37. ↑ Jordi Serangeli: Collectors, hunters and a dead elephant in Schöningen. Archeology in Lower Saxony 19, 2016, pp. 100–103 ( [2] )
  38. ↑ Jens Lehmann, Jordi Serangeli and Thomas Terberger: Schöningen. Elephant hunt 300,000 years ago. Archeology in Germany, 1/2016, pp. 5–7 ( [3] )
  39. ↑ a b Jordi Serangeli, Ivo Verheijen, Bárbara Rodríguez Álvarez, Flavio Altamura, Jens Lehmann and Nicholas J. Conard: Elefanten in Schöningen. Archeology in Germany 3/2020, pp. 8–13
  40. ↑ a b c d Hartmut Thieme, Rudolf Musil, Werner H. Schoch, Hermann Rieder, Elke Behrens, Christa Fuchs, Monika Lehmann, Solveig Schiegel and Utz Böhner: A finding of world significance: A wild horse hunting camp 400,000 years ago. In: Hartmut Thieme (Ed.): The Schöninger Speere. Humans and hunting 400,000 years ago. Stuttgart, 2007, pp. 127-176
  41. ↑ Utz Böhner, Jordi Serangeli and Pascale Richter: The Spear Horizon: First spatial analysis of the Schöningen site 13 II-4. Journal of Human Evolution 89, 2015, pp. 202-213
  42. ↑ Jordi Serangeli and Utz Böhner: The artifacts of Schöningen and their chronological order. In: Karl-Ernst Behre (Hrsg.): The chronological classification of the Palaeolithic sites of Schöningen. Mainz, 2012, pp. 23–37
  43. ↑ Jordi Serangeli and Nicholas J. Conard: The behavioral and cultural stratigraphic contexts of the lithic assemblages from Schöningen. Journal of Human Evolution 89, 2015, pp. 287-297
  44. ↑ Thijs Van Kolfschoten, Simon A. Parfitt, Jordi Serangeli and Silvia M. Bello: Lower Paleolithic bone tools from the 'Spear Horizon' at Schöningen (Germany). Journal of Human Evolution 89, 2015, pp. 226-263
  45. ↑ Jarod M. Hutson, Aritza Villaluenga, Alejandro García-Moreno, Elaine Turner and Sabine Gaudzinski-Windheuser: On the use of metapodials as tools at Schöningen 13 II-4. In: Jarod M. Hutson, Alejandro García-Moreno, Elisabeth S. Noack, Eaine Turner, Aritza Villaluenga and Sabine Gaudzinski-Windheuser (eds.): The origins of bone tool technologies. Mainz, 2018, pp. 53–91
  46. ↑ Rebecca E. Biermann Gürbüz and Stephen J. Lycett: Asymmetrical Paleolithic wooden spear tips: Expediency or design? Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports 30, 2020, p. 102209, doi: 10.1016 / j.jasrep.2020.102209
  47. ↑ Hartmut. Thieme: Lower palaeolithic hunting spears from Germany. Nature 385, 1997, pp. 807-810
  48. ↑ Hartmut. Thieme: The Lower Palaeolithic art of hunting - the case of Schöningen 13 II-4, Lower Saxony, Germany. In: Clive Gamble and Martin Porr (eds.): The hominid individual in context. Archaeological investigations of Lower and Middle Palaeolithic landscapes, locals and artefacts. London, New York, 2005, pp. 115-132
  49. ↑ Hermann Rieder: The old Paleolithic javelins of Schöningen, their testing and their significance for the living environment of Homo erectus. Praehistoria Thuringica 5, 2000, pp. 68-75
  50. ↑ Hermann Rieder: Testing of the wooden spears from Schöningen (400,000 years) and conclusions from it. In: Günther A. Wagner and Dietrich Mania (eds.): Early people in Central Europe - Chronology, culture, environment. Aachen, 2001, pp. 91-98
  51. ↑ Annemieke Milks, David Parker and Matt Pope: External ballistics of Pleistocene hand-thrown spears: experimental performance data and implications for human evolution. Scientific Report 9, 2019, p. 820, doi: 10.1038 / s41598-018-37904-w
  52. ^ Mareike C. Stahlschmidta, Christopher E. Miller, Bertrand Ligouis, Ulrich Hambach, Paul Goldberg, Francesco Berna, Daniel Richter, Brigitte Urban, Jordi Serangeli and Nicholas J. Conard: On the evidence for human use and control of fire at Schöningen. Journal of Human Evolution 89, 2015, pp. 181-201
  53. ↑ Boudewijn Voormolen: Ancient Hunters, Modern Butchers: Schöningen 13II-4, a kill-butchery site dating from the Lower Palaeolithic northwest European. Journal of Taphonomy 6/2, 2008, pp. 71–247 ( [4] )
  54. ↑ Carli Peters and Thijs van Kolfschoten: The site formation history of Schöningen 13 II-4 (Germany): Testing different models of site formation by means of spatial analysis, spatial statistics and orientation analysis. Journal of Archaeological Science 114, 2020, p. 105067, doi: 10.1016 / j.jas.2019.105067
  55. ↑ Jordi Serangeli, Thijs Van Kolfschoten, Britt M. Starkovich and Ivo Verheijen: The European saber-toothed cat (Homotherium latidens) found in the “Spear Horizon” at Schöningen (Germany). Journal of Human Evolution 89, 2015, pp. 172-180
  56. ^ Lower Saxony State Office for the Preservation of Monuments: The most dangerous animal of the Ice Age discovered in Schöningen. ( [5] )
  57. ^ Nicholas J. Conard, Jordi Serangeli, Gerlinde Bigga, and Veerle Rots: A 300,000-year-old throwing stick from Schöningen, northern Germany, documents the evolution of human hunting. Nature Ecology & Evolution 4, 2020, pp. 690-693, doi: 10.1038 / s41559-020-1139-0
  58. ↑ Torsten Schunke and Peter Viol: The "Schiepziger Group" - a gap in the find is filled. In: Harald Meller and Susanne Friederich (eds.): Salzmünde-Schiepzig - one place, two cultures. Excavations at the western bypass in Halle (A 143) Part I. Special Volume Archeology in Saxony-Anhalt 21 / I, 2014, pp. 113–121

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