Magdalena Cave
Coordinates: 50 ° 13 ′ 35.5 ″ N , 6 ° 39 ′ 23 ″ E
The Magdalenahöhle is an archaeological cave site from the Paleolithic Age near Gerolstein in the Eifel. She is v. a. known for their unique ivory jewelry . According to the latest research, the settlement of the cave due to the stone artefacts can be attributed to the archaeological culture of the Solutréen , which is otherwise not known from Central Europe. It thus proves the presence of humans in Central Europe during the maximum of the last glacial period .
Research history
The cave in the southern slope of the Munterley Dolomite massif near Gerolstein was excavated from 1969 to 1972 by the amateur archaeologist Gerhard Weiß after he learned that a flint stone had been found nearby. The finds finally came into the possession of the Rheinisches Landesmuseum Trier, where they are also partially exhibited. After a few brief reports, the excavator published a monograph in 2002. In 2005 and 2012, two university theses created at the MONREPOS Archaeological Research Center and Museum for Human Behavioral Evolution ( Roman-Germanic Central Museum ) in Neuwied again had the cave as their topic.
Stratigraphy and Age Position
As a large number of Ice Age animal species and traces of freeze-thaw processes ( cryoturbations ) show, some layers originate from the last glacial period ( Vistula ), whereas other layers were only deposited in the current warm period ( Holocene ). Two archaeological find horizons can be distinguished in the cold-age layers. The lower includes artifacts made of quartz , while the upper consists of artifacts from non-local raw material and the jewelry objects. Finds from the Iron and Roman ages come from the Holocene strata . The last use of the cave was during World War II when the cave was used as a refuge.
A radiocarbon dating of reindeer antlers from the area of the lower find horizon in 1971 revealed an age of 25,540 ± 720 14 C BP (BONN-1658). When calibrated, this corresponds to an age of 28,495 ± 780 BC. BC (CalPal2007 Hulu ). However, there is evidence that dissolved carbon from the dolomite of the rock or from nearby layers of soil may have contaminated the sample and resulted in incorrect age.
Finds
Jewellery
Worked ivory fragments and perforated animal teeth, which are regarded as jewelry , come from the interior of the cave . The 11 ivory fragments, one of which is perforated, belong to at least three original objects. Many of them are decorated with groups of parallel or V-shaped lines. In one case, this pattern is also made in the form of punched dots. Although they have often been referred to as ivory rings, it is unclear whether they were originally rings. The exact use of the ivory objects is unclear. It is conceivable, for example, that they were worn sewn onto clothing. This ivory jewelry has no parallels in the European Paleolithic.
Three Hirschgrandeln , d. H. rudimentary canines were pierced and worn as pendants or sewn on as jewelry. Another pierced tooth is from the wolf. Perforated teeth are a characteristic feature of the Upper Paleolithic .
Stone artifacts
A total of 138 stone artifacts come from the Magdalena Cave, all of which come from the forecourt of the cave. Of these, 56 are from the lower horizon, in which all artifacts were made from quartz rubble. These can be found a short distance below the Munterley in the gravel of the Kyll . Two cores prove that the simple discounts on site, i.e. H. on the forecourt. Four of these cuts were then retouched and can be described as simple scrapers. Although a clear assignment is not possible, the stone artifacts of the lower horizon are reminiscent of the Middle Paleolithic .
The remaining 82 pieces belong to the upper horizon and are all discounts. Otherwise they differ from those made of quartz. They consist almost exclusively of non-local ( exogenous ) raw material, including flint from the Maas region and Hornfels from the Saar-Nahe basin . Most of them are also very thin and flat. But there is also evidence of the manufacture of blades . Nine artifacts show a retouching, but cannot be clearly assigned to a characteristic device shape. Due to the use of exogenous raw materials, the manufacture of blades and the association with jewelry, the artefacts of the upper find horizon can be placed in the Upper Paleolithic. This assessment is also confirmed by a detailed analysis of the discounts (see below).
Animal bones
Almost 4500 animal bones (> 2 cm) come from the entire cave, but not all of them can be clearly assigned to one layer. In addition to warm-time animal species (e.g. aurochs , dormice and common hamsters ), cold-time species (e.g. woolly rhinoceros , collar lemming and gyrfalcon ) also occur.
Surface retouching on both sides
Many forks in the upper find horizon are characterized by their low thickness and can be interpreted as remains of the two-sided processing of two thin cores. In addition to the metric values u. a. also the faceted face remnants, the acute outer face angles and the often existing ventral lips.
Such processing is only known from the Upper Paleolithic from the Solutréen, the distribution of which has so far been limited to southwestern France and the Iberian Peninsula. There were v. a. the impressive leaf-shaped tips for which the Solutréen is known.
Due to the artifacts of the Magdalena Cave, however, only a very specific phase of the manufacturing process for such a tip is documented. The early work phases in which the cores were freed from the rock bark and then removed from irregularities by means of larger cuts are missing. The core of the Magdalena Cave was then further processed, but probably not completed. In any case, the cores were then transported away from the cave. All that remained were the manufacturing residues, which were occasionally still used as tools.
The settlement of Central Europe during the maximum of the last glacial period
In view of the clearly Upper Paleolithic character of the upper find horizon and the equally characteristic surface retouching on both sides, the settlement of the Magdalena Cave can be understood as the easternmost expression of the Solutréen. It thus falls during the maximum of the last glacial period from which there are only few evidence of human presence in Central Europe . Together with the results of radiocarbon dating of the sites in Wiesbaden-Igstadt , Mittlere Klause (Bavaria) and Kastelhöhle-Nord (Switzerland), it shows that humans were also present in Central Europe at this time and that there was no absolute desertion.
literature
- Johanna Hilpert: The paleolithic finds from the Magdalena cave near Gerolstein (Eifel) . Unpublished master's thesis, Cologne 2005.
- Mathias Probst: The Paleolithic of the Magdalena Cave near Gerolstein . Unpublished master's thesis, Mainz 2012.
- Gerhard Weiß: The excavation of the Magdalena Cave in Gerolstein, Eifel . Brush & Tusche-Verlag, Bitburg 2002, ISBN 3-936554-01-3 .
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b c d Gerhard Weiß: The excavation of the Magdalenahöhle in Gerolstein, Eifel . Brush & Tusche-Verlag, Bitburg 2002, ISBN 3-936554-01-3 .
- ↑ a b Johanna Hilpert: The paleolithic finds from the Magdalena cave near Gerolstein (Eifel) . Unpubl. Master's thesis, Cologne 2005.
- ↑ a b c d e f g h i Mathias Probst: The Palaeolithic of the Magdalena Cave near Gerolstein . Unpubl. Master's thesis, Mainz 2012.
- ↑ CalPal Online , see: Bernhard Weninger, Olaf Jöris: A 14 C age calibration curve for the last 60 ka: the Greenland-Hulu U / Th timescale and its impact on understanding the Middle to Upper Paleolithic transition in Western Eurasia . In: Journal of Human Evolution 55, No. 5, 2008, doi: 10.1016 / j.jhevol.2008.08.017 , pp. 772-781.
- ^ Thomas Terberger, Martin Street: Hiatus or continuity? New results for the question of pleniglacial settlement in Central Europe . In: Antiquity 76, 2003, ISSN 0003-598X , pp. 691-698.