Late Paleolithic Boppard smoother

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The late Paleolithic Boppard smoother is a rare bone device with notches from 13,000 years ago. It was discovered in 2001 during an archaeological excavation in Boppard .

Research history

In December 2001 committed citizens noticed archaeological finds in the excavation pit during construction work on a new administrative center near the main train station in Boppard (Welker 2004). The subsequent archaeological rescue excavation under the direction of Michael Baales from the then Paleolithic Research Department of the Roman-Germanic Central Museum on behalf of the Directorate General for Cultural Heritage revealed a small concentration of stone and bone material around a possible fireplace. It was subsequently examined at the Monrepos Archaeological Research Center and Museum of Human Behavioral Evolution .

classification

The finds from Boppard are ascribed to the late Paleolithic , more precisely to the so-called penknife groups . This is indicated by the specific shapes of the stone tools ( penknives ), the spatial organization of the settlement area and the raw material used for stone tools ( tertiary quartzite , silica slate , chalcedony and Western European flint ), which is typical for this time on the Middle Rhine. The penknife groups experienced the devastating Laacher See volcanic eruption in the Middle Rhine area (approx. 11,000 BC). In fact, volcanic ejecta has occasionally been observed just above the find layer.

The bones discovered at the site come from red deer and wild boar . They confirm a classification in the so-called Alleröd - Interstadial with light forests of a moderate climatic zone, which for the time around 11,000 BC. Is typical on the Middle Rhine (e.g. Baales 2002). In addition, a large number of fish bones were discovered that matched the location directly on the then bank of the Rhine.

The smoother

Under the bones of red deer fell a 17 cm long, max. 2.5 cm wide and 1 cm thick chip made from a metatarsal bone.

The upper and lower ends of the tongue-shaped object are broken off. The surface of the long, narrow device is also severely affected by its location in the earth, but traces of smoothing can still be seen on the narrow sides and several groups of parallel notches. The smoothing marks distinguish the piece as a device specially prepared by humans. Bone shavings that have been prepared in the shape of a tongue are known in science as smoothers. Their use is unclear, but there is speculation about their use as pendants, daggers, chisels, as well as their use for working on leather or removing tree bark. Molded bone or antler objects from the late Ice Age are rare, which is partly due to the unfavorable preservation conditions.

Works of art from the late Paleolithic are just as rare.

The line-like notches on Boppard's trowel are interpreted as decorations, which makes the piece even more special. Late Stone Age comparative objects to Boppard's smoothing machine were found among the grave goods in the Arene Candide cave in northern Italy.

Similar pieces are also known from the Magdalenian of Cantabria and southern France as well as from the later Middle Stone Age in southern Germany.

literature

  • M. Baales: The late Paleolithic site Kettig. Investigations into the settlement archeology of the Federmesser groups on the Middle Rhine. Monographs of the Roman-Germanic Central Museum 51 (Mainz 2002).
  • M. Baales, O. Jöris, M. Street, F. Bittmann /, B. Weninger, J. Wiethold: Impact of the Late Glacial Eruption of the Laacher See Volcano, Central Rhineland, Germany. Quaternary Research 58, 2002. pp. 273-288.
  • H. Floss: Raw material supply in the Palaeolithic of the Middle Rhine region. Monographs of the Roman-Germanic Central Museum 21 (Bonn 1994).
  • C. Molari: The industry of bone of the Pleistocene layers from the Arene Candide Cave (Savona, Italy). Quaternaria Nova 4, 1994. pp. 297-334.
  • S. Veil, T. Terberger: Art and Environment in Transition. What happened to Ice Age art? In: D. Planck, J. Heiligmann, NJ Conard (Ed.): Ice Age. Arts and Culture. Accompanying volume for the Great State Exhibition Ice Age - Art and Culture in the Stuttgart Art Building, September 18, 2009 to January 10, 2010 (Ostfildern 2009). Pp. 347-351.
  • Welker 2004, local history working group of the traffic and beautification association Boppard (Hrsg.): Late Ice Age hunters in Boppard. To discover a unique site in the upper Middle Rhine Valley. All about Boppard - contributions to the history of the city of Boppard (Boppard).
  • S. Wenzel: A decorated bone device from the late Stone Age deer hunters from Boppard. Archeology in Rhineland-Palatinate 2003, 2004. pp. 13–15.
  • S. Wenzel, E. Álvarez Fernández: La espátula de Boppard (Boppard, Renania-Palatinado, Alemania) y sus paralelos en Europa a finales del Paleolítico superior y en el Mesolítico. Zephyrus 57, 2004. pp. 137-151.

Individual evidence

  1. ^ H. Floss: Raw material supply in the Palaeolithic of the Middle Rhine region. Monographs of the Roman-Germanic Central Museum 21 (Bonn 1994)
  2. ↑ M. Baales / O. Jöris / M. Street / F. Bittmann / B. Weninger / J. Wiethold: Impact of the Late Glacial Eruption of the Laacher See Volcano. Central Rhineland, Germany
  3. ↑ a b c S. Wenzel: A decorated bone device from the Late Stone Age deer hunters from Boppard. Archeology in Rhineland-Palatinate 2003, 2004. pp. 13–15
  4. ↑ M. Baales: The late Paleolithic site Kettig. Investigations into the settlement archeology of the Federmesser groups on the Middle Rhine. Monographs of the Roman-Germanic Central Museum 51 (Mainz 2002)
  5. ↑ a b S. Wenzel / E. Álvarez Fernández: La espátula de Boppard (Boppard, Renania-Palatinado, Alemania) y sus paralelos en Europa a finales del Paleolítico superior y en el Mesolítico. Zephyrus 57, 2004. pp. 137-151
  6. ^ S. Veil, T. Terberger: Art and Environment in Change. What happened to Ice Age art? In: D. Planck, J. Heiligmann, NJ Conard (Ed.): Ice Age. Arts and Culture. Accompanying volume for the Great State Exhibition Ice Age - Art and Culture in the Stuttgart Art Building, September 18, 2009 to January 10, 2010 (Ostfildern 2009). Pp. 347-351
  7. ↑ C. Molari: The industry of bone of the Pleistocene layers from the Arene Candide Cave (Savona, Italy). Quaternaria Nova 4, 1994. pp. 297-334