A Leaf Point Documents Hunting with Spears in the Middle Paleolithic at Hohle Fels, Germany

During the 2020 season at Hohle Fels Cave in the Ach Valley of southwestern Germany the excavation team from the University of Tübingen recovered a bifacial leaf point in archaeological horizon (AH) X. This horizon is the fifth deepest of the Middle Paleolithic horizons at the site and is located roughly 120 cm beneath the base of the rich Aurignacian layers of the cave. The new leaf point, or Blattspitze in German, is the first artifact of its kind found in situ in the Swabian caves since Gustav Riek’s excavation at Haldenstein Cave near the source of the Lone River recovered two leaf points in excellent preservation in 1936. The new find allowed our team to conduct the first techno-functional study of a freshly recovered leaf point from the European Middle Paleolithic. This study demonstrates that the leaf point was hafted at the less pointy end of the artifact. The leaf point bears clear damage to the pointed end of the artifact that occurred during a hunting episode. A Neanderthal knapper further damaged the tool during an attempt to resharpen and rejuvenate the tool. This damage was likely the reason the knapper discarded the leaf point at Hohle Fels. This result and a re-examination of the two leaf points from Haldenstein Cave indicate that late Neanderthals used Blattspitzen for hunting large game. The current results do not explicitly prove that spears with hafted leaf points were always thrown or used as thrusting spears, and one can easily imagine scenarios in which a weapon of this kind could be used in both ways. Ideally, the ongoing excavation at Hohle Fels will recover more leaf points, which will give us the opportunity to document the technological variability of this kind of tool with regard to their manufacture, function and life history. We also view the current research at Hohle Fels as an excellent opportunity to gain a better and more strongly contextualized understanding of the technological system linking lithic, botanical and osseous technologies during this phase of the Middle Paleolithic. This paper also considers the place that hafted leaf points have within the broader evolutionary development of hunting and projectile technology.

NEW PALEOLITHIC FINDS IN THE LOWER DON REGION

Изучение среднего и нижнего палеолита юга Восточно-Европейской равнины до сих пор во многом связано с редкими памятниками, расположенными в Северо-Восточном Приазовье (Герасимовка, Рожок I, Носово) и в нижнем течении р. Северский Донец (Хрящи, Михайловское), поэтому любые сведения о новых комплексах этих эпох представляют большой интерес. В статье впервые представлены материалы нового местонахождения каменного века Батай III, открытого более сорока лет назад, расположенного в дельте Дона в устье р. Койсуг. На строительной площадке в перемещенном грунте аллювиального генезиса (рис. 1: 2,3) была собрана коллекция кремневых изделий, состоящая в основном из артефактов среднепалеолитического облика. Основой для них послужил местный галечный кремень. Цвет сырья буро-коричневый (рис. 2: 1b). Патина варьирует от желто-коричневой до красновато-бурой. Коллекция включает нуклевидные изделия, пренуклеусы, небольшой плоско-выпуклый бифас миндалевидной формы (рис. 3: 1a, b), остроконечник (рис. 3: 4a), различные сколы. Наиболее близкие аналогии происходят из местонахождения палеолита у х. Михайловское - недалеко от впадения р. Северский Донец в Дон. So far the studies of the Middle and Lower Paleolithic in the South of the East European Plain have been linked to rare sites located in the northeastern of Azov Sea region (Gerasimovka, Rozhok I, and Nosovo) and the downstream of the Severskiy Donets river (Khryashchi, and Mikhaylovskoe); that is why, any information on new assemblages dating to these historical periods are of great interest. Materials from Batay III, which is a new Stone Age location discovered more than forty years ago, are described for the first time. This site is located in the Don estuary in the mouth of the Koysug river. An assemblage of flint items made up mostly of the Middle Paleolithic artifacts was collected in alluvial soil removed from the construction site (Fig. 1: 2, 3). Local pebbles were used as the main source material. The raw material is reddish-brown (Fig. 2: 1b). The patina varies from yellow-brown to reddish-black. The assemblage includes core-like items, pre-cores, a small almond-shaped plano-convex biface (Fig. 3: 1а, b), a point (Fig. 3: 4а), and various flakes. The closest analogies come from a Paleolithic location near the village of Mikhaylovskoe not far from the place where the Severskiy Donets joins the Don.

Undo Caves Multi-staged Karstic System and Temporary Camp of the Neanderthal Hunters

In Georgia, a strong foundation for scientific study of this period was developed in 1930-ies. Since then more than 500 Paleolithic sites were identified The frequency of paleolithic sites on the territory of Georgia was determined by geographic position of Georgia itself, as it is situated at the crossroads of Africa, Asia and Europe According to some archaeologists the archaeological evidence demonstrates the different local-cultural groups. Despite the small territory we have at least 5 local-cultural versions in the Middle Palaeolithic singled out with us four out of which are represented in the Rioni-Kvirila basin (Fig ). Most quantity of levallois industries were recovered in Imereti region (Western Georgia). 1. Drouchula,-Kudaro Local-cultural group.Mousterian assemblages characterized by blades and elongated points, as recovered in Drouchula, Tsona,Kudaro and other sites, resemble the “Tabun D-type” and Hummallian entities in the Levant.Unfortunatly, we have not the dates from this sites, but we assume that they are younger than Levantian “Tabun-D type”; at the same time, this industry has some similarities with the Northern-Caucasus Miqoqian industries , as well. 2. Tsutskhvati caves Local-cultural group. Multi-stage cave system characterized by the industry which resemble the Zagros region, but there are some differences-the non-Levalloias industry of Tsutskhvati is denticulated; 3. Tskaltsitela local-cultural group- Levalloiasian, denticulated industry (by M.Nioradze); 4. Tsopi Local-cultural.The industry of Tsopi site differs from above mentioned sites by the high quantity of the tools of Quina and Demi-Quina type; 5. Tskhinvali local-cultural group (according to v. Lubin)-Levalois, Unretouched industry. Another type of industry is represented I Ortvala Klde, Djieti open-air site etc.- Mousterian assemblages such as in Ortvala Klde demonstrates similarities with the Middle Paleolithic industries of Anatolia, the Zagros region-recurrent Levallois big number of the convergent tools. Most of the local-cultural groups and the sites are discovered in Western Georgia (Imereti Region) A first evidence of the Middle Paleolithic hunters temporary camp which, possibly has been used as place for some kind of rituals and where is represented a first evidence of the cave rock-art in Georgia has been determined in Rion-Kvirila basin as well. This is a cave-site named “Undo Cave”. Recently, we discovered some other cave-sites near Undo Cave. This fact gave a reason to consider Undo Cave as a one of the caves of Multi-staged cave system which doesn’t belong to any above mentioned groups.

Organization of the Living Space and the Inferred Economic Activity at the Middle Paleolithic Site in Saradj-Chuko Grotto (based on materials of layer 6B)

The use of modern methods of microstratigraphic and planigraphic analyses allows the authors to speak about features of organizing life space in the Middle Paleolithic sites. The layer 6B at Saradj-Chuko grotto can be defined as an actively occupied Middle Paleolithic habitation site, where ancient humans were engaged in manufacture and use of obsidian tools. A tracelogical analysis allowed the authors to reconstruct various economic activities of ancient humans. For the first time for the Middle Paleolithic site in the northern slope of the central Caucasus, a tracelogical analysis was carried out taking into account the space distribution of tools over the site area, which allowed us to study features of human activity at different areas of the site. The new data are considered within a broad context of the Middle Paleolithic of the Caucasus, as well as the available data on economic activity and residential structures in various sites are analyzed.