Glossary
Anthropology:
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(Greek) generally, the "science of man", but in scientific and German linguistic usage also involves the study of human origins through ancient fossil remains and human anatomy and genetics. Anglo-Saxon linguistic usage also includes life sciences as another aspect of anthropology, i.e. the study of human nature in relation to the environment.
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Aurignacian:
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"Culture" of the Upper Palaeolithic.
It refers to the site of Aurignac in southern France.
Period: 44,000 to 30,000 years before present.
Distribution: All over Europe as far as Russia except the glaciated areas of Northern Europe.
Vegetation: Fertile tundra steppes, in South Europe also forests.
Animals: Mammoth, woolly rhinoceros, bison, reindeer, wild horse and deer. In the mountains and on the Swabian Alb: alpine ibex and chamois. Carnivores such as cave bear, cave lion, cave hyena, wolf, and arctic fox were also very common at that time. Sites: Geißenklösterle, Hohlenstein-Stadel, Vogelherd.
Large flint blades that were converted to various tools by small retouches at the edges are characteristic for the Aurignacian. Projectile points are made from bone and ivory. For the first time in human history, artwork emerged. The Aurignacian is generally related to the first appearance of anatomically modern humans.
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Gravettian:
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"Culture" of the Upper Palaeolithic. Refers to the French site of La Gravette.
Period: 30,000 until approx. 27,500 years before present.
Climate: even more cold and humid than during the Aurignacian with distinct seasonal changes in temperature.
Vegetation: tundra steppes and little forest.
In comparison to Aurignacian flint blades, Gravettian blades were usually somewhat smaller, and were shaped into butchering tools or burins (carving tools). They were also often used for the production of points and knives. The flint tools were probably hafted with wood or antler.
Sets of ivory pendants with predetermined breaking points were carved from a single rod. At Geißenklösterle, for example, a large number of pendants was found, suggesting that they were an important element of the clothing.
Fascinating Venus statuettes from this period, usually small, voluminous figurines of women from all kinds of materials are frequently found all over Europe.
The Pleniglacial of the last Ice Age was recorded after the Gravettian. For the course of about 13,000 years, the entire area of Southern Germany and Switzerland was uninhabited.
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Ice Age:
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In geology, Ice Ages represent cool and cold periods, as opposed to the warmer interglacial periods. During these Ice Ages, the climate fluctuated considerably from humid-cold to dry-cold weather. The average temperature was only a few degrees below today's, but the lower temperature had significant consequences for animals and flora. Winters lasted longer than today and accordingly the summers were shorter. The entire earth's surface was never covered by ice, only regions around the poles, large parts of northern Eurasia and North America, and mountains such as the Alps.
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Jurassic:
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Geological era.
Period: 200 - 130 millions years. Classified as:
Black Jurassic (Lias) 200 - 180 millions of years
Brown Jurassic (Dogger) 180 - 150 millions of years
White Jurassic (Malm) 150 - 120 millions years
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Jurassic Ocean:
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This refers to the ocean of the white Jurassic with its corals, sponges and reefs from which the rock foundation of the Swabian Alb accumulated 150 - 120 million years ago.
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Karst Landscape:
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Karst landscapes of caves and underground rivers develop on porous limestone or dolomite rocks. As a rule, limestone has fractures and fissures. Water makes its way into the rock, and after some time dissolves the limestone. Cavities, caves and even cave systems develop like this, and when the level of the underground water drops, dry cavities are left behind: the caves or rock-shelters.
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Laser Theodolite:
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A measuring instrument with a laser beam to exactly peg out, align and measure heights.
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Late Palaeolithic:
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Classifies about 1,500 years of the latter part of the Upper Palaeolithic.
Period: Approx. 11,500 to 10,000 before present.
Climate: At the end of the Ice Age it became steadily warmer and more humid.
Vegetation: Sparse forests with pines and birch-trees developed.
Animals: The first, more thermophile (warmth-loving) animals such as deer, moose and the beaver immigrated.
The tools still resemble those from the Magdalenian but are even smaller. The bow and arrow are now the primary hunting weapons. Since the mammoth became extinct, there is no more ivory. Many artefacts were probably made of wood, which has decayed and therefore cannot be detected archaeologically.
In the Alb-Donau county (Alb-Donau-Kreis) and surrounding areas, there are only a few sites with meagre finds from this period, such as Hohlenstein-Stadel. Rich finds from this time originate from the upper Danube valley and the area around Federsee Lake.
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Magdalenian:
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"Culture" of the Upper Palaeolithic.
Period: approx. 15,000 to 11,500 years before present.
Distribution: All over Europe.
Vegetation: Tundra steppes with sparse populations of pines, juniper, willows and birch-trees.
Animals: Large mammals like the cave bear, woolly rhinoceros and mammoth were very rare or already extinct. Reindeer and wild horses, which live in large herds, were particularly important game animals for Magdalenian groups. Magdalenian people also hunted arctic fox, snow hare and different kinds of birds and fish. The first evidence of domesticated dogs comes from this period.
Sites: Geißenklösterle, Hohle Fels/Schelklingen, Brillenhöhle.
This period was named after La Madeleine, a site in the Dordogne/France. During the Magdalenian, characteristic stone tools are rather small, such as backed bladelets - blades that were blunted along one edge - and borers. For the first time we find harpoons as projectiles and spear throwers as well as delicate bone needles for sewing skin and leather. Most of the French and Spanish Stone Age cave paintings, like the famous cave of Lascaux, are also from this period.
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Mesolithic:
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"Culture" of the early Postglacial. This period is also called the Middle Stone Age (not to be confused with the Middle Palaeolithic).
Period: Approx. 10,000 to 6,500 years before present
Distribution: All over Europe as far as Scandinavia
Climate: The beginning of the Holocene (that is the geological term for the period starting 10,000 years before present) indicates the end of the last Ice Age. The climate warmed up rapidly.
Vegetation: Forests with pines and birch trees spread. Hazel followed gradually. Hazel nuts were an important source of food for humans in the Postglacial. All in all the amount of vegetables consumed increased in comparison to meat.
Animals: Ice Age animals became extinct or moved north. Beaver, aurochs, red deer, wild pig and roe deer populated the forests, and provided Mesolithic people with meat.
In the meantime, flint implements became very small, about 1 cm in size, and therefore are called microliths. Tools probably incorporated several microliths attached with birch pitch or some other adhesive. Typical hunting weapons then were the bow and arrow. Very few pieces of art have been preserved from the Mesolithic period. One reason for this is certainly the fact that ivory was no longer available and any carvings must have been made of wood. Generally, wood is not preserved from this period. However, pendants such as perforated teeth from deer and fox are found quite often. From the area in and around the Alb-Donau county, only a few Mesolithic sites are known. Nevertheless, there are two splendid burials from this period. In fact, the upper Danube valley near Beuron is famous for finds from the Mesolithic. From about 6,000 years before present, we first have sporadic and later more frequent signs of farming. With this, the Neolithic Age began.
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Middle Palaeolithic:
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"Culture" of the Middle Palaeolithic.
Period: 200,000 to 40,000 years before present.
This period of the Stone Age is generally called the era of the Neanderthals.
Climate: The transition from the Interglacial to the Glacial went through several stages with fluctuations in temperature.
Vegetation: Tundra steppes on the Alb plateau and sparse forests with birch-trees in the valleys.
Animals: thermophile animals like the grassland elephant and later thermophobe species and sporadically thermophile and thermophobe species together.
Typical tools from the Middle Palaeolithic are hand axes and various scrapers.
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Palaeolithic:
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A term used for the older periods of the Stone Age. It covers roughly the period of earliest humankind, from about 7 million years (or earliest toolmakers, from about 2.5 million years) to about 10,000 years ago. The Palaeolithic is divided into the Lower, Middle and Upper Palaeolithic. The Middle Palaeolithic in Europe is identical with the time of the Neanderthals. The Upper Palaeolithic or Younger Palaeolithic Age starts with the appearance of anatomically modern humans: Homo sapiens sapiens.
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Pliocene:
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Geological era. Term used for the last part of the Tertiary period.
Period: 12 to 3 millions years
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Prehistory:
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This is the study of Stone Age cultures, including ecology and economics in the period of the Stone Age. In Europe, prehistory also includes the early Neolithic, and the subsequent periods are referred to as early history. Universal prehistory includes all cultures of hunters and gatherers, even those of the present day. Prehistory applies archaeological methods as well as scientific methods to solve prospective questions. That is why special fields of study such as archaeozoology, archaeochemistry etc. have developed.
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Rock-shelter:
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The remains of a cave. Actions of water and wind as well as changes in temperature severely erode the rock surrounding a cave. The brittle cave wall eventually collapses and an entrance is exposed. Before long, the roof and sidewalls also collapse and only a rock overhang remains.
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Stone Age:
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The Stone Age actually starts with the appearance of the first "human being” which immediately brings up a fundamental problem: when can we call an ape-like animal human? Careful: apes are not the ancestors of humankind!!! Humans and anthropoid apes share the same ancestors!
Today, we believe that this transition from animal to humans happened either about 5 millions years ago (Ardipithecus ramidus) or about 4 millions years ago (earliest Australopithecines). This early evolution took place in Africa. Later, about 160,000 years ago, modern human beings, Homo sapiens sapiens, came from Africa.
The use of stone tools, in contrast to the later use of copper, bronze and iron, characterizes this period, which lasted for more than 99% of human history. In Europe, the Stone Age ended approximately 4,000 years ago when bronze came into use as a raw material. In other areas of the world, the Stone Age continued longer. In some areas, it continues today.
N.B.: Dinosaurs have nothing to do with the Stone Age, even if it is represented in literature and films that way. The dinosaurs became extinct 65 million years ago whilst the first humans only developed 5-4 million years ago.
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Upper Palaeolithic:
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The most relevant development is the appearance of Homo sapiens sapiens, modern human beings. This corresponds to a new flint technology: At this point tools were shaped in a new way, from long, narrow flakes called blades. In general, the exploitation of the flint raw material was optimised.
At the same time, an innovation in the production of tools and weapons from bone and ivory can be noticed. For example, delicate eyed needles were shaped from bones.
The first art and adornments appeared.
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Würm:
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The last Ice Age lasted from about 77,000 to 10,000 years before present.
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