Hunter-Gatherer Behavior in a Changing Late Glacial Landscape

Allerød Archaeology in the Central Rhineland, Germany

Bibliographic Data

ID2950360
AuthorsMichael Baales (0000-0001-9049-075X), Martin Street (0000-0002-1707-604X)
Year1996
Volume52
Issue3
Pages281-316
Publication date1996-10-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueJournal of Anthropological Research (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0091-7710 • E-ISSN: 2153-3806
PublisherUniversity of Chicago Press (PUBLISHER • US)
DOI10.1086/jar.52.3.3630086
OpenAlexW2330044244
LanguageEN
Citations received13

In the Central Rhineland Neuwied Basin, tectonic activity led to a number of major Pleistocene volcanic eruptions, the last of which, that of the Laacher See volcano towards the end of the Allerød Interstadial, covered large areas with pumice and ash, sealing the late glacial land surface and preserving paleontological and archaeological localities. This Central Rhineland landscape was characterized by a mosaic vegetation in which stands of trees, of different composition according to topography and hydrology and in places with dense undergrowth, alternated with more open areas with a rich herbaceous vegetation. A wide range of animal species included red deer (Cervus elaphus), horse (Equus sp.), a large bovid (Bos primigenius?), moose (Alces alces), and beaver (Castor fiber). The Central Rhineland was inhabited at this time by the Federmessergruppen, a term applied generally here to the northern European late glacial technocomplex with curved-backed points. Apart from larger settlement sites, the Laacher See tephra also preserves evidence for a more ephemeral human presence, such as hearths with either little or no associated indication of other human activity, and although no Federmessergruppen burials have yet been found, on two occasions human remains have been found beneath the pumice

Allerød oscillation · Archaeology · Beaver · Equus · Geography · Glacial period · Pleistocene · Pumice · Radiocarbon dating · Stadial · Tephra · Tephrochronology · Vegetation (pathology · Volcanic ash · Volcano · Younger Dryas · Ecology and biodiversity studies · Geology · Paleontology · Pleistocene-Era Hominins and Archaeology · Wildlife Ecology and Conservation

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