Seasonal Hunting of Mammoth in the Ach-Valley of the Swabian Jura

The World of Elephants - International Congress, Rome 2001 Seasonal hunting of mammoth in the Ach-Valley of the Swabian Jura S.C. Münzel Institute of Prehistory and Archaeology of the Middle Ages, Archaeozoology Laboratory, University of Tübingen, Germany - [email protected] SUMMARY: This poster discusses the seasonality of mammoth hunting in the Ach Valley of the Swabian Jura during the Early Upper Palaeolithic. The aging of the infantile mammoth remains of two cave sites, the Geissenklösterle and the Hohle Fels, are discussed. Some of the infant mammoth bones bear cut marks sug- gesting an anthropogenic origin. In all three main occupation layers of the Geissenklösterle (AH I: Gravettian, AH II: Upper Aurignacian, AH III: Lower Aurignacian) as well as in the Gravettian layers of the Hohle Fels infantile mammoth remains were found, indicating that mammoth hunting took place repeatedly in spring and early summer. 1. INTRODUCTION a first phalanx of the middle digit. All of these remains are comparable in size to the main group The region of the Ach Valley has a long his- in the AH II (see below), only the first phalanx is tory of research conducted by the Institute of bigger, probably belonging to an older infant. Prehistory and Archaeology of the Middle Ages The majority of the infantile mammoth at the University of Tübingen. During the last remains was found in the Upper Aurignacian decades, this research focused on the layer (AH II). The abundance of mammoth calf Geissenklösterle and Hohle Fels sites. Other remains in this layer does not reflect specia- important cave sites in the Ach Valley are lisation on calf hunting during the Upper Grosse Grotte (Wagner 1983, Weinstock 1999), Aurignacian. Remains of young mammoths are the Brillenhöhle (Riek 1973, Boessneck & v.d. present in all three archaeological levels. The Driesch 1973) and Sirgenstein (Schmidt 1912). better preservation of all faunal remains in AH The analysis of the Geissenklösterle fauna II is probably related to the presence of the big was recently completed (Münzel et al. 1994, hearth area with burnt bone ashes. 1997, 1999) and an analysis of the Hohle Fels In AH II there are: one right and two left fauna is currently being undertaken (for a upper jaws with M1 (dP2) and M2 (dP3) (Fig. detailed archaeological introduction of the two 1), several large skull fragments including pari- sites see my contribution ‘The Production of etal, temporal, frontal and occipital, and many Upper Palaeolithic Mammoth Bone Artifacts small unidentified skull fragments (three of from Southwestern Germany’) them with cut marks). Additionally two right milk tusks (Fig. 2), a distal diaphysis of an ulna 2. MATERIAL without epiphysis (with cut marks) and several carpals, tarsals and phalanxes are present. 2.1 The infant mammoth remains of the In the Lower Aurignacian horizon, AH III, Geissenklösterle only a pair of milk tusks (Fig. 3) were found and some tarsal or carpal bones. In the Gravettian layer only a few pieces of Cut marks on some of the bones clearly show infant material were found including a fragment that these mammoth infants were hunted by of a M2-lamina, three carpal and tarsal bones and man and not by carnivores. 318 Seasonal Hunting of Mammoth in the Ach-Valley of the Swabian Jura Fig.1 - Upper left jaw, M1 in place, M2 erupting. Geissenklösterle AH II. Fig.2 - Milk tusks, open root (left), broken root Fig.3 - Pair of milk tusks with slightly resorbed or (right), Geissenklösterle AH II. reduced roots, Geissenklösterle AH III. 319 The World of Elephants - International Congress, Rome 2001 2.2 The infant mammoth remains by two laminae of a M2, smaller than the M2‘s of the Hohle Fels in the upper jaws. Also two laminae of the M3, that do not fit into the M3-alveole of the upper Several remains of mammoth infants were jaws, evidently belong to older individuals. also found in the Gravettian layer of the Hohle The milk tusks in AH II are of two mammoth Fels. They include a talus, a calcaneus, one infants of different age. One tusk is still open at complete and one fragmented finger bone with the tip of the root, while the root of the other a cut mark. The talus and the calcaneus are one is broken off, but must have been complete. smaller than the comparable elements of the The pair of milk tusks found in the AH III, AH II in the Geissenklösterle, indicating a already shows reduction at the tip of the roots, younger age. caused by the permanent tusk, which was already protruding. It is not clear, which stage 3. RESULTS of milk tusk development belongs to one of the above mentioned upper jaws from the‚ main 3.1 Aging of the calves age group, because they were found separately. Following the description of Kusmina (1999) The exact age at death is still difficult to eval- the milk tusk with the open root should belong uate. The majority of the remains in the AH II, to a 2 week old mammoth and the pair of milk especially the postcranial elements, but also the tusks with the resorbed roots to a 2-4 week old skull fragments and the upper jaws, are compa- animal. But Lazarew (1994) ages a mammoth 3 rable in body size with a /4 year old (Laws infant from the Indigirka river in Jakutien, 1966) African elephant, which was used as ref- which shows resorbtion at the milk tusk roots, erence skeleton. This indicates that the majori- with 2 months. So the exact aging of the milk ty of the Geissenklösterle mammoth infants tusks remains uncertain. belong to a homogenous age group. The first two molars of the African calf show tooth wear, 3.2 Calving season of mammoth while the teeth in the upper jaws from and annual cycle Geissenklösterle are still erupting and come from younger animals than the African refer- Considering the vegetational conditions dur- ence skeleton. ing the Pleistocene, mammoth most probably The three upper jaws of the Geissenklösterle had a calving season in spring like other graz- contain the first and the second molars. In two ing and browsing species in subarctic climate. of the jaws the first molar is in place and in one Mammoth infants must have arrived synchro- it is not fully above the alveolar border. None of nously in the early spring to maximise their the teeth show tooth wear. The second molars growth during the first summer and survive the are erupting, the lamellae are connected at the following winter (Guthrie 1990). Therefore we base, but not connected with cementum. can suggest a calving season for mammoth in Recently Kusmina (1999) published on the spring. ages of several baby mammoth mummies from The seasonal classification adopted here is the Siberian permafrost. The description of the that of a wood steppe zone, a continental region teeth development of a 2-4 week old mammoth as it is described in the Ukraine by Walter & from Sjewsk and of a 4 week old from Yamal Breckle (1983): fits the best to the tooth eruption stage of the • Spring is from the end of April till the end upper jaws from the AH II of the Geis- of May: deciduous cover of the trees is com- senklösterle. That means, the main group of the pleted; infant mammoths were probably ca. 1 month • Early summer runs from the beginning of old at death. June until the middle or end of June: relatively But slightly younger as well as slightly older wet, the herbaceous layer blooms; calves are also represented in the teeth material • Summer goes from middle or end of June 320 Seasonal Hunting of Mammoth in the Ach-Valley of the Swabian Jura until the end of August: herbaceous cover is son. In this case the hunting of mammoth can dried out; be placed in the spring with a range in age of • Late Summer is from end of July til the end about one month documented in the Ach Valley of August: slight phase of precipitation, new assemblages (Fig. 4). green puts forth; • Autumn goes from end August until mid- 4. CONCLUSIONS October: fall of the leaves; • Winter is from end-October until the mid- Until now, there was a general consensus that dle or end of April and starts with the first the valleys of the Swabian Alb only had enough snowfall. nutritional supply for grazers during the warm Following Guthrie (1990) and Walter & season of the year and therefore the occupation Breckle (1983), the month of May can be viewed of the caves also occurred during the warm and as the major calving season for mammoth. temperate seasons of the year (Hahn 1983). The new archaeozoological results from 3.3 Hunting season for mammoth and season Geissenklösterle and Hohle Fels show that of occupation horse was repeatedly hunted during winter (fetal horse bones) and mammoth in the spring. Having evidence for slightly younger as well Additionally cave bear was exploited during as slightly older infants between the remains of the winter time until spring, during their hiber- the main age group of mammoth infants, there nation. Cave bear hunting is evidenced by the are two possible explanations. Either they were vertebrae with a projectile point found in the hunted during a longer period or calves of dif- Hohle Fels, and exploitation by cut and blow ferent ages are represented in a mammoth herd marks on bones, which represent all stages of like in modern elephant herds (Haynes 1991). the butchering process as it is known from The first explanation is more likely, consider- other game (Münzel et al., in press).

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