Revised age for Schöningen hunting spears indicates intensification of Neanderthal cooperative behavior around 200,000 years ago

In a 1997 Letter to Nature, Hartmut Thieme announced the discovery of the world’s oldest complete wooden spears from the Middle Pleistocene lakeshore site of Schöningen 13II-4 (Lower Saxony, Germany). With this publication, the Schöningen 13II-4 “Spear Horizon” established a pivotal marker in the ti...

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Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores: Hutson, Jarod M., Bittmann, Felix, Fischer, Peter, Garcia Moreno, Alejandro, Gaudzinski Windheuser, Sabine, Nelson, Ellie, Ortiz, José E., Penkman, Kirsty, Peric, Zoran, Richter, Daniel, Torres, Trinidad, Turner, Elaine, Villaluenga Martínez, Aritza, White, Dustin, Jöris, Olaf
Tipo de recurso: artículo
Fecha de publicación:2025
País:España
Institución:Universidad del País Vasco
Repositorio:Addi. Archivo Digital para la Docencia y la Investigación
OAI Identifier:oai:addi.ehu.eus:10810/75987
Acceso en línea:http://hdl.handle.net/10810/75987
Access Level:acceso abierto
Palabra clave:Schöningen
spear horizon
AAR
hominin adaptations
Descripción
Sumario:In a 1997 Letter to Nature, Hartmut Thieme announced the discovery of the world’s oldest complete wooden spears from the Middle Pleistocene lakeshore site of Schöningen 13II-4 (Lower Saxony, Germany). With this publication, the Schöningen 13II-4 “Spear Horizon” established a pivotal marker in the timeline of hominin behavioral evolution, upholding that pre-modern humans were proficient hunters and did not rely on scavenging for their survival. Owing to its importance, an accurate age for the site is crucial to providing the appropriate evolutionary contexts for the spears and associated archaeological remains. Initial estimates placed the “Spear Horizon” at ca. 400 ka, towards the end of marine oxygen isotope stage (MIS) 11. This age was later revised to ca. 300 ka, within MIS 9. Here, we report new age estimates based on amino acid geochronology of fossils obtained directly from the “Spear Horizon” deposits. These new data place the site within a later phase of MIS 7, closer to 200 ka, and improve correlations with global palaeoclimate records. Our new age estimate positions the “Spear Horizon” alongside other archaeological sites that collectively document increased levels of collaboration, significantly enhancing the success of Neanderthal hunting strategies.

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