Schöningen – Der große Wurf

The archaeological site in Schöningen, Lower Saxony, provides important clues to the earliest settlement and cultural history of the people of Central Europe around 300,000 years ago. Since as early as 1994 excavations have been continuously taking place on the edge of an open pit mine. From 2016 onwards under the scientific direction of the Institute for Prehistory, Early History and Quaternary Ecology at the University of Tübingen, and since 2016 in cooperation with the Seckenberg Centre for Human Evolution and Palaeoenviroment. The excavations, some spectacular finds as well as research results are now shown in a traveling exhibition, which has its first stop at the Museum of the University of Tübingen MUT. It will be on display from July 29 to October 3, 2022.

The excellent preservation conditions on the shores of a lake at Schöningen and the many remains of early humans allow insights into the living environment of the now extinct Homo heidelbergensis. The famous Paleolithic Schöningen spears, considered to be the oldest completely preserved hunting weapons in the world, also come from this extraordinary archaeological archive. The new traveling exhibition provides insights into this bygone era through original finds, replicas, and drawings by artist Benoît Clarys.

Vernissage

The vernissage of the exhibition took place on July 28 at 7 pm in the Castle Church

PROGRAM

Greetings

Prof. Dr. Thilo Stehle
Dean of the Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences of the University of Tübingen

Prof. Dr. Ernst Seidl
Director of the Museum of the University of Tübingen MUT

Prof. Dr. Klement Tockner
Director General of the Senckenberg Gesellschaft für Naturforschung
Lecture

Talk

Prof. Nicholas J. Conard PhD
Director of the Department of Early Prehistory and Quaternary Ecology

Guided tour through the exhibition

Dr. Jordi Serangeli
Head of excavation at the research station Schöningen

At the banks of the lake at Schöningen whooper swans were hunted with spears and throwing sticks. Reprint of a watercolor by Benoît Clarys (2020)

300,000 years ago humans discovered the cadaver of an elephant cow at the shores of the Schöningen lake and took it with them. Reprint of a watercolor by Benoît Clarys (2020)

Even wildhorses were hunted with spears. Reprint of a watercolor by Benoît Clarys (2018)

Like no other excavation site in the world, Schöningen with its excellently preserved findings provides us with profound insight into life around 300,000 years ago. Thanks to many years of excavations by the Lower Saxony State Office for the Preservation of Monuments in Hanover and the University of Tübingen, we know that Stone Age people repeatedly came to this site over a large period of time. Their presence is attested by more than 30 layers of findings including artifacts made of wood, stone, and bone. Those objects were created by representatives of late Homo heidelbergensis, the predecessor of Neanderthal man. A lance, spears, throwing sticks and a digging stick made of wood; scrapers, chipping stones, flint chipping stones, numerous tools made of bone as well as bones with traces of beating and working show us the variety of skills that our Paleolithic ancestors already possessed. For archaeologists, however, these objects are not just inanimate objects. They represent stories that have waited 300,000 years to be told. What did it mean for the development of humankind to have a spear and use it as a weapon? What do regular cut marks on bones mean? Were animals skinned? Were their bones used afterwards? What is the usage of a stone tool? Was it possible to dig up roots with it?

Humankind not only possesses culture but is also part of nature. As such, like any other being, it is subject to the pressures of their environment. They adapt: culturally, technically and biologically. The upright walk is certainly a milestone in evolution. With their hands freed, our ancestors learned to make tools and use digging sticks and spears in hunting and gathering. They were able to secure a variety of food, and brain volume grew. But in the evolution of humankind, predators also played a special role. They were competitors and danger simultaneously—especially at night. The discovery of several bones and teeth of the saber-toothed cat, as well as of bears, wolves, and lions, proves that Stone Age people used weapons not only for hunting, but also for defense. Experiencing and fending off such a dangerous situation in a group strengthened the social bonds and cohesion of a group. The saber-toothed cat found in Schöningen was on average about the size of a modern lion or tiger. It reached a shoulder height of 0.9 to 1.1 m, a total length of 1.5 to 2 m and a weight of up to 200 kg.

Today, in Europe we are used to human-made environment consisting of fields, cities, roads and straightened rivers. In Germany, wilderness covers just 0.6% of the country's land area. This makes it difficult for us to imagine how the past really looked like. Vast landscapes with large animals such as elephants, rhinos, buffalos, or predatory cats, as seen in Africa or Asia today, seem rather unusual to us. About 300,000 years ago, however, such areas existed everywhere, including Germany. At that time, humankind had little influence on the landscape around them. The environment was determined by natural factors such as climate, topography, geology, and the animals living back then. Among the many wild animals discovered in Schöningen one deserves special attention: Nelly the elephant cow. From 2017 to 2020, her almost complete skeleton was discovered, excavated, and documented. She was surrounded by numerous artifacts made of stone or bone. These findings were evidence that humans had also been present. Since the elephant cow had been about 50 years old and her last molars were badly worn, it can be assumed that humans had utilized a naturally dead elephant in this case.