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Gönnersdorf and Andernach - Martinsberg
The open-air site of Gönnersdorf was discovered and partly destroyed in 1968, during the construction of a cellar for a private house in Feldkirchen-Gönnersdorf.
After digging through the pumice, bones and slabs of stones appeared and it became clear that what one was dealing with was a location of the Late Glacial. A few days after the discovery, Dr. Gerhard Bosinski from the University of Cologne was put in charge of further investigations of the site. Two excavation campaigns were conducted the same year, excavating the part called Concentration I (CI).
During these two campaigns what we today know from Gönnersdorf as the typical inventory was unearthed: the pulverised red hematite, a fireplace, features from habitation constructions, lithics, statuettes of ivory and antler, engraved slate plaquettes, jet beads, perforated animal teeth and a well preserved faunal record. Based on these finds it was early evident that Gönnersdorf was a site of inter-regional importance.
Bosinski (1979)
This is a beautifully done wooden sculpture of one of the most famous of the Gönnersdorf venus figures.
It is rare to see such a well done modern recreation of an ancient sculpture.
The figure is outside the Museum of Monrepos, Monrepos Archäologisches Forschungszentrum und Museum für menschliche Verhaltensevolution, at Neuwied, a town on the right bank of the Rhine, 12 km northwest of Koblenz.
The museum is closed until sometime in 2013.
Photo: Ralph Frenken 2012
Drawing of a seal, found within a pit inside a house structure in CI. Size of the plaquette: 22 x 15 cm.
Photo (left) and text (above) : Hansen (2006)
Drawing: Petra Schiller, Forschungsbereich Altsteinzeit- RGZM)
That at least some members of the Gönnersdorf Magdalenian group(s) travelled over very long distances during their lifetimes is suggested by well-observed engraved depictions of seals. Although it has sometimes been suggested that the former species could have migrated up the Rhine as far as the Central Rhineland - at that time located much further away from the Late Glacial coastline - no bones of this animal are present at any site and it is more probable that the animals were observed by the artists at the coast on other occasions.
Text above: Jöris (2011)
Eduard-Mörike-Straße, Neuwied, Germany.
Neuwied is part of Gönnersdorf, and a new pit in Eduard-Mörike-Straße in that area has shown the existence of a permanent settlement of 30 to 60 nomadic hunters, fifty metres above the Rhine river near a small brook in a hollow, with a favourable microclimate, having a south facing slope on the northern edge of the Neuwied basin. It has been shown to be from 12 500 BP, a thousand years before the last eruption of the Laacher See volcanic eruption.
This eruption sealed the area under a layer of volcanic ash, which protected it from most damage.
(Note - the approximate extent of the dig is shown in black on this photo - Don )
Photo: Google Earth
Image of the Magdalenian settlement in Gönnersdorf, 12 500 BP, RGZM special exhibition in Mainz 1975.
Traces of two small round tents, and three large, fur-covered dwellings, with a broad oval shape, similar to a yurt, were revealed with a diameter of 6 to 10 metres. They were coloured red on the inside and outside, and the floors were paved with slate.
The settlement was systematically excavated over an area of 650 square metres, and bones were found of mammoth, horse, bison, aurochs, reindeer, deer and arctic fox, as well as birds.
Photo: http://www.landschaftsmuseum.de/Bilder/Rekonstr_Rundzelt-2.jpg
Text: http://www.landschaftsmuseum.de/Seiten/Lexikon/Kunst-Goenn.htm
A reconstruction of a typical fur covered hut of the time. Notice the lattice work of the sticks used to give strength to the support of the walls of the structure, visible in the larger photo if you click on this one.
Photo: http://www.landschaftsmuseum.de/Bilder/Goennersd_Lager-2.jpg
Another version of the Gonnersdorf hut, recreated at the Museum of Malgré-Tout in Treignes, Belgium.
Photo: Matt Gatton and Leah Carreon, Pleistocene coalition news, Vol. 4, issue 4, July - August 2012
Map of Europe showing the areas where Gönnersdorf/Lalinde figures have been found.
Engravings on slabs and other materials
Engravings and paintings in caves
Statues
1 Gönnersdorf, 2 Hohlenstein, 3 Lalinde, 4 Gare de Couze, 5 Fontalès, 6 Courbet, 7 Murat, 8 Rond-du-Barry, 9 Combarelles, 10 Niaux, 11 Nebra, 12 Oelknitz, 13 Garsitz, 14 Petersfels, 15 Pekarna, 16 Mezin, 17 Arlesheim, 18 Mezhirich, 19 Dobranicevka.
Photo and text: Bosinski et al. (1974)
The Neuwied Basin with the Laacher See and markings of important Palaeolithic sites.
1) Kärlich horizon H
2) Kärlich horizons Ja and Jb
3) Metternich (Grube Wefglau-
Bassisschicht)
5) Polch
6) Metternich (Grube Weglau)
7) Gönnersdorf
8) Andernach -
Martinsberg
9) Irlich
10) Mayen
11) Rauschermühle
12) Kottenheim
13) Urbar
14)
Weissenthurm.
Photo and text: Bosinski (1979)
The Magdalenian horizon at Gönnersdorf is located between two volcanic layers, the Eltville Tuff horizon that was deposited during the Würmian Pleniglacial, about 20 000 years BP, and the Laacher See Tuff that was deposited during the middle of the Allerød interstadial, about 10 900 cal BC17. Above the Eltville Tuff horizon, the loess deposition was interrupted by the formation of a weakly developed soil (Soil III of the Würmian loess complex) of para-rendzia type, and below the Laacher See Tuff was another soil of a para-rendzia type that was formed during the early Allerød times.
The settlement horizon lies between these soils. Thus, stratigraphically the settlement horizon must be younger than the Eltville Tuff Horizon (20 000 years BP) and Soil III of the Würmian loess complex and older than the Early Allerød soil, and certainly older than 12 000 BP age of the Laacher See Tuff. (Brunnacker 1978)
This slate shows an engraving of a horse, as well as two typical engraved Gönnersdorf venus figures.
Date: 14800 BP
Height: 66 mm, from the special RGZM
Tools such as knives, drills, scrapers, and burins were found, as well as ivory and bone needles and arrowheads, jewellery such as necklaces and trimmings for clothing such as deer canine teeth, often used as hunting trophies, snail shells, beads made of petrified wood or jet, and small female figures made of antler and ivory.
Engraved slate, the largest contribution of knowledge about late ice age art, has given us more than a thousand slate tiles so far discovered with incised drawings. The engravings show, in the main, either game animals or female figures in profile, some perhaps even dancing.
Photo: http://www.landschaftsmuseum.de/Bilder/Goennersdorf_Wildpferd-2.jpg
Text: http://www.landschaftsmuseum.de/Seiten/Lexikon/Kunst-Goenn.htm
Slates with an engravings of mammoths and a bird from the Magdalenian settlement in the Neuwied Basin of Gönnersdorf.
12 500 BP, RGZM special exhibition in Mainz 1975.
(Note that the display is either of facsimiles, or the originals have been highlighted to show the engravings clearly - Don )
Photo: http://www.landschaftsmuseum.de/Bilder/Mammut_Goennersdorf-2.jpg
Location of the two major Magdalenian settlement sites Gönnersdorf (1) and Andernach-Martinsberg (2) on opposite banks of the River Rhine at the northern end of the Neuwied Basin
Photo and text: Jöris (2011)
The site of Gönnersdorf is situated at the right bank of the Rhine, at the north-western exit of the Neuwied Basin, about 15 km northwest of the city of Koblenz and immediately east of the Andernacher Pforte (Andernach Gate) (fig 6).
The site was found on a spur, of a triangular piece of land, which is 3 km long and 1 km wide. Directly west of the settlement, was a small stream running through a narrow, steep valley and draining into the Rhine. The valley both protected the people from the worst of the weather, and supplied them with the slate that was used for pavement in the settlement area Towards the northwest, the site was protected by the slope of the high terrace, and was easily accessible only from the east.
The settlement is strategically placed, oriented towards south and is exposed to the full trajectory of the sun and has an excellent view over the Neuwied Basin. The settlement structures were buried by pumice after the last large eruption from the Laacher See Volcano (fig 7), located 11 km west of Gönnersdorf, at the middle of the Allerød interstadial, about 10 900 cal BC 16.
Due to this thick cover of pumice, the remains at the site are well preserved. Although the settlement remains were protected by the cover of pumice, the material has still been affected by different processes such as freezing and thawing action and movement caused by burrowing animals. These processes have caused some of the artefacts to be moved vertically, and may also be the cause of the breakage of many of the slate plaquettes. Because the site is placed on a middle terrace, with both down slope movements and sliding through solifluctuations from the high terrace we must also assume that material have both been moved away from the site, as well as been added to it. We should also keep in mind the time length existing between the times the site was settled until it was sealed by the pumice.
Roveland (1990) in Hansen (2006)
Topography of the Neuwied Basin. The site Gönnersdorf is marked by circle. In the upper right corner, the remains of the Andernach Gate, the Andernacher Pforte.
The gate of Andernach is, or was, a bottleneck in the Rhine valley below Andernach.
Photo and text: Bosinski (1979)
11-13 , Hohlenstein; 14-16 Gönnersdorf (engraving No. 59-1 and 86-1 and figurine No. 1
Photo: www.ucmo.edu/Documents/dissertationillus.pdf
The late glacial open-air sites of Gönnersdorf and Andernach-Martinsberg in the German Central Rhineland are well known for their Magdalenian occupation and activities. The latter site also produced evidence for a younger, Final Palaeolithic occupation of the locality by people of the Federmessergruppen.
Both sites are particularly well preserved, largely due to their burial beneath volcanic deposits of the late glacial Laacher See eruption.
The Andernach-Martinsberg site and excavations were rediscovered in the early 1980s.
Photo and text: Stevens et al. (2009)
Probability distribution of calibrated radiocarbon dates from Gönnersdorf plotted against the oxygen isotope record from the GISP2 Greenland ice core.
Methodologically acceptable dates only.
* denotes AMS dates conducted for this study.
Photo and text: Stevens et al. (2009)
Ivory Lalinde - Gönnersdorf figure from Andernach, Germany.
Length 200 mm, breadth 94 mm.
Photo and text: Müller-Beck et al. (1987)
Source: Landesamt für Denkmalpflege, Koblenz
The following are from a display in LVR-LandesMuseum Bonn.
17 Female figure in ivory, Andernach, Kreis Mayen-Koblenz, copy.
This venus is from the Magdalenian, 15 000 BP, and shows a female figure in a very stylised form.
(this appears to be the obverse view of the ivory piece in the photograph above on this page - Don )
Source: Display at LVR-LandesMuseum Bonn
Lender of the piece: Directorate General for Cultural Heritage Rhineland-Palatinate, Generaldirektion Kulturelles Erbe Rheinland-Pfalz.
17, Venus figurine, facsimile, from Andernach, ivory.
Length 200 mm
Photo: Bildersturm, 30th August 2012
Permission: Creative Commons License Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license.
Source: Display at LVR-LandesMuseum Bonn
Lender of the piece: Directorate General for Cultural Heritage Rhineland-Palatinate, Generaldirektion Kulturelles Erbe Rheinland-Pfalz.
10 Female figure in bone, Gönnersdorf, Stadt Neuwied, copy.
11 Female figure in antler, Gönnersdorf, Stadt Neuwied, copy.
12 Female figure in ivory, Gönnersdorf, Stadt Neuwied, copy.
13 Female figure, incomplete, in bone/antler, Gönnersdorf, Stadt Neuwied.
14 Female figure, incomplete, in bone/antler, Andernach, Kreis Mayen-Koblenz.
From the Magdalenian, 15 000 BP, female figures in a very stylised form.
Source: Display at LVR-LandesMuseum Bonn
Lender of the piece: Directorate General for Cultural Heritage Rhineland-Palatinate, Generaldirektion Kulturelles Erbe Rheinland-Pfalz.
10 Female figure in bone, Gönnersdorf, Stadt Neuwied, copy.
11 Female figure in antler, Gönnersdorf, Stadt Neuwied, copy.
12 Female figure in ivory, Gönnersdorf, Stadt Neuwied, copy.
From the Magdalenian, 15 000 BP, female figures in a very stylised form.
Source: Display at LVR-LandesMuseum Bonn
Lender of the piece: Directorate General for Cultural Heritage Rhineland-Palatinate, Generaldirektion Kulturelles Erbe Rheinland-Pfalz.
Plan of the Gönnersdorf excavation area (grey) showing the position of the Magdalenian settlement structures (K-I, K-IIa, K-IIb, K-III, K-IV and SW) in relation to modern buildings (black).
Photo and text: Jöris (2011)
AMS radiocarbon dates for Gönnersdorf
Sano (2012)
| Lab code | Material | Common Name | Context | 14 C date (BP) | Reference |
| OxA-5728 | Equus sp. | Horse | Concentration I | 12 730 ± 130 | Housley et al., 1997 |
| OxA-5729 | Equus sp. | Horse | Concentration I | 12 790 ± 120 | Housley et al., 1997 |
| OxA-5730 | Equus sp. | Horse | Concentration I | 12 790 ± 120 | Housley et al., 1997 |
| OxA-2223-39 | Equus sp. | Horse | Concentration I | 13 270 ± 55 | Stevens et al., 2009 |
| OxA-2223-42 | Rangifer tarandus | Reindeer | Concentration I | 12 990 ± 55 | Stevens et al., 2009 |
| OxA-10199 | Mammuthus primigenius | Woolly Mammoth | Concentration II | 14 570 ± 90 | Street and Terberger, 2004 |
| OxA-10200 | Coelodonta antiquitatis | Woolly Rhinoceros | Concentration II | 13 810 ± 90 | Street and Terberger, 2004 |
| OxA-10201 | Coelodonta antiquitatis | Woolly Rhinoceros | Concentration II | 13 610 ± 100 | Street and Terberger, 2004 |
| OxA-2223-31 | Rangifer tarandus | Reindeer | Concentration II | 13 010 ± 55 | Stevens et al., 2009 |
| OxA-2223-40 | Equus sp. | Horse | Concentration II | 13 165 ± 55 | Stevens et al., 2009 |
| OxA-2223-41 | Bos/Bison | Aurochs/Bison | Concentration II | 13 095 ± 55 | Stevens et al., 2009 |
| OxA-15295 | Rangifer tarandus marrow-fractured | Reindeer | Concentration III | 13 060 ± 60 | Higham et al., 2007 |
| OxA-2223-43 | Rangifer tarandus | Reindeer | Concentration III | 13 075 ± 55 | Stevens et al., 2009 |
| OxA-15296 | Alces alces | Moose/Eurasian elk | South western area | 12 385 ± 65 | Higham et al., 2007 |
From Gönnersdorf, 1968 excavations.
Statuette shown as Number 10 in the colour photograph above.
On the rod-shaped upper body are two breasts.
Height 71 mm, breadth 160mm.
Photo (left) and text: Müller-Beck et al. (1987)
Photo (centre and right): Bosinski et al. (1974)
Venus from Gönnersdorf.
Photo: Gaudzinski-Windheuser and Jöris (2006)
From Gönnersdorf, 1968 excavations.
Statuette shown as Number 11 in the colour photograph above.
Photo: Bosinski et al. (1974)
12 Female figure in ivory, Gönnersdorf, Stadt Neuwied, copy.
13 Female figure, incomplete, in bone/antler, Gönnersdorf, Stadt Neuwied.
From the Magdalenian, 15 000 BP, female figures in a very stylised form.
Source: Display at LVR-LandesMuseum Bonn
Lender of the piece: Directorate General for Cultural Heritage Rhineland-Palatinate, Generaldirektion Kulturelles Erbe Rheinland-Pfalz.
From Gönnersdorf, 1968 excavations.
Statuette produced from the tip of an antler, shown as Number 12 in the colour photograph above. The antler is almost untouched in the upper part.
Height 87 mm, width 15 mm.
The diagram from Bosinski et al. (1974) shows the outline of the original antler from which the venus figure was carved, and the outline of the resulting figurine.
Photo (left) and text: Müller-Beck et al. (1987)
Photo (right): Bosinski et al. (1974)
13 Female figure, incomplete, in bone/antler, Gönnersdorf, Stadt Neuwied.
14 Female figure, incomplete, in bone/antler, Andernach, Kreis Mayen-Koblenz.
From the Magdalenian, 15 000 BP, female figures in a very stylised form.
Source: Display at LVR-LandesMuseum Bonn
Lender of the piece: Directorate General for Cultural Heritage Rhineland-Palatinate, Generaldirektion Kulturelles Erbe Rheinland-Pfalz.
Ivory Lalinde - Gönnersdorf figures from Andernach, Germany.
Left: length 44 mm, breadth 10 mm.
Right: length 47 mm, breadth 24 mm. Shown as Number 14 in the colour photograph above.
Photo and text: Müller-Beck et al. (1987)
Source: Landesamt für Denkmalpflege, Koblenz
14 Female figure, incomplete, in bone/antler, Andernach, Kreis Mayen-Koblenz.
15 and 16 Female figures, in slate, Gönnersdorf, Stadt Neuwied, copies.
From the Magdalenian, 15 000 BP, female figures in a very stylised form.
Source: Display at LVR-LandesMuseum Bonn
Lender of the piece: Directorate General for Cultural Heritage Rhineland-Palatinate, Generaldirektion Kulturelles Erbe Rheinland-Pfalz.
14 Female figure, incomplete, in bone/antler, Andernach, Kreis Mayen-Koblenz.
Copy of a Venus figure from Andernach in Mayen-Koblenz, shown as number 14 above.
The figure is 47 mm long and approximately 15 000 years old.
Photo: Bildersturm, 27th August 2012
Permission: Creative Commons License Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license.
Source: Display at LVR-LandesMuseum Bonn
Lender of the piece: Directorate General for Cultural Heritage Rhineland-Palatinate, Generaldirektion Kulturelles Erbe Rheinland-Pfalz.
From Gönnersdorf.
Venus figures shaped from the local stone, the centre figure seems to be the same as the centre figure, 15, in the photo above.
Photo: Bosinski (1981)
Sources of the lithic raw materials used for artefact production at Gönnersdorf:
BF: Cretaceous 'Baltic' flint from moraine deposits (pale blue stippling); KS: indurated slate; TQ: Tertiary quartzite; CH: chalcedony and KOO: indurated oolite (white hatching); PQ: 'Palaeozoic' quartzite; WF: Cretaceous flint from primary chalk formations (white areas) and river terrace gravels (pale green stippling).
Locations of major towns:
AC: Aachen; D: Düsseldorf; K: Cologne; BN: Bonn; TR: Trier; KO: Koblenz;WI: Wiesbaden; MZ: Mainz; F: Frankfurt am Main.
Photo and text: Jöris (2011)
From Gönnersdorf.
Engraved Gönnersdorf figures
This piece shows an alignment of four female figures in a row. Behind the second figure from the right is a small figure sitting in a kind of holder.
The posture of the second female figure from the right also has the stance associated with carrying a load. This presentation is without parallel, apparently a mother and child.
Engraving on slate. Height of the figure on the right 28 mm.
Photo (left): Müller-Beck et al. (1987)
Photo (right) Gaudzinski-Windheuser and Jöris (2006)
Engraved Gönnersdorf figures
Another version of the image above including a woman carrying a baby. Note that the baby is facing backwards in the cradle on the woman's back.
Photo: http://www.landschaftsmuseum.de/Seiten/Lexikon/Kunst-Goenn.htm
From Gönnersdorf.
Another version of the woman carrying a baby.
Photo: Gaudzinski-Windheuser and Jöris (2012)
From Gönnersdorf.
Representation of a hairy man. Engraving on shale. Plate fragment.
Length 94 mm, breadth 47 mm.
Photo and text: Müller-Beck et al. (1987)
From Gönnersdorf.
Heavily incised female figure.
Photo: Bosinski et al. (2001)
From Gönnersdorf, 1968 excavations.
Ivory statuette with rod-shaped upper body.
Height 54 mm, width 14 mm.
Photo (left) and text: Müller-Beck et al. (1987)
Photo (right): Bosinski et al. (1974)
From Gönnersdorf, 1968 excavations.
Fragment of an ivory statuette.
Photo: Bosinski et al. (1974)
From Gönnersdorf, 1968 excavations.
Ivory statuette with the the rod alone left.
Photo: Bosinski et al. (1974)
From Gönnersdorf
Photo: Bosinski (1981)
From Gönnersdorf.
Two female figures, another version of the image on the left above.
(Note the heavy breasts of the figure on the left of the pair - Don )
Photo: Bosinski et al. (2001)
The two female figures from Gönnersdorf, in colour, foreshortened because of the angle at which the photo was taken.
Photo: Gaudzinski-Windheuser and Jöris (2006)
From Gönnersdorf.
Photo: Bosinski (1981)
From Gönnersdorf.
Two female figures.
(Note that an attempt seems to have been made at perspective on these engravings, with the second leg shown on each, including the lower leg for the venus figure on the left - Don )
Photo: Bosinski et al. (2001)
From Gönnersdorf.
Photo: Bosinski (1981)
This is an unusual engraving of a classic Gönnersdorf venus, since an attempt has been made to portray the feet of the figure.
Photo: Bosinski (2007)
Source: http://archaeolet.de/themen/palaolithikum/spatmagdalenienzeitliche-siedlungsplatz-gonnersdorf/
From Gönnersdorf.
Several lamps were found. The stones have been hollowed out, sometimes to depth of 1 cm, and tallow or fat was used as fuel, with a wick of plant fibres. Experiments have shown that such lamps can give the light of two or three candles, and burn steadily, without soot.
Photo and text: Bosinski (1981)
From Gönnersdorf.
A horse with flying tail engraved in stone.
Photo: Bosinski (1981)
From Gönnersdorf.
Other engravings of horses.
Photo: Bosinski (1981)
Engraving of a frog from Gönnersdorf.
Photo: Bosinski (2007)
Source: http://archaeolet.de/themen/palaolithikum/spatmagdalenienzeitliche-siedlungsplatz-gonnersdorf/
This is an interesting piece, with a series of Gönnersdorf figures engraved into a semi-cylindrical/conical piece. The figures can only be made out in the drawing below the object. It is from the Paleolithic archaeological site Niederbieber in the Neuwied Basin.
From 13 000 BP.
This is a sandstone shaft smoother, and they were used in pairs, where the shaft of the spear was between the two pieces of sandstone. The women are dancing, in the Gönnersdorf and Andernach tradition.
In the artistic manifestations of the late Palaeolithic, in contrast to the previous art of the Magdalenian, the art is often displayed on moose antler. This is no accident, but rather represents the typical prey of the moose hunters in the dense forest of this time.
Source: Display at LVR-LandesMuseum Bonn
Lender of the piece: Directorate General for Cultural Heritage Rhineland-Palatinate, Generaldirektion Kulturelles Erbe Rheinland-Pfalz.
This image shows the other side of the arrow shaft smoother shown above. The object, made of red sandstone, was discovered at the Palaeolithic archaeological site Niederbieber in the Neuwied Basin during excavation of area II 1981. The 71 x 34 x 22 mm piece has both engravings on the back engravings and is also a functionally outstanding reference object forNiederbieber.
They were used in pairs were used for grinding wooden arrow shafts and are in addition to the characteristic stone tool types (penknife) of the late Palaeolithic an indirect indication of the beginning of the time when bows and arrows were used as hunting weapons. In Niederbieber this arrow shaft shaper delivers an additional proof of the new production or repair (hafting and retooling) of hunting weapons. The unusual decoration of shaft smoother with stylised female figures of the Gönnersdorf type is one of the rare instances of the artistic work of this time. It provides a unique reference to the survival of the tradition of Gönnersburg/Lalinde female representation.
Source: http://www.museum.de/
This map shows the close spatial relationship between the sites of Gönnersburg, Andernach, and Niederbieber.
Photo: Street (2006)
From the same levels as the Gönnersdorf figures:
18 Pierced horse tooth.
19 Piece of ochre, the mineral haematite, with a groove from the extraction of colouring material. Andernach, Mayen-Koblenz
Source: Display at LVR-LandesMuseum Bonn
From Gönnersdorf.
Jewellery from Gönnersdorf.
Photo: Bosinski (1981)
From Gönnersdorf.
Animal teeth pierced for use as a necklace or as pendants.
Photo: Bosinski (1981)
Plan of the Gönnersdorf 'Planum I' excavation surface showing slabs and blocks (pale grey) and artificial pits (black) and the location of evident and latent settlement features.
Black dotted lines: boundaries of dwelling structures reconstructed by architectural features, find distribution patterns and refitting;
Red circles and ellipses: hearths suggested by distribution patterns of burnt materials (unfilled circles represent less certain hearth features);
Star-shaped feature north-east of K-IV: reconstructed extent of hearth (Moseler 2008);
Red stippling shows the extent of intense ochre-staining in K-I;
Hatching plots an area of intense find deposition (working area / dump?) adjacent to K-IIa.
Photo and text: Jöris (2011)
From Gönnersdorf.
This is a superb sketch of a mammoth. It is both anatomically correct and shows artistic merit.
Photo: Gaudzinski-Windheuser and Jöris (2006)
This is a good drawing of the engraving above.
Photo: Bosinski (1981)
This is a freer sketch of a mammoth, also from Gönnersdorf.
Photo: Gaudzinski-Windheuser and Jöris (2006)
From Gönnersdorf.
In marked contrast, this engraving of a bird looks more like a modern cartoon of the Road Runner!
Photo: Bosinski (1981)
A colour image of the bird shown above.
Photo: Gaudzinski-Windheuser and Jöris (2006)
Saiga Antelope, Gönnersdorf. The image shows just the head of the animal, with its characteristic snout.
The image has been outlined in order to make the form clearer.
Photo: Hannibal21, 8th June 2012
Permission: Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported license., CC BY 3.0
From Gönnersdorf.
Known simply as Ptarmigan in Europe and colloquially as Snow Chicken or Partridge in North America, Lagopus muta is a medium-sized gamebird in the grouse family.
Photo: Bosinski (1981)
Text: Adapted from Wikipedia
From Gönnersdorf.
The original of the drawing above.
Photo: Gaudzinski-Windheuser and Jöris (2006)
Figure of a bird made in reindeer antler by emphasising a natural resemblance with scratches. Found at Andernach.
Source: Macalister (1921) (Public Domain)
(This may be the original of the bird made in reindeer antler above, though preserved with lacquer giving it a shiny surface. It is probably, however, a museum quality facsimile, given the different lustre shown on the image below, apparently of the original - Don )
Carved Bird Head
15 000 years BP
This uniquely shaped representation of a bird was discovered in 1883 by H. Schaaffhausen at an excavation in Andernach-Martinsberg.
It was carved with just a few strokes from the remains of a reindeer antler obtained as a waste product when making a tool of some kind.
The inner spongy part of the antler has been eroded.
Perhaps the piece was originally put on a pole, as can be seen on rock art in France, including the famous bird on a pole at the Shaft in Lascaux.
Source and text: Display at LVR-LandesMuseum Bonn
Carved Bird Head shown above, another version.
15 000 years BP
Photo: Gaudzinski-Windheuser and Jöris (2006)
Reindeer, chalked to better show the engraving, from Andernach.
Photo: Gaudzinski-Windheuser and Jöris (2006)
Engraving of a horse, in three dimensions, on green slate.
Photo: Gaudzinski-Windheuser and Jöris (2006)
A simple drawing of what is possibly a hare. Chalked to better show the outline.
Photo: Gaudzinski-Windheuser and Jöris (2006)
In the Gönnersdorf and Andernach area, near the dwellings were found numerous rondels. These are round, pierced in the middle, mainly slices of shale, but some were made of ivory and reindeer antler. In Gönnersdorf alone 400 such rondels were found.
About one fifth were decorated, some with symbols. The function of these rondels is not known. They may be jewellery, or may have served as buttons to connect sections of the tents, or clothing.
Photo and text: Gaudzinski-Windheuser and Jöris (2006)
In the Gönnersdorf area, colouring agents were used, such as the Hematite shown here, as well as ochres and charcoal.
Photo and text: Gaudzinski-Windheuser and Jöris (2006)
The urge to decorate oneself is as old as man himself. Only the forms and materials of the jewellery changes. Numerous trinkets and waste from their manufacture were found in both Gönnersdorf and Andernach. The spectrum of materials ranged from the bones and teeth of the available animals to fossils to snails and shells.
Shiny black jet was used in Gönnersdorf and Andernach for jewellery, as well as these these pierced deer teeth from Gönnersdorf, Hirsch Grandeln, sometimes called hunting trophies, which were used as pendants or as ornaments for clothing.
Photo and text: Gaudzinski-Windheuser and Jöris (2006)
Drill made of flint and jewellery from fossil wood (Gönnersdorf).
Photo and text: Gaudzinski-Windheuser and Jöris (2006)
Dr Gerhard Bosinski in 1963 became Assistant Professor at the Institute of Prehistory and Early History of the University of Cologne, becoming professor there in 1972. As a visiting professor he taught at the Universities of Berlin, Bordeaux , Göttingen and the University of the Saarland in Saarbrücken. In 2003 he became professor emeritus .
From 1985 he was head of the research division of the Paleolithic Roman-Germanic Central Museum, and from 1988 to 2003 head of the Museum of Archaeology of the Ice Age in Monrepos . He directed the excavations in Gönnersdorf and participated in excavations in France, Georgia and Russia. He lives in southern France near Montauban .
Photo: http://www.creap.fr/participants-gerhard-bosinski.htm
Text: Wikipedia
Sabine Gaudzinski-Windheuser is the professor of Palaeolithic Archaeology at the Johannes Gutenberg-University, Mainz, Germany. In addition she is head of the Department of Palaeolithic Studies at the Römisch-Germanisches Zentralmuseum. Her major research interest is the evolution of hominin behaviour and she has conducted research and excavations in all phases of the Palaeolithic. She is a 'specialized generalist' in Palaeolithic Archaeology with particular expertise in Archaeozoology, Taphonomy and Neanderthal subsistence strategies.
Photo: http://www.123people.at/s/sabine+gaudzinski
Text: http://rgzm.academia.edu/SabineGaudzinskiWindheuser
Olaf Jöris is a senior scientist at the Department of Palaeolithic Studies (Forschungsbereich Altsteinzeit) at the Römisch-Germanisches Zentralmuseum Mainz, Germany, and lecturer in Prehistory at the Institut für Vor- und Frühgeschichte of the Johannes Gutenberg-Universität, Mainz, Germany. He has been involved in numerous international research projects and has conducted field work at sites from different Palaeolithic periods, including, for example, excavations at the Lower Palaeolithic site of Dmanisi in Georgia. He is a specialist in the analysis of lithic remains, analysis on intra-site spatial organisation of Palaeolithic sites, radiocarbon dating and calibration and population dynamics of Palaeolithic societies in changing environments.
Photo: http://rgzm.academia.edu/OlafJ%C3%B6ris/Papers
Text: http://rgzm.academia.edu/OlafJ%C3%B6ris/About
References
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- Sieveking, A., 1979: The Cave Artists, Thames and Hudson
- Stevens, R., O'Connell T., Hedges R., Street M., 2009: Radiocarbon and stable isotope investigations at the Central Rhineland sites of Gönnersdorf and Andernach-Martinsberg, Germany, Journal of Human Evolution 57 (2009) 131–148
- Street M., Gelhausen F., Grimm S., Moseler F., Niven L., Sensburg M., Turner E., Wenzel S., Jöris O., 2006: L’occupation du bassin de Neuwied (Rhénanie centrale, Allemagne) par les Magdaléniens et les groupes à Federmesser (aziliens) Bulletin de la Société préhistorique française 2006, tome 103, no 4, p. 753-780