Königsaue
Encyclopedia
The town of Königsaue in the district Aschersleben-Staßfurt
, Saxony-Anhalt
, Germany
was destroyed in the course of opencast lignite
mining in 1964. The inhabitants were resettled to the town of Neu-Königsaue, ca. 1 km north of the former location.
It dates to about 80.000 BP, the Eemian (Ipswichian) interglacial
. The site most probably was a seasonal hunting camp at the shore of lake Aschersleben
that was completely drained at the beginning of the 18th century by an order of Friedrich II
. It was discovered in 1963 by Dieter Mania during rescue excavations in the course of lignite
mining (opencast mine Königsaue 1, 1918–1977) in a depth of 17 m.
Layer C coincides with the climatic optimum. Tree pollen rise to 70%, birch and pine dominate.
s of Micoquien
type (Faustkeilblätter). The bifacial tools are most common in layer A, while prepared cores are typical for layer B. Numerous unretouched blades and small debitage point to intense local tool production. The site may have been used as a base camp. In layer C bifacial tools again predominate.
Layers A and C belong to the Micoquien
, B to the Mousterian
.
Animal bones show that Mammoth
, woolly haired rhino, horses, red deer
and reindeer
were hunted. Some pieces of worked wood have been preserved as well.
The pieces are black, of a longish shape and show traces of kneading. Chemical analysis (gas-chromatography) confirm the identification as birch-pitch (presence of betulin
).
The bigger piece shows impressions of a retouch
ed stone artefact and of a split piece of wood, most probably a wooden haft of a bifacial tool. There are weak traces of finger-prints, but the whorl-pattern could not be identified.
Aschersleben-Staßfurt
Aschersleben-Staßfurt was a district in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany until 2007. It was bounded by the districts of Schönebeck, Bernburg, Mansfelder Land, Quedlinburg and Bördekreis.- History :...
, Saxony-Anhalt
Saxony-Anhalt
Saxony-Anhalt is a landlocked state of Germany. Its capital is Magdeburg and it is surrounded by the German states of Lower Saxony, Brandenburg, Saxony, and Thuringia.Saxony-Anhalt covers an area of...
, Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
was destroyed in the course of opencast lignite
Lignite
Lignite, often referred to as brown coal, or Rosebud coal by Northern Pacific Railroad,is a soft brown fuel with characteristics that put it somewhere between coal and peat...
mining in 1964. The inhabitants were resettled to the town of Neu-Königsaue, ca. 1 km north of the former location.
Palaeolithic site
Königsaue is also a middle palaeolithic find spot.It dates to about 80.000 BP, the Eemian (Ipswichian) interglacial
Interglacial
An Interglacial period is a geological interval of warmer global average temperature lasting thousands of years that separates consecutive glacial periods within an ice age...
. The site most probably was a seasonal hunting camp at the shore of lake Aschersleben
Lake Aschersleben
Lake Aschersleben is a former lake in Germany, northeast of the Harz Mountains, south of the town of Aschersleben. The lake was connected to the rivers of Eine and Elke and was about 12 km long....
that was completely drained at the beginning of the 18th century by an order of Friedrich II
Frederick II of Prussia
Frederick II was a King in Prussia and a King of Prussia from the Hohenzollern dynasty. In his role as a prince-elector of the Holy Roman Empire, he was also Elector of Brandenburg. He was in personal union the sovereign prince of the Principality of Neuchâtel...
. It was discovered in 1963 by Dieter Mania during rescue excavations in the course of lignite
Lignite
Lignite, often referred to as brown coal, or Rosebud coal by Northern Pacific Railroad,is a soft brown fuel with characteristics that put it somewhere between coal and peat...
mining (opencast mine Königsaue 1, 1918–1977) in a depth of 17 m.
Stratigraphy
Three settlement layers can be distinguished, separated by limnic sediments. The first layer (A) is dated to the beginning of the interstadial. The vegetation is still turning to boreal, an open steppe type habitat, the pollen assemblage dominated by grasses.Layer C coincides with the climatic optimum. Tree pollen rise to 70%, birch and pine dominate.
Finds
Ca. 6000 flints have been excavated, including a few bifacially worked knives (Keilmesser) and small pointed hand axeHand axe
A hand axe is a bifacial Stone tool typical of the lower and middle Palaeolithic , and is the longest-used tool of human history.-Distribution:...
s of Micoquien
Micoquien
The Micoquien is an early middle paleolithic industry, that is found in the Eem and in early episode of the Würm glaciation . The Micoquien is distinguished technologically by the appearance of distinctly asymmetrical bifaces. Its discoverer and namer was the archeologist and art trader Otto Hauser...
type (Faustkeilblätter). The bifacial tools are most common in layer A, while prepared cores are typical for layer B. Numerous unretouched blades and small debitage point to intense local tool production. The site may have been used as a base camp. In layer C bifacial tools again predominate.
Layers A and C belong to the Micoquien
Micoquien
The Micoquien is an early middle paleolithic industry, that is found in the Eem and in early episode of the Würm glaciation . The Micoquien is distinguished technologically by the appearance of distinctly asymmetrical bifaces. Its discoverer and namer was the archeologist and art trader Otto Hauser...
, B to the Mousterian
Mousterian
Mousterian is a name given by archaeologists to a style of predominantly flint tools associated primarily with Homo neanderthalensis and dating to the Middle Paleolithic, the middle part of the Old Stone Age.-Naming:...
.
Animal bones show that Mammoth
Mammoth
A mammoth is any species of the extinct genus Mammuthus. These proboscideans are members of Elephantidae, the family of elephants and mammoths, and close relatives of modern elephants. They were often equipped with long curved tusks and, in northern species, a covering of long hair...
, woolly haired rhino, horses, red deer
Red Deer
The red deer is one of the largest deer species. Depending on taxonomy, the red deer inhabits most of Europe, the Caucasus Mountains region, Asia Minor, parts of western Asia, and central Asia. It also inhabits the Atlas Mountains region between Morocco and Tunisia in northwestern Africa, being...
and reindeer
Reindeer
The reindeer , also known as the caribou in North America, is a deer from the Arctic and Subarctic, including both resident and migratory populations. While overall widespread and numerous, some of its subspecies are rare and one has already gone extinct.Reindeer vary considerably in color and size...
were hunted. Some pieces of worked wood have been preserved as well.
Pitch
The most famous finds from Königsaue are two pieces of birch-pitch (layers A and B), one of which shows the partial finger-print of homo sapiens neanderthalensis. It shows the impression of a piece of wood as well and was thus used for hafting a composite tool. It is the oldest evidence for the use of chemical processes (dry destillation) up to now (=2004).The pieces are black, of a longish shape and show traces of kneading. Chemical analysis (gas-chromatography) confirm the identification as birch-pitch (presence of betulin
Betulin
Betulin is an abundant naturally occurring triterpene. It is commonly isolated from the bark of birch trees and forms up to 30% of the dry weight of the extractive . The purpose of the compound in the bark is not known...
).
| HK:63/150/0 | HK64:1/0 | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| length | 2,3 cm | 2,7 cm | |
| breadth | 1,4 cm | 2,0 cm | |
| thickness | 0,6 cm | 1,2 cm | |
| weight | 0,87 g | 1,38 g | |
| layer | B | A | |
| date | 43800±2100BP | 48400±3700 |
The bigger piece shows impressions of a retouch
Retouch
Retouch may refer to:*Retouch , the work done to a flint implement after its preliminary roughing-out*Retouching, editing photographic imagery...
ed stone artefact and of a split piece of wood, most probably a wooden haft of a bifacial tool. There are weak traces of finger-prints, but the whorl-pattern could not be identified.
Further reading
- J.M.Grünberg/H.Graetsch/U.Baumer/J.Koller, Untersuchung der mittelpaläolithischen Harzreste von Königsaue, Ldkr. Aschersleben-Staßfurt. Jahresschrift für mitteldeutsche Vorgeschichte 81, 1999, 7-38
- J. Koller/U. Baumer/D. Mania, Pitch in the Palaeolithic - Investigations of the Middle Palaeolithic "resin remains" from Königsaue. In: G. A. Wagner/D. Mania (eds.), Frühe Menschen in Mitteleuropa - Chronologie, Kultur, Umwelt (Aachen 2001) 99-112.
- Johann Koller/Ursula Brauner/Dietrich Mania, High-Tech in the middle Palaeolithic: Neanderthal manufactured pitch identified. European Journal of Archaeology 4/3, 2001, 385-397.
- J.M.Grünberg, Middle Palaeolithic birch-bark pitch. Antiquity 76, 2002, 15-16
- Harald Meller (ed.), Geisteskraft. Alt- und Mittelpaläolithikum (Halle 2003). (general catalogue of Palaeolithic finds in Saxony-Anhalt and ThuringiaThuringiaThe Free State of Thuringia is a state of Germany, located in the central part of the country.It has an area of and 2.29 million inhabitants, making it the sixth smallest by area and the fifth smallest by population of Germany's sixteen states....
).
External links
- http://www.landesmuseum-fuer-vorgeschichte-halle.de/dauerausstellung/koenigsaue.htm (with picture of the pitch)