https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0277379123001427 Quaternary Science Reviews
Available online 12 May 2023
Fossil footprints at the late Lower Paleolithic site of
Schöningen (Germany): A new line of research to reconstruct
animal and hominin paleoecology
Abstract
The ca. 300 ka Paleolithic sites of Schöningen in northern
Germany yielded a number of localities with archeological
and paleontological remains representing a rich
paleoenvironmental record of the late Middle Pleistocene in
northern Europe. An important line of research focused on
the ichnology of two localities: Schöningen 13 I-Fs2 and
Schöningen 13 II-2 Untere Berme. Here we present the first
detailed study of these fossil footprints, which provides
insights on Schöningen's paleoenvironment and a snapshot
of the mammals once living in the area. Herds of elephants
and other species of herbivores congregated along the muddy
shores of a paleolake during birch, pine and grass-rich
woodland phases. In addition, three potential hominin
footprints, probably belonging to a late Homo
heidelbergensis, are recorded at Schöningen 13 II-2 Untere
Berme. This confirms the complementary potential of
ichnology in reconstructing a reliable picture of
prehistoric sites.
"The layer was interpreted as an interglacial lake bank
deposit formed during a boreal pine forest phase, and
yielded ca. 640 finds, including lithic artefacts and
faunal remains, such as elephant, bovid, horse and
red deer (Serangeli et al., 2015)."
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