Schöningen 12 faunal compositions

Since 1983 several rescue excavations have been performed in the lignite mine of the German town Schöningen. During one of those excavations the world famous, 300kyr old hunting spears were found. The site hosting these spears has been the subject of extensive research ever since and excavations still take place to this day. The other sites did not get much attention anymore and there are still many questions unanswered. In this bachelor thesis research has been carried out on the zoological assemblages of the Schöningen 12 sites and what they can tell us about the former climates and environments. Since not much research had been done yet on the faunal compositions many bones still had to be determined and entered into the database of Schöningen. After the completion of this task the climatic and environment preferences of all identified species were studied. Using the results points were divided over the preferred climates and environments. These were then used to create graphs to...Show moreSince 1983 several rescue excavations have been performed in the lignite mine of the German town Schöningen. During one of those excavations the world famous, 300kyr old hunting spears were found. The site hosting these spears has been the subject of extensive research ever since and excavations still take place to this day. The other sites did not get much attention anymore and there are still many questions unanswered. In this bachelor thesis research has been carried out on the zoological assemblages of the Schöningen 12 sites and what they can tell us about the former climates and environments. Since not much research had been done yet on the faunal compositions many bones still had to be determined and entered into the database of Schöningen. After the completion of this task the climatic and environment preferences of all identified species were studied. Using the results points were divided over the preferred climates and environments. These were then used to create graphs to make the former climates and environments more visible. Not all sites yielded enough complete material to be used for further research. Comparisons of the faunal results of the resourceful sites with earlier research on the geology and botany of Schöningen show that during the sedimentation of layer II-1 the climate was on the warm side and the area was a mix of forest and open ground. Through time the area gradually cooled down and become more open, the latter was also visible in the faunal assemblages of the Schöningen 13 sites. Only the faunal composition of Schöningen 12 II-4 does not support this change, since only one individual of Bos primigenius has been encountered. Despite the fact that this zoological study did not add much new information to the knowledge about the former environments, it does confirm the conclusion drawn by geological and botanical research. At the same time this is the first time a complete overview of the zoological remains of Schöningen 12 that are stored in Leiden.Show less

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Schöningen 12 faunal compositions