The

archaeological site An archaeological site is a place (or group of physical sites) in which evidence of past activity is preserved (either prehistoric or recorded history, historic or contemporary), and which has been, or may be, investigated using the discipline ...

Niederbieber is an important representative of the

Federmesser culture ''Federmesser'' group is an archaeological umbrella term including the late Upper Paleolithic to Mesolithic cultures of the Northern European Plain, dating to between 14,000 and 12,800 years ago (the late Magdalenian). It is closely related ...

. Dating to the end of the

Pleistocene The Pleistocene ( ; referred to colloquially as the ''ice age, Ice Age'') is the geological epoch (geology), epoch that lasted from to 11,700 years ago, spanning the Earth's most recent period of repeated glaciations. Before a change was fin ...

, the site is one of the most extensively excavated archaeological sites dating to the late

Upper Palaeolithic The Upper Paleolithic (or Upper Palaeolithic) is the third and last subdivision of the Paleolithic or Old Stone Age. Very broadly, it dates to between 50,000 and 12,000 years ago (the beginning of the Holocene), according to some theories ...

. Finds and

features Feature may refer to: Computing * Feature recognition, could be a hole, pocket, or notch * Feature (computer vision), could be an edge, corner or blob * Feature (machine learning), in statistics: individual measurable properties of the phenome ...

are extraordinarily well preserved as the site was protected by

fallout Nuclear fallout is residual radioactive material that is created by the reactions producing a nuclear explosion. It is initially present in the radioactive cloud created by the explosion, and "falls out" of the cloud as it is moved by the ...

from the

Laacher See Laacher See (), also known as Lake Laach or Laach Lake, is a volcanic Volcanic crater lake, caldera lake with a diameter of in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany, about northwest of Koblenz, south of Bonn, and west of Andernach. It is in the Eifel ...

volcanic eruption A volcanic eruption occurs when material is expelled from a volcanic vent or fissure. Several types of volcanic eruptions have been distinguished by volcanologists. These are often named after famous volcanoes where that type of behavior h ...

approximately 12,900 years ago. Comprehensive archaeological studies have provided a detailed view of activities and settlement dynamics of

hunter-gatherer A hunter-gatherer or forager is a human living in a community, or according to an ancestrally derived Lifestyle, lifestyle, in which most or all food is obtained by foraging, that is, by gathering food from local naturally occurring sources, esp ...

groups at the end of the ice age.

Location

The site is located in Germany's

Middle Rhine Middle Rhine (, ; kilometres 529 to 660 of the Rhine) is the section of the Rhine between Bingen and Bonn in Germany. It flows through the Rhine Gorge (), a formation created by erosion, which happened at about the same rate as an uplift i ...

region at the north-eastern edge of the Neuwied basin within Neuwied’s district Niederbieber.

Discovery and history of research

The site was discovered in 1980 during

pumice Pumice (), called pumicite in its powdered or dust form, is a volcanic rock that consists of extremely vesicular rough-textured volcanic glass, which may or may not contain crystals. It is typically light-colored. Scoria is another vesicula ...

mining conducted in the area. Volcanic pumice was deposited during a major eruption of the Laacher See volcano, which according to recent dating occurred approximately 12,900 years ago.BAALES, M., O. JÖRIS, M. STREET, F. BITTMANN, B. WENIGER and J. WIETHOLD. 2002. Impact of the Late Glacial Eruption of the Laacher See Volcano, Central Rhineland, Germany. ''Quaternary Research'' 58, pp.273-288 Over the course of a few days the pumice deposits, measuring up to 40 metres in thickness near the

crater A crater is a landform consisting of a hole or depression (geology), depression on a planetary surface, usually caused either by an object hitting the surface, or by geological activity on the planet. A crater has classically been described ...

, sealed-in the late glacial Allerød landscape of the Neuwied basin, thus preserving the archaeology. Evidence of the massive Laacher See volcano eruption, which most likely took place during spring/early summer, can be found the form of

tephra Tephra is fragmental material produced by a Volcano, volcanic eruption regardless of composition, fragment size, or emplacement mechanism. Volcanologists also refer to airborne fragments as pyroclasts. Once clasts have fallen to the ground, ...

all over northern and Central Europe and is used by geologists and archaeologists as a chronostratigraphic marker.BOGAARD, P. v. d. and H.U. SCHMINKE. 1985. Laacher See Tephra: A widespread isochronous late Quaternary tephra layer in central and northern Europe. ''Geological Society of America Bulletin'' 96 (12), pp. 1554–1571 At Niederbieber the pumice layer measured approximately 1m in thickness under which several scatters of burned and unburned artefacts were encountered. Extensive excavations of an area almost covering 1000m² were conducted between 1981 and 1988 and again between 1996 and 1999 by MONREPOS Archaeological Research Centre and Museum for Human Behavioural Evolution of the Romano-Germanic-Centralmuseum Mainz and the State Office for Preservation of Historical Monuments

Coblence Koblenz ( , , ; Moselle Franconian language, Moselle Franconian: ''Kowelenz'') is a German city on the banks of the Rhine (Middle Rhine) and the Moselle, a multinational tributary. Koblenz was established as a Roman Empire, Roman military p ...

.BOLUS, M. 1992. ''Die Siedlungsbefunde des späteiszeitlichen Fundplatzes Niederbieber (Stadt Neuwied)''. Monographie des Römisch-Germanischen Zentralmuseums Mainz 22.GELHAUSEN, F. 2007a. ''Untersuchungen zum Siedlungsmuster der allerødzeitlichen Federmesser-Gruppen in Niederbieber, Stadt Neuwied (Rheinland-Pfalz)''. Unpubl. PhD Dissertation. Universität zu Köln.GELHAUSEN, F. 2007b. ''Verteilungsmuster ausgewählter Fundkonzentrationen des allerødzeitlichen Fundplatzes Niederbieber, Stadt Neuwied (Rheinland-Pfalz) – Grabungen 1996−1999''. Jahrbuch des Römisch-Germanischen Zentralmuseums Mainz 54, pp.1-23GELHAUSEN, F. 2011. ''Siedlungsmuster allerødzeitlicher Federmesser-Gruppen in Niederbieber, Stadt Neuwied. Monographie des Römisch-Germanischen Zentralmuseums Mainz 90 (Mainz 2011)''.

Dating the site

The human activities at Niederbieber have been dated by various approaches that have delivered matching results. The human occupations appear to predate the Laacher See volcanic eruption (12,900 years ago) by several years or decades.BAALES, M. 2002. Der spätpaläolithische Fundplatz Kettig. ''Untersuchungen zur Siedlungsarchäologie der Federmesser-Gruppen am Mittelrhein''. Monographie des Römisch-Germanischen Zentralmuseums Mainz 51 *The finds and features lie on top of a late-glacial surface, directly underneath the pumice deposits which provide a

terminus ante quem A ''terminus post quem'' ('limit after which', sometimes abbreviated TPQ) and ''terminus ante quem'' ('limit before which', abbreviated TAQ) specify the known limits of dating for events or items.. A ''terminus post quem'' is the earliest date t ...

for the human activities. The archaeology must therefore predate the volcanic eruption 12,900 years ago. *

Radiocarbon dating Radiocarbon dating (also referred to as carbon dating or carbon-14 dating) is a method for Chronological dating, determining the age of an object containing organic material by using the properties of carbon-14, radiocarbon, a radioactive Isotop ...

with bone samples from areas II and III have produced (

calibrated In measurement technology and metrology, calibration is the comparison of measurement values delivered by a device under test with those of a calibration standard of known accuracy. Such a standard could be another measurement device of known ...

) ages of up to 13,100 years. *The backed points from Niederbieber conform to the typologies known from the Allerød along the Middle Rhine and can thus be used as a relative-chronologic marker

Notable finds and features

An arrow shaft smoother made of red

sandstone Sandstone is a Clastic rock#Sedimentary clastic rocks, clastic sedimentary rock composed mainly of grain size, sand-sized (0.0625 to 2 mm) silicate mineral, silicate grains, Cementation (geology), cemented together by another mineral. Sand ...

was discovered during the excavation of area II in 1981. The object is engraved (see below) and measures 71 × 34 × 22mm. Both in terms of function and artistic expression, the arrow smoother is one of the most superb finds from Niederbieber.GELHAUSEN, F. 2009. ''Die Fundkonzentrationen der Fläche II des allerødzeitlichen Fundplatzes Niederbieber, Stadt Neuwied (Rheinland-Pfalz)''. Jahrbuch des Römisch-Germanischen Zentralmuseums Mainz 56, pp.1-38. Arrow shaft smoothers are characteristic tool types of the Federmesser culture. They were used in pairs and also serve as indirect evidence for the increasing reliance on

bow and arrow The bow and arrow is a ranged weapon system consisting of an elasticity (physics), elastic launching device (bow) and long-shafted projectiles (arrows). Humans used bows and arrows for hunting and aggression long before recorded history, and the ...

. In the case of Niederbieber, the presence of the arrow smoother indicates manufacture or repair of hunting weapons. The unusual decoration of the arrow smoother with a stylised woman figure of the ''Gönnersdorf type'' is a rare example of artistic expressions dating to this period. Stylistically the engraving is a continuation of the engravings of women known from the

Magdalenian Magdalenian cultures (also Madelenian; ) are later cultures of the Upper Paleolithic and Mesolithic in western Europe. They date from around 17,000 to 12,000 years before present. It is named after the type site of Abri de la Madeleine, a ro ...

site ''Gönnersdorf'' (located about 15 km northwest of Niederbieber) and thus serves as example for the continuation of this particular tradition in the region. The finds from Niederbieber are on display at MONREPOS Archaeological Research Centre and Museum for Human Behavioural Evolution of the Romano-Germanic-Centralmuseum Mainz in Neuwied.

Results of archaeological analyses

The results of comprehensive studies have yielded detailed information about the life of hunter-gatherer groups at the end of the Pleistocene as well as providing information about late glacial

climate Climate is the long-term weather pattern in a region, typically averaged over 30 years. More rigorously, it is the mean and variability of meteorological variables over a time spanning from months to millions of years. Some of the meteoro ...

and the environment. Faunal remains, including

Elk The elk (: ''elk'' or ''elks''; ''Cervus canadensis'') or wapiti, is the second largest species within the deer family, Cervidae, and one of the largest terrestrial mammals in its native range of North America and Central and East Asia. ...

red deer The red deer (''Cervus elaphus'') is one of the largest deer species. A male red deer is called a stag or Hart (deer), hart, and a female is called a doe or hind. The red deer inhabits most of Europe, the Caucasus Mountains region, Anatolia, Ir ...

horse The horse (''Equus ferus caballus'') is a domesticated, one-toed, hoofed mammal. It belongs to the taxonomic family Equidae and is one of two extant subspecies of ''Equus ferus''. The horse has evolved over the past 45 to 55 mi ...

wild boar The wild boar (''Sus scrofa''), also known as the wild swine, common wild pig, Eurasian wild pig, or simply wild pig, is a Suidae, suid native to much of Eurasia and North Africa, and has been introduced to the Americas and Oceania. The speci ...

and

beaver Beavers (genus ''Castor'') are large, semiaquatic rodents of the Northern Hemisphere. There are two existing species: the North American beaver (''Castor canadensis'') and the Eurasian beaver (''C. fiber''). Beavers are the second-large ...

indicate a moderate, wet, atlantic climate. Botanical remains of

birch A birch is a thin-leaved deciduous hardwood tree of the genus ''Betula'' (), in the family Betulaceae, which also includes alders, hazels, and hornbeams. It is closely related to the beech- oak family Fagaceae. The genus ''Betula'' contains 3 ...

willow Willows, also called sallows and osiers, of the genus ''Salix'', comprise around 350 species (plus numerous hybrids) of typically deciduous trees and shrubs, found primarily on moist soils in cold and temperate regions. Most species are known ...

populus ''Populus'' is a genus of 25–30 species of deciduous flowering plants in the family Salicaceae, native to most of the Northern Hemisphere. English names variously applied to different species include poplar (), aspen, and cottonwood. The we ...

spruce A spruce is a tree of the genus ''Picea'' ( ), a genus of about 40 species of coniferous evergreen trees in the family Pinaceae, found in the northern temperate and boreal ecosystem, boreal (taiga) regions of the Northern hemisphere. ''Picea'' ...

and

pine A pine is any conifer tree or shrub in the genus ''Pinus'' () of the family Pinaceae. ''Pinus'' is the sole genus in the subfamily Pinoideae. ''World Flora Online'' accepts 134 species-rank taxa (119 species and 15 nothospecies) of pines as cu ...

suggest an open forest landscape. 20 discrete finds concentrations in similar stratigraphic position were recorded at Niederbieber. These concentrations are made up of lithic tools, by-products of their manufacture as well as faunal remains. Using artefact analysis and GIS analyses of the find distributions, these concentrations are currently interpreted as ephemeral working areas of late glacial hunter-gatherer groups. All find concentrations are spatially discrete units separated from one another, with decreasing find density towards the periphery of the excavated area. Spatial analyses show the recurrence of similar arrangements of these concentrations in respect to one another. At least two opposite concentrations are separated by an artefact-poor area. These artefact-poor areas are characterised by the presence burned bone and flint. They are currently interpreted as unpreserved, ephemeral hearths. Several re-fits of stone artefacts from different concentrations show that these working areas were contemporaneous and existed next to one another. Among the lithic artefacts backed points dominate over scrapers and burins. Backed points are interpreted as projectile points that were affixed to arrow shafts using birch tar. The various lithic raw materials that were used for the production of stone tools were acquired locally ( tertiary-aged

Quartzite Quartzite is a hard, non- foliated metamorphic rock that was originally pure quartz sandstone.Essentials of Geology, 3rd Edition, Stephen Marshak, p 182 Sandstone is converted into quartzite through heating and pressure usually related to tecton ...

Chalcedony Chalcedony ( or ) is a cryptocrystalline form of silica, composed of very fine intergrowths of quartz and moganite. These are both silica minerals, but they differ in that quartz has a trigonal crystal structure, while moganite is monoclinic ...

Radiolarite Radiolarite is a Siliceous ooze, siliceous, comparatively hard, fine-grained, chert-like, and homogeneous sedimentary rock that is composed predominantly of the microscopic remains of radiolarians. This term is also used for Friability, indurat ...

) but also super-regionally, as

flint Flint, occasionally flintstone, is a sedimentary cryptocrystalline form of the mineral quartz, categorized as the variety of chert that occurs in chalk or marly limestone. Historically, flint was widely used to make stone tools and start ...

from the

Meuse The Meuse or Maas is a major European river, rising in France and flowing through Belgium and the Netherlands before draining into the North Sea from the Rhine–Meuse–Scheldt delta. It has a total length of . History From 1301, the upper ...

- and southern

Ruhr The Ruhr ( ; , also ''Ruhrpott'' ), also referred to as the Ruhr Area, sometimes Ruhr District, Ruhr Region, or Ruhr Valley, is a polycentric urban area in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. With a population density of 1,160/km2 and a populati ...

regions,

Claystone Mudrocks are a class of fine-grained siliciclastic sedimentary rocks. The varying types of mudrocks include siltstone, claystone, mudstone and shale. Most of the particles of which the stone is composed are less than and are too small to ...

from the Saar-Nahe Basin and

Triassic The Triassic ( ; sometimes symbolized 🝈) is a geologic period and system which spans 50.5 million years from the end of the Permian Period 251.902 million years ago ( Mya), to the beginning of the Jurassic Period 201.4 Mya. The Triassic is t ...

chert Chert () is a hard, fine-grained sedimentary rock composed of microcrystalline or cryptocrystalline quartz, the mineral form of silicon dioxide (SiO2). Chert is characteristically of biological origin, but may also occur inorganically as a prec ...

from

Saarland Saarland (, ; ) is a state of Germany in the southwest of the country. With an area of and population of 990,509 in 2018, it is the smallest German state in area apart from the city-states of Berlin, Bremen, and Hamburg, and the smallest in ...

Lorraine Lorraine, also , ; ; Lorrain: ''Louréne''; Lorraine Franconian: ''Lottringe''; ; ; is a cultural and historical region in Eastern France, now located in the administrative region of Grand Est. Its name stems from the medieval kingdom of ...

area attests to. The acquisition of these raw materials indicates high mobility of the hunter-gatherer groups, since some of these areas are up to 150 km away. Spatial analyses of the various artefact categories and investigations of the lithic inventory resulted in new insights about subsistence strategies of late Palaeolithic hunters. At Niederbieber preparations for the hunt were carried out. Activities included production and maintenance of weapons, but also food preparation and animal product (hides, antler and bone) processing. Most of these activities occurred in the open; however, the spatial arrangement of some of the concentrations suggests that structures (i.e. tents) may have been present.GELHAUSEN, F., J. F. KEGLER and S. WENZEL. 2004. ''Hütten oder Himmel? Latente Behausungsspuren im Spätpaläolithikum Mitteleuropas''. Jahrbuch des Römisch-Germanischen Zentralmuseums Mainz 51, pp.1-22.

Context

The Middle-Rhine valley preserves a unique record of the

Central Europe Central Europe is a geographical region of Europe between Eastern Europe, Eastern, Southern Europe, Southern, Western Europe, Western and Northern Europe, Northern Europe. Central Europe is known for its cultural diversity; however, countries in ...

an Upper Palaeolithic. As a result of favourable preservation conditions and a longstanding history of research, many archaeological sites were discovered and analysed. Only through the comparison on a local and regional scale can settlement and land-use strategies of these hunter-gatherer groups be reconstructed. Against the background of other late Palaeolithic sites in the region (e.g. ''Andernach'', ''Urbar'' and ''Kettig''), it was possible to propose new models in regards to Federmesser culture settlement dynamics along the Middle Rhine. Alongside more ephemeral hunting camps, such as Niederbieber, there were also longer-term camps (e.g. ''Kettig''). The differences in the distribution of lithic artefacts, relative proportion of specific tool types, as well as the presence of burst quartzite boulders (

pot boiler In archaeology or anthropology, a pot boiler or cooking stone is a heated stone used to heat water - typically by people who did not have access to pottery or metal vessels. In Archaeology The term refers to a stone used to move heat from a ...

s) indicates longer-term occupations and different activity spectra.GELHAUSEN, F. 2011. Subsistence strategies and Settlement systems at the Federmesser-Gruppen Site of Niederbieber (Central Rhineland, Germany). In: S. GAUDZINSKI-WINDHEUSER, O. JÖRIS, M. SENSBURG, M. STREET and E. TURNER (eds.). Site-internal spatial organization of hunter-gatherer societies: case studies from the European Palaeolithic and Mesolithic. Papers submitted at the session (C58) "Come in and find out: opening a new door into the analysis of hunter-gatherer social organisation and behaviour". 15th U.I.S.P.P. conference in Lisbon, Portugal, September 2006. Mainz, Verlag des Römisch-Germanischen Zentralmuseums Mainz.

References

{{reflist, colwidth=33em Prehistoric sites in Germany