The lithic industry of the Lower Palaeolithic from "Bunker" (Stuttgart-Bad Cannstatt)
Final Report Abstract
The Middle Pleistocene site "Bunker" near Stuttgart/Bad Cannstatt is one of the earliest sites in Central and Eastern Europe with a presumed age of around 300,000 BC (MIS 9), which contained a significant quantity of finds. The stone artifacts were examined in detail for the first time. The aim of the project was to contribute to the question of the causes of the variability of the Lower Paleolithic industries and the relatively late settlement of this region. Apart from the absence of hand axes, the lithic industry of the bunker differs from other approximately contemporaneous sites in Central Europe. Thus, flake production, which took place on simple or more complex cores, plays a greater role at the bunker. The presence of tools made on gravels (chopper and chopping tools) is also a unique feature of the bunker. A special form of these tool, which can be interpreted as a substitute for hand axes, as well as the use of certain raw materials for special tools suggest functional reasons for the specific appearance of the lithic industry of the site. As far as the late settlement of Central Europe is concerned, only limited answers can be found based on a single site. However, the sites of the late Middle Pleistocene in this region are rarely present or preserved. Some, such as in the Cannstatt travertine area, have not yet been investigated. The processing of these could provide more clarity on this issue.
Publications
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Filling the Middle Pleistocene gap: The Lower Palaeolithic site of Bunker (Stuttgart-Bad Cannstatt/ Germany) Überbrücken der mittelpleistozänen Lücke: der altpaläolithische Fundplatz Bunker (Stuttgart-Bad Cannstatt/ Deutschland)
Çep, Berrin & Tafelmayer, Yvonne
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Adaptive capacity and flexibility of the Neanderthals at Heidenschmiede (Swabian Jura) with regard to core reduction strategies. PLOS ONE, 16(9), e0257041.
Çep, Berrin; Schürch, Benjamin; Münzel, Susanne C. & Frick, Jens Axel
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Spatial use at Große Grotte (Blaubeuren, Southern Germany), and Implications for Middle Paleolithic Stratigraphy, Spatiality and Chronology. Quartär–Internationales Jahrbuch zur Erforschung des Eiszeitalters und der Steinzeit, 69, 7-27.
Frick, Jens Axel; Schürch, Benjamin & Çep, Berrin
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The Middle Paleolithic at Große Grotte (Blaubeuren, southern Germany). New Insights from Lithic Technology and Implication for Assemblage Classification. Journal of Paleolithic Archaeology, 5(1).
Frick, Jens Axel; Schürch, Benjamin & Çep, Berrin
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Zur Forschungsgeschichte der Großen Grotte bei Blaubeuren (Alb-Donau-Kreis). In: ak 52 (1), S. 1–25.
Frick, Jens Axel; Schürch, Benjamin & Çep, Berrin
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The Lithics and Fauna from Heidenschmiede, a Middle Paleolithic Rockshelter in Heidenheim an der Brenz (Swabian Jura). The Rhine During the Middle Paleolithic: Boundary or Corridor?, 43-66. Kerns Verlag.
Münzel, Susanne C. & Çep, Berrin
