Introduction

The heartland of Europe, encompassing southern Germany together with adjacent parts of Austria and Switzerland, has long possessed what seemed to be a clear chronology of the Mesolithic–Neolithic transition (Fig. 7.1). The Late Mesolithic, clearly distinguishable from the Early Mesolithic by the presence of trapezoidal microliths, regular blade technology, and extensive antler-working, is known from caves and rock-shelters and a few open-air sites dating to the period beginning around 7800 BP. The best-known sites are situated in the limestone formation of the Jura/Swabian Alb that extends from eastern France through Switzerland and across southern Germany. Most notable among these sites are Birsmatten-Basisgrotte in Switzerland (Bandi 1963) and Jägerhaushöhle, Falkensteinhöhle, Felsdach Inzigkofen and Felsdach Lautereck in Germany (Taute 1973; Fig. 7.2). This Late Mesolithic has an economy based solely on wild foods, emphasizing red and roe deer and wild boar among the larger game, together with fish, small mammals, and birds.

One recently excavated site of this period is Henauh of NW 2 (Jochim 1992). This site was discovered by test trenches placed along the old shoreline of the Federsee lake and a total of 72 m2 was excavated in 1991. Artifacts were found in several layers, but the majority lay in a sandy peat and date to the Late Mesolithic. A hearth was found in this sandy peat layer, composed of a roughly oval ash and charcoal lens on a thin layer of yellow clay and measuring 75 by 140 cm. On one side of the hearth was a small concentration of stone artifacts and on the other side a concentration of bone and antler fragments. Several burned stones and bone fragments lay within the hearth itself.