THE TRANSITION FROM THE MIDDLE TO THE UPPER PALEOLITHIC IN THE SWABIAN JURA, SOUTHWESTERN GERMANY

The Swabian Jura in southwestern Germany is a key region for the study of the late Middle Paleolithic and the evolution of the early Upper Paleolithic or Aurignacian in central Europe. Several cave sites in the Ach Valley, such as Hohle Fels, Geioenklsterle, and Sirgenstein, and in the Lone Valley, such as Vogelherd, Hohlenstein-Stadel, and Bockstein-Trle, have yielded considerable stratigraphic sequences with both Middle and Upper Paleolithic deposits. While some of the Middle Paleolithic assemblages can be attributed to the Keilmessergruppe or Micoquian, most of them can only in general be classified as "Swabian Mousterian". The find density in most Middle Paleolithic sites of Swabia is low and indicates that Neandertals visited most caves only sporadically and for short stays. The Aurignacian of Swabia, which started fully developed more than 40,000 years ago, marks a clear break and a radical shift in material culture. A similar shift can be observed with regard to the occupation intensity, which increases strongly with the Aurignacian. New technologies and tool types, made of both lithic and organic raw materials, are characteristic for the Aurignacian assemblages, which are supposed to have been produced by anatomically modern humans. Of particular importance are a broad variety of personal ornaments carved from mammoth ivory, bone and ivory flutes, and, most spectacular, ivory figurines. With ages of down to 40,000 years, the art objects and the musical instruments from the Swabian Jura represent the oldest examples of their kinds known from the archaeological record and prove that the Swabian Jura was one key center of innovations in the early Upper Paleolithic.