The site formation history of Schöningen 13II-4 (Germany): Testing different models of site formation by means of spatial analysis, spatial statistics and orientation analysis

Abstract

The Lower Palaeolithic, Middle Pleistocene locality Sch€ oningen has been a focus of archaeological research for over two decades. The locality is best-known for the discovery of wooden spears in close association with numerous butchered remains of horses and other large mammals in the Spear Horizon (Sch€ o 13II-4), with an age of ca. 300 kyr. Several site formation models have been proposed to explain the faunal accumulation at the site: 1) single hunting event on a dried lake shore; 2) multiple hunting events in the soft mud of a lake shore; 3) deposition on an exposed delta plain; 4) geogenic displacement by hydrological processes; 5) hominin waste disposal and storage behaviour; and 6) hominin butchering activities on a frozen lake surface. Visual spatial analyses allow for the (subjective) incorporation of archaeological knowledge in the interpretation of spatial data, while spatial statistics allow for more objective and reproducible inferences about spatial patterns. The combination of the two could thus provide a vital tool in disentangling complex site formation processes. This study uses a combination of visual spatial analyses, spatial statistics and orientation analyses in order to further disentangle the site formation history of Sch€ o 13II-4 and to assess the impact of post-depositional processes on the faunal assemblage. This study revealed the existence of intra-site and inter-species differences in spatial distribution and orientation. The results of this study are compared to the suggested site formation models for Sch€ o 13II-4 to test which of these models is most parsimonious with the spatial distribution and orientation of the faunal assemblage. It is concluded that the previously proposed site formation models are overly simplified and cannot be used to explain the site formation history of Sch€ o 13II-4.

A detailed analysis of the spatial distribution of Schöningen 13II-4 ‘Spear Horizon’ faunal remains

“…Moreover, large and heavy bones and fragments appear in this area, and even some skeletal elements were found in semi-articulation (Hutson et al, 2020), all of which dismiss the possibility of a significant movement and reworking of the assemblage. Low-energy taphonomic processes, such as lake level fluctuations, can result in anisotropic orientation patterns due to an in-situ reorientation of finds (Cobo-Sánchez et al 2014;Domínguez-Rodrigo et al, 2014, 2018, as those observed in finds from Zone B (Peters and van Kolfschoten, 2020).…”

“…The available data on the orientation of finds (Böhner et al 2015;Peters and van Kolfschoten, 2020) indicate that finds from the 'Spear Horizon' seem to follow bimodal lineal orientations, mostly in the north-south and east-west axes. It is noteworthy that none of these axes follow the natural slope of the lake basin, but on the contrary they fit with the excavation grid.…”

“…Despite its exceptional record, only recently have some of the first spatial analyses been presented (Böhner et al, 2015;Hutson et al, 2020;Peters and van Kolfschoten, 2020).…”

Spatial interpretation of high‐resolution environmental proxy data of the Middle Pleistocene Palaeolithic faunal kill site Schöningen 13 II‐4, Germany

“…2015). Different lines of evidence, including the orientation of finds (Peters & van Kolfschoten 2020; García‐Moreno et al . 2021), the taphonomy of faunal remains (Turner et al .…”

Site formation processes at Cenjiawan (Nihewan Basin, North China): a case study on the structure of the Early Pleistocene archaeological record in lakeshore environments

“…The study of Early Stone Age site formation processes has received considerable attention since the 1960s, with a series of proxies proposed to assess hydraulic disturbance (de la Torre et al ., 2019; Isaac, 1967; Schick, 1984, 1987, 1991). Most of those efforts, however, have focused on African sequences and, more recently, European assemblages (García‐Moreno et al ., 2016, 2020; Peters and van Kolfschoten, 2020), while early Palaeolithic records elsewhere have received less attention. In this context, the Early Pleistocene sites located in lakeshore depositional environments at the Nihewan Basin provide an excellent opportunity to explore human behavioural adaptations in North China through testing the agents involved in the formation of assemblages.…”