Geissenklösterle () is an archaeological site of significance for the central European Upper Paleolithic, located near the town of

Blaubeuren Blaubeuren () is a town in the district of Alb-Donau near Ulm in Baden-Württemberg, Germany. it had 11,963 inhabitants. Geography Geographical location The core city Blaubeuren lies at the foot of the Swabian Jura, west of Ulm. Neighboring ...

in the

Swabian Jura The Swabian Jura (german: Schwäbische Alb , more rarely ), sometimes also named Swabian Alps in English, is a mountain range in Baden-Württemberg, Germany, extending from southwest to northeast and in width. It is named after the region of ...

Baden-Württemberg Baden-Württemberg (; ), commonly shortened to BW or BaWü, is a German state () in Southwest Germany, east of the Rhine, which forms the southern part of Germany's western border with France. With more than 11.07 million inhabitants across a ...

, southern Germany. First explored in 1963, the cave contains traces of early prehistoric art from between 43,000 and 30,000 years ago, including some of the oldest-known musical instruments and several animal figurines. Because of the historical and cultural importance of these findings, in 2017 the site became part of the

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture. It ...

World Heritage Site A World Heritage Site is a landmark or area with legal protection by an international convention administered by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). World Heritage Sites are designated by UNESCO for h ...

Caves and Ice Age Art in the Swabian Jura The Caves and Ice Age Art in the Swabian Jura are a collection of six caves in southern Germany which were used by Ice Age humans for shelter about 33,000 to 43,000 years ago. Within the caves were found the oldest non-stationary works of human a ...

Overview

It is one of a number of caves where

early modern humans Early modern human (EMH) or anatomically modern human (AMH) are terms used to distinguish ''Homo sapiens'' (the only extant Hominina species) that are anatomically consistent with the range of phenotypes seen in contemporary humans from extin ...

in the

Aurignacian The Aurignacian () is an archaeological industry of the Upper Paleolithic associated with European early modern humans (EEMH) lasting from 43,000 to 26,000 years ago. The Upper Paleolithic developed in Europe some time after the Levant, where t ...

, between 43,000 and 30,000 years ago left traces of early

artwork A work of art, artwork, art piece, piece of art or art object is an artistic creation of aesthetic value. Except for "work of art", which may be used of any work regarded as art in its widest sense, including works from literature ...

, including the

Vogelherd The Vogelherd Cave (german: Vogelherdhöhle , or simply ''Vogelherd'') is located in the eastern Swabian Jura, south-western Germany. This limestone karst cave came to scientific and public attention after the 1931 discovery of the Upper Palaeol ...

Brillenhöhle The Brillenhöhle (german: Brillenhöhle, literally ''spectacles cave'') is a cave ruin, located west of Ulm on the Swabian Alb in south-western Germany, where archaeological excavations have documented human habitation since as early as 30,000 ...

, Grosse Grotte,

Hohle Fels The ''Hohle Fels'' () (also ''Hohlefels'', ''Hohler Fels'', German for "hollow rock") is a cave in the Swabian Jura of Germany that has yielded a number of important archaeological finds dating from the Upper Paleolithic. Artifacts found in the ...

and

Hohlenstein-Stadel Hohlenstein-Stadel is a cave located in the Hohlenstein cliff (not to be confused with the Hohle Fels) at the southern rim of the Lonetal (valley of the Lone) in the Swabian Jura in Germany. While first excavations were started after the second h ...

caves. The cave contains sediments, that were divided into six levels belonging to the

and seven levels of the

Gravettian The Gravettian was an archaeological industry of the European Upper Paleolithic that succeeded the Aurignacian circa 33,000 years BP. It is archaeologically the last European culture many consider unified, and had mostly disappeared by 2 ...

. Levels below are accredited to the

Middle Paleolithic The Middle Paleolithic (or Middle Palaeolithic) is the second subdivision of the Paleolithic or Old Stone Age as it is understood in Europe, Africa and Asia. The term Middle Stone Age is used as an equivalent or a synonym for the Middle Paleoli ...

and those on top reach from the

Western European Western Europe is the western region of Europe. The region's countries and territories vary depending on context. The concept of "the West" appeared in Europe in juxtaposition to "the East" and originally applied to the ancient Mediterranean ...

Magdalenian The Magdalenian cultures (also Madelenian; French: ''Magdalénien'') are later cultures of the Upper Paleolithic and Mesolithic in western Europe. They date from around 17,000 to 12,000 years ago. It is named after the type site of La Madele ...

(between 17,000 and 12,000 years ago) to the

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire a ...

. The Aurignacian levels date to between 43,000 and 32,000 years ago, and have yielded stone tools, artefacts made from antlers, bones and ivory. Among the most notable items are two

flute The flute is a family of classical music instrument in the woodwind group. Like all woodwinds, flutes are aerophones, meaning they make sound by vibrating a column of air. However, unlike woodwind instruments with reeds, a flute is a reedless ...

s carved from bird bone and mammoth ivory, the oldest known musical instruments with an age of 42,000 to 43,000 years. The flutes were able to play distinct melodies, and music was likely an integral part of the societies living in the region at the time. In addition to the flutes, many carved figurines were uncovered in Geissenklösterle. Many of these figurines depict typical Ice Age animals, including

mammoth A mammoth is any species of the extinct elephantid genus ''Mammuthus'', one of the many genera that make up the order of trunked mammals called proboscideans. The various species of mammoth were commonly equipped with long, curved tusks and, ...

bison Bison are large bovines in the genus ''Bison'' (Greek: "wild ox" (bison)) within the tribe Bovini. Two extant and numerous extinct species are recognised. Of the two surviving species, the American bison, ''B. bison'', found only in North Ame ...

, and cave lions. They are generally very small, measuring between 2.5 and 10 cm. An ivory relief of a human was also uncovered. Called the Adorant of Geißenklösterle, it depicts a figure with raised arms and rows of small notches on the reverse. Although the significance of these figurines is still unknown, they may have been effigies of a primitive religion. Floete Schwanenknochen Geissenkloesterle Blaubeuren

Floete Schwanenknochen Geissenkloesterle Blaubeuren

Modern History

Geissenklösterle was first archaeologically explored in 1963. Systematic excavations began in 1973, from 1974 to 2002 sponsored by the State of

. A 1983

monograph A monograph is a specialist work of writing (in contrast to reference works) or exhibition on a single subject or an aspect of a subject, often by a single author or artist, and usually on a scholarly subject. In library cataloging, ''monograph ...

ic publication summarizes the excavation results up to that time. However, only a small amount of the cave has been excavated.

UNESCO World Heritage Site

In January 2016, the federal government of Germany applied for the status of

for two valleys with six caves named ''Höhlen der ältesten Eiszeitkunst'' ("Caves with the oldest Ice Age art"). The site would encompass areas in the Lonetal (valley of the

Lone Lone may refer to: People *Lone (given name), a given name (including a list of people with this name) * Lone (musician), Matt Cutler, an electronic musician from Nottingham, United Kingdom *Lone (surname), a surname (including a list of people w ...

) and the Achtal (valley of the Ach) both in the southern Swabian Jura. The former includes the caves ''

'', ''

'' and ''Bocksteinhöhle'', the latter ''Geissenklösterle'', ''

'' and '' Sirgenstein Cave''. Each valley would contain a core area of around length, surrounded by a buffer zone of a least width. In the argument why these sites deserve recognition as a part of the universal human heritage, the area is described as the source of the currently oldest known (non-stationary) works of human art in the form of carved animal and humanoid figurines as well as the oldest surviving musical instruments. Their creators lived, were inspired and worked in and around these caves. The caves also served as the repositories of the figurines which may have been used in a religious context. In addition, they were the venue where performers used the excavated musical instruments and where the social groups lived from which the artists sprang. The committee awarded the status of WHS in July 2017.

Literature

* Nicolas Conard, Maria Malina: ''Abschließende Ausgrabungen im Geißenklösterle bei Blaubeuren, Alb-Donau-Kreis.'' in: ''Archäologische Ausgrabungen Baden-Württemberg'', Theiss, Stuttgart 2001, p. 17-21. * J. Hahn: ''Die Geißenklösterle-Höhle im Achtal bei Blaubeuren''. in: ''Forschungen und Berichte zur Vor- und Frühgeschichte in Baden-Württemberg'', Theiss, Stuttgart, 21, 1988,262.

References

External links