Geissenklösterle () is an archaeological site of significance for the central European

Upper Paleolithic The Upper Paleolithic (or Upper Palaeolithic) is the third and last subdivision of the Paleolithic or Old Stone Age. Very broadly, it dates to between 50,000 and 12,000 years ago (the beginning of the Holocene), according to some theories ...

, located near the town of Blaubeuren in the

Swabian Jura The Swabian Jura ( , 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 Swabia. It is part of th ...

Baden-Württemberg Baden-Württemberg ( ; ), commonly shortened to BW or BaWü, is a states of Germany, 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 i ...

, 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 (UNESCO ) is a List of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) with the aim of promoting world peace and International secur ...

World Heritage Site World Heritage Sites are landmarks and areas with legal protection under an treaty, international treaty administered by UNESCO for having cultural, historical, or scientific significance. The sites are judged to contain "cultural and natural ...

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 Last Glacial Period, Ice Age humans for shelter about 33,000 to 43,000 years ago. Within the caves were found the oldest non-stati ...

Overview

It is one of a number of caves where early modern humans in the

Aurignacian The Aurignacian () is an archaeological industry of the Upper Paleolithic associated with Cro-Magnon, Early European modern humans (EEMH) lasting from 43,000 to 26,000 years ago. The Upper Paleolithic developed in Europe some time after the L ...

, 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, Brillenhöhle, Grosse Grotte, Hohle Fels 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 ...

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

and seven levels of the

Gravettian The Gravettian is 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 ...

. 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 P ...

and those on top reach from the

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

Magdalenian Magdalenian cultures (also Madelenian; ) are later cultures of the Upper Paleolithic and Mesolithic in western Europe. They date from around 17,000 to 12,000 years before present. It is named after the type site of Abri de la Madeleine, a ro ...

(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 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire and ...

. 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 member of a family of musical instruments in the woodwind group. Like all woodwinds, flutes are aerophones, producing sound with a vibrating column of air. Flutes produce sound when the player's air flows across an opening. In th ...

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.'' They lived from the late Miocene epoch (from around 6.2 million years ago) into the Holocene until about 4,000 years ago, with mammoth species at various times inhabi ...

bison A bison (: bison) is a large bovine in the genus ''Bison'' (from Greek, meaning 'wild ox') within the tribe Bovini. Two extant taxon, extant and numerous extinction, extinct species are recognised. Of the two surviving species, the American ...

, 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.

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 generally a long-form work on one (usually scholarly) subject, or one aspect of a subject, typically created by a single author or artist (or, sometimes, by two or more authors). Traditionally it is in written form and published a ...

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

'', '' Vogelherd'' and ''Bocksteinhöhle'', the latter ''Geissenklösterle'', '' Hohle Fels'' 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.

Gallery

Floete Schwanenknochen Geissenkloesterle Blaubeuren.jpg, Bone flute from Geißenklösterle. Aurignacian culture Adorant, Geisenklösterle, Blaubeuren-Weiler, Alb-Donau-Kreis, Aurignacian culture, 35,000 to 45,000 years old, ivory - Landesmuseum Württemberg - Stuttgart, Germany - DSC02709.jpg, Adorant from the Geißenklösterle cave, mammoth ivory, Aurignacian culture

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

University of Tübingen
{{DEFAULTSORT:Geissenklosterle World Heritage Sites in Germany Caves of Germany Geography of Baden-Württemberg Landforms of Baden-Württemberg Prehistoric sites in Germany Art of the Upper Paleolithic