The 'Palaeolithic Prospection in the Inde Valley' Project

Abstract

The excavation of 20 deep test trenches of Pleistocene layers in the quarry Inden between Jülich-Kirchberg and Lamersdorf in 2005 and 2006 was part of the 'Palaeolithic Prospection in the Inde Valley' Project of the Foundation "Stiftung Archäologie im Rheinischen Braunkohlenrevier". They were aimed at finding and unearthing ancient landscape surfaces and potential Palaeolithic settlement structures. In December 2005, a Middle Palaeolithic archaeological layer correlating to the Eemian interglacial was discovered. This layer was investigated and excavated until September 2006 within an area of 3000sqm. About 700 lithic artefacts and pebble manuports were found together with evident features of pits and hearths. Three fallen-tree structures were situated in the center of the major concentration of artefacts and were probably part of the habitation. The discovered artefacts showed no signs of re-deposition or secondary transport and still maintained their original surface structure and sharp edge with no or minor patination. They were very suitable for the successive microscopic use-wear analysis which delivered a variety of remarkable and outstanding results. Various microwear traces and residues were found on a total of 120 stone tools out of 136 artefacts selected for analysis. The residues were identified through SEM and EDX as birch pitch. 82 tools were either used as hafted impliments and fixed with birch pitch onto shafts or were being used for successive hafting-andretooling activities. Birch pitch is the oldest synthetically produced material and is commonly associated with modern humans in the Upper Palaeolithic. The birch pitch residues found on the Micoquien tools of Inden suggest that hafting technologies, use of adhesives and multicomponent tool making already existed in the Middle Palaeolithic. The complex actions involved in composite-tool making indicate clearly modern human behaviour. Copyright: