| Archaeology
So far approximately 200 tools and 600 flakes have been
found from the Wolf Cave. Among them is for example side scraper,
coarse tool (pebble), hammer stones, denticulates and retouched flakes.
The lithic raw material of the cave (layer IV-VII) consists of at least
six rock types of quite different “quality”. The material
is partly of local origin; partly its origin is unknown. Most common
rock species are siltstone, quartz and quartzite. Also vulcanite and
sandstone have been used.
A noticeable characteristic of the lithic material of
Wolf Cave layers IV-V is the coexistence of different operating chains
with especially differing reduction techniques. Because different
reduction techniques are from the same stratigraphical context, they
obviously do not represent technological or typological tradition, but
are caused by the occurrence, cobble size and fracture qualities of the
lithic raw material. “Clacton” technique appears on
sandstone, quartz and quartzite. The raw materials with better physical
fracture qualities, fine-grained quartzite and red siltstone had been
reduced by a more developed technique. This technique belongs to the
Middle Palaeolithic.
The cores and flakes from the Wolf Cave are not giving
enough evidence for an exact typological classification, but the
indicated reduction technique can be regarded as Mousterian. The
quartzite and siltstone flake tools fit as well into this frame. The
absence of high quality flint in the Wolf Cave raw material might be
the reason that there is no clear indication of Levallois technique.
Nevertheless, the other indicators allow placing the lithic assemblage
from Wolf Cave layer IV-V into the early (Eemian) Mousterian
technocomplex.
Apart from some quite recent bone remains in the upper
strata, no organic material is available for radiocarbon dating.
Luminescence dating of sand samples collected from different points
within the cave has been begun. Summer 2004 researchers found piece of
bone, but unfortunately it was too small for radiocarbon dating.
The discovery of the Wolf Cave site gives new
perspectives on the behaviour of Neanderthal populations especially
because of its high latitude and its probable dating to Eemian. This
has wakened a lot of interest also internationally.
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