18 km Northwards – Zooarchaeological and Technological Analysis of the Ahrensburgian Assemblage from Nahe LA11 at Lake Itzstedt (Kr. Segeberg / D)

Abstract

The site of Nahe was partly excavated in two seasons in the years 2003 and 2004 in the hope of finding a second Stellmoor. To date, the site has not been published nor studied in any detail. Unfortunately, the stratigraphy of the site is complicated and the number of finds is rather small. A total of 112 reindeer remains was studied zooarchaeologically and technologically. The results indicate that there are at least five individuals in the assemblage. The presence of rich meat-parts indicates that the animals were at least processed locally, and, furthermore, hunted near the site. The processing of the bones led to the high rate of c. 25% anthropogenically modified bones. Different activity patterns can be distinguished from the skinning of animals to the extraction of marrow. The small herd identified points to a herd structure that is typical for the winter season. Taking this into consideration the analysis illustrates the potential of Nahe in the study of Younger Dryas reindeer migration routes as it may be possible that the people in Nahe hunted on the same reindeer herd paths only slightly later in the yearly cycle than the people in Stellmoor. Nevertheless, excavations will be necessary to prove the observed patterns of the zooarchaeological analysis, to further specify the stratigraphical knowledge and to unearth a bone industry to complement existing studies from Stellmoor.