Radiocarbon dating of the »Anthropolithen« from the fissure fillings of Bad Köstritz (Thuringia)

Abstract

Radiocarbon dating of the »Anthropolithen« from the fissure fillings of Bad Köstritz (Thuringia)

This article discusses the development and finds of a karst fissure in the Winter’scher Gipsbruch near Bad Köstritz (Lkr. Greiz). The site was detected in the early 19th century and the collection of Ice Age animal bones and human remains played a role in the discussion of early men at that time. The human remains from the von Schlotheim collection (Museum für Naturkunde, Berlin) were sampled for radiocarbon dating and an early medieval and a Neolithic date (4th millennium cal BC) support the interpretation of ongoing karst development during the Holocene. This process explains the mixture of Pleistocene and Holocene finds in the filling. The final chapter discusses the role of fissures and caves for prehistoric burials/depositions of human remains.