Propylaeum

The Magdalenian site of Gönnersdorf offers unique possibilities for the spatial analysis of a Late Palaeolithic settlement area due to its richness of finds and exceptionally good preservation. While Concentration IV was already the subject of a study published in 1997, Concentration IIb is a previously unexplored settlement structure.

Concentration IIb represents a partial area of the large Concentration II, whose central settlement structure (Concentration IIa) was already dealt with in detail in 2007 (Monogr. RGZM 69). The focus is now on clarifying the function of the settlement structures in Concentration IIb as well as their temporal and spatial relationship to the neighbouring Concentrations IIa and III.

A renewed spatial analysis of Concentration IV seemed to make sense, since digital analysis methods in particular have been considerably refined since the initial work, and some previously untreated partial aspects could now be investigated. This led to detailed results regarding the relationship between latent and evident findings as well as artefact production in K-IV.

The use of fire was one of the decisive milestones in the evolution of humans and their behaviour. Over the course of thousands of years, the element of fire became increasingly important. To this day, it plays a central role in human life - a role that goes far beyond craft and culinary use: fire increasingly became the centre of social life and ultimately forms the basis of our civilisation.
The multi-layered evaluation of Palaeolithic fire structures and their immediate surroundings provides important contributions to the understanding of the spatial and social behaviour of hunter-gatherer groups, not least in the context of the emergence of supra-regional sets of rules, which become archaeologically tangible especially in the late Upper Palaeolithic.
A comparative, diachronic evaluation of fire structures requires a standardised and generally applicable methodological apparatus. With the present work, a starting point was created, based on the partly excellently preserved hearth features from the Late Magdalenian. On this basis, it was possible to develop a comprehensive set of methods and at the same time to test them for their applicability and significance. In this way, a detailed picture of the use and significance of fire after the peak of the last cold period was created.