Ressourcen der Neandertaler im Burgenland (Österreich). Die Csaterberge bei Kohfidisch als Limnosilizit-Rohmaterialquelle vom Mittelpaläolithikum bis in die Kupferzeit

Abstract

Neanderthal Resources in Burgenland (Austria). The Csaterberge near Kohfidisch as a Source of Limnosilicite from the Middle Palaeolithic up to the Copper Age In this paper, we present evidence for the prehistoric use of lithic raw materials from the opalite/limnosilicite source Csaterberge in the province Burgenland, Austria. These materials were used for stone tool production from the Middleand Upper Palaeolithic throughout the Neolithic and up to the Chalcolithic. Lithic artefacts made of materials from this locality were previously documented, however both the chronological and chorological extent of their use was dramatically underestimated. Diagnostic tool types (mainly sidescrapers, bifacial tools) and the Levallois concept from the Csaterberge hills point to exploitation of the opalite/limnosilicite already in the Late Middle Palaeolithic. Moreover, this is the first record of a Middle Palaeolithic occupation in the Austrian province of Burgenland, and at the same time the first secure evidence for the presence of the Palaeolithic in this region in general. Ressourcen der Neandertaler im Burgenland (Österreich). Die Csaterberge bei Kohfidisch als Limnosilizit-Rohmaterialquelle vom Mittelpaläolithikum bis in die Kupferzeit Oliver Schmitsberger Michael Brandl Viola C. Schmid