Wolfgang Taute’s Excavation at the Open-Air Site Feuersteinacker and the Early Mesolithic in the Western Part of Central Germany

ABSTRACT Surveys near the village of Stumpertenrod revealed one of the largest Mesolithic assemblages in Germany. As a consequence of agricultural activities, the archaeological layers were partly eroded and the lithic artifact consisted mainly of surface finds. Between 1964 and 1966 Wolfgang Taute – a key-figure for the study of the Mesolithic in Europe – opened a trial-trench. Due to a lack of organic material, the campaign did not lead to the expected outcome and the site slowly fell into oblivion. The following article presents the results of typo-technological analyses of the lithic assemblage discovered in the course of the excavation. It provides new insights into the subsistence strategies of people during the early Holocene and re-integrates this significant site in current frameworks and debates. Furthermore, an interregional comparison of archaeological features and topographic parameters involving modern theoretical and methodological approaches, leads to a better understanding of the Early Mesolithic in the western part of Central Germany.