Dirk Leder
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View article: In Search of the Origins of Distance Hunting—The Use and Misuse of Tip Cross-sectional Geometry of Wooden Spears
In Search of the Origins of Distance Hunting—The Use and Misuse of Tip Cross-sectional Geometry of Wooden Spears Open
The origins of weapons, and subsequent innovations, constitute a significant focus of archaeological research, particularly for the Pleistocene period. Due to preservation challenges, inorganic components of early weapons, such as lithic p…
View article: A diachronic study of human-bear interactions: An overview of ursid exploitation during the Paleolithic of Germany
A diachronic study of human-bear interactions: An overview of ursid exploitation during the Paleolithic of Germany Open
In the Palearctic region interactions between hominins and ursids date as far back as the Lower Paleolithic. Archeological evidence from open-air settings and cave environments shows that Paleolithic people and bears shared the same habita…
View article: The wooden artifacts from Schöningen’s Spear Horizon and their place in human evolution
The wooden artifacts from Schöningen’s Spear Horizon and their place in human evolution Open
Ethnographic records show that wooden tools played a pivotal role in the daily lives of hunter-gatherers including food procurement tools used in hunting (e.g., spears, throwing sticks) and gathering (e.g. digging sticks, bark peelers), as…
View article: A double-pointed wooden throwing stick from Schöningen, Germany: Results and new insights from a multianalytical study
A double-pointed wooden throwing stick from Schöningen, Germany: Results and new insights from a multianalytical study Open
The site of Schöningen (Germany), dated to ca. 300,000 years ago, yielded the earliest large-scale record of humanly-made wooden tools. These include wooden spears and shorter double-pointed sticks, discovered in association with herbivore…
View article: Dental Wear Evidence for Browsing and Grazing Dietary Traits in the Giant Deer from the Late Pleistocene of Central Europe
Dental Wear Evidence for Browsing and Grazing Dietary Traits in the Giant Deer from the Late Pleistocene of Central Europe Open
The paleoecology of the giant deer (Megaloceros giganteus), including its dietary preferences, is poorly known, mainly because reconstructions based on morphological characteristics have produced contradictory results. In this study, we pr…
View article: Wood technology: a Glossary and Code for analysis of archaeological wood from stone tool cultures
Wood technology: a Glossary and Code for analysis of archaeological wood from stone tool cultures Open
The analysis of wood technologies created by stone tool-using cultures remains underdeveloped relative to the study of lithic and bone technologies. In recent years archaeologists have begun to approach wood assemblages systematically, dev…
View article: A 51,000-year-old engraved bone reveals Neanderthals’ capacity for symbolic behaviour
A 51,000-year-old engraved bone reveals Neanderthals’ capacity for symbolic behaviour Open
While there is substantial evidence for art and symbolic behaviour in early Homo sapiens across Africa and Eurasia, similar evidence connected to Neanderthals is sparse and often contested in scientific debates. Each new discovery is thus …
View article: Al-Ansab and the Dead Sea: Mid-MIS 3 archaeology and environment of the early Ahmarian population of the Levantine corridor
Al-Ansab and the Dead Sea: Mid-MIS 3 archaeology and environment of the early Ahmarian population of the Levantine corridor Open
Our field data from the Upper Palaeolithic site of Al-Ansab 1 (Jordan) and from a pollen sequence in the Dead Sea elucidate the role that changing Steppe landscapes played in facilitating anatomically modern human populations to enter a ma…
View article: Lithic Variability and Techno-Economy of the Initial Upper Palaeolithic in the Levant
Lithic Variability and Techno-Economy of the Initial Upper Palaeolithic in the Levant Open
The Levant forms a geographic bridge between Africa and Eurasia, making it a focal point for research on past human dispersals. The Initial Upper Palaeolithic (IUP) of the Levant is commonly associated with Homo sapiens' dispersal from Af…