Magdalenian settlement in the German Rhineland – An update

The German Rhineland covers a relatively large area, traversing a region extending from the foreland of the Alps to the western part of the Northern European Plain. Within this narrow but diverse region, relatively few diagnostic sites can be assigned to the Magdalenian. This study reviews evidence for Magdalenian presence in the German Rhineland, much of it in the form of exclusively lithic material, and presents an overview of current information on the chronology, environmental background, material culture and lifeways of these late Last Glacial people in the region. The study focuses on the two major Central Rhineland settlements Andernach–Martinsberg and Gönnersdorf, which provide the most detailed insights into the western German Magdalenian. Comprehensive analyses of these sites have addressed Magdalenian technology subsistence, group mobility in the landscape, social manifestations such as ornament and artistic expression, and site-internal spatial organisation.