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Discovery of sensation: Largest mammoth ivory tool found!
Tübingen archaeologists discovered a 39,000-year-old mammoth ivory tool in the Hohle Fels UNESCO World Heritage Site. Find of the year!
Discovery of sensation: Largest mammoth ivory tool found!
The latest archaeological finds from the caves of the Swabian Alb are causing a stir and expanding our understanding of the Paleolithic. A team of archaeologists from Tübingen has recovered a mammoth ivory chisel that is considered the largest of its kind. With a length of 24.7 cm, a circumference of 10.4 cm and a weight of 168 g, this extraordinary tool comes from the UNESCO World Heritage area “Caves and Ice Age Art of the Swabian Alb” and has been dated to around 39,000 years ago. The discovery was made in Hohle Fels, near Schelklingen, and was named “Find of the Year”. The University of Tübingen reports that it is a reworked tool of unknown function, indicating the versatile use of mammoth ivory at the time.
Around 40,000 years ago, mammoth ivory was a popular material for making tools and art objects. According to Professor Nicholas Conard, head of the research team from the Senckenberg Center for Human Evolution and Palaeoenvironment (SHEP), numerous ivory objects were made in Hohle Fels during the Paleolithic period. Most of the finds so far have been smaller tools, but this chisel from layer five represents a new dimension with its size. Previous finds in 2019 included three ivory chisels measuring between 14 and 22 cm long. This shows a remarkable progress in the tool making of the people of that time. The Swabian newspaper highlights that the new tool was found as a whole piece, which underlines its uniqueness.
Insights into the life of the Neanderthals
The archaeologists of the Swabian Alb have also discovered evidence of the lifestyle of the people who hunted and lived in this region. These people not only used the meat of mammoths, but also made jewelry and tools from their tusks. The era in which these finds were made is known as the “Age of Mammoth Ivory”. The use of ivory was extremely widespread in the region at this time. Based on the impact marks on the top end, the chisel may have been used to work ivory to obtain smaller pieces for art or jewelry.
Dr. Sibylle Wolf and her team investigate the production and use of these chisels and emphasize that the new find is remarkably well preserved. She also suspects that the chisel may have been used as a lance in the past, but this remains uncertain. On July 25, 2023 Another impressive find from the region was presented - a mammoth ivory figurine, which proves that the people of the Ice Age also created agricultural art in the form of animal sculptures almost 40,000 years ago.
Both finds are on display in the Blaubeuren Prehistory Museum until November 9, 2025. The museum, known for its extensive collection of Paleolithic art and musical instruments, is open Tuesday to Sunday and on public holidays, attracting visitors from throughout the region.