Dieter Schafer (ed.). Das Mesolithikum-Projekt Ullafelsen (Teil 1). Mensch und Umwelt im Holozan Tirols (Band 1).

Burdukiewicz, Jan Michal

DIETER SCHAFER (ed.). Das Mesolithikum-Projekt Ullafelsen (Teil 1). Mensch und Umwelt im Holozan Tirols (Band 1). 560 pages, 500 colour and b&w illustrations, CD. 2011. Innsbruck: Philipp von Zabern; 978-3-8053-4375-6 hardback 85.90 [euro].

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Mensch und Umwelt im Holozan Tirols (translated into English on the book cover as 'Man and environment in the Holocene of Tyrol'), is the first volume of a series edited by Dieter Schafer. It reports--predominantly in German with English summaries--the results of Das Mesolithikum-Projekt Ullafelsen ('The Mesolithic Project Ullafelsen').

An important motivation for the research project was the discovery of 'Otzi'--the exceptional Copper Age mummy with well-preserved body, clothing and equipment, who lived and died c. 3300 BC in the Tyrolean Alps. Under the direction of Dieter Schafer of the University of Innsbruck, Austria, the Mesolithikum-Projekt centred on the archaeological site of Ullafelsen, located at 1869m asl in the Fotscher Valley (Stubai Alps, Austria). The site was the focus of an extensive and interdisciplinary study, including climatology, geology, geomorphology, glaciology, soil science, petrography, mineralogy and palaeobotany, conducted by a research team of scientists from Innsbruck University, as well as specialists from Germany, Italy, Switzerland and the Philippines.

The results extend our knowledge of the early Holocene in Tyrol and living conditions in the vicinity of the Alpine treeline. They show how favourable local conditions enabled regional and transalpine routes--followed much later by Otzi--to be already in use during the early Holocene.

The book is divided into 16 chapters of various sizes--from two pages to over a hundred. A short introduction by Schafer describes the aims of the project and introduces the research team. Chapter 1, by Schlosser, presents the climatic and meteorological context: the Fotscher Valley clearly presented a difficult challenge for Early Mesolithic people.

In Chapter 2, Gruben & Holdermann analyse the geology, palaeogeography and morphology of the eastern Alps, considering possible transalpine trails and access to raw materials. The latter were gathered from the area between the Rhine Valley in the west and Salzkamergast in the east. Again, the difficulties of the Alpine environment for the Mesolithic inhabitants of Ullafelsen are apparent. The following chapter, also by Holdermann & Gruber, considers the geology and morphology of the Otztal and Stubai Alps and the potential mobility of the Mesolithic hunter-gatherers in the Fotscher Valley. They establish that Mesolithic routes depended on altitude, the orientation of local mountain ridges, and the presence of glaciers which were different from the present day.

Following Nittel's chapter on the hydrology and geomorphology of the Fotscher Valley, Kerschner considers glacier extent during the Late Glacial in the valley and its surroundings. He suggests the presence of Mesolithic hunters at Ullafelsen coincides with the eastern Alpine ice retreat during the early Holocene. Geitner et al. then present an extensive chapter on soils and stratigraphic finds in the area of Ullafelsen and their interpretation of the evidence in terms of wider landscape history. In particular, the field research and laboratory analyses enabled the recognition of a light-grey layer in an eluvial soil horizon as an Aeolian sediment which underlay archaeological finds; radiocarbon dates of charcoal recovered from this horizon pre-date 9600 BP, originating during the Younger Dryas. In this way, fixed points have been established for four phases of soil formation and the chronology of the ice retreat from Ullafelsen dated to before the Older Dryas.

Kemmer's chapter on the recent vegetation of the Inner Fotscher Valley, lying between 900m and 3000m asl, notes the vertical vegetation gradient and the position of the treeline at around 2000-2200m. Oeggl & Schoch identify tree species from charcoal in the soil samples from the Early Mesolithic site at Ullafelsen. Charcoal samples from three hearths belong to tree species growing in the region during the Preboreal period, as well as today.

Long-distance routes across the Alps during the Mesolithic period are considered by Kompatscher & Kompatscher. The chapter provides an important analysis of the supply of lithic raw materials and expands on the 'migration model' of seasonal nomadism with annual movement cycles in high mountain landscapes. The chapters maps display a complex network of paths and it is surprising to see the number of southern--as well as the expected northern--Alpine sources used by Mesolithic hunter-gatherers.

One of the longest chapters, at over 100 pages, is authored by Schafer: 'Das Mesolithikum-Projekt Ullafelsen--Landschaftlicher Rahmen und archaologische Befunde', or 'Landscape framework and archaeological features'. It reports the archaeological excavation of an area of 25[m.sup.2] comprising 4 extant hearths and evidence for a further 10, plus almost 8000 lithic artefacts of alpine radiolarites, Jurassic hornstone and rock crystal--all mapped three-dimensionally. The analyses explore the chronological and spatial relationships in detail, explaining patterning from a behavioural perspective. Pawlik's substantial chapter--also over 100 pages--details microscopic use-wear analysis of a sample of 252 artefacts. This study establishes that these lithic artefacts were mostly tools for hunting which were repaired and maintained on the site. The following four chapters describe various lithic raw materials from the southern, northern and possibly western Alps, and Bavaria. The final chapter, by Schafer, summarises the advances in knowledge achieved by the Mesolithikum-Projekt.

This volume--carefully edited and beautifully illustrated--presents a wealth of new data about Early Mesolithic hunter-gatherers living in high mountain environments. Careful research in this difficult landscape has documented a valuable stratigraphic record of meaningfully patterned early Holocene artefacts. Abundant raw lithic materials at Ullafelsen confirm that transalpine paths were already in use several thousand years before 'Otzi'. In this way, we can perhaps expect that melting Alpine glaciers will expose more--and earlier--human bodies, clothing and otherwise perishable materials in this 'natural freezer'.

JAN MICHAL BURDUKIEWICZ

Institute of Archaeology, University of Wroclaw, Poland

(Email: jan.burdukiewicz@archeo.uni.wroc.pl)