Late Glacial Occupation of Northern Germany and Adjacent Areas. Revisiting the Archives.

This contribution presents the status quo of research on the Final Palaeolithic occupation of Schleswig-Holstein. Over
the last two decades new insights became possible based on isotopic, genetic, biostratigraphic, tephrochronologic, and
archaeological analyses. Some of these projects and studies are still on-going. The material on which these analyses
were performed was mainly uncovered during the 20th century. We particularly focus on the chronology and the different
challenges associated with the Late Glacial record. To do so, we review the radiocarbon dating record of Schleswig-
Holstein and adjacent areas, especially Denmark, including 11 new radiocarbon dates from the sites of Stellmoor and
Meiendorf. At present, in particular, the period of the Federmessergruppen (i. e., curve-backed point industries) appears
poorly represented in this record. This shortage is due to preservational conditions on the one hand, as well as the
often uncertain attribution of osseous single finds to archaeological entities on the other. Hence, a synoptic analysis of
osseous remains of Late Glacial northern Germany and southern Scandinavia is desirable.
The recently introduced partially laminated biostratigraphic lake sequence from Nahe LA 11 contains three cryptic
tephra layers including the first geochemically identified evidence of the Laacher See Tephra in Schleswig-Holstein. The
palynological analysis of this archive interlinks palaeoenvironmental with archaeological research questions. Amongst
other implications, the data provided here suggest a continuity of human and reindeer presence in the area until the
early Holocene. This result lines up with observations of shifting ecological zones throughout the Weichselian Late
Glacial in Schleswig-Holstein.