SOUTH AFRICAN ARCHAEOLOGICAL SOCIETY
KWAZULU-NATAL BRANCH
(Notice 2023/03)
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Excavations in the Swabian Caves of SW Germany: how the evolution of early art, music and religion contributed to Neanderthal extinction
By Nick Conard
University of Tübingen
The caves of Swabia in southwestern Germany have been the focus of systematic excavation since the 1860s when the fields of human evolution and Palaeolithic archaeology were just beginning. Over many generations of fieldwork the sites of the Ach and Lone valleys have contributed important evidence for the beginnings of figurative art, therianthropic (part human, part animal) imagery, music and early religion. This lecture examines the evidence for these important innovations and discusses how they contributed to the demise and ultimate extinction of the indigenous Neanderthals of the region.
Please let me know if you intend coming. If there is interest we may go to the KZNSA Gallery for lunch after the talk. Look forward to seeing you at this fine event.
To whet your appetite for this talk, take a look at https://www.science.org/
best, Gavin