Oscar Fraas – Pionier der urgeschichtlichen Forschung Zentral-europas und neue Erkenntnisse zu den Funden der Ausgrabung 1870/71 im Hohle Fels bei Schelklingen

Oscar Fraas was one of the first natural scientists to establish the existence of Ice Age humans. From November 1854 until 1894, he held various positions in the Royal Natural History Cabinet in Stuttgart. As early as the 1860s, he conducted a series of experiments to explain and understand how traces and scratches on Ice Age bone fragments were made. His work is among the first attempts in the world to use Stone Age tools. These were often spontaneous field experiments whose results he did not verify or whose variables are no longer evident today. At the time, however, Fraas’ work was far ahead of most of his colleagues. Overall, Fraas described several attempts to fragment bones and dissect animals using bear mandibles. The following article provides an overview of the experiments carried out by Fraas. In addition, we will present for the first time the perforated horse teeth and bone retouchers from the first archaeological excavation in Hohle Fels in 1870/71 directed by Fraas, which are curated in the collection of the State Museum of Natural History Stuttgart. A new radiocarbon date establishes that Fraas reached at least as deep as the Gravettian layers during his excavation at Hohle Fels.