Caves as archaeological records. A reappraisal of cave sites according to bioarchaeological and archaeological research: the case of the Northern Franconian Jura.

在漫长的研究历史中，在北法兰克汝拉的洞穴中发现了许多人类遗骸和人工制品。他们中的大多数都保存得很好，在当地的收藏和博物馆。因此，北弗朗哥尼亚汝拉特别适合作为对德国有人类遗骸的洞穴进行考古和生物考古研究的范例。通过结合这两种方法，重新解释是可能的。该项目基于对8个洞穴中人类骨骼的分析，这些洞穴被选为保存和记录最好的。对于相关结果，首先确定最小个体数（MNI）。为了确定人类遗骸被带入洞穴的时间跨度，所有个体都将通过放射性碳定年法进行采样。考古发现可能会提供更多的年代证据。J. Orschiedt博士将对人类骨骼进行病理和病理分析，并结合稳定同位素（δ15N, δ13C, 87Sr/86Sr） （C. Knipper博士）的研究。结合对单个洞穴的形态学和考古记录的详细研究以及他们的发现，它旨在区分四种基本类型的解释：人类祭祀，暴力冲突的受害者，各种类型的埋葬（例如，土葬，多步骤埋葬）和边缘群体的成员，如外国人，具有不同营养习惯的人或残疾人。该项目的考古研究将集中在所有96个包含人类骨骼材料的洞穴的背景和人工制品上。它们将与同一区域内同时代的定居点和葬礼地点的证据并列。因此，应该有可能将大多数人工制品解释为属于以下任何一类：坟墓物品，常规定居陶器或可能的供品。综合所有已取得的结果将使我们对人类遗骸和人工制品在不同类型的洞穴中的史前沉积有不同的见解。

In caves of the Northern Franconian Jura numerous human remains and artefacts have been discovered during a long history of research. Most of them are housed very well preserved in local collections and museums. Thus the Northern Franconian Jura is particularly appropriate to serve as a model case for archaeological and bioarchaeological studies on caves with human remains in Germany. By combining both methods, a reinterpretation may be possible. The project is based on the analysis of human bones from eight caves, selected for the best preservation and documentation. For relevant results at first the minimum number of individuals (MNI) was determined. To date the time span in which the human remains were brought into the caves, all individuals will be sampled by radiocarbon dating. Alongside archaeological findings may provide additional dating evidence. The pathological and taphonomical analysis of the human bones (Dr. J. Orschiedt will be combined with research on the stable isotopes, (δ15N, δ13C, 87Sr/86Sr) (Dr. C. Knipper). Together with a detailed study of the morphology and the archaeological record of the individual caves and their findings it is intended to differentiate between four basic types of interpretation: human sacrifice, victims of violent conflicts, various types of burial (e.g. inhumation, multiple-steps burial) and members of marginal groups such as foreigners, people with diverse nutrition habits or handicapped individuals. The archaeological study within the project will concentrate on the context and the artefacts from all 96 caves containing human bone material. They will be juxtaposed to the evidence of contemperaneous settlements and funeral sites within the same region. Thus, it should be possible to interprete most of the artefacts to belong to any one of the following groups: grave goods, regular settlement pottery or possible offerings. The synthesis of all achieved results will allow a differentiated insight into the prehistoric deposition of human remains and artefacts in different types of cavities.