Pleistocene Fossils

The Expo / Mammoth 2010 is a cultural product derivative of the interdisciplinary project "Study of the Pleistocene megafauna in Guerrero Creek. Guadalupe, Zacatecas. First field season: surface collection at the study area and stratigraphic controlled collecting at the site Puente Calabacillas, approved by the National Council of Archaeology (National Institute of Anthropology and History)
The first objective of the exhibition is based in a holistic, interdisciplinary develop an approach around the settlement
of the first human groups and mega Pleistocene fauna in the north central region Mexico. By documenting particular
ecological characteristics of some species animals, and explains the possible circumstances that caused the extinction of the megafauna. The second objective is based on restoring
scientific research in the process of classification and ordering information paleontological excavations provide.

C’erano elefanti in Italia prima dell'arrivo di Pirro? E 'difficile immaginare che due o trecentomila anni fa la campagna romana era attraversato da branchi di elefanti, ma il territorio di Roma è tra i più ricchi al mondo per l’enorme quantità di siti con resti fossili databili tra il Pliocene e il Pleisocene. I primi ritrovamenti risalgono alla metà del 500 e continuano fino alla urbanizzazione moderna, che ha sepolto sotto il cemento, un grande quantità di siti in cui erano stati scoperti resti fossili
La campagna romana costituiva, nel passato, un ambiente particolarmente favorevole, sia per gli esseri umani e per gli altri mammiferi. Tra i numerosi animali che hanno accompagnato la presenza dell'uomo in queste terre, gli elefanti costituiscono una realtà curiosa, quasi incredibile da immaginare oggi nei territori altamente antropizzati della capitale italiana.
I protagonisti di questo libro sono gli elefanti e le loro relazioni con l'ambiente e gli esseri umani nel corso del tempo. Gli argomenti trattati comprendono, problematiche geologiche climatiche e ambientali e inoltre molti temi di carattere paleontologico, antropologico ed evolutivo.
Per la prima volta sono pubblicati tutti i dati relativi alle centinaia di resti fossili di elefanti rinvenuti nel tempo nel territorio di Roma. Inoltre sono presentati siti e musei in cui è possibile acquisire informazioni più dettagliate.
Infine sono presi in considerazione  i problemi legati al ruolo di questo grande mammifero nell'immaginario collettivo, dalla sua rappresentazione nell'arte preistorica fino alla sua influenza, reale e simbolica, nella storia antica e la sua iconografia in epoca classica.

There were elephants in Italy before the arrival of Pyrrhus? It is difficult to imagine that two or three hundred thousand years ago the Roman Campagna was crossed by herds of elephants, however the Rome territory is among the richest in the world for prehistoric fossil evidences connected with the oldest prehistory. The first findings date back to the mid-500 and continue until the modern urbanization which has buried under concrete, a lot of sites where the fossils were discovered
The Roman Campagna constituted, in the past, a particularly favorable environment, both for humans and for other mammals. Among the numerous animals that have gone together with the man presence in these lands, the elephants are a curious reality, almost incredible to imagine today in the highly anthropized quarters of Italian capital.
The leading actors of this book are elephants and their relationships with the environment and humans over time. The discussed topics include environmental, geological and climatic issues and moreover paleontological, anthropological, and evolutive questions.
For the first time are published all the data related to the hundreds of fossil remains of elephants in the territory of Rome. Furthermore the museum-areas, where you can acquire more detailed information are described.
Finally, problems linked to the role of this large mammal in the collective imagination, from its representation in prehistoric art up to his influence, real and symbolic, in ancient history and its iconography in classical times, are focused.
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Het zal weinigen ontgaan zijn dat Nederland zich, net als
haar ooster- en zuiderburen, nu ook mag verheugen in een
Neanderthaler. Althans: een stukje van een Neanderthalerschedel.
Het fossiel haalde in juni 2009 uitgebreid de
nationale en internationale pers. In deze bijdrage een verslag
van de ontdekking van de oudste wenkbrauwboog van
Nederland en het onderzoek dat eraan is verricht. Daarnaast
staan we stil bij het belang van een Neanderthaler uit de
Noordzee.

Although in the past fifty years Aguascalientes has been characterized by important paleontological discoveries, is currently observed a marked deterioration in the sites of
fossiliferous outcrops that occur naturally, due to rapid urban growth, the lack of information and lack of given value of this important heritage of our state by the government officials and lay people.
This document is intended to raise awareness of the paleontological richness that exists in our state and in this sense is also a starting point for further research. In its
development, the authors consulted various sources on the subject and conducted paleontological activities both in field and laboratory.

A partial humerus of a giant flying bird from Blancan (upper Pliocene) deposits of California is determined to be a teratorn, although the humerus differs from those of other known genera of the family Teratornithidae in the position of the attachment of the M. latissimus dorsi and in the shape of the humeral shaft. The new specimen is referred to the Incredible Teratorn, Teratornis incredibilis Howard (1952), and a reexamination of all the specimens previously referred to this taxon reveals sufficient grounds to erect a new genus for this species. The size of the new partial humerus suggests that the bird had a wingspan of approximately 5 m, which is the same estimate previously given for the Incredible Teratorn.

Western Eurasia yielded a rich Middle (MP) and Late Pleistocene (LP) fossil record documenting the evolution of the Neandertals that can be analyzed in light of recently acquired paleogenetical data, an abundance of archeological evidence, and a well-known environmental context. Their origin likely relates to an episode of recolonization of Western Eurasia by hominins of African origin carrying the Acheulean technology into Europe around 600 ka. An enhancement of both glacial and interglacial phases may have played a crucial role in this event, as well as in the subsequent evolutionary history of the Western Eurasian populations. In addition to climatic adaptations and an increase in encephalization, genetic drift seems to have played a major role in their evolution. To date, a clear speciation event is not documented, and the most likely scenario for the fixation of Neandertal characteristics seems to be an accretion of features along the second half of the MP. Although a separation time for the African and Eurasian populations is difficult to determine, it certainly predates OIS 11 as phenotypic Neandertal features are documented as far back as and possibly before this time. It is proposed to use the term ''Homo rhodesiensis'' to designate the large-brained hominins ancestral to H. sapiens in Africa and at the root of the Neandertals in Europe, and to use the term ''Homo neanderthalensis'' to designate all of the specimens carrying derived metrical or non-metrical features used in the definition of the LP Neandertals.

This study presents, for the first time, an environmental reconstruction of a sequence spanning nearly the entire Mediterranean Epipaleolithic (~22.0e11.9 ka cal. BP). The study is based on a well-dated, highresolution pollen record recovered from the waterlogged archaeological site Jordan River Dureijat (JRD), located on the banks of Paleolake Hula. JRD's continuous sequence enabled us to build a pollen-based paleoclimate model providing a solid background for the dramatic cultural changes that occurred in the region during this period. Taxonomic identification of the waterlogged wood assemblage collected from JRD was used to fine-tune the paleoenvironmental reconstruction. The chronological framework is based on radiocarbon dating and the typology of archaeological findings. The LGM (~22e19 ka cal. BP) was found to be the coldest period of the sequence, marked by a distinct decrease in the reconstructed January temperatures of up to 5 C lower than today, while mean annual precipitation was only slightly lower than the present-day average (~450 vs. 515 mm, respectively). The wettest and warmest period of the record was identified between~14.9 and 13.0 ka cal. BP, with maximum values of 545 mm mean annual precipitation reached at~14.5 ka cal. BP. This time interval is synchronized with the global warm and moist Bølling-Allerød interstadial as well as with the onset of the Natufian culture and the emergence of sedentism in the Levant. The Younger Dryas began around 12.9 ka cal. BP and was identified as an exceptional period by the JRD sequence with low temperatures and minimal climatic seasonality contrast: an increase in rain contribution during spring, summer, and autumn was documented concurrently with a significant decrease in winter precipitation. The detailed vegetation and climatological reconstruction presented in this study serves as backdrop to seminal events in human history: the transition from small nomadic groups of hunter-gatherers to the sedentary villages of the Natufian, eventually transitioning to the agricultural, complex communities of the Neolithic.

A small but significant assemblage of Late Pleistocene mammals was recovered from an eroding shoreline at Paw Paw Cove, located on the Chesapeake Bay side of Tilghman Island, Talbot County, Maryland. Additionally, Clovis-age (11,050–10,800 radiocarbon [14C] years before present) artifacts were found in a lag deposit beneath a loess deposit at the site. An accelerator mass spectrometry date obtained from an organic stratum below the loess at the same location suggests that this small fossil assemblage is approximately 21,000 years old. Identifiable taxa include four extinct species, Castoroides sp. (giant beaver), Equus sp. (horse), Tapirus veroensis (Vero tapir), and Mammut americanum (American mastodon), along with Canis cf. C. latrans (coyote), and Cervus elaphus (wapiti). Significantly, the tapir and giant beaver are the first records for Maryland, and the tapir is the first record from the Coastal Plain of the Chesapeake region of Delaware, Maryland, and Virginia. The provisional identification of Canis cf. C. latrans may represent the first Late Pleistocene record from the Coastal Plain of the Chesapeake region of Delaware, Maryland, and Virginia.  See:  https://scholarlypress.si.edu/store/new-releases/late-pleistocene-rancholabrean-mammalian-assemblag/.

A left calcaneum and astragalus from an individual of Arctodus simus (Cope, 1879) were recovered during development mitigation in the city of Murrieta, Riverside County, California. Sediments in this area, attributed to an unnamed sandstone and conglomerate formation, consist of green, fine-grained sands, silts and micaceous clays. These sediments are assigned to the late Blancan and/or the Irvingtonian North American Land Mammal Ages. The remains of A. simus were recovered from below an ash horizon tentatively correlated with the Bishop Tuff (0.7 m.y. BP) and are considered to be Irvingtonian (early Pleistocene) in age.

Skeletal elements of Arctodus simus have been recovered from Pleistocene sediments throughout North America, except in the southeastern United States. In California, A. simus is known from several Rancholabrean localities, including Potter Creek Cave and Rancho La Brea, and early Irvingtonian sites at Vallecito Creek and Irvington. Sexual dimorphism is marked in this species; previously proposed subspecific distinctions are unwarranted. The specimens from Murrieta represent a large male.

The late Pliocene to early Pleistocene siliciclastic succession of western Emilia (northern Italy) forms part of the infill of the Po Plain-Adriatic foredeep, a collisional basin with active thrusting during deposition, and is characterized by 5to-20-m-thick fining-upward sedimentary cycles. Late Pliocene cycles were deposited in an inner-to-middle shelf setting at the end of a long-term uplift-denudation cycle controlled by tectonics. Cycles are characterized by shell beds of biogenic origin, particularly abundant in the middle of each cycle. The stacking pattern of paleocommunities, with particular reference to their paleodepths, reflects that each cycle is the product of sea-level variation. In particular, early transgressive deposits are marked by a Nuculana community, indicating a shelly-sand bottom of the inner shelf; late transgressive deposits and the condensed section are marked by a shelly bottom Timoclea community developed at times of lowered clastic input; highstand deposits are characterized by a muddy soft bottom Pinna community. The situation changed near the boundary of the early Pleistocene, when a new uplift-denudation cycle started, renewing sediment availability and increasing the slope of the nearby mountain front. Local climatic conditions periodically triggered the sudden delivery on the shallow shelf of large amounts of sediment through hyperpycnal flows and related turbidity currents generated by catastrophic river floods. Sandy shelfal lobes form the lower reaches of the delta front. These are characterized by densely packed shell beds and the occurrence of echinoderm obrution deposits. Recurring sedimentological assemblages from sandstones, characterized by the sandy bottom Spisula and Ditrupa communities, and in situ faunas from intervening mudstones, characterized by the muddy-bottom, hypoxic Arctica (and Corbula ?) community, suggest that the lower part of a cycle formed during deglaciation following glacial maxima, at times of high input of freshwater and river-borne nutrients and high summer pelagic productivity. Mudstones from the upper part of the cycle, with dispersed remains of the muddy-bottom Venus community, indicate return to full interglacial conditions and to humid, low seasonality climates. Thus, early Pleistocene cycles could be correlative to sapropel-non sapropel cycles typical of the eastern Mediterranean deep water successions. Moreover, the western Emilia fossil and sedimentary records suggest that cyclic deposition was controlled by factors other than eustasy, providing a case study for future sequence stratigraphic modeling in active tectonic settings.

The present paper brings summarized data on early Pleistocene large-sized deer from Balkan and Black Sea Areas of Europe. Several stocks of giant deer occur in Europe along the gradual climate aridization: a poorly known yet lineage of Arvernoceros that is characterized by a significant size variation, and two sister lineages of the genus Praemegaceros presented by species P. obscurus and P. pliotarandoides. Taxonomical problems, synonymy, morphology and distribution of the early Pleistocene large-sized deer are discussed in the article.

The presence of three elephant species (Mammuthus trogontherii, Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) antiquus, and
Mammuthus primigenius) among fossil mammal assemblages from the Pleistocene has been established
in Poland. The most abundant species in these finds is Mammuthus primigenius. Most fossil elephant
remains have been provided by research from the 19th and 20th centuries, though there are more recent
results from new localities. Recently obtained radiocarbon dates not only extend the existing data, but in
two cases (32,641 ± 367 cal. BP and 32,568 ± 356 cal. BP) also reveal the presence of mammoths in a time
interval during which they were previously thought to have been absent from Poland. This allows us to
shift the gap in the mammoths' occurrence in Poland from 32.0 to 32.6 cal. ka BP. This paper is intended
to present the current state of knowledge concerning the diversity of elephants and their geographical
and temporal variability in Poland in the Pleistocene.

Minnaar’s Cave is located close to Sterkfontein in the Cradle of Humankind, South Africa.However, the exact location
of this important Plio-Pleistocene site has been uncertain for more than 60 years. The site has yielded important
fossils.We propose a location for the site and provide a preliminary description of the animal remains recovered from
recent research. In addition, a summary of the fossils already described from Minnaar’s Cave is provided.

Fossils representing a minimum of seven (7) individuals of small horse have been recovered to date from late Pleistocene spring deposits at Valley Wells, San Bernardino County, California. These fossils are reported to have been associated with other late Pleistocene megafauna including Mammuthus sp. cf. M. columbi and Camelops sp. cf. C. hesternus. Only one species of small horse is represented from this assemblage; this species has previously been reported to be Equus conversidens Owen (1869). A review of the pertinent literature reveals that at least three different morphologic diagnoses are presently available for E. conversidens; this confusion stems from the incomplete nature of the holotype and the lack of diagnostic topotypal material. Nevertheless, the morphology of the horse from Valley Wells matches none of the available diagnoses for E. conversidens. This extinct equid, which exhibits characters suggesting affinity with either the asses or the kiangs, must be referred to some other taxon.

Research into the reconstruction of ancient communities in terms of dietary regimes, habitat preferences and ecological interactions of species has focused predominantly on biogeochemistry or ecomorphology alone and not in combination. The Venta Micena site (Orce, Guadix–Baza basin, SE Spain) has an early Pleistocene vertebrate assemblage with exceptional biomolecular preservation. Collagen was successfully extracted from 77 bone samples of 18 species of large mammals, which allowed analyses of carbon- and nitrogen-isotopes. δ13C, δ15N and δ18O ratios combined with ecomorphological indexes provide interesting clues on the autecology and palaeophysiology of extinct species, which help in deciphering aspects of community trophic structure and predator–prey interactions. Specifically, morphometric ratios (e.g., hypsodonty index and relative length of the lower premolar tooth row; [Palmqvist, P., Gröcke, D.R., Arribas, A., Fariña, R. 2003. Paleoecological reconstruction of a lower Pleistocene large mammals community using biogeochemical (δ13C, δ15N, δ18O, Sr:Zn) and ecomorphological approaches. Paleobiology 29, 204–228.]) allow classifying the ungulates among grazers (Equus altidens, Bison sp., Praeovibos sp., Hemitragus albus, Hippopotamus antiquus, and Mammuthus meridionalis), mized-feeders (Soergelia minor and Pseudodama sp.) and browsers (Stephanorhinus sp. and Praemegaceros cf. verticornis). However, δ13C values reveal that these ungulates consumed exclusively C3 plants and significant differences in isotopic values between perissodactyls (monogastric, hindgut fermenters) and ruminants (foregut fermenters) must reflect physiological differences related to their rates of methane production and digestive efficiency. δ18O ratios allow the interpretation of the dietary water source of these species, suggesting that fallow deer Pseudodama sp., goat H. albus and ovibovine S. minor obtained a significant fraction of their metabolic water from the vegetation consumed. Carnivore species have higher δ15N values than herbivores, which records the isotopic enrichment expected with an increase in trophic level. However, the unexpectedly high δ15N values of hippo H. antiquus and muskoxen Praeovibos sp. suggest that these ungulates predominantly consumed aquatic plants and lichens, respectively. Inferences on predator–prey relationships within this ancient community, derived from the dual linear mixing model, indicate resource partitioning among sympatric predators, suggesting that sabre-tooth Megantereon whitei and jaguar Panthera cf. gombaszoegensis were ambushers of forest environments while sabre-tooth Homotherium latidens and wild dog Lycaon lycaonoides were coursing predators in open habitat. The giant, short-faced hyena Pachycrocuta brevirostris scavenged the prey of these hypercarnivores.

Fósiles de Quitones (Mollusca: Polyplacophora) del Pleistoceno Medio (Formación Bermont) del sur de la Florida, EEUU. Edgardo A.R. Ortiz Corps y Cedar I. García Ríos. Departamento de Biología, Universidad de Puerto Rico en Humacao, Estación Postal CUH, 100 Carr 908, Humacao, PR 00791-4300 La formación Bermont fue depositada durante el Pleistoceno medio, entre 1.6 millones y 750 mil años antes del presente, al sur de la Florida, EE. UU. Petuch y Roberts (2007) han reconocido tres miembros de la formación con características estratigráficas y litológicas distintas. Dos de esos miembros representan condiciones de deposición marina, cuando el nivel del mar era más alto que el actual; el otro miembro contiene depósitos de agua dulce, cuando el nivel del mar era más bajo. El grupo mejor representado de fósiles en esta formación son los moluscos; sin embargo, no existe récord de poliplacóforos para la formación. La muestra de sedimentos estudiada, posiblemente del miembro superior de esa f...

The Plio-Pleistocene fossiliferous mammal sites of the Upper Valdarno Basin (Tuscany, Italy) have been known since Renaissance times. Several mammal collections from there are housed at various Museums and Institutes. Various scientists or “fossil-hunters” collected all this material from Upper Valdarno over a long period of time up to the present days. We present here an overview of the history of these collections, as well as information on biochronology, taxonomy and palaeoecology on a selection of vertebrate taxa.

"Several types of bears lived in Europe during the Late Pleistocene. Some of them, such as cave bears (Ursus s. spelaeus and Ursus ingressus), did not survive after about 25,000 years ago, while others are still extant, such as brown bear (Ursus arctos). Our article aims at a better understanding of the palaeoecology of these large “carnivores” and focuses on two regions, the Ach valley in the Swabian Jura (SW-Germany) with Geißenklösterle and Hohle Fels, and the Totes Gebirge (Austria) with Ramesch and Gamssulzen caves. Both regions revealed two genetically distinct cave bear lineages, and previous studies suggest behavioural differences for the respective bears in these two regions.

In the Ach valley, irrespective of the cave site, U. s. spelaeus was replaced by U. ingressus around 28 ka uncal BP with limited chronological overlap without recognizable dietary changes as documented by the isotopic composition (13C, 15N) of the bones. Furthermore, the present study shows that the dental microwear pattern was similar for all bears in both caves, however with a larger variability in Geißenklösterle than in Hohle Fels.

In contrast, the two Austrian caves, Gamssulzen (U. ingressus) and Ramesch (Ursus s. eremus), show considerable differences in both palaeodietary indicators, i.e., stable isotopes, and dental microwear, over at least 15,000 years. The oxygen and carbon analysis of the tooth enamel combined with the dental microwear of the same molars provide an extremely diversified picture of the feeding behaviour of these fossil bears. The already known differences between these two study areas are confirmed and refined using the new approaches. Moreover, the differences between the two cave bear lineages in the Totes Gebirge became even larger. Some niche partitioning between both types of cave bears was supported by the present study but it does not seem to be triggered by climate. This multi-disciplinary approach gives new insights into the palaeobiology of extinct bears.
"

A dedication to Augusto Azzaroli, completed with bibliography. Augusto Azzaroli, former Professor of Palaeontology at the University of Florence, was a Geologist and Palaeontologist considered among the greatest of the second half of the last century.

Species flexibility in diet and habitat and their ability to tolerate a range of unfavourable ecological conditions and survive in unusual habitats accompanied by unexpected faunal components has been determined from various research fields. We present the dietary and environmental reconstructions of interglacial and glacial large mammals from central Germany (Bockstein and Vogelherd caves, Steinheim and Mauer) during the Middle and Late Pleistocene, using carbon and oxygen stable isotope relative abundances in the carbonate fraction of tooth enamel. The same species existed in central Europe during different temperature and ecosystem regimes. It appeared that the species during the glacial periods demonstrated much narrower ranges d13C and d18O than during the interglacial periods and at the dawn of the species origination. Intriguingly, the early woolly mammoth Mammuthus primigenius fraasi apparently lived in much milder conditions than the late woolly mammoth Mammuthus primigenius primigenius, and shared similar diet and habitat with the straight-tusked forest elephant Palaeoloxodon antiquus. Bovids existed in extremely open habitat at Steinheim, probably during the Saalian glacial, compared to other glacial species. Woolly rhinoceros Coelodonta antiquitatis and the early woolly mammoth came to occupy similar environments only later, during the Weichselian glacial period in Bockstein and Vogelherd caves. A so-called “steppe rhinoceros” Stephanorhinus hemitoechus occurred in the forested habitat, along with the Merck’s rhino Stephanorhinus kirchbergensis. The horses appear to have preferred warmer and denser habitat than the woolly rhinoceros during the Pleistocene. The Pleistocene donkeys shared the ecological niches between bovids and horses. These new results demonstrate that stable isotope analyses can be extremely helpful to determine more detailed paleodiet and paleohabitat of extinct species. It appears that the deviation of the inferred palaeoecological patterns from the patterns deduced from modern survivors’ ecology increases with increasing age, and species appeared more flexible at their origin.

La paleontología es la ciencia que se encarga del estudio de la vida antigua, a través de los fósiles, los cuales son cualquier resto o evidencia de un ser vivo que existió en otro tiempo, como es el caso de los dinosaurios por mencionar un ejemplo.

We describe a new fossil littorinid species, Echinolittorina nielseni sp. nov., from the Quaternary Caldera Strata, Región de Atacama, northern Chile. Fossils of littorinids are globally rare because of their high-intertidal habitat on rocky shores. The new species has a large, broad shell with strong spiral ribs and an angled periphery, differing from the two living littorinids currently found along the coasts of mainland Chile and from all the extant species distributed in the southeastern Pacific. In comparison with the living Chilean Echinolittorina peruviana, the new species shows stronger ribs and more inflated whorls, but they share an unusual detail in the irregular arrangement of spiral sculpture. We hypothesize that the new species may be ancestral or sister to E.peruviana and discuss the adaptive significance of shell sculpture.

Two Crocidura and three Sorex species are reported from the Early Pleistocene Somssich Hill 2 locality (Villány Hills, Southern Hungary): C. kornfeldi KORMOS, 1934; C. obtusa KRETZOI, 1938; S. minutus LINNAEUS, 1766; S. runtonensis HINTON, 1911 and S. margaritodon KRETZOI, 1941. We compared the number of the Crocidura and Sorex occurrences in the 50 layers of the site and drew a sketch of the surrounding ecotypes. Layers 50–47 represent warmer climate with deciduous forests. From layer 46 cold climate and open grassland (steppe) appeared in the surroundings of the locality. In layers 33–4 mixed vegetation with forests and open grassland areas occurred varying in composition. Within this period layers 20–4 are characterized by the stronger dominance of the open vegetation. In layers 3–1 there are not enough remains to make a certain conclusion concerning the vegetation.

The travertine deposit of Stuttgart-Untertürkheim consists of the lower travertine from the last interglacial sensu stricto (marine oxigene-isotope substage 5e) and the upper travertine (OIS 5c ?). They are separated by an earthy `intermediate layer´ (with steppe rodent remains) or a discordance. The Biedermann Cave collapsed in the lower travertine due to subrosion. Several small assemblages of Middle Palaeolithic artifacts from the lower travertine, the intermediate layer, the upper travertine and the Biedermann Cave are described. Vertical caveties of decayed tree trunks in the lower travertine contained artifacts and manuports besides remains of remains of small and large vertebrates. These caveties were probably used as caches. In the Biedermann Cave many antlers of Red deer (19 shed, 1 unshed) and a fossil Terebratula were found.

Das Travertinvorkommen von Stuttgart-Untertürkheim besteht aus dem unterem Travertin aus der letzten Warmzeit im engeren Sinne (Sauerstoffisotopenstadium 5e) und dem oberen Travertin (Stadium 5c ?). Sie werden von einer erdigen Zwischenlage, die Reste von Steppennagern enthält, oder einer Diskordanz getrennt. Die Biedermannhöhle entstand im unteren Travertin aufgrund von Subrosion. Einige kleine Inventare von mittelpaläolithischen Artefakten aus dem unteren Travertin, der Zwischenlage, dem oberen Travertin und der Biedermannhöhle werden beschrieben. Hohlräume ausgemoderter senkrechter Baumstämme im unteren Travertin enthielten neben den Resten kleiner und großer Wirbeltiere auch Artefakte and Manuports. Sie wurden vermutlich als Vorratslager benutzt. In der Biedermannhöhle wurden 19 Abwurfstangen und ein schädelechtes Geweih vom Rothirsch sowie eine fossile Terebratel gefunden.