As early as 1861 Rütimeyer announced the presence of bones of Ursus spelæus and Capra (ibex and rupicapra) in the floor deposits of Wildkirchli. Before that date the hermits used to pick up bones of the cave bear and sell them to the pilgrims. Bächler began his researches which led to the discovery of a pure Mousterian industry during the winter of 1903–4, and continued them during the two following winters. Winter is the best time to work, as the caverns are then dry, relatively warm, and free from visitors.
The deposits are about 5 meters thick and cover an area of several hundred square meters, so that the amount still to be excavated is much greater than that already done. About 99 per cent of the bones found are of the cave bear, the number of individuals represented by the finds to date being approximately 200. These remains have been found practically at all levels save in the layer at the top, which has a thickness of one-half meter. Mousterian implements are found in the same horizons as the faunal remains. They are made of quartzite and flint ; also of cave-bear bone. The quartzites were picked up in the Weissbach Valley several hundred meters below and carried to the caverns, there to be worked into tools. Some of the better-formed implements are made of a greenish flint that must have been brought a long distance by paleolithic man. Both stone and bone implements are of crude workmanship.
In company with Herr Bächler I spent some hours studying the sections and searching for animal remains and artifacts. We were successful in finding two bone implements and one chipped quartzite. Teeth and fragments of bones were counted by the dozen. These were chiefly of the cave bear. Remains of the cave lion, the cave panther, badger, marten (Mustela martes), ibex, chamois, stag, marmot, otter, and hermit crow have been noted.
The deposits are not indurated and may be worked with as much rapidity as is consistent with careful observation. They consist of materials that have fallen from the ceilings. They can not be called stratified, and yet more or less definite horizons may be distinguished on account of the relative fineness of the deposits and the variations in color.
What is the age of the industry-bearing deposits of Wildkirchli? In order to arrive at a just estimate one must have a knowledge not only of prehistoric times, but also of the ice age. According to Penck[1] there were four glacial epochs (with alternating interglacial epochs). These have been named after four streams of southern Germany in the foothills of the Alps—Günz, Mindel, Riss, and Würm glacial epochs, respectively, beginning with the oldest. Penck
- ↑ See table of relative chronology (pl. 1).
