Showcase Hunting
B1
Spearhead | Flint | 3000 BC | Sipplingen-Osthafen | APM
B2
Spearhead | Bronze | 900 BC | Unteruhldingen-Stollenwiesen | APM
B3
Fish bones | Pike, catfish | 3000 BC | Wallhausen-Ziegelhütte | ALM
B4
Upper arm and pelvic bones | Frog | 2850 BC | Schreckensee | ALM
Frog skeleton | APM
What’s for dinner?
Frog on a stick perhaps? All edible animals on land, in the water and in the air were on the menu – and as a whole: from the body fat to nutritious bone marrow. Bird eggs were also stirred into soups or fried. And sometimes frogs. Especially in April and May they frolicked in the wet meadows near the pile dwellings. But it wasn’t just animal products that were served. There were also wild vegetables, nuts, berries, roots and mushrooms. And with agriculture, grains and legumes moved into the pantry. What have you eaten today?
Illustration: G. Embleton | APM
C1
Fishing hook | Antler | 3800 BC | Unteruhldingen-Bayenwiesen, Unteruhldingen- Stollenwiesen | APM
C2
Gorge hooks | Bone, antler | 3000 BC | Sipplingen-Osthafen | APM
Gorge hook
The gorge hook is probably the oldest form of fishing tackle. When baited with a dough ball or a small bait fish, larger fish such as catfish and pike could be caught.
Illustration: after J. Auler | APM
C3
Fishing hook | Bronze | 900 BC | Unteruhldingen-Stollenwiesen | APM
C4
Fishing hook, bent open | Bronze | 950 BC | Hagnau-Burg | ALM
C5
Handangel, Angelhaken | Geweih, Bronze | 1000 v. Chr. | Bad Buchau-Wasserburg | APM
C6
Fishing rod, fishing hook| Antler, bone | 3800 BC | Wangen-Hinterhorn | APM
Pretty slippery
Have you ever tried to catch a fish with your bare hands? Doing so was completely normal for the children of the pile dwellers. But there were also aids. Below the pile dwellings, fish traps and long fishing lines with bait could be lowered into the water to catch fish. A small fishing rod was practical: a pointed fishing hook, attached to a handline and wound around a piece of wood or bone.
Photo: Sunti | Shutterstock
C7
Ball of string | Plant fibres | 3000 BC | Switzerland | REM
C8
Fragment of a fish trap | Willow | 3900 BC | Bad Buchau-Tannstock | APM
Fish trap
Basket traps were suitable for fishing in shallow water – even in the immediate settlement area of the pile dwellings.
Illustration: Penta Springs Limited | alamy
C9
Fragments of a fishing net | Plant fibres | 3900 BC | Robenhausen (Switzerland) | REM
C10
Fragment of a fishing net | Plant fibres | 3900 BC | Horn-Hornstaad Hörnle | ALM
D1
Floats | Poplar bark | 2900 BC | Bodman-Weiler | ALM
D2
Fragment of a fishing net | Plant fibres | 3900 BC | Horn-Hornstaad Hörnle | ALM
D3
Net sinkers | Pottery | 3800 BC | Bad Buchau-Neuweiher | ALM
Gillnets
To stabilize a net in the water, fishermen still use wooden floats at the top and stone weights or notched pottery sherds as sinkers at the bottom.
Illustration: after J. Auler | APM
D4
Harpoon head | Antler | 1000 BC | Bad Buchau-Wasserburg | APM
Fishing with a harpoon
Barbed harpoons made it easier to hunt large fish such as pike and catfish, which could not be easily caught with fishing hooks.
Illustration: G. Embleton | APM