Dr. Chris Baumann

•  Ecosystem reconstruction by using stable isotopes and microfauna 
•  Trophic and ecological niche reconstruction of carnivores 
•  Anthropogenic impact on mammal’s niches and resulting behavioral changes 
•  Early symbiotic relationships between humans and animals, such as commensalism and domestication
•  Ecology of glacial and interglacial faunal communities in Europe 
 

“Crazy like a fox? How the study of archaeological fox remains can help to understand human behavior in the Late Pleistocene of the Swabian Jura (Germany)”

Remains of arctic and red foxes (Vulpes lagopus and Vulpes vulpes) are known from almost every European Late Pleistocene archaeological site (about 100 to 13 kyr ago). Of particular interest in archaeological studies are their canines, found in the cave sites of the Swabian Jura (Baden-Württemberg, Germany), originating from Aurignacian (about 42 to 34 kyr ago) and Gravettian (about 34 to 30 kyr ago). The canines were perforated by early modern humans and most likely worn as pendants or ornaments on clothes. Cut marks on fox bones show that fur and meat were important as well. With my PhD thesis I would like to have a look behind the obvious traces and pursue the following three questions: How did Neanderthals in the Middle Palaeolithic (about 100 to 42 kyr ago) and modern humans in the Late Palaeolithic (about 42 to 14 kyr ago), hunt and use foxes? Which feeding strategies did Late Pleistocene foxes follow and were they influenced by Neanderthals or modern humans, for example by human hunting behavior? Could foxes be used as an indicator of Palaeolithic occupation intensity and human impact on the Late Pleistocene environment?

“The archaeology and paleoecology of red and arctic foxes during the Late Pleistocene in the Ach Valley of southwestern Germany”

My master’s thesis deals with a possible distinction between two fox species (red and arctic fox) from the archaeological layers of the Ach Valley by using metric analysis of the postcranial. Additionally, with this method I could estimate the sex of the fox remains. Both, the species as well as the sex determination helped to reconstruct the structure of the population of red and arctic foxes. Today, both foxes were competitors in the parts of the world where they lived together. During the Middle Paleolithic, the pre-LGM as well as the post-LGM, remains of both foxes were found at Hohle Fels and Geißenklösterle. This systematic coexistence suggests these two species had specific niche to avoid direct competition. To investigate these niches, my master’s thesis also deals with the reconstruction of the possible diet of both foxes by using carbon and nitrogen isotopes from collagen. In general, two main food strategies were used by each fox species: hunting small animals and scavenging. I verified both strategies by using the isotopic ratios of hares and large mammals as potentially prey. In addition, other predators were included to verify if the diet of some foxes was similar to these hunters what could reflected scavenging on their prey. In the hypothesis of scavenging primarily on carcasses produced by human activity, I calculated the food refuse of humans, which was available during the pre-LGM times and incorporated it into the isotopic food-web model.

Baumann, C., Pfrengle, S., Münzel, S.C., Molak, M., Feuerborn, T., Breidenstein, A., Reiter, E., Albrecht, G., Kind, C.-J., Verjux, C., Leduc, C., Conard, N.J., Drucker, D.G., Giemsch, L., Thalmann, O., Bocherens, H., Schuenemann, V.J. (2021): A refined proposal for the origin of dogs - The case study of Gnirshöhle, a Magdalenian cave site. Scientific Reports 11:5137.

Baumann, C., Wong, G.L., Starkovich, B.M., Münzel, S.C. & Conard, N.J. (2020): The role of foxes in the Upper Palaeolithic economies of the Swabian Jura (Germany). Archaeological and Anthropological Sciences 12 (208). DOI: 10.1007/s12520-020-01173-4.

Drucker, D.G., Bridault, A., Baumann, C., Ducrocq, T. & Valentin, F. (2020): Environment and human subsistence in Northern France at the Late-Glacial to early Holocene transition. Archaeol Anthropol Sci 12(194). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12520-020-01149-4.

Baumann, C., Bocherens, H., Drucker, D.G. & Conard, N.J. (2020): Fox dietary ecology as a tracer of human impact on Pleistocene ecosystems. PLOS ONE 15(7): e0235692. 

Krajcarz, M., Krajcarz, M.T., Bacac, M., Baumann, C., Makowiecki, D., van Neer, W., Noryśkiewicz, A.M., Popović, D., Sudoł-Procyk, M., Tomek, T., Wach, B., Wilczyński, J., Wojenka, M. & Bocherens, H. (2020): Ancestors of domestic cats in Neolithic Central Europe: Isotopic evidence of a synanthropic diet. PNAS, 201918884.

Baumann, C., Starkovich, B.M., Drucker, D.G., Münzel, S.C., Conard, N.J. & Bocherens, H. (2020): Dietary niche partitioning among Magdalenian canids in southwestern Germany and Switzerland. Quaternary Science Reviews 227, 106032.

Wißing, C., Rougier, H., Baumann, C., Comeyne, A., Crevecoeur, I., Drucker, D.G., Gaudzinski-Windheuser, S., Germonpre, M., Gomez-Olivencia, A., Krause, J., Matthies, T., Naito, Y.I., Posth, C., Semal, P., Street, M. & Bocherens, H., (2019): Stable isotopes reveal patterns of diet and mobility in the last Neandertals and first modern humans in Europe. Scientific Reports 9, 4433.

Baumann, C. & Gornetzki, K. (2017): Postcranial differences in sex and species of pine marten (Martes martes L., 1758) and beech marten (Martes foina Erxl., 1777). Palaeodiversity 10, 7 – 23.