Collections of bear bones at several widely dispersed sites suggest that Neanderthals may have worshiped cave bears, especially at Drachenloch above Vättis, in Switzerland, where a stone chest was discovered with a number of bear skulls stacked upon it.

Neanderthals, who also inhabited the entrance of the cave, are believed to have built it.

A massive stone slab covered the top of the structure.

At the cave entrance, seven bear skulls were arranged with their muzzles facing the cave entrance, while deeper in the cave, a further six bear skulls were lodged in niches along the wall.

Next to these remains were bundles of limb bones belonging to different bears.

South Central Europe (28,577 – 7,822 BCE) Upper Pleistocene II — Deglaciation, Lake Basins, and Terrace Camps

Geographic and Environmental Context

• Anchors: the Inn–Adige (Etsch)–Brenner and Reschen passes (Tyrol), the St. Gotthard (Reuss–Ticino trunk), the Great St. Bernard–Valais–Rhône gateway, the Swiss Plateau (Zürich–Bern–Aare), the Upper Rhine headwaters, the Drava–Carinthia valleys, and the Lake Constance–Rheintal–Liechtenstein hinge.

• Bølling–Allerød warming expanded forests; Younger Dryas briefly reversed; Early Holocene warmth stabilized lakes and rivers.

Subsistence & Settlement

• Broad-spectrum foraging: red deer, wild boar, fish and waterfowl; nut gathering in mixed forests.

• Seasonal lake-edge camps and rock shelters proliferated.

Technology & Material Culture

• Microblades continued; bone harpoons and gorges; early dugouts for lake/river mobility.

Movement & Interaction Corridors

• St. Gotthard, Great St. Bernard, Brenner/Reschen reopened seasonally; Rheintal and Aare axes integrated plateau and passes.

Cultural & Symbolic Expressions

• Lakeside ritual deposits; ochred burials; incised bone/antler.

Advancements in Weapon Construction by 18,000 BP

By 18,000 BP, early humans had made significant technological advancements in weapon-making, improving the efficiency and accuracy of their hunting tools.

Innovations in Projectile Construction

• Flint Points Secured with Sinews

  • Flint projectile points were now firmly attached to split wooden shafts using sinews as binding material.
  • This technique increased durability and impact strength, making weapons more effective for hunting large game.

• The Use of Fletching for Greater Accuracy

  • Feathers were carefully glued and bound to projectile shafts, introducing fletching—a technique that improved stability and accuracy in flight.
  • This innovation allowed projectiles to travel farther and hit targets more precisely, making hunting more efficient and reliable.

Impact on Upper Paleolithic Hunting and Warfare

• These advancements enhanced hunting efficiency, leading to greater success in capturing fast-moving prey.
• The use of composite tools, with multiple materials such as wood, sinew, stone, and feathers, reflects increasing technological sophistication.
• The refinements in projectile design paved the way for the later development of bows and arrows, revolutionizing prehistoric hunting and combat strategies.

By 18,000 BP, humans were not only mastering stone tool production but also incorporating aerodynamic principles and multi-material engineering, demonstrating an advanced understanding of physics, materials science, and hunting strategy.

The Magdalenian Period and Technological Advancements

The Lower Magdalenian period corresponds with the latter half of the Würm III glacial stadial, concluding around 13,000 BCE. This phase of the Upper Paleolithic was marked by continued adaptations to the cold Ice Age environment and the development of increasingly specialized tools.

During the Upper Magdalenian sequence, a significant technological advancement occurred with the emergence of multibarbed harpoons crafted from antler. These harpoons became the primary tool for hunting and fishing, reflecting:

• Greater efficiency in capturing aquatic and land animals, as barbed points prevented prey from slipping off.
• Increased reliance on fishing, suggesting shifts in subsistence strategies.
• Refinements in tool-making techniques, demonstrating advanced craftsmanship and resource utilization.

The development of multibarbed harpoons highlights the Magdalenian people's ability to innovate in response to their environment, paving the way for further technological and cultural advancements in Late Upper Paleolithic societies.

South Central Europe (7,821 – 6,094 BCE) Early Holocene — Mesolithic Lake Villages and Broad-Spectrum Economies

Geographic and Environmental Context

• Anchors: Swiss Plateau lakes (Geneva, Zürich, Neuchâtel), Valais–Rhône, Inn–Tyrol, Aare–Reuss, Drava–Carinthia.

Climate & Environmental Shifts

• Holocene thermal optimum: warm, wet, stable lakes.

Subsistence & Settlement

• Semi-sedentary lake-edge villages; fishing (pike, perch), red deer/boar, hazelnut and acorn gathering; upland summer hunts.

• Early pile-supported platforms in wetlands.

Technology & Material Culture

• Ground-stone adzes; nets, weirs, fishhooks; dugouts; early pottery appears late at fringes.

Movement & Interaction Corridors

• Canoe routes laced Aare–Reuss–Rhône–Rheintal; passes carried prestige goods.

Cultural & Symbolic Expressions

• Wetland burials and offerings; antler/bone ornaments; ritualized hearths.

South Central Europe 

(6,093 – 4,366 BCE) Middle Holocene — Neolithic Farmers on the Plateau and in the Passes

Geographic and Environmental Context

• Anchors: LBK fringes in the Upper Danube–Inn forelands; Cortaillod–Egolzwil lake villages on the Swiss Plateau; Tyrol–Carinthia clearings.

Climate & Environmental Shifts

• Hypsithermal warmth; fertile loess and alluvium favored fields.

Subsistence & Settlement

• LBK and successors (Hinkelstein–Grossgartach) brought emmer/einkorn, barley, pulses, cattle/pigs/sheep/goats.

• Pile-dwellings (early Egolzwil/Cortaillod) emerged in wetlands; mixed farming–fishing persisted.

Technology & Material Culture

• Band-decorated pottery; polished adzes; loom weights, querns; early copper ornaments at late horizon.

Movement & Interaction Corridors

• Brenner–Adige, St. Gotthard, Great St. Bernard carried amber, stone axes, and later copper; Rheintal linked Lake Constance–Alpine passes.

Cultural & Symbolic Expressions

• Longhouse cemeteries; lakeside ritual deposits; ancestor shrines in house plans.

South Central Europe 

(4,365 – 2,638 BCE) Late Neolithic/Chalcolithic — Pile-Dwelling Fluorescence, Copper Trails, and Alpine Clearances

Geographic and Environmental Context

• Anchors: Cortaillod–Pfyn–Horgen lake villages; Valais copper nodes; Inn–Tyrol upland clearances; Carinthia alpine forelands.

Climate & Environmental Shifts

• Stable with cool pulses; wetlands expanded/contracted with lake-level swings.

Subsistence & Settlement

• Pile-dwellings proliferated with orchards/gardens; dairying intensified; upland summer pastures (transhumance).

• Copper exploited in Valais–Grisons–Tyrol; exchange reached the plateau.

Technology & Material Culture

• Corded wares and Bell Beaker influences late; copper pins, daggers; flint mining/trade; fiber/textile advances.

Movement & Interaction Corridors

• Pass traffic in copper and prestige goods (amber, axes) increased; Rheintal–Gotthard–Brenner triad integrated north–south.

Cultural & Symbolic Expressions

• Wetland votives (antler, ceramics); burial differentiation suggests rank.

The Spread of Agriculture and the Emergence of Lakeside Settlements (c. 4000 BCE)

By 4000 BCE, cereal crops and cattle had been introduced to Western France and Switzerland, likely arriving via the Mediterranean as part of the westward expansion of Neolithic agriculture. This marks a significant agricultural diffusion, bringing wheat, barley, and domesticated livestock to regions previously occupied by hunter-gatherer and early farming societies.

The Rise of Lakeside Settlements

• Around this time, a series of settlements—commonly referred to as lake dwellings—were established on the shores of lakes in:

  • Switzerland
  • Southern Germany
  • Southeastern France
  • Northern Italy

• These settlements were long thought to have been built as artificial lake islands, similar to Scottish crannogs, but modern archaeology suggests they were actually shoreline villages that were later inundated due to rising water levels and climatic changes.

Early Misinterpretations and Modern Understanding

• Ferdinand Keller, a 19th-century Swiss archaeologist, originally proposed that these settlements were entirely built on stilts over the water to protect inhabitants from raids and floods.
• Today, it is clear that most of these were waterside settlements on lake margins, which were later submerged due to rising water levels, seasonal flooding, or natural changes in lake dynamics.

Cultural and Economic Significance

• These settlements indicate that Neolithic communities had advanced woodworking skills, using timber posts and planks to construct their homes.
• They relied on a combination of farming, fishing, and livestock herding, adapting their subsistence strategies to rich lakeside environments.
• The presence of woven textiles, ceramics, and tools in preserved layers suggests a complex economy with craft specialization and long-distance trade networks.

These lake-dwelling cultures reflect early human adaptation to dynamic water landscapes, demonstrating a blend of agriculture, settlement organization, and environmental resilience that would influence later European Bronze Age and Iron Age communities.

South Central Europe (2,637 – 910 BCE) Bronze and Early Iron — Tumulus, Urnfield, and Alpine Hallstatt Seeds

Geographic and Environmental Context

• Anchors: Inn–Tyrol Tumulus horizons, Swiss Plateau Urnfield zones, Hallstatt A–B nuclei in Salzkammergut fringe (just beyond but influential), Carinthia hillforts, Valais–Rhône passes.

Climate & Environmental Shifts

• Variable rainfall; good pasture windows alternated with cool phases.

Subsistence & Settlement

• Hillforts and fortified villages guarded passes; mixed cereal–pasture economies; salt and copper extraction expanded.

Technology & Material Culture

• Bronze swords, sickles, razors; Urnfield cremation cemeteries; early iron at period’s end.

• Wagon parts and tack attest to alpine haulage.

Movement & Interaction Corridors

• North–south trade (metals, salt, amber, wine) surged along Brenner/Reschen, Gotthard, Great St. Bernard.

Cultural & Symbolic Expressions

• Tumulus aristocracies; cremation urnfields; alpine cults at springs and passes.

Environmental Adaptation & Resilience

• Transhumance + storage buffered climate variability; pass control monetized alpine geography.

The Celtic migration of the mid-fifth century (commonly known as the La Tene phase of Celtic culture) marks the transition from the Early to the Late Iron Age in Europe.

Etruscans had begun widely exporting to the north a type of bronze pitcher, the so-called “Schnabelkanne," or beaked pitcher, around the beginning of the fifth century.

The Celts of the La Tene culture have begun to copy these and develop their own sense of style, usually making them in bronze or clay.

The most famous Celtic beaked pitchers come from the Hessian Glauberg and the Dürrnberg in Hallein in Austria, which are considered Celtic developments.