Barbara Spreer, Museum of Prehistory and Ice Age Art
Summer rain in the Ach Valley. Heavy raindrops create a unique soundscape as they fall on the trees surrounding the Hohle Fels World Heritage Site. Flutist Anne Friederike Potengowski stands sheltered by the rock massif and plays a replica of a 38,000-year-old wind instrument made from a vulture's bone, which was excavated in the cave in 2008.
Mirjana Biljan, Krapina Neanderthal Museum, November 2025
This paper is based on the idea of whether the Krapina Neanderthal Museum, although primarily a natural history museum, can also offer content that extends beyond the field of natural sciences. It emphasizes that science and art are not opposites but rather intertwine, fostering creativity and a deeper understanding of the world.
It is THE animal of the last ice age. The woolly mammoth. An imposing giant that influenced the lives of humans 40,000 years ago in the Swabian Jura in many ways. Among others, they inspired artistic creation. This led to the creation of miniature versions of the giants that are made of mammoth ivory. But many other animals were also immortalised in this way. The predators of that time, apart from humans, like big cats such as cave lions also left their mark. They appear frequently in Ice Age art.
Bärbel Auffermann, Neanderthal Museum, September 2025
The Neanderthal Museum Foundation operates a museum at the world-famous site of the Neanderthal discovery, offering an innovative exhibition concept and a wide range of educational programmes that attract a broad public. The museum building itself is a landmark: a closed, elongated oval concrete structure, clad with a distinctive glass facade, and characterised by a gently rising ramp that emerges from the ground.
Shamans and shamanism: terms that evoke an imagery of atavistic rituals, eerie masks, hallucinations and exotic places. But what really is shamanism? Who are shamans and what do they do? And, do they still exist?
Jeany Weisheit, Museum of Prehistory Blaubeuren, March 2025
The production of artificial objects has been known for hundreds of thousands of years and, especially in the Swabian Jura, we value the finely crafted mammoth ivory artefacts that are known all around the world as unique. Among these are the oldest figurine of a human, the so-called Venus of the Hohle Fels, several animal figurines like the Little Mammoth, the Waterbird, and the Wild Horse, the Adorant, as well as the Lion Man. Besides these magnificent objects, flutes made of bird bones and mammoth ivory as well as jewellery of the same material are also included on the list of Ice Age art.
Eduard Vasiljevic, Krapina Neanderthal Museum, December 2024
Stjepan Vuković, the pioneer of experimental archaeology in Croatia, conducted documented experiments since the late 1920s, focusing on replicating Paleolithic and Neolithic tools. His extensive work was recognized in 1974, and his collection of 129 objects was later donated to the Museum of Krapina Neanderthals, where it has been digitized for future research. The collection includes tools, notes, sketches, and correspondence, offering valuable insights into historical methods and materials.
An interdisciplinary research project at Erasmus University Rotterdam, focused on what studying Neanderthals can teach about human identity, engaged the public in collaborative research. The participants, dubbed "Paleo Experts," posed detailed scientific questions, broadening researchers' perspectives and challenging existing assumptions. Their involvement led to critical discussions, particularly on the nature of Neanderthal-modern human encounters, which influenced the reinterpretation of historical narratives.
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