Mammalian fauna and biostratigraphy of the pre-Neandertal site of Reilingen, Germany.

In 1978 three well-preserved pieces of a fossil human cranium (i.e., fused parietals, occipital and temporal) were found in a gravel pit near the southwest German town of Reilingen. It was recovered, with an accompanying mammalian fauna, as a side-product of commercial gravel mining. The sample was sorted from the dredgings of a boat-mounted crane reaching to a depth of 28 m below the surface. Here we present the mammalian fauna and discuss its biostratigraphical relevance. The fauna represents a mixture of Holstein interglacial to Würm glacial species. The occurrence of Holsteinian faunal components is indicated by presence of the extinct beaver, Trogontherium. Given the good preservation of specimens found at the lowest levels we can rule out reworking. The accompanying fauna indicates a Holstein to Würm time span bracketing the fossil hominid population.