Niederstotzingen

Niederstotzingen is a small city in the district of Heidenheim in Baden-Württemberg in southern Germany. It is situated 17 km southeast of Heidenheim, and 24 km northeast of Ulm. The city consists of four sections or villages; Niederstotzingen, Oberstotzingen, Stetten ob Lontal and the combined section Lontal und Reuendorf. There are 4,850 inhabitants.HistoryVogelherdhöhleThe region around Niederstotzingen has been inhabited since pre-historic times. Finds of mammoth ivory carvings in the area have been dated to 35,000 BC. The main source of these carvings is the Vogelherdhöhle, a cave near modern Niederstotzingen which may have been used as a rest area and shelter for nearly 30,000 years.The cave was discovered in 1931 by a senior railroad clerk and historian, Hermann Mohn, as he explored the hills above the city. An expedition in 1931, led by Gustav Riek discovered eleven carved animal figures that dated from around 32,000 years ago. A 2005/2006 expedition by the university of Tübingen discovered several additional statues including one, an ivory horse, which may be one of the oldest human artworks in the world. Then, in 2006 another sculpture was discovered. This one, a mammoth carved from mammoth ivory, was dated from 35,000 years ago making it the oldest artwork in the world.Additionally, nearby caves in the Lonetal (Lone valley) have also sources of ancient carvings (see Lion man). The Lone valley may have even been home to two different types of humans. It appears likely that both the Neanderthal and the Cro-Magnon may have occupied the valley. Professor Riek, who discovered many of the early carvings, wrote a documentary novel entitled Die Mammutjäger im Lonetal (Mammoth hunters in the Lone Valley) which included violent conflicts between the Bärentöter (Bear Killers or Neanderthal) and the Mammutjäger (Mammoth Hunters or Homo Sapiens).