Big cats, including sabre-toothed cats, are for many people the symbol of a dangerous predator. In 2012, the first remains of the European sabre-toothed cats were discovered at the approximately 300,000 year old site of Schöningen, famous for mankind’s oldest wooden weapons. As a result of this discovery, a two-day scientific workshop was held in Schöningen in 2015 titled »The Homotherium finds from Schöningen 13II-4 and big cats of the Ice Age«. This volume is based on the lectures of this workshop and presents an overview of a topic that is crucial for human development, our coexistence with big cats. The aim of this volume is to address the various topics surrounding the European sabre-toothed cat. This includes the circumstances of their extinction, comparisons to extant big cats and their relationship to past humans.

Die frühesten modernen Menschen haben nicht nur Kunst geschaffen, sondern auch Musik gemacht – das belegen Funde von Weltrang aus den Eiszeithöhlen der Schwäbischen Alb. Was verraten sie über den Homo sapiens und seine Lebenswelt? Der reich bebilderte Band zeigt einzigartige Tier- und Menschenfiguren wie Fundstätten und erzählt die Geschichte dazu.