Hunting and survival in the Ice Age

Family exhibition

Ice Age – Hardly any period fascinates us as much as this phase of Earth's history. What animals populated our planet in ancient times? And how did humans even survive in such extreme cold? About 20.000 years ago, winters were long and frosty, summers short, dry, and significantly cooler than today. Average annual temperatures in Central Europe were around minus 5 degrees Celsius.

During the last ice age, the Pleistocene, the highlands of the Black Forest and the Vosges Mountains were also covered in ice. In the northern part of the Black Forest, glaciers formed, the so-called cirque glaciers. However, with a length of up to about 5 kilometers, these glaciers were significantly smaller than, for example, the Feldberg glacier.

In the harsh climate, the wandering people sought shelter in caves, tents, and huts. A large hunting lodge (replica) constructed from mammoth bones and animal skins, as well as tools, weapons, and decorated art objects, illustrate the lifestyles of the hunters and gatherers in the exhibition. Until the end of the last Ice Age approximately 11.500 years ago, woolly rhinos, aurochs, woolly mammoths, musk oxen, cave bears, as well as reindeer, bison, horses, and wolves, among others, lived in Europe.

True-to-life replicas of extinct animals, including the 7-month-old mammoth cub Dima, which researchers discovered in Siberia in 1977, and original specimens such as a cave bear that could reach a height of up to 3,50 meters when standing upright, are among the highlights of the family-friendly exhibition.

Accompanying the exhibition there is a quiz and guided tours for school classes (on request).