The Hohle Fels (German pronunciation: [ˈhoːləˈfɛls]; also Hohlefels, Hohler Fels, German for "hollow rock") is a cave in the Swabian Jura of Germany that has yielded a number of important archaeological finds dating from the Upper Paleolithic. Artifacts found in the cave represent some of the earliest examples of prehistoric art and musical instruments ever discovered. The cave is just outside the town of Schelklingen in the state of Baden-Württemberg, near Ulm. Because of the outstanding archeological finds and their cultural significance, in 2017 the site became part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site Caves and Ice Age Art in the Swabian Jura.

The remains of at least five distinct individuals were found at Hohle Fels. In 2016, researchers successfully extracted the DNA from three samples taken from the Magdalenian period found at Hohle Fels. The tests were performed on two femur fragments, HohleFels10 and HohleFels49, and a cranial fragment, HohleFels79. The two femur fragments possibly came from one individual. HohleFels10 and HohleFels49 were indirectly dated to around 16,000–14,260 BP BP, while HohleFels79 was directly dated to around 15,070–14,270 BP. All three samples were found to belong to mtDNA Haplogroup U8a. The Hohle Fels samples were found to be genetically closest to other ancient samples from the Magdalenian, showing closest genetic affinity to each other and for other samples taken from the Swabian Jura, such as Brillenhöhle, while also showing genetic affinity for another Magdalenian sample, taken from the Red Lady of El Mirón, as well as a sample from the Aurignacian, GoyetQ116-1, taken from Goyet Caves.

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Hohler Fels Schelklingen 2022-09-09 1

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