Osteological Collection

The object inventory serves primarily as a research collection but is also used for teaching. In addition to an extensive collection of human fossil casts, it also includes the skeletal remains of about 11,000 individuals from the Paleolithic to the beginning of the twentieth century, mainly from Baden-Württemberg. Rare pieces include finds such as the Stone Age skull nest from the Hohlenstein-Stadel (photo), the spout of a plague corpse from the church of St. Dionysius in Esslingen dating between 1275 and 1550, and several Egyptian mummies. A small exhibition of objects from the fields of anatomy and disease-related changes in bones serves the education of students. Currently, the holdings of the collection are being digitized with the help of 3D scanners and CT scans, as well as researched for their provenance.

To the collection in the eMuseum (selection)

Highlights of the Collection

Plaster cast of the hollow form of a late medieval plague corpse from St. Dionysius in Esslingen, 1960-63
Plaster cast of the hollow form of a late medieval plague corpse from St. Dionysius in Esslingen, 1960-63
Fragment of a prehuman upper jaw with teeth, Australopithecus afarensis from Garusi (Tanzania; 3.6 million years old)
Fragment of a prehuman upper jaw with teeth, Australopithecus afarensis from Garusi (Tanzania; 3.6 million years old)
Middle Stone Age (ca. 7700 BC) skull burial from Hohlenstein-Stadel cave, probably family (male, female, hydrocephalic child)
Middle Stone Age (ca. 7700 BC) skull burial from Hohlenstein-Stadel cave, probably family (male, female, hydrocephalic child)

Visit collection

Opening hours

By appointment

Tours

Tours currently not available

Curator

Custodian
Dr. Hannes Rathmann
Tel: 07071-2976514

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Admission

Free of charge

Address

Institute for Archaeological Sciences, Rümelinstraße 23 | WG Paleoanthropology
Rümelinstraße 23
72070 Tübingen