Crocuta crocuta spelaea remains from a Late Pleistocene hyena cave den site near Hochdahl in Neandertal (NW Germany)

In this article, cranial, mandibular and dental remains of the Ice Age spotted hyena Crocuta crocuta spelaea (Goldfuss 1823) are described. They belong to an old collection of material from the Devil’s Chamber Cave (Teufelskammergrotte) near Hochdahl in the Neandertal valley (NW Germany) of Late Pleistocene age (Weichselian). These are the few remains of a hyena den cave close to the Feldhof Cave where the first Neandertal human skeleton was found. In addition to the hyena bone material some hyena prey remains of M. primigenius, C. antiquitatis, B. priscus, E. ferus przewalskii and U. spelaeus were excavated in the 19th century. All show clear nibbling and chewing marks and prove that the Devil’s Chamber Cave was a hyena den. The site was completely destroyed by quarry activities in the past century. The few remains are important for our understanding of the ecology and distribution of the Ice Age spotted hyenas in the cave-rich Sauerland region. Hyenas and Neandertal men, which must have lived in the same valley during the same Weichselian period, and which both used small caves, could have got into contact and possibly also into conflict with each other. From other sites in Sauerland, such as the Perick Caves, it is known that hyenas have taken bone rubbish from palaeolithic sites.