
Switzerland Prehistory
The first traces of human life in Switzerland lead us back to the Ice Age. In an intermediate ice age, probably in that of Riss-Würm, hordes of hunters searched the caves of the high Alps to hunt their main prey, the Ursus spelaeus. The Wildkirchli caves in the Santis region, the Drachenloch above Vättis, the Wildenmannlisloch in the Kurfirsten, the Steigelfadbalm above Vitznau, then the Schnurenloch and Ranggiloch in the Simmental are known as such; and finally the Cotencher cave near Boudry in the southwestern Jura. In most of the caves the archaeological layer is interposed between two layers of clay from the glacial period; it is recognized by the dark color and the presence of bones of the cave bear, the arctic fox, the chamois and other animals of the…