Lithics

  • Dates
    2022 - 2024
  • Author
  • Locations Germany, Austria, Czechia

“Lithics“ explores places and matter that are closely linked to early human history. The project is a photographic investigation of the origins of human behavior, our interaction with the world and the fragility of human existence.

The term "anthropogenesis" describes the long evolutionary process that has made humans what they are today: deeply social and cultural beings. Throughout this process, humans have increasingly emancipated themselves from nature, while always remaining a part of it. Many parallels to human characteristics can be found throughout the animal kingdom, showing how ordinary the human species actually is. However, it is the combination of these traits that makes man an oddity. It's difficult to describe this oddity solely from the present. Rather, it should be viewed through the lens of evolutionary development.

For my work "Lithics" I traveled to places directly linked to early human history. Historical artifacts mingle with contemporary environments, evidence of the past mixes with everything that will itself eventually turn into traces.

The silent protagonists are the Neanderthals, whose former habitats and cultural sites I repeatedly explored and photographed in Germany, the Czech Republic and Austria during the development of the work.

"Lithics" looks at the origins of human behavior, our interaction with the world, and the fragility of our existence.

© Justus Lemm - A neanderthal’s handaxe, Monrepos Research Center, Neuwied
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A neanderthal’s handaxe, Monrepos Research Center, Neuwied

© Justus Lemm - The green „Neanderthal Comet“ & Mars, Photographed from a field in Brandenburg Germany
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The green „Neanderthal Comet“ & Mars, Photographed from a field in Brandenburg Germany

© Justus Lemm - Image from the Lithics photography project
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Ranging rods marking the site of „Neanderthal 1“, the remains of the first recognized Neanderthal, Neander Valley, Germany

© Justus Lemm - Ladder, Travertine quarry in Ehringsdorf, Germany
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Ladder, Travertine quarry in Ehringsdorf, Germany

© Justus Lemm - The mouth of Pekárna Cave, Moravian Karst, Czech Republic
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The mouth of Pekárna Cave, Moravian Karst, Czech Republic

© Justus Lemm - A swarm of starlings, Jänschwalde, Germany
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A swarm of starlings, Jänschwalde, Germany

© Justus Lemm - Powerplant, Jänschwalde, Germany
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Powerplant, Jänschwalde, Germany

© Justus Lemm - One of the flowers whose pollen was found in the Neanderthal burial site of Shanidar in Iraq.
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One of the flowers whose pollen was found in the Neanderthal burial site of Shanidar in Iraq.

© Justus Lemm - Coins thrown into water, Grotta di Nettuno, Sardinia, ItalyThe mouth of Pekárna Cave, Moravian Karst, Czech Republic
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Coins thrown into water, Grotta di Nettuno, Sardinia, ItalyThe mouth of Pekárna Cave, Moravian Karst, Czech Republic

© Justus Lemm - Silhouette of a bird of prey, Adlershof, Berlin
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Silhouette of a bird of prey, Adlershof, Berlin

© Justus Lemm - A recently abandoned quarry, Moravian Karst
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A recently abandoned quarry, Moravian Karst

© Justus Lemm - Footsteps in a quarry, Neander Valley, Germany
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Footsteps in a quarry, Neander Valley, Germany

© Justus Lemm - Image from the Lithics photography project
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Reconstructing the process of tool-production, by reconnecting lithic flakes from a Neanderthal site, Monrepos Research Center, Neuwied

© Justus Lemm - Stalagmite & Stalactite, Sloup – šošůvka Cave, Czech Republic
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Stalagmite & Stalactite, Sloup – šošůvka Cave, Czech Republic

© Justus Lemm - Markings on a beech tree, Neander Valley, Germany
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Markings on a beech tree, Neander Valley, Germany

© Justus Lemm - Tree stump in a water-filled quarry, Moravian Karst, Czech Republic
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Tree stump in a water-filled quarry, Moravian Karst, Czech Republic

© Justus Lemm - Düsseldorf at night, the capital of NRW is situated a few Kilometers from the Neander Valley, Germany
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Düsseldorf at night, the capital of NRW is situated a few Kilometers from the Neander Valley, Germany

© Justus Lemm - Silhouettes of two persons, Mettmann, Germany
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Silhouettes of two persons, Mettmann, Germany