“We would like to emphasize that there is nothing to see here.” It sounds strange at first, the capitalized sentence at the entrance to the Hammerschmiede clay pit in Pforzen (Ostallgäu). But the statement is actually true. Of “Udo” Danuvius guggenmosi, the eleven and a half million year old, upright humanmonkeys or any other of the 134 vertebrate species discovered here, there is nothing to see, not the smallest bone. Instead, journalists trudge through sticky clay together with the author duo Volker Klüpfel and Michael Kobr, with every step making a delicious meal. Time enough to think about the murder victim in the new Kluftinger thriller who gets stuck in the gray mud, the excavator has an easy job. Suddenly that doesn’t seem exaggerated anymore.
At the on-site visit in the pit, however, the talk is not about the murder, but almost exclusively about the work of the paleontologists there. Not only the Allgäu cult inspector finds them so fascinating that he would like to dig with them immediately. The two authors had a similar experience when they were there for the first time. Just as they were having everything explained to them by head of the excavation Thomas Lechner, a student brought to light an “undefinable part” https://www.sueddeutsche.de/muenchen/.” He just took a quick look at it, then said, that is the third cervical vertebra of a saber-toothed cat,” says Michael Kobr. It goes without saying that this scene is found in a very similar way in the thriller.
“Lechner’s enthusiasm and pioneering spirit grabbed us right away,” says Kobr. Because the young vertebrate paleontologist from the University of Tübingen, who started here as a master’s student in 2015, not only knows every bone. He is also a fantastic narrator, effortlessly transforming the desolate grey-brown pit into a vast, green landscape with forests, rivers and streams, but also steppe zones. The range of animal species found here ranges from the shrew to the 1.20 meter giant salamander to Munich forest antelopes, rhinos, elephants, primeval deer or deer piglets – “looks a bit like a deer” (Lechner). The researchers have discovered eight different species of turtles, as well as a large number of snakes and birds, for example one of the largest cranes in the world or the darter, otherwise only native to subtropical zones. And of course Udo, whom Lechner’s boss, the Tübingen paleontologist Madelaine Böhme, presented to the public three years ago. A world sensation, because his bone structure suggested an upright gait, which called into question previous assumptions about the development of upright gait.
The physiological X-position of the legs is considered a key feature of bipeds
Because the day on which Böhme became aware of the importance of the find coincided exactly with the 70th birthday of the musician Udo Lindenberg in 2016, the primate was given the nickname Udo. The scientists have found 37 bones – “maybe there are already 40” (Lechner) – not all of them come from Udo, some are from two female monkeys and a young animal. The physiological X-position of the legs, unique in the great ape group, is considered to be a key feature for bipeds. Volker Klüpfel believes that enormous progress has been made in how the people of the Allgäu are perceived from the outside. “We are no longer insulted as bow-legs, but now we are knock-knees.” It remains to be seen whether Michael Kobr shares his colleague’s view that the optical connection to the primal ape is stronger in him than in Klüpfel.
In any case, it is impressive how meticulously the two authors have researched and how skilfully and easily they combine everything into a story that is as exciting as it is amusing. Kluftinger and his team shed a great deal of sweat in the “monkey heat,” as the crime title is called, before they catch the perpetrator. There are many suspects, after all, at least in fiction, the scientists are not particularly well disposed towards one another. And then there is also an obscure commune, which is a thorn in the side of clay mining.
Volker Klüpfel and Michael Kobr in conversation with excavation manager Thomas Lechner (left).
(Photo: Sabine Reithmaier)
Klüpfel and Kobr even put “Rosie” in the book, the rotary sieve that Thomas Lechner, inspired by the gold diggers in Alaska, put together from an old heating system, a windshield wiper motor, fire hoses, a motorcycle chain, a car battery and solar panels. In 2020, two of Udo’s teeth even appeared in it. Most of the time, however, boning knives and scalpels are used, says Lechner. Every year, the team moves 60 to 70 cubic meters of material with precision work, resulting in around 3,500 finds.
Hobby paleontologists can work in the hammer mill – this plays a major role in the detective story – of course only after registration and prior agreement. You can’t just come like that, after all, the operator of the pit excavates the clay there economically. Unlike in the book, in which the author duo invented some enmity for the sake of the dramaturgy, the paleontologists get along well with the mining company. “Without the clay mining, there would be no excavations at all,” says Lechner, while Torsten Stöckle, deputy mayor of Pforzen and founder of the “Udo” association, assures that the community is doing everything to enable the company to work safely and to keep the flow of visitors from the keep pit away.
Otherwise, his place is not yet 100 percent on the Udo trip, he says. Some just couldn’t do anything with the eleven and a half million year old bones. “But three years ago, we would never have dreamed that the legendary Commissioner Kluftinger would be investigating here.” A “Udo hiking trail” will also open soon; Visitor pavilion and platform are planned. Then you can watch the excavations from above. A visitor center is to follow later, a feasibility study has already been carried out and the search for an operator is ongoing. By the way, the prime minister was already there. In realityIn view of the gracious head of state, Kluftinger, interim police chief, feels “like a confirmation candidate before the bishop”.
In the summer, the excavations begin again. The scientists are then on site for six to eight weeks. Lechner hopes to find another ankle or heel bone from Udo. By the way, he thinks the crime novel is great. Finally, paleontology is presented as excitingly as it really is for him.
Volker Klüpfel / Michael Kobr: monkey heat. Kluftinger’s new case. Ullstein Verlag. Reading dates below www.kluepfel-kobr.de/termine.html