The first remains of European sabre-toothed cats were discovered in 2012 at Schöningen, in Lower Saxony, Germany, where mankind’s oldest wooden weapons had been found. This volume addresses the various topics surrounding the European sabre-toothed cat, including the circumstances of their extinction, comparisons to extant big cats and their relationship to past humans.

Big cats, especially sabre-toothed cats, are for many people the symbol of a dangerous predator. As a result of the discovery of the first remains of European sabre-toothed cats at the approximately 300,000 year old site of Schöningen., a two-day scientific workshop was held in there in 2015, titled »The Homotherium finds from Schöningen 13II-4 and big cats of the Ice Age«.

This volume is based on the lectures of this workshop and presents an overview of a topic that is crucial for human development, our coexistence with big cats.