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Falcucci A, Arrighi S, Spagnolo V, Rossini M, Higgins OA, Muttillo B, Martini I, Crezzini J, Boschin F, Ronchitelli A, Moroni A. A pre-Campanian Ignimbrite techno-cultural shift in the Aurignacian sequence of Grotta di Castelcivita, southern Italy. Sci Rep 2024; 14:12783. [PMID: 38834616 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-024-59896-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/09/2024] [Accepted: 04/16/2024] [Indexed: 06/06/2024] Open
Abstract
The Aurignacian is the first European technocomplex assigned to Homo sapiens recognized across a wide geographic extent. Although archaeologists have identified marked chrono-cultural shifts within the Aurignacian mostly by examining the techno-typological variations of stone and osseous tools, unraveling the underlying processes driving these changes remains a significant scientific challenge. Scholars have, for instance, hypothesized that the Campanian Ignimbrite (CI) super-eruption and the climatic deterioration associated with the onset of Heinrich Event 4 had a substantial impact on European foraging groups. The technological shift from the Protoaurignacian to the Early Aurignacian is regarded as an archaeological manifestation of adaptation to changing environments. However, some of the most crucial regions and stratigraphic sequences for testing these scenarios have been overlooked. In this study, we delve into the high-resolution stratigraphic sequence of Grotta di Castelcivita in southern Italy. Here, the Uluzzian is followed by three Aurignacian layers, sealed by the eruptive units of the CI. Employing a comprehensive range of quantitative methods-encompassing attribute analysis, 3D model analysis, and geometric morphometrics-we demonstrate that the key technological feature commonly associated with the Early Aurignacian developed well before the deposition of the CI tephra. Our study provides thus the first direct evidence that the volcanic super-eruption played no role in this cultural process. Furthermore, we show that local paleo-environmental proxies do not correlate with the identified patterns of cultural continuity and discontinuity. Consequently, we propose alternative research paths to explore the role of demography and regional trajectories in the development of the Upper Paleolithic.
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Affiliation(s)
- Armando Falcucci
- Department of Geosciences, Prehistory and Archaeological Sciences Research Unit, Eberhard Karls University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany.
| | - Simona Arrighi
- Dipartimento di Beni Culturali, Università di Bologna, Via degli Ariani 1, 48121, Ravenna, Italy
- Dipartimento di Scienze Fisiche, della Terra e dell'Ambiente, UR Preistoria e Antropologia, Università di Siena, Via Laterina 8, 53100, Siena, Italy
| | - Vincenzo Spagnolo
- Dipartimento di Scienze Fisiche, della Terra e dell'Ambiente, UR Preistoria e Antropologia, Università di Siena, Via Laterina 8, 53100, Siena, Italy
| | - Matteo Rossini
- Dipartimento di Scienze Fisiche, della Terra e dell'Ambiente, UR Preistoria e Antropologia, Università di Siena, Via Laterina 8, 53100, Siena, Italy
| | - Owen Alexander Higgins
- Dipartimento di Beni Culturali, Università di Bologna, Via degli Ariani 1, 48121, Ravenna, Italy
| | - Brunella Muttillo
- Dipartimento di Scienze Fisiche, della Terra e dell'Ambiente, UR Preistoria e Antropologia, Università di Siena, Via Laterina 8, 53100, Siena, Italy
| | - Ivan Martini
- Dipartimento di Scienze Fisiche, della Terra e dell'Ambiente, Università di Siena, Via Laterina 8, 53100, Siena, Italy
| | - Jacopo Crezzini
- Dipartimento di Scienze Fisiche, della Terra e dell'Ambiente, UR Preistoria e Antropologia, Università di Siena, Via Laterina 8, 53100, Siena, Italy
| | - Francesco Boschin
- Dipartimento di Scienze Fisiche, della Terra e dell'Ambiente, UR Preistoria e Antropologia, Università di Siena, Via Laterina 8, 53100, Siena, Italy
| | - Annamaria Ronchitelli
- Dipartimento di Scienze Fisiche, della Terra e dell'Ambiente, UR Preistoria e Antropologia, Università di Siena, Via Laterina 8, 53100, Siena, Italy
| | - Adriana Moroni
- Dipartimento di Scienze Fisiche, della Terra e dell'Ambiente, UR Preistoria e Antropologia, Università di Siena, Via Laterina 8, 53100, Siena, Italy
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2
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Marín-Arroyo AB, Terlato G, Vidal-Cordasco M, Peresani M. Subsistence of early anatomically modern humans in Europe as evidenced in the Protoaurignacian occupations of Fumane Cave, Italy. Sci Rep 2023; 13:3788. [PMID: 36882431 PMCID: PMC9992387 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-023-30059-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/13/2022] [Accepted: 02/15/2023] [Indexed: 03/09/2023] Open
Abstract
Documenting the subsistence strategies developed by early modern humans is relevant for understanding the success of their dispersal throughout Eurasia. Today, we know that there was not a single colonization event and that the process was progressive while coping with the MIS3 abrupt climatic oscillations. Modern humans expanded into the continent by adapting to different topographic situations and by exploiting resources in diverse ecological niches. The northern part of Italy is one of the first European regions where early modern humans are documented. Here, we present the subsistence regimen adopted by the Protoaurignacian groups in two different levels in Fumane Cave based on archaeozoological data. New radiocarbon dates confirm an overlap between Uluzzian and Protoaurignacian occupations, around 42 and 41,000 cal BP, and reveal that modern humans occupied the cave from GI10 to GS9, the last level coinciding with the Heinrich Event 4. The data indicate seasonal site occupations during late spring/summer and that prey exploitation was focused mostly on ibex and chamois, killed in nearby areas. The whole faunal assemblage suggests the presence of early modern humans in a cold environment with mostly open landscapes and patchy woodlands. The estimation of net primary productivity (NPP) in Fumane, compared with other contemporaneous Italian sites, reflects how the NPP fluctuations in the Prealpine area, where Fumane is located, affected the biotic resources in contrast to known Mediterranean sites. From a pan-European perspective, the spatiotemporal fluctuation of the NPP versus the subsistence strategies adopted by Protoaurignacian groups in the continent supports rapid Homo sapiens dispersal and resilience in a mosaic of environments that were affected by significant climate changes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ana B Marín-Arroyo
- Grupo de I+D+I EVOADAPTA (Evolución Humana y Adaptaciones durante la Prehistoria), Dpto. Ciencias Históricas, Universidad de Cantabria, Avda. de Los Castros 44, 39005, Santander, Spain.
| | - Gabriele Terlato
- Grupo de I+D+I EVOADAPTA (Evolución Humana y Adaptaciones durante la Prehistoria), Dpto. Ciencias Históricas, Universidad de Cantabria, Avda. de Los Castros 44, 39005, Santander, Spain.
| | - Marco Vidal-Cordasco
- Grupo de I+D+I EVOADAPTA (Evolución Humana y Adaptaciones durante la Prehistoria), Dpto. Ciencias Históricas, Universidad de Cantabria, Avda. de Los Castros 44, 39005, Santander, Spain
| | - Marco Peresani
- Dipartimento di Studi Umanistici, Sezione di Scienze Preistoriche e Antropologiche, Università di Ferrara, Ferrara, Italy.,Istituto di Geologia Ambientale e Geoingegneria, Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche, Milan, Italy
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3
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Frouin M, Douka K, Dave AK, Schwenninger JL, Mercier N, Murray AS, Santaniello F, Boschian G, Grimaldi S, Higham T. A refined chronology for the Middle and early Upper Paleolithic sequence of Riparo Mochi (Liguria, Italy). J Hum Evol 2022; 169:103211. [PMID: 35753141 DOI: 10.1016/j.jhevol.2022.103211] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/26/2020] [Revised: 04/22/2022] [Accepted: 04/22/2022] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
The Riparo Mochi rock shelter, located on the Ligurian coast of Italy, is one of the most important early Upper Paleolithic sites on the Mediterranean rim. Its ∼10-m-deep stratigraphy comprises a Mousterian sequence, followed by various development stages of the Upper Paleolithic. A series of radiometric dates on marine shells bearing traces of human modification has provided a chronological framework for the final Mousterian and the Proto-Aurignacian of the site. Based on modeling results, the end of the Mousterian was dated between 44.0 and 41.8 ka cal BP (68% probability) and the beginning of the Proto-Aurignacian between 42.7 and 41.6 ka cal BP (68% probability). However, these estimates were based on a limited number of radiocarbon ages in the Mousterian levels. Here, we report new dating of the Mochi sequence using luminescence techniques, along with new radiocarbon measurements. The combination of these results using a Bayesian modeling approach allows for the first time the establishment of a more precise timing for the Mousterian occupation at the site. We show that Mousterian groups were already present at Riparo Mochi by at least 65 ka and continued to occupy the site for another 20 ka. The transition to the earliest Upper Paleolithic at the site is centered around 44.3-41.1 ka (95.4% probability), providing our best age estimate for the beginning of the Early Upper Paleolithic and the establishment of modern human groups in the Balzi Rossi. The sequence continues upward with a more evolved Aurignacian phase and a Gravettian phase starting at ∼26 ka or earlier.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marine Frouin
- Department of Geosciences, Stony Brook University, 255 Earth and Space Sciences Building (ESS), Stony Brook, NY 11794-2100, USA; Research Laboratory for Archaeology and the History of Art, University of Oxford, 1-2 South Parks Road, Oxford OX1 3TG, United Kingdom.
| | - Katerina Douka
- Department of Evolutionary Anthropology, Faculty of Life Sciences, University of Vienna, Djerassiplatz 1, Vienna, Austria; Human Evolution and Archaeological Sciences (HEAS), University of Vienna, A-1030, Vienna, Austria.
| | - Aditi Krishna Dave
- Department of Geosciences, University of Tübingen, Schnarrenbergstrasse 94-96, 72076 Tübingen, Germany
| | - Jean-Luc Schwenninger
- Research Laboratory for Archaeology and the History of Art, University of Oxford, 1-2 South Parks Road, Oxford OX1 3TG, United Kingdom
| | - Norbert Mercier
- Archéosciences Bordeaux, UMR 6034 CNRS - Université Bordeaux Montaigne, Maison de l'archéologie, 33600 Pessac, France
| | - Andrew S Murray
- The Nordic Laboratory for Luminescence Dating, Department of Geoscience, Aarhus University and DTU Physics, DTU Risø Campus, DK-4000 Roskilde, Denmark
| | - Fabio Santaniello
- Dipartimento di Lettere e Filosofia, Università di Trento, Trento, Italy; Dipartimento di Biologia, Università di Pisa, Pisa, Italy
| | - Giovanni Boschian
- Dipartimento di Biologia, Università di Pisa, Pisa, Italy; Palaeo-Research Institute, University of Johannesburg, P.O. Box 524, Auckland Park, 2006, South Africa
| | - Stefano Grimaldi
- Dipartimento di Lettere e Filosofia, Università di Trento, Trento, Italy; Istituto Italiano di Paleontologia Umana, Anagni, Italy
| | - Thomas Higham
- Department of Evolutionary Anthropology, Faculty of Life Sciences, University of Vienna, Djerassiplatz 1, Vienna, Austria; Human Evolution and Archaeological Sciences (HEAS), University of Vienna, A-1030, Vienna, Austria; Oxford Radiocarbon Accelerator Unit, Research Laboratory for Archaeology and the History of Art, University of Oxford, 1 South Parks Road, Oxford OX1 3TG, United Kingdom
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4
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Borić D, Cristiani E, Hopkins R, Schwenninger J, Gerometta K, French CAI, Mutri G, Ćalić J, Dimitrijević V, Marín‐Arroyo AB, Jones JR, Stevens R, Masciana A, Uno K, Richter KK, Antonović D, Wehr K, Lane C, White D. Neanderthals on the Lower Danube: Middle Palaeolithic evidence in the Danube Gorges of the Balkans. JOURNAL OF QUATERNARY SCIENCE 2022; 37:142-180. [PMID: 35874300 PMCID: PMC9291232 DOI: 10.1002/jqs.3354] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/17/2021] [Revised: 06/17/2021] [Accepted: 06/28/2021] [Indexed: 06/15/2023]
Abstract
The article presents evidence about the Middle Palaeolithic and Middle to Upper Palaeolithic transition interval in the karst area of the Danube Gorges in the Lower Danube Basin. We review the extant data and present new evidence from two recently investigated sites found on the Serbian side of the Danube River - Tabula Traiana and Dubočka-Kozja caves. The two sites have yielded layers dating to both the Middle and Upper Palaeolithic and have been investigated by the application of modern standards of excavation and recovery along with a suite of state-of-the-art analytical procedures. The presentation focuses on micromorphological analyses of the caves' sediments, characterisation of cryptotephra, a suite of new radiometric dates (accelerator mass spectrometry and optically stimulated luminescence) as well as proteomics (zooarchaeology by mass spectrometry) and stable isotope data in discerning patterns of human occupation of these locales over the long term.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dušan Borić
- The Italian Academy for Advanced Studies in AmericaColumbia UniversityNew YorkNYUSA
- Department of Environmental BiologySapienza University of RomeRomeItaly
| | - Emanuela Cristiani
- DANTE ‐ Diet and Ancient Technology Laboratory, Department of Oral and Maxillo‐facial SciencesSapienza University of RomeRomeItaly
| | - Rachel Hopkins
- Research Laboratory for Archaeology and the History of Art, School of ArchaeologyUniversity of OxfordOxfordUK
| | - Jean‐Luc Schwenninger
- Research Laboratory for Archaeology and the History of Art, School of ArchaeologyUniversity of OxfordOxfordUK
| | - Katarina Gerometta
- Department of Archaeology, Faculty of PhilosophyJuraj Dobrila University of PulaPulaCroatia
| | | | | | - Jelena Ćalić
- Geographical Institute “Jovan Cvijić”Serbian Academy of Sciences and ArtsBelgradeSerbia
| | | | - Ana B. Marín‐Arroyo
- Department of ArchaeologyUniversity of CambridgeCambridgeUK
- EvoAdapta GroupUniversidad de CantabriaSantanderSpain
| | - Jennifer R. Jones
- School of Natural SciencesUniversity of Central LancashirePrestonLancashireUK
| | | | - Alana Masciana
- Lamont‐Doherty Earth Observatory of Columbia University, PalisadesNYUSA
| | - Kevin Uno
- Lamont‐Doherty Earth Observatory of Columbia University, PalisadesNYUSA
| | | | | | | | - Christine Lane
- Department of GeographyUniversity of CambridgeCambridgeUK
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5
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Naihui W, Samantha B, Peter D, Sandra H, Maxim K, Sindy L, Oshan W, Stefano G, Michael C, Liora HK, Matthew S, Glenn S, Michael S, Kristine RK, Katerina D. Testing the efficacy and comparability of ZooMS protocols on archaeological bone. J Proteomics 2020; 233:104078. [PMID: 33338688 DOI: 10.1016/j.jprot.2020.104078] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/08/2020] [Revised: 12/03/2020] [Accepted: 12/12/2020] [Indexed: 12/27/2022]
Abstract
Collagen peptide mass fingerprinting, best known as Zooarchaeology by Mass Spectrometry (or ZooMS) when applied to archaeology, has become invaluable for the taxonomic identification of archaeological collagenous materials, in particular fragmentary and modified bone remains. Prior to MALDI-based spectrometric analysis, collagen needs to be extracted from the bone's inorganic matrix, isolated and purified. Several protocols are currently employed for ZooMS analysis, however their efficacy and comparability has not been directly tested. Here, we use four different ZooMS protocols to analyze 400 bone samples from seven archaeological sites, dating to between ~500,000-2000 years ago. One of them, single-pot solid-phase-enhance sample preparation (SP3), is used for the first time as a ZooMS protocol. Our results indicate that the least-destructive ZooMS protocol which uses an ammonium bicarbonate buffer as a means of extracting collagen is most suitable for bones with good collagen preservation, whereas the acid-based methodologies can improve success rates for bones with low-to-medium collagen preservation. Since preservation of biomolecules in archaeological bones is highly variable due to age and environmental conditions, we use the percent nitrogen by weight (%N) value as an independent semi-quantitative proxy for assessing collagen content and for predicting which bones will likely result in a successful ZooMS-based identification. We find that 0.26%N as a threshold for screening material could optimize the number of spectra which produce identifications using ZooMS. SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT: We present a direct comparison of three previously published ZooMS protocols for the analyses of archaeological bones, and the first use of an SP3-based approach to ZooMS analysis. Our results show that the acid-based ZooMS protocols increase the success rate for bones with low-medium collagen preservation. We identify 0.26%N as a threshold for optimizing the number of samples with enough collagen for successful peptide mass fingerprinting.
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Affiliation(s)
- Wang Naihui
- Department of Archaeology, Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History (MPI-SHH), Kahlaische Straße 10, 07745 Jena, Germany.
| | - Brown Samantha
- Department of Archaeology, Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History (MPI-SHH), Kahlaische Straße 10, 07745 Jena, Germany.
| | - Ditchfield Peter
- School of Archaeology, University of Oxford, 1 South Parks Road, Oxford, UK.
| | - Hebestreit Sandra
- Department of Archaeology, Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History (MPI-SHH), Kahlaische Straße 10, 07745 Jena, Germany.
| | - Kozilikin Maxim
- Institute of Archaeology and Ethnography, Siberian Branch, Russian Academy of Sciences, Pr. Akademika Lavrentieva, 17, Novosibirsk 630090, Russia
| | - Luu Sindy
- Department of Anatomy, University of Otago, PO Box 56, Dunedin 9054, New Zealand.
| | - Wedage Oshan
- Department of Archaeology, Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History (MPI-SHH), Kahlaische Straße 10, 07745 Jena, Germany; Department of History and Archaeology, University of Sri Jayewardenepura, Gangodawila, Nugegoda, Sri Lanka.
| | - Grimaldi Stefano
- LaBAAF -Laboratorio Bagolini Archeologia, Archeometria, Fotografia, CeASUm - Centro di Alti Studi Umanistici, Dipartimento di Lettere e Filosofia, Università di Trento, via T.Gar14, I-38122 Trento, Italy; IsIPU - Istituto Italiano di Paleontologia Umana, Anagni, Italy.
| | - Chazan Michael
- Department of Anthropology, Canada Institute of Evolutionary Studies, University of Toronto, 19 Russell Street, Toronto, Canada; University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa.
| | - Horwitz Kolska Liora
- National Natural History Collections, The Hebrew University, Berman Building, E. Safra-Givat Ram Campus, 91904 Jerusalem, Israel
| | - Spriggs Matthew
- School of Archaeology and Anthropology, Sir Roland Wilson Bldg 120, The Australian National University, Canberra, ACT 2600, Australia.
| | | | - Shunkov Michael
- Institute of Archaeology and Ethnography, Siberian Branch, Russian Academy of Sciences, Pr. Akademika Lavrentieva, 17, Novosibirsk 630090, Russia
| | - Richter Korzow Kristine
- Department of Archaeology, Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History (MPI-SHH), Kahlaische Straße 10, 07745 Jena, Germany.
| | - Douka Katerina
- Department of Archaeology, Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History (MPI-SHH), Kahlaische Straße 10, 07745 Jena, Germany.
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6
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Hafting of Middle Paleolithic tools in Latium (central Italy): New data from Fossellone and Sant'Agostino caves. PLoS One 2019; 14:e0213473. [PMID: 31220106 PMCID: PMC6586293 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0213473] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/08/2018] [Accepted: 05/31/2019] [Indexed: 11/29/2022] Open
Abstract
Hafting of stone tools was an important advance in the technology of the Paleolithic. Evidence of hafting in the Middle Paleolithic is growing and is not limited to points hafted on spears for thrusting or throwing. This article describes the identification of adhesive used for hafting on a variety of stone tools from two Middle Paleolithic caves in Latium, Fossellone Cave and Sant’Agostino Cave. Analysis of the organic residue by gas chromatography/mass spectrometry shows that a conifer resin adhesive was used, in one case mixed with beeswax. Contrary to previous suggestions that the small Middle Paleolithic tools of Latium could be used by hand and that hafting was not needed since it did not improve their functionality, our evidence shows that hafting was used by Neandertals in central Italy. Ethnographic evidence indicates that resin, which dries when exposed to air, is generally warmed by exposure to a small fire thus softened to be molded and pushed in position in the haft. The use of resin at both sites suggests regular fire use, as confirmed by moderate frequencies of burnt lithics in both assemblages. Lithic analysis shows that hafting was applied to a variety of artifacts, irrespective of type, size and technology. Prior to our study evidence of hafting in the Middle Paleolithic of Italy was limited to one case only.
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7
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Nițu EC, Cârciumaru M, Nicolae A, Cîrstina O, Lupu FI, Leu M. Mobility and social identity in the Mid Upper Paleolithic: New personal ornaments from Poiana Cireșului (Piatra Neamț, Romania). PLoS One 2019; 14:e0214932. [PMID: 31017924 PMCID: PMC6481798 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0214932] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/18/2018] [Accepted: 03/24/2019] [Indexed: 11/29/2022] Open
Abstract
Most of the Paleolithic art and ornaments discovered in Romania come from the site of Poiana Cireșului. Four Paleolithic layers have been studied at this site—the oldest one belongs to the Early Gravettian period between 30 ka and 31 ka BP. The ornaments discovered in this layer include perforated shells from three species of mollusks: freshwater Lithoglyphus naticoide and Lithoglyphus apertus as well as Homalopoma sanguineum (an exclusively Mediterranean species). Poiana Cireșului is one of the very few Gravettian sites where perforated Homalopoma sanguineum shells were found, and the importance of this discovery is stressed even more by the very long distance between the site and the nearest source located over 900 km away. This find suggests the connection of communities here with the Mediterranean area as well as a possible movement of populations from the south of the continent to the east of the Carpathians with significant implications in understanding human group mobility and the origin of the Early Gravettian in this area. Furthermore, Poiana Cireșului is the only Gravettian settlement where Lithoglyphus naticoides shells were used. The unique association of perforated shells—not found in any other Gravettian settlement—contributes to the identity of the Paleolithic community of Poiana Cireșului through their ornaments.
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Affiliation(s)
- Elena-Cristina Nițu
- “Princely Court” National Museum Târgovişte, Museum of Human Evolution and Technology in Paleolithic, Târgovişte, Dâmboviţa County, Romania
- * E-mail:
| | - Marin Cârciumaru
- “Princely Court” National Museum Târgovişte, Museum of Human Evolution and Technology in Paleolithic, Târgovişte, Dâmboviţa County, Romania
- Valahia University of Târgovişte, Doctoral School, Târgovişte, Dâmboviţa County, Romania
| | - Adrian Nicolae
- “Princely Court” National Museum Târgovişte, Museum of Human Evolution and Technology in Paleolithic, Târgovişte, Dâmboviţa County, Romania
| | - Ovidiu Cîrstina
- “Princely Court” National Museum Târgovişte, Museum of Human Evolution and Technology in Paleolithic, Târgovişte, Dâmboviţa County, Romania
| | - Florin Ionuț Lupu
- “Princely Court” National Museum Târgovişte, Museum of Human Evolution and Technology in Paleolithic, Târgovişte, Dâmboviţa County, Romania
| | - Marian Leu
- “Princely Court” National Museum Târgovişte, Museum of Human Evolution and Technology in Paleolithic, Târgovişte, Dâmboviţa County, Romania
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8
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Cortés-Sánchez M, Jiménez-Espejo FJ, Simón-Vallejo MD, Stringer C, Lozano Francisco MC, García-Alix A, Vera Peláez JL, Odriozola CP, Riquelme-Cantal JA, Parrilla Giráldez R, Maestro González A, Ohkouchi N, Morales-Muñiz A. An early Aurignacian arrival in southwestern Europe. Nat Ecol Evol 2019; 3:207-212. [PMID: 30664696 DOI: 10.1038/s41559-018-0753-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 43] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/25/2018] [Accepted: 11/15/2018] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
Abstract
Westernmost Europe constitutes a key location in determining the timing of the replacement of Neanderthals by anatomically modern humans (AMHs). In this study, the replacement of late Mousterian industries by Aurignacian ones at the site of Bajondillo Cave (Málaga, southern Spain) is reported. On the basis of Bayesian analyses, a total of 26 radiocarbon dates, including 17 new ones, show that replacement at Bajondillo took place in the millennia centring on ~45-43 calibrated thousand years before the present (cal ka BP)-well before the onset of Heinrich event 4 (~40.2-38.3 cal ka BP). These dates indicate that the arrival of AMHs at the southernmost tip of Iberia was essentially synchronous with that recorded in other regions of Europe, and significantly increases the areal expansion reached by early AMHs at that time. In agreement with human dispersal scenarios on other continents, such rapid expansion points to coastal corridors as favoured routes for early AMH. The new radiocarbon dates align Iberian chronologies with AMH dispersal patterns in Eurasia.
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Affiliation(s)
- Miguel Cortés-Sánchez
- Departamento de Prehistoria y Arqueología, Facultad de Geografía e Historia, Universidad de Sevilla, Seville, Spain.,HUM-949 Research Group, Departamento de Prehistoria y Arqueología, Facultad de Geografía e Historia, Universidad de Sevilla, Seville, Spain
| | - Francisco J Jiménez-Espejo
- Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology, Yokosuka, Japan. .,Instituto Andaluz de Ciencias de la Tierra, CSIC-UGR, Armilla, Spain.
| | - María D Simón-Vallejo
- Departamento de Prehistoria y Arqueología, Facultad de Geografía e Historia, Universidad de Sevilla, Seville, Spain.,HUM-949 Research Group, Departamento de Prehistoria y Arqueología, Facultad de Geografía e Historia, Universidad de Sevilla, Seville, Spain
| | - Chris Stringer
- Department of Earth Sciences, Natural History Museum, London, UK
| | - María Carmen Lozano Francisco
- HUM-949 Research Group, Departamento de Prehistoria y Arqueología, Facultad de Geografía e Historia, Universidad de Sevilla, Seville, Spain
| | - Antonio García-Alix
- Instituto Andaluz de Ciencias de la Tierra, CSIC-UGR, Armilla, Spain.,Departamento de Estratigrafía y Paleontología, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad de Granada, Granada, Spain
| | - José L Vera Peláez
- HUM-949 Research Group, Departamento de Prehistoria y Arqueología, Facultad de Geografía e Historia, Universidad de Sevilla, Seville, Spain
| | - Carlos P Odriozola
- Departamento de Prehistoria y Arqueología, Facultad de Geografía e Historia, Universidad de Sevilla, Seville, Spain.,HUM-949 Research Group, Departamento de Prehistoria y Arqueología, Facultad de Geografía e Historia, Universidad de Sevilla, Seville, Spain
| | - José A Riquelme-Cantal
- Departamento de Geografía y Ciencias del Territorio, Universidad de Córdoba, Córdoba, Spain
| | - Rubén Parrilla Giráldez
- HUM-949 Research Group, Departamento de Prehistoria y Arqueología, Facultad de Geografía e Historia, Universidad de Sevilla, Seville, Spain
| | | | - Naohiko Ohkouchi
- Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology, Yokosuka, Japan
| | - Arturo Morales-Muñiz
- Laboratorio de Arqueozooarqueología, Departamento de Biología, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Madrid, Spain
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9
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Staubwasser M, Drăgușin V, Onac BP, Assonov S, Ersek V, Hoffmann DL, Veres D. Impact of climate change on the transition of Neanderthals to modern humans in Europe. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2018; 115:9116-9121. [PMID: 30150388 PMCID: PMC6140518 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1808647115] [Citation(s) in RCA: 29] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/30/2022] Open
Abstract
Two speleothem stable isotope records from East-Central Europe demonstrate that Greenland Stadial 12 (GS12) and GS10-at 44.3-43.3 and 40.8-40.2 ka-were prominent intervals of cold and arid conditions. GS12, GS11, and GS10 are coeval with a regional pattern of culturally (near-)sterile layers within Europe's diachronous archeologic transition from Neanderthals to modern human Aurignacian. Sterile layers coeval with GS12 precede the Aurignacian throughout the middle and upper Danube region. In some records from the northern Iberian Peninsula, such layers are coeval with GS11 and separate the Châtelperronian from the Aurignacian. Sterile layers preceding the Aurignacian in the remaining Châtelperronian domain are coeval with GS10 and the previously reported 40.0- to 40.8-ka cal BP [calendar years before present (1950)] time range of Neanderthals' disappearance from most of Europe. This suggests that ecologic stress during stadial expansion of steppe landscape caused a diachronous pattern of depopulation of Neanderthals, which facilitated repopulation by modern humans who appear to have been better adapted to this environment. Consecutive depopulation-repopulation cycles during severe stadials of the middle pleniglacial may principally explain the repeated replacement of Europe's population and its genetic composition.
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Affiliation(s)
- Michael Staubwasser
- Institute of Geologie and Mineralogy, University of Cologne, 50674 Cologne, Germany;
| | - Virgil Drăgușin
- Emil Racoviţă Institute of Speleology, Romanian Academy, 010986 Bucharest, Romania
| | - Bogdan P Onac
- School of Geosciences, University of South Florida, Tampa, FL 33620
- Emil Racoviţă Institute of Speleology, Romanian Academy, 400006 Cluj-Napoca, Romania
| | - Sergey Assonov
- Institute of Geologie and Mineralogy, University of Cologne, 50674 Cologne, Germany
- Terrestrial Environment Laboratory, Environmental Laboratories, Department of Nuclear Applications, International Atomic Energy Agency, 1400 Vienna, Austria
| | - Vasile Ersek
- Department of Geography and Environmental Sciences, Northumbria University, Newcastle upon Tyne NE1 8ST, United Kingdom
| | - Dirk L Hoffmann
- Department of Human Evolution, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, 04103 Leipzig, Germany
| | - Daniel Veres
- Emil Racoviţă Institute of Speleology, Romanian Academy, 400006 Cluj-Napoca, Romania
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10
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Blade and bladelet production at Hohle Fels Cave, AH IV in the Swabian Jura and its importance for characterizing the technological variability of the Aurignacian in Central Europe. PLoS One 2018; 13:e0194097. [PMID: 29630601 PMCID: PMC5891003 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0194097] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/10/2017] [Accepted: 02/23/2018] [Indexed: 12/04/2022] Open
Abstract
Hohle Fels Cave in the Ach Valley of Southwestern Germany exhibits an Aurignacian sequence of 1 m thickness within geological horizons (GH) 6–8. The deposition of the layers took place during mild and cold phases between at least 42 ka (GI 10) and 36 ka calBP (GI 7). We present below a technological study of blade and bladelet production from AH IV (GH 7) at Hohle Fels. Our analyses show that blade manufacture is relatively constant, while bladelet production displays a high degree of variability in order to obtain different blanks. Knappers used a variety of burins as cores to produce fine bladelets. The results reveal a new variant of the Aurignacian in the Swabian Jura primarily characterized by the production of bladelets and microliths from burin-cores. The artefacts from the Swabian Aurignacian are technologically and functionally more diverse than earlier studies of the Geißenklösterle and Vogelherd sequences have suggested. The technological analyses presented here challenge the claim that the typo-chronological system from Southwestern Europe can be applied to the Central European Aurignacian. Instead, we emphasize the impact of technological and functional variables within the Aurignacian of the Swabian Jura.
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11
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Falcucci A, Conard NJ, Peresani M. A critical assessment of the Protoaurignacian lithic technology at Fumane Cave and its implications for the definition of the earliest Aurignacian. PLoS One 2017; 12:e0189241. [PMID: 29216284 PMCID: PMC5720803 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0189241] [Citation(s) in RCA: 30] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/18/2017] [Accepted: 11/24/2017] [Indexed: 11/24/2022] Open
Abstract
In the scenario of the spread of the anatomically modern humans (AMHs) into Europe, the techno-complex known as Protoaurignacian is defined by the production of blades and bladelets within a single and continuous stone knapping sequence from the same core as the result of its progressive reduction. However, the growing re-evaluation of some assemblages is revealing that bladelets are frequently obtained from independent reduction sequences, hence discouraging the direct application of the model developed in southwestern France. High-resolution regional signatures are thus needed to reconstruct a more accurate portrait of the AMH colonization dynamic. Northeastern Italy, with the key site of Fumane Cave, is one among the regions of Mediterranean Europe worthy of consideration for reconstructing this colonization process and its cultural dynamics. Within the framework of a critical discussion of the technological definition of the Protoaurignacian and its relationship with contemporaneous industries on a regional and supra-regional scale, we present the results of a detailed analysis of the lithic technology from units A2-A1 based on reduction sequence and attribute analyses. Results show that bladelets are the first goal of production and they do not originate from reduced blade cores but from a broad range of independent and simultaneous core reduction strategies. One implication is that the most commonly used technological trait that is said to define the Protoaurignacian has been over-emphasized and that the Protoaurignacian is technologically consistent across its geographical extent. Additional data based on carinated core technology imply that this techno-complex shares a common technological background with the Early Aurignacian and that no features are restricted to one of the two facies. Furthermore, the major difference between the Protoaurignacian and Early Aurignacian appears to be more typological in nature, with retouched bladelets being less common in the Early Aurignacian.
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Affiliation(s)
- Armando Falcucci
- Department of Early Prehistory and Quaternary Ecology, University of Tübingen, Schloss Hohentübingen, Tübingen, Germany
- * E-mail: (AF); (MP)
| | - Nicholas J. Conard
- Department of Early Prehistory and Quaternary Ecology, University of Tübingen, Schloss Hohentübingen, Tübingen, Germany
- Tübingen-Senckenberg Center for Human Evolution and Paleoecology, Schloss Hohentübingen, Tübingen, Germany
| | - Marco Peresani
- Università di Ferrara, Dipartimento di Studi Umanistici, Sezione di Scienze Preistoriche e Antropologiche, Corso Ercole I d'Este, Ferrara, Italy
- * E-mail: (AF); (MP)
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12
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Marín-Arroyo AB, Mihailović B. The Chronometric Dating and Subsistence of Late Neanderthals and Early Anatomically Modern Humans in the Central Balkans: Insights from Šalitrena Pećina (Mionica, Serbia). JOURNAL OF ANTHROPOLOGICAL RESEARCH 2017. [DOI: 10.1086/693054] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/03/2022]
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13
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Starkovich BM. Paleolithic subsistence strategies and changes in site use at Klissoura Cave 1 (Peloponnese, Greece). J Hum Evol 2017; 111:63-84. [PMID: 28874275 DOI: 10.1016/j.jhevol.2017.04.005] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/14/2015] [Revised: 03/24/2017] [Accepted: 04/18/2017] [Indexed: 11/17/2022]
Abstract
Klissoura Cave 1 in southern Greece preserves a long archaeological sequence that spans roughly 90,000 years and includes Middle Paleolithic, Uluzzian, Upper Paleolithic, and Mesolithic deposits. The site provides a unique opportunity to examine diachronic change and shifts in the intensity of site use across the Late Pleistocene. There is an overall picture of the intensified use of faunal resources at the site, evidenced by a shift from large to small game, and to small fast-moving taxa in particular. This trend is independent of climatic change and fluctuations in site use, and most likely reflects a broader, regional growth of hominin populations. At the same time, multiple lines of evidence (e.g., input of artifacts and features, sedimentation mechanisms, and intensification of faunal resources) indicate that the intensity of site use changed, with a sharp increase from the Middle Paleolithic to Aurignacian. This allows us to address a fundamental issue in the study of human evolution: differences in population size and site use between Neandertals and modern humans. At Klissoura Cave 1, the increase in occupation intensity might be related to population growth or larger group size, but it might also be due to changes in season of site use, more favorable environmental conditions at the beginning of the Upper Paleolithic, and/or changes in the composition of people occupying the site. These explanations are not necessarily mutually exclusive, and indeed the data support a combination of factors. Ascribing the increase in occupation intensity to larger Upper Paleolithic populations more broadly is difficult, particularly because there is little consensus on this topic elsewhere in Eurasia. The data are complicated and vary greatly between sites and regions. This makes Klissoura Cave 1, as the only currently available case study in southeastern Europe, a critical example in understanding the range of variation in demography and site use across the Middle to Upper Paleolithic transition.
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Affiliation(s)
- Britt M Starkovich
- Institute for Archaeological Sciences, University of Tübingen, Germany; Senckenberg Center for Human Evolution and Paleoenvironment at Tübingen, Germany; School of Anthropology, University of Arizona, Tucson, USA.
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14
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High-precision 14C and 40Ar/ 39Ar dating of the Campanian Ignimbrite (Y-5) reconciles the time-scales of climatic-cultural processes at 40 ka. Sci Rep 2017; 7:45940. [PMID: 28383570 PMCID: PMC5382912 DOI: 10.1038/srep45940] [Citation(s) in RCA: 131] [Impact Index Per Article: 18.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/22/2017] [Accepted: 03/07/2017] [Indexed: 11/24/2022] Open
Abstract
The Late Pleistocene Campanian Ignimbrite (CI) super-eruption (Southern Italy) is the largest known volcanic event in the Mediterranean area. The CI tephra is widely dispersed through western Eurasia and occurs in close stratigraphic association with significant palaeoclimatic and Palaeolithic cultural events. Here we present new high-precision 14C (34.29 ± 0.09 14C kyr BP, 1σ) and 40Ar/39Ar (39.85 ± 0.14 ka, 95% confidence level) dating results for the age of the CI eruption, which substantially improve upon or augment previous age determinations and permit fuller exploitation of the chronological potential of the CI tephra marker. These results provide a robust pair of 14C and 40Ar/39Ar ages for refining both the radiocarbon calibration curve and the Late Pleistocene time-scale at ca. 40 ka. In addition, these new age constraints provide compelling chronological evidence for the significance of the combined influence of the CI eruption and Heinrich Event 4 on European climate and potentially evolutionary processes of the Early Upper Palaeolithic.
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15
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Tomasso A, Porraz G. Hunter-gatherer mobility and embedded raw-material procurement strategies in the mediterranean upper paleolithic. Evol Anthropol 2016; 25:164-74. [DOI: 10.1002/evan.21488] [Citation(s) in RCA: 25] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/22/2016] [Indexed: 11/08/2022]
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16
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Roussel M, Soressi M, Hublin JJ. The Châtelperronian conundrum: Blade and bladelet lithic technologies from Quinçay, France. J Hum Evol 2016; 95:13-32. [PMID: 27260172 DOI: 10.1016/j.jhevol.2016.02.003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 36] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/19/2014] [Revised: 01/01/2016] [Accepted: 02/15/2016] [Indexed: 11/18/2022]
Abstract
The discovery of an almost complete Neanderthal skeleton in a Châtelperronian context at Saint-Césaire 35 years ago changed our perspective on the beginning of the Upper Paleolithic in western Europe. Since then, the Châtelperronian has generally been considered a "transitional" industry rather than an Upper or a Middle Paleolithic industry because of its chronological position, and the association of Neanderthal remains with blades, bone tools and personal ornaments. Several competing hypotheses have been proposed to explain the association between Neanderthals and these types of artefacts including post-depositional mixing, acculturation from anatomically modern human populations, or an independent technological evolution by local Neanderthal populations. Quinçay Cave is the only Châtelperronian site where personal ornaments have been found that does not contain an overlying Upper Paleolithic layer. This means that the post-depositional mixing of later elements into the Châtelperronian may not be used as an explanation for the presence of these materials. We report here on a detailed technological analysis of lithic artefacts from the three Châtelperronian layers at Quinçay Cave. We compare our results with the technology of Mousterian blade industries dating to OIS (oxygen isotope stage) 5, the Mousterian of Acheulian Tradition type B, and the Proto-Aurignacian. We show that the Châtelperronian is sufficiently divergent from the Middle Paleolithic to be classified as a fully Upper Paleolithic industry, with a focus on blade and bladelet production. We also show that the Quinçay Châtelperronian includes retouched bladelets that resemble those found in the Proto-Aurignacian, but were produced in a different manner. We argue that a technological convergence cannot account for these behaviors, since the specific type of retouched bladelet associated with the Châtelperronian was also regularly used by Proto-Aurignacian of neighboring regions. We suggest that the idea of retouched bladelets may have diffused from the northern Proto-Aurignacian to the Quinçay Châtelperronian and that the transmission of the morphology of this desired end-product without the transmission of its manufacturing process may point toward a low degree of social intimacy between these groups. We conclude that the apparent paradox of the Châtelperronian is the result of the complexity of interaction between Neanderthal and anatomically modern human groups in western Europe between 45,000 and 40,000 years ago.
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Affiliation(s)
- M Roussel
- Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Department of Human Evolution, Deutscher Platz 6, 04103 Leipzig, Germany; Leiden University, Faculty of Archaeology, Human Origins Research Group, Van Steenis gebouw, Einsteinweg 2, 2333 CC Leiden, The Netherlands; CNRS UMR 7041 ArScAn, AnTET, MAE, 21 allée de l'Université, 92023 Nanterre Cedex, France.
| | - M Soressi
- Leiden University, Faculty of Archaeology, Human Origins Research Group, Van Steenis gebouw, Einsteinweg 2, 2333 CC Leiden, The Netherlands; Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Department of Human Evolution, Deutscher Platz 6, 04103 Leipzig, Germany.
| | - J-J Hublin
- Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Department of Human Evolution, Deutscher Platz 6, 04103 Leipzig, Germany
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17
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Kadowaki S, Omori T, Nishiaki Y. Variability in Early Ahmarian lithic technology and its implications for the model of a Levantine origin of the Protoaurignacian. J Hum Evol 2016; 82:67-87. [PMID: 25924809 DOI: 10.1016/j.jhevol.2015.02.017] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/18/2014] [Revised: 02/23/2015] [Accepted: 02/24/2015] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
This paper re-examines lithic technological variability of the Early Ahmarian, one of the early Upper Palaeolithic cultural entities in the Levant, which has often been regarded as a precursor of the Protoaurignacian (the early Upper Palaeolithic in Europe) in arguments for the occurrence of a cultural spread in association with the dispersal of Homo sapiens from the Levant to Europe. Using quantitative data on several lithic techno-typological attributes, we demonstrate that there is a significant degree of variability in the Early Ahmarian between the northern and southern Levant, as previously pointed out by several researchers. In addition, we suggest that the technology similar to the southern Early Ahmarian also existed in the northern Levant, i.e., the Ksar Akil Phase 4 group (the KA 4 group), by introducing new Upper Palaeolithic assemblages from Wadi Kharar 16R, inland Syria. We then review currently available stratigraphic records and radiocarbon dates (including a new date from Wadi Kharar 16R), with special attention to their methodological background. As a result, we propose alternative chronological scenarios, including one that postulates that the southern Early Ahmarian and the KA 4 group appeared later than the northern Early Ahmarian with little or no overlap. On the basis of the alternative scenarios of chronological/geographical patterns of the Early Ahmarian variability, we propose four possible relationships between the Protoaurignacian and the Early Ahmarian, including a new scenario that the appearance of the Protoaurignacian preceded those of similar technological entities in the Levant, i.e., the southern Early Ahmarian and the KA 4 group. If the last hypothesis is substantiated, it requires us to reconsider the model of a Levantine origin of the Protoaurignacian and its palaeoanthropological implications.
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Affiliation(s)
- Seiji Kadowaki
- Nagoya University Museum, Nagoya University, Furo-cho, Chikusa-ku, Nagoya, 464-8601, Japan.
| | - Takayuki Omori
- The University Museum, The University of Tokyo, Hongo 7-3-1, Bunkyo, Tokyo, 113-0033, Japan
| | - Yoshihiro Nishiaki
- The University Museum, The University of Tokyo, Hongo 7-3-1, Bunkyo, Tokyo, 113-0033, Japan
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18
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Hussain ST, Floss H. Streams as Entanglement of Nature and Culture: European Upper Paleolithic River Systems and Their Role as Features of Spatial Organization. JOURNAL OF ARCHAEOLOGICAL METHOD AND THEORY 2015; 23:1162-1218. [PMID: 29368748 PMCID: PMC5750683 DOI: 10.1007/s10816-015-9263-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/07/2023]
Abstract
Large river valleys have long been seen as important factors to shape the mobility, communication, and exchange of Pleistocene hunter-gatherers. However, rivers have been debated as either natural entities people adapt and react to or as cultural and meaningful entities people experience and interpret in different ways. Here, we attempt to integrate both perspectives. Building on theoretical work from various disciplines, we discuss the relationship between biophysical river properties and sociocultural river semantics and suggest that understanding a river's persona is central to evaluating its role in spatial organization. By reviewing the literature and analyzing European Upper Paleolithic site distribution and raw material transfer patterns in relation to river catchments, we show that the role of prominent rivers varies considerably over time. Both ecological and cultural factors are crucial to explaining these patterns. Whereas the Earlier Upper Paleolithic record displays a general tendency toward conceiving rivers as mobility guidelines, the spatial consolidation process after the colonization of the European mainland is paralleled by a trend of conceptualizing river regimes as frontiers, separating archaeological entities, regional groups, or local networks. The Late Upper Paleolithic Magdalenian, however, is characterized again by a role of rivers as mobility and communication vectors. Tracing changing patterns in the role of certain river regimes through time thus contributes to our growing knowledge of human spatial behavior and helps to improve our understanding of dynamic and mutually informed human-environment interactions in the Paleolithic.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shumon T. Hussain
- Paleolithic Research Unit, University of Cologne, CRC 806 “Our Way to Europe”, Bernhard-Feilchenfeld-Str. 11, 50969 Cologne, Germany
- Faculty of Archaeology, Leiden University, Einsteinweg 2, NL-2333CC Leiden, The Netherlands
| | - Harald Floss
- Department of Early Prehistory and Quaternary Ecology, University of Tübingen, Burgsteige 11, Schloss Hohentübingen, 72070 Tübingen, Germany
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19
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Ruebens K, McPherron SJP, Hublin JJ. On the local Mousterian origin of the Châtelperronian: Integrating typo-technological, chronostratigraphic and contextual data. J Hum Evol 2015; 86:55-91. [PMID: 26277304 DOI: 10.1016/j.jhevol.2015.06.011] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/15/2014] [Revised: 06/18/2015] [Accepted: 06/19/2015] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
Across Europe the period 45-40 ka (thousands of years ago) is associated with several technological changes, including the emergence of the Châtelperronian technocomplex in France and northern Spain. The Châtelperronian, stratigraphically located between the Mousterian and Aurignacian, is characterized by Upper Palaeolithic features, such as volumetric blade reduction, curved backed blades, end-scrapers, bladelets, bone tools and ornaments. Concurrently, repeated, though debated, associations with Neanderthal remains and Mousterian elements suggest a local technological development. Following recent critiques and cumulating technological studies, this paper provides data-driven contextualisations of the Châtelperronian and late Mousterian archaeological records and a primary comparative assessment of a major linking element, backed knives, to re-assess the origin of the Châtelperronian. The results demonstrate the challenging nature of the 50-35 ka record, with many interpretive problems caused by poorly recorded excavations, resulting in only 25 well-contextualised assemblages from the claimed 143 Châtelperronian find spots. These 25 assemblages facilitate more detailed chronostratigraphic and typo-technological assessments and show that the Châtelperronian has a homogenous set of technologies and tools. A similar evaluation of the late Mousterian indicates a wide-ranging late Neanderthal skill set, commonly including laminar blank production and backing. Further, conceptual similarities were noted both in blank selection and edge modification between Mousterian and Châtelperronian backed knives, alongside their near-absence in other, contemporaneous technocomplexes. A Europe-wide contextualisation shows that while the current coarse-grained record still allows for several potential scenarios, the data throughout this paper point towards a most parsimonious model of a Châtelperronian made by Neanderthals, with roots in the late Middle Palaeolithic technological skill set. However, this change seems triggered by early arrivals of modern humans either indirectly, through stimulus diffusion, or directly, after ca. 42 ka. Fully testing this model requires an ongoing focus on site formation and assemblage integrity, alongside in-depth analyses of recently excavated assemblages and existing collections.
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Affiliation(s)
- Karen Ruebens
- Department of Human Evolution, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Deutscher Platz 6, D-04103 Leipzig, Germany; MONREPOS Archaeological Research Centre and Museum for Human Behavioural Evolution, RGZM, Schloss Monrepos, D-56567 Neuwied, Germany.
| | - Shannon J P McPherron
- Department of Human Evolution, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Deutscher Platz 6, D-04103 Leipzig, Germany
| | - Jean-Jacques Hublin
- Department of Human Evolution, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Deutscher Platz 6, D-04103 Leipzig, Germany
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20
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Zilhão J, Banks WE, d’Errico F, Gioia P. Analysis of Site Formation and Assemblage Integrity Does Not Support Attribution of the Uluzzian to Modern Humans at Grotta del Cavallo. PLoS One 2015; 10:e0131181. [PMID: 26154139 PMCID: PMC4495988 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0131181] [Citation(s) in RCA: 73] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/17/2014] [Accepted: 05/29/2015] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Based on the morphology of two deciduous molars and radiocarbon ages from layers D and E of the Grotta del Cavallo (Lecce, Italy), assigned to the Uluzzian, it has been proposed that modern humans were the makers of this Early Upper Paleolithic culture and that this finding considerably weakens the case for an independent emergence of symbolism among western European Neandertals. Reappraisal of the new dating evidence, of the finds curated in the Taranto Antiquities depot, and of coeval publications detailing the site’s 1963–66 excavations shows that (a) Protoaurignacian, Aurignacian and Early Epigravettian lithics exist in the assemblages from layers D and E, (b) even though it contains both inherited and intrusive items, the formation of layer D began during Protoaurignacian times, and (c) the composition of the extant Cavallo assemblages is influenced in a non-negligible manner by the post-hoc assignment of items to stratigraphic units distinct from that of original discovery. In addition, a major disturbance feature affected the 1960s excavation trench down to Mousterian layer F, this feature went unrecognized until 1964, the human remains assigned to the Uluzzian were discovered that year and/or the previous year, and there are contradictions between field reports and the primary anthropological description of the remains as to their morphology and level of provenience. Given these major contextual uncertainties, the Cavallo teeth cannot be used to establish the authorship of the Uluzzian. Since this technocomplex’s start date is ca. 45,000 calendar years ago, a number of Neandertal fossils are dated to this period, and the oldest diagnostic European modern human fossil is the <41,400 year-old Oase 1 mandible, Neandertal authorship of the Uluzzian remains the parsimonious reading of the evidence.
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Affiliation(s)
- João Zilhão
- Universitat de Barcelona, Seminari d'Estudis i Recerques Prehistòriques (SGR2014-00108), Departament de Prehistòria, Història Antiga i Arqueologia, Facultat de Geografia i Història, C/ Montalegre 6, 08001 Barcelona, Spain
- Institució Catalana de Recerca i Estudis Avançats (ICREA), Passeig Lluís Companys 23, 08010 Barcelona, Spain
| | - William E. Banks
- Unité Mixte de Recherche 5199, de la Préhistoire à l’Actuel: Culture, Environnement et Anthropologie (UMR 5199 – PACEA), Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Université de Bordeaux, Bâtiment B18, Allée Geoffroy Saint Hilaire, CS 50023 33615 Pessac Cedex, France
- Biodiversity Institute, University of Kansas, 1345 Jayhawk Blvd., Dyche Hall, Lawrence, KS, 66045–7562, United States of America
| | - Francesco d’Errico
- Unité Mixte de Recherche 5199, de la Préhistoire à l’Actuel: Culture, Environnement et Anthropologie (UMR 5199 – PACEA), Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Université de Bordeaux, Bâtiment B18, Allée Geoffroy Saint Hilaire, CS 50023 33615 Pessac Cedex, France
- Department of Archaeology, History, Cultural Studies and Religion, University of Bergen, Øysteinsgate 3, 5007 Bergen, Norway
- * E-mail:
| | - Patrizia Gioia
- Sapienza—Università di Roma, Dipartimento di Scienze dell’Antichità, Facoltà di Lettere e Filosofia, Piazzale Aldo Moro 5, 00185 Rome, Italy
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New chronology for Ksâr 'Akil (Lebanon) supports Levantine route of modern human dispersal into Europe. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2015; 112:7683-8. [PMID: 26034284 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1501529112] [Citation(s) in RCA: 72] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Modern human dispersal into Europe is thought to have occurred with the start of the Upper Paleolithic around 50,000-40,000 y ago. The Levantine corridor hypothesis suggests that modern humans from Africa spread into Europe via the Levant. Ksâr 'Akil (Lebanon), with its deeply stratified Initial (IUP) and Early (EUP) Upper Paleolithic sequence containing modern human remains, has played an important part in the debate. The latest chronology for the site, based on AMS radiocarbon dates of shell ornaments, suggests that the appearance of the Levantine IUP is later than the start of the first Upper Paleolithic in Europe, thus questioning the Levantine corridor hypothesis. Here we report a series of AMS radiocarbon dates on the marine gastropod Phorcus turbinatus associated with modern human remains and IUP and EUP stone tools from Ksâr 'Akil. Our results, supported by an evaluation of individual sample integrity, place the EUP layer containing the skeleton known as "Egbert" between 43,200 and 42,900 cal B.P. and the IUP-associated modern human maxilla known as "Ethelruda" before ∼ 45,900 cal B.P. This chronology is in line with those of other Levantine IUP and EUP sites and demonstrates that the presence of modern humans associated with Upper Paleolithic toolkits in the Levant predates all modern human fossils from Europe. The age of the IUP-associated Ethelruda fossil is significant for the spread of modern humans carrying the IUP into Europe and suggests a rapid initial colonization of Europe by our species.
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Benazzi S, Slon V, Talamo S, Negrino F, Peresani M, Bailey SE, Sawyer S, Panetta D, Vicino G, Starnini E, Mannino MA, Salvadori PA, Meyer M, Paabo S, Hublin JJ. The makers of the Protoaurignacian and implications for Neandertal extinction. Science 2015; 348:793-6. [DOI: 10.1126/science.aaa2773] [Citation(s) in RCA: 129] [Impact Index Per Article: 14.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/11/2014] [Accepted: 03/16/2015] [Indexed: 12/17/2022]
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Early modern human settlement of Europe north of the Alps occurred 43,500 years ago in a cold steppe-type environment. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2014; 111:14394-9. [PMID: 25246543 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1412201111] [Citation(s) in RCA: 63] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
The first settlement of Europe by modern humans is thought to have occurred between 50,000 and 40,000 calendar years ago (cal B.P.). In Europe, modern human remains of this time period are scarce and often are not associated with archaeology or originate from old excavations with no contextual information. Hence, the behavior of the first modern humans in Europe is still unknown. Aurignacian assemblages--demonstrably made by modern humans--are commonly used as proxies for the presence of fully behaviorally and anatomically modern humans. The site of Willendorf II (Austria) is well known for its Early Upper Paleolithic horizons, which are among the oldest in Europe. However, their age and attribution to the Aurignacian remain an issue of debate. Here, we show that archaeological horizon 3 (AH 3) consists of faunal remains and Early Aurignacian lithic artifacts. By using stratigraphic, paleoenvironmental, and chronological data, AH 3 is ascribed to the onset of Greenland Interstadial 11, around 43,500 cal B.P., and thus is older than any other Aurignacian assemblage. Furthermore, the AH 3 assemblage overlaps with the latest directly radiocarbon-dated Neanderthal remains, suggesting that Neanderthal and modern human presence overlapped in Europe for some millennia, possibly at rather close geographical range. Most importantly, for the first time to our knowledge, we have a high-resolution environmental context for an Early Aurignacian site in Central Europe, demonstrating an early appearance of behaviorally modern humans in a medium-cold steppe-type environment with some boreal trees along valleys around 43,500 cal B.P.
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Antonioli F, Lo Presti V, Morticelli MG, Bonfiglio L, Mannino MA, Palombo MR, Sannino G, Ferranti L, Furlani S, Lambeck K, Canese S, Catalano R, Chiocci FL, Mangano G, Scicchitano G, Tonielli R. Timing of the emergence of the Europe–Sicily bridge (40–17 cal ka BP) and its implications for the spread of modern humans. ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 2014. [DOI: 10.1144/sp411.1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 29] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/04/2022]
Abstract
AbstractThe submerged sill in the Strait of Messina, which is located today at a minimum depth of 81 m below sea level (bsl), represents the only land connection between Sicily and mainland Italy (and thus Europe) during the last lowstand when the sea level locally stood at about 126 m bsl. Today, the sea crossing to Sicily, although it is less than 4 km at the narrowest point, faces hazardous sea conditions, made famous by the myth of Scylla and Charybdis. Through a multidisciplinary research project, we document the timing and mode of emergence of this land connection during the last 40 kyr. The integrated analysis takes into consideration morphobathymetric and lithological data, and relative sea-level change (both isostatic and tectonic), resulting in the hypothesis that a continental land bridge lasted for at least 500 years between 21.5 and 20 cal ka BP. The emergence may have occurred over an even longer time span if one allows for seafloor erosion by marine currents that have lowered the seabed since the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM). Modelling of palaeotidal velocities shows that sea crossings when sea level was lower than present would have faced even stronger and more hazardous sea currents than today, supporting the hypothesis that earliest human entry into Sicily most probably took place on foot during the period when the sill emerged as dry land. This hypothesis is compared with an analysis of Pleistocene vertebrate faunas in Sicily and mainland Italy, including a new radiocarbon date on bone collagen of an Equus hydruntinus specimen from Grotta di San Teodoro (23–21 cal ka BP), the dispersal abilities of the various animal species involved, particularly their swimming abilities, and the Palaeolithic archaeological record, all of which support the hypothesis of a relatively late land-based colonization of Sicily by Homo sapiens.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Valeria Lo Presti
- Earth and Marine Science Deptartment, Palermo University, Palermo, Italy
| | | | - Laura Bonfiglio
- Fauna Museum, Department of Veterinary Science, Messina University, Messina, Italy
| | - Marcello A. Mannino
- Department of Human Evolution, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany
| | | | | | - Luigi Ferranti
- DiSTAR, Earth Science, Environmental and Resources Department, University of Naples, Naples, Italy
| | - Stefano Furlani
- Mathematics and Geoscience Deptartment, University of Trieste, Trieste, Italy
| | - Kurt Lambeck
- Australian National University, Canberra, ACT, Australia
- Ecole Normale Supérieure, Paris, France
| | - Simonepietro Canese
- ISPRA Italian National Institute for Environmental Protection and Research, Rome, Italy
| | - Raimondo Catalano
- Earth and Marine Science Deptartment, Palermo University, Palermo, Italy
| | | | - Gabriella Mangano
- Fauna Museum, Department of Veterinary Science, Messina University, Messina, Italy
| | - Giovanni Scicchitano
- Studio Geologi Associati T.S.T., Catania, Italy
- Earth and Marine Science Department, Catania University, Catania, Italy
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Talamo S, Peresani M, Romandini M, Duches R, Jéquier C, Nannini N, Pastoors A, Picin A, Vaquero M, Weniger GC, Hublin JJ. Detecting human presence at the border of the Northeastern Italian Pre-Alps. 14C dating at Rio Secco cave as expression of the first Gravettian and the late mousterian in the Northern Adriatic Region. PLoS One 2014; 9:e95376. [PMID: 24759802 PMCID: PMC3997387 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0095376] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/27/2014] [Accepted: 03/25/2014] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
In the northern Adriatic regions, which include the Venetian region and the Dalmatian coast, late Neanderthal settlements are recorded in few sites and even more ephemeral are remains of the Mid-Upper Palaeolithic occupations. A contribution to reconstruct the human presence during this time range has been produced from a recently investigated cave, Rio Secco, located in the northern Adriatic region at the foot of the Carnic Pre-Alps. Chronometric data make Rio Secco a key site in the context of recording occupation by late Neanderthals and regarding the diffusion of the Mid-Upper Palaeolithic culture in a particular district at the border of the alpine region. As for the Gravettian, its diffusion in Italy is a subject of on-going research and the aim of this paper is to provide new information on the timing of this process in Italy. In the southern end of the Peninsula the first occupation dates to around 28,000 14C BP, whereas our results on Gravettian layer range from 29,390 to 28,995 14C years BP. At the present state of knowledge, the emergence of the Gravettian in eastern Italy is contemporaneous with several sites in Central Europe and the chronological dates support the hypothesis that the Swabian Gravettian probably dispersed from eastern Austria.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sahra Talamo
- Department of Human Evolution, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany
- * E-mail:
| | - Marco Peresani
- Universitá di Ferrara, Dipartimento di Studi Umanistici, Ferrara, Italy
| | - Matteo Romandini
- Universitá di Ferrara, Dipartimento di Studi Umanistici, Ferrara, Italy
| | - Rossella Duches
- Universitá di Ferrara, Dipartimento di Studi Umanistici, Ferrara, Italy
- Museo delle Scienze, Trento, Italy
| | - Camille Jéquier
- Universitá di Ferrara, Dipartimento di Studi Umanistici, Ferrara, Italy
| | - Nicola Nannini
- Universitá di Ferrara, Dipartimento di Studi Umanistici, Ferrara, Italy
| | | | - Andrea Picin
- Neanderthal Museum, Mettmann, Germany
- Institut Català de Paleoecologia Humana i Evolució Social (IPHES), Tarragona, Spain
- Universitat Rovira I Virgili, Area de Prehistòria, Tarragona, Spain
| | - Manuel Vaquero
- Institut Català de Paleoecologia Humana i Evolució Social (IPHES), Tarragona, Spain
- Universitat Rovira I Virgili, Area de Prehistòria, Tarragona, Spain
| | | | - Jean-Jacques Hublin
- Department of Human Evolution, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany
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Wood R, Arrizabalaga A, Camps M, Fallon S, Iriarte-Chiapusso MJ, Jones R, Maroto J, de la Rasilla M, Santamaría D, Soler J, Soler N, Villaluenga A, Higham T. The chronology of the earliest Upper Palaeolithic in northern Iberia: New insights from L'Arbreda, Labeko Koba and La Viña. J Hum Evol 2014; 69:91-109. [DOI: 10.1016/j.jhevol.2013.12.017] [Citation(s) in RCA: 120] [Impact Index Per Article: 12.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/30/2013] [Revised: 11/15/2013] [Accepted: 12/11/2013] [Indexed: 11/25/2022]
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Douka K, Higham TF, Wood R, Boscato P, Gambassini P, Karkanas P, Peresani M, Ronchitelli AM. On the chronology of the Uluzzian. J Hum Evol 2014; 68:1-13. [DOI: 10.1016/j.jhevol.2013.12.007] [Citation(s) in RCA: 93] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/10/2013] [Revised: 10/29/2013] [Accepted: 12/10/2013] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
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Ronchitelli A, Benazzi S, Boscato P, Douka K, Moroni A. Comments on "human-climate interaction during the Early Upper Paleolithic: testing the hypothesis of an adaptive shift between the Proto-Aurignacian and the Early Aurignacian" by William E. Banks, Francesco d'Errico, João Zilhão. J Hum Evol 2014; 73:107-11. [PMID: 24529865 DOI: 10.1016/j.jhevol.2013.12.010] [Citation(s) in RCA: 24] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/27/2013] [Revised: 11/05/2013] [Accepted: 12/10/2013] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Annamaria Ronchitelli
- Dipartimento di Scienze Fisiche, della Terra e dell'Ambiente, U.R. Preistoria e Antropologia, Università degli Studi di Siena, Via Laterina 8, 53100 Siena, Italy
| | - Stefano Benazzi
- Department of Human Evolution, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Deutscher Platz 6, 04103 Leipzig, Germany; Department of Cultural Heritage, University of Bologna, Via degli Ariani 1, Ravenna 48121, Italy
| | - Paolo Boscato
- Dipartimento di Scienze Fisiche, della Terra e dell'Ambiente, U.R. Preistoria e Antropologia, Università degli Studi di Siena, Via Laterina 8, 53100 Siena, Italy.
| | - Katerina Douka
- Oxford Radiocarbon Accelerator Unit, Research Laboratory for Archaeology and the History of Art, University of Oxford, Oxford OX1 3QY, United Kingdom
| | - Adriana Moroni
- Dipartimento di Scienze Fisiche, della Terra e dell'Ambiente, U.R. Preistoria e Antropologia, Università degli Studi di Siena, Via Laterina 8, 53100 Siena, Italy
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Higham T, Wood R, Moreau L, Conard N, Ramsey CB. Comments on ‘Human–climate interaction during the early Upper Paleolithic: Testing the hypothesis of an adaptive shift between the Proto-Aurignacian and the Early Aurignacian’ by Banks et al. J Hum Evol 2013; 65:806-9. [DOI: 10.1016/j.jhevol.2013.06.010] [Citation(s) in RCA: 27] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/13/2013] [Revised: 06/12/2013] [Accepted: 06/21/2013] [Indexed: 12/01/2022]
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Banks WE, d'Errico F, Zilhão J. Revisiting the chronology of the Proto-Aurignacian and the Early Aurignacian in Europe: A reply to Higham et al.'s comments on. J Hum Evol 2013; 65:810-7. [DOI: 10.1016/j.jhevol.2013.08.004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 33] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/20/2013] [Revised: 07/27/2013] [Accepted: 08/26/2013] [Indexed: 10/26/2022]
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Condemi S, Mounier A, Giunti P, Lari M, Caramelli D, Longo L. Possible interbreeding in late Italian Neanderthals? New data from the Mezzena jaw (Monti Lessini, Verona, Italy). PLoS One 2013; 8:e59781. [PMID: 23544098 PMCID: PMC3609795 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0059781] [Citation(s) in RCA: 24] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/30/2012] [Accepted: 02/18/2013] [Indexed: 01/08/2023] Open
Abstract
In this article we examine the mandible of Riparo Mezzena a Middle Paleolithic rockshelter in the Monti Lessini (NE Italy, Verona) found in 1957 in association with Charentian Mousterian lithic assemblages. Mitochondrial DNA analysis performed on this jaw and on other cranial fragments found at the same stratigraphic level has led to the identification of the only genetically typed Neanderthal of the Italian peninsula and has confirmed through direct dating that it belongs to a late Neanderthal. Our aim here is to re-evaluate the taxonomic affinities of the Mezzena mandible in a wide comparative framework using both comparative morphology and geometric morphometrics. The comparative sample includes mid-Pleistocene fossils, Neanderthals and anatomically modern humans. This study of the Mezzena jaw shows that the chin region is similar to that of other late Neanderthals which display a much more modern morphology with an incipient mental trigone (e.g. Spy 1, La Ferrassie, Saint-Césaire). In our view, this change in morphology among late Neanderthals supports the hypothesis of anatomical change of late Neanderthals and the hypothesis of a certain degree of interbreeding with AMHs that, as the dating shows, was already present in the European territory. Our observations on the chin of the Mezzena mandible lead us to support a non abrupt phylogenetic transition for this period in Europe.
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Affiliation(s)
- Silvana Condemi
- UMR 7268 CNRS/Aix-Marseille Université/EFS ADES - Anthropologie bioculturelle, Droit, Ethique et Santé Faculté de Médecine - Secteur Nord Aix-Marseille Université, Marseille, France
- * E-mail: (SC); (LL)
| | - Aurélien Mounier
- UMR 7268 CNRS/Aix-Marseille Université/EFS ADES - Anthropologie bioculturelle, Droit, Ethique et Santé Faculté de Médecine - Secteur Nord Aix-Marseille Université, Marseille, France
- The Leverhulme Centre for Human Evolutionary Studies Biological, Anthropology Division, Department of Archaeology and Anthropology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, United Kingdom
| | - Paolo Giunti
- Istituto Italiano di Preistoria e Protostoria, Firenze, Italy
| | - Martina Lari
- Università di Firenze, Dipartimento di Biologia Evoluzionistica, Laboratorio di Antropologia,Unità di Antropologia Molecolare/Paleogenetica, Firenze, Italy
| | - David Caramelli
- Università di Firenze, Dipartimento di Biologia Evoluzionistica, Laboratorio di Antropologia,Unità di Antropologia Molecolare/Paleogenetica, Firenze, Italy
| | - Laura Longo
- Musei Civici Fiorentini, Firenze, Italy
- * E-mail: (SC); (LL)
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Higham T, Basell L, Jacobi R, Wood R, Ramsey CB, Conard NJ. Τesting models for the beginnings of the Aurignacian and the advent of figurative art and music: the radiocarbon chronology of Geißenklösterle. J Hum Evol 2012; 62:664-76. [PMID: 22575323 DOI: 10.1016/j.jhevol.2012.03.003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 81] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/12/2011] [Revised: 03/07/2012] [Accepted: 03/14/2012] [Indexed: 10/28/2022]
Abstract
The German site of Geißenklösterle is crucial to debates concerning the European Middle to Upper Palaeolithic transition and the origins of the Aurignacian in Europe. Previous dates from the site are central to an important hypothesis, the Kulturpumpe model, which posits that the Swabian Jura was an area where crucial behavioural developments took place and then spread to other parts of Europe. The previous chronology (critical to the model), is based mainly on radiocarbon dating, but remains poorly constrained due to the dating resolution and the variability of dates. The cause of these problems is disputed, but two principal explanations have been proposed: a) larger than expected variations in the production of atmospheric radiocarbon, and b) taphonomic influences in the site mixing the bones that were dated into different parts of the site. We reinvestigate the chronology using a new series of radiocarbon determinations obtained from the Mousterian, Aurignacian and Gravettian levels. The results strongly imply that the previous dates were affected by insufficient decontamination of the bone collagen prior to dating. Using an ultrafiltration protocol the chronometric picture becomes much clearer. Comparison of the results against other recently dated sites in other parts of Europe suggests the Early Aurignacian levels are earlier than other sites in the south of France and Italy, but not as early as recently dated sites which suggest a pre-Aurignacian dispersal of modern humans to Italy by ∼45000 cal BP. They are consistent with the importance of the Danube Corridor as a key route for the movement of people and ideas. The new dates fail to refute the Kulturpumpe model and suggest that Swabian Jura is a region that contributed significantly to the evolution of symbolic behaviour as indicated by early evidence for figurative art, music and mythical imagery.
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Affiliation(s)
- Thomas Higham
- Oxford Radiocarbon Accelerator Unit, Research Laboratory for Archaeology and the History of Art, University of Oxford, Oxford OX1 3QY, UK.
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