1
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Rybin EP, Belousova NE, Derevianko AP, Douka K, Higham T. The Initial Upper Paleolithic of the Altai: New radiocarbon determinations for the Kara-Bom site. J Hum Evol 2023; 185:103453. [PMID: 37931353 DOI: 10.1016/j.jhevol.2023.103453] [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: 04/11/2022] [Revised: 09/26/2023] [Accepted: 09/28/2023] [Indexed: 11/08/2023]
Abstract
The Initial Upper Paleolithic (IUP) is one of the most important phases in the recent period of the evolution of humans. During a narrow period in the first half of Marine Isotope Stage 3 laminar industries, accompanied by developed symbolism and specific blade technology, emerged over a vast area, replacing different variants of the Middle Paleolithic. In western Eurasia, the earliest appearance of IUP technology is seen at the Boker Tachtit site, dated ca. 50 ka cal BP. The earliest evidence of IUP industries in the Balkans and Central Europe, linked to the spread of Homo sapiens, has been dated to around 48 ka cal BP. A key area of IUP dispersals are the mountains and piedmont of southern Siberia and eastern Central Asia. One of the reference assemblages here is Kara-Bom, an open-air site in the Siberian Altai. Three major settlement phases are distinguished in the sediment sequence. In this paper, we present the results of new radiocarbon determinations and Bayesian models. We find that the latest phase of the IUP, Upper Paleolithic 1 ('UP1') is bracketed between 43 and 35 ka cal BP (at 95.4% probability). The earliest IUP phase, 'UP2', begins to accumulate from ca. 49 ka cal BP and ends by ca. 45 ka cal BP. The Middle Paleolithic 'MP2' assemblages all fall prior to 50 ka cal BP. We can detect a spatial distribution of dates from the geographic core of the IUP beyond the Altai where it appears around 47-45 ka cal BP. The current distribution of dates suggests a west-east dispersal of the IUP technocomplex along the mountain belts of Central Asia and South Siberia.
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Affiliation(s)
- Evgeny P Rybin
- Institute of Archaeology and Ethnography of the Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences (IAET SB RAS): 17, Acad. Lavrentiev Avenue, Novosibirsk 630090, Russia
| | - Natalia E Belousova
- Institute of Archaeology and Ethnography of the Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences (IAET SB RAS): 17, Acad. Lavrentiev Avenue, Novosibirsk 630090, Russia.
| | - Anatoly P Derevianko
- Institute of Archaeology and Ethnography of the Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences (IAET SB RAS): 17, Acad. Lavrentiev Avenue, Novosibirsk 630090, Russia
| | - Katerina Douka
- Department of Evolutionary Anthropology, Faculty of Life Sciences, Djerassiplatz 1, University of Vienna, Vienna 1030, Austria; Human Evolution and Archaeological Sciences (HEAS), University of Vienna 1030 Vienna, Austria
| | - Tom Higham
- Department of Evolutionary Anthropology, Faculty of Life Sciences, Djerassiplatz 1, University of Vienna, Vienna 1030, Austria; Human Evolution and Archaeological Sciences (HEAS), University of Vienna 1030 Vienna, Austria.
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2
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Mata-González M, Starkovich BM, Zeidi M, Conard NJ. Evidence of diverse animal exploitation during the Middle Paleolithic at Ghar-e Boof (southern Zagros). Sci Rep 2023; 13:19006. [PMID: 37923753 PMCID: PMC10624823 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-023-45974-8] [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: 05/31/2023] [Accepted: 10/26/2023] [Indexed: 11/06/2023] Open
Abstract
Although Middle Paleolithic (MP) hominin diets consisted mainly of ungulates, increasing evidence demonstrates that hominins at least occasionally consumed tortoises, birds, leporids, fish, and carnivores. Until now, the MP zooarchaeological record in the Zagros Mountains has been almost exclusively restricted to ungulates. The narrow range of hominin prey may reflect socioeconomic decisions and/or environmental constraints, but could also result from a research bias favoring the study of large prey, since archaeologists have undertaken no systematic taphonomic analyses of small game or carnivores in the region. Here, we report on the first comprehensive taphonomic analysis of an MP faunal assemblage from Ghar-e Boof (∼ 81-45 kyr), a Late Pleistocene site in the southern Zagros of Iran. Anthropogenic bone surface modifications point to hominins as the main agent of accumulation. Hominins preyed primarily on ungulates, particularly wild goat. However, we also found evidence for MP hominin exploitation of carnivores and tortoises at the site. Although small game represents only a minor portion of the diet, our results suggest that the hunting behavior of MP hominins in the Zagros was more diverse than previously thought, similar to what we find elsewhere in Eurasia.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mario Mata-González
- Institute for Archaeological Sciences, University of Tübingen, Hölderlinstr. 12, 72074, Tübingen, Germany.
- Department of Anthropology, University of Connecticut, Unit 1176, 354 Mansfield Road, Storrs, CT, 06269, USA.
| | - Britt M Starkovich
- Institute for Archaeological Sciences, University of Tübingen, Hölderlinstr. 12, 72074, Tübingen, Germany
- Senckenberg Centre for Human Evolution and Paleoenvironment (SHEP), Hölderlinstr. 12, 72074, Tübingen, Germany
| | - Mohsen Zeidi
- Senckenberg Centre for Human Evolution and Paleoenvironment (SHEP), Hölderlinstr. 12, 72074, Tübingen, Germany
- Department of Early Prehistory and Quaternary Ecology, University of Tübingen, Schloss Hohentübingen, 72070, Tübingen, Germany
| | - Nicholas J Conard
- Institute for Archaeological Sciences, University of Tübingen, Hölderlinstr. 12, 72074, Tübingen, Germany
- Senckenberg Centre for Human Evolution and Paleoenvironment (SHEP), Hölderlinstr. 12, 72074, Tübingen, Germany
- Department of Early Prehistory and Quaternary Ecology, University of Tübingen, Schloss Hohentübingen, 72070, Tübingen, Germany
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3
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Aurignacian dynamics in Southeastern Europe based on spatial analysis, sediment geochemistry, raw materials, lithic analysis, and use-wear from Românești-Dumbrăvița. Sci Rep 2022; 12:14152. [PMID: 35986053 PMCID: PMC9391429 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-022-15544-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/09/2022] [Accepted: 06/24/2022] [Indexed: 12/02/2022] Open
Abstract
The Aurignacian is one of the first cultural-technological traditions commonly associated with the expansion of Homo sapiens in Europe. Early Homo sapiens demographics across the continent are therefore typically inferred using the distribution of Aurignacian assemblages. Western Romania has been used as a tie-point to connect the well-researched lithic assemblages from the eastern Mediterranean and Western Europe through its early Homo sapiens fossils. However, Romania’s archeological record remains underexplored thereby hindering our ability to directly connect better understood regions through time and space. Here we report on excavations from the open-air Middle/Upper Paleolithic site of Românești-Dumbrăvița I in southwestern Romania. Three stratified Paleolithic assemblages were extensively excavated within a 1-m-thick eolian-deposited sequence. Spatial, geochemical, raw material, techno-typological, and use-wear analysis of the site reveal patterns of artifact configuration, resource exploitation, fire history, knapping objectives, and functionality. Taken together, Românești-Dumbrăvița I is the first well-contextualized archeological site in close spatiotemporal proximity to many early, well-preserved human fossils and in East-Central Europe.
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4
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Heydari M, Guérin G, Zeidi M, Conard NJ. Bayesian luminescence dating at Ghār-e Boof, Iran, provides a new chronology for Middle and Upper Paleolithic in the southern Zagros. J Hum Evol 2021; 151:102926. [PMID: 33429259 DOI: 10.1016/j.jhevol.2020.102926] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/01/2020] [Revised: 11/25/2020] [Accepted: 11/25/2020] [Indexed: 12/01/2022]
Abstract
Ghār-e Boof is a Paleolithic cave site in Iran well known for its rich early Upper Paleolithic Rostamian assemblages. The site is located on the edge of the Dasht-e Rostam plain in the southern Zagros. Recent excavations by the members of the Tübingen-Iranian Stone Age Research Project at Ghār-e Boof also recovered well-stratified Middle Paleolithic assemblages. Here, we provide the first detailed luminescence chronology for the Middle and Upper Paleolithic of the site. More generally, our work is the first luminescence chronology for a Middle and Upper Paleolithic site in the Zagros Mountains region in Iran. The luminescence ages for the Upper Paleolithic of Ghār-e Boof agree with published 14C dates. We applied Bayesian models specifically designed for luminescence dating using the R package 'BayLum' to incorporate the well-established stratigraphic constraints, as well as the published 14C ages with our optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) ages to improve the precision of the chronological framework. The Bayesian chronology shows a significantly improved precision of the OSL ages in particular for the upper part of the sequence where 14C ages were available. The Bayesian OSL ages for the Rostamian horizons, archaeologicalhorizon (AH) III (a-b-c), and AH IV, fall in the range of 37-42 ka (68% credible interval [CI]). Moreover, we determined a series of dates between 45 and 81 ka (68% CI) for the Middle Paleolithic strata from AH IVd to AH VI. Our results point to a demographic shift in the populations responsible for the Middle Paleolithic and the Rostamian within three millennia. This major technological change accompanied by the rise of symbolic artifacts such as personal ornaments, may or may not reflect a replacement of Neanderthals by modern humans. While we are confident that the Rostamian was made by modern humans, available information does not allow us to be sure who made the local Middle Paleolithic.
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Affiliation(s)
- Maryam Heydari
- IRAMAT-CRP2A, UMR 5060, CNRS-Université Bordeaux Montaigne, Maison de l'Archéologie, 33607, Pessac Cedex, France.
| | - Guillaume Guérin
- IRAMAT-CRP2A, UMR 5060, CNRS-Université Bordeaux Montaigne, Maison de l'Archéologie, 33607, Pessac Cedex, France
| | - Mohsen Zeidi
- Department of Early Prehistory and Quaternary Ecology, University of Tübingen, Germany; Senckenberg Centre for Human Evolution and Palaeoenvironment, University of Tübingen, Germany
| | - Nicholas J Conard
- Department of Early Prehistory and Quaternary Ecology, University of Tübingen, Germany; Senckenberg Centre for Human Evolution and Palaeoenvironment, University of Tübingen, Germany
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Zanolli C, Biglari F, Mashkour M, Abdi K, Monchot H, Debue K, Mazurier A, Bayle P, Le Luyer M, Rougier H, Trinkaus E, Macchiarelli R. A Neanderthal from the Central Western Zagros, Iran. Structural reassessment of the Wezmeh 1 maxillary premolar. J Hum Evol 2019; 135:102643. [DOI: 10.1016/j.jhevol.2019.102643] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/28/2019] [Revised: 07/25/2019] [Accepted: 07/25/2019] [Indexed: 01/11/2023]
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6
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Upper Paleolithic cultural diversity in the Iranian Zagros Mountains and the expansion of modern humans into Eurasia. J Hum Evol 2019; 132:101-118. [DOI: 10.1016/j.jhevol.2019.04.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/18/2018] [Revised: 04/09/2019] [Accepted: 04/09/2019] [Indexed: 01/27/2023]
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7
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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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8
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Kandel AW, Gasparyan B, Allué E, Bigga G, Bruch AA, Cullen VL, Frahm E, Ghukasyan R, Gruwier B, Jabbour F, Miller CE, Taller A, Vardazaryan V, Vasilyan D, Weissbrod L. The earliest evidence for Upper Paleolithic occupation in the Armenian Highlands at Aghitu-3 Cave. J Hum Evol 2017; 110:37-68. [PMID: 28778461 DOI: 10.1016/j.jhevol.2017.05.010] [Citation(s) in RCA: 30] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/26/2017] [Revised: 05/22/2017] [Accepted: 05/23/2017] [Indexed: 11/25/2022]
Abstract
With its well-preserved archaeological and environmental records, Aghitu-3 Cave permits us to examine the settlement patterns of the Upper Paleolithic (UP) people who inhabited the Armenian Highlands. We also test whether settlement of the region between ∼39-24,000 cal BP relates to environmental variability. The earliest evidence occurs in archaeological horizon (AH) VII from ∼39-36,000 cal BP during a mild, moist climatic phase. AH VI shows periodic occupation as warm, humid conditions prevailed from ∼36-32,000 cal BP. As the climate becomes cooler and drier at ∼32-29,000 cal BP (AH V-IV), evidence for occupation is minimal. However, as cooling continues, the deposits of AH III demonstrate that people used the site more intensively from ∼29-24,000 cal BP, leaving behind numerous stone artifacts, faunal remains, and complex combustion features. Despite the climatic fluctuations seen across this 15,000-year sequence, lithic technology remains attuned to one pattern: unidirectional reduction of small cores geared towards the production of bladelets for tool manufacture. Subsistence patterns also remain stable, focused on medium-sized prey such as ovids and caprids, as well as equids. AH III demonstrates an expansion of social networks to the northwest and southwest, as the transport distance of obsidian used to make stone artifacts increases. We also observe the addition of bone tools, including an eyed needle, and shell beads brought from the east, suggesting that these people manufactured complex clothing and wore ornaments. Remains of micromammals, birds, charcoal, pollen, and tephra relate the story of environmental variability. We hypothesize that UP behavior was linked to shifts in demographic pressures and climatic changes. Thus, by combining archaeological and environmental data, we gain a clearer picture about the first UP inhabitants of the Armenian Highlands.
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Affiliation(s)
- Andrew W Kandel
- The Role of Culture in Early Expansions of Humans, Heidelberg Academy of Sciences and Humanities at the University of Tübingen, Rümelinstr. 23, 72070 Tübingen, Germany.
| | - Boris Gasparyan
- Institute of Archaeology and Ethnography, National Academy of Sciences, Charents St. 15, 0025 Yerevan, Armenia
| | - Ethel Allué
- Institut Català de Paleoecologia Humana i Evolució Social, Zona educacional 4, Campus Sescelades URV (Edifici W3), 43007 Tarragona, Spain; Àrea de Prehistòria, Universitat Rovira i Virgili, Av. Catalunya 35, 43002 Tarragona, Spain
| | - Gerlinde Bigga
- Department of Geology, University of Tübingen, Hölderlinstr. 12, 72074 Tübingen, Germany
| | - Angela A Bruch
- The Role of Culture in Early Expansions of Humans, Heidelberg Academy of Sciences and Humanities at the Senckenberg Research Institute, Senckenberganlage 25, 60325 Frankfurt, Germany
| | - Victoria L Cullen
- University of Oxford, RLAHA, Dyson Perrins Building, Oxford, OX1 3QY, United Kingdom
| | - Ellery Frahm
- Yale Initiative for the Study of Ancient Pyrotechnology, Department of Anthropology, Yale University, 10 Sachem Street, New Haven, CT 06511, United States; Department of Anthropology, Harvard University, Peabody Museum, 11 Divinity Avenue, Cambridge, MA 02138, United States
| | - Robert Ghukasyan
- Institute of Archaeology and Ethnography, National Academy of Sciences, Charents St. 15, 0025 Yerevan, Armenia
| | - Ben Gruwier
- Department of Anthropology, Durham University, South Road, Durham, United Kingdom; Department of Experimental Anatomy, Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Laarbeeklaan 103, Jette, Belgium
| | - Firas Jabbour
- The Role of Culture in Early Expansions of Humans, Heidelberg Academy of Sciences and Humanities at the University of Tübingen, Rümelinstr. 23, 72070 Tübingen, Germany
| | - Christopher E Miller
- Department of Geoarchaeology, Institute of Archaeological Science, University of Tübingen, Rümelinstr. 23, 72070 Tübingen, Germany
| | - Andreas Taller
- Department of Early Prehistory and Quaternary Ecology, University of Tübingen, Schloss Hohentübingen, 72070 Tübingen, Germany
| | - Varduhi Vardazaryan
- Department of Early Prehistory and Quaternary Ecology, University of Tübingen, Schloss Hohentübingen, 72070 Tübingen, Germany
| | - Davit Vasilyan
- Department of Geology, University of Tübingen, Hölderlinstr. 12, 72074 Tübingen, Germany; JURASSICA Museum, Route de Fontenais 21, 2900 Porrentruy, Switzerland; Department of Geosciences, University of Fribourg, Chemin du musée 6, 1700 Fribourg, Switzerland
| | - Lior Weissbrod
- Zinman Institute of Archaeology, University of Haifa, Mount Carmel, 31905, Israel
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9
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Bazgir B, Ollé A, Tumung L, Becerra-Valdivia L, Douka K, Higham T, van der Made J, Picin A, Saladié P, López-García JM, Blain HA, Allué E, Fernández-García M, Rey-Rodríguez I, Arceredillo D, Bahrololoumi F, Azimi M, Otte M, Carbonell E. Understanding the emergence of modern humans and the disappearance of Neanderthals: Insights from Kaldar Cave (Khorramabad Valley, Western Iran). Sci Rep 2017; 7:43460. [PMID: 28252042 PMCID: PMC5333163 DOI: 10.1038/srep43460] [Citation(s) in RCA: 26] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/10/2016] [Accepted: 01/25/2017] [Indexed: 11/09/2022] Open
Abstract
Kaldar Cave is a key archaeological site that provides evidence of the Middle to Upper Palaeolithic transition in Iran. Excavations at the site in 2014-2015 led to the discovery of cultural remains generally associated with anatomically modern humans (AMHs) and evidence of a probable Neanderthal-made industry in the basal layers. Attempts have been made to establish a chronology for the site. These include four thermoluminescence (TL) dates for Layer 4, ranging from 23,100 ± 3300 to 29,400 ± 2300 BP, and three AMS radiocarbon dates from charcoal samples belonging to the lower part of the same layer, yielding ages of 38,650-36,750 cal BP, 44,200-42,350 cal BP, and 54,400-46,050 cal BP (all at the 95.4% confidence level). Kaldar Cave is the first well-stratified Late Palaeolithic locality to be excavated in the Zagros which is one of the earliest sites with cultural materials attributed to early AMHs in western Asia. It also offers an opportunity to study the technological differences between the Mousterian and the first Upper Palaeolithic lithic technologies as well as the human behaviour in the region. In this study, we present a detailed description of the newly excavated stratigraphy, quantified results from the lithic assemblages, preliminary faunal remains analyses, geochronologic data, taphonomic aspects, and an interpretation of the regional paleoenvironment.
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Affiliation(s)
- Behrouz Bazgir
- Institut Català de Paleoecologia Humana i Evolució Social (IPHES), Zona educacional 4, Campus Sescelades URV (Edif. W3), 43007 Tarragona, Spain.,Àrea de Prehistòria, Universitat Rovira i Virgili. Fac. de Lletres, Avinguda Catalunya 35, 43002 Tarragona, Spain
| | - Andreu Ollé
- Institut Català de Paleoecologia Humana i Evolució Social (IPHES), Zona educacional 4, Campus Sescelades URV (Edif. W3), 43007 Tarragona, Spain.,Àrea de Prehistòria, Universitat Rovira i Virgili. Fac. de Lletres, Avinguda Catalunya 35, 43002 Tarragona, Spain
| | - Laxmi Tumung
- Institut Català de Paleoecologia Humana i Evolució Social (IPHES), Zona educacional 4, Campus Sescelades URV (Edif. W3), 43007 Tarragona, Spain.,Àrea de Prehistòria, Universitat Rovira i Virgili. Fac. de Lletres, Avinguda Catalunya 35, 43002 Tarragona, Spain
| | - Lorena Becerra-Valdivia
- Oxford Radiocarbon Accelerator Unit, Research Laboratory for Archaeology and the History of Art, University of Oxford, Dyson Perrins Building, South Parks Road, OX1 3QY Oxford, United Kingdom
| | - Katerina Douka
- Oxford Radiocarbon Accelerator Unit, Research Laboratory for Archaeology and the History of Art, University of Oxford, Dyson Perrins Building, South Parks Road, OX1 3QY Oxford, United Kingdom
| | - Thomas Higham
- Oxford Radiocarbon Accelerator Unit, Research Laboratory for Archaeology and the History of Art, University of Oxford, Dyson Perrins Building, South Parks Road, OX1 3QY Oxford, United Kingdom
| | - Jan van der Made
- CSIC, Museo Nacional de Ciencias Naturales, c. José Gutiérrez Abascal 2, 28006 Madrid, Spain
| | - Andrea Picin
- Institut Català de Paleoecologia Humana i Evolució Social (IPHES), Zona educacional 4, Campus Sescelades URV (Edif. W3), 43007 Tarragona, Spain.,Bereich für Ur- und Frühgeschichtliche Archäologie, Friedrich Schiller Universität Jena, Löbdergraben 24a, Jena, 07743 Germany.,Neanderthal Museum, Talstrasse 300, D40822, Mettmann, Germany
| | - Palmira Saladié
- Institut Català de Paleoecologia Humana i Evolució Social (IPHES), Zona educacional 4, Campus Sescelades URV (Edif. W3), 43007 Tarragona, Spain.,Àrea de Prehistòria, Universitat Rovira i Virgili. Fac. de Lletres, Avinguda Catalunya 35, 43002 Tarragona, Spain.,GQP-CG, Grupo Quaternario e Pre Historia do Centro de Geociencias (uI&D 73 e FCT), Portugal.,Unit Associated to the Centro Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC), 28006, Madrid, Spain
| | - Juan Manuel López-García
- Institut Català de Paleoecologia Humana i Evolució Social (IPHES), Zona educacional 4, Campus Sescelades URV (Edif. W3), 43007 Tarragona, Spain
| | - Hugues-Alexandre Blain
- Institut Català de Paleoecologia Humana i Evolució Social (IPHES), Zona educacional 4, Campus Sescelades URV (Edif. W3), 43007 Tarragona, Spain.,Àrea de Prehistòria, Universitat Rovira i Virgili. Fac. de Lletres, Avinguda Catalunya 35, 43002 Tarragona, Spain
| | - Ethel Allué
- Institut Català de Paleoecologia Humana i Evolució Social (IPHES), Zona educacional 4, Campus Sescelades URV (Edif. W3), 43007 Tarragona, Spain.,Àrea de Prehistòria, Universitat Rovira i Virgili. Fac. de Lletres, Avinguda Catalunya 35, 43002 Tarragona, Spain.,GQP-CG, Grupo Quaternario e Pre Historia do Centro de Geociencias (uI&D 73 e FCT), Portugal
| | - Mónica Fernández-García
- Sezione di Scienze Preistoriche e Antropologiche, Dipartimento di Studi Umanistici, Università degli Studi di Ferrara (UNIFE), C. so Ercole I d'Este 32, 44121, Ferrara, Italy
| | - Iván Rey-Rodríguez
- Institut Català de Paleoecologia Humana i Evolució Social (IPHES), Zona educacional 4, Campus Sescelades URV (Edif. W3), 43007 Tarragona, Spain
| | - Diego Arceredillo
- Facultad de Humanidades y Ciencias Sociales, Universidad Internacional Isabel I de Castilla, c. Fernán González 76, 09003, Burgos, Spain
| | - Faranak Bahrololoumi
- Iran's Research Institute for Cultural Heritage and Tourism, Emam's square, 11369-13431, Tehran, Iran
| | - Moloudsadat Azimi
- Iran's Research Institute for Cultural Heritage and Tourism, Emam's square, 11369-13431, Tehran, Iran
| | - Marcel Otte
- University of Liège, Service of Prehistory, place du 20-Août 7, A1, 4000 Liège, Belgium
| | - Eudald Carbonell
- Institut Català de Paleoecologia Humana i Evolució Social (IPHES), Zona educacional 4, Campus Sescelades URV (Edif. W3), 43007 Tarragona, Spain.,Àrea de Prehistòria, Universitat Rovira i Virgili. Fac. de Lletres, Avinguda Catalunya 35, 43002 Tarragona, Spain
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10
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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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