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Late Pleistocene Hominin Settlement Patterns in the Central Balkans: Šalitrena Pećina, Serbia
Abstract
The strategic geographical position of the Balkan Peninsula, at the crossroads between southwest Asia and central and western Europe, make of this territory a key area for understanding the different human migrations into Europe during the Pleistocene. This long-time neglected area for the Palaeolithic research, last years has experienced a blossoming in terms of research projects and key discoveries. Only in the past decade, sites from the Balkan Peninsula have yielded, for instance, the oldest anatomically modern human occupations in Europe, the first human remains of our species in the continent, the first confirmation of interbreeding between us and Neanderthals and evidence of Palaeolithic rock art, a phenomenon traditionally restricted to South-western Europe. This volume provides a comprehensive overview of the previous data and new discoveries, addressed by an international list of contributors among the most renowned scholars developing archaeological researches in this territory. It summarises the state of the art for the Early Prehistory Archaeology of one of the most important emerging territories for the discipline.
Since the end of the 19th century until today, a significant number of Palaeolithic sites have been recovered on the territory of Serbia, and they are classified into three chronological groups. Extensive archaeological excavations revealed four (4) sites belonging to the Lower Palaeolithic, eighteen (18) to the Middle Palaeolithic and twenty-one (21) Upper Palaeolithic site. Previous analyses of the techno-typological and functional characteristics of knapped stone industries, found at the sites, together with the available absolute dates form a chronological framework on which the archaeological interpretation of human activities and post-depositional processes is based. For a complex understanding of Palaeolithic cultural changes, settlement patterns and population movements, in addition to the abundance of archaeological data, it was also necessary to define the geographical characteristics of the excavated sites. For this purpose, a qualitative and quantitative geomorphological analysis was performed. The qualitative analysis included the position of the sites within larger relief units, while altitudinal zonation of the habitats (absolute and relative altitude) and their exposure were analysed quantitatively. Based on the conducted studies, the landscape relief units in which the researched Palaeolithic sites investigated are located were defined and the "inhabited areas" from different chronologically groups were compared.
The Central Balkans are a key biogeographical region in Southern Europe, influenced by a central European-Mediterranean climate, which acted as a refugium for flora and fauna, and favored the dispersion of Neander-thals and migration of modern human populations during Late Glacial Period. This study presents pollen analyses of sediment and hyaena coprolites from Pešturina Cave in Serbia to reconstruct the vegetation landscapes faced by Balkan Neanderthals and early Anatomically Modern Humans between MIS 5e-3. Between MIS 5e-5c (archaeological layers 4c and 4b) and MIS 5b-5a (layer 4a), semi-forested environments prevailed, characterized by Pinus, deciduous Quercus, Tilia and other angiosperm woody taxa, accompanied by heliophytes such as Artemisia and Poaceae. During MIS 4-3 (layers 3-2), the vegetation was dominated by Artemisia-Poaceae steppes with Quercus patches, conifers and legumes. Overall across the sequence, pollen assemblages are highly diverse and include a number of deciduous trees and sclerophylls. In addition, the occurrence of several herbaceous taxa reinforces the view that the Balkans were outstanding for endemicity. Neanderthals and early Upper Palaeolithic hominins lived in a highly diverse refugium, offering multiple opportunities for survival during the warm in-terstadials and, more critically, the cold stadials of the Pleistocene.
The Late Upper Palaeolithic (Epigravettian) sequence at Badanj has yielded an important dataset about the occupation of the hinterland of the Eastern Adriatic catchment zone in the late Pleniglacial. The site also harbors one of the rare occurrences of Upper Palaeolithic parietal “art” in southeastern Europe in the form of a large rock engraving. Another notable aspect of the site is the presence of engravings on portable objects made from bone. The first excavations at Badanj, conducted in 1976–1979 in the zone around the engraved rock, yielded a surprisingly large number of personal ornaments (over 1000 specimens) from a variety of primarily marine gastropods, scaphopods, and bivalves, and red deer canines. Here we review what is currently known about the site and report our preliminary findings from the study of the collection of personal ornaments as well as osseous tools, some of which were marked by regular incisions forming decorative motifs. We also report two new direct accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS) dates on antler barbed points.
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.
One of the important aspects of human life during prehistory was fire. However, in situ detection of combustion features in Paleolithic sites can sometimes be difficult because of post-depositional processes and the geology of the site. Excavation techniques can also reduce the visibility of combustion features. It has been demonstrated that sometimes when evidence of fire is missing from the sediments, the spatial distribution of the burnt artifacts can be used to detect the position of combustion features. In an effort to better understand fire use behavior in Aurignacian communities, we studied Aurignacian layers from Šalitrena pećina. During excavations, two combustion features were detected. First goal of this paper was to analyze the spatial distribution of burnt lithics to confirm the identification of these combustion features and to identify other combustion features that may have had a smaller imprint in archeological matrix. This method was useful, and beside two already mentioned, one more combustion feature was detected in the Aurignacian layer. A second major goal was to understand technological behavior around combustion features.
To create a reliable radiocarbon calibration curve, one needs not only high-quality data but also a robust statistical methodology. The unique aspects of much of the calibration data provide considerable modeling challenges and require a made-to-measure approach to curve construction that accurately represents and adapts to these individualities, bringing the data together into a single curve. For IntCal20, the statistical methodology has undergone a complete redesign, from the random walk used in IntCal04, IntCal09 and IntCal13, to an approach based upon Bayesian splines with errors-in-variables. The new spline approach is still fitted using Markov Chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) but offers considerable advantages over the previous random walk, including faster and more reliable curve construction together with greatly increased flexibility and detail in modeling choices. This paper describes the new methodology together with the tailored modifications required to integrate the various datasets. For an end-user, the key changes include the recognition and estimation of potential over-dispersion in ¹⁴ C determinations, and its consequences on calibration which we address through the provision of predictive intervals on the curve; improvements to the modeling of rapid ¹⁴ C excursions and reservoir ages/dead carbon fractions; and modifications made to, hopefully, ensure better mixing of the MCMC which consequently increase confidence in the estimated curve.
For a long time, the rich bone industries of the Upper Palaeolithic were opposed to the opportunistic Neandertal bone tools among which the bone retoucher was the most common type. The recent finding of a few shaped bone tools into Mousterian contexts has been taken as an emergence of a “modern behaviour”. However, this outlook is based on biased corpuses. On one side, the large number of unshaped bone tools recently discovered in Upper Palaeolithic assemblages leads us to reconsider what a bone industry can be. On the other side, the increasing discoveries of bone tools in more ancient contexts indicates that this type of production is not strictly linked to Homo sapiens. Chagyrskaya cave, located in the Siberian Altai, brings us the opportunity to discuss this question. Dated around 50,000 years BP, the site yielded a local facies of Mousterian lithic industry associated to several Neandertal remains. A technological and functional analysis of the faunal remains reveal more than one thousand bone tools. Most are retouchers, but a significant part belongs to other morpho-functional categories: intermediate tools, retouched tools and tools with a smoothed end. Even though these tools were mainly manufactured by direct percussion, their number and the recurrence of their morphological and traceological features lead us to consider them as a true bone industry. Far from the Homo sapiens standards, this industry has its own coherence that needs now to be understood.
The Middle to Upper Palaeolithic transition in Europe witnessed the replacement and partial absorption of local Neanderthal populations by Homo sapiens populations of African origin1. However, this process probably varied across regions and its details remain largely unknown. In particular, the duration of chronological overlap between the two groups is much debated, as are the implications of this overlap for the nature of the biological and cultural interactions between Neanderthals and H. sapiens. Here we report the discovery and direct dating of human remains found in association with Initial Upper Palaeolithic artefacts2, from excavations at Bacho Kiro Cave (Bulgaria). Morphological analysis of a tooth and mitochondrial DNA from several hominin bone fragments, identified through proteomic screening, assign these finds to H. sapiens and link the expansion of Initial Upper Palaeolithic technologies with the spread of H. sapiens into the mid-latitudes of Eurasia before 45 thousand years ago3. The excavations yielded a wealth of bone artefacts, including pendants manufactured from cave bear teeth that are reminiscent of those later produced by the last Neanderthals of western Europe4–6. These finds are consistent with models based on the arrival of multiple waves of H. sapiens into Europe coming into contact with declining Neanderthal populations7,8. Direct dates for human remains found in association with Initial Upper Palaeolithic artefacts at Bacho Kiro Cave (Bulgaria) demonstrate the presence of Homo sapiens in the mid-latitudes of Europe before 45 thousand years ago.
The stratigraphy at Bacho Kiro Cave, Bulgaria, spans the Middle to Upper Palaeolithic transition, including an Initial Upper Palaeolithic (IUP) assemblage argued to represent the earliest arrival of Upper Palaeolithic Homo sapiens in Europe. We applied the latest techniques in 14C dating to an extensive dataset of newly excavated animal and human bones to produce a robust, high-precision radiocarbon chronology for the site. At the base of the stratigraphy, the Middle Palaeolithic (MP) occupation dates to >51,000 yr BP. A chronological gap of over 3,000 years separates the MP occupation from the occupation of the cave by H. sapiens, which extends to 34,000 cal BP. The extensive IUP assemblage, now associated with directly dated H. sapiens fossils at this site, securely dates to 45,820–43,650 cal BP (95.4% probability), probably beginning from 46,940 cal BP (95.4% probability). The results provide chronological context for the early occupation of Europe by Upper Palaeolithic H. sapiens.
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Radiocarbon (C) ages cannot provide absolutely dated chronologies for archaeological or paleoenvironmental studies directly but must be converted to calendar age equivalents using a calibration curve compensating for fluctuations in atmospheric C concentration. Although calibration curves are constructed from independently dated archives, they invariably require revision as new data become available and our understanding of the Earth system improves. In this volume the international C calibration curves for both the Northern and Southern Hemispheres, as well as for the ocean surface layer, have been updated to include a wealth of new data and extended to 55,000 cal BP. Based on tree rings, IntCal20 now extends as a fully atmospheric record to ca. 13,900 cal BP. For the older part of the timescale, IntCal20 comprises statistically integrated evidence from floating tree-ring chronologies, lacustrine and marine sediments, speleothems, and corals. We utilized improved evaluation of the timescales and location variable C offsets from the atmosphere (reservoir age, dead carbon fraction) for each dataset. New statistical methods have refined the structure of the calibration curves while maintaining a robust treatment of uncertainties in the C ages, the calendar ages and other corrections. The inclusion of modeled marine reservoir ages derived from a three-dimensional ocean circulation model has allowed us to apply more appropriate reservoir corrections to the marine C data rather than the previous use of constant regional offsets from the atmosphere. Here we provide an overview of the new and revised datasets and the associated methods used for the construction of the IntCal20 curve and explore potential regional offsets for tree-ring data. We discuss the main differences with respect to the previous calibration curve, IntCal13, and some of the implications for archaeology and geosciences ranging from the recent past to the time of the extinction of the Neanderthals.
The Central Balkans represents a significant geographical gap in the human fossil record of Eurasia. Here we present two new human fossils from Pešturina Cave, Serbia: a partial atlas vertebra (C1) and a fragment of radial diaphysis. The atlas (Pes-1) derives from the lower portion of Layer 2 and conforms to modern human morphology. This layer is characterized by Gravettian industry despite uncertainties caused by bioturbation and difficulties in separating Layers 2 and 3. The radial fragment (Pes-2) was recovered from the contact zone between Layers 3 and 4, both of which represent Mousterian industries, and is tentatively assessed as Neanderthal based on morphology. With the recent publication of a Neanderthal molar (Pes-3) from the same site, Pešturina currently stands as the only Neanderthal fossil-bearing site in Serbia. These additional finds make Pešturina Cave the only site in the Central Balkans which preserves both modern human and Neanderthal remains with associated lithic industries and highlights the importance of Pešturina in the current discourse on hominin dispersals and migrations in the Balkans.
This paper discusses chronological position of Late Upper Paleolithic shouldered points in the eastern Adriatic and its hinterland. Shouldered points in this area are considered to be fossil directeur of Early Epigravettian. Using old and new data, and pointing to shortcomings in the literature, we aim to prove that shouldered points are not a reliable chronological indicator of Early Epigravettian in the eastern Adriatic because they can be found in a timespan of approximately 10 000 years.
Environmental change has been proposed as a factor that contributed to the extinction of the Neanderthals in Europe during MIS3. Currently, the different local environmental conditions experienced at the time when Anatomically Modern Humans (AMH) met Neanderthals are not well known. In the Western Pyrenees, particularly, in the eastern end of the Cantabrian coast of the Iberian Peninsula, extensive evidence of Neanderthal and subsequent AMH activity exists, making it an ideal area in which to explore the palaeoenvironments experienced and resources exploited by both human species during the Middle to Upper Palaeolithic transition. Red deer and horse were analysed using bone collagen stable isotope analysis to reconstruct environmental conditions across the transition. A shift in the ecological niche of horses after the Mousterian demonstrates a change in environment, towards more open vegetation, linked to wider climatic change. In the Mousterian, Aurignacian and Gravettian, high inter-individual nitrogen ranges were observed in both herbivores. This could indicate that these individuals were procured from areas isotopically different in nitrogen. Differences in sulphur values between sites suggest some variability in the hunting locations exploited, reflecting the human use of different parts of the landscape. An alternative and complementary explanation proposed is that there were climatic fluctuations within the time of formation of these archaeological levels, as observed in pollen, marine and ice cores.
Early Upper Paleolithic sites in the Danube catchment have been put forward as evidence that the river was an important conduit for modern humans during their initial settlement of Europe. Central to this model is the Carpathian Basin, a region covering most of the Middle Danube. As the archaeological record of this region is still poorly understood, this paper aims to provide a contextual assessment of the Carpathian Basin’s geological and paleoenvironmental archives, starting with the late Upper Pleistocene. Subsequently, it compiles early Upper Paleolithic data from the region to provide a synchronic appraisal of the Aurignacian archaeological evidence. It then uses this data to test whether the relative absence of early Upper Paleolithic sites is obscured by a taphonomic bias. Finally, it reviews current knowledge of the Carpathian Basin’s archaeological record and concludes that, while it cannot reject the Danube corridor hypothesis, further (geo)archaeological work is required to understand the link between the Carpathian Basin and Central and Southeastern Europe.
Methodological advances in dating the Middle to Upper Paleolithic transition provide a better understanding of the replacement of local Neanderthal populations by Anatomically Modern Humans. Today we know that this replacement was not a single, pan-European event, but rather it took place at different times in different regions. Thus, local conditions could have played a role. Iberia represents a significant macro-region to study this process. Northern Atlantic Spain contains evidence of both Mousterian and Early Upper Paleolithic occupations, although most of them are not properly dated, thus hindering the chances of an adequate interpretation. Here we present 46 new radiocarbon dates conducted using ultrafiltration pre-treatment method of anthropogenically manipulated bones from 13 sites in the Cantabrian region containing Mousterian, Aurignacian and Gravettian levels, of which 30 are considered relevant. These dates, alongside previously reported ones, were integrated into a Bayesian age model to reconstruct an absolute timescale for the transitional period. According to it, the Mousterian disappeared in the region by 47.9–45.1ka cal BP, while the Châtelperronian lasted between 42.6k and 41.5ka cal BP. The Mousterian and Châtelperronian did not overlap, indicating that the latter might be either intrusive or an offshoot of the Mousterian. The new chronology also suggests that the Aurignacian appears between 43.3–40.5ka cal BP overlapping with the Châtelperronian, and ended around 34.6–33.1ka cal BP, after the Gravettian had already been established in the region. This evidence indicates that Neanderthals and AMH co-existed <1,000 years, with the caveat that no diagnostic human remains have been found with the latest Mousterian, Châtelperronian or earliest Aurignacian in Cantabrian Spain.
The hominin mandible BH-1 from the Middle Pleistocene cave of Mala Balanica suggested the possibility that human populations in this part of the continent were not subject to the process of Neanderthalization observed in the west. We review the paleoanthropological evidence from the Central Balkans in the context of the Eastern Mediterranean geographic entity. The current hominin fossil record of the early Middle Pleistocene in the region suggests that Europe was inhabited by two different populations: a population in the west of the continent with derived Neanderthal morphology; and a more variable population in the east characterized by a combination of plesiomorphous and synapomorphous traits. We suggest that - in order to continue using the nomenclature of Homo heidelbergensis - the current hypodigm needs to be revised to include only the specimens from the latter group.
A short research history and current interpretations of evidence from Middle Paleolithic sites in Croatia are presented. Sites are situated in two main geographic regions, continental and Adriatic, divided by the Dinaric Mountains, providing two different landscapes for the adaptation of Mousterian people and their settlement system. Fossil human remains are discussed from both paleoanthropological and genetic perspectives within their archaeological framework. Interpretations of sites were based on analyses of both old and new archaeological collections (material recovered by recent excavations). Mousterian lithic material originated from three different types of sites: cave sites, open air sites and an underwater site. Research results are presented from various perspectives.
Significance
Radiocarbon dating of Neanderthal remains recovered from Vindija Cave (Croatia) initially revealed surprisingly recent results: 28,000–29,000 B.P. This implied the remains could represent a late-surviving, refugial Neanderthal population and suggested they could have been responsible for producing some of the early Upper Paleolithic artefacts more usually produced by anatomically modern humans. This article presents revised radiocarbon dates of the human bones from this site obtained using a more robust purification method targeting the amino acid hydroxyproline. The data show that all the Neanderthal remains are from a much earlier period (>40,000 cal B.P.). These revised dates change our interpretation of this important site and demonstrate that the Vindija Neanderthals probably did not overlap temporally with early modern humans.
Most Upper Palaeolithic sites dated to 28–12 k uncalibrated BP years in Hungary were classified
with the Gravettian Entity model (GEM). GEM sorted lithic assemblages by their technological,
typological, and chronological attributes into three units: Pavlovian, Ságvárian, and Epigravettian.
GEM claimed technological differences among the groups, and argued that typologically the lithic
assemblages were similar. This paper tested the assumptions of GEM and found significant typological
differences between the three units. The results supported to create an alternative classification
scheme for the Middle and Late Upper Palaeolithic assemblages in Hungary
Crvena Stijena represents one of the key Middle Paleolithic sites in southeastern Europe. In the course of earlier investigations, the upper part of the Mousterian sequence was excavated on two occasions: in 1956 and 1958 by M. Brodar and from 1961 to 1964 by Đ. Basler. Materials from these campaigns were published separately and interpreted differently. After re-analysis of all these materials, it has been established that the artifact assemblages can not be directly assigned to any of the traditional facies (Denticulate Mousterian, Micromousterian, etc.), but rather to an undifferentiated (non-Levallois) facies of Typical Mousterian, which is characterized by pronounced expedient technology based on the exploitation of local raw materials and the application of ad hoc methods of core reduction and the preparation of tools. This re-analysis pointed out especially that in the final Mousterian at Crvena Stijena, as at several other sites in the Adriatic-Ionian region, blade/bladelet technology and Uluzzian elements (flaking of blades and bladelets from unipolar or bipolar cores on flakes, splintered pieces, backed tools) are present. This seems to indicate continuity and connection among cultural phenomena over the entire Adriatic-Ionian region during MIS3 and suggests the possibility that the Uluzzian might have spread from the southern Balkans towards Italy along the southern rim of the “Great Adriatic Plain,” all of which could have belonged to a single “social territory.”
The Zadar region is exceptionally rich in Middle Palaeolithic materials discovered in the area from Ražanac and Nin to the Zadar islands (Dugi otok, Silba and Pag). Sites correspond closely to raw material choice, as well as typological and technological characteristics of tools. Distinct microlithization is the main factor by which industries such as the Micro-Mousterian are classified. These kinds of materials are also characterized by preserved cortex on the core and tools made on primary and secondary flakes. The abundance and accessibility of smaller sized raw materials led Neanderthal groups to develop techniques that maximized tool size in as efficient manner as possible.
Projectile points constitute the main component of osseous equipment in the Spanish Aurignacian. Two different types follow one after the other chronologically: split-based points during the Early Aurignacian and then simple-based point during the evolved Aurignacian. With rare exceptions, antler is the chosen material to produce these projectile points. Contrary to bone work—which uses fragments recovered from food activities to make domestic tools—antler exploitation is unconnected to food activities and is instead driven by projectile production. This form of antler exploitation integrates, for the first time during the European Paleolithic, an organic material into the technical sphere. The limited availability of this material and the complex processes applied in its transformation, are reflected in the systematic shaping and resharpening of the projectile points. Issues surrounding these processes in Spanish Aurignacian split-based and simple-based points are outlined and discussed.
L’armement est un thème de recherche essentiel en Préhistoire paléolithique. Car étudier les armes de chasse, c’est étudier les objets grâce auxquels les groupes de chasseurs-collecteurs se procuraient les ressources animales indispensables à leur survie – ce qui nous renvoie aux fondements même de l’organisation économique de ces sociétés.
Les vestiges d’armement se réduisent principalement aux armatures de projectile lithiques et osseuses, qui forment l’un des éléments les plus dynamiques des industries du Paléolithique supérieur ; ce dynamisme se manifeste par une prolifération de catégories d’armatures très «typées», caractéristiques d’une culture et/ou d’une région particulières. L’interprétation de cette variabilité devient dès lors une question centrale pour l’archéologie de ces périodes.
Cet ouvrage, tiré d’un travail de doctorat, aborde cette question en l’appliquant à un cas archéologique privilégié. Site majeur du Magdalénien d’Europe de l’Ouest, à la limite entre Aquitaine, Pyrénées et Cantabres, la grotte d’Isturitz voit se développer au Magdalénien supérieur une panoplie d’armatures en bois de Cervidé très particulière, dominée par des pointes à base fourchue parfois utilisées en association avec des préhampes – les pointes à biseau double, emmanchement plus classique de cette période, n’occupant ici qu’une place minoritaire. L’objectif est ici de rechercher si l’on peut élucider cette situation à travers une analyse technologique de cet ensemble d’armatures, incluant la reconstitution de leurs techniques de fabrication, de leurs modalités d’utilisation et d'entretien.
L’analyse morphométrique des pointes finies, et l’étude de leurs déchets de fabrication, montrent l’existence d’une production essentiellement locale d’armatures relativement standardisées, utilisant une méthode de débitage qui garantissait une productivité élevée. La fabrication de pointes s'inscrivait ainsi probablement dans une logique de production « en série », à vocation collective, intégrant une large anticipation des besoins. La question de l’utilisation des armatures fait l’objet d'un important programme d'archéologie expérimentale, comprenant la fabrication d'une centaine de répliques de pointes en bois de Renne et leur utilisation lors de tirs à l'arc et au propulseur sur des carcasses animales. Ces tirs permettent d’avancer plusieurs interprétations concernant le mode d’emmanchement des armatures, leur fracturation et – du moins pour les pointes à base fourchue – le type d’arme avec lequel elles étaient employées (arc ou propulseur).
Ces données sont ensuite intégrées dans une réflexion plus générale portant sur l’économie de l’armement dans le site étudié, les éventuelles hypothèses palethnographiques que l’on peut en tirer, et l’intérêt de cette série pour la compréhension des évolutions chronoculturelles du Magdalénien. Evénement technique, l’apparition de l’emmanchement à base fourchue devrait en effet être vu aussi et surtout comme un choix culturel, venant se placer dans le cadre des changements qui marquent le passage du Magdalénien moyen au Magdalénien supérieur.
A comparative presentation of the UPL stone industries from Asprochaliko and Kastritsa (Epirus, Greece) along with an indicative sample from Klithi. The first two sites were excavated by E.S. Higgs iin the 1960s' ans the latter in the 1990s; by G.N. Bailey.. BAR International Series 512, 1989.
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Recent research into the Paleolithic in the Balkans has provided better insights into the push-and-pull factors
that influenced the expansion of modern humans into Europe, and the processes which led to the demise of the
Neanderthals. This research has shown that modern humans probably used the Danubian corridor as the main
route for their migration. It has also been demonstrated that the Middle Paleolithic ended significantly before the
Campanian Ignimbrite (CI) eruption in some places, but that groups of Neanderthals may have survived longer in
the western and central parts of the Balkans. Given these findings, two non-mutually exclusive scenarios are
proposed. In the first scenario, Neanderthals would have been pushed towards more marginal western and
central areas of the Balkans where their extinction occurred. Under the second scenario, the Neanderthal
communities withdrew to the interior of the peninsula at a time when there was a concentration of Upper
Paleolithic groups in the eastern Balkans and in the most favorable ecological zones. Under the latter scenario,
the acculturation of Neanderthals (possibly indicated by some transitional industries) was due to factors of
attraction. Further research is needed to test both scenarios.
The Central Balkans, in present-day Serbia, was a potentially dynamic zone during the Middle and Upper Paleolithic (MP-UP), as it is situated between hypothesized dispersal routes of modern humans and refuges of late Neanderthals. However, the population history of the region remains poorly understood because there are little chronometric data from Late Pleistocene sites in Serbia. Here, we review the existing paleoanthropological record for the MP-UP in the Central Balkans and surrounding areas. Then, we add to it by reporting radiocarbon dates from two Serbian cave sites, Pešturina and Hadži Prodanova, which contain Middle Paleolithic and Gravettian assemblages. The results provide reliable human occurrence-dates older than 39 ka calibrated radiocarbon years before present (cal BP) and between 34 and 28 ka cal BP. As shallow palimpsest deposits with low artifact yields, the sites are not ideal contexts for establishing chrono-cultural stratigraphy. However, it is proposed that the occupants before 39 ka cal BP were Neanderthals producing MP artifacts, while those after 34 ka cal BP were modern humans with Gravettian traditions.
Woolly mammoth (Mammuthus primigenius), horse (Equus spp.) and bison (Bison spp.) coexisted with a variety of mammalian megafauna across the Pleistocene mammoth steppe – a megacontinental ecosystem that spanned northern Eurasia and northwestern North America. Previous research has suggested that highly conserved niches with minimal niche overlap allowed high levels of species diversity on the mammoth steppe. Here we evaluate previously published and some new collagen carbon and nitrogen isotope data (δ13C, δ15N) for mammoth steppe megaherbivores using Stable Isotope Bayesian Ellipses in R (SIBER) and linear regression models to determine isotopic niches for individual species during broad time intervals (pre-, during and post-Last Glacial Maximum (LGM)) at multiple geographic regions across the mammoth steppe. Individual species maintained relatively consistent isotopic niche positions at different geographic locations and during different times. Diet and habitat niches for any given species appear to have been similar across the mammoth steppe. Between some regions and times, however, species' isotopic niches changed, suggesting adaptation to local climatic conditions and/or changes in the nitrogen isotope patterns at the base of the food web. Isotopic niche overlap, including at the level of core niche overlap (>60% overlap), was observed in at least one time and region for most species. This overlap suggests high levels of functional redundancy in the ecosystem, whereby one species could fulfil another's ecological role in the latter's absence. Despite spatial and temporal environmental variation, species' adaptability and functional redundancy within the ecosystem would have made the mammoth steppe a highly resilient ecosystem.
Neanderthals were the only human group in Europe throughout the Late Pleistocene until the arrival of modern humans, and while their presence has been confirmed in the surrounding regions, no Neanderthal fossils are known to date from the Central Balkans. Systematic excavations of Pešturina Cave (Serbia) resulted in the discovery of a permanent right M1 (Pes-3). The specimen was recovered from stratigraphic Layer 4b with an estimated age of 102.4 ± 3.2 ka, associated with Mousterian artifacts. The exceptional state of preservation and minimal wear of the molar enabled a detailed description and comparative analysis of the inner and outer dental structure, including non-metric dental traits and morphometric features of the crown, roots, and dental tissues. The results of this study strongly support the identification of Pes-3 as Neanderthal. Non-metric traits of the occlusal surface of the crown, enamel-dentine junction, and roots are consistent with Neanderthal morphology. The crown shows morphometric features typical for Neanderthal M1, such as a buccolingually skewed crown shape, internally compressed cusps, and a relatively large hypocone. The specimen also shows Neanderthal-like dental tissue proportions, characterized by relatively thin enamel and large coronal dentine and coronal pulp volumes. The discovery of the Pes-3 molar therefore confirms the presence of Neanderthals in the territory of Serbia and the Central Balkans at the end of Marine Isotope Stage (MIS) 5c.
The Cantabrian region of Northern Spain was an important area of human occupation during the Middle and Upper Palaeolithic as the rich archaeological record demonstrates. The environmental conditions experienced by late Neanderthals and Anatomically Modern Humans (AMH) in the region during MIS3 are still poorly known, but are crucial to understand the role climatic instability could have had on the adaptations of these populations. In this study, a series of archaeological levels with Mousterian and Aurignacian artefact assemblages, dating between 49 and 35 ka uncal. BP, from the sites of El Castillo and Covalejos caves in Cantabria were studied using multi-isotope techniques including bone collagen δ13C, δ15N and δ34S analysis and a pilot study based on tooth enamel δ18O and δ13C. Results at Covalejos indicate a large range in δ15N values observable within both Mousterian Level D and Aurignacian Level B, suggesting the presence of different micro-environments within the local area at certain times during each temporal period. Within Aurignacian Level C and Mousterian Level J, the δ15N values range is much smaller, but shows consistency in the parts of the landscape being exploited during both times. Neanderthals and AMH appear to have been procuring animals from isotopically similar zones (isozones) when they occupied Covalejos. The variations in δ34S values between levels analysed at Covalejos also implies the use of a variety of hunting locations by both late Neanderthals and AMH. At El Castillo, δ13C and δ15N values show great consistency between levels, indicating that animals were being hunted from the same isozones when the site was presumably occupied by the two human species. The mosaic landscapes of Cantabria may have buffered the sharp environmental fluctuations that occurred during late MIS3 throughout Europe, providing suitable habitats for the key prey ungulate species that were routinely exploited throughout the Middle and Early Upper Palaeolithic. This environmental buffering may explain why this southerly, oceanic region was consistently occupied throughout this time of bio-cultural transition.
The rich accumulation of bovid remains found at Buda (Bacău County, eastern Romania) is unique among the Upper Palaeolithic sites in the region. The morphological analysis of postcranial remains, which dominate the assemblage by far, shows they belong to Bison priscus, the steppe bison. The body parts representation is biased towards distal limbs, which also display typical butchery cut marks (resulted from disarticulation or skinning) and bone breakage, suggesting the presence of secondary butchery site where limbs were disarticulated and broken for marrow extraction. The assemblage is dominated by adults, mostly females, and includes few sub-adult individuals and no young juveniles. The large number of bison individuals indicates the found remains are the result of a mass killing event representing at least one hunting episode. Considering the age and sex structure of the population, we estimate that the event can be placed during autumn.
Eastern Europe, particularly the Balkans, played a major role as a likely cul-de-sac for late Neanderthal survival and as a gateway to Europe for Anatomically Modern Humans (AMH) during the Middle to Upper Paleolithic transition. Despite the importance of the region, the known archaeological record during this period is still very limited, with little available site information. The recently excavated site of Šalitrena Pećina (Mionica, Serbia), south of the Danube River, contains archaeological evidence of late Mousterian, Aurignacian, and Gravettian occupations and presents an opportunity for understanding the behavior of both human populations in this eastern European region. Here we present the first radiocarbon dates for Neanderthal and AMH occupations in Serbia, as well as preliminary evidence on subsistence strategies obtained from the Mousterian and Aurignacian macrofaunal assemblages in Šalitrena Pećina. Radiocarbon dates indicate that Neanderthal and AMH groups may not have coexisted and interacted in this site. Nevertheless, zooarchaeological and taphonomic results show that both human populations were the main depositional agents of macrofaunal accumulation at the cave. The general compositions of the faunal assemblages reflect subtle differences between both human types and point to the necessity of further multidisciplinary research in southeastern Europe to increase our knowledge about human behavior and the causes of the demise of the Neanderthals in the Balkans.
Faunal skeletal profiles from archaeological assemblages have been long analysed regarding differential transport of carcasses to infer hunting preferences, human mobility, or even dietary stress. However, the existence of several possible accumulating agents, together with the effect of bone attrition, is known to introduce a potential bias, thus hindering the possibilities of meaningful concussions. In order to overcome this problem, several methods were proposed during the late 90s and early 2000’s, although a consensus was not reached, mainly because the different approaches were based on a certain initial hypothesis that significantly affected the output. Building on that previous experience, a new methodological framework is proposed and compared here. Moving from rather deterministic techniques, a Bayesian alternative approach based on a Monte Carlo Markov Chain sampling is presented and applied to several ethnographic and Pleistocene key sites. This new method makes use of the available information to constrain the possible degrees of attrition and carcass processing strategies, leading to easily comparable results.
The Gravettian is known for its technological innovations and artisanal craftwork. At the same time, continued climatic deterioration led to the coldest and driest conditions since the arrival of Homo sapiens sapiens in Europe. This article examines the palaeodemographic development and provides regionally differentiated estimates for both the densities and the absolute numbers of people. A dramatic population decline characterises the later part of the Gravettian, while the following Last Glacial Maximum experienced consolidation and renewed growth. The results suggest that the abandonment of the northern areas was not a result of migration processes, but of local population extinctions, coinciding with a loss of typological and technological complexity. Extensive networks probably assured the maintenance of a viable population.
One of the major challenges in Paleolithic research is disentangling various factors that contributed to variation in Neandertal technological behavior. As a result of variable abundance of the Paleolithic record across Eurasia, our understanding of regional and temporal patters of Middle Paleolithic industries differs from one region to another. Southeastern Europe is one of the areas that stands in contrast to rich and thoroughly investigated regions of other parts of Europe. A few sites in the region, nevertheless, offer an opportunity for the study of technological behavior of Middle Paleolithic hominins. The rockshelter sites of Crvena stijena and Bioče in Montenegro, located on the eastern Adriatic coast in the Mediterranean zone, have relatively dense remains of hominin occupations compared to other sites in the Balkan peninsula. Previous research identified several characteristics of the eastern Adriatic industries. Firstly, they have been characterized as Micromousterian due to the small average size of the artifacts, a feature that potentially results from the size of the local raw material. On typological grounds, some assemblages have been said to show typological similarity to Charentian, and some researchers have emphasized frequent denticulate tools as a late Mousterian feature. In this study we aim to examine lithic production strategies at the two sites based on samples from Crvena stijena deposits that tentatively range from late MIS 5 to MIS 3 and from the still undated upper sequence of Bioče. We will evaluate variability in the industries in the Adriatic region by looking at both the process of blank production and further tool production and consumption to provide a clearer picture of lithic production strategies during the late Middle Paleolithic. We will address the issue of how raw material affects the structure of these assemblages, artifact size, and particularly diachronic patterns of stone tool production strategies.
Kent's Cavern is one of Britain's most important Palaeolithic sites. The Torquay Natural History Society excavations in the Vestibule (1926–1928 and 1932–1938) yielded Middle and Early Upper Palaeolithic deposits as well as a fragment of human jaw (KC4). Higham et al. (2011) recently identified it as the oldest modern human fossil known from North West Europe, with a date estimated, using Bayesian modelling, at 44,200–41,500 cal bp (at 95.4% probability). However, White and Pettitt (2012) and Zilhão (2013) have claimed that the poor quality of the excavations and lack of stratigraphic integrity cast doubt on the archaeological and dating evidence from the site. Here, we present a thorough re-analysis of the excavations and show that they were in fact conducted to a reasonable standard. We also carefully examine the stratigraphic and sedimentological sequence and present twelve new AMS determinations from key contexts to test the previous model and chronology. We find that, while Trench C has good stratigraphic integrity, there is some evidence of post-depositional disruption of certain parts; some post-depositional movement is also shown by a limited number of artefact refits. There are two outlying AMS determinations dating to c. 32,000 bp . We therefore cannot exclude completely the possibility that the maxilla's age could be younger than the published probability distribution function (PDF). Our analysis lends support to the assessment by Higham et al. (2011) of the site and KC4 and shows that it offers considerable potential for future study.
Along the western coast of the Mani peninsula (S. Greece) numerous caves with Upper Pleistocene and Early Holocene deposits, preserving cultural remains from the Middle Paleolithic to the end of the Neolithic, form an important group of archaeological sites located in a restricted geographic area. Excavations have been carried out in seven of these caves. The excavation of Kalamakia yielded data about the Middle Paleolithic, while the other six caves have yielded remains of all Upper Paleolithic phases. Of particular interest is the discovery of transitional Middle-Upper Paleolithic layers in Kolominitsa cave. Although preliminary, this evidence demonstrates the importance of systematic research on a regional scale through the comparative study of neighboring and contemporaneous sites. Finally, these sites enable us to date the arrival of anatomically modern humans in this area and to study subsequent ecological and cultural changes.
If radiocarbon measurements are to be used at all for chronological purposes, we have to use statistical methods for calibration. The most widely used method of calibration can be seen as a simple application of Bayesian statistics, which uses both the information from the new measurement and information from the 14 C calibration curve. In most dating applications, however, we have larger numbers of 14 C measurements and we wish to relate those to events in the past. Bayesian statistics provides a coherent framework in which such analysis can be performed and is becoming a core element in many 14 C dating projects. This article gives an overview of the main model components used in chronological analysis, their mathematical formulation, and examples of how such analyses can be performed using the latest version of the OxCal software (v4). Many such models can be put together, in a modular fashion, from simple elements, with defined constraints and groupings. In other cases, the commonly used “uniform phase” models might not be appropriate, and ramped, exponential, or normal distributions of events might be more useful. When considering analyses of these kinds, it is useful to be able run simulations on synthetic data. Methods for performing such tests are discussed here along with other methods of diagnosing possible problems with statistical models of this kind.
The wide availability of precise radiocarbon dates has allowed researchers in a number of disciplines to address chronological questions at a resolution which was not possible 10 or 20 years ago. The use of Bayesian statistics for the analysis of groups of dates is becoming a common way to integrate all of the ¹⁴ C evidence together. However, the models most often used make a number of assumptions that may not always be appropriate. In particular, there is an assumption that all of the ¹⁴ C measurements are correct in their context and that the original ¹⁴ C concentration of the sample is properly represented by the calibration curve.
In practice, in any analysis of dates some are usually rejected as obvious outliers. However, there are Bayesian statistical methods which can be used to perform this rejection in a more objective way (Christen 1994b), but these are not often used. This paper discusses the underlying statistics and application of these methods, and extensions of them, as they are implemented in OxCal v 4.1. New methods are presented for the treatment of outliers, where the problems lie principally with the context rather than the ¹⁴ C measurement. There is also a full treatment of outlier analysis for samples that are all of the same age, which takes account of the uncertainty in the calibration curve. All of these Bayesian approaches can be used either for outlier detection and rejection or in a model averaging approach where dates most likely to be outliers are downweighted.
Another important subject is the consistent treatment of correlated uncertainties between a set of measurements and the calibration curve. This has already been discussed by Jones and Nicholls (2001) in the case of marine reservoir offsets. In this paper, the use of a similar approach for other kinds of correlated offset (such as overall measurement bias or regional offsets in the calibration curve) is discussed and the implementation of these methods in OxCal v 4.0 is presented.
Bones of recent mammals in the Amboseli Basin, southern Kenya, exhibit distinctive weathering characteristics that can be related to the time since death and to the local conditions of temperature, humidity and soil chemistry. A categorization of weathering characteristics into six stages, recognizable on descriptive criteria, provides a basis for investigation of weathering rates and processes. The time necessary to achieve each successive weathering stage has been calibrated using known-age carcasses. Most bones decompose beyond recognition in 10 to 15 yr. Bones of animals under 100 kg and juveniles appear to weather more rapidly than bones of large animals or adults. Small-scale rather than widespread environmental factors seem to have greatest influence on weathering characteristics and rates. Bone weathering is potentially valuable as evidence for the period of time represented in recent or fossil bone assemblages, including those on archeological sites, and may also be an important tool in censusing populations of animals in modern ecosystems.
In this article we present evidence of the hard animal tissue exploitation at Paglicci Cave (Rignano Garganico, Foggia, southern Italy).The analysis of the 104 bone and antler tools found in the Upper Palaeolithic sequence of the cave, as well as recent studies on faunal remains, have allowed us to reconstruct the choices made by the prehistoric hunters both in terms of hunting and exploitation of hard animal materials for tool fabrication. Most of the archeozoological sequence is characterized by the abundance of remains of species related to open or steppe environments, such as caprines (especially ibex), horses and aurochs.Starting from Final Epigravettian (about 17.000 BP cal.) these taxa decrease in favor of deer, wild boar and hidruntinus, reflecting an important climatic change leading to more humid and temperate conditions. Only some hunted animals bones were chosen for making the tools: deer, horse, aurochs and wild boar. A noteworthy observation concerns the lack of an interconnection between the kinds of species represented in the faunal assemblages and those used for the production of bone (and antler) tools.Even though the small number of pieces in each individual layer did not allow for statistical inferences, we could draw some interesting conclusions on the morpho-technological features of the artifacts, finding that some tool types appear to be linked to particular periods.
Archaeological finds indicate the use of bows and arrows in the Palaeolithic, though there is no consensus among archaeologists as to its beginnings. The main reason for this lies in the perishable materials used to make archery equipment. Among the finds that could offer indirect evidence for the use of bows in the Palaeolithic are small stone and bone points. Of the latter, the small bone points found in the cave of Potočka zijalka, Slovenia, led to a reconsideration of the existence of archery and archery equipment in the Aurignacian. The cave revealed 125 well preserved bone points, six of which were established to be roughly 32 ky old using the AMS 14C radiometric method.