Paleolithic culture behind the veil of chronology (original) (raw)
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New radiocarbon dates from the sites of Bockstein-Tö rle, Geißenklö sterle, Hohle Fels, Hohlenstein-Stadel, Sirgenstein, and Vogelherd in the Swabian Jura of southwestern Germany indicate that the Aurignacian of the region spans the period from ca. 40-30 ka BP. If the situation at Vogelherd, in which skeletal remains from modern humans underlie an entire Aurignacian sequence, is viewed as representative for the region, the dates from the Swabian Jura support the hypothesis that populations of modern humans entered the region by way of the "Danube Corridor." The lithic technology from the lower Aurignacian of Geißenklö sterle III is fully developed, and classic Aurignacian forms are well represented. During the course of the Aurignacian, numerous assemblages rich in art works, jewelry, and musical instruments are documented. By no later than 29 ka BP the Gravettian was well established in the region. These dates are consistent with the "Kulturpumpe" hypothesis that important cultural innovations of the Aurignacian and Gravettian in Swabia predate similar developments in other regions of Europe. The radiocarbon dates from Geißenklö sterle corroborate observations from other non-archaeological data sets indicating large global fluctuations in the atmospheric concentrations of radiocarbon between 30 and 50 ka calendar years ago. These fluctuations lead to complications in building reliable chronologies during this period and cause the "Middle Paleolithic Dating Anomaly" and the "Coexistence Effect," which tend to exaggerate the temporal overlap between Neanderthals and modern humans.
Abstract: Only a precise chronological/stratigraphical framework can enable an understanding of the dynamics of change underlying the replacement of Neanderthals by Anatomically Modern Humans and the emergence of what are recognized as Upper Palaeolithic technologies and behaviour. This paper therefore examines the European radiocarbon-based chronometric record for the period between ca. 40.0 and 30.0 ka 14C BP with reference to the stratigraphic evidence. The following testable hypotheses are proposed: 14C ages for remains of the latest Neanderthals will regularly date to older than 38.0 ka 14C BP. While at present the oldest direct dates for remains of Anatomically Modern Humans are < ca. 35.0 ka 14C BP, AMH possibly appear in Europe as early as ca. 38.0 ka 14C BP. 14C will date Final Middle Palaeolithic “transitional” industries (leaf-point industries, Chatelperronian, Uluzzian) to between ca. 41.0 and 38.0 ka 14C BP, and possibly as young as 35.0/34.0 ka 14C BP. Initial and Early Upper Palaeolithic “transitional” industries (Bachokirian, Bohunician, Protoaurignacian, Kostenki 14, level IVb) will date to between ca. 39.0 and 35.0 ka 14C BP. The earliest Aurignacian (I) will not significantly pre-date ca. 35.0 ka 14C BP, whereas the earliest appearance of Aurignacian figurative art will not date earlier than 32.5 ka 14C BP.
H.S. Groucutt (Ed.), Culture History and Convergent Evolution: Can we Detect Populations in Prehistory?
Interpretations of the European Upper Paleolithic archaeological record have long relied on concepts of past populations. In particular, cultural taxonomic units-which are used as a framework for describing the archaeological record-are commonly equated with past populations. However, our cultural taxonomy is highly historically contingent, and does not necessarily accurately reflect variation in the archaeological record. Furthermore, we lack a secure theoretical basis for the inference of populations from taxonomic units. In order to move past these problems and satisfactorily address questions of Upper Paleolithic populations, we need to entirely revise our approach to chronocultural framework building. Here, I outline a specific way of describing the archaeological record that deliberately avoids the use of cultural taxonomic units and instead concentrates on individual features of material culture. This approach may provide a more appropriate basis for the archaeological study of Upper Paleolithic populations and for comparison with genetic data.
At the end of the 14C time scale--the Middle to Upper Paleolithic record of western Eurasia
Journal of Human Evolution, 2008
The dynamics of change underlying the demographic processes that led to the replacement of Neandertals by Anatomically Modern Humans (AMH) and the emergence of what are recognized as Upper Paleolithic technologies and behavior can only be understood with reference to the underlying chronological framework. This paper examines the European chronometric (mainly radiocarbon-based) record for the period between ca. 40 and 30 ka 14C BP and proposes a relatively rapid transition within some 2,500 years. This can be summarized in the following falsifiable hypotheses: (1) final Middle Paleolithic (FMP) “transitional” industries (Uluzzian, Chatelperronian, leaf-point industries) were made by Neandertals and date predominantly to between ca. 41 and 38 ka 14C BP, but not younger than 35/34 ka 14C BP; (2) initial (IUP) and early (EUP) Upper Paleolithic “transitional” industries (Bachokirian, Bohunician, Protoaurignacian, Kostenki 14) will date to between ca. 39/38 and 35 ka 14C BP and document the appearance of AMH in Europe; (3) the earliest Aurignacian (I) appears throughout Europe quasi simultaneously at ca. 35 ka 14C BP. The earliest appearance of figurative art is documented only for a later phase ca. 33.0/32.5–29.2 ka 14C BP. Taken together, the Middle to Upper Paleolithic transition appears to be a cumulative process involving the acquisition of different elements of “behavioral modernity” through several “stages of innovation.”
Many lines of evidence point to the period between roughly 40 and 30 ka BP as the period in which modern humans arrived in Europe and displaced the indigenous Neandertal populations. At the same time, many innovations associated with the Upper Paleolithic -including new stone and organic technologies, use of personal ornaments, figurative art, and musical instruments -are first documented in the European archaeological record. Dating the events of this period is challenging for several reasons. In the period about six to seven radiocarbon half-lives ago, variable preservation, pre-treatment, and sample preparation can easily lead to a lack of reproducibility between samples and laboratories. A range of biological, cultural, and geological processes can lead to mixing of archaeological strata and their contents. Additionally, some data sets point to this period as a time of significant spikes in levels of atmospheric radiocarbon. This paper assesses these questions in the context of the well-excavated and intensively studied caves of Geißenklö sterle and Hohle Fels in the Swabian Jura of southwestern Germany. We conclude that variable atmospheric radiocarbon production contributes to the problems of dating the late Middle Paleolithic and the early Upper Paleolithic. To help establish a reliable chronology for the Swabian Aurignacian, we are beginning to focus our dating program on short-lived, stratigraphically secure features to see if they yield reproducible results. This approach may help to test competing explanations for the noisy and often non-reproducible results that arise when trying to date the transition from the Middle to the Upper Paleolithic.
2008
Many lines of evidence point to the period between roughly 40 and 30 ka BP as the period in which modern humans arrived in Europe and displaced the indigenous Neandertal populations. At the same time, many innovations associated with the Upper Paleolithic – including new stone and organic technologies, use of personal ornaments, figurative art, and musical instruments – are first documented in the European archaeological record. Dating the events of this period is challenging for several reasons. In the period about six to seven radiocarbon half-lives ago, variable preservation, pre-treatment, and sample preparation can easily lead to a lack of reproducibility between samples and laboratories. A range of biological, cultural, and geological processes can lead to mixing of archaeological strata and their contents. Additionally, some data sets point to this period as a time of significant spikes in levels of atmospheric radiocarbon. This paper assesses these questions in the context of the well-excavated and intensively studied caves of Geißenklo¨ sterle and Hohle Fels in the Swabian Jura of southwestern Germany. We conclude that variable atmospheric radiocarbon production contributes to the problems of dating the late Middle Paleolithic and the early Upper Paleolithic. To help establish a reliable chronology for the Swabian Aurignacian, we are beginning to focus our dating program on short-lived, stratigraphically secure features to see if they yield reproducible results. This approach may help to test competing explanations for the noisy and often non-reproducible results that arise when trying to date the transition from the Middle to the Upper Paleolithic.
In, J. Shea & D. Lieberman (eds.), Transitions in Prehistory: Papers in Honor of Ofer Bar-Yosef, pp. 166-183. Oxford: Oxbow Books. , 2009
Paleoanthropology present a series of documents covering a variety of subjects in the archaeology of the Old World (Eurasia, Africa, Australia, and Oceania). This series encompasses a broad range of subjectsfrom the early prehistory to the Neolithic Revolution in the Old World, and beyond including: huntergatherers to complex societies; the rise of agriculture; the emergence of urban societies; human physical morphology, evolution and adaptation, as well as; various technologies such as metallurgy, pottery production, tool making, and shelter construction. Additionally, the subjects of symbolism, religion, and art will be presented within the context of archaeological studies including mortuary practices and rock art. Volumes may be authored by one investigator, a team of investigators, or may be an edited collection of shorter articles by a number of different specialists working on related topics.