Middle to Upper Paleolithic Transition Research Papers (original) (raw)

During the archeological survey in Leninogorsk int.ermount.ain depression (Western Altai, East Kazakhstan) was
discovered Paleolithic localities namedBystrukha-2. During the preliminary investigation andprofile cleaning there were
discovered two artifact-bearing levels. In the lowermost cultural Level 2 (Lithological layer 5), situated 4 meters below
modern surface had been discovered small lithic assemblage containing artifacts typical for Early Upper Paleolithic and
unidirectional Levallois point. For this layer was obtained 14C determination 29140 ± 940 uncal. BP (A4-35323). This
date (unpublishedyet) is the first, radiocarbon determination for the Paleolithic of Eastern Kazakhstan. Bystrukha 2 site
which situated in the most, remote from territory of main distribution of Levallois points in Altai gave the most, recent,
evidence for using of Levallois point, technology in this region.

The paper deals with what probably is the earliest evidence of symbolic behavior known today in Eastern Siberia and adjacent parts of Central Asia. The author describes a collection of non-utilitarian objects from the Early Upper Paleolithic site of Podzvonkaya, situated in the western half of the Trans-Baikal region. Of particular interest is a series of pendants made of ostrich eggshell and believed to date from a period ca. 40 kya (on the basis of radiocarbon dates obtained on bone samples from the same layer). In addition, there are numerous bones and stones with rhythmically set incisions and other markings, some of which seem to be parts of complex representations. The collection includes also three bone tools with apparently decorative heads.

- by Viktor Vietrov
- •
- History, Archaeology, Prehistoric Archaeology, Anthropology

This study presents and discusses a methodology to study population contact scenarios among Pleistocene hunter-gatherers. It applies this methodology to the Middle-to-Upper Palaeolithic transition in the Middle Danube region by testing three models for the emergence of the transitional technocomplexes: local evolution, diffusion and stimulus diffusion. A detailed attribute analysis suggests that the local evolution model does not adequately explain the patterns in the archaeological record at the Middle-to-Upper Palaeolithic transition, while the diffusion model that implies direct contact is best supported by the data presented.

- by Philip R Nigst
- •
- Prehistoric Archaeology, Landscape Archaeology, Lithic Technology, Lithics

Les fouilles récentes menées par Christian Normand à la grotte d’Isturitz ont livré un riche ensemble d’objets de parure aurignaciens en contexte chrono-stratigraphique. Nous présentons ici une première étude de ce corpus en focalisant sur les techniques d’aménagement des dents perforées ; la variation chronologique dans la sélection des dents animales (et une dent humaine) ; les matières premières employées pour les perles
et pendeloques (ambre, ivoire, talc, os ; les données en faveur d’une production autochtone de la parure ; l’exploitation de l’ambre et sa gîtologie ; l’existence d’une riche parure (pendeloque-sculpture anthropomorphe et coquillages) dans les niveaux de l’Aurignacien archaïque. La séquence stratigraphique d’Isturitz nous permet de démontrer l’évolution chronologique de la parure au cours de l’Aurignacien en Aquitaine, ainsi que sa variabilité intra-régionale. Nous concluons que cette instabilité complique considérablement l’hypothèse de parures régionalisées, marquant des entités ethniques qui perduraient pendant plus de dix mille ans.

- by Randall White
- •
- Aurignacian, Middle to Upper Paleolithic Transition, Upper Paleolithic

Донбасс - крупная географическая область на юге Восточной Европы. Основной водной артерией является р. Северский Донец - главный правобережный приток р. Дон. Благодаря особенностям геологической истории, Донбасс изобилует источниками качественного кремня мелового генезиса. Систематическое заселение региона началось в среднем палеолите. Фоновыми памятниками являются комплексы«восточного микока» (Антоновка, Черкасское). Известны также специфические пластинчатые индустрии (Курдюмовка, Белокузьминовка). Переход от среднего палеолита к позднему характерен для модели прерывистой эволюции. В позднем палеолите развивались различные культурные традиции («селетоидные»,«ориньякоидные» и «граветтоидные»), которые не образуют устойчивых во времени культурных секвеций.

- by Marcel J L T Niekus and +1
- •
- Neanderthals (Palaeolithic Archaeology), Middle to Upper Paleolithic Transition, Middle Palaeolithic, Neandertals

The replacement hypothesis proposes that “modern humans” evolved only in sub-Saharan Africa, through a speciation event rendering them unable to breed with other hominins. They then spread throughout Africa, then to Asia, Australia and finally to Europe, replacing all other humans by exterminating or outcompeting them. In this critical analysis of the replacement hypothesis it is shown that it began as a hoax, later reinforced by false paleoanthropological claims and a series of flawed genetic propositions, yet it became almost universally accepted during the 1990s and has since dominated the discipline. The numerous shortcomings of the hypothesis are appraised from genetic, anthropological, and archaeological perspectives and it is refuted. The resulting hiatus in the history of the human genus is then filled with an outline of a comprehensive alternative theory presented recently, which not only explains the origins of “modern humans” but also numerous so far unexplained aspects of being human.

- by Robert Bednarik
- •
- Evolutionary Biology, Genetics, Evolutionary Psychology, Archaeology

Kniha byla vydána v Praze roku 2005, ISBN:80-86912-04-3 / The book was published in Prague in 2005, ISBN: 80-86912-04-3

Mammoth ivory was a significant raw material for the production of representational objects and personal ornaments in the early Upper Paleolithic. Archaeological approaches to these objects are enriched by an improved understanding of the relationship between the physical characteristics of ivory and its properties as a raw material. Drawing on physical science research, experimental archaeology, and microscopic analysis, this article offers a synthesis of quantitative and qualitative research and observations on the nature of ivory as a unique natural material. These observations are then applied to the subject of ivory work in the Upper Paleolithic, and the relationship between material exigency and cultural choice in prehistoric production processes is explored.

- by Marjolein Bosch and +1
- •
- Zooarchaeology, Levantine Archaeology, Middle to Upper Paleolithic Transition, Upper Paleolithic
- by Phil Glauberman and +1
- •
- Archaeology, Prehistoric Archaeology, Geoarchaeology, Lithic Technology
- by Valery Sitlivy and +2
- •
- Archaeology, Geology, Middle to Upper Paleolithic Transition, Upper Paleolithic

The Emergence of the Goddess: A Study of Venus in the Paleolithic and Neolithic Era

The origin of clothing reflects the loss of hair cover in hominin evolution and the resulting vulnerability of humans to cold stress during the global climate changes of the ice ages. Other theories about the origin of clothes suggest a universal human inclination to cover the naked body for reasons of decorative display or modesty, yet these motives are not corroborated by ethnographic data from recent naked hunter-gatherers. A thermal origin is supported also by archaeological evidence which can link the development of clothing-related technologies in prehistory to past glacial cycles and environmental conditions - despite an absence of actual garments due to their perishability. Thermal physiology was similarly responsible for the advent of textile garments after the last ice age, in the context of global warming. Woven fabrics provided enhanced permeability to perspiration in the warmer and more humid conditions. Demand for textile fibres was a key aspect of the agricultural revolution, promoting the domestication of plants and animals. While biological factors were paramount in the prehistoric origin and development of clothes, subsequent psychosocial factors such as modesty - and the rise of fashion in dress as a motive for habitually covering the human body - profoundly influenced social evolution and the emergence of modern civilised life.

- by Ian Gilligan
- •
- Human Physiology, Ethology, Psychology, Psychoanalysis

We present a concise overview of Middle Palaeolithic research in the Netherlands. The area, which is situated along the northwestern edge of the known Neanderthal world, is very divers in terms of geological development. As a result of glacial cycles, hominin occupation can be characterised as intermittent and probably sparse. Well-preserved sites are primarily known from the loess region in the southern part of the province of Limburg and to a certain extent from the Roer Valley Graben. Further to the north artefacts do occur ‘geological in situ’, i.e. in the ice-pushed ridges in the central Netherlands and on the DrentheeFrisian till plateau in the northernmost part of the country, but primary archaeological in situ situations have yet to be discovered. The oldest traces of occupation date to MIS 9 or MIS 7 (Belvedere quarry and the ‘Rhenen Industry’), the youngest (stray finds) can be attributed to the Blattspitzengruppen and the Lincombian-Ranisian-Jerzmanowician (MIS 3). The (Upper) Acheulian, several Mousterian variants and the Keilmessergruppen are also attested. This paper serves as a starting point for future research.

- by Dimitri De Loecker and +2
- •
- Middle to Upper Paleolithic Transition, Middle Palaeolithic, Middle Paleolithic

In Dhofar, southern Oman, the Nejd plateau's deep canyons once flowed with perennial rivers, feeding wetland environments, forests, and grasslands across the now desiccated interior. The first peoples of Oman flourished along these waterways, drawn to the freshwater springs and abundant game, as well as the myriad chert outcrops with which to fashion their hunting implements and other tools. The landscapes of the Nejd plateau are a natural museum of human prehistory, covered in carpets of chipped stone debris. The archaeological evidence presented in this work encompasses the cultural remains of over a million years of successive human occupations - from the Lower Palaeolithic to the Late Palaeolithic. Once considered an evolutionary backwater or merely a migratory way station, the archaeology of Dhofar requires a fundamental reconsideration of the role of southern Arabia in the origin and dispersal of our species.

- by Jeff Rose and +2
- •
- Palaeolithic Archaeology, Lithic Technology, Archaeology of Oman, Lower Paleolithic

It is my contention that by the Upper Paleolithic, many technologies were quite advanced. In particular, basket weaving or woven-fiber technology had reached a high point of development. A variety of basket weaving techniques had been mastered along with the manufacture of cordage and the beginnings of textiles. This knowledge and these skills were then passed on to Neolithic cultures who were able to make full use of these technologies in their sedentary and agricultural societies. Basket weaving or woven-fiber technology was a central technology all during the Pre-Pottery A & B Neolithic time period, a time period that lasted much longer than the later Pottery Neolithic. Furthermore, even after the invention of pottery, basket weaving skills continued to be crucial to both the Neolithic cultures and to the first civilizations.

- by Rick Doble
- •
- Ethnoarchaeology, Neolithic Archaeology, Basketry (Archaeology), Weaving Technology

This monograph connects to the research results Petar Milojević presented in his graduation paper titled “The Survey of potential Paleolithic sites in the region of the Sokobanja basin and closer vicinity” the research for which was conducted within the project “Research of the transition from the middle to the upper Paleolithic in eastern Serbia” conducted by the Faculty of Philosophy from Belgrade in cooperation with the University of Arizona from Tucson (USA), under the auspices of Dušan Mihailović and Steven Kuhn. The research was conducted based on data collected by a team of three authors during only two research campaign each of which lasted two weeks conducted
during 2012 and 2013.
The contribution of this study in the archaeological survey of the Paleolithic
represents a standardized and systematic method of collecting data by means of forms and their compiling by applying Geographic Information Systems and the locating of
apsolute coordinates by means of a GPS device, which enables any further researcher to conduct a thorough preparation prior to fieldwork by means of selecting data of interest and enabling and entirely independent localization of the mentioned speleological objects. Our objective was also to point out the archaeological potential and instigate further archaeological researches of the Sokobanja region because it belongs to a group of areas with the least number of archeological researches. Besides their importance for archaeology, the presented data is solid starting point for geomorphological and speleological research.

Una estación al aire libre del Paleolítico medio en la cuenca del río Vinalopó

The excavation carried out at Riparo Mezzena during 1957 by F. Zorzi and A. Pasa (Museo di Storia Naturale di Verona) revealed a stratigraphic sequence of about 1,5-1,7 m – corresponding at least to 3 different anthropogenic layers – had been identifi ed (bottom-up: III, II, I) very rich in both artefacts, fauna and human remains. In 1977 Bartolomei (1980) verifi ed the stratigraphy by sampling the witness left in 1957 aiming at comparing the paleoenvironmental indications and the chrono-cultural assignements proposed by Pasa and Zorzi. According to alpine
chronology of the time, the authors attributed layer II to the Würm II while layer III was thought to correspond to a slightly older period. Recent revision referred the whole deposit to MIS 3 according to isotopic chronology. The present work deals with the fi rst results of the “Human fossils from the Verona area” revision project devoted to Riparo Mezzena Mousterian layers. Herein will be presented the new data related to anatomical
analyses - of the parietal (R and L), frontal and occipital bones fragments as well as the jaw, compared to the contemporaneous European Neandertals and the techno-economical study of the lithic assemblage from layer III. The lithic assemblage is referred to the cultural context of
La Ferrassie Charentian Mousterian, which characterized even the upper layer II assemblage. The latter, though, is characterized by a strong reduction in the Levallois production. A devoted discussion to the technology of the layer III will be given. The data relating to palaeogenetic analyses is presented too: the Mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) has been retrieved for the fi rst time from a Neandertal specimen of Italian origin
(NRM). The results show that the genetic diversity of the Neandertals has been largely underestimated. They suggest that Neandertal population was extensively subdivided geographically, and that its genetic diversity changed markedly over time. The melanocortin 1 receptor (MC1R) which regulates pigmentation in humans and other vertebrates had been amplifi ed and sequenced a fragment of the MC1R gene (mc1r). The impaired activity of this variant could have caused neandertals to have red hair and/or pale skin. The data from Mezzena suggest that inactive MC1R variants evolved independently in both modern humans and Neandertals.
Key Words: Lessini Mountains, calvaria fragments, jaw, mtDNA, nu DNA, red hair, Charentian mousterian, operative chain, settlement dynamic, MIS 3.

- by Laura Longo
- •
- Middle to Upper Paleolithic Transition

Vengono presentati oltre vent'anni di ricerca archeologica preistorica nelle valli occidentali del parmense

The paper deals with the topic of the evolution of speech
and language and aims to, through a multidisciplinary
approach and based on different material and available
data and results, answer the question of the appearance of
modern language and speech. Especially interesting is the
question of whether modern language appeared through
the process of saltation or in combination with some other
elements of “modernity” (the so called “Human revolution
model” or “Cognitive revolution model”) or if it is
a result of a longer evolutionary development in which
certain conditions and elements necessary for the development
of speech and language appeared before others did.
The authors attempted to answer these questions through
the results of comparative research done on our closest
evolutionary cousins, apes, through comparative anatomy,
fossil material and archaeological material sensu
stricto, that is, through remains of material culture. Based
on available material, we conclude that modern language
is a result of a long evolutionary development and that
different elements appeared at different times during the
evolutionary history of the tribe hominini.

- by Andrew Collins
- •
- Archaeology, Near Eastern Archaeology, Prehistoric Archaeology, Anthropology

A comprehensive review of evidence of very early palaeoart covering all continents reveals significant misconceptions in the dominant models of ‘art’ origins. The traditional preoccupation with predominantly zoomorphic, figurative traditions of south-western Europe is examined, as well as the closely related concept of an endemic cave art of the Upper Palaeolithic period. The existence of much earlier non-utilitarian traditions is demonstrated, including bead making and pigment use in the Lower Palaeolithic, and the widespread uniformity of Middle Palaeolithic palaeoart traditions is noted. The review of this global Pleistocene evidence suggests that the oldest and symbolically most sophisticated palaeoart is that of Asia rather than Europe.

- by Robert Bednarik and +1
- •
- Archaeology, Prehistoric Archaeology, Rock Art (Archaeology), Palaeolithic Archaeology

La Cueva de la Güelga, whose name in the local language refers to wet and shady sites, opens to the heart of a limestone mountain valley, forming a cul-de-sac. A stream flows from the current cave aperture and has configurated a karst system with corresponding terrace drain caverns that were successively occupied during the Middle and Upper Paleolithic.

The attribution of the rock art in Chauvet Cave to the Aurignacian and the challenges to its dating are reviewed. Similarly, the dominant view that the palaeoart of the Early Upper Palaeolithic technological traditions is generally the work of invading modern humans is tested against the lack of evidence of the presence of such hominins. Even the need to account for the physical changes of hominins towards the end of the Late Pleistocene by a replacement hypothesis is refuted. It is contended that what were replaced were not populations, but merely genes, through an unintended domestication selecting neotenous features; and that this process took place simultaneously in four continents.

In Central-Southern Italy, several cave sites yielded deposits dating back to MIS3, containing a Mousterian/Uluzzian/Proto-Aurignacian sequence. Changes within these sequences are synthetically examined on the basis of the main stratified sites. Subsistence strategies, raw material procurement, territory exploitation, production and behavioural activities and migratory movements are discussed. The Uluzzians can be considered, in many respects, economically and behaviourally closer to the Proto-Aurignacians than to the Mousterians. This pattern fully agrees with the recent attribution to AMH of two deciduous teeth from the Uluzzian layers of Grotta del Cavallo (Lecce, Southern Italy). Such a new insight directly involves the problem of the origin of the Uluzzian techno-complex. By integrating archaeological, genetic and demographic data, the hypothesis of dispersal from an East African source into Europe, through the so-called Southern route, is proposed. As for Southern Italy, the available data indicate that relationships between the indigenous Neandertals and the newcomers were most probably sporadic, given the possibly low demographic density of these populations and the limited time span of co-existence.

- by Adriana Moroni
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- Middle to Upper Paleolithic Transition

The collection "Art and Religion of Ancient Societies" is a continuation of the series of the scientific publications which is devoted to the problems of study of the spiritual culture in the primitive societies. The previous edition "Art and Ritual of Ice Age", that was published in 2005, covered a circle of questions directly connected with the theory and practice of study of the Paleolithic Art. In this collection we also address to the same problematic. However, taking into account that the understanding of the most ancient culture stages of the human society is connected to a wide circle of questions of the study of the traditional communities, we think it is necessity to expand the edition’s subjects. Therefore we have tried to capture not only questions directly connected with field and basic study of the ancient art, but also practical analysis of the cultural and ethnographic facts. The questions of the aesthetics and theory of development of the early forms of art are considered as separately subjects in works. The published materials enable the reader to familiarize with the questions and methods of their analysis more in details, which are submitted in works of the researchers from Ukraine, Russia, Kazakhstan, Hungary, Germany, Canada, USA, Australia.

- by Viktor Vietrov
- •
- Religion, Ancient Egyptian Religion, Comparative Religion, History
- by Olaf Jöris
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- Middle to Upper Paleolithic Transition
- by Jeff Rose and +1
- •
- Genetics, Near Eastern Archaeology, Prehistoric Archaeology, Human Evolution

Central European evidence has proven invaluable to our understanding of modern human origins. Important early discoveries such as Feldhofer and Krapina have continued to offer new insights on Neandertal biology and lifeways, as have large samples of early modern humans. More recently, the discoveries at Vindija Cave and sites in Romania have provided more information on the period and process of the Neandertal – modern transition. New dating techniques and their direct application to fossil remains have provided more chronological clarity. The genetic revolution, including the sequencing of the Neandertal genome, has shifted our field’s theoretical focus twice: 1) from a perspective that favored overall regional continuity to one of complete replacement and 2) from complete replacement to a more nuanced understanding of the dynamics of origins and admixture. We contend that the available evidence from Central Europe is most commensurate with the Assimilation Model of modern human origins, although some other models cannot be ruled out. The exact patterns of admixture between Neandertals and modern humans must await further evidence and analyses.