An early Aurignacian arrival in southwestern Europe

Sánchez, Miguel Cortés; Jiménez-Espejo, Francisco Jose; Vallejo, María Dolores Simón; Stringer, Chris; Lozano-Francisco, M. Carmen; García‐Alix, Antonio; Peláez, José L. Vera; Odriozola, Carlos P.; Riquelme‐Cantal, José Antonio; Giráldez, Rubén Parrilla; González, Adolfo Maestro; Ohkouchi, Naohiko; Muñiz, Arturo Morales

doi:10.1038/s41559-018-0753-6

Cited by 62 publications

(47 citation statements)

References 41 publications

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“…Along interior river drainages, rapid dispersal may have been necessary to mitigate water scarcity during extreme droughts associated with Heinrich events, thus explaining the lack of early Aurignacian sites. Alternatively, the coastal route hypothesis advanced by Cortés-Sánchez et al (23) is also supported by the distribution of Early Upper Paleolithic sites along the Iberian coast (59). This ecotonal position likely provided more predictable resources and less ecological risk during periods of climatic stress.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 86%

“…The recent dating of Bajondillo cave, on the southern coast of Spain, arguably demonstrated the first presence of modern humans at ∼45 to 43 ka cal BP, suggesting an even more expansive dispersal across Europe in a geological blink of an eye (23). The new Bajondillo dates pushed the first appearance of modern humans several thousand years earlier in time, upsetting previously held views.…”

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confidence: 90%

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The early Aurignacian dispersal of modern humans into westernmost Eurasia

Haws

Benedetti

Talamo

et al. 2020

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

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Documenting the first appearance of modern humans in a given region is key to understanding the dispersal process and the replacement or assimilation of indigenous human populations such as the Neanderthals. The Iberian Peninsula was the last refuge of Neanderthal populations as modern humans advanced across Eurasia. Here we present evidence of an early Aurignacian occupation at Lapa do Picareiro in central Portugal. Diagnostic artifacts were found in a sealed stratigraphic layer dated 41.1 to 38.1 ka cal BP, documenting a modern human presence on the western margin of Iberia ∼5,000 years earlier than previously known. The data indicate a rapid modern human dispersal across southern Europe, reaching the westernmost edge where Neanderthals were thought to persist. The results support the notion of a mosaic process of modern human dispersal and replacement of indigenous Neanderthal populations.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 86%

mentioning

confidence: 90%

The early Aurignacian dispersal of modern humans into westernmost Eurasia

Haws

Benedetti

Talamo

et al. 2020

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

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“…Previous age estimates of the KC4 maxilla (Higham et al, 2011) suggested there could have been a~5000-year period between~45 and 40 ka in which H. sapiens and Neanderthals may have overlapped in Europe. Suggestions of a comparably early modern presence at Cavallo (Italy) and Willendorf (Austria) have also been challenged recently (Zilhão et al, 2015;Teyssandier and Zilhão, 2018), although there is another recent claim of a similarly early modern human presence recorded at Bajondillo Cave in southern Spain (Cortés-Sánchez et al, 2019). Homo sapiens and Neanderthal interactions may have had considerably greater longevity in the Near East from~120 ka (Hovers, 2006) and probably even older (Hershkovitz et al, 2018).…”

Section: Archaeological Perspectives On Hominin Behaviourmentioning

confidence: 99%

Aspects of human physical and behavioural evolution during the last 1 million years

Galway‐Witham

Cole

Stringer

2019

J Quaternary Science

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106

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This paper reviews some of the main advances in our understanding of human evolution over the last 1 million years, presenting a holistic overview of a field defined by interdisciplinary approaches to studying the origins of our species. We begin by briefly summarizing the climatic context across the Old World for the last 1 million years before directly addressing the fossil and archaeological records. The main themes in this work explore (i) recent discoveries in the fossil record over the last 15 years, such as Homo naledi and Homo floresiensis; (ii) the implications of palaeogenetics for understanding the evolutionary history of, and relationships between, Neanderthals, Denisovans and Homo sapiens; (iii) the interplay between physiology and metabolic demand, landscape use, and behavioural adaptations in the evolution of morphological and behavioural innovation; and (iv) recent advances in archaeological understanding for the behavioural record, in particular that of the Neanderthals. This paper seeks to provide a broad‐scale, holistic perspective of our current understanding of human evolution for the last 1 Ma, providing a reference point for researchers that can be built upon as new discoveries continue to develop the landscapes of human evolution. © 2019 The Authors. Journal of Quaternary Science Published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

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“…Re-dating and critical examination of key sites, such as Jarama VI or Zafarraya (Kehl et al, 2013;Wood et al, 2013;Barroso et al, 2014), and new interpretations of the sedimentological information and its climatic transfer to the chronological interpretation, as in Cova Negra (Villaverde et al, 2014), are revealing that Neanderthal occupations are older than previously thought. Recently, a Proto-Aurignacian or Early Aurignacian technocomplex has been found in the Bajondillo cave (Málaga) level Bj/13 and dated~43.0-40.8 cal ka BP (Cortés-Sánchez et al, 2019). The presence of modern humans in the south of the Iberian Peninsula synchronously with the rest of Europe also suggests a faster spread maybe "only possible over essentially 'empty' territories" (Cortés- Sánchez et al, 2019, pp.…”

Section: The End Of the Neanderthal Occupations In The Iberian Systemmentioning

confidence: 99%

New data concerning Neanderthal occupation in the Iberian System: First results from the late Pleistocene (MIS 3) Aguilón P5 cave site (NE Iberia)

Mazo

Alcolea

2020

Quaternary International

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This work presents the first results from the Aguilón P5 (Zaragoza) cave site on the northern slope of the Iberian System (NE Iberia). The fieldwork carried out since 2010 on several archaeological layers containing remnants of human occupations has revealed lithic remains, processed faunal bones and charred plant remains from combustion events. Due to the lithic tool assemblage and radiocarbon dating (> 50.0-41.9 kyr BP), the attribution of this human occupation to the Mousterian techno-complex is clear, contemporary with other important Late Mousterian sites in the Ebro Basin (NE Iberia) and Mediterranean region. Preliminary results concerning stratigraphic, chronometric, techno-tipological and palaeoenvironmental data from the last human occupations of the cave (archaeological layers "cnc", "mcp" and "e") are provided in this paper. To contextualize the Neanderthal occupation of the Aguilón P5 cave, a timeline of Middle Paleolithic in the Iberian System is proposed. A total of 45 dates from 19 stratigraphic units (including speleothems) are available from 10 sites. Chronometric dating series allow us to establish the temporary framework of Mousterian industries in the Iberian System coinciding with the abrupt climate changes related to Heinrich Events which characterize MIS 3. In summary, this paper provides new chronometric and archaeological information about Neanderthal settlement and subsistence in an under-investigated region.

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An early Aurignacian arrival in southwestern Europe

Cited by 62 publications

References 41 publications

The early Aurignacian dispersal of modern humans into westernmost Eurasia

The early Aurignacian dispersal of modern humans into westernmost Eurasia

Aspects of human physical and behavioural evolution during the last 1 million years

New data concerning Neanderthal occupation in the Iberian System: First results from the late Pleistocene (MIS 3) Aguilón P5 cave site (NE Iberia)

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