Paleodemography of the Upper Paleolithic in Europe, Latest Perspectives on

Abstract

Recent research on the paleodemography of the European Upper Paleolithic reveals the dynamic population history of the first Homo sapiens on the continent. Between ∼45,000 and 12,000 years ago, both the size and the distribution of the European metapopulation fluctuated, often in direct response to climatic and environmental shifts. Absolute estimates of population size throughout this period vary widely, although it is clear that more people inhabited Europe during the Upper Paleolithic than at any previous time. While our knowledge of Upper Paleolithic fertility, mortality, and migration—the variables that underpin these wider population trends—remains limited, advances in the study of ancient DNA provide some tantalizing demographic insights.