Starosele and the Starosele Child: New Excavations, New Results

Stone tool function at the paleolithic sites of Starosele and Buran Kaya III, Crimea: Behavioral implications

“…), carnivores, and some birds. The paleoenvironmental reconstructions suggest dry, open conditions (forest and meadow-steppe) for Level 4 and the development of a riparian environment in Levels 3 through 1 (34)(35)(36).…”

“…The recent excavations showed four discrete cultural horizons with lithic assemblages attributed to various facies of the late Micoquian. A more detailed understanding of the stratigraphy revealed that the human remains were most likely intrusive from the late-medieval time period (34). Apart from Skhul and Qafzeh in Israel, however, all Middle Paleolithic fossil associations in the northwestern Old World are with Neandertals.…”

“…Apart from Skhul and Qafzeh in Israel, however, all Middle Paleolithic fossil associations in the northwestern Old World are with Neandertals. The newly defined levels range in age from Ϸ70-80,000 BP (Level 4) to Ϸ40,000 (Level 1), with the majority of cultural material coming from Level 3, Ϸ46,000 BP (32,(34)(35)(36). The faunal remains at the site are dominated by horse (Equus hydruntinus) but also include saiga (Saiga tatarica), various deer (Cervus elaphus, Cervus sp.…”

Neanderthal settlement patterns in Crimea: A landscape approach

“…Radiocarbon dates for level IIIa at Zaskalnaya VI trend from 30 to 39,000 BP and should be treated with caution (Pettitt, 1998). The burial from Starosele (western Crimea), originally reported as a Neanderthal burial, has since been re-interpreted as modern and intrusive (Marks et al, 1997).…”

Neanderthals and modern humans in eastern europe

“…The recent redating of a modern human infant burial originally reported from a Middle Paleolithic horizon at Starosel'e to the Holocene has eliminated any evidence that modern hu- 31 An isolated tooth recovered from Rozhok I is sometimes attributed to modern humans but cannot be unequivocally assigned to either taxon. 13 The East European Neanderthal fossil sample has increased significantly since 1970, and now provides a relatively clear picture of the Late Pleistocene predecessors of modern humans in this part of the continent.…”