Chronological reassessment of the Middle to Upper Paleolithic transition and Early Upper Paleolithic cultures in Cantabrian Spain.

Ana B Marín-Arroyo,Marco De La Rasilla,Koro Mariezkurrena,David Ocio,Michael Richards,Jennifer R Jones,Jesús Altuna,Lawrence G Straus,Manuel R González Morales,Joseba Rios-Garaizar,John P Hart

doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0194708

Abstract

Methodological advances in dating the Middle to Upper Paleolithic transition provide a better understanding of the replacement of local Neanderthal populations by Anatomically Modern Humans. Today we know that this replacement was not a single, pan-European event, but rather it took place at different times in different regions. Thus, local conditions could have played a role. Iberia represents a significant macro-region to study this process. Northern Atlantic Spain contains evidence of both Mousterian and Early Upper Paleolithic occupations, although most of them are not properly dated, thus hindering the chances of an adequate interpretation. Here we present 46 new radiocarbon dates conducted using ultrafiltration pre-treatment method of anthropogenically manipulated bones from 13 sites in the Cantabrian region containing Mousterian, Aurignacian and Gravettian levels, of which 30 are considered relevant. These dates, alongside previously reported ones, were integrated into a Bayesian age model to reconstruct an absolute timescale for the transitional period. According to it, the Mousterian disappeared in the region by 47.9–45.1ka cal BP, while the Châtelperronian lasted between 42.6k and 41.5ka cal BP. The Mousterian and Châtelperronian did not overlap, indicating that the latter might be either intrusive or an offshoot of the Mousterian. The new chronology also suggests that the Aurignacian appears between 43.3–40.5ka cal BP overlapping with the Châtelperronian, and ended around 34.6–33.1ka cal BP, after the Gravettian had already been established in the region. This evidence indicates that Neanderthals and AMH co-existed <1,000 years, with the caveat that no diagnostic human remains have been found with the latest Mousterian, Châtelperronian or earliest Aurignacian in Cantabrian Spain.

Highlights

The Middle to Upper Paleolithic transition is generally associated with the replacement of local Neanderthal populations by Anatomically Modern Humans (AMH) in western Eurasia [1]
Human deciduous teeth found in Southern Italy (Grotta del Cavallo) suggest that AMH were the makers of the Uluzzian [9], whereas other researchers continue to argue for Neanderthal authorship [10]
The results provide greater temporal precision for the Middle to Upper Paleolithic transition in the Cantabrian Region by building a Bayesian model using samples treated with a robust pre-treatment methodology

Summary

Introduction

The Middle to Upper Paleolithic transition is generally associated with the replacement of local Neanderthal populations by Anatomically Modern Humans (AMH) in western Eurasia [1]. Human deciduous teeth found in Southern Italy (Grotta del Cavallo) suggest that AMH were the makers of the Uluzzian [9], whereas other researchers continue to argue for Neanderthal authorship [10]. Those “Transitional technocomplexes” (especially the Chatelperronian), have been interpreted as an evidence of a short period of coexistence between local and immigrant human populations [1, 11], with the early phases of the Aurignacian complex (Proto-Aurignacian and early Aurignacian) being attributed to the first modern humans in Europe, as early as 42 ka cal BP, during GI10. The hypothesis of a very early appearance of Aurignacian in northern Iberia is no longer supported [2,4]

Methods

Results

Conclusion