Complexity in the Middle to Upper Paleolithic Transition in Peninsular Southern Europe and application of refugium concepts

Milena Carvalho,Nuno Bicho

doi:10.1002/jqs.3350

Abstract

AbstractDuring the Middle to Upper Paleolithic transition in the Balkan, Italian and Iberian peninsulas of southern Europe, late Neanderthal and early Anatomically Modern Human (AMH) populations may have overlapped in some capacity. Many of the hypotheses and models for the transition interval suggest that Neanderthal populations remained in, or migrated to, refugial zones while AMHs colonized areas not suitable for, or abandoned by, Neanderthals. However, many hypotheses and models have not been conclusively tested due to general issues impeding a clear understanding of the relevant archeological record and because of a lack of specificity in defining and applying the term ‘refugium’. This paper briefly summarizes what is known about the Middle to Upper Paleolithic transition in southern European Peninsulas and discusses some new directions in the use of refugium concepts in the study of Neanderthal extinction and AMH dispersal. We highlight the complexity of the archeological record in each region and in the studies of refugia more generally. Finally, we make an appeal for generating local, multi‐proxy paleoenvironmental and paleoclimatic records to address these complexities so that hypotheses and models integrating refugial concepts in explanations of the Middle to Upper Paleolithic transition can be properly formulated and tested.

Highlights

As we have demonstrated above, the Middle to Upper Paleolithic transition in the Balkans, Italy and Iberia involves complex, asynchronous processes, and local population replacements or absorptions differ in their timing, spatial patterning, paleoclimatic context and causes
The archeological record of the Balkans, Italy and Iberia suggests that Neanderthal and Anatomically Modern Human (AMH) populations may have overlapped, and refugia could have played a role in the persistence of Neanderthal populations, as well as in the dispersal of AMHs
We have described the complexities in the timing and spatial patterning of the Middle to Upper Paleolithic transition in the three peninsulas and in the application of the concept of refugia

Summary

Introduction

Neanderthal and Anatomically Modern Human (AMH) adaptation to the rapid and dramatic climatic oscillations of the late Pleistocene is a widely discussed topic in paleoanthropology and archaeology (e.g. Finlayson and Giles‐Pacheco, 2000; Stewart, 2005, 2007; Finlayson and Carrión, 2007; Sepulchre et al, 2007; Bradtmöller et al, 2012; Bicho et al, 2017; Staubwasser et al, 2018), in the context of their extinction. Various environmental hypotheses and models link the disappearance of Neanderthals to the extremely cold and dry conditions in Heinrich Events 5 and 4 that may have reduced Neanderthal populations below survival thresholds (Finlayson and Giles‐Pacheco, 2000; d'Errico and Sánchez Goñi, 2003; Stewart et al, 2003; Stewart, 2004a,b; Van Meerbeeck et al, 2009; Müller et al, 2011). In the southern European peninsulas, the Balkans, Italy and Iberia, Neanderthal and early AMH populations may have occupied the peninsulas simultaneously on a peninsular (Riel‐ Salvatore, 2010; Marín‐Arroyo and Mihailović, 2017; Marciani et al, 2020) or potentially regional scale (Marín‐Arroyo et al., 2018; Haws et al, 2020). The refugium concept has been incorporated into many Middle to Upper Paleolithic transition scenarios in southern Europe, in the context of late Neanderthal survival The definition of the term ‘refugium’ has been, problematic (e.g. Ashcroft, 2010; Feliner, 2011; Jones, 2021/this Special Issue)

Objectives

Conclusion