Push-and-pull factors of the Middle to Upper Paleolithic transition in the Balkans

Abstract

Recent research into the Paleolithic in the Balkans has provided better insights into the push-and-pull factors that influenced the expansion of modern humans into Europe, and the processes which led to the demise of the Neanderthals. This research has shown that modern humans probably used the Danubian corridor as the main route for their migration. It has also been demonstrated that the Middle Paleolithic ended significantly before the Campanian Ignimbrite (CI) eruption in some places, but that groups of Neanderthals may have survived longer in the western and central parts of the Balkans. Given these findings, two non-mutually exclusive scenarios are proposed. In the first scenario, Neanderthals would have been pushed towards more marginal western and central areas of the Balkans where their extinction occurred. Under the second scenario, the Neanderthal communities withdrew to the interior of the peninsula at a time when there was a concentration of Upper Paleolithic groups in the eastern Balkans and in the most favorable ecological zones. Under the latter scenario, the acculturation of Neanderthals (possibly indicated by some transitional industries) was due to factors of attraction. Further research is needed to test both scenarios.