The case of Trlica TRL11–10 (Montenegro): Implications for possible early hominin dispersals into the Balkans in the middle of the Early Pleistocene

Abstract

Problems of dispersals of early hominins into Europe are widely discussed. In the Early Pleistocene, the dispersal of mammals and humans from Africa, Asia, and Eastern Europe into the south of Western Europe passed mostly through the Eastern Mediterranean and the Balkans. Data on evolution and distribution of mammal faunas provide a solid basis for correlation and estimation of main dispersal events. In this paper authors made an attempt to analyze the paleobiogeographical aspects of possible hominin dispersals in the mid-Early Pleistocene of the Mediterranean in the context of a broad paleozoogeographical and paleoecological approach to addressing this issue. The study of the Early Pleistocene Trlica TRL11–10 mammal fauna of Trlica cave in Montenegro in the Central Balkans offers valuable information on biotic events in the region, migratory pathways and faunal transformations against a background of alternating environmental conditions. A recent discovery of several unique bones amongst other fossil mammalian remains excavated between 2010 and 2014 from the Trlica TRL11–10 level is of particular interest. The analysis of the assemblage of two large and two small bone artifacts suggests their anthropogenic nature. The Trlica TRL11–10 artifacts may constitute the first evidence of the initial ‘Peopling events’ in Mediterranean Europe. The artifacts are associated with a very diverse TRL11–10 fauna that includes 34 species of both small and large mammals and belongs to the late Early Pleistocene within the interval 1.8–1.5 Ma, Donau/Eburonian (MIS 63–51). The article emphasizes the close relationship between the early human dispersals and the evolution of biota and the importance of a holistic approach to the study of the problem of dispersals. Paleobiogeographic evidence confirms the possibility of the arrival of early hominins in the Balkans in the mid-Early Pleistocene, prior to 1.5 Ma, very likely closer to the Olduvai time.