The Chronometric Dating and Subsistence of Late Neanderthals and Early Anatomically Modern Humans in the Central Balkans: Insights from Šalitrena Pećina (Mionica, Serbia)

Ana B. Marín-Arroyo,Bojana Mihailović

doi:10.1086/693054

Abstract

Eastern Europe, particularly the Balkans, played a major role as a likely cul-de-sac for late Neanderthal survival and as a gateway to Europe for Anatomically Modern Humans (AMH) during the Middle ...

Highlights

| JOURNALOFANTHROPOLOGICALRESEARCHFALL 2 0 1 7 phenomenon rather than a uniform pan-European event
The taxonomic status of the makers of these earliest phases of the Upper Paleolithic is poorly documented, Anatomically Modern Humans (AMH) expansion has been traced through the so-called Initial Upper Paleolithic (IUP; i.e., Protoaurignacian and Aurignacian complexes) and some “transitional” technological industries (Uluzzian, LincombianRanisian-Jerzmanowician [LRJ], Szeletian, and Châtelperronian in various regions of Europe)
This relatively fast migration may have coincided with the displacement of Neanderthal populations toward more patchy and previously unexploited regions either because of direct and unsuccessful competition with modern humans (Stewart 2004) or because they failed to adapt to unsuitable MIS3 environmental conditions and climatic instability (Finlayson 2009; Stewart 2007), despite their previous success at surviving climatic crises

Summary

Introduction

| JOURNALOFANTHROPOLOGICALRESEARCHFALL 2 0 1 7 phenomenon rather than a uniform pan-European event. The dispersal of Proto-Aurignacian and Aurignacian technologies likely shows a rapid advance of AMH along two main routes: up the Danube Valley (Conard 2002; Mihailović et al 2011; van Andel et al 2003) and along the Mediterranean coast (Mellars 2011) This relatively fast migration may have coincided with the displacement of Neanderthal populations toward more patchy and previously unexploited regions either because of direct and unsuccessful competition with modern humans (Stewart 2004) or because they failed to adapt to unsuitable MIS3 environmental conditions and climatic instability (Finlayson 2009; Stewart 2007), despite their previous success at surviving climatic crises. In recent years have faunal accumulations begun to be investigated from an archaeozoological point of view (Dimitrijević et al 2014)

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Discussion

Conclusion