Upper Pleistocene Hominid Evolution in South-Central Europe: A Review of the Evidence and Analysis of Trends [and Comments and Reply

Abstract

South-Central Europe has yielded rather large and significant samples of archaic and early modern Homo sapiens dated to the Upper Pleistocene. These hominid samples have received proportionately little detailed consideration in discussions of the nature of the relationship between archaic and modern Homo sapiens in Europe. The First purpose of this paper is to review this material. The second purpose of this paper is to review this material. The second purpose is to investigate the trends in Upper Pleistocene hominid evolution in South-Central Europe and to relate them to the pattern of contemporary hominid evolution in adjacent regions. It is concluded that a distinct morphological continuum exists between Neandertals and early modern hominids in South-Central Europe and that this continuum is most likely the reflection of an indigenous transition from Neandertals to eraly modern Homo sapiens. Aspects of such a transition are visible in the sparse fossil record of North-Central Erope as well. The pattern...