Upper Paleolithic Sites Research Articles

The Aurignacian way of life: Contextualizing early modern human adaptation in the Carpathian Basin

The culture and dispersal of early modern humans are top priorities of many research agendas. While the debate primarily centers on genetics, dispersal trajectories and points of earliest presence, the context (climate, landscape, demography, culture) of the colonizing process is usually considered in a coarse-grained manner or even ignored. To understand the context of human dispersal and to decipher relevant push and pull factors requires the consideration of multiple environmental proxies and the research on different geographic scales. In this paper, we present the Late Quaternary Carpathian Basin as a specific context area of early modern human dispersal into Europe. The multitude of Early Upper Paleolithic sites in this region suggests that it was part of a major dispersal corridor along the Danube and its catchment area some 40,000 years ago. The Aurignacian land-use model describes the interaction of early modern humans with their environment. One important parameter is the specific distribution of archaeological sites that exemplifies their boundedness to specific eco-zones. To reconstruct the latter, paleo-environmental proxies and archaeological data are examined together in regional vector models and in a GIS based landscape archaeology approach. In the final section, we present the Carpathian Basin as an idiosyncratic habitat that mirrors the dynamics and complexity of early modern human adaptation.

Les nouveaux sites paléolithiques de la vallée de Ferghana

The paper aims to present recent discoveries of Paleolithic sites in the Ferghana oasis. Until now, the Upper Paleolithic sites were unknown in this part of Uzbekistan. The archaeological deposits mentioned in this paper and preliminarily attributed to the Upper Paleolithic period fill a gap in the Prehistory of this zone. The Upper Paleolithic industries from the Tachkent oasis sites (Kulbulak, Kyzylalma 2, Obirahmat) are here presented as analogies ofrecently discovered sites.

The Upper Paleolithic and Epipaleolithic of Sefunim Cave, Israel

Sefunim Cave, Mount Carmel, Israel was previously excavated in the 1960s and is one of the main sites known for the occurrence of the cultural entity termed the Levantine Aurignacian. Renewed excavations at Sefunim Cave provide new insights into the Late Pleistocene occupations of the site and reveal a rich Epipaleolithic layer, in addition to the previously recorded Middle to Upper Paleolithic sequence. The recent work helps us re-evaluate the record of cultural and environmental shifts within the Upper Paleolithic and early Epipaleolithic sequence and places the results of earlier excavations in a higher resolution context in terms of human-environment relationships. The current work reports the first radiometric dating results from the Upper Paleolithic layers at this key site. In addition, we provide a preliminary description of finds collected during the new campaigns. The finds encompass both the material culture and environmental setting of Sefunim, and include investigations of micromorphology, lithics, use-wear, fauna, microfauna, ocher and shells. Important new findings include the identification of rich symbolic activity at the site. In the Levantine Aurignacian assemblage it is represented primarily by the presence of numerous shell ornaments, a trend which parallels Upper Paleolithic sites of the northern Levant. Other manifestations of symbolic activity are represented by ocher exploitation throughout the sequence and a unique engraved artifact from the Epipaleolithic.

The Application of SfM Photogrammetry Software for Extracting Artifact Provenience from Palaeolithic Excavation Surfaces

ABSTRACTWhile photogrammetry has become popular in archaeology and heritage management as an effective, low-cost method for generating detailed three-dimensional models, it remains to be established that the accuracy of model-derived measurements is sufficient for analytical purposes. Based on an expedient, in-field model processing protocol, we report preliminary results concerning the accuracy of artifact provenience information derived from photogrammetry models of excavation surfaces at the Upper Palaeolithic site of Shuidonggou Locality 2 in China. Error in model-derived provenience can range easily into the centimeter scale; accuracy in some spatial axes are significantly, but weakly, affected by the size of the sampled surface. While the observed error range is larger than thresholds proposed for Palaeolithic excavations, it is arguably acceptable in settings where the analytical demand for provenience precision is lower. We identify possible sources of error and discuss how model accuracy can be improved by additional systematic testing.

Early Upper Paleolithic surface collections from loess-like sediments in the northern Carpathian Basin

The way in which modern humans first entered Europe has been a recent focus of Upper Paleolithic research. A leading theory posits that the Danube served as a conduit for migration from Southeastern into Central and Western Europe. However, a challenge to this has been the scarcity of Early Upper Paleolithic sites along the Middle Danube (Carpathian) Basin. Though several sites with Early Upper Paleolithic features (Szeletian, Aurignacian) are known from surface prospections, few have been archeologically investigated in detail.Here, our aim is to elucidate this long-standing deficiency by evaluating two unknown and three known sites from the northern Carpathian Basin in Hungary and Slovakia through a series of “keyhole” excavations. The objectives were to see if in situ stratified material still existed and to characterize the sites’ archeological assemblages and sedimentological contexts. To do this, field observations supplemented by granulometry were employed to determine if the surrounding sedimentary matrix was eolian loess and/or if it had been mixed with underlying older deposits.The results indicate that the lithics represent Early Upper Paleolithic assemblages that experienced post-depositional mixing. However, two sites (Seňa I, Nagyréde 1) showed more nuanced site formation processes and may contain in situ artifacts warranting further exploration. These studies highlight the importance of including sedimentological research into archeological investigations, because the paucity of sites may not simply mean a lack of human occupation, but can indicate a dynamic geomorphological evolution of the Pleistocene landscape that may have erased past traces of human settlements through insufficient sedimentation. The results provide new insights into the Early Upper Paleolithic settlement and the sedimentary dynamics of the Carpathian Basin ultimately leading to a greater understanding of the early modern human settlement patterns in Europe.

New ages for the Upper Palaeolithic site of Xibaimaying in the Nihewan Basin, northern China: implications for small-tool and microblade industries in north-east Asia during Marine Isotope Stages 2 and 3

It has been suggested that the ‘small-tool’ and microblade Upper Palaeolithic industries coexisted in the Nihewan Basin of northern China for about 8–14 000 years during Marine Isotope Stage (MIS) 2. This inference was based on uranium-series ages of around 15 and 18 ka for bovid teeth recovered from the ‘latest’ small-tool site of Xibaimaying – the youngest occurrence of such tools in the region – and optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) dating of the earliest typical microblade site (Youfang: ∼26–29 ka). In this study, we re-dated the Xibaimaying site using single-grain OSL methods and the resulting ages indicate that the cultural layer was deposited 46 ± 3 ka ago, during MIS 3 – more than 20 millennia earlier than previously thought and older also than the so-called earliest ‘primitive’ and typical microblade tools found at Zhiyu (∼31–39 ka cal BP) and Youfang. These new ages for human occupation of Xibaimaying remove support for the parallel development of the small-tool and microblade industries in the Nihewan Basin during the Upper Palaeolithic, but reliable age estimates from additional sites are needed to confidently infer the nature of the chronological relationship between these two Upper Palaeolithic industries and the associated toolmakers.

THE END OF ARCHAEOLOGICAL DISCOVERY

Except for the addition of modern material remains, the archaeological record is a finite resource, which means that, at some point in the future, there will be nothing left to find. In this paper, we model trends in archaeological discovery based on the growth of the field and the probability of site discovery. We compare this model to seven diverse datasets of archaeological discovery trends: (1) all sites from the state of Wyoming, USA; (2) high-altitude archaeological sites from the state of Colorado, USA; (3) mostly complete Neandertal crania; (4) monumental sites of the Maya Classic period; (5) proboscidean kill/scavenge sites globally; (6) Upper Paleolithic sites from Europe; and (7) a compilation of shipwreck discoveries. We forecast discovery trends over the current century. We show that, for all datasets, rates of discovery are in decline, and some segments of the record are near depletion.

Textural, microstructural, and compositional characteristics of Fe‐based geomaterials and Upper Paleolithic ocher in the Lessini Mountains, Northeast Italy: Implications for provenance studies

AbstractProvenance research of archaeological ocher contributes to understanding the capabilities of prehistoric humans to select, process, and treat suitable raw materials for symbolic and utilitarian purposes. The western part of the Lessini Mountains in the Veneto region of northeast Italy is an ideal location for this type of study as it features several different Fe‐rich deposits, and many examples of archaeological ocher have been found in the nearby Fumane Cave and Tagliente Rockshelter Upper Paleolithic sites. Sourcing areas are often identified through the use of geochemical studies; however, microscopic techniques can also be used with the benefit of providing more detailed information about accessory minerals and textural characteristics of the material. One of the goals of our study was to demonstrate the potential in using polarizing light microscopy supported by scanning electron microscopy coupled with an energy dispersive X‐ray spectrometer in research of this type. We studied geological source samples and archaeological materials from the sites, the results of which are very promising in terms of shedding light on the sourcing of prehistoric ocher in this region.

Searching for the Scottish Late Upper Palaeolithic: A case study from Nethermills Farm, Aberdeenshire

In connection with the recent examination, cataloguing and discussion of approximately 30,000 mainly Mesolithic lithic artefacts from Nethermills Farm at Banchory in Aberdeenshire, Scotland, excavated by the late James Kenworthy in the late 1970s and early 1980s, a small number of finds were identified as almost certainly whole or fragmented Late Upper Palaeolithic lithic artefacts, and others as pieces likely to date to this period. The Nethermills flint objects add to a growing list of Late Upper Palaeolithic sites and implements identified across Scotland, including tanged and other points, scrapers, and truncated pieces from Howburn in South Lanarkshire and Kilmelfort Cave on the Scottish west-coast, as well as tanged and other points from the Western and Northern Isles, with eastern Scotland so far having yielded none. On the basis of this case study, the authors suggest an approach for the continued search for Late-Glacial settlers in Scotland in general, as well as for further investigation of the large Nethermills Farm assemblage. The proposed approach suggests that we focus not only on diagnostic tool forms (in particular, tanged and backed points), which have been the focus of Scottish Late Upper Palaeolithic research thus far, but also include other chronologically significant elements, such as diagnostic technological attributes and full operational schemas.

New luminescence dating results based on polymineral fine grains from the Middle and Upper Palaeolithic site of La Ferrassie (Dordogne, SW France)

Abstract In this study we compare different infrared stimulated luminescence (IRSL) signals for dating archaeological deposits. The IRSL and the more recently developed post-IR IRSL (pIR-IR) methods were investigated using polymineral fine grains extracted from the Middle and Upper Palaeolithic western excavation area in the site of La Ferrassie (Dordogne, SW France). The IRSL data measured at 50 °C (IR 50 ) are compared to those obtained with the elevated pIR-IR signals measured for two stimulation temperatures, 225 °C (pIR-IR 225 ) and 290 °C (pIR-IR 290 ). The signals are documented in terms of bleaching and fading rates. In addition, comparisons of the IR 50 ages corrected either with the H + L method (Huntley and Lamothe, 2001) or with the dose rate correction method (DRC, Lamothe et al. , 2003) are presented. Results show that the polymineral fine grains give a reasonable estimate of the burial age of the samples. The IR 50 and pIR-IR 225 provide the most reliable ages when they are corrected using the DRC method (because of saturation effects). The polymineral ages are then compared with the previously obtained ages on K-feldspar coarse grains, quartz OSL (Guerin et al. , 2015) and radiocarbon ages with the aim of accessing information on the depositional processes. It appears that further comparison of polymineral fine grains to coarse grains is beneficial to evaluate bleaching. Moreover, the polymineral results either confirm or refine the chronology of the La Ferrassie sequence proposed by Guerin et al. (2015), that is, the Mousterian layers range from marine isotope stage (MIS) 5 to the middle of MIS 3. In particular, i) the base of Layer 3 is pushed back to the end of MIS 4 or beginning MIS 3 and ii) the chronological attribution of Layers 4 and 5 is confirmed as MIS 3. Finally, the chronology of the Aurignacian layer (Layer 7) is strengthened by all the feldspars results.

Human Teeth from Strashnaya Cave, the Altai Mountains, with Reference to the Dental Variation in Stone Age Siberia

Human teeth found in layer 31a of Strashnaya Cave, northwestern Altai Mountains, in 1989, are described. The layer relates to the Upper Paleolithic and has been dated to 19,150 ± 80 BP. However, owing to the nature of sedimentation in the areas adjacent to the cave walls, where the teeth were found, these may be either earlier or later. The objective of this study is to examine the possible dental continuity between Upper Paleolithic and Neolithic populations of the Altai-Sayan highland because the teeth from Strashnaya may postdate the respective layer. Given the chronological ambiguity, we compared them with both the Paleolithic and Neolithic specimens from southwestern Siberia. Marked affi nities have been demonstrated between the Strashnaya teeth and those from the Upper Paleolithic sites of Malta, Listvenka, and Afontova Gora II in southern Siberia, suggesting that the Upper Paleolithic population of the Altai Mountains represented the same Southern Siberian dental complex. Certain features link the Strashnaya child with people associated with Neolithic and Chalcolithic cultures of the Altai-Sayan region, such as Kuznetsk-Altai and Bolshoy Mys cultures, possibly evidencing evolutionary conservatism.

«Керамика» Зарайской верхнепалеолитической стоянки

Zaraysk is one of the best studied and known Russian Upper Paleolithic sites of the Kostenki-Willendorf type. One of the most intriguing findings of excavations at that site concerns an unusual group of artifacts, tentatively interpreted as ceramics. The article gives their detailed description and addresses their spatial distribution. The items have been subjected to firing, but the chemical and mineralogical analysis suggests that they were made of ocher or highly ferruginized clay unsuitable for manufacturing ordinary ceramics. Poor preservation caused by taphonomic processes precludes a reliable reconstruction of the original morphology and function of the items. Their shape, however, is rather standard and is paralleled by the “non-figurative ceramics” of Pavlov and Dolni Věstonice, whose function is not clear either. It appears that the Zaraysk people tried to reproduce the Central European prototypes in terms of form and function, but, intentionally or not, used a raw material suitable for making a red pigment rather than ceramics. Formally, the Zaraysk pieces can hardly be described as ceramics proper, possibly evidencing unsuccessful copying. The final answer, then, hinges on the true purposes of the manufacturers.

“CERAMICS” FROM THE ZARAYSK UPPER PALEOLITHIC SITE

Zaraysk is one of the best studied and known Russian Upper Paleolithic sites of the Kostenki-Willendorf type. One of the most intriguing findings of excavations at that site concerns an unusual group of artifacts, tentatively interpreted as ceramics. The article gives their detailed description and addresses their spatial distribution. The items have been subjected to firing, but the chemical and mineralogical analysis suggests that they were made of ocher or highly ferruginized clay unsuitable for manufacturing ordinary ceramics. Poor preservation caused by taphonomic processes precludes a reliable reconstruction of the original morphology and function of the items. Their shape, however, is rather standard and is paralleled by the “non-figurative ceramics” of Pavlov and Dolni Věstonice, whose function is not clear either. It appears that the Zaraysk people tried to reproduce the Central European prototypes in terms of form and function, but, intentionally or not, used a raw material suitable for making a red pigment rather than ceramics. Formally, the Zaraysk pieces can hardly be described as ceramics proper, possibly evidencing unsuccessful copying. The final answer, then, hinges on the true purposes of the manufacturers.

Function and behaviour: use-wear evidence from Upper Paleolithic tools in southern Shanxi Province, North China

Lithic use-wear analysis has become a principal approach for interpreting the function of stone tools and inferring human behaviour. This study presents the results of use-wear analysis on lithic tools excavated from the Upper Paleolithic sites of Xiachuan and Chaisi in the southern part of Shanxi Province, North China. In this study, microblades and so-called core-like tools from these two sites were selected for examination by low-power techniques to identify their use patterns. The results suggest that approx. 30% of microblades might have been used mainly to process animal substances, and a lower percentage for vegetal substances. Based on the use-wear evidence, items classified as core-like tools should be regarded as microblade-cores, since they exhibit few traces of utilisation.

A Molecular Approach to the Sexing of the Triple Burial at the Upper Paleolithic Site of Dolní Věstonice.

In the past decades ancient DNA research has brought numerous insights to archaeological research where traditional approaches were limited. The determination of sex in human skeletal remains is often challenging for physical anthropologists when dealing with incomplete, juvenile or pathological specimens. Molecular approaches allow sexing on the basis of sex-specific markers or by calculating the ratio of DNA derived from different chromosomes. Here we propose a novel approach that relies on the ratio of X chromosome-derived shotgun sequencing data to the autosomal coverage, thus establishing the probability of an XX or XY karyotype. Applying this approach to the individuals of the Upper Paleolithic triple burial of Dolní Věstonice reveals that all three skeletons, including the individual DV 15, whose sex has long been debated due to a pathological condition, were male.

The surroundings and the age of the upper paleolithic site on Susak island

Our study investigates the paleoenvironmental conditions of an Upper Paleolithic site found in the excavation of the North Adriatic Susak Island. Our research explores the range of the loess and loesslike sediments deposited on rudist limestone which is the substratum of the island. We studied the Quaternary sediments by a coherent paleoenvironmental assessment method. The geomorphological and the various chronological analysis contribute significantly to the extension of our knowledge on the paleoenvironmental conditions of the Upper Paleolithic site (Radiocarbon age is 31,830 ±720 yr BP) on Susak Island.

Middle to Upper Paleolithic transition in Moravia: New sites, new dates, new ideas

There are several hundred recorded Early Upper Paleolithic sites in Moravia, most of which are surface sites. In the last 12 years we have been employing a new surveying method that has led to the discovery of 14 new stratified Early Upper Paleolithic sites. Some of those sites have now been excavated, yielding new data concerning the chronological position as well as technological–typological homogeneity of individual technocomplexes. Appearance of both MP/UP transitional technocomplexes – Bohunician and Szeletian – fit chronologically with Greenland Interstadial 12. While the Bohunician is characterized by the evolved Levallois technology, the Szeletian is characterized by bifacial knapping and intensive flat retouch. It is not known precisely which hominins made these techno-complexes. A recent study has argued that the Bohunician was made by the first Anatomically Modern Humans that migrated to this area while the Szeletian was made by the local Neanderthals. Early Aurignacian sites known from Danube Valley have never been found in Moravia. All the dates suggest a later Aurignacian occupation chronologically contemporaneous with Greenland Interstadial 8.

Longquan Cave: an early Upper Palaeolithic site in Henan Province, China

Abstract

Shellfishing and human evolution

Southern and northwestern Africa have provided the oldest known shell middens, dating from the Last Interglacial (MIS 5, ∼128–71ka) and the early part of the succeeding glaciation (MIS 4, ∼71–59ka). However, when and if older, suitably situated, stratified coastal sites are found, they are likely to show that routine shellfishing began much earlier, perhaps from the time that people first occupied coasts. Ethnohistoric records suggest that ancient people would have shellfished mainly during twice-monthly periods when the intertidal zone is maximally exposed. Caloric and nutrient return for coastal shellfishing effort can be quite high, but only when the intertidal is exposed, and archaeology implies that like ethnohistorically observed groups, ancient shellfish collectors depended more on terrestrial and marine vertebrates and on plants. Shellfishing can generate highly visible and durable archaeological signatures, and only a few collecting episodes each year could have produced the oldest middens, which span many millennia. Shell middens are so far unknown in European Neanderthal (Mousterian) and succeeding Upper Paleolithic sites, probably because suitably situated sites have yet to be found. Consistently large gastropod size in the oldest known middens suggests that human population growth cannot explain either the occasional presence of “symbolic” artifacts or the innovative burst that coincides with the spread of fully modern Africans to Eurasia 60–50ka.

The social dimension of human depiction in Magdalenian rock art (16,500 cal. BP–12,000 cal. BP): The case of the Roc-aux-Sorciers rock-shelter

The rock shelter of Le Roc-aux-Sorciers is one of the major Upper Palaeolithic sites of Europe, along with the caves of Chauvet and Lascaux. At the foot of the cliff of Le Roc-aux-Sorciers, from the 1930s onwards, the research carried out by Lucien Rousseau (1927–1933), S. de Saint-Mathurin (between 1947 and 1990), and then by G. Pincon (since 1993) has led to a better understanding of this place that was occupied by hunter-gatherers 15,000 years ago. This is a rare example of an archaeological site that features a rich regular occupation (between 15,000 BP and 14,000 BP) attributed to the Middle Magdalenian associated with monumental parietal art. The sculpted frieze, an exceptional testimony to the artistic mastery of these peoples, contains – over a distance of almost 20 m – more than thirty animal and human depictions. The human figures, which are very prominent in this parietal art, make this place even more remarkable. The humans depicted on the shelter's wall and ceiling enable us to discuss these people's thought processes. The images pose the question of how these hunter-gatherers conceived the body, as well as the constructions of identity that may stem from that. In this article I propose to present a synthesis of the human depictions of Le Roc-aux-Sorciers and to analyse the role of these images in the occupation of the territory, and the inscription of the human groups in the landscape. It appears that, in the mechanisms of otherness of the ethnic groups of the Upper Palaeolithic, human depictions played an important role in the expression of identities.