Topic
Châtelperronian
About: Châtelperronian is a research topic. Over the lifetime, 103 publications have been published within this topic receiving 7707 citations. The topic is also known as: Chatelperronian.
Papers published on a yearly basis
Papers
University of Oxford1, Australian National University2, Queen's University Belfast3, University of Maryland, College Park4, University of the Basque Country5, Autonomous University of Madrid6, University of Siena7, Centre national de la recherche scientifique8, University of Tübingen9, University of La Laguna10, University of Cantabria11, University of Trento12, Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences13, University of Massachusetts Amherst14, University of Arizona15, National University of Distance Education16, Weizmann Institute of Science17, Trent University18, University of Genoa19, University of Ferrara20, University of Oviedo21, Université de Montréal22, University College Dublin23, Natural History Museum24
TL;DR: Improved accelerator mass spectrometry 14C techniques are applied to construct robust chronologies from 40 key Mousterian and Neanderthal archaeological sites, showing that there was ample time for the transmission of cultural and symbolic behaviours, as well as possible genetic exchanges, between the two groups.
Abstract: The timing of Neanderthal disappearance and the extent to which they overlapped with the earliest incoming anatomically modern humans (AMHs) in Eurasia are key questions in palaeoanthropology. Determining the spatiotemporal relationship between the two populations is crucial if we are to understand the processes, timing and reasons leading to the disappearance of Neanderthals and the likelihood of cultural and genetic exchange. Serious technical challenges, however, have hindered reliable dating of the period, as the radiocarbon method reaches its limit at ∼50,000 years ago. Here we apply improved accelerator mass spectrometry (14)C techniques to construct robust chronologies from 40 key Mousterian and Neanderthal archaeological sites, ranging from Russia to Spain. Bayesian age modelling was used to generate probability distribution functions to determine the latest appearance date. We show that the Mousterian ended by 41,030-39,260 calibrated years bp (at 95.4% probability) across Europe. We also demonstrate that succeeding 'transitional' archaeological industries, one of which has been linked with Neanderthals (Châtelperronian), end at a similar time. Our data indicate that the disappearance of Neanderthals occurred at different times in different regions. Comparing the data with results obtained from the earliest dated AMH sites in Europe, associated with the Uluzzian technocomplex, allows us to quantify the temporal overlap between the two human groups. The results reveal a significant overlap of 2,600-5,400 years (at 95.4% probability). This has important implications for models seeking to explain the cultural, technological and biological elements involved in the replacement of Neanderthals by AMHs. A mosaic of populations in Europe during the Middle to Upper Palaeolithic transition suggests that there was ample time for the transmission of cultural and symbolic behaviours, as well as possible genetic exchanges, between the two groups.
809 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, it is argued that Grotte du Renne (Arcy-sur-Cure, France) is not an exceptional case and is best explained by models of independent development that are supported by a reevaluation of Chatelperronian technology and by the patterns of chronological and geographical distribution of late Mousterian settlements.
Abstract: The presence of bone tools, personal ornaments, and apparently “modern” stone tools in European late Middle Paleolithic or pre‐Aurignacian Paleolithic contexts is generally interpreted as the result of the acculturation of final Neanderthal populations by anatomically modern humans. Analysis of the stratigraphic, chronological, and archaeological data from the key site of Grotte du Renne (Arcy‐sur‐Cure, France) shows that the notion of acculturation, as commonly understood, is inconsistent with the evidence. It is argued here that this site is not an exceptional case and is best explained by models of independent development that are supported by a reevaluation of Chatelperronian technology and by the patterns of chronological and geographical distribution of Aurignacian, Chatelperronian, Uluzzian, and late Mousterian settlements.
597 citations
Abstract: The Neanderthals populated western Europe from nearly 250,000 to 30,000 years ago when they disappeared from the archaeological record. In turn, populations of anatomically modern humans, Homo sapiens, came to dominate the area. Seeking to understand the nature of this replacement, which has become a hotly debated issue, Paul Mellars brings together an unprecedented amount of information on the behavior of Neanderthals. His comprehensive overview ranges from the evidence of tool manufacture and related patterns of lithic technology, through the issues of subsistence and settlement patterns, to the more controversial evidence for social organization, cognition, and intelligence. Mellars argues that previous attempts to characterize Neanderthal behavior as either "modern" or "ape-like" are both overstatements. We can better comprehend the replacement of Neanderthals, he maintains, by concentrating on the social and demographic structure of Neanderthal populations and on their specific adaptations to the harsh ecological conditions of the last glaciation.Mellars's approach to these issues is grounded firmly in his archaeological evidence. He illustrates the implications of these findings by drawing from the methods of comparative socioecology, primate studies, and Pleistocene paleoecology. The book provides a detailed review of the climatic and environmental background to Neanderthal occupation in Europe, and of the currently topical issues of the behavioral and biological transition from Neanderthal to fully "modern" populations.
515 citations
University of Vienna1, University of Oxford2, University of Tübingen3, Masaryk University4, Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic5, Hungarian Natural History Museum6, University of Pisa7, University of Bordeaux8, Spanish National Research Council9, Centre national de la recherche scientifique10, University of Siena11
TL;DR: The Cavallo human remains are therefore the oldest known European anatomically modern humans, confirming a rapid dispersal of modern humans across the continent before the Aurignacian and the disappearance of Neanderthals.
Abstract: The appearance of anatomically modern humans in Europe and the nature of the transition from the Middle to Upper Palaeolithic are matters of intense debate. Most researchers accept that before the arrival of anatomically modern humans, Neanderthals had adopted several 'transitional' technocomplexes. Two of these, the Uluzzian of southern Europe and the Châtelperronian of western Europe, are key to current interpretations regarding the timing of arrival of anatomically modern humans in the region and their potential interaction with Neanderthal populations. They are also central to current debates regarding the cognitive abilities of Neanderthals and the reasons behind their extinction. However, the actual fossil evidence associated with these assemblages is scant and fragmentary, and recent work has questioned the attribution of the Châtelperronian to Neanderthals on the basis of taphonomic mixing and lithic analysis. Here we reanalyse the deciduous molars from the Grotta del Cavallo (southern Italy), associated with the Uluzzian and originally classified as Neanderthal. Using two independent morphometric methods based on microtomographic data, we show that the Cavallo specimens can be attributed to anatomically modern humans. The secure context of the teeth provides crucial evidence that the makers of the Uluzzian technocomplex were therefore not Neanderthals. In addition, new chronometric data for the Uluzzian layers of Grotta del Cavallo obtained from associated shell beads and included within a Bayesian age model show that the teeth must date to ~45,000-43,000 calendar years before present. The Cavallo human remains are therefore the oldest known European anatomically modern humans, confirming a rapid dispersal of modern humans across the continent before the Aurignacian and the disappearance of Neanderthals.
495 citations
TL;DR: New radiocarbon dates from the Swabian Jura support the hypothesis that populations of modern humans entered the region by way of the "Danube Corridor" and support the "Kulturpumpe" hypothesis that important cultural innovations of the Aurignacian and Gravettian in Swabia predate similar developments in other regions of Europe.
431 citations
Related Topics (5)
Performance Metrics
| Year | Papers |
|---|---|
| 2021 | 3 |
| 2020 | 3 |
| 2019 | 5 |
| 2018 | 6 |
| 2017 | 3 |
| 2016 | 5 |