Testing the Danube-Corridor-Hypothesis—New Results from Chonometric Modelling of the Middle-Upper Palaeolithic Biocultural Shift

Summary

This is an abstract from the "SAA 2019: General Sessions" session, at the 84th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology.

The Middle to Upper Palaeolithic biocultural shift is an important turning point for Human Evolution. As Anatomically Modern Humans (AMH) enter Europe, Neanderthals disappear, eventually leaving AMH as the only representative of their species. To understand the trajectory of AMH dispersal, and the processes underlying this biocultural shift, a robust chronology of the period is essential. This doctoral research presents extensive and novel radiocarbon dating and modelling approaches from the Danube corridor – an area that has previously not benefited from recent developments in radiometric dating and analysis, despite its importance in theories of AMH dispersal. The chronology is based on 160 new radiocarbon measurements (anthropogenically modified fauna & osseous points) and 440 published dates. The results demonstrate the validity of the Danube corridor as a conduit for AMH expansion into central Europe, and date the dispersal as early as 50–47k cal BP. Against previous assumptions, this migration did not introduce the Aurignacian technocomplex to Europe. Instead, the biocultural diversity of central Europe appears to have been essential to the emergence of the Early Aurignacian technocomplex at 43–41k cal BP. This chronological framework will have significant implications for the study of cultural ‘modernity’ and the rise of Upper Palaeolithic industries.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for American Archaeology 84th Annual Meeting, Albuquerque, NM (2019)

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Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 24706