Neanderthals hunted and butchered straight- tusked elephants, the largest terrestrial mammals of the Pleistocene, in a lake landscape on the North European plain, 125,000 years ago, as... Show moreNeanderthals hunted and butchered straight- tusked elephants, the largest terrestrial mammals of the Pleistocene, in a lake landscape on the North European plain, 125,000 years ago, as recently shown by a study of the Last Interglacial elephant assemblage from Neumark- Nord (Germany). With evidence for a remarkable focus on adult males and on their extended utilization, the data from this location are thus far without parallel in the archaeological record. Given their relevance for our knowledge of the Neanderthal niche, we investigated whether the Neumark- Nord subsistence practices were more than a local phenomenon, possibly determined by local characteristics. Analyzing elephant remains from two other Last Interglacial archaeological sites on the North European plain, Gröbern and Taubach, we identified in both assemblages similar butchering patterns as at Neumark-Nord, demonstrating that extended elephant exploitation was a widespread Neanderthal practice during the (early part of the) Last Interglacial. The substantial efforts needed to process these animals, weighing up to 13 metric tons, and the large amounts of food generated suggest that Neanderthals either had ways of storing vast amounts of meat and fat and/or temporarily aggregated in larger groups than com-monly acknowledged. The data do not allow us to rule out one of the two explanations, and furthermore both factors, short- term larger group sizes as well as some form of food preservation, may have played a role. What the data do show is that exploitation of large straight-tusked elephants was a widespread and recurring phenomenon amongst Last Interglacial Neanderthals on the North European plain. Show less
This thesis deals with establishing chronological data and palaeoenvironmental information for Neanderthal open-air sites on the European Plain with disputed ages. By employing geomorphological and... Show moreThis thesis deals with establishing chronological data and palaeoenvironmental information for Neanderthal open-air sites on the European Plain with disputed ages. By employing geomorphological and sedimentological methods as well as luminescence dating and pollen analysis on the two sites of Lichtenberg (GER) and Khotylevo I (RU), their occupations are assigned to the latest Early Weichselian. Show less
The dynamics of the transition between late Neanderthals and anatomically modern humans (AMHs) are the subject of intense debate: the location and duration of the coexistence of these two hominins,... Show moreThe dynamics of the transition between late Neanderthals and anatomically modern humans (AMHs) are the subject of intense debate: the location and duration of the coexistence of these two hominins, as well as their relation and cultural exchanges that could have occurred during this transitional period also known as the Middle Palaeolithic to Upper Palaeolithic Transition.Timing these hominins is crucial in archaeology and paleoanthropology. The precise chronological position of the different cultural facies, as well as the human remains associated with them, are therefore key elements that delineate the chronological framework within which Neanderthals and AMHs could have interacted. While there is increasing evidence of admixture and co-existence of the two hominin species in central and eastern Europe, Belgium might show a different scenario: radiocarbon analyses, using the compound specific radiocarbon dating approach (CSRA) made on bone implements related to the Late Mousterian and the Early Aurignacian as well as late Neanderthal remains, highlight a hiatus in the occupation of the territory. Our new data tend to confirm that Neanderthals and AMHs did not coexist in this region. It seems that in northwest Europe, Neanderthals evolved and went extinct without any influence from modern humans. Show less
Palaeolithic faunal assemblages provide a wealth of information, notably on paleoenvironment, site formation and past human subsistence strategies. However, obtaining a secure interpretation... Show morePalaeolithic faunal assemblages provide a wealth of information, notably on paleoenvironment, site formation and past human subsistence strategies. However, obtaining a secure interpretation requires the comprehensive taxonomic identification of faunal remains, traditionally done through visual morphological comparison. Due to high fragmentation, bone morphology is often insufficient to taxonomically identify a large proportion of faunal assemblages. Zooarchaeology by Mass Spectrometry (ZooMS) gives the opportunity to identify biological markers preserved in previously undiagnostic fragmentary or worked remains. This dissertation combines the analyses of bone surface modifications with biomolecular analyses in order to investigate the relationship between faunal composition and bone fragmentation, and to assess hominin subsistence behaviour through large-scale applications of untargeted ZooMS screenings. This study explores the synthesis and analysis of comparable data, for both the morphologically identifiable and unidentifiable portion of the same faunal assemblages, by investigating bone assemblages from European sites spanning the arrival of Homo sapiens within territories occupied by the last Neanderthals such as Fumane Cave (Italy), Bacho Kiro Cave (Bulgaria), La Ferrassie and Les Cottés (France). In addition, the recent development of non-destructive proteomic extraction techniques, notably on fragmented Palaeolithic worked bones, required a controlled sampling experiment to determine how sampling techniques such as the eraser extraction method affect ancient bone surfaces at a microscopic level. Through the combination of methods and the integration of complementary datasets, this dissertation demonstrates the potential of the inclusion of ancient protein analysis within the framework of zooarchaeological analysis at Palaeolithic sites. Show less
Gaudzinski-Windheuser, S.; Kindler, L.; MacDonald, K.; Roebroeks, W. 2023
Straight-tusked elephants (Palaeoloxodon antiquus) were the largest terrestrial mammals of the Pleistocene, present in Eurasian landscapes between 800,000 and 100,000 years ago. The occasional co... Show moreStraight-tusked elephants (Palaeoloxodon antiquus) were the largest terrestrial mammals of the Pleistocene, present in Eurasian landscapes between 800,000 and 100,000 years ago. The occasional co-occurrence of their skeletal remains with stone tools has generated rich speculation about the nature of interactions between these elephants and Pleistocene humans: Did hominins scavenge on elephants that died a natural death or maybe even hunt some individuals? Our archaeozoological study of the largest P. antiquus assemblage known, excavated from 125,000-year-old lake deposits in Germany, shows that hunting of elephants weighing up to 13 metric tons was part of the cultural repertoire of Last Interglacial Neanderthals there, over >2000 years, many dozens of generations. The intensity and nutritional yields of these well-documented butchering activities, combined with previously reported data from this Neumark-Nord site complex, suggest that Neanderthals were less mobile and operated within social units substantially larger than commonly envisaged. Show less
The study of stone artifacts can provide crucial insights into various aspects of past human adaptation. Knowledge of the geographic provenance of the raw materials, in particular, can inform us of... Show moreThe study of stone artifacts can provide crucial insights into various aspects of past human adaptation. Knowledge of the geographic provenance of the raw materials, in particular, can inform us of the mobility and resource exploitation strategies employed by past human groups. However, it is difficult to reliably infer dynamic human behaviours from the frequencies with which different raw material are represented at archaeological sites, particularly when the latter reflect the activities of individuals belonging to an extinct human species whose cognitive and physical abilities may have been markedly different from our own.This dissertation provides a new approach for understanding aspects of human adaptation in the Middle Palaeolithic on the basis of toolstone provenance. The approach centers on computer simulations and it is designed to maximize the potential of toolstone provenance information while minimizing reliance on possibly unfounded assumptions about human behaviour derived from studies of present-day societies. The approach is applied to the French Middle Palaeolithic site of the Bau de l’Aubesier, revealing, amongst other things, that the Neanderthal occupants of the site possessed excellent spatial memory and navigational abilities, regularly exploited a surprisingly large area, and appear to have treated stone resources in a strictly utilitarian manner. Show less
Aarts, J.M.M.J.G.; Alink, G.M.; Franssen, H.J.; Roebroeks, W. 2021
This study uses data extracted from 3D models to compare blade cores from the Châtelperronian and Protoaurignacian stone tool industries. These technocomplexes are at the center of the debate... Show moreThis study uses data extracted from 3D models to compare blade cores from the Châtelperronian and Protoaurignacian stone tool industries. These technocomplexes are at the center of the debate surrounding the interactions between Neanderthals and anatomically modern humans approximately 45 to 40,000 years ago.We created 3D models of lithic cores from the sites of Roc de Combe and Les Cottés using a standardized photogrammetry protocol. We then used data derived from these 3D models to make quantitative comparisons of artifact attributes that have previously been argued to distinguish the two stone tool industries in question. These attributes include the angle between the platform and flaking surfaces, the shape of core cross sections, and the angle between core axes. The conception of this study was not to privilege the use of new technological and statistical approaches over more traditional or qualitative forms of lithic analysis. Rather, our aim was to experiment with using digital tool to develop nuanced, reproducible ways to describe variability in lithic artifacts.Our results support the hypothesis that there is a difference in the angle between core surfaces between these two industries. Our analysis also indicates a difference in the angle between core axes, although we are more cautious in interpreting these results. An elliptical Fourier analysis of core cross section shape was inconclusive. We discuss what archaeological and methodological factors may have contributed to our results, and the roles of both qualitative and quantitative observations in archaeological research. 3D artifact models generated for this study are included as supplemental data and are available for use by other researchers. Show less
The central question of this thesis is: What drives late Middle Paleolithic stone artifact variability? In its attempt to answer this question, this thesis is a contribution to understanding... Show moreThe central question of this thesis is: What drives late Middle Paleolithic stone artifact variability? In its attempt to answer this question, this thesis is a contribution to understanding variability within and between late Middle Paleolithic assemblages of the European Plain. The selected research area is rich in late Middle Paleolithic open-air sites but up to now lacking detailed quantitative comparisons between them. This thesis uses standardized, more quantitative methods to analyze stone tool variability across techno-complexes. Stone artifact assemblages where analyzed based on a detailed attribute analysis and compared using multivariate methods, like Principal Component Analysis and Nonmetric Multidimensional Scaling. Additionally, methods from 3D geometric morphometrics where applied for the analysis of some individual tool types. The central finding of the studies presented in this thesis is that most of the variability observed in the record is not related to typo-technological classification, and it is not necessarily site-specific nor geographical. The variability can be related to raw materials, but it can also be related to the varying application of similar methods in blank and tool production. The analyses of individual tools suggest further that certain tool concepts, like the bifacial Keilmesser are not restricted to bifacial tools only. Show less
The ability to control fire is a pivotal trait of human culture and likely influenced both the physical and cultural development of our evolutionary lineage. We know fire fundamentally changed our... Show moreThe ability to control fire is a pivotal trait of human culture and likely influenced both the physical and cultural development of our evolutionary lineage. We know fire fundamentally changed our relationship with the world by making previously uninhabitable climates tolerable, inedible foods palatable and more nutritious, and providing a focal point around which complex social relationships could develop. It remains uncertain, however, when and in what manner fire became an integral part of the technological repertoire of our early ancestors. This gap in our knowledge prevents a full understanding of how fire affected our physical form and cultural lifeways. The long and drawn out process by which fire progressed from simply being a close companion in the natural environment to becoming a resource xploited opportunistically by hominins eventually led to greater control of fire. At this point, fire was largely ‘tamed’ through careful maintenance and transported from place to place. Ultimately, likely through a combination of serendipity and experimentation, humans discovered that they could make fire for themselves whenever and wherever they liked, providing a profound new freedom to control their environment, cook their food and produce new materials at will.This article provides an overview of the current state of our understanding of fire use, and more specifically, fire-making in the Paleolithic. There is currently much debate in the field surrounding this issue, and it is stressed herein that the only way to definitively infer any one hominin group could make fire is to identify the tools they used to do so. Therefore, much attention is paid to how archaeologists have attempted to identify fire-making tools in the archaeological record, primarily using experimental archaeology coupled with microwear analysis. Through these efforts, it appears stone-on-stone percussive fire-making using flint and pyrite was a skill first practiced by at least some groups of late Neanderthals, though its origins could be much older. Conversely, preservational problems associated with the wood-on-wood friction fire-making make it extremely difficult to assess the antiquity of this method. Lingering questions regarding early fire-making innovations and possible avenues for future research are discussed. Show less
The Middle to Upper Palaeolithic transition in Europe witnesses the local replacement of Neanderthals by Anatomically Modern Humans. During this period several “transitional” technocomplexes are... Show moreThe Middle to Upper Palaeolithic transition in Europe witnesses the local replacement of Neanderthals by Anatomically Modern Humans. During this period several “transitional” technocomplexes are present that seem to combine behavioural characteristics from both the preceding Middle and following Upper Palaeolithic. These technocomplexes therefore play a critical role in our understanding of Neanderthal behavior, cognition and extinction, the dispersal of AMHs into Europe, and the interactions between Neanderthals and AMHs. Unfortunately, biological remains of the hominins responsible for the transitional technocomplexes are notoriously scarce. This dissertation proposes to utilize recent advances in mass spectrometry to identify additional hominin specimens through ZooMS screening and shotgun proteomics. Novel approaches towards de novo/error-tolerant proteomic analysis in Pleistocene contexts were developed and tested, allowing phylogenetic analysis of ancient protein sequences from now-extinct Mammalian species and hominin populations. ZooMS screening is shown to be highly successful for all included Châtelperronian sites. The discovery of additional hominin specimens at one archaeological site allowed demonstrating that ancient protein sequences can be used to differentiate between hominin populations, in this case indicating a Neanderthal affiliation. As a result, palaeoproteomics now allows studying the evolutionary relationships between hominin individuals based on ancient protein sequences. Show less
Palaeoanthropologists have proposed that Neanderthals, the Middle Palaeolithic hominin occupant of Eurasia, differed from modern human relatives by having specialised diets focused on big game. A... Show morePalaeoanthropologists have proposed that Neanderthals, the Middle Palaeolithic hominin occupant of Eurasia, differed from modern human relatives by having specialised diets focused on big game. A narrow dietary niche at the top of the terrestrial food chain is inherently prone to instability, potentially contributing to extinction of the Neanderthals. However, limitations in detecting plant consumption imply that scientists are unaware of much of Neanderthal diet. My dissertation revises the role of plants in Neanderthal subsistence using dental calculus, a material that is recognised to contain food traces, as a source of dietary data. To do this I assessed how accurately calculus records diet, by testing it with a variety of techniques on a population of chimpanzees with decades of documented dietary history. Then, my dissertation examined if it is possible to explore the resilience of the Neanderthal dietary niche by assessing for changes in plant use over time. Comparing diets from different habitats, data suggests a broad range of diets on the Mediterranean rim and in the cooler areas of the Neanderthal range. Surprisingly, the study found no evidence of changes in plant dietary breadth despite variation in environments. This stability implies a deeply resilient ecological niche across their range. Show less
