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By 1,000,000 years ago hominins were widely distributed in Africa and Asia, and some finds in Europe may be that early. The earliest securely dated material is from Isernia la Pineta in southern Italy, where stone tools and animal bones were dated to about 730,000 bc. Thereafter the evidence becomes more plentiful, and by 375,000 bc most areas except Scandinavia, the Alps, and northern Eurasia had been colonized.The subsistence economy depended on hunting and gathering. Population densities were necessarily low, and group territories were large. The main evidence is animal bones, which suggest a varied reliance on species such as rhinoceros, red deer, ibex, and horse, but it is difficult to reconstruct how such food was actually acquired. Open confrontation with large animals, such as the rhinoceros, is unlikely, and they were probably killed in vulnerable locations such as lake-edge watering spots; at La Cotte de Sainte Brelade in the Channel Islands, rhinoceroses and mammoths were driven over a cliff edge. Scavenging meat from already dead animals also may have been important. Food resources such as migratory herds and plants were available only seasonally, so an annual strategy for survival was necessary. It is not clear, however, how it was possible to store food acquired at times of plenty; carcasses of dead animals frozen in the snow would have provided a store of food.From the beginning of the last major Pleistocene glaciation about 120,000 bc, the hominin fossils belong to the Neanderthals, who have been found throughout Europe and western Asia, including the glacial environments of central Europe. They were biologically and culturally adapted to survival in the harsh environments of the north, though they are also found in more moderate climates in southern Europe and Asia. Finds of stone tools from the Russian plains suggest the first certain evidence of colonization there by 80,000 bc.
The bones of the earliest Europeans are found in Dmanisi, Georgia, dated at 1.8 million years before the present.
All mentioned facts confirm the hypothesis that modern humans came to Eastern Europe about 45 thousand years ago and slowly replaced its ancient inhabitants (supposedly Neanderthals).
Shortly after fully modern humans entered Europe, roughly 40,000 years ago, the Neanderthals began a fairly rapid decline, culminating in their disappearance roughly 30,000 years ago. Neanderthals were apparently no match for the technologically advanced fully modern humans who invaded Europe and evidence for interbreeding of these two types of hominids is equivocal.
Analysis of mtDNA by Rogers and Harpending12 supports the view that a small population of Homo sapiens, numbering perhaps only 10,000 to 50,000 people, left Africa somewhere between 50,000 and 100,000 years ago.
After careful analysis of particularly the mtDNA, but now also some nuclear DNA, it is apparent that Neanderthal DNA is very distinct from our own. In assessing the degree of difference between DNA in Neanderthals and modern humans, the authors suggest that these two lineages have been separated for more than 400,000 years.Although in its infancy, such genetic studies support the view that Neanderthals did not interbreed with Homo sapiens who migrated into Europe. It is, therefore, highly likely that modern humans do not carry Neanderthal genes in their DNA.
The geographic specialization in animal species hunted results in the following three generalizations: * Mediterranean. In the Mediterranean area, the main focus was on red deer or, in the more mountainous areas, ibex and chamois. * Western Tundra. In the tundra regions of western Europe, the most common prey were reindeer or wild horse. * Eastern Steppes. To the east, on the steppes, it was steppe bison, wild ass, or in some cases, woolly mammoth.
Since this is approximately the same timeframe as the arrival of the Cro-Magnon, some archaeologists have suggested that they suffered mass genocide at the hands of the Cro-Magnon.However, there is absolutely NO evidence to support the idea that they were wiped out by Cro-Magnon. More likely, they simply came to a natural end.Neanderthals were thinly dispersed over fairly large areas of the continent in small, highly mobile social units. Due to the exreme distances between settlements, there was little chance to meet potential mates. A high death-to-birth ratio probably contributed to the elimination of most Neanderthals, without having to resort to theories of mass murder, or even direct contact between Neanderthals and Cro-Magnons.In fact, in some cases such as a few sites in France, there are indications that Neanderthal and Cro-Magnon groups might have peacefully co-existed alongside each other for centuries. There are also indications at some sites that the two groups might have shared technology between them.
The genetic data suggests that present-day populations throughout the world sprang from a single, common female ancestor who lived some 200,000 years ago.Furthermore, the data indicates that Homo erectus and Neanderthals made little, if any, genetic contribution to Upper Paleolithic or modern Europeans.
From the Synoptic table of the principal old world prehistoric cultures: * central and east Europe: o 30000 BC, Szeletian culture o 20000 BC, Pavlovian, Aurignacian cultures o 11000 BC, Ahrensburg culture o 10000 BC, Epigravettian culture o 9000 BC, Gravettian culture * north and west Africa, and Sahara: o 30000 BC, Aterian culture o 10000 BC, Ibero-Maurusian (a.k.a. Oranian, Ouchtatian), and Sebilian cultures o 8000 BC, Capsian culture * central, south, and east Africa: o 50000 BC, Fauresmithian culture o 30000 BC, Stillbayan culture o 10000 BC, Lupembian culture o 9000 BC, Magosian culture o 7000 BC, Wiltonian culture o 3000 BC, beginning of hunter-gatherer art in southern Africa * West Asia (including Middle East): o 50000 BC, Jabroudian culture o 40000 BC, Amoudian culture o 30000 BC, Emirian culture o 20000 BC, Aurignacian culture o 10000 BC, Kebarian, Athlitian cultures * south, central and northern Asia: o 30000 BC, Angara culture o 9000 BC, Khandivili culture * east and southeast Asia: o 80000 BC, Ordos culture o 50000 BC, Ngandong culture o 30000 BC, Sen-Doki culture o c. 14000 BC - Jōmon period starts in Ancient Japan. o 10000 BC, pre-Jōmon ceramic culture o 8000 BC, Hoabinhian culture o 7000 BC, Jōmon culture
[T]here are no signs of heavy reliance on a single species. Where bones have been preserved in Moravian living sites, they are single specimens of horse and mammoth.
Besides stone tools, many faunal remains were also found at Mujina Pecina. Preston T Miracle ascertained indisputable traces of human activity on the bones of chamois, ibex, deer and large bovids such as aurochs and steppe bison....[T]he remains of equids and hares were probably brought to the site by carnivores and not people.
[T]he Neanderthals from Mujina Pecina fed on steppe bison, aurochs, deer, chamois and ibex, and the analysis of the stable isotopes of the Vindija Neandertals indicated that their diet consisted almost exclusively of meat.
QuoteFurthermore, the data indicates that Homo erectus and Neanderthals made little, if any, genetic contribution to Upper Paleolithic or modern Europeans.
Furthermore, the data indicates that Homo erectus and Neanderthals made little, if any, genetic contribution to Upper Paleolithic or modern Europeans.
Gaudzinski (2004) reviewed evidence from four sites from the German Eemian, to see what conclusions could be drawn about Neandertal subsistence. The interest of this time period is that it was relatively stable, allowing a consistent occupation of northern central Europe.The sites of Lehringen and Gröbern display remains of isolated elephants in varying stages of disarticulation associated with lithic artefacts and deposited under low energy conditions. The hunting weapon identified as a lance at Lehringen indicates that this animal, at least, was hunted. The fact that the P. antiquus from Lehringen was of relatively old age, and that the Gröbern elephant suffered from disease, suggests that Neanderthals might have focused on weak individuals of a pachyderm population. This is further suggested by the presence of mainly juvenile elephant specimens at Taubach. With a focus on the exploitation of S. kirchbergensis [i.e., rhinoceros] and U. arctos [brown bear], evidence from Taubach indicates that the exploitation of megafauna constituted an important element of subsistence strategies during the Eemian Interglacial (Gaudzinski 2004:208).She goes on to suggest that these sites indicate a continuous focus on "high nutritional resources" -- which I take to mean big animals -- which was necessitated by high exploitation costs for "small size" plant food.. The paleoenvironmental data suggest dense forest in this region during the Eemian, but the faunal remains are a mix of closed forest species (pigs, deer) and open country species (horse, hamsters). Also, although the paleoenvironmental evidence points to closed forest, the sites themselves represent open swatches such as lakeshore.Gaudzinski (2005) discusses several sites with large faunal sets dominated by single species. Among these is Taubach, and she presents the species list and MNI for major elements including the rhino (Stephanorhinus kirchbergensis, MNI=76), bear (Ursus arctos MNI=51), bison (MNI=17) and beaver (MNI=10). The rhino assemblage is heavily biased toward juveniles, many with cutmarks.Another Eemian site with juvenile rhinos is Krapina. Gaudzinski (2005) also mentions some older sites with single-species dominated fauna, including the mammoth-dominated fauna of La Cotte de St. Brelade.
These included acorn and hazelnut fragments, berry pits, grass seeds and aquatic plants. During this same period, prehistoric Mediterranean hunter-gatherers would have had access to a wide variety of plants including oak acorns, hazelnuts, wild tree fruits, berries, edible bulbs, grass seeds, and legumes.Many researchers have argued that plants were not regularly exploited because the Late Pleistocene kept plant productivity suppressed thus making plants unattractive to human foragers. They further argued that plant-based diets would have taken a long time to develop and that frequent climatic oscillations made long-term adaptations to plant resources unlikely. Stiner and Kuhn have also argued that intensive plant exploitation is only visible archaeologically at the end of the Pleistocene when stone-processing technology appears, namely grinding stones....Many authors have assumed that extensive and intensive plant exploitation began with the appearance of grinding stone technology widely used to process seeds and nuts. However, recent work shows that chimpanzees in Africa use unaltered stone tools to crack open nuts. The Lower Paleolithic site of Gesher Benot Ya'aqov has nut-cracking stones associated with several species of nuts.At Ohalo II in Israel, Kislev et al reported acorns and several other plants dated to 19,000 bp.Evidence for the consumption of hazelnut, wild fruit and several legumes in the Early Holocene has been found at Balma Arbeurador in France, dated to 8,740bp. In Catalunya at Cingle Vermell (dated (9,760 bp) numerous remains of hazelnuts, acorns, pine nuts, chestnuts and wild fruits have been recovered. Nearby, at Roc del Migdia (7,000-9,000 bp) Holden et al have identified hazel shell, sloe and parenchymatous tissue of roots, tubers and edible aquatic plants....In several site hazelnuts, acorns and wild true fruits were common in both periods [Mesolithic and Neolithic]....acorns may have played an important role in Mesolithic diets which are also applicable to the Mediterranean Paleolithic and Epipaleolithic:1) Oaks were an important element of vegetation...and would have been a commonly, and sometimes abundantly available, resource.2) Acorns are, in nutritional terms, a potential energy staple...3) They are potentially storable for long periods...4) ...evidence from wherever oak trees are found suggests that acorns have been an important (often dominant) plant-food resource for hunter-gatherers....
Assuming the larger the animal, the higher the rank, horse and aurochs should be the highest ranking resource since they would arguably provide the greatest number of calories per animal unit even though they might not be encountered frequently. Medium ungulates like red deer, ibex, chamois and wild boar might be roughly equivalent in caloric value but much lower than large animals and enountered more often....Plants and shellfish, while highly productive, would rank lowest because they require higher labor investment for much lower caloric return...
Hockett and Haws have argued that balanced essential nutrient intake through dietary diversity enabled Early Upper Paleolithic humans to grow their populations and replace archaic forms in Europe...It is more plausible to assume that modern humans in Iberia were naturally acquiring a balanced diet during the Upper Paleolithic of Iberia through dietary diversification....Pine nuts would have maintained their fat stores for several months enabling hunter-gatherers to offset the risk of protein poisoning if they were eating large amounts of meat in the absence of plants....The leafy greens with their essential vitamins and carotenoids would have been available for much of the year due to the mild, rainy winters.
In the Solutrean level 9, dated 18,420bp to 17,940bp, Badal reported 2580 fragments of [pine] cones and 196 hull pieces....It demonstrates substantial human use of pine nuts as early as the Solutrean in the cave, although pine cones and hulls are found in the Early Upper Paleolithic levels too...
Resource return rates suggestion by Rowley-Conwy for Mesolithic Denmark:resource kcal/hrshellfish 1000-2000acorns >18,000hazelnuts >20,000fruits 1,000terrestrial mammals >14,000
Stan Florek of the Australian Museum, writes that megafauna extinction happened simultaneously in Eurasia with the replacement of the periglacial tundra by forest. Glacial species, such as mammoths and woolly rhinoceros, were replaced by animals better adapted to forests, such as elk, deer and pigs. And the reindeer retreated north, while horses moved south to the central Asian steppe. This all happened about 10, 000 years ago.
The Mesolithic is a time of great biosphere changes. 18,000- 11,000 BC (pre Mesolithic) is a strong period of glaciation with an ice sheet extending from Scandinavia to the Baltic down to the parallel at which Moscow is geographically located. In 10,000 BC, glaciation begins to recede and to recede fast. Following the reduction of glaciation is a time of great climatic change. The warmer, drier climate produces many lakes and swamps while the number of large mammals decrease. In 9-8,000 BC the climate is similar to that of today although more humid. While the Paleolithic people lived in cold conditions, the Mesolithic people exist in a favorable climate. The Mesolithic environment is similar to the modern. Large mammals decrease in number and new smaller animals begin to appear requiring new technologies for hunting.The northern zone of Eurasia is composed of tundra and taiga (leafy and conifer forests), swamps, and lakes. The southern zone consists of drier areas in the Black Sea area and Ural Steppe zone; these areas are semi desert. Paleolithic hunters pursued mammoth, wild horse, bison, wild cattle, and rhinoceros. As these forms become extinct the only food for Mesolithic hunters to pursue is deer, elk, wild pig, rodents, birds, and fish.
Other radiocarbon dates from various parts of Britain indicate that Mesolithic people regularly set fire to woodland as an aid to hunting. The fires made clearings that animals used for grazing and so became easier prey for the hunters. As an aid to hunting, they domesticated dogs; bones that have been found show that they were similar to modern sheep dogs.Plant food must have been an important item in diets of the time. Large quantities of hazel-nut shells were found on several sites as far apart as Oakhanger in Hampshire and Colonsay in the Hebrides suggesting that they were a popular food while other plant remains include fat hen, nettle and yellow-water lily at Star Carr and rapberry from Newferry in Northern Ireland. But there were probably other plant foods like berries, tubers, varieties of nuts and edible leaves for which we have no archaeological evidence so far.
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Topic: Paleolithic Europeans (Read 13840 times)
