Direct dating of Neanderthal remains from the site of Vindija Cave and implications for the Middle to Upper Paleolithic transition

Previous dating of the Vi-207 and Vi-208 Neanderthal remains from Vindija Cave (Croatia) led to the suggestion that Neanderthals survived there as recently as 28,000–29,000 B.P. Subsequent dating yielded older dates, interpreted as ages of at least ∼32,500 B.P. We have redated these same specimens using an approach based on the extraction of the amino acid hydroxyproline, using preparative high-performance liquid chromatography (Prep-HPLC). This method is more efficient in eliminating modern contamination in the bone collagen. The revised dates are older than 40,000 B.P., suggesting the Vindija Neanderthals did not live more recently than others across Europe, and probably predate the arrival of anatomically modern humans in Eastern Europe. We applied zooarchaeology by mass spectrometry (ZooMS) to find additional hominin remains. We identified one bone that is Neanderthal, based on its mitochondrial DNA, and dated it directly to 46,200 ± 1,500 B.P. We also attempted to date six early Upper Paleolithic bone points from stratigraphic units G1, Fd/d+G1 and Fd/d, Fd. One bone artifact gave a date of 29,500 ± 400 B.P., while the remainder yielded no collagen. We additionally dated animal bone samples from units G1 and G1–G3. These dates suggest a co-occurrence of early Upper Paleolithic osseous artifacts, particularly split-based points, alongside the remains of Neanderthals is a result of postdepositional mixing, rather than an association between the two groups, although more work is required to show this definitively.

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Between two worlds: Cova Eirós and the Middle-Upper Palaeolithic transition in NW Iberia

Comptes Rendus Palevol ◽

10.5852/cr-palevol2021v20a42 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Arturo de LOMBERA-HERMIDA ◽

Xose-Pedro RODRÍGUEZ-ÁLVAREZ ◽

Alicia AMEIJENDA IGLESIAS ◽

Mikel DÍAZ RODRÍGUEZ ◽

undefined Iván REY-RODRÍGUEZ ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Upper Paleolithic ◽

Raw Material ◽

Upper Palaeolithic ◽

Subsistence Strategies ◽

Radiocarbon Dates ◽

Nw Iberia ◽

Early Upper Paleolithic ◽

Anatomically Modern Humans ◽

Late Survival ◽

Early Upper

Iberia, a natural cul-de-sac peninsula, plays a major role in the study of the Neanderthals demise and its eventual relationship with the spread of Anatomically Modern Humans (AMH) in Europe. The site of Cova Eirós (Galicia, Spain), located in NW Iberia, contains Middle and Upper Palaeolithic levels, based on the cultural remains recovered at the site. No human remains directly associated with those levels were discovered yet. The available radiocarbon dates from the levels 2 (c. 35 ka cal BP, Early Upper Paleolithic) and 3 (c. 41 ka cal BP, Late Middle Paleolithic), point to a late survival of Neanderthal groups in North Iberia and to a relative quick arrival of the AMH, c. 35-36 ka cal BP, with respect to other territories of the Iberian Peninsula. The archaeological record shows clear differences between the Middle and the Upper Palaeolithic occupations, regarding raw-material acquisition, lithic technology and subsistence strategies. The location of Cova Eirós in the westernmost margin of the Cantabrian Rim and in the Atlantic Façade, makes this site a key place to understand the spread of the first AMH and the progressive demise of Neanderthal populations.

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Early Upper Paleolithic chronology in the Levant: new ABOx-SC accelerator mass spectrometry results from the Mughr el-Hamamah Site, Jordan

Journal of Human Evolution ◽

10.1016/j.jhevol.2015.04.008 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 85 ◽

pp. 157-173 ◽

Cited By ~ 22

Author(s):

Aaron Jonas Stutz ◽

John J. Shea ◽

Jason A. Rech ◽

Jeffrey S. Pigati ◽

Jim Wilson ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Mass Spectrometry ◽

Accelerator Mass Spectrometry ◽

Upper Paleolithic ◽

Early Upper Paleolithic ◽

Early Upper

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The Middle to Upper Paleolithic Sequence of Buran-Kaya III (Crimea, Ukraine): New Stratigraphic, Paleoenvironmental, and Chronological Results

Radiocarbon ◽

10.1017/s0033822200048384 ◽

2013 ◽

Vol 55 (3) ◽

pp. 1454-1469 ◽

Cited By ~ 17

Author(s):

Stéphane Péan ◽

Simon Puaud ◽

Laurent Crépin ◽

Sandrine Prat ◽

Anita Quiles ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Mass Spectrometry ◽

Upper Paleolithic ◽

Bone Collagen ◽

Middle Paleolithic ◽

Stratigraphic Sequence ◽

Cultural Traditions ◽

Human Bones ◽

Anatomically Modern Humans ◽

Fossil Bones ◽

Cross Dating

Buran-Kaya III is a rockshelter located in Crimea (Ukraine). It provides an exceptional stratigraphic sequence extending from the Middle Paleolithic to the Neolithic. Nine Paleolithic layers have been attributed to the Streletskaya or eastern Szeletian, Micoquian, Aurignacian, Gravettian, and Swiderian cultural traditions. Human remains from the richest Gravettian layer (6-1) are radiocarbon dated to 31.9 ka BP, and therefore represent, with Peştera cu Oase (Romania), one of the oldest anatomically modern humans in Europe. The aim of this study is to obtain a controlled stratigraphic sequence of Buran-Kaya III with new 14C dates from faunal and human bones, in their paleoenvironmental context. During our new excavations (2009–2011), sediments, bones, and teeth from the stratigraphical layers were sampled for sedimentological, geochemical, and 14C analyses. Fossil bones from the 2001 excavations were also analyzed. Accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS) 14C dating, including cross-dating, was performed at Groningen, Saclay/Gif-sur-Yvette, and Oxford. Biogeochemical analysis was used to test the integrity of the bone collagen. Dates were modeled using a Bayesian approach. The sedimentological, paleoenvironmental, and chronological data are mutually consistent and show that the Paleolithic human occupations at Buran-Kaya III range from the end of MIS 3 to early MIS 1. These results provide a new chronological and paleoenvironmental framework for the human settlements in eastern Europe during the late Middle and the Upper Paleolithic.

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