ALTERNATIVE INTERPRETATIONS OF THE MIDDLE/UPPER PALEOLITHIC INTERFACE AT VINDIJA CAVE (NORTHWESTERN CROATIA) IN THE CONTEXT OF CENTRAL EUROPE AND THE ADRIATIC
Abstract
A short research history of the Middle/Upper Paleolithic interface at Vindija Cave is presented. Alternative interpretations of this evidence are discussed from various perspectives (archaeological, paleoanthropological, and genetic) in the context of other continental and Mediterranean (Adriatic) sites. There are notable differences between the Middle/Upper Paleolithic at Vindija and the sites from the eastern Adriatic region. The lack of data from this transitional period in the eastern Adriatic region is discussed. These alternative interpretations and new data from recent research are relevant for the debate on the patterns of Neandertal/early modern human interactions in Central Europe and the Adriatic.
About the Authors
I. Karavanić
Faculties of Humanities and Social Sciences, Department of Archaeology,University of Zagreb,
Ivana Lučića 3, Zagreb, HR – 10000, Croatia
Croatia
Croatia
F. H. Smith
Department of Sociology and Anthropology, Illinois State University,
Campus Box 4660, Schroeder Hall 332, Normal, IL 61790-4660, USA
United States
United States
References
1. Ahern J.C.M., Karavanić I., Paunović M., Janković I., Smith F.H. New discoveries and interpretations of hominid fossils and artifacts from Vindija Cave, Croatia // J. of Human Evolution. – 2004. – Vol. 46. – P. 25–65.
2. Benazzi S., Douka K., Fornai C., Bauer C., Kullmer O., Svoboda J., Pap I., Mallegni F., Bayle P., Coquerelle M., Condemi S., Ronchitelli A., Harvati K., Weber G. The early dispersal of modern humans in Europe and implications for Neanderthal behavior // Nature. – 2011. – Vol. 479. – P. 525–528.
3. Biró K., Markó A. Stones “hit the road” // Highways and
4. Byways in Space and Time / ed. by T. Kovács. – Budapest: Hungarian National Museum, 2007. – P. 14–19.
5. Blaser F., Kurtanjek D., Paunović M. L’industrie du site néandertalien de la grotte de Vindija (Croatie): une révision des matières premières lithiques // L’Anthropologie. – 2002. – Vol. 106. – P. 387–398.
6. Bocherens H., Drucker D. Dietary competition between Neanderthals and modern humans: insights from stable isotopes // When Neanderthals and Modern Humans Met / ed. by N. Conard. – Tübingen: Kerns Verlag, 2006. – P. 129–143. Bolus M., Conard N.J. Zur zeitstellung von geschosspitzen aus organischen materialien im späten Mittelpaläolithikum und Aurignacien // Archäologisches Korrespondenzblatt. – 2006. – Bd. 36. – S. 1–15.
7. Brajković D. Korelacija tafodema skupine Ungulata iz gornjopleistocenskih špilja Vindija, Velika pećina i Veternica u sjeverozapadnoj Hrvatskoj: Unpublished PhD Dissertation / University of Zagreb. – Zagreb, 2005. – 284, XXXIII str.
8. Brajković D., Miracle P.T. Middle Palaeolithic and early Upper Palaeolithic subsistence practices at Vindija cave, Croatia // The Palaeolithic of the Balkans / eds. A. Darlas, D. Mi-hailović. – Oxford: Archaeopress, 2008. – P. 107–116.
9. Bruner K.M. Testing Stratigraphic Integrity of Upper and Middle Paleolithic Deposits in Vindija Cave (Croatia): A Chipped Stone Refi tting Analysis: Unpublished Master Theses / University of Kansas. – Lawrence, 2009. – 124 p.
10. Cartmill M., Smith F. The Human Lineage. – Hoboken: Wiley-Blackwell, 2009. – 609 p.
11. Churchill S., Smith F.H. Makers of the Early Aurignaci-an of Europe // Yearbook of Physical Anthropology. – 2000. – Vol. 43. – P. 61–115.
12. Conard N.J., Bolus M. Radiocarbon dating the appearance of modern humans and timing of cultural innovations in Europe: new results and new challenges // J. of Human Evolution. – 2003. – Vol. 44. – P. 331–371.
13. Conard N.J., Bolus M. Radiocarbon dating the late Middle Paleolithic and the Aurignacian of the Swabian Jura // J. of Human Evolution. – 2008. – Vol. 55. – P. 886–897.
14. Gibbons A. A new view on the birth of Homo sapiens // Science. – 2011. – Vol. 331. – P. 392–394.
15. Green R., Krause J., Briggs A., Maricic T., Stenzel U., Kircher M., Patterson N., Li H., Zhai W., Fritz M., Han-sen N., Durand E., Malaspinas A-S., Jensen J., Marques-Bonet T., Alkan C., Prüfer K., Meyer M., Burbano H., Good J., Schultz R., Aximu-Petri A., Butthof A., Höber B., Höffner B., Siegemund M., Weihmann A., Nusbaum C., Lander S., Russ C., Novod N., Afourtit J., Egholm M., Verna C., Rudan P., Brajković D., Kucan Ž., Gušic I., Doronichev V., Golovanova L., Lalueza-Fox C., de la Rasilla M., Fortea J., Rosas A., Schmitz R., Johnson P., Eichler E., Falush D., Birney E., Mullikin J., Slatkin M., Nielsen R., Kelso J., Lachmann M., Reich D., Pääbo S. A draft sequence of the Neandertal genome // Science. – 2010. – Vol. 328. – P. 710–725.
16. Hahn J. Aurignacien: das Ältere Jungpaläolithikum in Mittel- und Osteuropa. – Köln: Böhlau, 1977. – 355 S. – (Fundamenta. Ser. A.; vol. 9).
17. Higham T., Compton T., Stringer C., Jacobi R., Shapiro B., Trinkaus E., Chandler B., Gröning F., Collins C., Hillson S., O’Higgins P., FitzGerald C., Fagan M. The earliest evidence for modern humans in northwest Europe // Nature. – 2011. – Vol. 479. – P. 521–524.
18. Higham T., Ramsey C.B., Karavanić I., Smith F.H., Trinkaus E. Revised direct radiocarbon dating of the Vindija G1 Upper Paleolithic Neandertals // Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America. – 2006. – Vol. 103. – P. 553–557.
19. Hofreiter M., Pacher M. Using ancient DNA to elucidate raw material origin of bone points from Potočka zijalka (Slovenia): preliminary Results // Potočka Zijalka: Palae-ontological and Archaeological Results of the Campaigns 1997–2000 / eds. M. Pacher, V. Pohar, G. Rabeder. – Vienna: Österreichischen Akademie der Wissenschaften, 2004. – P. 201–2010.
20. Janković I., Karavanić I., Ahern J.C.M., Brajković D., Mauch Lenardić J., Smith F.H. Vindija Cave and the modern human peopling of Europe // Collegium Antropologicum. – 2006. – Vol. 30. – P. 457–466.
21. Janković I., Karavanić I., Ahern J.C.M., Brajković D., Mauch Lenardić J., Smith F.H. Archaeological, paleontological and genomic perspectives on late European Neandertals at Vindija cave, Croatia // Continuity and Discontinuity in the Peopling of Europe: one Hundred Fifty Years of Neanderthal Study / eds. S. Condemni and G.-C. Weniger. – N. Y.: Springer, 2011. – P. 299–313. – (Vertebrate Paleobiology and Paleoanthropology).
22. Karavanić I. Upper Paleolithic occupation levels and late-occuring Neandertal at Vindija Cave (Croatia) in the context of Central Europe and the Balkans // J. of Anthropological Research. – 1995. – Vol. 51. – P. 9–35.
23. Karavanić I. Olschewian and appearance of bone technology in Croatia and Slovenia // Neanderthals and Modern Humans – Discussing Transition / eds. J. Orschiedt, G-Ch. Weniger. – Mettmann: Neanderthal Museum, 2000. – P. 159– 168. – (Wissenschaftliche Schriften des Neanderthal Museums; Bd. 2).
24. Karavanić I. The Middle/Upper Paleolithic interface in Croatia // New Approaches to the Study of Early Upper Pa-leolithic “Transitional” Industries in Western Eurasia: Transitions great and small / eds. J. Riel-Salvatore, G.A. Clark. – Oxford: Archaeopress, 2007. – P. 75–89. – (BAR Intern. Ser.; N 1620).
25. Karavanić I. Adriatic coast of Croatia and its hinterland from 50 000 to 25 000 BP // The Mediterranean from 50 000 to 25 000 BP: Tutning points and new directions / eds. M. Camps, C. Szmidt. – Oxford: Oxbow Books, 2009. – P. 163–178.
26. Karavanić I., Patou-Mathis M. Middle/Upper Paleolithic interface in Vindija Cave (Croatia): new results and interpretations // Sourcebook of Paleolithic Transitions: Methods, Theories and Interpretations / eds. M. Camps, P. Chauhan. – N. Y.: Springer, 2009. – P. 397–405.
27. Karavanić I., Smith F.H. The Middle/Upper Paleolithic interface and the relationship of Neanderthals and early modern humans in the Hrvatsko Zagorje, Croatia // J. of Human Evolution. – 1998. – Vol. 34. – P. 223–248.
28. Karavanić I., Smith F.H. More on the Neanderthal problem: the Vindija case // Current Anthropology. – 2000. – Vol. 41. – P. 838–840.
29. Karavanić I., Šokec T. The Middle Paleolithic percussion or pressure fl aking tools? The comparision of experimental and archaeological material from Croatia // Prilozi Instituta za arheologiju u Zagrebu. – 2003. – Sv. 20. – Str. 5–14.
30. Karavanić I., Zupčić K., Pešić M., Parica M., Šošić Klindžić R. Kaštel Štafi lić – podvodno paleolitičko nalazište // Hrvatski arheološki godišnjak. – 2009. – Sv. 5 (2008). – Str. 549–551.
31. Komšo D. Limski kanal // Hrvatski arheološki godišnjak. – 2008. – Sv. 4 (2007). – Str. 264–267.
32. Komšo D., Balbo A., Miracle P.T. Čepićko polje // Hrvat-ski arheološki godišnjak. – 2007. – Sv. 3 (2006). – Str. 225– 228.
33. Koumouzelis M., Ginter B., Kozlowski J.K., Pawlikowski M., Bar-Yosef O., Albert R.M., Lityńska-Zajšc M., Stworzewicz E., Wojtal P., Lipecki G., Tomek T., Bocheń-ski Z.M., Pazdur A. The Early Upper Palaeolithic in Greece: The excavations in Klisoura Cave // J. of Archaeological Science. – 2001. – Vol. 28. – P. 515–539.
34. Kozlowski J.K. Cultural context of the last Neanderthals and early Modern Humans in Central-Eastern Europe // Proceedings of the XIII UISPP Congress: The Lower and the Middle Palaeolithic / eds. O. Bar-Yosef, L.L. Cavalli-Sforza, R.J. March, M. Piperno. – Forlì: Abaco, 1996. – Vol. 5. – P. 205–218.
35. Kozlowski J.K., Otte M. The formation of Aurignacian in Europe // J. of Anthropological Research. – 2000. – Vol. 56. – P. 513–534.
36. Krings M., Capelli C., Tschentscher F., Geisert H., Meyer S., Von Haeseler A., Grossschmidt K., Possnert G., Paunović M., Pääbo S. A view of Neandertal genetic diversity // Nature Genetics. – 2000. – Vol. 26. – P. 144–146.
37. Kurtanjek D., Marci V. Petrografska istraživanja paleolitskih artefakata spilje Vindije // Rad Jugoslavenske akademije znanosti i umjetnosti. – 1990. – Sv. 449. – Str. 227–238.
38. Malez M. Nalazišta paleolitskog i mezolitskog doba u Hrvatskoj // Praistorija jugoslavenskih zemalja / ed. by. A. Benac. – Sarajevo: Svjetlost, 1979. – Sv. I. – Str. 227–276. Malez M., Rukavina D. Položaj naslaga spilje Vindije u sustavu članjenja kvartara šireg područja Alpa // Rad Jugoslavenske akademije znanosti i umjetnosti. – 1979. – Sv. 371, N 17. – Str. 187–218.
39. Malez M., Vogel J.C. Die Ergebnisse der Radiokarbonanalisen der quartären Schichten der Velika Pećina in Nordwest-Kroatien // Bull. scientifique Conseil des Academies des Sciences et des Arts de la RSF de Yougoslavie. – 1970. – Vol. 15, N 11/12. – P. 390–391.
40. Marjanac T., Marjanac L., Oreški E. Glacijalni i periglacijalni sedimenti u Novigradskom moru // Geološki vjesnik. – 1990. – Sv. 43. – Str. 35–42.
41. Mihailović D. Upper Paleolithic and Mesolithic Chipped Stone Industries from Crvena Stijena – Belgrade: University of Belgrade, 2009. – 152 p. – (Prehistoric settlements in caves and rock-shelters of Serbia and Montenegro; fasc. II).
42. Miracle P.T. Carnivore dens or carnivore hunts? A Review of Upper Pleistocene Mammalian Assemblages in Croatia and Slovenia // Rad Hrvatske akademije znanosti i umjetnosti. – 1991. – Sv. 458, N 25. – Str. 193–219.
43. Miracle P.T. The spread of modernity in Europe // The Origins and Past of Modern Humans – Towards Reconciliation / eds. K. Omoto, Ph. V. Tobias. – Singapore: World Scienti-fi c, 1998. – P. 171–187.
44. Montet-White A. Le Paléolithique en ancienne Yougosla-vie. – Grenoble: Jérôme Millon, 1996. – 268 p.
45. Nelson D.E. Radiocarbon dating of bone and charcoal from Divje Babe I Cave // Mousterian “Bone Flute” and other Finds from Divje Babe I Cave site in Slovenia / ed. by I. Turk. – Ljubljana: Slovenian Academy of Sciences and Arts, 1997. – P. 51–64.
46. Pacher M. Raw material analysis of Upper Paleolithic bone points and the invention of the Olschewian // New Aspects of the Central and Eastern European Upper Palaeolithic – methods, chronology, technology and subsistence / eds. Ch. Neugebauer-Maresch, L.R. Owen. – Vienna: Verlag der Österreichischen Akademie der Wissenschaften, 2010. – P. 319–325.
47. Peresani M. A new cultural frontier for the last Neanderthals: the Uluzzian in Northern Italy // Current Anthropology. – 2008. – Vol. 49. – P. 725–731.
48. Perhoč D. Sources of chert in Middle Dalmatia: Supplying raw material to Prehistoric lithic industries // A Connecting Sea: Maritime Interaction in Adriatic Prehistory / ed. by S. Forenbaher. – Oxford: Arhaeopress, 2009. – P. 25–46. – (BAR Intern. Ser.; N 2037).
49. Reich D., Green R.E., Kircher M., Krause J., Patter-son N., Durand E.Y., Viola B., Briggs A.V., Stenzel U., Johnson P.L.F., Maricic T., Good J.M., Marques-Bonet T., Alkan C., Fu Q., Mallick S., Li H., Meyer M., Eichler E.E., Stoneking M., Richards M., Talamo S., Shunkov M.V., Derevianko A.P., Hublin J.-J., Kelso J., Slatkin M., Pääbo S. Genetic history of an archaic hominin group from Denisova Cave in Siberia // Nature. – 2010. – Vol. 468. – P. 1053–1060.
50. Richards M.P., Pettitt P.B., Trinkaus E., Smith F.H., Paunović M., Karavanić I. Neanderthal diet at Vindija and Neanderthal predation: The evidence from stable isotopes // Proceedings of the National Academy of Science of the United States of America. – 2000. – Vol. 97. – P. 7663–7666.
51. Sankararaman S., Patterson N., Li H., Pääbo S., Reich D. The Date of Interbreeding between Neandertals and Modern Humans // PLoS Genetics. – 2012. – Vol. 8, N 10: e1002947. doi:10.1371/journal.pgen.1002947.
52. Serre D., Langaney A., Chech M., Teschler-Nicola M., Paunović M., Hofreiter M., Possnert G., Pääbo S., Men-necier P. No evidence of Neandertal mtDNA contribution to early Modern Humans // PLoS Biology. – 2004. – Vol. 2. – P. 313–317.
53. Simek J.F., Smith F.H. Chronological changes in stone tool assemblages from Krapina (Croatia) // J. of Human Evolution. – 1997. – Vol. 32. – P. 561–575.
54. Smith F.H. Fossil Hominids from the Upper Pleistocene of Central Europe and the origin of modern Europeans // The Origin of Modern Humans: A world survey of the fossil evidence / eds. F. H. Smith, F. Spencer. – N. Y.: Alan R. Liss, 1984. – P. 137–209.
55. Smith F. Samples, species and speculations in the study of modern human origins // Origins of Anatomically Modern Humans / eds. M. Nitecki, D. Nitecki. – N. Y.: Plenum, 1994. – P. 227–249.
56. Smith F.H., Ahern J.C. Brief Communication: additional cranial remains from Vindija Cave, Croatia // Am. J. of Physical Anthropology. – 1994. – Vol. 93. – P. 275–285.
57. Smith F.H., Falsetti A.B., Donnelly S.M. Modern Human origins // Yearbook of Physical Anthropology. – 1989. – Vol. 32. – P. 35–68.
58. Smith F.H., Janković I., Karavanić I. The assimilation model, modern human origins in Europe, and the extinction of Neandertals // Quaternary International. – 2005. – Vol. 137. – P. 7–19.
59. Smith F.H., Trinkaus E., Pettitt P.B., Karavanić I., Paunović M. Direct radiocarbon dates for Vindija G1 and Velika Pećina Late Pleistocene hominid remains // Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of Ameri-ca. – 1999. – Vol. 96. – P. 12281–12286.
60. Straus L.G. The Neanderthal problem continued: Reply // Current Anthropology. – 1999. – Vol. 40. – P. 352–355.
61. Svoboda J. La question szélétienne // Les industries a outils bifaciaux du paléolithique moyen d’Europe occidentale / ed. by D. Cliquet. – Liège: Univ. de Liège, 2001. – P. 221– 330. – (ERAUL; vol. 98).
62. Szmidt C.C., Brou L., Jaccottey L. Direct radiocarbon (AMS) dating of split-based points from the (Proto)Aurignacian of Trou de la Mère Clochette, Northeastern France: Implications for the characterization of the Aurignacian and the timing of technical innovations in Europe // J. of Archaeological Science. – 2010. – Vol. 37. – P. 3320–3337.
63. Teyssandier N., Bon F., Bordes J.-G. Within projectile range: Some thoughts on the appearance of the Aurignacian in Europe // J. of Anthropological Research. – 2009. – Vol. 66. – P. 209–229.
64. Vujević D. Srednji paleolitik na području južno od Ražanca: Unpublish Master Theses / University of Zadar. – Zadar, 2007. – 181 str.
65. Vuković S. Paleolitska kamena industrija spilje Vindije // Historijski zbornik. – 1950. – Sv. 1–4. – Str. 241–256.
66. Wild E.M., Paunović M., Rabeder G., Steffan I., Steier P. Age determination of fossil bones from the Vindija Neanderthal site in Croatia // Radiocarbon. – 2001. – Vol. 43. – P. 1021– 1028.
67. Wojtal P. Zooarchaeological studies of the Late Pleistocene sites in Poland. – Kraków: Institute of Systematics and Evolution of Animals, Polish Academy of Sciences, 2007. – 189 p.
68. Wolpoff M.H. Paleoanthropology. – 2 ed. – N. Y.: McGraw-Hill, 1999. – 878 p.
69. Zilhão J. Neandertals and moderns mixed, and it matters // Evolutionary Anthropology. – 2006. – Vol. 15. – P. 183–195.
70. Zilhão J. Szeletian, not Aurignacian: A review of the chronology and cultural associations of the Vindija G1 Neandertals // Sourcebook of Paleolithic Transitions / eds. M. Camps, P. Chauhan. – N. Y.: Springer, 2009. – P. 407–426.
71. Zilhão J., D’Errico F. The Neanderthal problem continued: Reply // Current Anthropology. – 1999. – Vol. 40. – P. 355– 364.
For citation:
Karavanić I., Smith F.H. ALTERNATIVE INTERPRETATIONS OF THE MIDDLE/UPPER PALEOLITHIC INTERFACE AT VINDIJA CAVE (NORTHWESTERN CROATIA) IN THE CONTEXT OF CENTRAL EUROPE AND THE ADRIATIC. Archaeology, Ethnology & Anthropology of Eurasia. 2013;56(4):11-20. (In Russ.)
Views: 57
Email this article 