TY - JOUR
T1 - The timing and spatiotemporal patterning of Neanderthal disappearance
AU - Higham, Tom
AU - Douka, Katerina
AU - Wood, Rachel
AU - Ramsey, Christopher Bronk
AU - Brock, Fiona
AU - Basell, Laura
AU - Camps, Marta
AU - Arrizabalaga, Alvaro
AU - Baena, Javier
AU - Barroso-Ruíz, Cecillio
AU - Bergman, Christopher
AU - Boitard, Coralie
AU - Boscato, Paolo
AU - Caparrós, Miguel
AU - Conard, Nicholas J.
AU - Draily, Christelle
AU - Froment, Alain
AU - Galván, Bertila
AU - Gambassini, Paolo
AU - Garcia-Moreno, Alejandro
AU - Grimaldi, Stefano
AU - Haesaerts, Paul
AU - Holt, Brigitte
AU - Iriarte-Chiapusso, Maria Jose
AU - Jelinek, Arthur
AU - Jordá Pardo, Jesús F.
AU - Maíllo-Fernández, José Manuel
AU - Marom, Anat
AU - Maroto, Julià
AU - Menéndez, Mario
AU - Metz, Laure
AU - Morin, Eugène
AU - Moroni, Adriana
AU - Negrino, Fabio
AU - Panagopoulou, Eleni
AU - Peresani, Marco
AU - Pirson, Stéphane
AU - De La Rasilla, Marco
AU - Riel-Salvatore, Julien
AU - Ronchitelli, Annamaria
AU - Santamaria, David
AU - Semal, Patrick
AU - Slimak, Ludovic
AU - Soler, Joaquim
AU - Soler, Narcís
AU - Villaluenga, Aritza
AU - Pinhasi, Ron
AU - Jacobi, Roger
N1 - Funding Information:
Acknowledgements The Natural Environment Research Council (NERC) funded this work (NE/D014077/1). Additional funding was received from the Leverhulme Trust, through the Ancient Human Occupation of Britain (AHOB) project, the NRCF (NERC Radiocarbon Facility) programme, Keble College (Oxford) and the European Research Council. We thank our many collaborators and their excavation teams, and all staff at the Oxford Radiocarbon Accelerator Unit for their contribution to this work. Maps at 280m below current sea level were produced by M. Devès and A. Scheder Black.
PY - 2014/8/21
Y1 - 2014/8/21
N2 - The timing of Neanderthal disappearance and the extent to which they
overlapped with the earliest incoming anatomically modern humans (AMHs)
in Eurasia are key questions in palaeoanthropology. Determining the
spatiotemporal relationship between the two populations is crucial if we
are to understand the processes, timing and reasons leading to the
disappearance of Neanderthals and the likelihood of cultural and genetic
exchange. Serious technical challenges, however, have hindered reliable
dating of the period, as the radiocarbon method reaches its limit at
~50,000 years ago. Here we apply improved accelerator mass spectrometry
14C techniques to construct robust chronologies from 40 key
Mousterian and Neanderthal archaeological sites, ranging from Russia to
Spain. Bayesian age modelling was used to generate probability
distribution functions to determine the latest appearance date. We show
that the Mousterian ended by 41,030-39,260 calibrated years BP (at 95.4%
probability) across Europe. We also demonstrate that succeeding
`transitional' archaeological industries, one of which has been linked
with Neanderthals (Châtelperronian), end at a similar time. Our
data indicate that the disappearance of Neanderthals occurred at
different times in different regions. Comparing the data with results
obtained from the earliest dated AMH sites in Europe, associated with
the Uluzzian technocomplex, allows us to quantify the temporal overlap
between the two human groups. The results reveal a significant overlap
of 2,600-5,400 years (at 95.4% probability). This has important
implications for models seeking to explain the cultural, technological
and biological elements involved in the replacement of Neanderthals by
AMHs. A mosaic of populations in Europe during the Middle to Upper
Palaeolithic transition suggests that there was ample time for the
transmission of cultural and symbolic behaviours, as well as possible
genetic exchanges, between the two groups.
AB - The timing of Neanderthal disappearance and the extent to which they
overlapped with the earliest incoming anatomically modern humans (AMHs)
in Eurasia are key questions in palaeoanthropology. Determining the
spatiotemporal relationship between the two populations is crucial if we
are to understand the processes, timing and reasons leading to the
disappearance of Neanderthals and the likelihood of cultural and genetic
exchange. Serious technical challenges, however, have hindered reliable
dating of the period, as the radiocarbon method reaches its limit at
~50,000 years ago. Here we apply improved accelerator mass spectrometry
14C techniques to construct robust chronologies from 40 key
Mousterian and Neanderthal archaeological sites, ranging from Russia to
Spain. Bayesian age modelling was used to generate probability
distribution functions to determine the latest appearance date. We show
that the Mousterian ended by 41,030-39,260 calibrated years BP (at 95.4%
probability) across Europe. We also demonstrate that succeeding
`transitional' archaeological industries, one of which has been linked
with Neanderthals (Châtelperronian), end at a similar time. Our
data indicate that the disappearance of Neanderthals occurred at
different times in different regions. Comparing the data with results
obtained from the earliest dated AMH sites in Europe, associated with
the Uluzzian technocomplex, allows us to quantify the temporal overlap
between the two human groups. The results reveal a significant overlap
of 2,600-5,400 years (at 95.4% probability). This has important
implications for models seeking to explain the cultural, technological
and biological elements involved in the replacement of Neanderthals by
AMHs. A mosaic of populations in Europe during the Middle to Upper
Palaeolithic transition suggests that there was ample time for the
transmission of cultural and symbolic behaviours, as well as possible
genetic exchanges, between the two groups.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84906535757&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1038/nature13621
DO - 10.1038/nature13621
M3 - Article
C2 - 25143113
SN - 0028-0836
VL - 512
SP - 306
EP - 309
JO - Nature
JF - Nature
IS - 7514
ER -