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Pyrotechnology, the ability for hominins to use fire as a tool, is considered to be one of the most important behavioural adaptations in human evolution. While several studies have focused on identifying the emergence of fire use and later Middle Palaeolithic Neanderthal combustion features, far fewer have focused on modern human fire use. As a result, we currently have more data characterizing the hominin fire use prior to 50,000 years before present (BP), than we do for Upper Palaeolithic of Europe. Here we review the available data on Upper Palaeolithic fire evidence between 48,000 and 13,000 years BP to understand the evolution of modern human pyrotechnology. Our results suggest regional clustering of feature types during the Aurignacian and further demonstrate a significant change in modern human fire use, namely in terms of the intensification and structural variation between 35,000 and 28,000 years BP. This change also corresponds to the development and spread of the Gravettian technocomplex throughout Europe and may correspond to a shift in the perception of fire. Additionally, we also show a significant lack of available high-resolution data on combustion features during the height of last glacial maximum. Furthermore, we highlight the need for more research into the effects of syn- and post-depositional processes on archaeological combustion materials and a need for more standardization of descriptions in the published literature. Overall, our review shows a significant and complex developmental process for Upper Palaeolithic fire use which in many ways mirrors the behavioural evolution of modern humans seen in other archaeological mediums.
Pyrotechnology, the ability for hominins to use fire as a tool, is considered to be one of the most important behavioural adaptations in human evolution. While several studies have focused on identifying the emergence of fire use and later Middle Palaeolithic Neanderthal combustion features, far fewer have focused on modern human fire use. As a result, we currently have more data characterizing the hominin fire use prior to 50,000 years before present (BP), than we do for Upper Palaeolithic of Europe. Here we review the available data on Upper Palaeolithic fire evidence between 48,000 and 13,000 years BP to understand the evolution of modern human pyrotechnology. Our results suggest regional clustering of feature types during the Aurignacian and further demonstrate a significant change in modern human fire use, namely in terms of the intensification and structural variation between 35,000 and 28,000 years BP. This change also corresponds to the development and spread of the Gravettian technocomplex throughout Europe and may correspond to a shift in the perception of fire. Additionally, we also show a significant lack of available high-resolution data on combustion features during the height of last glacial maximum. Furthermore, we highlight the need for more research into the effects of syn- and post-depositional processes on archaeological combustion materials and a need for more standardization of descriptions in the published literature. Overall, our review shows a significant and complex developmental process for Upper Palaeolithic fire use which in many ways mirrors the behavioural evolution of modern humans seen in other archaeological mediums.
Reindeer are part of the faunal suite that dominated central Europe during the last glacial cycle. Their importance to Late Gravettian hunters as prey and a source of raw materials (hide, bone, antler) is well attested, however the context of Late Gravettian reindeer predation is lesser understood. This paper presents an investigation of human and reindeer predator-prey interactions at the Late Gravettian kill-butchery site of Lubná VI, Czech Republic. We reconstruct seasonal mobility (87Sr/86Sr, δ18O), diet (δ13C, δ15N) and season of death (dental cementum) of up to nine reindeer prey, to inform on the strategic choices made by Late Gravettian hunters. Results indicate that most hunted reindeer lived year-round in the foothills of the Bohemian-Moravian highlands near where Lubná is located, at altitudes between ~ 200–450 m above present sea level, while a smaller number showed evidence of seasonal migration between this area and the open plains of the Elbe river corridor (Bohemian Cretaceous basin). No evidence for long distance migration of reindeer was detected, indicating that productive local environments were supporting reindeer herds within a single annual territory. Meanwhile, areas higher than ~ 450 m above present sea level were avoided entirely by all analysed individuals, consistent with these areas being topographic barriers to movement due to climate severity. We conclude that hunters visited Lubná as part of a logistically-organised subsistence strategy, deliberately targeting reindeer in late autumn when fat supplies, hides and antler are in prime condition knowing that they would reliably encounter their prey at this location.
Due to the high density of cave and rock shelter sites, the Altmühl Valley is one of the most essential regions of southern German Palaeolithic research. The site presented in this paper, the Abri I im Dorf, lies within the main concentration of Palaeolithic sites found in this valley, extending along its lowest stretch between Riedenburg and its confluence into the Danube in Kelheim. We present the results achieved in reassessing the archaeo-stratigraphic sequence uncovered during the excavation campaign of 1959, including the first radiocarbon dating and comprehensive analysis of the lithic, faunal and bone industry evidence. Radiocarbon evidence points to occupations dated to ca. 27 ka cal BP. At the same time, the features of the lithic assemblage (blade industry with a predominance of burins and an important presence of backed tools) fit those of Late/Final Gravettian technocomplexes in the Danube region. However, the characteristic evidence traditionally associated with these industries (Kostënki knives and shouldered points) is scarce and highly questionable. The same applies to the “shovel-like” ivory object, typically related to the Pavlovian but with a doubtful determination as a shovel and no clear parallels in this and other industries of Gravettian tradition. The faunal remains revealed that hunting activities, which occurred between late summer and the beginning of winter, concentrated on reindeer. Nonetheless, new excavations and analyses are required to confirm all these preliminary results. In this sense, future work at the Abri I im Dorf can significantly contribute to our understanding of pre-LGM human settlement dynamics in the Upper Danube.
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