What is a refugium? Questions for the Middle–Upper Palaeolithic transition in peninsular southern Europe

Abstract

The word ‘refugium’ is often used to describe patterns of human settlement during various parts of the Palaeolithic. While, classically, a refugium is a location which supports an isolated population of a once more widespread species, some have argued that discrepancies in how this term is used have led to methodological confusion and a weakening of its meaning. Differences in the spatial and temporal scales of how refugia are defined, as well as in the specifics of how they operate, mean that many so‐called refugia serve different biological functions and have different implications for long‐term species survival (Ashcroft, 2010). In this article, I review four questions that may shape individual refugia. I then use the late Middle Palaeolithic record of peninsular southern Europe to explore how attention to these questions may help to advance Middle–Upper Palaeolithic research.

Complexity in the Middle to Upper Paleolithic Transition in Peninsular Southern Europe and application of refugium concepts

“…This is often a measure of biodiversity at any given location during stadials and Heinrich Events (Keppel et al ., 2012). Jones (2021/this Special Issue) argues for using single‐taxon approaches for studying human populations since different species respond differently to climate change and measures of biodiversity are already encapsulated in the term ‘hotspot’ (Ashcroft, 2010). While there will probably be overlap between single‐taxon and multiple‐taxa approaches, focusing on the differences between the two removes one level of ambiguity from the concept of refugium.…”

“…macro‐refugium) is often too simplistic and therefore unadvised, unless it makes sense to do so (Gómez and Lunt, 2007). Given the heterogeneity of the environments found within the three southern European peninsulas, and the notion that the Middle to Upper Paleolithic transition was a temporal and spatial mosaic, focusing on micro‐refugia may be more useful (Gómez and Lunt, 2007; Jones, 2021/this Special Issue). In Riel‐Salvatore et al .…”

“…Specificity in defining various characteristics of the term refugia ( sensu Jones, 2021/this Special Issue);…”

“…While there is no right or wrong definition of refugium, a few components should be defined that render the term a much more useful concept. While we do not summarize the various areas of definition for its concept here (see Bennett and Provan, 2008; Ashcroft, 2010; Feliner, 2011; Birks, 2015) we highlight Jones' (2021/this Special Issue) ideas about the definable characteristics of the term ‘refugium’ in Paleolithic studies pulled from the work of Ashcroft (2010). Jones (2021/this Special Issue) demonstrates that considering a set of variables, briefly listed below, in the study of refugia in Paleolithic Europe can sidestep some ambiguity issues.…”

“…The definition of the term ‘refugium’ has been, however, problematic (e.g. Ashcroft, 2010; Feliner, 2011; Jones, 2021/this Special Issue).…”