Thorsten Uthmeier

The earliest Aurignacian in Romania: New investigations at the open air site of Româneşti-Dumbrăviţa I (Banat)

Previous archaeological research in the Banat area (South-western Romania) resulted in the definition of a chronologically late Krems-Dufour type Aurignacian, followed by the isolated find of several considerably old anatomically modern human (AMH) remains at Oase Cave, several decades later. The last find set the stage for new stratigraphic, chronological and archaeological reassessment of Banat Aurignacian settlements at Tincova, Coşava and RomâneştiDumbrăviţa. This study presents the attribute analysis of the Aurignacian lithic assemblage at Româneşti-Dumbrăviţa I, involving both old and recently excavated collections. Alongside the more accurate identification of the main technological and typological features, pointing to a Protoaurignacian/Early Aurignacian assignation of the Early Upper Palaeolithic industry here, new chronological landmarks, much older than previously considered, became available. Preliminary thermoluminescence results point to an estimated age between 45 and 40 ka for the main accumulation in GH3 at Româneşti, thus indicating a possible contemporaneity of the Banat Aurignacian and the Oase AMH finds. A brief comparative outline of the Banat Aurignacian settlements is also provided, followed by and attempt at placing the local Aurignacian into the European Early Upper Palaeolithic landscape. Zusammenfassung Bisherige Forschung zum Beginn des Jungpaläolithikums im Banat ergaben widersprüchliche Ergebnisse. Nachdem die von dort bekannt gewordenen Aurignacien-Freilandfundstellen Tincova, Coşava und Româneşti-Dumbrăviţa zunächst chronologisch an das Ende dieses Technokomplexes gestellt worden waren, wurde nach der Entdeckung der Überreste früher anatomisch moderner Menschen in der Oase-Höhle angenommen, es handele sich um ein Proto-Aurignacien. In dem vorliegenden Artikel werden diese Widersprüche anhand neuer Grabungen und erster absoluter Datierungen sowie einer detaillierten Analyse der Altund Neufunde an der Fundstation Româneşti-Dumbrăviţa aufgelöst. Demnach handelt es sich an diesem Fundplatz um eine Steingeräteindustrie, die sowohl Merkmale des Proto-Aurignacien als auch des klassischen Aurignacien aufweist. Erste Thermolumineszenz-Alter zwischen 45 kyr BP im Liegenden und 40 kyr BP im Hangenden deuten auf eine frühe Zeitstellung von Româneşti-Dumbrăviţa innerhalb des älteren Jungpaläolithikums und eine zeitliche Überschneidung mit den Menschenresten aus der Oase-Höhle. Vor diesem Hintergrund wird die Bedeutung des Banat im Rahmen der Ausbreitung des frühen modernen Menschen nach Europa diskutiert.

Neanderthals in the Cold: Middle Paleolithic Sites from the Open-Cast Mine of Garzweiler, Nordrhein-Westfalen (Germany)

In the years 1999–2001, an area of approximately 150 ha was surveyed by continuous control of the loess walls of the open-cast lignite mine of Garzweiler near Cologne, Germany. A total of 46 Middle Paleolithic sites were located, most of them clustering in connection to small stream positions. Despite the importance of natural factors during the site formation processes, lithic artifacts and skeleton elements preserved well, suggesting high impact of human and non-human agents, followed by low to moderate post-depositional alteration of finds. Altogether, eight sites were dated to the first maximum of the last glaciation (MIS 4). They consist of small assemblages of lithics mainly produced ad hoc from raw nodules carried along during hunting and gathering activities, and low frequencies of faunal remains. Traces of human use are restricted to reindeer. Therefore, it is concluded that these sites represent scanty remnants of kill and butchering sites of this species, enriched by additional faunal remains of unknown agency. The local loess stratigraphy as well as a brief survey of the environmental data from contemporaneous sites in Central and Eastern Europe reveals conditions more moderate than previously expected. It is inferred that changing environments after the last Interglacial Complex (MIS 5) had less effect on the dynamics of Neanderthal populations than formerly hypothesized.

Neanderthal Utilitarian Equipment and Group Identity: The Social Context of Bifacial Tool Manufacture and Use

Since personal ornamentation is quite rare prior to the onset of the Upper Paleolithic and, speaking in quantitative terms, lacks the widespread occurrence that would allow for conclusions regarding standardization, this study focuses on stone artifacts as possible social markers. The article explores the role of bifaces as signals for social identity and, at the same time, tries to take into account the temporal and spatial dynamics of operational chains. As a case study, the two main complexes of the European Late Middle Paleolithic with bifaces – the Mousterian of Acheulean Tradition (MtA) and the Micoquian – are investigated. In general, it is assumed that the contemporaneity of these industries, combined with similar environments and land use patterns, reduces the influence of functional factors. Bifaces are identified as spatially and chronologically stable elements, while concepts of core reduction vary. The importance of bifaces in MtA and Micoquian lithic systems is explained by their potential for resharpening. In both the MtA and the Micoquian, bifaces are means providing partial independence from raw material sources. Qualitative comparisons of the operational chains show marked differences, especially in advanced stages of resharpening. As surrogates of their respective operational chains, bifacial tools are considered social makers. The entire operational chain is seen as reducing social insecurity by materially reinforcing intimate social ties in regular face-to-face-contacts, whereas the tools alone signal social identity in contexts of less frequent interaction with socially distant individuals or even random contact with members of other collectives.