The Neanderthal Legacy
The Neanderthal Legacy

Author: Paul A. Mellars

Publisher: Princeton University Press

Published: 2015-07-28

Total Pages: 493

ISBN-13: 0691167982

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The Neanderthals populated western Europe from nearly 250,000 to 30,000 years ago when they disappeared from the archaeological record. In turn, populations of anatomically modern humans, Homo sapiens, came to dominate the area. Seeking to understand the nature of this replacement, which has become a hotly debated issue, Paul Mellars brings together an unprecedented amount of information on the behavior of Neanderthals. His comprehensive overview ranges from the evidence of tool manufacture and related patterns of lithic technology, through the issues of subsistence and settlement patterns, to the more controversial evidence for social organization, cognition, and intelligence. Mellars argues that previous attempts to characterize Neanderthal behavior as either "modern" or "ape-like" are both overstatements. We can better comprehend the replacement of Neanderthals, he maintains, by concentrating on the social and demographic structure of Neanderthal populations and on their specific adaptations to the harsh ecological conditions of the last glaciation. Mellars's approach to these issues is grounded firmly in his archaeological evidence. He illustrates the implications of these findings by drawing from the methods of comparative socioecology, primate studies, and Pleistocene paleoecology. The book provides a detailed review of the climatic and environmental background to Neanderthal occupation in Europe, and of the currently topical issues of the behavioral and biological transition from Neanderthal to fully "modern" populations.

The Origin of Modern Humans and the Impact of Chronometric Dating
The Origin of Modern Humans and the Impact of Chronometric Dating

Author: Martin Jim Aitken

Publisher: Princeton University Press

Published: 2014-07-14

Total Pages: 255

ISBN-13: 1400851556

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This volume of papers delivered to The Royal Society in February of 1992 explores the debate over the "single center" hypothesis of human origins versus "multi-regional evolution." Over the last five years there has been growing support for a recent "Out of Africa" origin of modern humans--based on fresh interpretations of the palaeoanthropological and archaeological evidence, new applications of physical dating techniques to important sites, and a greatly increased genetic data base on recent human variation and its geographical patterning. But there has also been a parallel growth of doubts about interpretations of the new evidence from some workers. This book provides a review of recent progress and allows some of these doubts to be aired and discussed. In addition to the editors, the contributors are O. Bar-Yosef, A. M. Bowcock, P. Brown, H. J. Deacon, L. L. Cavalli-Sforza, J. D. Clark, R. Grün, J.-J. Hublin, A. A. Lin, G. H. Miller, J. L. Mountain, H. P. Schwarcz, N. J. Shackleton, F. H. Smith, and M. Stoneking. Originally published in 1993. The Princeton Legacy Library uses the latest print-on-demand technology to again make available previously out-of-print books from the distinguished backlist of Princeton University Press. These editions preserve the original texts of these important books while presenting them in durable paperback and hardcover editions. The goal of the Princeton Legacy Library is to vastly increase access to the rich scholarly heritage found in the thousands of books published by Princeton University Press since its founding in 1905.

Reassessing Paleolithic Subsistence
Reassessing Paleolithic Subsistence

Author: Eugène Morin

Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Published: 2012-03-19

Total Pages: 385

ISBN-13: 1107023270

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Contributes to the debate about modern human origins by exploring the diets and foraging patterns of both Neandertals and early modern humans.

Neanderthals on the Edge
Neanderthals on the Edge

Author: Chris Stringer

Publisher: Oxbow Books Limited

Published: 2000

Total Pages: 288

ISBN-13:

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In 1998 a conference was held to mark the 150th anniversary of the famous Gibraltar skull. The papers reflect the state of our knowledge about the role played by Gibraltar and the southern Iberian Peninsula in the Middle and Upper Palaeolithic. Contents: Neandertal landscapes (W Davies, J Stewart & T H van Andel) ; Mediterranean perspective on the Middle/Upper Palaeolithic (O Bar-Yosef) ; Mousterian in Mediterranean France (C C Szmidt) ; Late Neandertals in the South West of France (J-P Rigaud) ; Châtelperronian chronology and the case for Neanderthal/Modern Human `acculturation' (P Mellars) ; Final Acheulian to the Middle Palaeolithic in the Iberian Peninsula (F G Pacheco, A Santiago Perez, J Ma Gutierrez Lopez, E Mata Almonte & L Aguilera Rodriguez) ; Middle Palaeolithic technocomplexes and lithic industries in the Northwest Iberian Peninsula (J A Cano Pan, F Giles Pacheco, E Aguirre, A Santiago Perez, F J Garcia Prieto, E Mata Almonte, J Ma Gutierrez & O Prieto Reina) ; Mousterian hearths at Abric Romaní, Catalonia (I Pastó, E Allué & Josep Vallverdú) ; Late Middle Palaeolithic in the Northwest of the Iberian Peninsula (M Vaquero & E Carbonell) ; Middle-Upper Palaeolithic transition in Cantabrian Spain (V Cabrera, A Pike-Tay, M Lloret & F Bernaldo de Quiros) ; Middle-Upper Palaeolithic transition in Portugal (L Raposo) ; Late extinction of Iberian Neanderthals

Short-Term Occupations in Paleolithic Archaeology
Short-Term Occupations in Paleolithic Archaeology

Author: João Cascalheira

Publisher: Springer Nature

Published: 2019-12-02

Total Pages: 295

ISBN-13: 3030274039

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This edited book aims to provide a new perspective on the identification and interpretation of short-term occupations in Paleolithic Archaeology. The volume includes contributions with a particular focus on the definition and identification of short-term occupations in Paleolithic contexts, aiming to improve our current knowledge on the topic, both methodologically and interpretatively. The set of chapters coming from a broad spectrum of geographies and chronologies will contribute to the debate on the definition of short-term occupations but also to a better understanding on how past hunter-gatherers communities adapted and moved in different environmental contexts across time. The in-depth examinations of short-term occupations in different chronologies and environments will shed light on an aspect of the behavioral trajectories of the human species in the management of the territory.