The archeological background

European evidence

The European archeological evidence for the stages in question is extensive, and it does appear to give a clear signal of a revolutionary change some 40,000 years ago. For this reason, the transition in Europe has been dubbed the Upper Paleolithic revolution. It coincides with the first appearance of modern humans in the region, carrying the cultural tradition known as the Aurignacian. Aurignacian sites throughout Europe show the typical blade-based technology and use of bone, ivory, and antler, not only to make points but also to create beads as body ornamentation. The sites are also associated with other characteristics of the Upper Paleolithic: they are larger than those of the Middle Paleolithic; open-air (as opposed to rock shelter or cave) sites are more distinctive and organized; artifacts indicate the existence of longdistance contact and even trade (shells and exotic stone that must have come from afar); and musical instruments, specifically simple flutes made from bone, are present As the Upper Paleolithic progressed, substantial temporal and spatial variability of style developed in artifact assemblages; the sense of cultural traditions in the way we would mean today was strongly present for the first time. Although sculpting and engraving appeared from the Aurignacian onward, evidence of cave painting did not become strong until the Gravettian, some 30,000 years ago. The contrast between the Middle Paleolithic in Europe (specifically, the Mousterian) and the Upper Paleolithic is striking. Although not every aspect of Upper Paleolithic culture, especially technological advances and artistic traditions, was present from the beginning, overall it surely offers evidence of a revolutionary change. Agreement on this latter pointarevolution or notais divided, in terms of both its dynamics and its explanation.

The match between archeological and fossil evidence in Europe is quite good. For instance, wherever hominin remains have been found with Mousterian assemblages, they have been Neanderthal. Virtually all hominin fossils associated with Upper Paleolithic assemblages have been modern humans. Two exceptions to the latter generalization have been identified, at the French sites of Arcy-sur-Cure and Saint-Césaire. Although the fossil evidence at Arcy-sur- Cure is fragmentary, a classic Neanderthal partial skeleton has been found at Saint-Césaire. These sites are interesting because the tool assemblages represent an intermediate form between Mousterian and Aurignacian, termed Chatelperronian.

Some scholars have argued that the intermediate nature of the Chatelperronian technology indicates the presence of a population in biological transitionathat is, changing from Neanderthal to modern humans. The anatomy of the Saint- Césaire individual shows no such characteristics, however .The age of the skeleton, recently dated at 36,000 years, leaves little or no time for an evolutionary transition to local modern human populations. In any case, the site postdates the earliest Aurignacian sites, which have no local precursors. One possible explanation of the Chatelperronian is that it was developed by late Neanderthal populations that had cultural contact with incoming modern human populations.