4 research outputs found
Neandertal adaptations to Interglacial conditions – a case study from the Eemian site Neumark-Nord 2 (Germany)
After a long period of cold
conditions that characterize the Saalian Glacial in Europe, Neandertals
were confronted with the warm and more forested environments of the
Eemian Interglacial (125-115,000 years ago). We do know that they were
present in these environments, but the number of known sites and the
size of their assemblages is relatively limited. The Eemian deposits of
Neumark-Nord 2 (eastern Germany) yielded the unique opportunity for a
detailed analysis of Neandertal behaviour within its environmental
context. The reconstructed environmental conditions give us a better
understanding of the challenges and opportunities that Neandertals
faced, and, together with data from other Eemian sites, provided
indications for their environmental preferences. How Neandertals dealt
with these environmental conditions is also reflected in the
archaeological record, which has been addressed by a detailed analysis
of the flint tool assemblage as well as the proxies for hominin use of
fire at the site.NWO Spinoza grant prof. dr. W. RoebroeksHuman Origin
Landscape modification by Last Interglacial Neanderthals
Little is known about the antiquity, nature, and scale of Pleistocene hunter-gatherer impact on their ecosystems, despite the importance for studies of conservation and human evolution. Such impact is likely to be limited, mainly because of low population densities, and challenging to detect and interpret in terms of cause-effect dynamics. We present high-resolution paleoenvironmental and archaeological data from the Last Interglacial locality of Neumark-Nord (Germany). Among the factors that shaped vegetation structure and succession in this lake landscape, we identify a distinct ecological footprint of hominin activities, including fire use. We compare these data with evidence from archaeological and baseline sites from the same region. At Neumark-Nord, notably open vegetation coincides with a virtually continuous c. 2000-year-long hominin presence, and the comparative data strongly suggest that hominins were a contributing factor. With an age of c. 125,000 years, Neumark-Nord provides an early example of a hominin role in vegetation transformation.BioarchaeologyEuropean Prehistor
Hominin homelands of East Java: revised stratigraphy and landscape reconstructions for Plio-Pleistocene Trinil
Bioarchaeolog
Homo pyromanicus - de zaak van de fakkelende oermens
De prehistorische mens stak graag van alles in de fik, ontdekten Nederlandse onderzoekers. Waarom?Archaeological heritage management, heritage of indigenous people and museum studie