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Mezmaiskaya Cave. Selected lithic tools from Early Upper Paleolithic level 1C: 1-4, blade cores; 5-7, crested blades; 8, 9, core tablets.
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... Beginning in the mid 1990s, new data has begun to emerge, changing our knowledge of the character and origin of the Early Upper Paleolithic (EUP) in the Caucasus (Meshveliani et al. 2004;Bar-Yosef et al. 2006Adler et al. 2006aAdler et al. , 2006bAdler et al. , 2008Golovanova et al. 2006Golovanova et al. , 2010aGolovanova et al. , 2010bTushabramishvili et al. 2012). Modern excavation techniques, including total sediment water screening and an expanded series of absolute dates (table 1) from recently excavated sites (fig. 1) have revolutionized the perception of the EUP in this region, with important implications for our understanding of regional developments and spread of the EUP in Western Eurasia. ...
... Once the obsidian from the Mezmaiskaya assemblage is sourced, we will be able to develop hypotheses of migration routes through the mountains. Obsidian artifacts from the EUP layer 1C were analyzed by S. Shackley (Golovanova et al. 2010a). The study suggests that these EUP artifacts may have been produced from obsidian procured from the Kojun Dag (Paravan) source located to the southwest of the Caucasus in southern Georgia. ...
... Homo sapiens) and population replacement of local Neanderthals (for details seeMeshveliani et al. 2004;Bar-Yosef et. al. 2006Adler et al. 2006aAdler et al. , 2006bAdler et al. , 2008Golovanova et al. 2006Golovanova et al. , 2010aGolovanova et al. , 2010b). ...
The Aurignacian of Yafteh cave and its context (2005-2008 excavations). Еds. M. Otte Marcel Otte, Sonia Shidrang & Damien Flas. Liège, ERAUL 132, p. 137-160.
... Layer 2B3 is established not to be volcanic ash. The results on the volcanic glass in the rocks of layers 1D and 2B1 were published by Golovanova and her colleagues in Current Anthropology in October 2010 [Golovanova et al., 2010]. DOI: 10.1134/S1069351311060048 IZVESTIYA, PHYSICS OF THE SOLID EARTH Vol. ...
The paper presents the results of magnetic and microprobes studies of the deposits in the unique paleolithic site in Mezmaiskaya cave. The number of characteristics of deposition analysis is presented. The study concerns all 17 layers corresponding to the range of ages >73 to ~10 ka. It is determined that the rocks of the layer have 1C the maximal of magnetic susceptibilities (K) up 2500×10-6 SI, which is related to the intensive activity of the ancient humans. The minimal detected values for K=50-57x10-6SI correspond to the rocks of layer 2. The size of magnetic grains of rocks in the section is inhomogeneous. The largest sizes of grains correspond to the middle part of the section. The superparamagnetic fraction found in the rocks of all layers. This fact signifies that the cave was opened during the whole studied period (starting from layer 4). The main carrier of the rock magnetization in the section is magnetite. 20% of probes contain also the small portion of hematite, and also the sulfides are detected in 37% of probes. The rocks containing the sulfides are not applicable for paleomagnetic study. The detailed microprobe analysis gives the chemical composition for the layers section: 1D, 2B-1, 2B-3. A large number of chemical elements (18) such as Co, Cr, Ni, V, Zn, Zr is detected in the layers 2B-1 and 1D. Contents of iron, titanium, chrome, manganese, and others impurities varies from grain to grain. The microprobe analysis of studied layers 2B-1 and 1D indicates a set of magnetic particles of composition typical of volcanic rocks. Ash origination of these rocks is assumed.
The Neanderthal population lived and thrived in Europe during about 300ky in Middle Pleistocene. The causes of their disappearance about 30ky ago are strongly debated. Among the current hypotheses developed to explain this demographical crisis, competition with Modern humans, superiority of Modern Humans in weaponry or subsistence strategies, climate changes, epidemic diseases, demographical changes or genetic assimilation have often been evoked.
Here we tried to analyse the relationship between environnemntal pressures and Neanderthal's demography by the way of mathematical modellingthanks to a specific deterministic model of the trophic web associated to Neanderthals.Trophic web allows to reflect environmental changes’ consequences by integrating the target population into its biotic environment. and, thus, is of interest, especially when we focused on the very contrasted period of MOIS3.
Several questions previously raised in the anthropological literature were analyzed here : Climate change impact and wildlife environment, influence of a change in the trophic chain by adding a competitor, of a diversified diet,
of metabolism, of potential epidemic diseases or impacts ofchanges in demographical pattern.From this we tried to re-analyse some of the major assumptions about Nenaderthal demise.
Modelling approach allows to understand complex systems by working on a simplified view of these systems. Indeed, this process involves the choice of controlled parametersand variables in such a way that they are capable of representing, in a proper manner, the system as a whole. Our models are composed by partial differential equations describing demographic variations of human and animal populations. They should be able to highlight the level of resources available across the time and their influences on human demography considering different scenarios of dietary habits and environmental pressure. Models used have been built in the light of existing framework for the environmental sustainability of the MOIS3 and of existing frameworks for modelling past populations and from field data supplied by classical paleoanthropological, zooarchaeological and prehistorical studies. After checking the sensitivity of our models to parameters and their relevance for our problematic by a series of statistics (PCA, Euclidean distancecalculations), we tried tounderstand the complex and unknown phenomenon relative to the dramatic demographic fluctuation observed in Neanderthal populations during MOIS3.
Our results allowed us to exclude the assumption of an epidemic disease or a climate change or even a resource competition as an exclusive cause of Neanderthal extinction.However, in the light of our simulations, a demographic modification in the Neanderthal population across the time, in terms of fecundity, fertility or maturation speed, could be the reason of Neanderthals disappearance, especially in a context of climate change.Our study doesn't analyse the causes of these demographic modificationsbut we can suppose that they may be the results of strong conflicts, infections or cross breeding for example. Neanderthals, a so resilient population of 400000 years of existence, didn't resist to the environmental context of MOIS3 and if this study cannot explain precisely why, we proved that the novel methodology employed here is relevant in paleoanthropology. Our study also allows to highlight with a new angle the question of Neanderthal disappearance and to complete existing analysis led by classical anthropological studies.
New work from the Caucasus is revolutionising the timing and character of the shift from Neanderthals to early Modern humans in Eurasia. Here the authors reveal a powerful signal of that change from excavations at Mezmaiskaya: the abrupt appearance of a well-formed bone industry and ornaments.
New geoarchaeological and bioarcheological research was undertaken at the open-air site of Mira, which is buried in deposits of the Second Terrace of the Dnepr River, roughly 15 km downstream from the city of Zaporozhye in Ukraine. Previous excavation of the site revealed two occupation layers dating to ∼32,000 cal BP. The lower layer (II/2) yielded bladelets similar to those of the early Gravettian, while the upper layer (I) contained traces of an artificial shelter and hundreds of bones and teeth of horse (Equus latipes). Mira represents the only firmly dated early Upper Paleolithic (EUP) site in the Dnepr Basin, and occupies a unique topographic setting for the EUP near the center of the broad floodplain of the Dnepr River. The site was visited during a period of floodplain stability, characterized by overbank deposition and weak soil formation under cool climate conditions. Mira was used as a long-term camp, but also was the locus of large-mammal carcass processing associated with a nearby kill of a group of horses (Layer I).
