Early modern human settlement of Europe north of the Alps occurred 43,500 years ago in a cold steppe-type environment.

ABSTRACT: The first settlement of Europe by modern humans is thought to have occurred between 50,000 and 40,000 calendar years ago (cal B.P.). In Europe, modern human remains of this time period are scarce and often are not associated with archaeology or originate from old excavations with no contextual information. Hence, the behavior of the first modern humans in Europe is still unknown. Aurignacian assemblages--demonstrably made by modern humans--are commonly used as proxies for the presence of fully behaviorally and anatomically modern humans. The site of Willendorf II (Austria) is well known for its Early Upper Paleolithic horizons, which are among the oldest in Europe. However, their age and attribution to the Aurignacian remain an issue of debate. Here, we show that archaeological horizon 3 (

SUBMITTER: Nigst PR 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4209988 | biostudies-literature | 2014 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature