Out in the cold? A review of Early Middle Palaeolithic settlements in northern Central Europe, age data and geological preconditions for site formation and preservation
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Le résumé fourni par la source
The characteristics of settlement of Neanderthals in northern Central Europe during the earlier phases of the Middle Palaeolithic (Marine Isotope Stage 8–6) have been a matter of debate for decades, specifically regarding the population dynamics at such latitudes during the coldest phases. In this paper, we review the known archaeological record of the study region, focusing on 10 sites with available numerical dating and discussing their lithic assemblages and chronological attribution, together with the geological preconditions for the formation and preservation of archaeological sites. The results of our review show that our current knowledge remains affected by several issues, as for instance difficulties in interpreting the depositional setting and taphonomic processes at play, as well as the complexities regarding the dating. A proper understanding of the site formation and sedimentological background is therefore required to evaluate the reliability of the numerical ages. According to the data collected here, it is evident that currently known sites attributed to interglacial/interstadial stages within the early Middle Palaeolithic are neither more numerous nor located further north than during the previous and subsequent colder phases. Whether this reflects climate‐independent demographic fluxes or is instead related to the non‐preservation of interglacial/interstadial sediments, has to remain undetermined at present. Limitations of the applied dating techniques (error ranges covering several Marine Isotope Stages) do not currently allow us to establish how ephemeral the human presence was at such latitudes, in terms of both population size and duration. Following such reasoning, we think that proposing a continent void of population for tens of thousands of years as the main working hypothesis is not scientifically valid. Instead, we suggest including in the future discussion on the early Middle Palaeolithic settlement strategies an ‘out in the cold’ hypothesis, alongside the currently existing ones.
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Le contrôle bibliographique ouvert
DOI retrouvé dans Crossref DOI retrouvé ; titre concordant.
- Titre Crossref
- Out in the cold? A review of Early Middle Palaeolithic settlements in northern Central Europe, age data and geological preconditions for site formation and preservation
- Date Crossref
- 13/10/2025
- Éditeur
- Wiley
- Type
- journal-article
Ce recoupement confirme des métadonnées liées au DOI. Il ne confirme ni la méthode ni les conclusions de l’étude, et il ne compte pas comme une seconde source scientifique indépendante.
Où se fait cette recherche
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State Administration of Cultural Heritage pays non établi dans la noticeOrganisme public
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Leibniz University Hannover pays non établi dans la noticeUniversité ou école supérieure
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University of Tübingen pays non établi dans la noticeUniversité ou école supérieure
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Lower Saxony State Museum pays non établi dans la noticeInstitution
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University of Göttingen pays non établi dans la noticeUniversité ou école supérieure
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CCEHN – Lower Saxony State Office for Cultural Heritage Scharnhorststraße 1 30175 Hanover Germany pays non établi dans la noticeInstitution
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Geo‐ and Environmental Center Tübingen University Schnarrenbergstr. 94‐96 72076 Tübingen Germany Terrestrial Sedimentology pays non établi dans la noticeUniversité ou école supérieure
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Institute of Pre‐ and Protohistory Georg August University Göttingen Nikolausberger Weg 15 37073 Göttingen Germany pays non établi dans la noticeUniversité ou école supérieure
State Administration of Cultural Heritage, Leibniz University Hannover et University of Tübingen, avec 5 autres affiliations.
Une affiliation ne permet pas de déduire la nationalité d’un auteur.