From Neanderthals to Homo sapiens - Understanding a cultural (r)evolution in Europe during the Palaeolithic – NeHos

The interdisciplinary project NeHos will address fundamental questions regarding the transition between Neanderthal and Homo sapiens populations in Europe during the 55,000-30,000 period. This is a critically important period during which Homo sapiens dispersed out of Africa into Eurasia, new lithic and bone industries as well as art emerged, and Neanderthals disappeared, while climatic instability repeatedly and profoundly affected the biodiversity. However, at present, we have only a partial understanding of how these changes are connected because of a lack of reliable chronometric data.
Using advanced radiocarbon methodologies on bones (300 dates), we will construct robust chronologies for Palaeolithic cultures: the final Mousterian, the Proto-/Early Aurignacian and the so called “transitional industries” present in different European regions. This spatiotemporal study will allow us to elucidate the possible biological and cultural interconnections between Neanderthal and Homo sapiens populations, resulting in a breakthrough for our understanding of this transitional period. We will also synchronize these anthropological and cultural archives with local paleoenvironmental records to investigate the interactions between these human populations and their living environment, particularly in the face of climatic changes.