Desolate Landscapes: Ice-Age Settlement in Eastern Europe (The Rutgers Series in Human Evolution, Edited By Robert Trivers (New).)

Ice-Age Eastern Europe was an inhospitable place, isolated from the moderating influence of oceans. Unlike Western Europe, which was settled over half a million years ago, Eastern Europe remained largely unoccupied until the appearance of the cold-adapted Neanderthals. When modern humans arrived from southern latitudes, they were anatomically less suited to colder climates, but successfully colonized Eastern Europe with the aid of innovative technologies that their Neanderthal predecessors lacked. JohnF. Hoffecker provides an overview of Pleistocene or Ice-Age settlement in Eastern Europe with a heavy focus on the adaptations of Neanderthals and modern humans to this harsh environmental setting. Hoffecker argues that the Eastern European record reveals a stark contrast between Neanderthals and modern humans with respect to technology and social organization, both of which are tied to the development of language and the use of symbols. Desolate Landscapes will bring readers up to date with the rich archaeological record in this significant region and its contribution to our understanding of one of our most important events in human evolution - the rise of modern humans and the extinction of the Neanderthals. The book is divided into seven chapters. The first discusses general anthropological principles and theories pertaining to human adaptation and development in cold environments. The second outlines the environmental conditions of the specific area under study in the book. The next two chapters focus on Neanderthal finds in the area. The following two chapters discuss the replacement of the local Neanderthal population by the Cro-magnons, and the development of their way of life in the cold Loess Steppe environment. The final chapter summarizes the discussion and is followed by an extremely valuable and extensive bibliography, more than half of which consists of non-English (primarily Russian) sources. Contents Figures Tables Foreword Preface and Acknowledgments 1 Human Evolutionary Ecology and Eastern Europe The Great Leap: An East European Perspective Human Evolutionary Ecology in Northern Environments Principles of Evolutionary Ecology Human Ecology in Northern Environments Human Ecology and Symbols 2 Environmental Setting Modern Landscape and Climate Pleistocene Stratigraphic Framework and Paleolithic Sites in Eastern Europe Reconstructing Pleistocene Environments in Eastern Europe Middle and Late Pleistocene Stratigraphy and Landscapes Middle Pleistocene (OIS 19—6 ) Last Interglacial and Early Glacial (OIS 5) Pleniglacial (OIS 4—2) Landscape and Paleoanthropology in Eastern Europe 3 Middle Pleistocene Settlement Hominid Colonization of Northern Latitudes The Problem of East European Colonization Middle Pleistocene Sites in Eastern Europe Early Middle Pleistocene Sites (OIS 19—9) Late Middle Pleistocene Sites (OIS 8-6) Conclusions: Middle Pleistocene Settlement in Eastern Europe 4 Neanderthal Adaptations Neanderthal Evolution and Adaptation Neanderthal Origins Neanderthal Morphology Neanderthal Behavior and Ecology Neanderthal Sites in Eastern Europe General Patterns of Settlement East European Plain: Southwest Region East European Plain: Central Region East European Plain: Southern Region Crimea Northern Caucasus East European Neanderthals: Skeletal Morphology Lithic Technology and Tools Lithic Technology Stone Tools and Their Uses Other Aspects of Technology Diet and Foraging Strategy East European Plain Crimea and Northern Caucasus Neanderthal Socioecology Symbols and Language Occupation Floors and Site Structure Neanderthal Adaptation in Eastern Europe: Summary and Conclusions 5 The Transition to Modern Humans Origins and Dispersal of Modem Humans Early Modem Human Sites in Eastern Europe East European Plain: Southwest Region East European Plain: Central and Northern Regions Crimea and Northern Caucasus Early Modem Humans of Eastern Europe: Skeletal Morphology Modem Human Technology and the Early Upper Paleolithic of Eastern Europe East European Plain: Southwest Region East European Plain: Central and Northern Regions Crimea and Northern Caucasus Ornaments and Art in the Early Upper Paleolithic Diet and Foraging Patterns Analysis of Faunal Remains in Archaeological Sites Intersite Patterning and Transport of Raw Materials Early Upper Paleolithic Socioecology The Transition to Modem Humans in Eastern Europe: Summary and Conclusions 6 People of the Loess Steppe Modem Humans during the Last Glacial Maximum Last Glacial Maximum Sites in Eastern Europe East European Plain: Southwest Region East European Plain: Central Region East European Plain: Southern Region Crimea and Northern Caucasus Skeletal Remains in Late Upper Paleolithic Sites Technology in the Late Upper Paleolithic Early Last Glacial Maximum: Eastern Gravettian Late Last Glacial Maximum and Late Glacial: Epigravettian Ornaments and Art in the Late Upper Paleolithic Diet and Foraging during the Last Glacial Maximum East European Plain: Southwest Region East European Plain: Central Region Southern Plain, Crimea, and Northern Caucasus Late Upper Paleolithic Socioecology 7 Retrospective Bibliography Index About the Author

The book is divided into seven chapters. The first discusses general anthropological principles and theories pertaining to human adaptation and development in cold environments. The second outlines the environmental conditions of the specific area under study in the book.

The next two chapters focus on Neanderthal finds in the area. The following two chapters discuss the replacement of the local Neanderthal population by the Cro-magnons, and the development of their way of life in the cold Loess Steppe environment. The final chapter summarizes the discussion and is followed by an extremely valuable and extensive bibliography, more than half of which consists of non-English (primarily Russian) sources.