EN EL CENTENARIO DE LA CUEVA DE CASTILLO: EL...

VICTORIA CABRERA VALDÉS FEDERICO BERNALDO DE QUIROS GUIDOTTI

JOSÉ MANUEL MAILLO FERNANDEZ

Editores Cientificos

EN EL CENTENARIO DE LA CUEVA DE EL CASTILLO:

EL OCASO DE LOS NEANDERTALES

Centro Asociado a la Universidad Nacional de Educacion a Distancia en Cantabria

2006

ANNE-MARIE TILLIER ZSOLT MESTER

DOMINIQUE HENRY-GAMBIER ILDIKO PAP

AKPAD RINGER GY ULA GY ENIS

THE MIDDLE-UPPER PALAEOLITHIC TRANSITION IN HUNGARY:

AN ANTHROPOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVE

.ANNE-MARIE TILLIER DO%IINIQUE HENRY-GAMBIER I.:ihiir.itoire d'Aiithropologie des Populations du Passe (L-APP. UMR 519c)-PACEA), LTriiversité Bordeaux 1. A \ cilue des Facultés 33405 Talence.

ZSOLT h1ESTER ~ R P X D RINGER Drpiirrn~eiit of Prehistory and Aiicienl Hi.;tory, University of Miskolc, 3515 Miskolc-Egyetemvaros.

ILDIKO PAP Departilierit «f Anthropology. Hiingariaii Natural History Museuiii. IO83 Budapest. Ldudovika t i r 2

C;YLII,A GYENIS Dep;trtiiieiit of Biological Anthropology. EOtvl)s Lorind University, 11 17 Budapest, Paziiiiny Péter sétiny l/c.

Ili~cussions about the fate of Neanderthals and the origin of anatomically modem

iiiiiiiiins focused attention on the fossil record froni Western Europe, n key region with

rc~iirci tc) the density of sites. Considering the Early Upper Palaeolithic industries in

\\-ehtern Europe, it is currently assumed that the equation Neanderthal -"transitional

i~iclustry" (i.e. Chatelperronian, Uluzzian) and anatomicaliy modem humans- Early

.Aurignacian, is the dominant model. Few scholars have questioned the fossil evidence

i r i favour of associating Early Aurignacian industries with modem humans (Tillier

1990: Churchill & Smith 2000; Henry-Gambier 2002: Henry-Gambier et al. 2004).

The goal of this paper is to present the archaeological record from Hungary and to

analyse the pattern of evol~ition of Upper Pleistocene fossil hominids in this region

separately from that of Western Europe.

It should be stressed that the Hungarian archaeological record is derived from

sites that were excavated approximately between 1909 and 1970 and that they were

mainly concentrated in Northem Hungary (fig. 1). Four sites in the Bükk Mountains

have yielded fossil horniriids that were fragmentary humari remains (the Balla child

beirig ari exception to this rule). Interestingly, only one site is known from the Buda

Mountains. An cxamination of the record leads us to express some uncertainties about

the application of the predominant model employed in the interpretation of the

cultural changes that have occurred at the beginning of Upper Palaeolithic to Hungary.

2 . THE FOSSIL RECORD FROM THE BÜKK MOUNTAINS

1 . The Suba-lyuk hfousterian hominids The Suba-lyuh ca \ e is located in the Hor valley. nearby the Cserkpfalu village,

in the Borsod-Abacj-Zeinplén county. The stratigraphical sequence of Suba-lyuk

con5i\t\ of 18 layers (fig. 2) and 17 of them beiong to the Upper Pleistocene

Il 1.1. ('EN 1-ENARIO DE LA CLJEVA DE EL CASTII.I,O: El. OCAS0 DE LOS NEANDERTALES

THE MIDDLE-UPPER PALAEOLITHIC TRANSITION IN HUNGARY: AN ANTHROPOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVE

fig. 1

fig. 2

Fig. 1: Palaeoanthropological sites in Hungary. 1: Suba-lyuk; 2: IstAll6s-kb; 3: Balla: 4: Goromboly-Tapolca; 5: Remete-Felsb.

Fig. 2: Suba-lyuk cave: Longitudinal section (after Bariucz et al. 1940). + : Human remains. 1: red plastic clay. 2: red bone breccia. 3: yellowish red clay. 4: greenish yellow clay, 5: dark brown clay. 6 :reddish brown clay. 7:

greenish grey clay with limestone debris. 8: yellowish brown clay with limestone debris. 9: greenish yellow clay

with limestone debris. 10: dark grey clay with limestone debris, 11: light brown clay with limestone debris. 12:

EN EL CENTENARIO DE LA CUEVA DE EL CASTILLO: EL OCASO DE LOS NEANDERTALES

ANNE-MARIE TILLIER. ZSOLT MESTER. DOMINIQUE HENRY-GAMBIER I L D I K ~ PAP, ARPAD RINGER AND GYULA GYENIS

(Bartucz et al. 1940). The Suba-lyuk hominids were uncovered in 1932 in layer 11 (fig. 3) during excavations lead by J. Dancza and 0. Kadiç. To the present the Suba- lyuk specimens, consisting of immature and adult remains, represent the unique hominids dated to Late Middle Palaeolithic and so they are critical to the discussion of Upper Pleistocene evolution in Hungary.

dark grey clay with limestone debris. 13: greenish grey clay with Jimestone debris. 14: light brown clay with

limestone debris. 15: loose light brown clay with limestone debris. 16: loose dark grey clay with limestone debris,

17: calcareous clay with limestone debris, 18: humus.

Fig. 3: Suba-lyuk cave: position of the human remains in level 1 I (after J. Dancza in Bartucz et al. 1940). 1A: Horizonîal

view (square 2 rn x 2 m), ------: Cave entrante, 2A: Vertical view. Adult - 1: metatarsus, 2: sacrum, 3: mandible, 4:

rnanubriurn stemi, 5 : melacarpus, 7: metatarsus, 8: incisive. 9: paiella. 10: venebra, Child - 6: venebra. II: other bones.

EN EL CENTENARlO DE LA CUEVA DE EL CASTILLO: EL OCASO DE LOS NEANDERTALES

THE bllDI>L 1:-[JPPEK Pt\I.AEOLIl'HIC I KANSI f1ON IN HLrNGiZR\i :\N ANIHKOPOLOGIC'AL PERSPE..CTIVE

The hoiiiinid reiiiains were associated with Mousterian lithic artefacts of La

Quina type (Mester 1989. 1990, 2004 a; Ringer 1993). The faunal relics of layer I I iiicliicies two doininarit species Ursus .sl;>t~laeus and Lagrrrus Inglrl-us. Therefore a

coi-relation with oxygen isotopic stage 3 was suggestecl (Ririger 1993), but such an

aye estimation needs to be substantiated by absolute dating methods.

Bartucz ( 1940) rnentioned that thc spatial distributiori of the hunian reinains

(lïp 3) wrus a question thlit he coiild not solve as no observations were collected by :in :inthropologist directly on the field. He also noticed that soine bones were probnbly daiiiaged at the tiine of the discovery or later during their preparatioii.

Therefore i t was hard for hiin to recopnize any cutmarks or strong traces of ariimal

activities that could explained the spatial dispersal. According to the author, al1 the

ariult huinan bones had the saiiie reliitively dark color (recallirig b~irnt bones at the

first glance) and iiiust have probably lied in the same soi1 layer. Unlike the adiilt

bones. the child reinains were light-coloured and this observatioii led Bartucz to assume that they riiight either corne froin a distirict layer, or fossilized in a dittèrent

way than the uclult bones. Apparently questions raised about the nature of the huriian

dtposits aricl occurrence of a intentional bui-ial was recently suggested in the case of

Siibu-l> ~ i k 2 t Mestcr 2003 b).

\\'liile the spatial distribution of the adult bones leads to the question of the

ri.ccynitioii of inore than one individual aniong the reniains, no argument can be h r o ~ i ~ h t f'r-oiii tlie anthropological study to support such an assertion. The adult

Suhii-1' L I A 1 is represented by the inandible, a few vertebral parts (atlas in thi-ee

lxii-t\. tlirec bodies. one spine process of a thoracic vertebra), the nianubrium sterni,

rlic ncriim, the left patella, two hand bones (fragmerits of a left second nietacarpal

iiiicl left pi-oxiinal phalanx), and three foot bones (coniplete right second and left

toiirtli iiietatûrsals. a fragment of right third inetatarsal).

The nge at death of Suba-lyuk I seems to be younger (Pap et (11. 1996) than the

oiie previoiisly proposed by Bartucz (1940). The Suba-lyuk 1 mandible (fig. 4 ) is

ccrtainly the inost coinplete of the Central European specimens (Krapina and

Vinciija in Croatia; Svédîiv Slbl or- Ochoz i r i the Czech republic) together with

Ki-apinn 55 and 5 8 (Iiadovcic et al. 1988; Smith 1976). The Suba-lyuk I 100th

tliriiensioris are below the meaii Krapina averages, with the exception of thc 12 - Pl

breadths. Howe\.er the faint interproxiinal wear could partially explairi the relatively sinall dimensions of premolars anci molars (Ml and M2). Coinpared to the Krapina-Vindija saniple and to Neanderthals froni Westerii Eiii-ope, the Suba-

lyuk 1 mandible appears less robust; it rnanifests 3 niixture of plesioinorphic

features (e.g. lack of a chin eminence. retreating syinphysis). traits usually

employed to assert neanderthal affinities as they seeni to be constant in the group

EN El. CEWI ENARIO DE LA CLILVA DE EL. CASrII.I.0: EL OCAS0 DE L-OS NEANDERT?\l.ES

ANNE-MARIE TILLIER. ZSOLT MESTER. DOMINIQUE HENRY-GAMBIER ILDIKO PAP. ARPAD RINCER AND GYULA GYENIS

95

Fig. 4: The Suba-lyuk I adiilt mandible (superior view): while there is no planum alveolare on the posterior surface, the anterior profile of the symphysis is slightly retreating and the chin eminence is lacking.

Fig. 5: The Subû-lyuk 2 child skull (lateral view): the sagitttal curvaturc of the frontal bone is closer to that of Upper Paleolithic children than to that of young Neanderthals. while the convexity of the occipital squama recalls

the morphology of the latter. The post-bregmatic flattening extends antero-posteriorly and laterally.

(i.e. large retromolar space and backwards positioning of the mental foramen below M l ) and one modern-like feature, the presence of an incun~atio mandibctlae anterior (Pap er al. 1996). Metric and morphological study of other bones demonstrate that the remains from Suba-lyuk 1 are in the same range of variation found among modem populations (Pap et al. 1996).

From the child Suba-lyuk 2, Ca. 3yrs old at death, a cranium missing the basilar part of the occipital, two maxilla and the left nasal bone are preserved. Like Palaeolithic children of the same developmental age, the specimen (fig. 5) exhibits juvenile traits (e.g. lack of bone superstructures, hight sagittal frontal curvature) that illustrate similarities with other populations including modern humans. However Suba-lyuk 2 is closer to Neanderthals in some aspects (e.g. rounded shape of the skull in posterior view, occipital morphology). Compared to other young Neanderthals, the Hungarian child is distinguishable by his smaller teeth and some unique characteristics such as an extreme post-bregmatic flattening (ante mortern cornpression?) and a geminate deciduous canine, a dental abnormalities previously described by Bruszt (1953).

In conclusion the morphology of the adult and immature Suba-lyuk hominids, although generally close to that of Neanderthals, provide evidence of the mosaic morphology and large v'uiation of the Middle Palaeolithic European sample (Pap et

al. 1996). They can be considered as belonging to a vanant of the Neanderthal group.


THE MIDDLE-LJPPER PALAEOLITHIC TRANSITION IN HUNGARY: AN ANTHROPOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVE

2. The Istiill6s-k6 tooth The IstBll6s-k6 Cave (fig. 1 and 6) located in the Szalajka valley was first

explored in 191 1 and 15 seasons were later conducted by different scholars. Such a situation can explain the fact that the stratigraphic scheme is not so clear. Following

1. Voros (1984, in press) the IstLill6s-k6 deposits consists of 6 layers (fig. 7) and the faunal remains contains predominantly Ursus spelaeus. This assemblage is considered as the type locality of the IstBll6s-k6 substage of the vertebrate stratigraphy (Jhnossy 1986). At the bottom the archaeological assemblage of layer 1 contains split-based bone points described as Aurignacian 1 of the Bükk Mountains. At the top, layer III brings bone points of MladeE type called Aurignacian II. Such typological inferences are supported by radiocarbon determinations (Adams 2002; Ringer 2002) that would place the Aungnacian 1 between 44.000 and 33.000 yrs BP, the Aurignacian II between 32.000 and 28.000 yrs BP.

fig. 6


A N N E hIARIE TILLIER. ZSOLT hIESTER. DOblINIQUE HENRY-GAMBIER ILDIKO PAP, ARPAD RINCER AND GYUL.A GYENIS

97

Fig. 6: Istitll6s-ki3 Cave: trenches of L. Vértes' excavations in 195C-1951 in the antenor part of the cave (after

Vénes 1955a: Abb. 2 ) . Fig. 7: Ist6ll6s-li6 Cave: traiisvcrsal section (after Vértes 1955a: Ahb. 3b). Layers from 1. Voros (1984. in press):

1: black and broaii humus. 2 : yello\v loessy clay (layer V). upper part (layer VI) more brighi contains microfauna.

3: yellowish brown clay (layer IV): 4: dark brown clay (layer 111). 5: red clay wiih microfauna (layer 11). 6: light

brown clay (layer 1). 7: calcareous dehris.

Fig. 8: The Ist5ll6c-k6 ripht loivrr permanent inolar is a four cusped tooth and ils occliisal morphology is similar

to that of both Neanderihals and early Modern Hunians.

Fig. 9: The GorGrnhiily-Tapolca occipital bone in lateral view is characterized by a niodern sagittal profile.

Fig. 10: Exocranial view of Gorombiily-Tapolca occipital bone showinp the lack of Neanderthal featiires ( e .8

suprainiac fossa and occipital torus).


A non-adult clnvicle was recovered froin a sounding by J. Hillebrand in 191 I ncarby the upper linlit of the Pleistocene sequence. Following 1. V6rGs (in press), this iinmatiire bone belongs to layer VI. Iluring the excavations conducted by

L.V&fes in 1950. the resultaiit hominid discovery was an isol:itcd tooth fouiid at 60

cm depth in the upper sequence. With regard to its location, tliis tootli originated

from the lower part of layer lV (Voros in press). The Istall6s-k6 tooth was described

in detail by M. Malan (1 955) who took 34 crown measurements arid concluded on

itç attribution to Horno sr~picr7 .~ . Furtherniore F. Smith (1984: 178) noted that the

Ixtlillos-k6 molar lacked an ariterior fovea and had a bucco-lingual diameter closer

to tliat of Upper Palaeolithic teeth.

The Istall6s-kô tooth (fig. 8) is a germ of a second lower permanent molar with

a complete crown which can probably be attributed to a child ca. 8-10 years old at

death. It is a four-cusped tooth with a slight anterior fovea located between the two niesial cusps. A comparative study with other Palaeolithic teeth allows to put the

Istall6s-ko tooth close to the lower lirnit of variation of the overall sample. No !

specific rnetric or morpliological features differentiate this tooth frorn both I

Neanderthal and Modern teeth.

3. The Gorornbiily-Tapolca occipital bone The region located nearby the city of Miskolc (fig. 1 ) contains 5 rock-slielters

and only one of them (denominated III) has yielded archaeological artefacts?. The

excavations were conducted therc by G. Megay (from the Miskolc Museuin) in

1931 and the resultant discoveries were unp~iblished. J. Hillebrand (1935: 24) described this site as G6romboly-Tapolca shelter and mentioned the presence of one

human occipital bone, flints, and two perforated red deer teeth. Al1 the inaterial was

attributed by this author to Late Aurignacian3.

However such a cultural attribution was later discussed by L. Vertes (1955b:

265) and A. Thoma (1957): both authors thought that the hominid remain originated

frorn layer III a yellow-brown clay. An analysis of the deposits originally collected

by Megny was done in 1962 (Vértes et al. 1965) and two levels were identified, the

Lipper oiic dated to the Late Wurm and the lower one to Wurin 1. Following Vértes,

the archaeological assemblage gathered by Hillebrand could be referred to "the

' We were unahlr f o find tliis specimen within the osteological collections kept in the Huiigari;iii Natural History Museum in Budapest 7 . - rhe sile i \ olso riailied Miskolc-Tnpolca Cave in the Iiter;iture.

If should be reiiiinded thnt Late Aurignacian uîed in 1915 correspvnds tod;iy ra the G~ivetf ian.

EN EL CENTENAKIO DE LA CIIEVA DE EL CASTILLO: EL OC/\SO DE LOS NEANDERTALES

. \NNt:hlAKIF! 1'II.LII;R. ZSOI-T AlESTtK. DOhlTNIQUE HENRY-(i4hlBIEK IJ.rlIK(> P.4P ARP:^» KINGER ANI> C;Y(!LA tii ENTS

99

Cave Gi-avcttiun"', while the unretouched flakes frotn the lower level could he

i~ttributed to a Mousterian asseiiiblage .rctlsu I(ito.

The Giir6mb6ly-Tapolca specjmen was first described by Thonla (1957). The speciinen is ii nearly complete occipital boiie of ail adult with a large portion of the

squailious part and the nuchal plane, lacking its basiliir part (fig. 9 and 10). Relevant

Nennderthal traits such as the occipital bunning. the suprainiac fossa. occipital torus

and the larribdoid flattening are coinpletely lacking on the Hung~irian speciinen. On

the inrier surface of the bone, the left cerebellar fossa appears larger that the right

one. The (3oriiinb6ly-Tiipolca occipital bone is rclatively thicli but i~ianifests a total

iiiorphological pattern that clearly assigns it with modern Horrio supiens. Therefore

i t u,ould be iiiiportarit to obtain an age estimation of the specimen by absolute

ciiitiiig iiietliods.

1. The Balla child skeleton Thc Balla Cave is located (fig. 1) at the back of the Balla mountain near Répashuta

in a liiiiestone area. During a sounding planed by J. Hillebrand in 1909 (fig. 1 l), woi-ken discovered. within ii yellow layer nch of artic microfauna, few skull elements

iind long bones of a child. Hillebrand excavated the rest of the child skeleton and made

preliminary observatioiis on the field: the child was lying on its left side and inost of

the bones were found in anatonfical connection without any marks of rodents or carnivores. Hillebrand (191 1: 521-522) could not exclude the presence of an

intentional burial, although there were no traces of archaeological (or ntual) findings

associated to the body deposit. 111 191 1 a few untypical blades were found in the same

layer but they were not directly iissociated to the body deposit. Later from a deepest

layer in the back of the cave was recovered a lithic assemblage with foliate tools and

this discovery led Hillebrand (1935: 13) to date the body deposit to the Magdalenian.

4 few decades later. an age determinatiori was attempted for the "Szeletian :issernblage" found i i l the centre of the Balla cave: the results were between 22.300

-c 180 and 20.000 I 190 yrs BP (Vogel & Waterbolk 1972: 63). Vértes suggested

that such results could rather indicatr an age for the human remains than for the

Szeletian coiitcxt (Geyh et c d . 1969: 9-10). If there is apparently a general

agreement in the literature about the attribution of the Balla specimen to the Upper

' In the 1950s. M . Gihori has deiiii~ristiated that the ro-c;illed "hlagdalenian" asseiiihlapes of Hunpary have genetical links with

the Eastern Gravettian of Central arid Extern Europe. He lias proposed the denornination of "Cave Gravettien" for the

Piliss~into iypc indusirirï (Gabori Xr Ciibori 1957: 68-71), L. Vértcs i 1965: 202-2031 assigned lhese industries to an indepzn-

derit cirilization of the Late Palarolithic of Hungsry named "Pilis,zantii Culture".

EN EL CENTENARIO I>E LA CI JEVA DE El- CASTILLO: EL. 0C4SO DE 1.0S NEANDERïAI.ES


fig. 1 I

Fig. 11: Balla Cave: Longitudinal section (after Kadié 1934: Fig. 30). + = Hurnan remains. 1: red and yellow plastic

clay. 2: greenish grey clay with limestone debris. 3: light yellow clay with limestone debris. 4: yellowish grey

calcareous clay. 5: lighi brown humus. 6: dark hrown huiiiiis. 7: Holocene grave. 8: Prehistoric grave.

Fig. 12: The state of preservation of the Balla child skeleton.

Fig. 13: The Balla skiill (frontal view) is fully modern in its morphology.

Fig. 14: Remete-FelsB Cave : (after Gabori-CsAnk 1983: Fig. 8).

Fig. 1.5: Reniete-FelsB Cave : transversal section (after Gabori-Csank 1983: Fig. II). 1: black forest soil. 2: brown

huniiis. 3: grey layer with limestone debris. 4: yellowish loessy layer with limestone debris. 5: brownish yellow

layer with liniestone hlocks.


ANNE-MARIE TILLIER. ZSOLT MESTER. DOMINIQUE HENRY-GAMBIER ILDIKO PAP. ARPAD RINGER AND GYULA GYENIS

101

Palaeolithic, its accurate chronological position remains uncertain as illustrated by

a reference to the Cave Gravettian made by Thoma (1972: 224).

The child skeleton virtually complete (fig.12) was never fully described since

the first report made by Hillebrand: this author assigned the specimen to "Homo pt-ittiigetlius" representative of Homo sapiens from the "Upper Diluvium" (1911: 520). A re-examination of the skeleton, together with a process of direct dating, were recently decided in order to clarify the chronological and phylogenetic

assignment of the specimen (Tillier et al. in prep.).

The cranium (fig.12) lacks its midfacial area and basal part while the mandible

and several long bones are well preserved. The age estimation matching the dental development and various indicators of skeletal age with modem standard charts indicate that the Balla child died approximately at 1 year old. The overall cranial shape (fig. 13) is similar to that of modem children (vault relatively high and narrow, shape "en maison" of the skull in posterior view) and differs strongly from that of

the Suba-lyuk 2 child. In addition the Balla mandible exhibits a fully modem chin.

The post-cranial skeleton on the whole appears rather gracile and its overall morphology supports a modern affiliation. Indeed the long bones of the Balla infant appear similar to those of recent individuals of the same developmental age. However the immature Neanderthal post-cranial skeletons from Western Europe (e.g. Roc de Marsal, La Ferrassie 6 , Teshik-Tash) document an increase of the robusticity pattern (i.e. development of muscular attachments, increase of cortical thickness in long bones) as an age-related change (Tillier 1999). Furthermore individual variation in terms of long bone robusticity between two young


102 THE MIDDLE-UPPER PALAEOLITHIC TRANSITION IN HUNGARY: AN ANTHROPOLOGICAL PERSPEnlVE

individuals of close age development within a single site cannot be neglected, as recently shown by the two children originated from the Grotte des Enfants, an Epigravettian Italian site (Henry-Gambier 2001).

In sum the Balla immature skeleton does not provide evidence of traits with taxonomic significance supporting a clear distinction from recent infants. The question to resolve concerns its reliable datations.

3. HOMINID REMAINS FROM THE BUDA MOUNTAINS

The Remete-Fels6 cave, situated nearby the small city of Mhriaremete in the Northwestem part of the Buda Mountains (fig. 1) was excavated in 1969-1970 by V. Ghbori-Cshnk. The archaeological deposits consisted of 5 levels and 3 of them were attributed to the Pleistocene (fig. 14). Layer 4 contains charcoals, a few lithic and faunal remains. The occurrence of Ovibos pallantis allowed V. Ghbori-Cshnk to consider this layer as transitional, i.e. "Altwürm", before the maximum of Wurm 1 (Ghbori-Csank 1983: 265, 1993: 62). Recently Voros (2000: 190) suggested that the attribution to Ovibos pallantis should be reconsidered in favor of a small bison and according to this author the fauna must be dated to the Middle Wurm (to the Szeleta substage of the vertebrate stratigraphy).

The anterior area of the cave that yielded the faunal assemblage brought also a few artefacts, 9 tools and 3 flakes. This archaeological assemblage was designed as Jankovichian (Ghbori-Cshnk 1983, 1993). During a study of the faunal remains M. Kretzoi identified three hominid isolated teeth assigned to "Homo neandertalensis King" in a report published by Ghbori-Cshnk (1983: 263)6. This author noticed (269): "La grande portée de ces dents réside (...) dans le fait qu'elles sont authentifiées par les données stratigraphiques et paléontologiques précises et qu'elles ont été mises au jour au milieu d'une industrie "Szeletien de Transdanubie" (!)".

The Remete-Fels6 teeth are right lower incisors and canine (fig 16 and 17) belonging to an adult specimen and they are highly wom (fig. 18). No specific metric or morphological features differentiate the Remete-Fels6 lower teeth from both Neanderthal and Upper Palaeolithic modem teeth.

The date expected originale from the skeleton itself.

An addifional lower tooih was identified during our study at the Hisiorical Museum of Budapest : it is an upper permanent left canine and from ils overall morphology we can assume that it derived from a younger adult individual. Unfonunaiely its pmvenience is unknown.

EN EL CENTENARIO DE LA CUEVA DE EL CASTJLLO: EL OCASO DE LOS NEANDERTALES

ANNE-MARIE TILLIER. ZSOLT MESTER. DOMINIQUE HENRY-GAMBIER ILDIKO PAP. ARPAD RINGER AND GYULA GYENIS

103

fig. 16

fig. 17

fig. 18

Fig. 16: Remete-Felsb - right lower permanent teeth: Buccal view - 1: 12. 2: 1,. C .

Fig. 17: Remete-Felsô - right lower permanent teeth: Lingual view - 1: 12, 2: 1,. C . Fig. 18: Remete-Fels6 - right lower C - the occlusal view illustrates the high degree of attrition.


THE MIDDLE-UPPER PALAEOLITHIC TRANSITION IN HUNGARY: A N ANTHROPOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVE

4. CONCLUDING REMARKS

Human relics from the Hungarian Middle and Upper Palaeolithic are scarce and derived from old excavations. There are not many reliable radiometric dates and therefore the arguments brought to establish the chronology are based on

traditional dating methods such as faunal data or identification of lithic industries.

In the literature the equation Neanderthal -"transitional industry" (i.e.

Chatelperronian, Uluzzian, Szeletian) and anatomically modem humans- Early Aurignacian appears as dominant model. Serious questions can be raised about a close relationship between biological and cultural groups, in either Western or Central Europe (Tillier 1990, Churchill and Smith 2000, Henry-Gambier 2002,

Henry-Gambier et al. 2004).

An examination of the Hungarian record indicates that from the available anthropological documentation there is no justification for identifying the bearers of the "transitional" Szeletian industry as Neanderthals. The correlation classically employed to explain the cultural changes in South-western Europe at the beginning of Upper Palaeolithic cannot be applied to the material available from Hungary. However,

in our opinion, the Hungarian fossil record does not provide substantial support for some degree of local continuity between Neanderthals and early modem humans.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

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BARTUCZ, L. (1940): Der Urmensch der Mussolini-H6hle. In: Bartucz er al. 1940. 49-105.

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J. & VENDL. A. (1940): Die Mussolini-Hohle (Subalyuk) bei Cserép/olu. Budapest: Editio lnstituti Regii Hungarici Geologici (Geologica Hungarica, Series Palaeontologica, 14).

BRUSZT, P. (1953): A felsd iejszemfogak kett6~6tts6g616l. Fogorvosi Szernle 7. 1-4;

CHURCHILL, S. E. & SMITH, F. H. (2000): Makers of the Early Aurignacian of Europe. Yearbook of Physical

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

Investigation on the original fossils was possible through the couriesy of the curators: A. Endrüdi, D i t o r of

the Depamnent of Praehistorical and Rotohistorical Archaeology (Historical Museum of Budapest): 1. Pap, Director of the Department of Anthropology (Hungarian Naiural History Museum). and the Herman 0116 Museum in Miskolc.

This research was supponed by the Hungarian program "Revision of the Szeletian and Aurigmcian Cultures of the Hunganan BU&& Mountains. Developntent and Contiuiry in the Framework of Paleo-Human Ecology" (FKFP 0044/1999) directed by A. Ringer; the Department of Anthropology of the Hungarian Natural History Museum; in France the CNRS (LAPP-UMR 5199PACEA) and the OML program directed by F. D'Emco (IPGQ- UMR5 199PACEA). D. Henry-Gambier and A-m. Tillier are deeply grateful to al1 their Hungarian colleagues for their

kind hospitality and sharing with them time for fmitful discussions. Finally we would like to thank Prof. V. Cabrera de Valdes who invited two of us (D.H-G. and A-m.T.) to participate to the Conference hold in Santonia en 2003.


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