Modern humans Replaced The Neandertals in the South of the Iberian Peninsula 44,000 Years Ago, 5,000 Years Earlier Than Previously Believed

The new dates, however, delimit this replacement in a range of between 45,000 and 43,000 years before the present, which raises questions about a late survival of the Neanderthals in southern Iberia . The researchers suggest that further research will be necessary to determine whether the new dates show an earlier replacement of Neandertals throughout the peninsular south or more complex scenarios of “mosaic” coexistence between the two groups over millennia.

No relation to cold phenomena

The results of the study show that the implantation of modern humans in Cueva Bajondillo is isolated from phenomena of extreme cold , the so-called Heinrich events, being later than the dates that are known of the closest event (39,500 years). “The Heinrich events represent the most intense and variable climatic conditions in Western Europe at millennium scale but in this coastal region of the Mediterranean they do not seem to be involved in the transition from Mousteriense to Auriñaciense”, comments Francisco Jimenez, CSIC researcher at the Andalusian Institute of Earth Sciences.

The location of Bajondillo Cave points to coastal corridors as a preferred route in the dispersion of the first modern humans . Chris Stringer, researcher at the National Museum of History in London (United Kingdom) and co-author of the study, says: “Finding a Aurignacian so early in a cave so close to the sea reinforces the idea that the Mediterranean coast was a route for modern humans that penetrated Europe. This reinforces the evidence that suggests that more than 40,000 years ago Homo sapiens had quickly dispersed throughout much of Eurasia. “

For his part, Arturo Morales-Muñiz, a scientist at the Autonomous University of Madrid, suggests that evidence from Cueva Bajondillo will help to draw attention to the role played by the Strait of Gibraltar as a potential route for the dispersion of modern humans. They left Africa .

Contacts and sources:
University of Seville

Citation: An early Aurignacian arrival in southwestern Europe.
Miguel Cortés-Sánchez, Francisco J. Jiménez-Espejo, María D. Simón-Vallejo, Chris Stringer, María Carmen Lozano Francisco, Antonio García-Alix, José L. Vera Peláez, Carlos P. Odriozola, José A. Riquelme-Cantal, Rubén Parrilla Giráldez, Adolfo Maestro González, Naohiko Ohkouchi, Arturo Morales-Muñiz. Nature Ecology & Evolution, 2019; DOI: 10.1038/s41559-018-0753-6