Homo sapiens reached the higher latitudes of Europe by 45,000 years ago

Dorothea Mylopotamitaki, Marcel Weiss (), Helen Fewlass, Elena Irene Zavala, Hélène Rougier, Arev Pelin Sümer, Mateja Hajdinjak, Geoff M. Smith, Karen Ruebens, Virginie Sinet-Mathiot, Sarah Pederzani, Elena Essel, Florian S. Harking, Huan Xia, Jakob Hansen, André Kirchner, Tobias Lauer, Mareike Stahlschmidt, Michael Hein, Sahra Talamo, Lukas Wacker, Harald Meller, Holger Dietl, Jörg Orschiedt, Jesper V. Olsen, Hugo Zeberg, Kay Prüfer, Johannes Krause, Matthias Meyer, Frido Welker, Shannon P. McPherron, Tim Schüler and Jean-Jacques Hublin ()
Additional contact information
Dorothea Mylopotamitaki: Collège de France
Marcel Weiss: Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology
Helen Fewlass: Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology
Elena Irene Zavala: Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology
Hélène Rougier: California State University Northridge
Arev Pelin Sümer: Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology
Mateja Hajdinjak: Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology
Geoff M. Smith: Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology
Karen Ruebens: Collège de France
Virginie Sinet-Mathiot: Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology
Sarah Pederzani: Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology
Elena Essel: Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology
Florian S. Harking: University of Copenhagen
Huan Xia: Lanzhou University
Jakob Hansen: University of Copenhagen
André Kirchner: Energy and Geology of Lower Saxony (LBEG)
Tobias Lauer: Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology
Mareike Stahlschmidt: Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology
Michael Hein: Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology
Sahra Talamo: Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology
Lukas Wacker: ETH Zurich
Harald Meller: Landesamt für Denkmalpflege und Archäologie Sachsen-Anhalt – Landesmuseum für Vorgeschichte
Holger Dietl: Landesamt für Denkmalpflege und Archäologie Sachsen-Anhalt – Landesmuseum für Vorgeschichte
Jörg Orschiedt: Landesamt für Denkmalpflege und Archäologie Sachsen-Anhalt – Landesmuseum für Vorgeschichte
Jesper V. Olsen: University of Copenhagen
Hugo Zeberg: Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology
Kay Prüfer: Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology
Johannes Krause: Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology
Matthias Meyer: Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology
Frido Welker: University of Copenhagen
Shannon P. McPherron: Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology
Tim Schüler: Thuringian State Office for the Preservation of Historical Monuments and Archaeology
Jean-Jacques Hublin: Collège de France

Nature, 2024, vol. 626, issue 7998, 341-346

Abstract: Abstract The Middle to Upper Palaeolithic transition in Europe is associated with the regional disappearance of Neanderthals and the spread of Homo sapiens. Late Neanderthals persisted in western Europe several millennia after the occurrence of H. sapiens in eastern Europe1. Local hybridization between the two groups occurred2, but not on all occasions3. Archaeological evidence also indicates the presence of several technocomplexes during this transition, complicating our understanding and the association of behavioural adaptations with specific hominin groups4. One such technocomplex for which the makers are unknown is the Lincombian–Ranisian–Jerzmanowician (LRJ), which has been described in northwestern and central Europe5–8. Here we present the morphological and proteomic taxonomic identification, mitochondrial DNA analysis and direct radiocarbon dating of human remains directly associated with an LRJ assemblage at the site Ilsenhöhle in Ranis (Germany). These human remains are among the earliest directly dated Upper Palaeolithic H. sapiens remains in Eurasia. We show that early H. sapiens associated with the LRJ were present in central and northwestern Europe long before the extinction of late Neanderthals in southwestern Europe. Our results strengthen the notion of a patchwork of distinct human populations and technocomplexes present in Europe during this transitional period.

Date: 2024
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DOI: 10.1038/s41586-023-06923-7

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