Department of Anthropology, The University of Tulsa, 800 South Tucker Drive, Tulsa, OK, 74104, USA; Department of Human Evolution, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Deutscher Platz 6, Leipzig, 04103, Germany; Department of Anthropology, University of California, Davis, One Shields Ave., Davis, CA, 95616, USA.
Archaeology Department, New Bulgarian University, 21 Montevideo Str., Sofia, 1618, Bulgaria.
J Hum Evol. 2022 Jun;167:103198. doi: 10.1016/j.jhevol.2022.103198. Epub 2022 May 6.
The expansion of Homo sapiens and our interaction with local environments, including the replacement or absorption of local populations, is a key component in understanding the evolution of our species. Of special interest are artifacts made from hard animal tissues from layers at Bacho Kiro Cave (Bulgaria) that have been attributed to the Initial Upper Paleolithic. The Initial Upper Paleolithic is characterized by Levallois-like blade technologies that can co-occur with bone tools and ornaments and likely represents the dispersal of H. sapiens into several regions throughout Eurasia starting by 45 ka or possibly earlier. Osseous artifacts from the Initial Upper Paleolithic are important components of this record and have the potential to contribute to our understanding of group interactions and population movements. Here, we present a zooarchaeological, technological, and functional analysis of the diverse and sizable osseous artifact collection from Bacho Kiro Cave. Animal raw material sources are consistent with taxa found within the faunal assemblage including cervids, large bovids, and cave bears. A variety of bone tool morphologies, both formal and informal, indicate a diverse technological approach for conducting various on-site activities, many of which were focused on the processing of animal skins, likely for cold weather clothing. Technological flexibility is also evident in the manufacture of personal ornaments, which were made primarily from carnivore teeth, especially cave bear, though herbivore teeth and small beads are also represented. The osseous artifacts from Bacho Kiro Cave provide a series of insights into the bone technology and indirectly on the social aspects of these humans in southeast Europe, and when placed within the broader Initial Upper Paleolithic context, both regional and shared behaviors are evidently indicating widespread innovation and complexity. This is especially significant given the location and chronology of the site in the context of H. sapiens dispersals.
人类的扩张以及我们与当地环境的相互作用，包括对当地人口的取代或同化，是理解人类物种进化的关键因素。特别引人关注的是来自 Bacho Kiro 洞穴（保加利亚）各层的、由硬动物组织制成的人工制品，这些人工制品被归因于初始旧石器时代晚期。初始旧石器时代晚期的特点是具有勒瓦娄哇技术的似石叶的刀片技术，这些技术可能与骨工具和装饰品共存，并且可能代表了 H. sapiens 向欧亚大陆几个地区的扩散，这一过程始于 45 千年前，或者更早。初始旧石器时代晚期的骨骼人工制品是该记录的重要组成部分，有可能有助于我们理解群体互动和人口流动。在这里，我们对 Bacho Kiro 洞穴中多样且数量庞大的骨骼人工制品收藏进行了动物考古学、技术和功能分析。动物原料来源与动物群组合中发现的分类群一致，包括鹿、大型牛科动物和洞熊。各种形式的骨工具形态，无论是正式的还是非正式的，都表明了在进行各种现场活动时，采用了多样化的技术方法，其中许多活动都集中在动物皮的处理上，可能是为了寒冷天气的衣物。技术的灵活性也体现在个人饰品的制造上，这些饰品主要由食肉动物的牙齿制成，尤其是洞熊的牙齿，尽管也有食草动物的牙齿和小珠子。Bacho Kiro 洞穴的骨骼人工制品为我们提供了一系列关于骨骼技术的深入了解，并间接地了解了这些东南欧人类的社会方面，当将其置于更广泛的初始旧石器时代晚期背景下时，无论是区域性的还是共享的行为都明显表明了广泛的创新和复杂性。考虑到该遗址在人类扩散中的位置和年代，这一点尤为重要。
