P_03

Dating the spread of modern humans and the extiction of archaic hominins in Eurasia

Conard N¹

¹University of Tuebingen, Tübingen, Germany

By 300 ka BP anatomically modern humans evolved in Africa. This is also the time when early Neanderthals and, although the record is less well documented, early Denisovans evolved in Eurasia. Starting after 50 ka BP modern humans spread rapidly across Eurasia, and by 40 ka BP had marginalized and displaced many populations of archaic humans. Interbreeding between modern humans and both Neanderthals and Denisovans is well documented on the basis of studies of aDNA from from human fossils. At the same time the archaeological record shows a rich record of cultural innovations in both practical technologies and symbolic artifacts including personal ornaments, figurative art and musical instruments. This paper eximines the temporal patterns of these developments and addresses some of the challenges of obtaining high temporal resolution in reconstructing the extinction of Neanderthals and Denisovans and the spread of modern humans in a period near the limit of reliable radiocarbon dating.