Papers by Janina Bösken
The culture and dispersal of early modern humans are top priorities of many research agendas. Whi... more The culture and dispersal of early modern humans are top priorities of many research agendas. While the debate primarily centers on genetics, dispersal trajectories and points of earliest presence, the context (climate, landscape, demography, culture) of the colonizing process is usually considered in a coarse-grained manner or even ignored. To understand the context of human dispersal and to decipher relevant push and pull factors requires the consideration of multiple environmental proxies and the research on different geographic scales. In this paper, we present the Late Quaternary Carpathian Basin as a specific context area of early modern human dispersal into Europe. The multitude of Early Upper Paleolithic sites in this region suggests that it was part of a major dispersal corridor along the Danube and its catchment area some 40,000 years ago. The Aurignacian land-use model describes the interaction of early modern humans with their environment. One important parameter is the specific distribution of archaeological sites that exemplifies their boundedness to specific eco-zones. To reconstruct the latter, paleo-environmental proxies and archaeological data are examined together in regional vector models and in a GIS based landscape archaeology approach. In the final section, we present the Carpathian Basin as an idiosyncratic habitat that mirrors the dynamics and complexity of early modern human adaptation.
Conference Presentations by Janina Bösken
The Wadi Sabra has yielded late Pleistocene sediments of fluvial and fluvio-aeolian origin eviden... more The Wadi Sabra has yielded late Pleistocene sediments of fluvial and fluvio-aeolian origin evidencing continuous aggradation between 45-20 ka calBP that correlates with Lisan lake level high stands. The combination of various palaeoenvironmental proxies provides arguments for alternating and temporary moister climatic conditions in the Wadi Sabra than today encouraging continuous human occupation during Upper Palaeolithic and Epipalaeolithic times. This period of climatic amelioration coincides with the dispersal of modern humans out of Africa and with the repeated human occupations of the study area evidenced through the numerous Upper Palaeolithic and
Epipalaeolithic sites.
Contemporaneous pollen records located at the East Mediterranean coast and the nearby Dead Sea evidence predominantly dry climate conditions with a general trend from moderate climate around 45 ka calBP to very dry and cold conditions around 20 ka calBP [12]. At the same time, the southern Levant was characterised by a mixed Chenopodiaceae and Artemisia steppe and a relatively sparse tree cover.
The many Wadi Sabra sites dating to MIS 3-2 illustrate that prehistoric humans were well equipped to live in, adapt to and interact with this challenging environment. They devolved adaptive strategies such as microlithisation and increased residential mobility as a response to palaeoenvironmental changes.
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Papers by Janina Bösken
Conference Presentations by Janina Bösken
Epipalaeolithic sites.
Contemporaneous pollen records located at the East Mediterranean coast and the nearby Dead Sea evidence predominantly dry climate conditions with a general trend from moderate climate around 45 ka calBP to very dry and cold conditions around 20 ka calBP [12]. At the same time, the southern Levant was characterised by a mixed Chenopodiaceae and Artemisia steppe and a relatively sparse tree cover.
The many Wadi Sabra sites dating to MIS 3-2 illustrate that prehistoric humans were well equipped to live in, adapt to and interact with this challenging environment. They devolved adaptive strategies such as microlithisation and increased residential mobility as a response to palaeoenvironmental changes.
Epipalaeolithic sites.
Contemporaneous pollen records located at the East Mediterranean coast and the nearby Dead Sea evidence predominantly dry climate conditions with a general trend from moderate climate around 45 ka calBP to very dry and cold conditions around 20 ka calBP [12]. At the same time, the southern Levant was characterised by a mixed Chenopodiaceae and Artemisia steppe and a relatively sparse tree cover.
The many Wadi Sabra sites dating to MIS 3-2 illustrate that prehistoric humans were well equipped to live in, adapt to and interact with this challenging environment. They devolved adaptive strategies such as microlithisation and increased residential mobility as a response to palaeoenvironmental changes.