Population dynamics and socio-spatial organization of the Aurignacian: Scalable quantitative demographic data for western and central Europe

2019/02/13 by Isabell Schmidt, Andreas Zimmermann · 72 citations
Earth and Planetary Sciences · Social Sciences · Arts and Humanities · Psychology · #Archaeology and ancient environmental studies #Pleistocene-Era Hominins and Archaeology #Forensic Anthropology and Bioarchaeology Studies #Aurignacian #Geography #Population #Economic geography #Social connectedness #Social complexity #Context (archaeology) #Demography #Regional science #Archaeology #Sociology #Psychology #Anthropology

paper · pdf · doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0211562

published in PLoS ONE 14(2), e0211562 (Public Library of Science)

openalex publication_date 2019/02/13 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/08/01

Abstract

Demographic estimates are presented for the Aurignacian techno-complex (~42,000 to 33,000 y calBP) and discussed in the context of socio-spatial organization of hunter-gatherer populations. Results of the analytical approach applied estimate a mean of 1,500 persons (upper limit: 3,300; lower limit: 800) for western and central Europe. The temporal and spatial analysis indicates an increase of the population during the Aurignacian as well as marked regional differences in population size and density. Demographic increase and patterns of socio-spatial organization continue during the subsequent early Gravettian period. We introduce the concept of Core Areas and Extended Areas as informed analytical spatial scales, which are evaluated against additional chronological and archaeological data. Lithic raw material transport and personal ornaments serve as correlates for human mobility and connectedness in the interpretative framework of this study. Observed regional differences are set in relation with the new demographic data. Our large-scale approach on Aurignacian population dynamics in Europe suggests that past socio-spatial organization followed socially inherent rules to establish and maintain a functioning social network of extremely low population densities. The data suggest that the network was fully established across Europe during the early phase of the Gravettian, when demographic as well as cultural developments peaked.

Citations

• Demography and the Palaeolithic Archaeological Record
• Aurignacian ethno-linguistic geography of Europe revealed by personal ornaments
• At the end of the 14C time scale—the Middle to Upper Paleolithic record of western Eurasia
• The chronology of the earliest Upper Palaeolithic in northern Iberia: New insights from L'Arbreda, Labeko Koba and La Viña
• Estimates of Upper Palaeolithic meta-population size in Europe from archaeological data
• Late Pleistocene Demography and the Appearance of Modern Human Behavior
• Pleistocene Mitochondrial Genomes Suggest a Single Major Dispersal of Non-Africans and a Late Glacial Population Turnover in Europe
• The genetic history of Ice Age Europe

Cited by

• Was fire use a cultural trait of the Gravettian? New micro-archaeological data from Fuente del Salín cave (Val de San Vicente, Cantabria)
• Aurignacian [wikipedia]

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