Climate change has had an influence on hominin evolution for quite some time and led to several speciation and adaptation events. With the later hominin species climate change has less of an impact...Show moreClimate change has had an influence on hominin evolution for quite some time and led to several speciation and adaptation events. With the later hominin species climate change has less of an impact, and extinction theories for the Neanderthals tend to lean in other directions. Despite this, the role of climate change in the Neanderthal extinction is not clear. Older research tended to be focused on global climate records that might not be representative of the smaller climate differences across highly geographically diverse continents. This research provides an overview of local palaeoenvironmental reconstructions for the period of the Middle to Upper Palaeolithic transition in research from 2015-2021 and focuses on the different proxies and climate factors, the stability of the climate, the scale of the research performed, and the perceived influence of climate change on local Neanderthal extinctions. These will be compared per major region (Iberian Peninsula, Apennine Peninsula, Balkan Peninsula, and mid-latitude Europe) in order to determine if any patterns exist. The results show a diversity in the applied proxies and a general trend of deteriorating climate around the time of the Neanderthal extinction. The majority of the research concludes that climate change did not play a major role in the Neanderthal extinction. Despite this, there are some anomalous locations that do not agree with the general consensus this overview produced. Future research at these locations could provide information to nuance the current picture of climate change or corroborate the overall consensus.Show less
The Neanderthal extinction is not fully understood and there is no common consensus on the date of the demise of Neanderthals in Europe. In the Crimean peninsula, located in south-eastern Europe,...Show moreThe Neanderthal extinction is not fully understood and there is no common consensus on the date of the demise of Neanderthals in Europe. In the Crimean peninsula, located in south-eastern Europe, there is evidence for a longer persistence. This thesis investigates the late Neanderthal persistence on the Crimean peninsula. The foraging radius and the settlement patterns of the Crimean Micoquian and the Western Crimean Mousterian are discussed together with analysis of the known radiocarbon dates to gain understanding of the correlation between them. To test the hypothesis that the foraging radius impacted the longer persistence of Neanderthals populations, secondary literature has been analyzed regarding the environmental, lithic and faunal assemblages. The results show that the foraging radius is difficult to determine but it did not have a major influence on the persistence of Neanderthals in Crimea. The radiocarbon datings together with the environmental data concur with the later persistence of Neanderthal populations. Moreover, the Crimean Micoquian was highly adapted in Crimea and especially the mountainous region. The adaptation together with the seasonal movement of prey led to more interaction between Neanderthal populations, which resulted in a potentially higher fitness. This needs to be tested in future research by, for example, the extraction of aDNA from samples of soil of Late Middle Palaeolithic sites. The limitations with this method of testing are the lack of Neanderthal fossils dating to this late period and the presence of palimpsest in many of the Late Middle Palaeolithic sites. Additionally, Russian and Ukrainian literature from previous excavations needs to be translated and re-evaluated to gain more knowledge about the Crimean Middle Palaeolithic as a whole.Show less