Dissertation Research: Behavioral Change and Regional Variation across the Middle to Upper Paleolithic Transition

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Under the direction of Dr. Ofer Bar-Yosef, Mr. Gilbert Tostevin will collect data for his doctoral dissertation. Approximately 40,000 years ago Upper Paleolithic archaeological industries appeared in Western Europe. They were associated with the first appearance of anatomically modern humans and contain finely made specialized stone tools as well as delicately carved bone and ivory figurines which provide compelling testimony for cognitive abilities comparable with our own. However point of origin for the Upper Paleolithic is unknown as in the process by which it entered Europe. To attempt to answer this question Mr. Tostevin will analyze 29 archaeological assemblages dating between 60,000 and 30,000 years ago from key regions in western Eurasia and the Near East. Although numerous archaeologists have worked on such materials, the research has proceeded in a regional context and employed individualized analytic techniques which make broad scale comparisons across time and space impossible. Target regions of Central Europe (specifically the Czech Republic), Eastern Europe (Ukraine), Southeastern Europe (Bulgaria) and the Levant (Israel) have been chosen because of the importance of their archaeological assemblages to this issue and to the excellent excavation techniques used to procure them. Mr. Tostevin will analyze the lithic (stone tool) components, determine degrees of similarity and then interpret these in a geographical and chronological context. In this way it should be possible gain insight into points and time of origin and rates and direction of diffusion. Rather than study artifacts alone, Mr. Tostevin will focus on the entire production process and base his comparisons more on production technique than finished product. This research is important because it will shed light on the appearance and spread of anatomically and culturally modern humans. It will produce a large and consistent data set of interest to many archaeologists and assist in training a promising young scientist.