Read the following press statement by Oxford University:
"The first modern humans in Europe were playing musical
instruments and showing artistic creativity as early as 40,000
years ago, according to new research from Oxford and Tübingen
universities.
The researchers have obtained important new radiocarbon dates
for bones found in the same archaeological layers as a variety of
musical instruments. The instruments take the form of flutes made
from the bird bones and mammoth ivory. They were excavated at a key
site in Germany, which is widely believed to have been occupied by
some of first modern humans to arrive in Europe.
In a paper published in the Journal of Human Evolution, the
researchers describe the new dating results for animal bones,
excavated in the same archaeological layers as the instruments and
early art, at Geißenklösterle Cave in the Swabian Jura of southern
Germany. The animal bones bear cuts and marks from human hunting
and eating.
The new dates were obtained by Professor Tom Higham and his team
at Oxford University, using an improved ultrafiltration method
designed to remove contamination from the collagen preserved in the
bones. The researchers show that the Aurignacian, a culture linked
with early modern humans and dating to the Upper Paleolithic
period, began at the site between 42,000 and 43,000 years ago.
High-resolution dating gave clue
The new dating evidence, obtained from bones in the site,
provided results that are 2,000 to 3,000 years older than
previously thought. So far these dates are the earliest for the
Aurignacian and predate equivalent sites from Italy, France,
England and other regions.
Lead author Professor Higham from Oxford University said:
'High-resolution dating of this kind is essential for establishing
a reliable chronology for testing ideas to help explain the
expansion of modern humans into Europe, and the processes that led
to the wide range of cultural innovations, including the advent of
figurative art and music.'
Professor Nick Conard of Tübingen University, who was excavator
at the site, said: 'These results are consistent with a hypothesis
we made several years ago that the Danube River was a key corridor
for the movement of humans and technological innovations into
central Europe between 40,000 and 45,000 years ago. Geißenklösterle
is one of several caves in the region that has produced important
examples of personal ornaments, figurative art, mythical imagery
and musical instruments. The new dates prove the great antiquity of
the Aurignacian in Swabia.'
Artistic innovation in old Germany
The study results indicate that modern humans entered the Upper
Danube region before an extremely cold climatic phase at around
39,000 to 40,000 years ago. Previously, researchers had argued that
modern humans initially migrated up the Danube immediately after
this event.
'Modern humans during the Aurignacian period were in central
Europe at least 2,000 to 3,000 years before this climatic
deterioration, when huge icebergs calved from ice sheets in the
northern Atlantic and temperatures plummeted,' said Professor
Higham. 'The question is what effect this downturn might have had
on the people in Europe at the time.'
The results are also important for considering the relationship
between early moderns and Neanderthals in Europe. Despite a major
effort to identify archaeological signatures of interaction between
Neanderthals and modern humans in this region, researchers have yet
to identify indications of any cultural contact or interbreeding in
this part of Europe.
The results suggest that the Danube Valley is a plausible
homeland for the Aurignacian, with the Swabian caves producing the
earliest record of technological and artistic innovations that are
characteristic of this period. Whether the many innovations found
in Swabia were stimulated by climatic conditions, competition
between modern humans and Neanderthals, or by social and cultural
influences that formed quite independently remain a central focus
of their research."