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Cro-Magnon

Did you mean: Cro-Magnon (in anthropology), Cro-Magnons (Rock Band, 2000s), The Cro-Magnons, Cro-Magnon 1, Prehistoric art

 
Dictionary: Cro-Mag·non   (krō-măg'nən, -măn'yən) pronunciation
 
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n.

An early form of modern human (Homo sapiens) inhabiting Europe in the late Paleolithic Period and characterized by a broad face and tall stature. It is known from skeletal remains first found in the Cro-Magnon cave in southern France.

CroMagnon Cro-Mag'non adj.
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Britannica Concise Encyclopedia: Cro-Magnon
 
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Population of anatomically modern Homo sapiens dating from the Upper Paleolithic Period (c. 35,000 – 10,000 BC). First discovered in 1868 at the Cro-Magnon rock shelter in the Dordogne region in southern France, the human skeletons that came to be called Cro-Magnon are now considered representative of humans at that time. Cro-Magnons were relatively more robust and powerful than today's humans, with a somewhat larger brain capacity. The Cro-Magnons are generally associated with the Aurignacian tool industry and artistic tradition (see Aurignacian culture). Cro-Magnons seem to have been a settled people, living in caves or primitive huts and lean-tos, moving only when necessary to find new hunting or because of environmental changes. It is difficult to determine how long the Cro-Magnons lasted and what happened to them; presumably they were gradually absorbed into the European populations that came later.

For more information on Cro-Magnon, visit Britannica.com.

 
Archaeology Dictionary: Cro-Magnon Man
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[De]

A general and rarely used term that refers in a collective way to modern humans, Homo sapiens sapiens, of the period 35 000 to 10 000 years ago. The name comes from the type-site of Cro-Magnon in France where, in ad 1868, fossil human remains with Aurignacian material culture were discovered.
 
Columbia Encyclopedia: Cro-Magnon man
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Cro-Magnon man (krō-măg'nən, –măn'yən) , an early Homo sapiens (the species to which modern humans belong) that lived about 40,000 years ago. Skeletal remains and associated artifacts of the of the Aurignacian culture were first found in 1868 in Les Eyzies, Dordogne, France. Later discoveries were made in a number of caverns in the Dordogne valley, Solutré, and in Spain, Germany, and central Europe. Cro-Magnon man was anatomically identical to modern humans, but differed significantly from Neanderthals (see Neanderthal man), who disappear in the fossil about 10,000 years after the appearance of Aurignacian and other upper Paleolithic populations (e.g. the Perigordian culture). The abrupt disappearance of Neanderthal populations and the associated Mousterian technologies, the sudden appearance of modern Homo sapiens (who had arisen earlier in Africa and migrated to Europe) and the associated upper Paleolithic technologies, and the absence of transitional anatomical or technological forms have led most researchers to conclude that Neanderthals were driven to extinction through competition with Cro-Magnon or related populations. Greater linguistic competence and cultural sophistication are often suggested as characteristics tilting the competitive balance in favor of upper Paleolithic groups. Finely crafted stone and bone tools, shell and ivory jewelry, and polychrome paintings found on cave walls all testify to the cultural advancement of Cro-Magnon man. See human evolution.

 
Science Dictionary: Cro-Magnon
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(kroh-mag-nuhn, kroh-man-yuhn)

The earliest form of modern humans. The Cro-Magnons developed about 35,000 years ago and physically resembled modern Europeans. (See Homo sapiens.)

  • Cro-Magnon people painted the walls of their caves, producing some of the earliest known human art.

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    Wikipedia: Cro-Magnon
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    For the nightclub fire in Argentina, see República Cromagnon nightclub fire.
    For the Ally McBeal episode, see List of Ally McBeal episodes.
    Skull of a Cro-Magnon individual, Musée de l'Homme, Paris

    The term Cro-Magnon (pronounced /kroʊˈmæɡnən/, French [kʀomaɲɔ̃]) refers to one of the main types of anatomically modern humans of the European Upper Paleolithic and is used for fossil specimens dated approximately 40,000 to 10,000 years ago. It is taken from the cave of Crô-Magnon in southwest France, where the first specimen was found.

    The term falls outside the usual naming conventions for early humans and is often used in a general sense to describe the oldest modern people in Europe, while remaining, anthropologically speaking, a specific (but very frequent) subtype among the fossil remains. In recent scientific literature the term "early modern humans" is used instead.

    The oldest definitely dated specimen is from 34,000–36,000 years ago[1].

    Contents

    Excavations

    Female Cro-Magnon skull
    Male Cro-Magnon skull

    The geologist Louis Lartet discovered the first five skeletons in March 1868 in the Cro-Magnon rock shelter at Les Eyzies, Dordogne, France. The rock shelter contained a large cavity which protected the fossils. The type specimen from this find is Cro-Magnon 1. The skeletons showed the same high forehead, upright posture and slender (gracile) skeleton as modern humans. Other specimens have since come to light in other parts of Europe and in the Middle East. From a genetic perspective, the European individuals probably descended from an East African origin via South Asia, Central Asia, the Middle East and North Africa [3] [2] (cromagnoid populations of Mechta El Arbi and Afalou bou Rummel).

    The condition and placement of the remains along with pieces of shell and animal tooth in what appears to have been pendants or necklaces raises the question of whether they were buried intentionally. If Cro-Magnons buried their dead intentionally it suggests they had a knowledge of ritual, by burying their dead with necklaces and tools, or an idea of disease and that the bodies needed to be contained.[3]

    Analysis of the pathology of the skeletons shows that the humans of this period led a physically difficult life. In addition to infection, several of the individuals found at the shelter had fused vertebrae in their necks, indicating traumatic injury; the adult female found at the shelter had survived for some time with a skull fracture. As these injuries would be life threatening even today, this suggests that Cro-Magnons believed in community support and took care of each others' injuries.[3]

    Cro-Magnon life

    Cave painting from Lascaux, France dated to approximately 16,000 years ago (Upper Paleolithic).

    Cro-Magnon were anatomically modern, only differing from their modern day descendants in Europe by their more robust physiology and slightly larger cranial capacity.[4] Of modern nationalities, Finns are closest to Cro-Magnons in terms of anthropological measurements.[5]

    Surviving Cro-Magnon artifacts include huts, cave paintings, carvings and antler-tipped spears. The remains of tools suggest that they knew how to make woven clothing. They had huts, constructed of rocks, clay, bones, branches, and animal hide/fur. These early humans used manganese and iron oxides to paint pictures and may have created the first calendar around 15,000 years ago[6].

    The flint tools found in association with the remains at Cro-Magnon have associations with the Aurignacian culture that Lartet had identified a few years before he found the skeletons.

    The Cro-Magnons must have come into contact with the Neanderthals, and are often blamed for causing the latter's extinction, although modern humans seem to have coexisted with Neanderthals for up to 60,000 years in the Levant[7] and for more than 15,000 years in France[8].

    Genetics

    A 2003 study on Cro-Magnon and Neanderthal mitochondrial DNA, published by an Italo-Spanish research team led by David Caramelli, concluded that Neanderthals were far outside the modern human range, while Cro-Magnons were well in the average of modern Europeans. MtDNA retrieved from two Cro-Magnon specimens was identified as Haplogroup N.[9] Haplogroup N is found among modern populations of the Middle East, North Africa and Central Asia, and its descendant haplogroups are found among modern Eurasian and Native American populations.[10]

    See also

    References

    1. ^ An early modern human from the Peştera cu Oase, Romania; E Trinakus &a
    2. ^ [1]Oppenheimer piece
    3. ^ a b Museum of Natural History
    4. ^ "Cro-Magnon". Encyclopædia Britannica Online. http://www.britannica.com/eb/article-9027935. 
    5. ^ Niskanen, Markku. The Origin of the Baltic-Finns from the Physical Anthropological Point of View. http://www.mankindquarterly.org/samples/niskanenbalticcorrected.pdf. 
    6. ^ according to a claim by Michael Rappenglueck, of the University of Munich (2000) [2]
    7. ^ Ofer Bar-Yosef & Bernard Vandermeersch, Scientific American, April 1993, 94-100
    8. ^ Brad Gravina et al., Nature, 438, 51-56 (2005)
    9. ^ http://www.pnas.org/cgi/content/full/100/11/6593
    10. ^ https://www3.nationalgeographic.com/genographic/atlas.html
    v • d • e
    Part of the series on Human evolution
    Hominini

    Sahelanthropus tchadensis • Orrorin tugenensis • Ardipithecus • Kenyanthropus platyops
    Australopithecines

    Australopithecus: A. anamensis • A. afarensis • A. bahrelghazali • A. africanus • A. garhi
    Paranthropus: P. aethiopicus • P. boisei • P. robustus
    Humans and Proto-humans

    Homo: H. habilis • H. rudolfensis • H. georgicus • H. ergaster • H. erectus (H. e. lantianensis • H. e. palaeojavanicus • H. e. pekinensis • H. e. nankinensis • H. e. wushanensis • H. e. yuanmouensis • H. e. soloensis) • H. cepranensis • H. antecessor • H. heidelbergensis • H. neanderthalensis • H. rhodesiensis • H. floresiensis • Archaic Homo sapiens • Anatomically modern humans (H. s. idaltu • H. s. sapiens)
    Topics: Timeline of human evolution • List of human evolution fossils • Human evolutionary genetics
    Models: Recent African origin• Multiregional evolution

    This entry is from Wikipedia, the leading user-contributed encyclopedia. It may not have been reviewed by professional editors (see full disclaimer)

     
     

    Did you mean: Cro-Magnon (in anthropology), Cro-Magnons (Rock Band, 2000s), The Cro-Magnons, Cro-Magnon 1, Prehistoric art


     

    Copyrights:

    Dictionary. The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2007, 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2007. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.  Read more
    Britannica Concise Encyclopedia. Britannica Concise Encyclopedia. © 2006 Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. All rights reserved.  Read more
    Archaeology Dictionary. The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Archaeology. Copyright © 2002, 2003 by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved.  Read more
    Columbia Encyclopedia. The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition Copyright © 2003, Columbia University Press. Licensed from Columbia University Press. All rights reserved. www.cc.columbia.edu/cu/cup/  Read more
    Science Dictionary. The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition Edited by E.D. Hirsch, Jr., Joseph F. Kett, and James Trefil. Copyright © 2002 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin. All rights reserved.  Read more
    Wikipedia. This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Cro-Magnon".  Read more

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