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Cro-Magnon

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

Cro-Magnon Cro-Mag'non adj.

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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.
  • Wikipedia: Cro-Magnon
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    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 early modern humans of the European Upper Paleolithic. Current dating of Cro-Magnon bones point to more recent date 17,000 years. The earliest known remains of Cro-Magnon like humans are dated to 30,000 radiocarbon years. The name is taken from the cave of Crô-Magnon in southwest France, where the first specimen was found.

    The Cro-Magnon 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 "European early modern humans" is used instead.

    The oldest definitely dated European early modern humans (EEMH) specimen [1] with modern and archaic, possibly Neanderthal, mosaic of traits is Oase 1 from 34,000–36,000 14C years ago.[2]

    Contents

    Assemblages and specimens

    The geologist Louis Lartet discovered the first five skeletons of this type in March 1868 in the Cro-Magnon rock shelter. Other specimens have since come to light in other parts of Europe and neighboring areas.

    Cro-Magnon 1

    Female Cro-Magnon skull
    Male Cro-Magnon skull

    Cro-Magnon 1 was discovered in rock shelter at Les Eyzies, Dordogne, France. The type specimen from this find is Cro-Magnon 1 dated 28,000 years BP[3](27.680±270 BP). The skeletons showed the same high forehead, upright posture and slender (gracile) skeleton as modern humans.

    The condition and placement of the remains of Cro-Magnon 1 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.[4]

    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.[4]

    Oase 1

    The oldest EEMH remains are from Peştera cu Oase near the Iron Gates in the Danubian corridor. Oase 1 holotype revealed specific traits combining a variety of archaic Homo, derived early modern humans, and possibly Neanderthal features. Modern human attributes place it close to European early modern humans among Late Pleistocene samples. The fossil belongs to the few findings in Europe which could be directly dated and is considered the oldest known early modern human fossil from Europe. Two laboratories independently yielded collagen 14C averaging to 34,950, +990, and –890 B.P.[5] The Oase 1 mandible was discovered February 16, 2002.

    Other

    Cro-Magnon, remains of Grimaldi, found at Monaco

    All EEMH dates are direct fossil dates provided in 14C years B.P. [6]

    Not direct dates. Radiocarbon dated were elements from adjacent layers.

    • Les Roisà Mouthiers << 32 k [6]
    • La Quina Aval ≈ max 33 - 32 k (juvenile partial mandible)[6]

    Calendar years

    Other sites, assemblages or specimens: Brassempouy, La Rochette, Vogelherd. Engis, Hahnöfersand, St. Prokop, Velika Pećina [12]

    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.[13] Of modern nationalities, Finns are closest to Cro-Magnons in terms of anthropological measurements.[14]

    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[15].

    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 are often blamed for causing Neanderthals extinction. Qafzeh humans seem to have coexisted with Neanderthals for up to 60,000 years in the Levant[16] although Qafzeh are logical representative for subsaharan Africans but not for Cro-Magnon and subsequent Europeans[17]. Earlier studies[18] argue for more than 15,000 years of Neanderthal and EEMH coexistence in France[19]; newer for east-west cline of patterns between Neanderthals and EEMH. Additionally the observed reversal of Châtelperronian over Aurignacian cultures may be mistaken conclusion based on interstratified paleo-layers, or layers of sediments disrupted by earlier quasi scientific digs in cave.[20]

    Genetics

    A 2003 sequencing on two Cro-Magnons, 23 and 24,000 years old Pelosi 1 and 2, mitochondrial DNA, published by an Italo-Spanish research team led by David Caramelli, identified the mtDNA as Haplogroup N.[21] Haplogroup N is found among modern populations of the Middle East, North Africa and Central Asia, and its descendant haplogroups are found among modern North African, Eurasian, Polynesian and Native American populations.[22]

    See also

    References

    1. ^ Trinkaus, E (April 2004). "European early modern humans and the fate of the Neandertals" (Free full text). Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America 104 (18): 7367–72. doi:10.1073/pnas.0702214104. ISSN 0027-8424. PMID 17452632. PMC 1863481. http://www.pnas.org/cgi/pmidlookup?view=long&pmid=17452632. 
    2. ^ Trinkaus, E; Moldovan, O; Milota, S; Bîlgăr, A; Sarcina, L; Athreya, S; Bailey, Se; Rodrigo, R; Mircea, G; Higham, T; Ramsey, Cb; Van, Der, Plicht, J (Sep 2003). "An early modern human from the Peştera cu Oase, Romania" (Free full text). Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America 100 (20): 11231–6. doi:10.1073/pnas.2035108100. ISSN 0027-8424. PMID 14504393. PMC 208740. http://www.pnas.org/cgi/pmidlookup?view=long&pmid=14504393. 
    3. ^ [1]
    4. ^ a b Museum of Natural History
    5. ^ Trinkaus, E; Moldovan, O; Milota, S; Bîlgăr, A; Sarcina, L; Athreya, S; Bailey, Se; Rodrigo, R; Mircea, G; Higham, T; Ramsey, Cb; Van, Der, Plicht, J (Sep 2003). "An early modern human from the Peştera cu Oase, Romania" (Free full text). Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America 100 (20): 11231–6. doi:10.1073/pnas.2035108100. ISSN 0027-8424. PMID 14504393. PMC 208740. http://www.pnas.org/cgi/pmidlookup?view=long&pmid=14504393. ""When multiple measurements are undertaken, the mean result can be determined through averaging the activity ratios. For Oase 1, this provides a weighted average activity ratio of 〈14a〉 = 1.29 ± 0.15%, resulting in a combined OxA-GrA 14C age of 34,950, +990, and –890 B.P."". 
    6. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Higham, T; Ramsey, Cb; Karavanić, I; Smith, Fh; Trinkaus, E (Jan 2006). "Revised direct radiocarbon dating of the Vindija G1 Upper Paleolithic Neandertals" (Free full text). Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America 103 (3): 553–7. doi:10.1073/pnas.0510005103. ISSN 0027-8424. PMID 16407102. PMC 1334669. http://www.pnas.org/cgi/pmidlookup?view=long&pmid=16407102. 
    7. ^ Anikovich, Mv; Sinitsyn, Aa; Hoffecker, Jf; Holliday, Vt; Popov, Vv; Lisitsyn, Sn; Forman, Sl; Levkovskaya, Gm; Pospelova, Ga; Kuz'Mina, Ie; Burova, Nd; Goldberg, P; Macphail, Ri; Giaccio, B; Praslov, Nd (Jan 2007). "Early Upper Paleolithic in Eastern Europe and implications for the dispersal of modern humans". Science (New York, N.Y.) 315 (5809): 223–6. doi:10.1126/science.1133376. ISSN 0036-8075. PMID 17218523. 
    8. ^ [http://www.fed.cuhk.edu.hk/~lchang/material/Evolutionary/Time%20out%20of%20Africa.pdf|pdf
    9. ^ Wild, Em; Teschler-Nicola, M; Kutschera, W; Steier, P; Trinkaus, E; Wanek, W (May 2005). "Direct dating of Early Upper Palaeolithic human remains from Mladec". Nature 435 (7040): 332–5. doi:10.1038/nature03585. ISSN 0028-0836. PMID 15902255. http://www.fed.cuhk.edu.hk/~lchang/material/Evolutionary/Time%20out%20of%20Africa.pdf. 
    10. ^ Harvati et al., ʺThe Partial Cranium from Cioclovina, Romania: Morphological Affinities of an Early Modern Europeanʺ2007?
    11. ^ Cidalia Duarte, Joao Mauricio, Paul B. Pettitt, Pedro Souto, Erik Trinkaus, Hans van der Plicht and Joao Zilhao (Jun. 22, 1999). "The Early Upper Paleolithic Human Skeleton from the Abrigo do Lagar Velho (Portugal) and Modern Human Emergence in Iberia". Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America (13): 7604-7609. PMC 22133. http://anaconda.ub.rug.nl/misc/ESI4CvD/Gronigen.PNAS.pdf. 
    12. ^ Higham, T.; Ramsey, B.; Karavanić, I.; Smith, H.; Trinkaus, E. (Jan 2006). "Revised direct radiocarbon dating of the Vindija G1 Upper Paleolithic Neandertals" (Free full text). Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America 103 (3): 553–557. doi:10.1073/pnas.0510005103. ISSN 0027-8424. PMID 16407102. PMC 1334669. http://www.pnas.org/cgi/pmidlookup?view=long&pmid=16407102.  edit
    13. ^ "Cro-Magnon". Encyclopædia Britannica Online. http://www.britannica.com/eb/article-9027935. 
    14. ^ Niskanen, Markku. The Origin of the Baltic-Finns from the Physical Anthropological Point of View. http://www.mankindquarterly.org/samples/niskanenbalticcorrected.pdf. 
    15. ^ according to a claim by Michael Rappenglueck, of the University of Munich (2000) [2]
    16. ^ Ofer Bar-Yosef & Bernard Vandermeersch, Scientific American, April 1993, 94-100
    17. ^ Cro-Magnon and Qafzeh — Vive la Difference ; C Loring Brace; Dental antrophology; Vol 10 Nr 6, 1996 pdf
    18. ^ Mellars, P (Feb 2006). "A new radiocarbon revolution and the dispersal of modern humans in Eurasia". Nature 439 (7079): 931–5. doi:10.1038/nature04521. ISSN 0028-0836. PMID 16495989. 
    19. ^ Gravina, B; Mellars, P; Ramsey, Cb (Nov 2005). "Radiocarbon dating of interstratified Neanderthal and early modern human occupations at the Chatelperronian type-site". Nature 438 (7064): 51–6. doi:10.1038/nature04006. ISSN 0028-0836. PMID 16136079. 
    20. ^ Zilhão, J; D'Errico, F; Bordes, Jg; Lenoble, A; Texier, Jp; Rigaud, Jp (Aug 2006). "Analysis of Aurignacian interstratification at the Chatelperronian-type site and implications for the behavioral modernity of Neandertals" (Free full text). Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America 103 (33): 12643–8. doi:10.1073/pnas.0605128103. ISSN 0027-8424. PMID 16894152. PMC 1567932. http://www.pnas.org/cgi/pmidlookup?view=long&pmid=16894152. 
    21. ^ Caramelli, D; Lalueza-Fox, C; Vernesi, C; Lari, M; Casoli, A; Mallegni, F; Chiarelli, B; Dupanloup, I; Bertranpetit, J; Barbujani, G; Bertorelle, G (May 2003). "Evidence for a genetic discontinuity between Neandertals and 24,000-year-old anatomically modern Europeans" (Free full text). Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America 100 (11): 6593–7. doi:10.1073/pnas.1130343100. ISSN 0027-8424. PMID 12743370. PMC 164492. http://www.pnas.org/cgi/pmidlookup?view=long&pmid=12743370. 
    22. ^ https://www3.nationalgeographic.com/genographic/atlas.html

     
     
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