Here, we show that archaeological horizon 3 (AH 3) consists of faunal remains and Early Aurignacian lithic artifacts. However, their age and attribution to the Aurignacian remain an issue of debate. The site of Willendorf II (Austria) is well known for its Early Upper Paleolithic horizons, which are among the oldest in Europe. Aurignacian assemblages-demonstrably made by modern humans-are commonly used as proxies for the presence of fully behaviorally and anatomically modern humans.
Hence, the behavior of the first modern humans in Europe is still unknown. In Europe, modern human remains of this time period are scarce and often are not associated with archaeology or originate from old excavations with no contextual information. The first settlement of Europe by modern humans is thought to have occurred between 50,000 and 40,000 calendar years ago (cal B.P.). The data suggest that the network was fully established across Europe during the early phase of the Gravettian, when demographic as well as cultural developments peaked. Our large-scale approach on Aurignacian population dynamics in Europe suggests that past socio-spatial organization followed socially inherent rules to establish and maintain a functioning social network of extremely low population densities. Observed regional differences are set in relation with the new demographic data. Lithic raw material transport and personal ornaments serve as correlates for human mobility and connectedness in the interpretative framework of this study. We introduce the concept of Core Areas and Extended Areas as informed analytical spatial scales, which are evaluated against additional chronological and archaeological data. Demographic increase and patterns of socio-spatial organization continue during the subsequent early Gravettian period.
The temporal and spatial analysis indicates an increase of the population during the Aurignacian as well as marked regional differences in population size and density. Results of the analytical approach applied estimate a mean of 1,500 persons (upper limit: 3,300 lower limit: 800) for western and central Europe. Demographic estimates are presented for the Aurignacian techno-complex (~42,000 to 33,000 y calBP) and discussed in the context of socio-spatial organization of hunter-gatherer populations.
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