The Iron Gates Gorge: a corridor or barrier in the spread of modern humans from Lower to Middle Danube

Abstract

Recent research into the transition from the Middle to the Upper Paleolithic in the Lower Danube has shown that there is a concentration of sites from the early phase of the settlement of modern humans in the area. The Initial Upper Paleolithic was confirmed at sites in northern Bulgaria, while several (Proto) Aurignacian sites were recently identified in northeastern Serbia - at the exit from Iron Gates Gorge. All these layers pre-date the CI eruption (42-40 ka cal BP). In contrast, all of the sites located on the other side of the Iron Gates and the Carpathian-Balkan mountain range in eastern Serbia are dated to the period after the eruption. The geographical distribution and chronology of the Aurignacian sites supports the hypothesis that the Danube was an important corridor at this time, especially since the sites that could be linked to the IUP and proto-Aurignacian have not yet been recorded deeper in the interior of the Balkans. This suggests the possibility that in the period before, and especially after the eruption, there was aggregation and social and cultural integration of the Aurignacian groups in the southwestern Carpathian Mountains. The richness and variability of Aurignacian industries in Banat, as well as the appearance of cave art in Coliboaia and (perhaps) Selačka Pećina 3, may indirectly attest to this.