dc.description.abstract | Major changes in the technological, economic, and social behavior of Middle Pleistocene hominins
occurred at the onset of the Middle Paleolithic, 400e200 ka. However, until recently it was not possible
to establish when, where, and how certain forms of Middle Paleolithic behavior appeared and spread into
Southeastern Europe, mainly owing to gaps in the Paleolithic record. Here we report new results of
dating, material culture, and the archaeological context of finds from the Balanica Cave Complex in
Si cevo (Serbia). Two methodsdthermoluminescence and electron spin resonancedwere used to date
the sequence. The geoarchaeological context was examined through sedimentology, micromorphology,
and spatial analysis. Microfaunal remains were used to constrain the dates within an ecological zone,
whereas macrofauna was analyzed for taxonomy and taphonomy to examine the source of accumulation
and hominin behavior. Technological and typological features of the lithic assemblage were used to
characterize lithic production at the site. Materials recovered from Layer 3 in Velika Balanica and from
Layer 2 in Mala Balanica, both dated to MIS 9e7, include a distinctive set of archaeological assemblages
which resemble contemporaneous Yabrudian assemblages from the Levant in important ways, and
which are unlike contemporary material from the surrounding regions. In Velika Balanica, the lithic
assemblages are associated with a large fireplace containing evidence of human activities similar to those
from Qesem Cave (Israel). Dental remains uncovered in the same layer are consistent with Neanderthals.
These findings suggest that the end of the Middle Pleistocene (before 300e240 ka) saw population
movement and/or cultural transmission between Southwest Asia and the Balkans, which led eventually
to a transfer of technology between Middle Eastern and European hominin populations and contributed
to the shaping of Neanderthal behaviors throughout the eastern and northern Mediterranean. | sr |