High Resolution Archaeology and Neanderthal Behavior

Abstract

The behavioral strategies of Neanderthals are currently one of the key questions in archeological and paleoanthropological research. There are different reasons for this interest in Neanderthal behavior, related both to the development of empirical studies and the introduction of new theoretical paradigms that have changed the understanding of the material record of prehistoric groups. First, accessing behavior is the only way to approach one of the classic problems of archeological research: the variability of Middle Paleolithic archeological assemblages. The multifactor nature of this variability, closely linked to economic strategies and daily activities, necessarily implies examining the complexity of human behavior as an approach to explaining changes in the character- istics of archeological assemblages. Second, Neanderthal behavior has taken on special importance in the framework of the debate on the nature of the cultural transformations defining the transition from the Middle to the Upper Paleolithic. The behavioral capacities of Neanderthals are a key component in clarifying the scope of differences between this human species and anatomically modern humans, an essential question concerning the evolutionary role of Neanderthals and the way in which we understand their culture.