Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Archaeology

Signalling Palaeolithic identity

  • News & Views
  • Published:

From Nature Human Behaviour

View current issue Submit your manuscript

The sense of belonging to a larger group is a central feature of humanity but its identification in Palaeolithic societies is challenging. Baker et al. use a pan-European dataset of personal ornaments to show that these markers of group identity form distinct clusters that cannot be explained simply by geographical proximity or shared biological descent.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1: Types of personal ornaments from Gravettian sites of the Upper Palaeolithic of Europe (about 34,000–24,000 years ago).

References

  1. Moffett, M. W. Hum. Nat. 24, 219–267 (2013).

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  2. Baker, J., Rigaud, S., Pereira, D., Courtenay, L. A. & d’Errico, F. Nat. Hum. Behav. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41562-023-01803-6 (2024).

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  3. Schmidt, I. & Zimmermann, A. PLoS ONE 14, e0211562 (2019).

    Article  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  4. Kissel, M. & Kim, N. C. Am. J. Phys. Anthropol. 168(Suppl 67), 141–163 (2019).

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  5. Vaesen, K. Biol. Philos. 38, 9 (2023).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  6. Tostevin, G. B. Seeing Lithics: A Middle-Range Theory for Testing for Cultural Transmission in the Pleistocene (American School of Prehistoric Research Monograph Series) (Oxbow Books, 2013).

  7. Maier, A. & Zimmermann, A. Antiquity 91, 573–588 (2017).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  8. Posth, C. et al. Nature 615, 117–126 (2023).

    Article  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  9. Feinman, G. M. & Neitzel, J. E. J. Anthropol. Archaeol. 60, 101230 (2020).

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Zinman Institute of Archaeology, University of Haifa, Haifa, Israel

    Reuven Yeshurun

  2. School of Archaeology and Maritime Cultures, University of Haifa, Haifa, Israel

    Reuven Yeshurun

Authors
  1. Reuven Yeshurun
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Reuven Yeshurun.

Ethics declarations

Competing interests

The author declares no competing interests.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Yeshurun, R. Signalling Palaeolithic identity. Nat Hum Behav 8, 414–415 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41562-023-01805-4

Download citation

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41562-023-01805-4

  • Springer Nature Limited

Search

Navigation