The Buekk Mountain region of southeast central Europe has been the main area for studying transitional' cultures between the Middle and Upper Palaeolithic like that identified at the Szelta Cave in Hungary.

Approximately 40,000 years ago during the transition between Middle and Upper Paleolithic eras in Europe, Neanderthal man was being replaced by the anatomically modern man. Dr. Allsworth-Jones explores this period, focusing on a characteristic style of Central European cave called the Szeletian. His first-hand knowledge of the caves and in-depth study of related literature support his thesis that the Szeletian caves were the creation of Neanderthal man and were thus linked to that important period in prehistory.

This volume brings together prominent archaeologists working in areas outside Western Europe to discuss the most recent evidence for the origins of the early Upper Paleolithic and its relationship to the origin of modern humans. With a wealth of primary data from archaeological sites and regions that have never before been published and discussions of materials from difficult-to-find sources, the collection urges readers to reconsider the process of modern human behavioral origins. Archaeological evidence continues to play a critical role in debates over the origins of anatomically modern humans. The appearance of novel Upper Paleolithic technologies, new patterns of land use, expanded social networks, and the emergence of complex forms of symbolic communication point to a behavioral revolution beginning sometime around 45,000 years ago. Until recently, most of the available evidence for this revolution derived from Western European archaeological contexts that suggested an abrupt replacement of Mousterian Middle Paleolithic with Aurignacian Upper Paleolithic adaptations. In the absence of fossil association, the behavioral transition was thought to reflect the biological replacement of archaic hominid populations by intrusive modern humans. The contributors present new archaeological evidence that tells a very different story: The Middle-Upper Paleolithic transitions in areas as diverse as the Levant, Eastern-Central Europe, and Central and Eastern Asia are characterized both by substantial behavioral continuity over the period 45,000-25,000 years ago and by a mosaic-like pattern of shifting adaptations. Together these essays will enliven and enrich the discussion of the shift from archaic to modern behavioral adaptations. Contributors: O. Bar-Yosef, A. Belfer-Cohen, R. L. Bettinger, P. J. Brantingham, N. R. Coinman, A. P. Derevianko, R. G. Elston, J. R. Fox, X. Gao, J. M. Geneste, T. Goebel, E. Güleç, K. W. Kerry, L. Koulakovskaia, J. K. Kozlowski, S. L. Kuhn, Y. V. Kuzmin, D. B. Madsen, A. E. Marks, L. Meignen, T. Meshveliani, K. Monigal, P. E. Nehoroshev, J. W. Olsen, M. Otte, M. C. Stiner,J. Svoboda, A. Sytnik, D. Tseveendorj, L. B. Vishnyatsky

This volume focuses on the evidence from the Middle Paleolithic, assessing it in its own right rather than looking at it for signs of the development of 'modern humans' as they become recognisable in the subsequent Upper Paleolithic period. It provides useful regional reviews of the evidence from different regions of Europe. It is the second of three volumes on the phases of the Paleololithic being sponsored by the European Science Foundation. (The first was the Earliest Occupation of Europe - ed. W. Roebroeks, Leiden 1995). Contents: The Middle Paleololithic - a point of inflection (Clive Gamble and Wil Roebroeks); Environments and settlements in the Iberian peninsula (Luis Gerardo Vega Toscano, Luis Raposa and Manuel Santojana); The Neanderthals in Italy (M Mussi); Environment and adaptations in Eastern central Europe (Jiri Svorboda); The Middle Palaeolithic of Quercy (J Jaubert); The Middle Paleolithic of the Aquitaine Basin (Alain Turq); The Northwest European Middle Paleolithic (Wil Roebroeks and Alain Tuffreau); Hominids without homes - The Nature of Middle Palaeolithic settlement in Europe (J Kolen); Surface scatters from Southern Limburg, the Netherlands (Jan Kolen et al); Raw Material Transport Patterns (J Feblot-Augustins); The Faunal Record of the Lower and Middle Palaeolithic of Europe (S Gaudzinski). "

A collection of 18 papers taken from a symposium at the SAA meeting in Chicago in 1999. Together they address the fundamental problems within the study of the European Early Upper Palaeolithic, both in terms of theoretical and methodological approaches.