Zooarcheological evidence for the faunal exploitation behavior of Neandertals and early modern humans

The study of the origins of modern humans continues to be a dynamic; quickl y changing field, as shown by the recent extraction and analysis of DNA fro m the Neander Valley fossils.(1) The dynamic nature of the field partly ari ses from the clearly defined opposing models for the origins of modern huma ns,(2) and the spirited: defense of the opposing models: by the main protag onists in the debate: Although the "Out-of-Africa" and "Multiregional Conti nuity Models" are typically argued from the perspective of biological evolu tion, with the debates centering on anatomical and molecular evidence, the: behavioral side of the question is of equal significance. Even though the anatomical record will always be a productive avenue for behavioral reconst ruction,(3,4) archeology remains, the major contributor to our understandin g of the behavioral side of this debate.