A modern human humerus from the early Aurignacian of Vogelherdhohle (Stetten, Germany)

Implicit in much of the discussion of the cultural and population biologica l dynamics of modern human origins in Europe is the assumption that the Aur ignacian, from its very start, was made by fully modern humans. The veracit y of this assumption has been challenged in recent years by the association of Neandertal skeletal remains with a possibly Aurignacian assemblage at V indija Cave (Croatia) and the association of Neandertals with distinctly Up per Paleolithic (but non-Aurignacian) assemblages at Arcysur-Cure and St. C esaire (France). Ideally we need human fossil material that can be confiden tly assigned to the early Aurignacian to resolve this issue, yet in reality there is a paucity of well-provenanced human fossils from early Upper Pale olithic contexts. One specimen, a right humerus from the site of Vogelherd (Germany), has been argued, based on its size, robusticity, and muscularity , to possibly represent a Neandertal in an Aurignacian context. The morphol ogical affinities of the Vogelherd humerus were explored by univariate and multivariate comparisons of humeral epiphyseal and diaphyseal shape and str ength measures relative to humeri of Neandertals and Early Upper Paleolithi c (later Aurignacian and Gravettian) modern humans. On the basis of diaphys eal cross-sectional geometry, deltoid tuberosity morphology, and distal epi physeal morphology, the specimen falls clearly and consistently with Europe an early modern humans and not with Neandertals. Along with the other Vogel herd human remains, the Vogelherd humerus represents an unequivocal associa tion between the Aurignacian and modern human morphology in Europe. (C) 200 0 Wiley-Liss, Inc.