Lincombian-Ranisian-Jerzmanowician (LRJ) is a culture or technocomplex ( industry) dating to the beginning of the

Upper Paleolithic The Upper Paleolithic (or Upper Palaeolithic) is the third and last subdivision of the Paleolithic or Old Stone Age. Very broadly, it dates to between 50,000 and 12,000 years ago (the beginning of the Holocene), according to some theories ...

, about 45,000 years ago. It is characterised by leaf points made on long blades, which were traditionally thought to have been made by the last

Neanderthal Neanderthals ( ; ''Homo neanderthalensis'' or sometimes ''H. sapiens neanderthalensis'') are an extinction, extinct group of archaic humans who inhabited Europe and Western and Central Asia during the Middle Pleistocene, Middle to Late Plei ...

s, although some researchers have suggested that it could be a culture of the first anatomically modern humans in Europe. It is rarely found, but extends across northwest Europe from Wales to Poland.Hunt, Katie (1 February 2024
Bones found in 8-meter-deep pit may 'fundamentally change' history of humans in Europe
CNN

Major sites

The technocomplex is named after findings in Kents Cavern, Lincombe Hill,

Torquay Torquay ( ) is a seaside town in Devon, England, part of the unitary authority area of Torbay. It lies south of the county town of Exeter and east-north-east of Plymouth, on the north of Tor Bay, adjoining the neighbouring town of Paignt ...

(

Devon Devon ( ; historically also known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by the Bristol Channel to the north, Somerset and Dorset to the east, the English Channel to the south, and Cornwall to the west ...

, England), the cave of Ilsenhöhle in Ranis (

Thuringia Thuringia (; officially the Free State of Thuringia, ) is one of Germany, Germany's 16 States of Germany, states. With 2.1 million people, it is 12th-largest by population, and with 16,171 square kilometers, it is 11th-largest in area. Er ...

, Germany), and the Jerzmanowicien cave in Ojców (

Kraków County __NOTOC__ Kraków County () is a unit of territorial administration and local government (powiat) in Lesser Poland Voivodeship, southern Poland. It came into being on January 1, 1999, as a result of the Polish local government reforms passed in 199 ...

, Poland). About 40 different sites have been identified. At Ilsenhöhle, an excavation conducted from 2016 to 2022 found fossils containing Homo sapiens DNA in a layer of sediment that also contained stone tools.

Evidence for modern humans

In an article in ''

Nature Nature is an inherent character or constitution, particularly of the Ecosphere (planetary), ecosphere or the universe as a whole. In this general sense nature refers to the Scientific law, laws, elements and phenomenon, phenomena of the physic ...

'' in 2024, researchers reported that they had found

mitochondrial DNA Mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA and mDNA) is the DNA located in the mitochondrion, mitochondria organelles in a eukaryotic cell that converts chemical energy from food into adenosine triphosphate (ATP). Mitochondrial DNA is a small portion of the D ...

of modern humans in bones from Ranis cave dated to around 45,000 years ago, providing evidence both for the association of LRJ with modern humans, and that they reached the higher latitudes of Europe by this early date.

References

{{Authority control Archaeological cultures of Europe Upper Paleolithic cultures of Europe Archaeological cultures in Germany Archaeological cultures in Poland Archaeology of Wales Peopling of Europe Industries (archaeology) Early European modern humans Neanderthals

Major sites

Evidence for modern humans

See also

References