The Early Upper Palaeolithic (EUP) record throughout Europe is characterized by major changes in human behaviour.

Faculty of Archaeology, University of Leiden

The Western Mediterranean is a key region to understand human dispersal events within and out of the African continent as well as for the eventual replacement of Neanderthals by anatomically modern humans during the Pleistocene. Central to any conclusive interpretation of archaeological and palaeoclimatic…

In this provocative study, Shumon T. Hussain engages with the long-standing issue of French-Anglophone research conflicts in Palaeolithic archaeology.

The central question of this thesis is: What drives late Middle Paleolithic stone artifact variability? In its attempt to answer this question, this thesis is a contribution to understanding variability within and between late Middle Paleolithic assemblages of the European Plain.

What is the research question?

The Palaeolithic period extends from the earliest stone tools (and in Europe, earliest occupation) to the beginning of the current warm period.

This summer seven students from the Faculty of Archaeology crossed the North Sea to assist in the British Museum excavations at East Farm, Barnham, Suffolk, UK – a Middle Pleistocene site. Together with five students from the UK they went through many stages of fieldwork, from scooping the English weather…

The Saalian archaeological record at Maastricht-Belvédère (the Netherlands).

When do fire making tools appear in prehistory, and how might the use of these tools manifest in the archaeological record?

The transition from Middle to Upper Paleolithic is a major biological and cultural threshold in the construction of our common humanity. Technological and behavioral changes happened simultaneously to a major climatic cooling, forcing human populations to develop new strategies for the exploitation…

Volume 20 contains eight articles based on research of the Faculty of Archaeology, Leiden University.

The aim of the research project is to get insight in the biostratigraphical age and the palaeoecological setting of the Schöningen sites and hominin behavior and subsistence during the late Lower Palaeolithic.

A Study of Middle Palaeolithic Riverside Settlements at Maastricht-Belvédère (The Netherlands).

Prehistoric burial mounds are still ubiquitous in the Northwest European landscape, but not much is known on the landscape they were part of, nor on what preceded them.

Papers written on the occasion of the 30th anniversary of the Institute of Prehistory, Volume I.

As every year the Faculty of Archaeology bioarchaeology group has visited Schöningen Germany for field research.

The Leiden archaeologist Wil Roebroeks has been awarded the Spinoza prize for his original observations about early hominins and the development of human society, NWO (Netherlands organisation for Scientific Research) announced on Monday 4 June.

One-day symposium

The Dutch TV programme Keuringsdienst van Waarde investigated the origin of BBQ taste. Prehistoric fire expert Andrew Sorensen was invited to explain prehistoric fire making techniques.

PhD Defence

PhD Defence

PhD Defence

PhD Defence

PhD Defence

The Mid Upper Palaeolithic of Eurasia 30,000 - 20,000 BP

Excerpta archaeologica leidensia: Corrie Bakels & Hans Kamermans (eds) (2015)

The research contained in this dissertation explores the origins of fire making in prehistory, focusing primarily on the fire use practices and fire production capacities of Neandertals.

A contextual approach to anthropomorphic figurines in the Pavlovian (Central Europe, 29-24 kyr BP) (2001)

The Faculty of Archaeology produces several journals

Towards a Biological Understanding of the Middle to Upper Palaeolithic Transition

And its application in deciphering hominin diets in palaeolithic eurasia

The Gravettian technocomplex dates to the period of 30,000 to 20,000 bp and is spread across Europe. This research theme explores the impact of the climatic and environmental changes during the pleniglacial on the Gravettian of northwestern and central Europe.

The Gravettian technocomplex dates to the period of 30,000 to 20,000 bp and is spread across Europe. This research theme explores the impact of the climatic and environmental changes during the pleniglacial on the Gravettian of northwestern and central Europe.

The APL (Analecta Praehistorica Leidensia) is published once a year and showcases the increasingly diversity of research conducted at the Faculty of Archaeology. The APL currently forms a showcase for the faculty as a whole in which all employees can publish their research. By alternatingly publishing…

ASLU 11

Large-scale excavations at Neumark-Nord 2 (Germany), a very rich Middle Palaeolithic site with excellent preservation of organic (faunal and floral) remains and lithics in fine-grained lake deposits, dating to about 125,000 years ago.

Current status and future prospects

This book covers the story of Greece and its central role in our understanding of European civilization, from the Palaeolithic era (400,000 BP) to the early modern period (1950 AD).