Revisiting human mobility in Upper Paleolithic Europe: New insights from a large fossil dental dataset and a novel inferential tool
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1Modern humans arrived in Europe ~45 ka during the last Ice Age, marking the onset of the Upper Paleolithic period. A key question in paleoanthropology is whether the dramatic climatic and environmental fluctuations throughout the last Ice Age influenced hunter-gatherer demography, and to what extent these shifts triggered migrations, population growth or decline, or even regional extinctions. Despite extensive research, our knowledge remains limited, which is primarily due to the scarcity of fossil remains and their often poor molecular preservation for ancient DNA analysis.
2To address these challenges, we employed a novel multidisciplinary approach centered on fossil teeth and their morphology. Teeth are an excellent resource for tracing genetic relationships deep into the past, as they are the most abundant remains in the fossil record and preserve strong genetic signals in their morphology. We compiled an unprecedented dataset containing dental morphology information from 450 hunter-gatherers across Europe, spanning ~47-7 ka. Leveraging this comprehensive dataset, we tested various competing demographic scenarios using a coalescent-based, machine-learning Approximate Bayesian Computation (ABC) framework. Originally developed for DNA markers, we modified this method for application to dental phenotypes, naming the new tool Pheno-ABC.
3Largely aligning with but also challenging some available archaeological and paleogenetic evidence, Pheno-ABC identified a population turnover in western Europe around ~28 ka, isolation between western and eastern spheres between ~28-14.7 ka, and population bottlenecks during the Last Glacial Maximum. From a methodological standpoint, this study represents the first application of ABC to skeletal phenotypic data, paving the way for exciting future research avenues. It opens up the possibility to apply the ABC framework to archaeological time depths or regions where obtaining ancient DNA is not feasible, and where fossil phenotypic data are the only source of information available.
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Hannes Rathmann, Maria T. Vizzari, Judith Beier, Shara E. Bailey, Silvia Ghirotto et Katerina Harvati, « Revisiting human mobility in Upper Paleolithic Europe: New insights from a large fossil dental dataset and a novel inferential tool », Bulletins et mémoires de la Société d’Anthropologie de Paris [En ligne], 38(S) | 2026, mis en ligne le 16 décembre 2025, consulté le 08 mars 2026. URL : http://journals.openedition.org/bmsap/17553 ; DOI : https://doi.org/10.4000/15hir
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