During the Middle to Upper Paleolithic transition in the Balkan, Italian and Iberian peninsulas of southern Europe, late Neanderthal and early Anatomically Modern Human (AMH) populations may have overlapped in some capacity. Many of the hypotheses and models for the transition interval suggest that Neanderthal populations remained in, or migrated to, refugial zones while AMHs colonized areas not suitable for, or abandoned by, Neanderthals. However, many hypotheses and models have not been conclusively tested due to general issues impeding a clear understanding of the relevant archeological record and because of a lack of specificity in defining and applying the term ‘refugium’. This paper briefly summarizes what is known about the Middle to Upper Paleolithic transition in southern European Peninsulas and discusses some new directions in the use of refugium concepts in the study of Neanderthal extinction and AMH dispersal. We highlight the complexity of the archeological record in each region and in the studies of refugia more generally. Finally, we make an appeal for generating local, multi-proxy paleoenvironmental and paleoclimatic records to address these complexities so that hypotheses and models integrating refugial concepts in explanations of the Middle to Upper Paleolithic transition can be properly formulated and tested.

中文翻译：

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南欧半岛中上旧石器时代过渡的复杂性及避难所概念的应用

在巴尔干半岛、意大利半岛和南欧伊比利亚半岛的旧石器时代中期到晚期过渡期间，晚期尼安德特人和早期解剖学现代人类 (AMH) 人口可能在某些方面重叠。过渡区间的许多假设和模型表明，尼安德特人仍留在或迁移到避难区，而 AMH 则定居在不适合尼安德特人或被尼安德特人遗弃的地区。然而，由于一般问题阻碍了对相关考古记录的清晰理解，以及在定义和应用“避难所”一词时缺乏特异性，许多假设和模型尚未得到最终检验。本文简要总结了关于南欧半岛中旧石器时代中上层过渡的已知情况，并讨论了在研究尼安德特人灭绝和 AMH 扩散研究中使用避难所概念的一些新方向。我们强调每个地区考古记录的复杂性以及更普遍的避难所研究。最后，我们呼吁生成当地的、多代理的古环境和古气候记录来解决这些复杂性，以便可以适当地制定和测试在解释中旧石器时代中晚期过渡时整合避难概念的假设和模型。