Overview

This collection of papers was compiled in celebration of the remarkable academic career of Professor Wil Roebroeks, who has established himself as one of Europe’s leading figures in Palaeolithic archaeology over the past three decades and founded the Human origins research group at Leiden University. The volume features a diverse array of chapters contributed by close colleagues, as well as former and current students, providing a thorough overview of the flourishing field of Palaeolithic archaeology both at Leiden University and beyond its academic walls. Among the studies presented, several focus on the landmark site of Maastricht-Belvédère, which was initially excavated under the direction of Roebroeks. The detailed analyses offered within these chapters shed light on Neanderthal behaviour, providing an exceptionally high-resolution view of their activities and adaptations. Additional contributions explore broader themes in human prehistory, delving into Neanderthal land-use strategies, their sophisticated management of fire, and aspects of modern human subsistence practices, including the use of shelters and living spaces. This volume will be of great interest to archaeologists specializing in hunter-gatherer studies, Pleistocene archaeology, or those with a more general interest in human prehistory and the behaviours of early hominin species.

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Gerrit L. Dusseldorp is a Stone Age archaeologist focussing on Pleistocene societies in both Europe and Southern Africa. His PhD work on Neanderthal foraging behaviour was co-supervised by Prof. Corbey. He currently directs work on the Middle to Later Stone Age transition Umhlatuzana rockshelter, South Africa. He is also involved in the multidisciplinary project “Liveable Planet” to develop strategies to develop more sustainable human societies. He is currently appointed as associate professor at the Faculty of Archaeology at Leiden University and as senior research fellow at the Paleo-Research Institute at the University of Johannesburg. Wei Chu is a Palaeolithic archaeologist focussing on the late Pleistocene of Europe. His PhD focused on experimental archaeology and taphonomy. He currently leads a project focused on the early Upper Palaeolithic in East-Central Europe. He is currently appointed as assistant professor at the Faculty of Archaeology at Leiden University. Corrie Bakels has held the chair in palaeoeconomy at Leiden University, the Netherlands, since 1988. Her specialisations are prehistoric and early historic agriculture, archaeobotany and vegetation history. She graduated in 1978 on an analysis of early farming societies in the Netherlands and Bavaria, Germany. Since then she has participated in many archaeological projects in Western Continental Europe. A synthesis of her work on the agrarian history of the Western European loess belt, 5300 BC – AD 1000 has appeared in 2009. After her retirement, she continued working at the Faculty of Archaeology, Leiden University. Her current research concerns: 1. former environments from the Eemian up to the 19th century; 2. farming practices in the past. Marie Soressi is a Palaeolithic archaeologist working with paleogeneticists and geoarcheologists to better reconstruct the demise of Neandertals and their interactions with Homo sapiens. Since 2021, she has served as the head of the Human Origins Research Unit at the Faculty of Archaeology, Leiden University, a position previously held by its founder, Will Roebroeks.

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