The Complex Picture of the Chibanian Hominin Record at the Crossroads of Europe and Asia

Abstract The Chibanian age (formerly the Middle Pleistocene) holds a special place in human evolution as the time which evidenced most of the morphological developments associated with the direct ancestors of modern humans. With the timing of the split between the ancestors of modern humans and Neanderthals being pushed to the Calabrian (Early Pleistocene), and the evidence for an in situ evolution of Neanderthals in Western Europe during the Chibanian, understanding the hominin populations and interactions in the Balkans in this critical period becomes paramount. The Balkan Peninsula occupies an important crossroads between Europe and Western Asia. Because of its geographic position, it holds the key to resolving several major questions about the evolution and migrations of ancient humans. In addition to being a potential route of population movement between the Levant, Anatolia and Western Europe, the Balkans are a hotspot of biodiversity which served as a biotic refugium during cold glacial periods. Throughout the Pleistocene, the Balkans provided ideal conditions for human settlement, at the contact of the Continental and the Mediterranean climate zones. This allowed human groups to establish themselves in the mountainous regions along the corridors, presenting opportunities for interaction with incoming migrating groups. Hominin fossil evidence from the Balkan Peninsula viewed in its regional context is starting to build a complex picture of human evolution in the region, which includes the simultaneous presence, and likely interaction, of multiple hominin groups.