Walther Arndt Lecture

Nicholas Conard, University of Tübingen

Modern humans, Homo sapiens, first appeared in Africa around 300,000 years ago. Populations of modern humans migrated from Africa to Eurasia on several occasions. Around 45,000 years ago, groups of modern humans reached Europe. At that time, the last Neanderthals lived in large parts of Europe in low population densities. As Neanderthals were displaced and eventually became extinct, modern humans spread across Europe. From 40,000 years ago, we see clear and reliably dated evidence of figurative art, musical instruments and numerous technological and symbolic innovations. The best evidence comes from the caves of the Swabian Alb, where archaeologists from the University of Tübingen have been conducting excavations and researching the finds for generations. This lecture presents the results of my excavations in the Swabian Alb and discusses how and when Neanderthals became extinct and what role art and music played in this process.