Behavioral Complexity and Biocultural Change in Europe around Forty Thousand Years Ago

The questions of the biological origins of anatomically modern humans and of the cultural transition between the Middle and the Upper Paleolithic are two of the most controversial issues in paleoanthropology and Paleolithic archaeology. This article reviews some of the main topics related to the Middle/Upper Paleolithic transition and suggests the principal role of the concept of complexity in understanding this cultural and historical change. The archaeological record of the Abric Romani Middle Paleolithic site is presented as an example of this approach. Our principal aim is not to add new and revolutionary facts but to suggest some thoughts for discussion, in the hope of opening a new perspective in the current debate.