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The 'Upper Paleolithic' (or 'Upper Palaeolithic') is the third and last subdivision of the
Paleolithic or Old
Stone Age as it is understood in
Europe,
Africa and
Asia. Very broadly it dates to between 40,000 and 10,000 years ago, roughly coinciding with the appearance of "high" culture (see below) and before the advent of agriculture. It has also been called the 'Reindeer Age'. The
late stone age and the upper paleolithic refer to the same periods. For historical reasons the late stone age usually refers to the period in Africa, whereas the upper paleolithic is generally used when referring to the period in Europe.
Overview
Modern humans (''i.e. Homo sapiens sapiens''), are believed to have emerged around 130,000 years ago. Though these humans were modern in anatomy their lifestyle changed very little from their predecessors such as ''
Homo erectus'' and the
Neanderthals. They used the same crude stone tools. Archaeologist
Richard G. Klein, who has worked extensively on ancient stone tools, describes the stone tool kit of archaic hominids as impossible to categorize. It was as if when the Neanderthals went to make a stone tool they weren't really concerned about its final form. He argues that almost everywhere, whether Asia or Africa or Europe, before 50,000 years ago all the stone tools are very much alike and unsophisticated. However after 50,000 years ago there is sharp increase in the diversity of artifacts. For the first time bone artifacts, and the first art appear in the fossil record in Africa. The first evidence of human fishing is also noted from artifact in places like
Blombos cave in South Africa. After 50,000 years ago, firstly in Africa, it was found that he could easily sort the human artifacts into many different categories, such as projectile points, engraving tools, knife blades, and drilling and piercing tools. These new stone tool types have been described as being distinctly differentiated from each other as if each tool had a specific name. 3000 to 4000 years later this technology would then spread to Europe resulting in a population explosion of modern humans and also the extinction the Neanderthals. The invaders commonly referred to as the
Cro-Magnons left many sophisticated stone tools,
cave art and Venus figurines
[1][2][3].This shift from Middle to Upper Paleolithic is called the 'Upper Paleolithic Revolution'. The
Neanderthals continued to use
Mousterian stone tool technology.
The earliest remains of organized
settlements in the form of
campsites, some with storage
pits, are encountered in this period. These were often located in narrow
valley bottoms, possibly in order to make
hunting passing
herds of animals easier. Some sites may have been occupied year round though more generally they seem to have been used
seasonally with peoples moving between them to exploit different
food sources at different times of the year.
Upper Paleolithic people used caves and tents like this one (reconstruction) for dwelling
s included significant developments in
flint tool manufacturing with
industries based on fine
blades rather than simpler and shorter
flakes.
Burins and
racloirs attest to the working of
bone,
antler and
hides. Advanced
darts and
harpoons also appear in this period, along with the fish hook, the oil lamp, rope, and the eyed needle.
Artistic work also blossomed with
Venus figurines,
cave painting,
petroglyphs and exotic
raw materials found far from their sources suggest emergent trading links. More complex
social groupings emerged, supported by more varied and reliable food sources and specialised
tool types. This probably contributed to increasing group identification or
ethnicity. These group identities produced distinctive
symbols and
rituals which are an important part of modern human behaviour.
The reasons for these changes in human behaviour have been attributed to the changes in
climate during the period which encompasses a number of global
temperature drops, meaning a worsening of the already bitter climate of the
last ice age. These may have reduced the supply of usable
timber and forced people to look at other materials while flint becomes brittle at low temperatures and may not have functioned as a tool.
It has also been argued that the appearance of (complex or abstract)
language made these behavioural changes possible. The complexity of the new human capabilities hints that humans were less capable of planning or foresight before 40,000 years and that speech changed that
[1]. This suggestion has no wide acceptance, since human
phylogenetic separation dates to the
Middle Paleolithic (see
Proto-language). Still, it must be remembered that while the latter view is better supported by phylogenetic
inference, the material ''evidence'' is hard to explain thus.
Events
Map of findings of Upper Paleolihic art in Europe
★ 'c. 50000 BC': start of the
Mousterian Pluvial in
North Africa
★ '35000 BC': Zar, Yataghyeri, Damjili and Taghlar caves in Azerbaijan
★ '30000 BC': Gobustan Culture starts in Azerbaijan
★ 'c. 30000 BC': end of the Mousterian Pluvial in North Africa
★ 'c. 30000 BC–26000 BC':
Lion-Human, from
Hohlenstein-Stadel,
Germany created. It is now in
Ulmer Museum,
Ulm,
Germany.
★ 'c. 23000 BC':
Venus of Petřkovice ('' in Czech) from
Petřkovice in
Ostrava,
Czech Republic, was made. It is now in
Archeological Institute,
Brno.
★ 'c. 22000 BC': Neanderthals become extinct in Europe.
★ 'c. 22000 BC':
Last Glacial Maximum:
Venus of Bassempouy,
Grotte du Pape,
Brassempouy,
Landes,
France, was made. It is now at
Musee des Antiquites Nationales,
St.-Germain-en-Laye.
★ 'c. 22000 BC–21000 BC':
Venus of Willendorf,
Austria, was made. It is now at
Naturhistorisches Museum,
Vienna.
★ 'c. 18000 BC-15000 BC': Last
Ice Age.
★ 'c. 16500 BC': Paintings in
Cosquer cave,
Cap Margiou,
France were made.
★ 'c. 16000 BC': Spotted Horses,
Pech Merle cave,
Dordogne,
France are painted. Discovered in
December 1994.
★ 'c. 16000 BC–9000 BC': Ibex-headed spear thrower, from
Le Mas d'Azil,
Ariege,
France, is made. It is now at
Musee de la Prehistoire,
Le Mas d'Azil.
★ 'c. 16000 BC–10000 BC':
Mammoth-bone village in
Mezhirich,
Ukraine is inhabited.
★ 'c. 15000 BC': Spotted human hands,
Pech Merle cave,
Dordogne,
France are painted. Discovered in
December 1994.
★ 'c. 15000 BC–13000 BC':
Hall of Bulls,
Lascaux caves, is painted. Discovered in
1940. Closed to the public in
1963.
★ 'c. 15000 BC–13000 BC': Bird-Headed man with bison and Rhinoceros,
Lascaux caves, is painted.
★ 'c. 15000 BC–13000 BC': Lamp with ibex design, from
La Mouthe cave,
Dordogne,
France, is made. It is now at
Musee des Antiquites Nationales,
St.-Germain-en-Laye.
★ 'c. 14000 BC-
10000 BC': Pregnant woman and deer (?), from
Laugerie-Basse,
France was made. It is now at
Musee des Antiquites Nationales,
St.-Germain-en-Laye.
★ 'c. 13000 BC': Bison,
Le Tuc d'Audoubert,
Ariege,
France.
★ 'c. 12000 BC':
Paleo-Indians searched for big game in what is now the
Hovenweep National Monument.
★ 'c. 12000 BC': Bison, on the ceiling of a cave at
Altamira,
Spain, is painted. Discovered in
1879. Accepted as authentic in
1902.
★ 'c. 12000 BC':
Domestication of
Reindeer and
Dogs.
[4]
★ '11500 BC–10000 BC': Wooden buildings in
South America (
Chile), first
pottery vessels (
Japan),
bow and
arrow appeared.
★ '11000 BC': Beginning of the
Holocene extinction event.
★ '11000 BC': First evidence of human settlement in
Argentina.
★ '11000 BC': The
Arlington Springs Man dies on the island of Santa Rosa, off the coast of California.
★ '11000 BC': Human remains deposited in caves which are now located off the coast of Yucatan
[2]
Cultures
Reindeer Age articles
Reindeer Age (Aurignacian) Engravings & Carvings
The Upper Paleolithic in the
Franco-Cantabric region:
★ The
Châtelperronian culture was located around central and south western France, and northern Spain. It appears to be derived from the earlier
Mousterian culture, and represents the period of overlap between
Neanderthals and
Homo sapiens. This culture lasted from approximately 33000 BC to 27000 BC.
★ The
Aurignacian culture was located in Europe and south west Asia, and flourished between 32000 BC and 21000 BC. It may have been contemporary with the
Périgordian (a contested grouping of the earlier Châtelperronian and later Gravettian cultures).
★ The
Gravettian culture was located around France, though evidence of Gravettian products have been found across central Europe and Russia. Gravettian sites date between 26000 BC to 20000 BC.
★ The
Solutrean culture was located in eastern France, Spain, and England. Solutrean artifacts have been dated to around 19000 BC before mysteriously disappearing around 15000 BC.
★ The
Magdalenian culture left evidence from Portugal to Poland during the period from 16000 BC to 8000 BC.
From the
Synoptic table of the principal old world prehistoric cultures:
★ central and east Europe:
★
★ 30000 BC,
Szeletian culture
★
★ 20000 BC,
Pavlovian, Aurignacian cultures
★
★ 10000 BC,
Epigravettian culture
★
★ 9000 BC,
Gravettian culture
★ north and west Africa, and Sahara:
★
★ 30000 BC,
Aterian culture
★
★ 10000 BC,
Ibero-maurusian,
Sebilian cultures
★
★ 8000 BC,
Capsian culture
★ central, south, and east Africa:
★
★ 50000 BC,
Fauresmithian culture
★
★ 30000 BC,
Stillbayan culture
★
★ 10000 BC,
Lupembian culture
★
★ 9000 BC,
Magosian culture
★
★ 7000 BC,
Wiltonian culture
★
★ 3000 BC, beginning of hunter-gatherer art in south Africa
★ west Asia (including Middle East):
★
★ 50000 BC,
Jabroudian culture
★
★ 40000 BC,
Amoudian culture
★
★ 30000 BC,
Emirian culture
★
★ 20000 BC,
Aurignacian culture
★
★ 10000 BC,
Kebarian,
Athlitian cultures
★
★ 9000 BC,
Natufian culture
★ south and central Asia:
★
★ 50000 BC,
Soanian culture
★
★ 30000 BC,
Angara culture
★
★ 9000 BC,
Khandivili culture
★ east and southeast Asia:
★
★ 80000 BC,
Ordos culture
★
★ 50000 BC,
Ngandong culture
★
★ 30000 BC,
Sen-Doki culture
★
★ 10000 BC, pre-Jōmon ceramic culture
★
★ 8000 BC,
Hoabinhian culture
★
★ 7000 BC,
Jōmon culture
See also
★
Neolithic
★
Neolithic Europe
★
Hovenweep National Monument
★
Modern human behaviour
References
1. Biological origins of modern human behavior part3
2. Biological origins of modern human behavior part 1
3. Modern' Behavior Began 40,000 Years Ago In Africa
4. Lloyd, J & Mitchinson, J: "The Book of General Ignorance". Faber & Faber, 2006.
External links
★
The Upper Paleolithic Revolution
★
Online community of people who strive to emulate the diet and fitness of Paleolithic humans
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