The Upper Paleolithic Period 40 000 to 10

The Upper Paleolithic Period 40, 000 to 10, 000 ya

The Upper Paleolithic l By 28 kya Neanderthals gone. l Humans expand into most of the world. l Art appears and spreads. l Numerous technological innovations occur. l Domestication of the Dog

Summary of Chronology l Basal Paleolithic – 2. 5 to 1. 8 mya – Time of Homo habilis – Olduwan tools l Lower Paleolithic – 1. 8 m to 250 kya – Time of Homo erectus – Acheulean hand axes l Middle Paleolithic – 250 to 40 kya – Time of H. neanderthalensis – Mousterian tools The Upper Paleolithic 40 to 10 kya Chatelperronian Aurignacian Gravettian Solutrean Magdalenian

Tool Industries l These are tool complexes that are associated and are useful time markers for the UP. – Chatelperronian = intermediate Mousterian to Aurignacian – Aurignacian 36 – 22 kya. Earliest “blade industry. ” – Gravettian 33 – 22 kya. Thinner, more finely made blades than Aurignacian. – Solutrean 22 – 18 kya. Extremely refined blade technology. – Magdalenian 18 – 10 kya. Final UP blade industry. ART.

Two important definitions l Blades = flakes that are at least twice as long as they are wide. l Composite tools = ones formed from multiple materials. – E. g. , a spear has a stone point, wooden shaft, bone fore-shaft, sinew hafting, and resins.

Mousterian Technology (Middle Paleolithic)

Making blades during the Upper Paleolithic Period. Composite tools during the Upper Paleolithic Period.

Aurignacian Tools: 40 to 30 kya in Europe www. hf. uio. no/iakk/ roger/lithic

Aurignacian Tools 40 to 30 kya Early Upper Paleolithic Europe www. hf. uio. no/iakk/ roger/lithic

Other Features of the Aurignacian Diverse, efficient, flexible tool kit. l Beads & Jewelry made from mammal bones & teeth. l Bone needles & awls suggesting tailored clothing. l Portable art of engraved bone and ivory l – Southern Germany: Vogelherd Cave & Hohlenstein Stadel. – Grotte du Renne, France.

Tool Industries l These are tool complexes that are associated and are useful time markers for the UP. – Chatelperronian = intermediate Mousterian to Aurignacian – Aurignacian 36 – 22 kya. Earliest “blade industry. ” – Gravettian 33 – 22 kya. Thinner, more finely made blades than Aurignacian. – Solutrean 22 – 18 kya. Extremely refined blade technology. – Magdalenian 18 – 10 kya. Final UP blade industry. ART.

Gravettian Tools 30 to 20 kya Mid Upper Paleolithic Europe www. hf. uio. no/iakk/ roger/lithic

Two Important Gravettian Sites l Dolni Vestonice 27 kya (Czech Republic) – Complex campsite. l Kostenki 27 kya (Russia). – Nine pit houses – Hearths in centers of huts – Storage pits cut into permafrost

Dolni Vestonice

Dolni Vestonice

Kostenki

Bone-framed house

Implications of Sites l People becoming a bit more sedentary l Diet, however, still hunting & gathering – Find large herbivore remains – Small mammals remains – Some fish bones

Solutrean Tools: 22 to 18 kya in Europe www. hf. uio. no/iakk/ roger/lithic

The Dog l Domestication = an organism relying on humans for survival & reproduction. l Dogs come from wolves, which are pack animals. l Dogs have abilities that humans don’t have.

The Venus Figurines l Portable art that appeared during the Upper Paleolithic period. l Female figures carved from soft stone or mammoth bone. l Thought to symbolize fertility.

Venus of Willendorf, Austria Venus of Gagarino, Ukraine

Implication of Figurines l Suggest communication and interaction over long distances. l Suggest symbolic thinking.

Cave Painting l Painters used charcoal & red ochre l Lascaux: (France) emphasis on animal paintings; human renderings are simple. l Altamira: (Spain) use of natural features of the cave to enhance animal art. l Chauvet Cave: (discovered 1994).

Chauvet Cave 33 – 20 kya l Large cave galleries l Compositional groupings of herbivores & predators. l Find rare species not depicted in other caves: rhino, lion, long-eared owl, & hyena. l Appear to be stylistically unified (same culture).

Lascaux 34 – 12 kya

Chauvet Cave, France 33 - 20 kya

The Magdalenian 20 – 10 kya. l Stone/bone tool industry becomes more diverse. – Microlithic blades. – New weapons (e. g. , harpoon). l Large scale climate change occurred (deglaciation). l Sites were occupied for longer than during Gravettian (more sedentary). l – Important sites: Madeliene Rockshelter, Laugerie Haute – People lived there for entire seasons, not year round.

Magdalenian Tools 20 to 10 kya Late Upper Paleolithic

Mezhirich, Russia Magdalenian

Summary of Upper Paleolithic l Diet became gradually more diverse l People became gradually less mobile l Artwork proliferates l Climate warms, deglaciation during Magdalenian l Sets the stage for more regionalization and diversification during the Mesolithic

The Mesolithic The transition from foraging to farming

The Mesolithic l Starts at roughly 10 kya in many areas l Ends when agriculture is firmly established l The last ice age is definitely over – Climate becoming gradually warmer l Diet continues to change l Patterns of the Mesolithic are widespread

Diet is diverse l Find all kinds of fishing equipment l Ground-stone tools l Diverse projectile weapons from many materials l Some cultivation is apparent – Cultigens are plants that are cultivated but this does not equal domestication.

Widespread l This diet pattern can be seen from England to Japan l There are 35, 000 Mesolithic sites along the coast of Japan l Let’s discuss one site, Nittano (Japan) – Constantly occupied from 6 to 5 kya

Nittano l There were roughly 4 to 8 pithouses at any one time (they were often rebuilt) l These houses had stone-lined hearths l It is thought that people settled here year-round l Intensification of architecture is important

Broad Spectrum Revolution l BSR refers to the way people adapted around 15 kya in the Middle East & 12 kya in Europe. During the Mesolithic, many plants & animals were hunted, gathered, collected, caught, & fished. l Farming and life as we know it grows out of the BSR.

BSR & Mesolithic l Star Carr (England) l Vedbaek (Denmark) l Nittano (Japan) l Elands Bay (South Africa) l Mount Sandel (Ireland) l It really is broad!