The Upper Paleolithic The Upper Paleolithic Period Period 40,000 to 18,000 ya
Dec 28, 2015
The Upper PaleolithicThe Upper Paleolithic
By 28 kya Neanderthals gone.
Humans expand into most of the world.
Art appears and spreads.
Numerous technological innovations occur.
Domestication of the Dog
Summary of ChronologySummary of Chronology Basal Paleolithic
– 2.5 to 1.8 mya– Time of Homo habilis– Olduwan tools
Lower Paleolithic– 1.8 m to 250 kya– Time of Homo erectus– Acheulean hand axes
Middle Paleolithic– 250 to 40 kya– Time of H. neanderthalensis– Mousterian tools
The Upper Paleolithic40 to 18 kya
ChatelperronianAurignacianGravettianSolutreanMagdalenian
Two important definitionsTwo important definitions
Blades = flakes that are at least twice as long as they are wide, with straight edges.
Composite tools = ones formed from multiple materials.– E.g., a spear has a stone point, wooden shaft,
bone fore-shaft, sinew hafting, and resins.
Making blades during the Upper Paleolithic Period.
Composite tools during the Upper Paleolithic Period.
Other Features of the AurignacianOther Features of the Aurignacian
Diverse, efficient, flexible tool kit. Beads & Jewelry made from mammal bones &
teeth. Bone needles & awls suggesting tailored clothing. Portable art of engraved bone and ivory
– Southern Germany: Vogelherd Cave & Hohlenstein Stadel.
– Grotte du Renne, France.
Tool IndustriesTool Industries 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 Gravettian SitesTwo Important Gravettian Sites
Dolni Vestonice 27 kya (Czech Republic)– Complex campsite.
Kostenki 27 kya (Russia).– Nine pit houses– Hearths in centers of huts– Storage pits cut into permafrost
Implications of SitesImplications of Sites
People becoming a bit more sedentaryDiet, however, still hunting & gathering
– Find large herbivore remains– Small mammals remains– Some fish bones
The DogThe Dog
Domestication = an organism relying on humans for survival & reproduction.
Dogs come from wolves, which are pack animals.
Dogs have abilities that humans don’t have.
The Venus FigurinesThe Venus Figurines
Portable art that appeared during the Upper Paleolithic period.
Female figures carved from soft stone or mammoth bone.
Thought to symbolize fertility.
Implication of FigurinesImplication of Figurines
Suggest communication and interaction over long distances.
Suggest symbolic thinking.
Cave PaintingCave Painting
Painters used charcoal & red ochre
Lascaux: (France) emphasis on animal paintings; human renderings are simple.
Altamira: (Spain) use of natural features of the cave to enhance animal art.
Chauvet Cave: (discovered 1994).
Chauvet Cave 33 – 20 kyaChauvet Cave 33 – 20 kya
Large cave galleriesCompositional groupings of herbivores &
predators.Find rare species not depicted in other
caves: rhino, lion, long-eared owl, & hyena.Appear to be stylistically unified (same
culture).
The MagdalenianThe Magdalenian
20 – 10 kya. Stone/bone tool industry becomes more diverse.
– Microlithic blades.– New weapons (e.g., harpoon).
Large scale climate change occurred (deglaciation). Sites were occupied for longer than during Gravettian
(more sedentary). – Important sites: Madeliene Rockshelter, Laugerie Haute– People lived there for entire seasons, not year round.