Early modern Homo sapiens in Africa and
Southwest Asia 100,000 years
ago made tools that were similar to those of the Neandertals and other late
archaic humans. These were mostly simple Mousterian-like Levallois flake and core tools. However,
by 90,000-75,000 years ago
some modern humans began producing new kinds of artifacts that
were revolutionary enough to warrant their being placed into a different Paleolithic stage--the
Upper Paleolithic.
This was the height of technical sophistication during the Old Stone Age. These
innovative developments are most well
known from European sites, but similar advances were occurring elsewhere
in the Old World and later in the New World as well. Foreshadowing these new
technologies
were harpoon-like bone projectile
points in use by at least 75,000 years ago in West
Central Africa.
By 70,000 years ago in South Africa, stone was being prepared for flaking by
heat-treating. This made it easier to flake and shape into finer
cutting and puncturing tools. These innovations apparently were
unknown to Neandertals
and other archaic human populations.
Ultimately, there were a number of different
regional Upper Paleolithic tool traditions around the world. The most sophisticated may have
been the Magdalenian
Tradition of Western Europe. It began about 17,000
years ago and lasted until the end of the last ice age around 10,000
years ago.
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Paleolithic Tool Traditions |
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Note: the
Acheulian Tradition began by at least 1.5 million years ago in Africa. It did not reach Europe until much later when the first humans arrived. The Mousterian Tradition is most well known from post-75,000 year old sites in Europe, but it very likely began in Africa around 150,000-100,000 years ago. The first Upper Paleolithic tool traditions probably evolved in Africa by 90,000 years ago. |
The
various Upper Paleolithic tool traditions were successful cultural adaptations
to diverse environments around the world. In temperate and subarctic
regions of the northern hemisphere,
specialized big game hunting was the most
common subsistence strategy. However, even among the societies that focused
their hunting efforts on reindeer, horses, and other large mammals,
there was exploitation of
vegetable foods, fish, and other small animals.
Small game and plant food exploitation became increasingly important to the Cro-Magnon and most other people in the northern hemisphere after 15,000 years ago. This was a necessity because most of their populations were growing and the climate was changing as the ice began to melt near the end of the last ice age. During the roughly 5,000 years of final glacial melt, large game animals became progressively scarce in the northern hemisphere. As a result, human hunting success would have been rarer. The combined effect of rapidly changing climates and increased hunting by humans with more effective weapons heavily contributed to the extinction of at least 50 genera of large animals (mostly mammals) at that time. It also was in this late period after 15,000 years ago that fishing spears, hooks, and nets became increasingly more common. In Europe, the main focus of fishing appears to have been salmon going up streams to spawn and seals that were pursuing them. These climate related changes in subsistence pattern began even earlier in Southwest Asia and other relatively warm and dry regions.
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Spear thrower |
The
Cro-Magnon people increased their food supply by developing
coordinated group
hunting techniques for the killing of large herd animals, especially in the river valleys
of Western Europe and the plains of Central and Eastern Europe. They also
developed new specialized hunting weapons. The art of spear hunting was
revolutionized by the invention of the spear thrower (or atlatl
)
about 17,000-15,000 years ago. This was a wood or bone rod with a hook
on one end that fit into a socket at the base of a spear.
This device was used as an aid in throwing spears. It
increased the range and force of impact of
projectiles by essentially increasing the length of the spear thrower's arm. The net effect was that hunters did not
need to get as close to
prey before throwing their spears.
Toggle-head
harpoons
were invented about this time as well. The
bow and arrow were invented by 12,000 years ago or a bit earlier. This further
increased the range of projectiles. The fact that these weapon
systems were developed toward the end of the last ice age is probably not a
coincidence. They were technological solutions for
the growing difficulty of acquiring meat.
Armed
And Deadly: Shoulder, Weapons Key To Hunt--audio recording
of an NPR interview withanthropologists David Green, Susan Larson, and John Shea concerning the relationship between the peculiar human shoulder joint and the evolution of effective projectile weapons. This link takes you to an external website. To return here, you must click the "back" button on your browser program. (length = 5mins, 56 secs) |
Note: Spear throwers may have been made as early as 25,000 years ago in North Africa. Whether the European Cro-Magnon people independently invented this technology later or acquired it from North Africa is not known.
Upper
Paleolithic
Stone Tool Making Technology
The
basis of many Upper Paleolithic stone tool forms was the
blade flake
.
This is a thin, roughly parallel-sided flake that is at least twice as long as it is wide. The cross-section is usually either triangular or trapezoidal. They were made out of brittle-breaking
rock materials such as
flint
,
chert
, and
obsidian
. Blade flakes were
preforms for the manufacture of many
different kinds of tools, such as knives, hide scrapers, spear tips,
drills, awls, burins, etc.
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European Upper Paleolithic tools made from blade flakes |
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Blade
flakes were nearly standardized shapes that were struck off assembly line
fashion from a prepared core usually by punch flaking
. This
method uses indirect percussion to
better control the direction
and force of the shock wave
entering a core. This facilitated the repeated production of long,
delicate flakes. Blades were struck off around a
prepared core like the careful
unwinding and sectioning of a roll of paper. It is
possible to knock off blade flakes with direct percussion using a
hammerstone rather than a
punch, but it is more difficult.
| Punch flaking technique used to make blade flakes |
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Blade flakes and the "spent" core from which they came |
Tools made from blade
flakes were far more efficient than core and flake tools made by earlier
peoples when compared in terms of maximizing the use of precious brittle-flaking rock materials.
This increased efficiency can be measured roughly in terms of the amount of
cutting edge that can be produced from the same amount of stone.
| Tool
Tradition and Tool Category |
Length of Cutting Edge Per Pound of Stone (approximate) |
Increase in Efficiency Over Previous Technology (approximate) |
|---|---|---|
|
Oldowan choppers
-- Lower Paleolithic (Homo habilis) |
2
inches (5 cm.) |
------ |
|
Acheulian hand axes
-- Lower Paleolithic (Homo erectus) |
8
inches (20 cm.) |
400% |
|
Mousterian flake tools
-- Middle Paleolithic (Neandertal) |
2 1/3
feet (100 cm.) |
490% |
|
Blade flake tools --
Upper Paleolithic
(modern humans) |
10-39 feet (300-1200 cm.) |
300-1200% |
| Sources: Watson, W. (1968) Flint Implements: An Account of Stone Age
Techniques and Cultures; and Hester, J. and J. Grady (1982) Introduction to Archaeology. |
It is now known that knowledge of how to make blade flakes preceded the Upper Paleolithic tool traditions. However, it was not until the late ice age cultures of the Cro-Magnon people and some of their contemporaries outside of Europe that long, thin, delicate blade flakes were commonly produced and used.
Upper
Paleolithic tool makers also frequently employed a further refinement in working with stone.
After preliminary shaping by percussion flaking,
they often finished a tool with pressure flaking
. They literally pushed off the
edge flakes with the tip of a deer antler in the final shaping and thinning process. This resulted in
small, regular flake scars and much greater control in determining the shape
of the final product. Pressure flaking was also used to retouch, or
sharpen, thin edges of spear tips and knives.
Pressure flaking apparently was first used during the Middle Paleolithic in
Africa around 75,000 years ago.
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| Pressure flaking technique |
During the Upper Paleolithic, we see the
first abundant evidence of tools for making other tools. Such things as
narrow gouging chisels, known as burins
, were used to make and shape a host of
other implements out of bone, antler,
and ivory. Additional tools were created for
the purpose of working on other implements such as pressure
flakers, punches, and
spear shaft straighteners. The Upper Paleolithic
also saw a heavy dependence on compound tools, such as intentionally
detachable harpoon points and interchangeable spear foreshafts of hard wood attached to
spears. Compound tools have the advantage that they can be repaired.
When one part breaks, it can be replaced rather than replacing the entire
tool.
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Burin
made |
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Ornamentally carved |
Compound tools and tools designed to work on other implements are not just new kinds of tools but rather new kinds of tool-using principles. This was a giant intellectual leap forward. It also extended the range of raw materials that could be used for tool making. Bone and antler especially came into more common use. They had been used occasionally in the earlier Mousterian tool tradition, but were only modified clumsily by hammering, scraping, and burning. Among the Cro-Magnon people, bone and antler progressively replaced wood and stone for many functions. Dense bone and antler are more durable than wood and more flexible than stone so they do not break as easily and yet can be used to make relatively sharp cutting edges and penetrating projectile points. The amount of time that they are still usable can be extended by resharpening by abrading with rock when they become dull. These materials were now being employed to make long thin knives, awls, sewing needles, clothing fasteners, harpoons with barbs, and many other useful implements. One result was that tailored clothing and tents were easier to make. The first known sewing needle came from southwestern France and dates to about 25,000 years ago. Residues of animal skin pants, shirts, and shoes have been found in a 22,000 year old Cro-Magnon grave near Moscow in Russia. Wild flax fibers from 34,000 year old thread or twine have been found at a cave site in the Republic of Georgia. Some of these fibers appear to have been dyed black, gray, turquoise, and/or pink. The fibers were twisted, suggesting that they had been used to make thread, string, or rope. Thread could have been used to sew leather pieces together. Thicker twine or rope could have been used to tie things together and make carrying easier.
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Magdalenian bone sewing needles from Gourdan Cave, France |
Magdalenian bone harpoon points
with barbs (their broken tips are on the right) |
European Upper
Paleolithic Art
The Cro-Magnon people of Europe regularly decorated their tools and sculpted small pieces of stone, bone, antler, and ivory. Necklaces, bracelets, and decorative pendants were made of bones, teeth, and shells. Cave walls were often painted with naturalistic scenes of animals. Clay was also modeled occasionally. From our culture's perspective, these symbolic and naturalistic representations would be referred to as art. However, that is an ethnocentric projection. For the Cro-Magnon who made this art, it was very likely thought of as being something different, or at least much more, than we think of as art or ornamentation. For instance, it may have had magical and/or religious functions.
Upper Paleolithic European
representational art began by
40,000 years ago and became
intense 15,000-10,000 years ago. Perhaps, the most prominent portable art
was in the form that has become known as Venus figurines
.
These are sculptures of women.
They are not
portraits but rather faceless idealized representations of well fed, healthy,
usually pregnant nude women with
exceptionally large buttocks and breasts. Because of these
exaggerated sexual characteristics, they are thought by
most paleoanthropologists to be ritual objects symbolizing female fertility.
Many of these stylized carvings are reminiscent of modern abstract art. Venus figurines
were made from around 35,000 years ago down to the end of the last ice age 10,000
years ago. They have been found from Western Europe all of the way to Siberia.
Most were small enough in size to be easily hand held.
The Venus of Laussel shown below on the right is a rare exception.
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| Venus of Willendorf Austria (4 3/8 inches [11.1 cm.] tall) |
Venus
of Lespugue France (5 3/4 inches [14.6 cm.] tall) |
Venus of Laussel France (17 inches [43.2 cm.] tall) |
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Lion-man hybrid
from |
Not all of the portable art was in the form of Venus figurines. Many small carvings have been found that depict animals and people, including men. There are carvings of human penises as well.
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Carved bone (late Magdalenian Tool Tradition) |
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Carved bear teeth |
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The Cro-Magnon people are, perhaps, most well known for their paintings on the walls of caves. Although, this cave art is most abundant in Southwest France and Northern Spain, it was made elsewhere by other early modern humans as well. With cave art, we see the first large scale, concrete symbols of human thoughts, feelings, and perhaps even beliefs about the supernatural. Over 150 Western European caves have been found with these ice age paintings on their walls.
 |
| Cave art from Lascaux, France (left and right) and Altamira, Spain (center) |
Most of this cave art was made deep inside caves, in hard to get to dark areas. It is assumed that because of the locations, these areas were very likely sacred or special in some sense and that the art was inspired by concerns with the supernatural. The majority of the figures are realistic looking herd animals, many of which are shown either wounded or pregnant. A number of paleoanthropologists have suggested that the artists were most likely performing sympathetic (or imitative) hunting and fertility magic. This would have been particularly important when this art was at its peak in sophistication (15,000-10,000 years ago) because at that time the last ice age was winding down and the herds of game animals were dying out or moving away to the north. Some of the animals depicted in the caves were predators, such as cave bears and lions, rather than prey. Drawing and painting them may have been a way of obtaining protection from these dangerous creatures or even a way of taking on their ferociousness and skill to increase human hunting success. Because of the subjects being depicted, it has been suggested that this cave art was the focus of men and, subsequently, was produced by male artists. In contrast, the Venus figurines suggest predominantly female interests. However, because we know so little about the living cultures of the Cro-Magnon people, we must always be careful in interpreting their art. We may not be grasping the intended function and meaning.
Human representations are rare among European cave paintings. Those that do exist usually are simple stick figures of men hunting. They often are shown with erect penises (as shown in the photo below). There are also several depictions of bearded adult male heads. One is life size. The largest is 6 1/2 feet (2 m.) tall with a cap. There have also been found geometric patterns in some of the caves that have been interpreted as female genitalia.
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Painted human
stick figure |
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Note the spear through |
Some of the European cave art seems to have been
associated with ceremonies. These ceremonies may have been accompanied by
music. The areas of the caves in which paintings were made and used often
have good acoustical qualities. Drumsticks, flutes, and bull-roarers
were found near the paintings in Lascaux
Cave. The art very likely reflects the Cro-Magnon world view. Some
researchers have suggested that they were, in part, depicting their spirit
world. The fact that footprints of both adults and children have been found
in some of the caves near the paintings has also suggested that the art was
connected with male initiation ceremonies
for boys becoming men.
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Bone
flute (Upper Paleolithic) (Geissenklösterle Cave, Germany) |
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Bull-roarer
replica 14 inches (35.6 cm.) long |
Some cave walls and bone artifacts have sequences of incised lines and short marks or ticks that do not appear to be representational art. Some of these incisions strike one as being strictly utilitarian tallies. However, their actual purpose is unknown. Such marks have been found on bone artifacts made by late Neandertals, but they did not become common until the Cro-Magnon people developed their Upper Paleolithic tool traditions. A few Cro-Magnon bone artifacts dating to as early as 25,000 years ago have what appear to be carefully incised lineal sequences of circular to crescent-shaped ticks. Alexander Marshack believes that at least one of these bones (shown below) was made to be used as a lunar calendar of sorts.
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Antler bone plaque |
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4¼ inches (10.8 cm.) long |
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If calendars were being made, it implies that some people were recognizing the cyclical nature of the seasons. To people dependent on seasonally available foods and migrating herds, a calendar would have allowed more accurate predictions that would make the food quest more efficient. Also of great value to Upper Paleolithic hunters and gatherers would have been maps. The earliest possible map was scratched into a 16,000 year old bone found at Mezhirich in Ukraine. It evidently shows the countryside around a Cro-Magnon settlement.
The Cro-Magnon art changed through time.
In the period 40,000-25,000 years ago,
bone flutes, carved figurines, and personal
decorative ornaments such as bracelets and
pendants began to appear.
Until recently, it was thought that the oldest rock art was charcoal
drawings of bison and rhinoceroses dating to 31,000 ± 1,300 years ago in
the French cave of Grotte Chauvet
.
Recent dating of red human hand paintings in the northern Spanish cave of El
Castillo indicate that they were made at least 40,800 years ago.
The second period of Cro-Magnon art was 25,000-18,000 years ago. Cave art apparently became relatively common in Southern France and Northern Spain at that time; however, it mostly consisted of rough animal outlines, abstract forms, and genitals. This was a very cold phase of the last ice age. The Cro-Magnon people probably created these paintings while wintering over in the caves.
In the period 18,000-15,000 years ago, more elaborate animal depictions were being painted. Shading was now used to indicate muscles and hair. In addition, animals were depicted moving.
The greatest period of European cave art was 15,000-11,000 years ago. This phase coincided with the final melt phase of the last ice age and the height of the Magdalenian Tool Tradition. Large sanctuaries were created which had realistically colored bison, horses, deer, cattle, and other large animals. The cave art at this time was likely the product of a burst of ceremonial activities. Many tools were carved decoratively in that terminal period as well. Likewise, personal decoration made of bone, teeth, and shell was very common. This was the period of the most elaborate Venus figurines. The tradition of making these stylized female representations lasted for about 25,000 years. As such, it represents a remarkably persistent belief system. The duration is even more remarkable when considering that Islam has existed for only about 1,400 years, Christianity for 2,000 years, and Judaism (in its current form) for less than 2,500 years.
It is important to remember that Europe was not the only part of the world in which early modern humans produced art. The earliest known possible art object was found in South Africa. It is a 77,000 year old nodule of hematite that has engraved geometrical designs. Depictions of animals were being painted in southern African rock shelters possibly as early as 28,000 years ago and beads made from ostrich shells were being made there by 38,000 years ago. Cave and rock shelter paintings also have considerable antiquity in Siberia and Australia. However, Upper Paleolithic art was especially abundant in Western Europe and is most well known from there.
Upper
Paleolithic Social Changes
The extraordinary advancements in Upper Paleolithic technology and art did not take place in a vacuum. They developed during a time of remarkable social changes. Those changes created the necessary environment for the cultural innovations to occur. The ultimate driving force was probably a combination of population growth, larger communities, more efficient subsistence patterns, and increased life spans. From the time of the earliest humans 2.5 million years ago until around 50-40,000 years ago, the global human population experienced only very modest growth. People evidently lived in small hunting, gathering, and scavenging bands that rarely exceeded a few dozen individuals. Life expectancy was typically 30 years or less, often much less. Recent analysis by Rachel Caspari and Sang-Hee Lee of human teeth from Upper Paleolithic sites has shown that beginning around 30,000 years ago there was a sharp rise in the number of people who were over 30 years old. They were living significantly longer on average. Caspari and Lee calculated that there probably was a 4-fold increase in the number of grandparents, since generational times were likely to have been around 15 years. In most societies of the past, grandparents performed the valuable function of taking care of and educating grandchildren, thereby allowing their own adult children to become more involved in food acquisition and other activities. This could have been one of the major contributors to the creative explosion of culture in Upper Paleolithic societies. Childrearing grandparents perform the critical job of passing on their society's skills and cumulative knowledge to the young. This was most likely the case in Upper Paleolithic societies as well. Another consequence of increased longevity is that women have more reproductive years. As a result, an increase in family size and the growth of populations is almost inevitable. Caspari and Lee suggest that the rapid cultural evolution, evidenced by new technology and art during the Upper Paleolithic, largely was a consequence of these demographic transformations. Likewise, the Upper Paleolithic cultural developments no doubt contributed to increased longevity in turn, which fueled the population explosion.