por The Upper Paleolithic was the final stage of the Paleolithic and the first period of the Stone Age. As with the rest of Prehistory, historians have based this periodization on the way early humans worked stone.
Although the characteristics that mark the beginning of the Upper Paleolithic appeared at different times in each area of the planet. In general lines it is considered that this period began approximately 40,000 years ago and ended in 10,000 before the present (BP).
As in the Lower and Middle Paleolithic, the Upper Paleolithic was a time marked by ice ages. The harsh climatic conditions had a decisive influence on the way in which human beings organized their existence.
In order to survive, they had to form small groups that moved looking for the best places to find food. Despite maintaining nomadism, some remains have been found indicating that they were able to establish settlements for relatively long periods of time.
It was during this period when the Homo sapiens became the dominant hominid on the planet. Their greater cranial capacity allowed them to improve tool-making techniques and, thanks to this, hunt more and larger prey.
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Characteristics
The periodic division of Prehistory is based on the evolution of the techniques with which human beings made their tools. During the Paleolithic (which means ancient stone) several types of lithic industries followed one another, reaching the highest quality during the upper period.
On the other hand, this period was also characterized by the change in the dominant human species. After millennia of evolution, the Homo sapiens replaced the previous species. This is considered as the time when modern man appeared on the planet.
dating
As has been pointed out, the periodization of Prehistory is based on the dominant lithic industry at each moment. However, the different techniques of working the stone did not appear at the same time everywhere, so the dating of each period is variable.
Thus, the Upper Paleolithic in Europe spanned from 40,000 BP to 10,000 BP. In Africa, on the other hand, some of the novelties in the lithic industry were prior to those dates because it was in that continent where the Homo sapiens.
In America, for their part, experts have established a different periodization within the Paleolithic. In this way, the period corresponding to the Upper Paleolithic is called the Lithic Period.
There is no scientific consensus about when the Homo sapiens to America. Depending on the historiographical current, the estimated date ranges from 47,000 years BP to 16,000 years BP.
expansion of Homo sapiens
The most relevant event in human evolution that occurred in this period was the establishment of the Homo sapiens as, first, the dominant species and, later, the only one within the human race.
One of the factors that favored this predominance was the capacity of the Homo sapiens to survive harsh weather conditions. In large part, this adaptability was due to their ability to make tools that increased their chances of survival.
After leaving the African continent, the Homo sapiens It arrived 100,000 years ago in the Middle East. However, there he met the Neanderthal Man, who stopped his expansion to the west. However, he was able to reach large areas of Asia where he replaced the last copies of erectus.
Later, already around 40,000 BP, the Homo sapiens Improved technique for making tools. The so-called Cro-Magnons could then spread throughout Europe. For 10,000 years they shared the continent with the Neanderthals until they became extinct for reasons that have not yet been clarified.
Technological changes
In addition to the aforementioned technical improvements when making tools, the men of the Upper Paleolithic began to introduce new raw materials. Among these, bone, ivory or clay stood out. This allowed the utensils they could build to multiply, making them more efficient.
Subsistence and habitat changes
Anthropologists affirm that the human being of the time began to hunt in a more selective way. This caused some animal species to become scarce in certain areas.
On the other hand, some evidence has been found that suggests an incipient process of domestication of some animals.
Regarding the habitats they occupied, the archaeological remains show great differences depending on the areas of the planet. In southern Europe, for example, humans lived in caves, but in the Black Sea area they lived in huts built from mammoth bones.
Appearance of the symbolic and art
Although the Neanderthals already developed some ritual activities related to burials, most experts consider that art and objects created for symbol (and not merely for a functional purpose) appeared during the Upper Paleolithic.
domestication of canids
Engravings found in some caves show that humans began to domesticate canids during this period. It would be animals similar to wolves or the current huskies.
In the aforementioned representations you can see images of canids helping men to hunt.
Improved hunting techniques
It is known that the erectus he had already begun to hunt with some assiduity. However, it was the Neanderthals and Homo sapiens that established this activity as the basis of their survival.
Tools
The cultures linked to the manufacture of tools during the Upper Paleolithic were four: the Aurignacian, the Gravettian, the Solutrean and the Magdalenian. The names come from the different areas of France where deposits were found.
Aurignacian culture (35,000 BC to 28,000 BC)
The first of the Upper Paleolithic cultures still contained elements of the Mousterian. It was a lithic industry that produced a great variety of tools, among which the points with a stem or the scrapers stood out. Materials such as horn or bone were also used at this time.
One of the most striking objects among those found belonging to this culture is a musical instrument, the oldest known.
Gravettian culture (until 22,000 BC)
The burins, sometimes completed with perforators or scrapers, were the most characteristic utensil of this period. In the same way, blades with a lowered back have been found, as well as assegaya points made with bones.
Solutrean (until 18,000 BC)
The appearance of command batons manufactured in this period have made it possible to affirm that the social organization began to become hierarchical.
In addition to these objects, bone needles and other laurel-shaped tools have also been found. According to experts, it is likely that humans at the time began subjecting stones to heat treatment to make them easier to carve.
During the Solutrean period, great perfection was achieved when working with flint. This allowed different kinds of arrowheads to be manufactured, such as those with a flat face or the so-called «laurel leaves»).
Magdalenian culture (until 10,000 BC)
Many historians consider this culture to be the most outstanding in all of Prehistory, since the development of tool construction techniques allowed important advances.
To begin with, human beings began to manufacture smaller utensils, to the point that some authors speak of «microlithic». The consequences were the elaboration of many personal adornments and, possibly, the appearance of artisans specialized in them.
sheet industry
From the Upper Paleolithic, human beings will begin to polish the stone in order to perfect their creations. However, this technology would only begin to be applied to work tools during the Neolithic, since before it was only used for objects with a symbolic charge.
In addition, this evolution of the sheet industry allowed working with elongated flakes. This meant that the raw material would be used much better.
flint and bone tools
The stone remained the main raw material in the manufacture of tools. The most used were quartzite, limestone and, above all, flint. Hunting weapons, scrapers or knives and harpoons were made with it. The technique used to work the flint was percussion.
In addition to stone, Upper Paleolithic men also used bones to make utensils. Among the objects made with this material have been found sewing needles, harpoons or ornaments.
Art
The Upper Paleolithic was the time when artistic manifestations appeared. The best known are the cave paintings, although there was also the so-called mobile art.
paleolithic painting
Cave paintings were an eminently European phenomenon. These representations, the best examples of which can be seen in the western part of that continent, used the walls of the caves in which human beings of the time lived as canvases.
There is no agreed explanation about the purpose of these paintings. The most consolidated theory affirms that they could have been created with ritual and magical intentions.
Upper Paleolithic paintings and engravings can be divided into two types depending on what was depicted. Thus, many of them are purely geometric, with lines and points forming figures.
The second of the types is formed by the representations of animals and people. Typically, scenes of hunting and animals such as bison, deer, horses or, in a few cases, fish were shown. Likewise, you can find some paintings that seem to show moments of daily life.
furniture art
Movable or portable art was the other great artistic manifestation that appeared during this period. These were small objects, as members of the group carried them with them every time they moved to a new location.
This art consisted, for the most part, of figurines and small decorated tools made of stone, antlers, or bones.
The figurines could represent animals, although the most characteristic are those that had a human form. These are usually referred to in a general way as Venus, since they are female figures related to fertility.
Lifestyle
The domain of Homo sapiens and the disappearance of the other hominid species led to some changes in the way of life of the first humans.
However, the great transformations, such as a sedentary lifestyle or livestock, would still take some time to arrive, since they were linked to the end of the ice age.
Habitat diversification
The man of…