Paleolithic Age, also called the Old Stone Age, is known as the oldest pre-historic stage of cultural development, which lasted until circa 8000 BC. This period is considered the heyday of creativity when ancient humans created the first complex tools out of stone and other materials. Unfortunately, due to the lack of written records, the only sources of researcher’s knowledge about this period come from archaeological findings. When it comes to studying the history of human evolution, paleolithic must be taken into account because many distinctive cultural changes, such as the cave paintings and rock artifacts, occurred during this era. Since the Paleolithic period spanned tens of thousands of years, historically, it is usually divided into several phases. This paper will further elaborate on the Middle and Upper Paleolithic ages.
According to genetic evidence, which came from archaeological discoveries, the time span of the Middle Paleolithic lasted between 300,000 to 50,000 BC (Stewart and Jones 2016, 3). This period is mainly associated with an ancient kind of humans, Homo Sapiens Neanderthalensis, who were mostly scavengers, hunters, and gatherers. However, to survive the harsh conditions of bitter cold, they made sophisticated tools from wood, stone, and bones, specifically antlers and ivory. This is the reason why the Middle Paleolithic Age is considered as an independent stage of human development instead of viewing it just as a transitional period. The most impressive advancement of this time is called Mousterian tradition (Kottak 2013). The creating of instruments by means of this method required the reshaping of a stone’s core to turn it into a simple blade. The flake was shaped into a somewhat triangular oval with a sharp point. The technology advanced throughout the ages as Neanderthals included parts from other materials into one tool. For example, in Mousterian weapons, the wooden parts mostly served as handles. Such tradition allowed humans to build more complicated tools, for instance, harpoons, simple knives, and spears.
Furthermore, a very cold hostile environment forced Neanderthals to take shelter in caves, make clothing out of sinew and fur and live in groups in order to help each other. Moreover, their short, sturdy bodies were able to preserve heat better than any other species, making Neanderthals more sustainable to the cold. Besides, as the harsh climate was not suitable not only for gardening but even for gathering, Neanderthals were predominantly carnivorous. The necessity to constantly chew animal meat, sinew, and hides made their front teeth big and heavy. The early humans obtained meat by hunting, using newly created weapons. Apart from skin and meat, bones were just as the important because early human-made jewelry and carvings out of them, which were the evidence of first human art.
One of the most famous pieces of Middle Paleolithic art was the Mask of la Roche-Cotard. The historians also call the mask the Mousterian Protofigurine (Půtová, 2016). The mask was discovered in 1975 in La Roche-Cotard cave, France, and it was made out of flint, limestone, and bone. It is believed that the artifact was modified in order to resemble a human face, which serves as evidence that Neanderthals, in fact, were developed enough to create art. Other examples of art are cave paintings that were purely schematic and simple, not naturalistic at all. However, such paintings demonstrate the capacity of ancient humans to comprehend and depict their surroundings. The most known cave illustrations of the Middle Paleolithic are Romualdova Cave, Altamira, and Lascaux.
After the Middle Paleolithic, the Upper Paleolithic Age has taken place, which is the last phase of the Paleolithic era. This period lasted until 10,000 BC and is mainly characterized as the biggest cultural revolution of humankind (Feng et al. 2015). During this stage of history, stone technologies advanced even further, the Mousterian tradition was slightly updated. Specifically, “blades were hammered off a core, according to a Mousterian technology, however, the length was more than twice its width” (Kottak 2013, 158). Such a method produced more cutting-edge hunting weapons and tools for gathering. It marked the first appearance of fish hooks, more sharp knives, pins, and even needles. The invention of needles suggested the first attempts in sewing, and fish hooks confirmed that apart from hunting, pre-historical people also began to put more emphasis on fishing. As a result of tools development, humans become more skillful hunters; they worked out the ability to plan the hunting and cull animals. Humans managed to form small groups for hunting trips and kill animals massively in order to store the meat. Moreover, the Upper Paleolithic is famous for animal domestication. The first creature to ever enter the human home as a pet and a companion was a dog. And it remained the most loyal partner ever since.
To work on bones and furs, new and progressive tools such as racloirs were put to work, allowing carving small objects like figurines. The most iconic pieces of Upper Paleolithic art are Venus figurines. They were usually small, represented a human figure, and had over-exaggerated feminine features, which suggests that they were some kind of fertility talismans used in religious rituals. Some of them were not only carved in stones or ivory, but they were also covered in red ocher, which confirms the fact that they were created deliberately for some abstract purpose. The most famous Venus figurines are La Dame Ocrée, the Dolní Věstonice Venus, and Chiozza di Scandiano Venus.
There are many cultural aspects which first appeared during the Upper Paleolithic, for example, a symbolic and self-reflective thought which was represented in cave drawings, and they received more attention from the anthropological research community. Much of the archeological findings of the Upper Paleolithic period were mostly discovered in west Asia and Europe, especially in France. For instance, the iconic Chauvet-Pont-d’Arc Cave was found by cave explorers in a southern part of France Ardèche valley. The paintings depicted mostly animals, like lions, rhinos, and even mammoths in black and red pigments. The complex composition of paintings surprised historians, because the execution techniques, as well as a cultural context, seemed to be too complicated for humans of the Paleolithic period. Nevertheless, such an extraordinary piece of art symbolizes the ability of storytelling, the skill that only humans can possess.
In conclusion, it would appear that the study of ancient stages of human cultural advancement may form not only interesting but crucial insights into the history of humanity. The Middle and the Upper Paleolithic periods are different stages and are identified by completely different characteristics. Nevertheless, they are equally important in their contribution to the evolution of humankind. Not only ancient humans at this time created more complex instruments in order to make life easier. They also began to express themselves and their view of the world through art pieces, jewelry, and other artifacts, which can be seen as the first sign of self-awareness.
References
Stewart, Brian A., and Sacha C. Jones, 2016. Africa from MIS 6-2: The Florescence of Modern Humans. In Africa from MIS 6-2. Vertebrate Paleobiology and Paleoanthropology, 1-20. Dordrecht: Springer.
Kottak, Conrad Phillip. 2013. Window on Humanity: A Concise Introduction to Anthropology. 6th ed. Boston: McGraw-Hill Higher Education.
Li Feng, Steven L. Kuhn, Ofer Bar-Yosef, Fu-you Chen, Fei Peng, and Xing Gao. 2019. History, chronology and techno-typology of the Upper Paleolithic sequence in the Shuidonggou area, northern China. Journal of World Prehistory 32 (2): 111-141.
Půtová, Barbora 2016. Proto-art: the origins of non-utilitarian symbolic thinking and artistic creativity. Anthropologie 54 (3): 175-185.