Short answers, pulled from the story.
The Upper Paleolithic marks the final chapter of the Old Stone Age, stretching from 50,000 years ago to 12,000 years ago. This era ended as the Holocene began, ushering in warmer climates and new ways of life.
The oldest known ceramic figurine is the Venus of Dolní Věstonice, created between 29,000 and 25,000 BC. Notational signs appeared next to animal images around 35,000 BCE, possibly serving as proto-writing.
Anatomically modern humans expanded northward into Siberia as far as the 58th parallel by about 45 ka. East and Central Asia populations crossed the Bering land bridge after 35 ka, expanding into the Americas by 15 ka.
Distinct regional cultures emerged across Eurasia with specific timeframes including Aurignacian which flourished between 43,000 and 26,000 BP across Europe and southwest Asia. Magdalenian evidence spans from Portugal to Poland between 17,000 and 12,000 BP.
The Last Glacial Maximum lasted from about 26.5 to 19 kya, making Northern Europe nearly uninhabitable under ice sheets. Populations retreated to refugia including Italy, the Balkans, parts of the Iberian Peninsula, and areas around the Black Sea.