What is the Upper Paleolithic period?
The Upper Paleolithic is the third and last subdivision of the Paleolithic, or Old Stone Age. It dates very broadly to between 50,000 and 12,000 years ago and is followed by the Mesolithic.
Questions about Upper Paleolithic
Short answers, pulled from the story.
When did the Upper Paleolithic begin and end?
The Upper Paleolithic dates very broadly to between 50,000 and 12,000 years ago, the latter marking the beginning of the Holocene. The Holocene glacial retreat begins around 11,700 years ago.
What tools and inventions appeared in the Upper Paleolithic?
The Upper Paleolithic introduced flint industries based on fine blades rather than simpler flakes, along with burins and racloirs for working bone, antler and hides. Advanced darts and harpoons appear, as well as the fish hook, the oil lamp, rope, and the eyed needle.
What art was made during the Upper Paleolithic?
The Upper Paleolithic produced cave painting, petroglyphs, and carvings and engravings on bone or ivory, including Venus figurines. Notable sites include Chauvet Cave in France, the Hall of Bulls at Lascaux, the ceiling at Altamira in Spain, and the Löwenmensch figure from Hohlenstein-Stadel in Germany.
What was the Last Glacial Maximum in the Upper Paleolithic?
The Last Glacial Maximum was the coldest phase of the last glacial period, lasting from about 26,500 to 19,000 years ago. Most of Northern Europe was covered by an ice-sheet, forcing human populations into refugia including modern Italy, the Balkans, parts of the Iberian Peninsula, and areas around the Black Sea.
How did humans spread during the Upper Paleolithic?
Modern humans expanded from Africa across Asia and Eurasia around 50,000 years ago, reaching Australia before about 60,000 years ago and Europe after about 45,000 years ago. They reached the Bering land bridge after about 35,000 years ago and expanded into the Americas by about 15,000 years ago.
What happened to the Neanderthals in the Upper Paleolithic?
The Neanderthals continued using Mousterian and possibly Châtelperronian stone tool technology, which disappeared from the record at about the same time the Neanderthals vanished from the fossil record, around 40,000 calibrated years before present. Evidence for continued Neanderthal presence in the Iberian Peninsula at 37,000 years ago was published in 2017.