Major Lithic Cultures from the Old World: The Lower Paleolithic Archaeological Period...
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Major Lithic Cultures from the Old World:The Lower Paleolithic
Archaeological Period
Date Hominins Location
Oldowan
The Oldowan culture is the
world’s oldest known lithic culture.
2.5 - 1.5 million years ago
Homo habilis, Homo rudolfensis, possibly
Australopithecus boisei, possibly
Australopithecus garhi
Africa
Acheulean
The Acheulean is characterized by
large handaxes and is the first known lithic culture to
appear outside of Africa.
1.65 mya – 100,000 ya
Homo ergaster, Homo erectus
Africa, Asia, Europe
Acheulean with Levallois flake
tools
Levallois tools are produced by flaking around the edge of a
core and then knocking off a flake.
The Levallois continues into the
Middle Paleolithic.
600,000 – 100,000 ya Homo heidelburgensis
Africa, parts of Europe
Major Lithic Cultures from the Old World: The Middle Paleolithic
Archaeological Period
Date Hominins Location
Mousterian
The Mousterian includes the
Levallois and five other variants:
Typical, Ferrassie, Quina, Denticulate and the Mousterian
of Acheulean.
300,000 – 30,000 ya Homo neandertalensis, Homo sapiens
Africa, the Levant (Near and Middle
East), Europe
Aterian
The Aterian evolved from the
Mousterian-Levallois as an adaptation to
Saharan conditions.
60,000 – 30,000 ya Homo sapiens Saharan Africa
Howiesons Poort
Howieson’s Poort is always found
stratified between other Middle
Paleolithic layers, but contains
artifacts that would be classified as
Upper Paleolithic if found in Europe.
106,000 – 69,000 ya Homo sapiens
Southern Africa
Major Lithic Cultures from the Old World: The Upper Paleolithic
Archaeological Period
Date Hominins Location
Châtelperronian
The Châtelperronian is the oldest Upper Paleolithic culture, derived from the
Neandertal Mousterian. It is unclear if it was
invented independently of the
Aurignacian.
40,000 – 29,000 ya Homo neandertalensis
France, Spain
Aurignacian
The Aurignacian is the first widespread Upper Paleolithic
culture and the first created by Homo
sapiens.
40,000 – 23,000 ya Homo sapiens Europe, SW Asia, parts of
Saharan Africa
Gravettian
The Gravettian is divided into two
regional groups: the western Gravettian, known mostly from cave sites in France,
and the eastern Gravettian, known
mainly from open air sites in eastern
Europe and Russia.
28,000 – 22,000 ya Homo sapiens Europe
Major Lithic Cultures from the Old World: The Upper Paleolithic (continued)
Archaeological Period
Date Hominins Location
Solutrean
The Solutrean represents a culture
using techniques never seen before
and not rediscovered for
millennia after this culture’s abrupt disappareance.
19,000 – 15,000 ya Homo sapiens Europe
Magdalenian
The Magdalenian represents one of
the last Upper Paleolithic cultures and is best known
for big game hunting in late Ice
Age Europe.
18,000 – 10,000 ya Homo sapiens Europe, including possible sites in the
UK
Major Lithic Cultures from the Old World: The Mesolithic and Neolithic
Period Date Hominins Location
Mesolithic
The Mesolithic is characterized by small composite
chert tools, fishing tackles, stone adzes, canoes and bows. However, artifacts
from this period are fairly rare. This is
also the period with the first indication of
deforestation.
22-20,000 –11,000 ya (Levant)
10,000 – 7,000 ya
(Europe)
Homo sapiens Levant, Europe
Neolithic
The Neolithic is the last period of the Paleolithic and
signals the beginning of agriculture.
Farming was limited to a narrow range of domesticated crops. It also included the domestication and
herding of sheep and goats.
10,500 – 5,500 ya Homo sapiens Levant, Middle East, Southern Mesopotamia, Egypt, Europe, South and East
Asia
(Also in Mesoamerica)