Lower and Middle Paleolithic
The Lower and Middle Paleolithic span the earliest stone-tool industries of the genus Homo, from simple Oldowan flakes through Acheulean handaxes to the prepared-core technologies of the Neanderthals and their contemporaries.
Definition
The earlier phases of the Paleolithic, encompassing the core-and-flake and handaxe industries of the Lower Paleolithic and the flake-based, prepared-core industries of the Middle Paleolithic.
Scope
This topic covers the deep span of the earlier Paleolithic, roughly from the first knapped tools to around 40,000 years ago. It treats the Oldowan and Acheulean industries associated with early Homo and Homo erectus, the Middle Paleolithic Mousterian linked chiefly to Neanderthals, and the evidence these assemblages provide for technology, subsistence, fire use, and the cognitive capacities of pre-modern humans.
Core questions
- How did the earliest stone-tool industries originate and change?
- What does the Acheulean handaxe reveal about the abilities of Homo erectus?
- How sophisticated were Neanderthal technology and behaviour?
- What subsistence strategies did earlier Paleolithic hominins use?
Key theories
- Levallois prepared-core technique
- The Middle Paleolithic method of carefully shaping a core so that flakes of predetermined form can be struck from it, taken as evidence of planning depth and technological skill in pre-modern humans.
- Handaxe as long-lived technological tradition
- The interpretation of the Acheulean biface, which persisted with little change for over a million years across Africa and Eurasia, as reflecting both the capabilities and the conservatism of Homo erectus and related hominins.
History
Recognition of the Lower Paleolithic began with the acceptance of human antiquity in the mid-19th century and the study of Acheulean and Mousterian industries in France. François Bordes's mid-20th-century typology systematized Middle Paleolithic assemblages, prompting the Bordes-Binford debate over whether assemblage variability reflected ethnic traditions or activities, a controversy that helped launch processual lithic studies.
Debates
- Meaning of Mousterian variability
- The Bordes-Binford debate over whether different Mousterian tool kits represent distinct cultural traditions or functional variation in the activities carried out at sites remains a touchstone for interpreting Middle Paleolithic assemblages.
Key figures
- Nicholas Toth
- Kathy Schick
- François Bordes
- Richard G. Klein
Related topics
Seminal works
- klein2009
- schick1993
Frequently asked questions
- Who made Lower and Middle Paleolithic tools?
- Lower Paleolithic Oldowan and Acheulean tools were made by early Homo and Homo erectus, while Middle Paleolithic Mousterian tools are associated chiefly with Neanderthals and other archaic humans.
- What is a handaxe?
- A handaxe, or biface, is a teardrop-shaped tool flaked on both faces, the signature artifact of the Acheulean industry that lasted for more than a million years.