Upper Paleolithic

The Upper Paleolithic - from Greek παλαιός ( palaios ) " old " and λίθος ( lithos ) "stone" - refers to the younger portion of the Eurasian Paleolithic about 40,000 years ago until the end of the last glacial period ( beginning of the Holocene ) by about 9,700 BC BC the beginning of the Upper Paleolithic is equated with the immigration of " anatomically modern humans " (Homo sapiens ) to Europe.

Human fossil remains

→ Main article Cro- Magnon man

The " modern man " is in Europe for the first time at 36,000 BP in the Peştera cu Oase (Romania ) has relatively complete skulls. Also be discussed fossil remains from Grotta del Cavallo ( Apulia ) and the Kent's Cavern (England ), but include only the teeth and maxillary rest. Years ago, about 40000-30000 parallel to the immigrant Homo sapiens were still Neanderthals in Europe, where the cultures of the Szeletiens and Châtelperronian be attributed to this period. By definition, cultures of the late Neanderthal nor of the previous period of the Middle Palaeolithic be attributed. The most recent fossil finds of Neanderthals come from Spain (eg Zaffaraja, Gibraltar ), Croatia ( Vindija ) and of the Crimea peninsula. The migration of Homo sapiens is derived due to the earliest forms of the Aurignacian from the Middle East and the Caucasus.

Archaeological cultures of the Upper Paleolithic

→ Main article Aurignacian, Gravettian, Pavlovian, Solutrean, Magdalenian, hamburger culture

With the Upper Paleolithic a new blade concept under a system is " Leitgrates " connected with the tools made ​​of flint. This means that on the core is a vertical dorsal ridge is created that allows for a straight flow of the brittle fracture along the working surface, (and thus the separating long narrow reductions = blades). This concept differs from the based Levallois blade production in the Middle Palaeolithic. Despite a gradual adaptation of the Upper Paleolithic blade concept already in transition industries that are still essential elements of the Levallois point ( Bohunicien in Moravia, Uluzzien in Italy) can only be described as the Upper Paleolithic Aurignacian real.

There are also unless Flint tips now increasingly those of bone, antler and ivory. Bone points with a "split base " form a leading form of the older Aurignaciens. A new tool of the Upper Paleolithic is the graver. In addition, there are - connected to the immigration of modern humans - the first time wall and cabaret (cave painting, jewelry, musical instruments and ivory figures (main products Upper Palaeolithic cabaret, Venusfigurinen ) ).

The middle Upper Paleolithic is defined by the occurrence rückengestumpfter blades and spikes ( Gravettian, 28000-22000 BP) as well as the occurring only in France and Cantabria Solutrean ( 22000-18000 BP). As late or upper Magdalenian Upper Paleolithic which (including Badegoulien ) in Western Europe and the Epigravettian in eastern Central Europe and Eastern Europe are called. In a narrower sense, the Upper Paleolithic ends (for subdivision into older, middle and late Upper Paleolithic ) to 12,700 BC, in the broad sense ( in the threefold division of Old, Middle and Upper Paleolithic ) it includes the Upper Paleolithic with a and ends at the Pleistocene Holocene boundary about 9700 BC

Upper Paleolithic

→ Main article penknife groups, Ahrensburg culture

In the southwest European heartland of the Magdalenian, there are around 12,000 BC a transition to Azilian, which is attributed to the Epipalaeolithic. For a uniform understanding of the late Upper Paleolithic cultures at the end of the Weichsel glaciation in northern Central Europe are therefore referred to as " Upper Paleolithic ".

The Upper Paleolithic begins with the significant warming of Greenland Interstadial 1e by 12,500 BC, which corresponds to the beginning of the Meiendorf interstadial. The demarcation between young and Upper Paleolithic does not take place uniformly in the German language area. 14C dates of the Hamburg culture correspond to the Meiendorf interstadial, so that in a climatic definition of the Hamburg culture should also be attributed to the Upper Paleolithic. That conclusion is contrary to that the hamburger culture was contemporaneous with the younger Magdalenian in France, southern Germany and Moravia, so that archaeological and historical climate categories contradict each other. In practice, the conflict is usually bypassed by the " Upper Paleolithic " is subordinated to the Upper Palaeolithic and used only for the purposes of archaeological cultures of the northern central Europe. In Northern Germany and adjacent areas, the archaeological cultures of Spätpaläolithikums for typical tool shapes in the penknife groups and the Ahrensburg culture are divided.

Due flowing archaeological limits the end of the Paleolithic is climate history with the end of the Younger Dryas ( 9,700 BC) defined and thus the change of era Pleistocene / Holocene. Microliths as a typical form of Mesolithic already existed in the Upper Paleolithic, so here archaeologically is no sharp boundary.

Climate and Environment

Geologically lies the Upper Paleolithic in the period of Jungpleistozäns. Climatically the Upper Paleolithic falls into the upper portion of the last glacial period, the second Glacial Maximum is around 20000-18000 BP. After partially interstadial conditions during Aurignaciens with humid temperate climate prevails during the Gravettiens before cold and dry climate. The early Magdalenian is characterized in Southwest Europe by an interstadial ( Lascaux interstadial ), in otherwise predominantly cold climate. After the melting of the last great glaciation during the Late Glacial Central Europe there is a first reforestation in the Allerød interstadial, the last of a cold phase ( Younger Dryas ) will be replaced.

During and especially at the end of the Weichsel / Würm glaciation it comes to the extinction of many Pleistocene mammals. This can be either with environmental changes, over-hunting by humans ( " overkill hypothesis" ) or a combination of both causes are explained ( Main article Quaternary extinctions ). While the cave is already extinct around 25,000 BP or exterminated by Cro- Magnon man, other large mammals have disappeared only after the last Glacial Maximum the Würm or Weichsel glaciation. These include cave lion, woolly rhinoceros, giant deer and steppe bison. The mammoth was completely displaced from Europe and died in northeastern Siberia around 3000 BC from.