Aterian

Arteries tip, scraper, scraper, drill, graver

With arteries is a culture of the Late Stone Age, Eng. Late Stone Age, in northern Africa called, which lasted about 40000-35000, with other authors to 18,000 or even 10,000 years ago. Its distribution area is the entire North and Central Sahara, particularly the eastern Algeria, reaching south to the 18th degree of latitude. Was named the arteries after the reference Bir Al Ater in Algeria. In the east, Egypt differs by a Levallois and Levallois - Moustero fund inventory significantly from the areas of the arteries.

Stone tools / lithic inventory

The flint (silex ) device of the arteries were lighter and more compact than previous tools. Typical findings are stem tips (called arteries - tips), scratches, scrapers, drills and gravers for the first time. The stem extension may have served to splice the devices in wood or bone.

Arteries tip

Scraper

Environment and economy

Carriers of the Aterian culture was anatomically modern humans (Homo sapiens), as confirmed by several places of discovery of Morocco ( Temara, Dar es Soltane 2 and El Harourader ) can be assigned.

The men were hunters and gatherers. The fauna at this time is today typical of savannas ( elephant, rhino, giraffe, lion, antelope ), but at that time. In a cooler, moist air in a landscape with open deciduous forests

Cultural classification

Finds from the time before the arteries were determined as the final Acheulean, in some places there were Levallois- finds, so this is sure to go here by a settlement gap. For the first time after a uniformly spread over the whole of Africa Acheulian here shows a clear spatial organization of different cultures on this continent. On the arteries followed the culture of epipaläolithischen Capsien, lay in the north- west between the Ibéromaurusien yet. It is still unclear whether there has been a settlement gap between these two cultures due to dry climate in the Sahara.