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)