When did the Paleolithic end? Upper Paleolithic - archaeological characteristics

The Paleolithic is the first historical period of the Stone Age from the beginning of the use of stone tools by hominids (genus Homo) (about 2.5 million years ago) until the advent of agriculture by humans around the 10th millennium BC. e. . Isolated in 1865 by John Lubbock. The Paleolithic is the era of the existence of fossil humans, as well as fossil, now extinct animal species. It occupies most (about 99%) of the time of human existence and coincides with two large geological epochs of the Cenozoic era - the Pliocene and Pleistocene.

In the Paleolithic era, the Earth's climate, its flora and fauna were significantly different from modern ones. People of the Paleolithic era lived in small primitive communities and used only chipped stone tools, not yet knowing how to polish them and make pottery - ceramics. However, in addition to stone tools, tools were also made from bone, leather, wood and other materials of plant origin. They hunted and gathered plant foods. Fishing was just beginning to emerge, and agriculture and cattle breeding were unknown.

The beginning of the Paleolithic (2.5 million years ago) coincides with the appearance on Earth of the most ancient ape-like people, archanthropes such as Olduvai Homo habilis. At the end of the Paleolithic, the evolution of hominids ends with the appearance of the modern species of people ( Homo sapiens). At the very end of the Paleolithic, people began to create ancient works of art, and signs of the existence of religious cults appeared, such as rituals and burials. The Paleolithic climate changed several times from glacial to interglacial periods, becoming warmer and colder.

The end of the Paleolithic dates back to approximately 12-10 thousand years ago. This is the time of transition to the Mesolithic - an intermediate era between the Paleolithic and Neolithic.

The Paleolithic is conventionally divided into Lower and Upper, although many researchers also distinguish the Middle Paleolithic from the Lower Paleolithic. More detailed divisions of the Upper or Late Paleolithic are only local in nature, since the various archaeological cultures of this period are not represented everywhere. The time boundaries between divisions in different regions may also differ, since archaeological cultures did not succeed each other at the same time.

Lower Paleolithic

Lower Paleolithic

1) Olduvai culture(2.6 million - 900 thousand years ago). The main monuments are located on the territory East Africa. Sites that were deliberately cleared were discovered, apparently for the construction of housing. The oldest of the sites of the Olduvai era, where the remains of Homo habilis were found - West Gona in Ethiopia (2.8 - 2.4 million years ago), as well as a site Koobi-Fora in Kenya (2 million years ago). The imperfection of the tools of that period is explained by the imperfection of processing technology and the imperfection of the physical structure of people.

Olduvai is characterized by 3 types of weapons:

a) Polyhedra (spheroids)- roughly hewn round stones with many edges, which served mainly as a striking tool for processing plant and animal food.

b) Made using retouching techniques. Stone flakes were first made, the working edge of which was corrected with small blows. They did not have stable forms and among them there were many small ones. Served for cutting carcasses.

V) Choppers - tools for cutting and chopping functions, then these were the most common tools that were made from pebbles, the top or edge of which has been cut off by several successive blows. Chopping- the same tools, but processed on both sides. Used to make tools cores.

2) Abbeville(1.5 million - 300 thousand years ago). The emergence of universal tools, such as hand chopped(double-sided tool). The hand ax was used for both chopping and cutting. Pebble tools are actively used.

3) Ashel(1.6 million - 150 thousand years ago). There is a change in stone processing technology. Techniques appear klekton», « Levallois" Additional splitting tools appear, made from bone and horn. The appearance of stone knives and scrapers. Beginning to use fire.

Middle Paleolithic

Homo erectus remained master of the Earth for about one and a half million years. Taking into account its unusually wide distribution in Old World, this is quite a sufficient period for any biological species for individual populations to continue to evolve in different directions. The greatest diversity of Homo erectus subspecies lived in Africa and adjacent parts of Asia and Europe. Here, about 200-300 thousand years ago, new species of people appeared , whose brain volume was not inferior to modern ones. First of all it was Neanderthals, which some experts consider an early subspecies of modern humans (Homo sapiens neanderthalensis), while others consider them a special species (Homo neanderthalensis).

Unlike Homo erectus and modern humans, Neanderthals were unable or did not have time to spread throughout the Old World. For some time they were, if not the only, then the predominant species hominid only in Europe, Central Asia, on Middle East and in North Africa. Neanderthals created a new material culture, which, after the place of the first finds, is called Mousterian. Improvement in stone processing technology occurred primarily due to the preliminary preparation of specially shaped cores from flint, from which thin and sharp flakes were pressed and chipped . Such tools were smaller than the Acheulian ones and more varied in appearance.

Modern humans (Homo sapiens), who appeared a little later (about 100 thousand years ago) in North Africa, used wooden handles to fasten flint flakes of the Mousterian type. This is how another archaeological culture appeared - aterian, the creators of which were the first or one of the first to use a spear And harpoon with stone tip , and later - and onion, the arrows for which also had a stone tip. The use of composite (wood and stone) tools and weapons later made it possible to switch to the use of very small flint flakes - microliths. The creation of more powerful weapons led to a transition to hunting larger animals that cannot be killed with wooden lances without a tip, up to mammoths caught in ingenious traps from which it is impossible to escape . This, in turn, changed the social organization of human communities, which became more numerous, since they could feed more people in the same territory and to hunt large animals required the efforts of more hunters, several dozen people . A large body of evidence shows that in the Middle Paleolithic people began to exchange goods among themselves, such as ocher or flint for making tools , no later than 120 thousand years ago . AND Neanderthals, And Homo sapiens Middle Paleolithic cared for elderly members of society .

As in modern hunter-gatherer societies, such as pygmies, their members were subordinate to society as a whole . However, it is believed that in most communities its members were still relatively equal, and decisions were made by majority vote . Such communities rarely or never became involved in organized violence between groups, i.e. wars . This was not an indicator of civilization, since even some monkeys, for example pygmy chimpanzee, capable of organizing similar communities .

Appearance in the Middle Paleolithic throwing weapons, at first, pikes and spears with tips, and ambush hunting increased both the likelihood of a fatal mistake and the emergence of a reason for clashes, and the danger of a voluntary or involuntary invasion of someone else's territory. The defenders had the advantage of more reliable shelters and organization of ambushes, so even the predominant number of attackers was not always the decisive factor for victory in clashes. Under such conditions, aggression was more likely to result in the depletion of the enemy's forces than in the territorial acquisitions necessary to support a large community. Therefore, peaceful relations between neighbors, cooperation and trade exchange became more profitable . At the same time, in some communities, by the end of the Middle Paleolithic, relatively complex hierarchically organized social structures had already arisen, for example, such as among the inhabitants Sungiri who lived in conditions that allowed them to feed relatively many people .

In the Middle Paleolithic, burials appeared, such as graves Neanderthals V Krapine (Croatia), whose age is about 130 thousand years. This indicates the emergence of ideas about the afterlife and magical rituals . The bones of the buried show traces of post-mortem cleansing of muscle tissue, possibly for ritual purposes. There is evidence that Neanderthals had a cult bear, that is totemism. About 70 thousand years ago in Africa there was a cult python, similar to the one now known Bushmen. No less than 30 thousand years ago the first shamans, and they were women . This is how it was born matriarchy.

Along with rituals and burials, art also appeared, in particular images of women, now called Venuses (for example, Venus from Tan-Tan, created more than 300 thousand years ago), man-beasts or jewelry in the form of mother-of-pearl beads from caves South Africa, whose age is more than 75 thousand years . Widely used ocher, mineral paint used for magical body painting and creating rock paintings .

Significant social and technological progress determined the evolutionary advantages of Homo sapiens, which turned out to be relatively more susceptible to it. It was this species that quickly spread both in the Old and New World(see article Early human migrations). Back to top Upper Paleolithic modern people have completely supplanted or assimilated Neanderthals, erectus and other related species, finding themselves in the sense of biological evolution without competition and remaining the only species of the genus Homo on the entire planet. The further development of Homo sapiens was associated with the unevenness of social and technical progress in different populations of this species, which created not one or two, like previous species of people, but many different material cultures, the number of which, starting from the Upper Paleolithic, increased at an ever-increasing speed. Separate archaeological cultures conditionally correspond to different ethnic groups of people.

Paleolithic

Paleolithic monuments of the West Siberian Plain. To date, more than thirty Paleolithic sites are known in this territory. This is significantly less than in the areas adjacent to the plain.

Most of the sites date back to the Late Paleolithic. Based on currently available radiocarbon dates, the Late Paleolithic localities of the West Siberian Plain can be divided into three conditional groups.

First of all - in 1896 - the Tomsk site was opened on the territory of Tomsk. She was accidentally discovered by zoologist N.F. Kashchenko thanks to the finds of large mammoth bones. N.F. Kashchenko drew attention to the presence of coals and traces of fire in the soil. He realized that the site of an ancient man had been discovered, and began its excavations, which he carried out so thoroughly that they are still considered exemplary. Excavation plans were drawn up, the depth of the finds was recorded, all samples of interest to the researcher were taken for analysis and stored. Based on the coals, the age of the site was determined to be 18.3 ± 1 thousand years. N.F. Kashchenko collected 200 small flint tools and the bones of one mammoth on an area of ​​40 m2. The researcher came to the following conclusions: 1) the stay was short-term (several days); 2) one mammoth was killed, part of which was eaten on the spot; 3) the hunters left, taking with them separate parts of the carcass; 4) the main part of the mammoth remained uncut (it lay on its left side).

The Wolf Mane monument is located in the Kargatsky district of the Novosibirsk region. It was discovered in 1957 by local residents and studied by paleontologists and geologists. Archaeological excavations were carried out in 1967 and 1968. under the leadership of A.P. Okladnikova. In 1975, the monument was examined by V.I. Molodin, and since 1991 - V.N. Zenin. The monument is multi-temporal: from 17,800 ± 100 to 11,090 ± 120 years. During excavations, large accumulations of animal bones were found. They belonged to about fifty individuals of mammoths and one wild horse; Single bones of bison and wolf were found. Some of the bones show traces of human activity; many fragments could serve as tools.

In the first year of excavations, no flint tools were found, so A.P. Okladnikov even spoke of a “bone Paleolithic” specific to this territory. In the second year of research, two small flint flakes were discovered among the bones. This indicated that the population knew flint, but flint tools, apparently, were in great short supply and were very much valued. Now the collection consists of 37 stone items, half of which are tools. A.P. Okladnikov believed that here archaeologists are dealing with a large settlement of Paleolithic man. Further excavations of the monument are complicated by the fact that a modern village is located above it.

At the Chernoozerye II settlement, excavations were carried out in 1968 - 1971. V.F. Gening and V.T. Petrin. The monument is located on the banks of the Irtysh in the Sargat district of the Omsk region. The cultural layer of the site is divided by sterile layers into three horizons, which indicates the repeated cessation and resumption of life in the settlement. During the research, stone tools were discovered, and the remains of dwellings with large round hearths were identified. One rectangular dwelling had an area of ​​10 m. In its center there was an oval pit-hearth. In total, 11 hearths were discovered at the site, many of which were heated by bones. Tools made from quartz pebbles were found. Stone tools of all horizons are extremely close to each other and are represented by scrapers and blades. Particularly noteworthy are the sites where the tools were made. Fragments of bones of various animals (elk, bull, horse, fox, hare) and fish were discovered. No mammoth bones were found here. The settlement, according to geologist S.M. Tseitlin, dates back to 10.8 - 12 thousand years ago. There is also a radiocarbon date for this site - 14,500 ± 500 years.

The settlement of Chernoozerye II yielded extremely interesting finds. Objects of art have been discovered here - so far the only ones for the Paleolithic of Western Siberia. These are the remains of two bone tiaras with a polished front surface. They have through holes drilled for attachment to a headdress. The edges of the tiara are decorated with a zigzag line. An excellent example of bone-carving art is the dagger. On its edges there are grooves for flint inserts. In the central part there is a longitudinal line made of closely adjacent holes and three diamonds.

The Vengerovo-5 monument in the Novosibirsk region on the bank of the river is extremely interesting. Tartas. Research here was carried out under the leadership of V.I. Molodin. During excavations of a later ground burial ground, a hole about 2 m deep was discovered. It was filled with bones and skulls of bison, interspersed with stone tools. At the very bottom, bones and fish scales were found. The filling of the pit was separated by sterile layers. Apparently the pit was used periodically. IN AND. Molodin suggested that the pit had no economic purpose and, most likely, is the remains of an ancient sanctuary. The monument is synchronous with the Chernoozerye II and Volchya Griva sites.

Cultural and economic characteristics of the Paleolithic of the West Siberian Plain.

Materials obtained in recent years suggest that the settlement of the West Siberian Plain began in the southern and southeastern regions 100 - 120 thousand years ago, and possibly even earlier. It came from Altai, Kazakhstan and, probably, from Central Asia. The Paleolithic period ended 10-11 thousand years ago.

The youngest site of this era is Chernoozerye II. It can be considered transitional to the Mesolithic period.

The Upper Paleolithic period is the time of human penetration into the central and southwestern part of the West Siberian Plain. People who were engaged in hunting came here after the animals that moved from the areas of the mountain frame. These animals were mammoth, bison, wild horse, etc. Obviously, initially people came here for a short time. It was difficult to live permanently in Western Siberia due to the lack of good-quality stone raw materials for making tools, and it was still impossible to make expeditions for it from permanent habitats. Therefore, the hunters chose a convenient site for themselves and repeatedly settled for a certain period, building dwellings with fireplaces here. An example of this is the Chernoozerye II monument, the cultural layer of which was interrupted by sterile layers. It is possible that we had to leave due to spring floods. That is why all found Paleolithic sites are divided into two groups: 1) short-term sites, where people lived for only a few days; 2) places where people periodically engaged in economic activities, at times completely leaving the site and then returning.

The population was engaged in hunting, mainly large animals. But, judging by the bone remains, they also ate hares, saigas, etc. At the end of the Upper Paleolithic, people also engaged in fishing (fish bones and scales appeared among the remains). Of course, the ancient population of Western Siberia could also have been involved in gathering, but there is no archaeological evidence for this yet.
On the territory of Russia, Upper Paleolithic burials have been discovered at a number of sites, but they are still unknown on the territory of the West Siberian Plain. The absence of burials does not give us the opportunity to judge the anthropological characteristics of the population of Western Siberia in the Paleolithic era.

MESOLITHIC

There is no unambiguous relationship to the use of the term Mesolithic (Middle Stone Age) in archeology. Some scientists consider it unlawful to single out this stage in the development of the ancient cultures of Siberia and the Far East, therefore, in their periodizations, the final stage of the Late Paleolithic is immediately followed by the Neolithic. Other researchers (L.P. Khlobystan) believe that Pleistocene (Paleolithic) cultures replaced the Holocene, so-called. Epipaleolithic cultures. The Epipaleolithic is no longer the Paleolithic, but what immediately followed it, preserving the features of Paleolithic cultures.

Without going into a discussion on this matter, let us explain that, highlighting the Mesolithic as a separate period in the archeology of the West Siberian Plain, we relied precisely on a complex of features, including archaeological ones (for example, the nature of the stone industry). By the Mesolithic of the West Siberian Plain we understand the phase of human development and the forms of its socio-economic and environmental relations. This phase was limited, on the one hand, by the change of geological eras (Pleistocene to Holocene), when the landscape and climatic environment of humans radically changed, which entailed a qualitative change in the forms of adaptation to new conditions, and on the other hand, by the appearance of ceramics and polished stone tools, already characteristic of the Neolithic era.

The early Holocene is a great time of fundamental discoveries in human history. The population of many regions of the Earth has switched to a sedentary lifestyle. Along with the further improvement of stone processing techniques, the bow and arrow became widespread. In the Near and Middle East, as well as in certain regions of Central Asia, during this period the first human experiments in the domestication of many species of plants and animals were carried out. In Siberia this was not yet possible due to too harsh conditions, so only the dog was domesticated here. Tools for mass fishing - nets - appeared. Sleighs and boats with oars became widespread.

So, in Western Siberia, the Paleolithic era in the X - VIII millennium BC. replaced by the Mesolithic. The absolute dates given here are quite arbitrary, since the formation of new traditions was associated with global climate changes, which entailed a radical change in landscapes and forms of their development by man. These climatic changes occurred over vast areas of Western Siberia, firstly, gradually, and secondly, unevenly.

However, the ice age ended, and climatic conditions became similar to modern ones. Mammoths and other representatives of the “mammoth fauna” disappeared.

Several Mesolithic sites are known on the territory of the West Siberian Plain. They were found on the Yamal Peninsula, in the Ishim-Tobolsk region, in the Barabinsk forest-steppe, on the Middle Irtysh and in the Kuznetsk Basin. These monuments are brought together by the fact that the nature of the stone tools changed. Relatively large forms were replaced by miniature tools. The smallest knife-like plates served as inserts in bone and stone foundations. It can be assumed that for the forest-steppe of Western Siberia, with its developed technology of combined tools, such a turn of events facilitated human adaptation to new conditions. However, the shortage of stone raw materials remained very acute.

During the Mesolithic era, a new stage of economic development of the West Siberian Plain began. Man widely used bows and arrows, with which he hunted fast-moving animals. Its main prey was deer and elk. The importance of fishing has increased. A new technique for making tools, the insert tool, became widespread. All these cultural elements were laid down at the very end of the Paleolithic, but became widespread precisely in the Mesolithic.

A new wave of settlement of the West Siberian Plain came from the south, from Kazakhstan and the Urals.

The man moved far to the north. The peculiarities of the region's settlement are clearly visible when compared with the neighboring Trans-Urals. In the Trans-Urals, which was sparsely populated during the Paleolithic era, a large number of Mesolithic sites have been discovered. A significant number of stone tools made from local material were found here. On the territory of the West Siberian Plain, few sites that can be attributed to the Mesolithic era have been found. The parking lots are unevenly distributed: closer to the Trans-Urals there are much more of them. Thus, the main flow of population from the south was directed to the Urals and much less towards Western Siberia.

Sites sometimes began to be located in groups on the terraces of rivers and lakes. The number of settlements in the group could be significant. An example is the Yuryinsky Lakes, located in the Tyumen region on the border with the Trans-Urals. More than 30 settlements have been discovered here at close distances from each other.

In Yamal, L.P. Khlobystin explored the location of Korchagi 16 (the right bank of the Ob River below the city of Salekhard). A complex of tools was found here, including several cores, a large scraper and scrapers. Near this accumulation, a carbonaceous layer was discovered, which in the section lies higher than the deposits containing Mesolithic finds (i.e., it can be either synchronous with them or younger). The absolute age of the coal selected from this layer is 7,260 (± 80) years ago.

A group of sites was discovered in the taiga zone - on the river. Conde. Half-dugouts and above-ground dwellings have been excavated here. One of them is two-chamber, with a corridor and a fireplace. The cultural layer of the settlements was powerful and contained several thousand small stone tools.

LECTURE No. 2 § 1 . Human Origins.

People of the Paleolithic era.

Sources of knowledge about ancient man. The first event that historical science studies is the appearance of man.

Science proceeds from the fact that man emerged as a result of evolution from the animal kingdom. Biologists since the time of the famous Swedish scientist of the 18th century. K. Linnaeus classifies humans, including their extinct species, as members of the order of higher mammals - primates. Along with humans, the order of primates includes all known species of monkeys.

It is almost impossible to distinguish the remains of the first species of “prehistoric” man from the remains of great apes by anatomical characteristics. The search should probably go in a different direction. With the help of archeology, scientists have at their disposal objects made by the ancient inhabitants of our planet.

It is the ability to make various objects that should be considered the main feature that distinguishes humans from other primates.

True, products made from organic materials, such as wood, could not have been preserved from ancient times. It is known that modern apes are capable of making and using simple devices from branches and sticks. However, no monkey can make a tool out of stone. Therefore, it should be clarified that the difference between ancient man and animals is the ability to make tools from stone and other hard materials.

Archaeologists divide history into the Stone, Bronze and Iron Ages. The Stone Age, based on the characteristics of stone products of ancient people, is divided into ancient (Paleolithic), middle (Mesolithic) and new (Neolithic). In addition to archeology, ethnography is of great importance in the study of the primitive era.

Problems of human origin. On the question of the origin of human anthropogenesis, there are several theories. In our country, the labor theory formulated in the 19th century was very famous. F. Engels. According to this theory, the labor that human ancestors were forced to turn to led to a change in their external appearance, which was fixed in the course of natural selection, and the need for communication in the labor process contributed to the emergence of language and thinking. Labor theory is based on Charles Darwin's doctrine of natural selection.

Modern genetics has a slightly different opinion about the reasons for the evolution of living beings. It denies the possibility of consolidating qualities acquired during life in the body if their appearance is not associated with mutations.

Currently, there are different versions of the causes of anthropogenesis. Scientists have noticed that the region where anthropogenesis mainly took place (East Africa) is a zone of increased radioactivity. In addition, according to archaeologists, new human species appeared during periods of geomagnetic inversions (changes of the Earth's poles). Reversals, which occur once every hundreds of thousands of years, are accompanied by a temporary disappearance of the Earth's magnetic field and, consequently, an increase in radiation levels due to the effects of cosmic rays. Radiation is the strongest mutagenic factor. Perhaps it was radiation that caused anatomical changes, which ultimately led to the appearance of man.

The remains of the common ancestors of monkeys and humans, found in East Africa and the Arabian Peninsula, are about 30 - 40 million years old. In Eastern and Southern Africa, the remains of the most likely human ancestor - Australopithecus (age 4 - 5.5 million years) were discovered. Australopithecines most likely did not yet know how to make tools from stone, but in appearance they resembled the first creature to create such tools.

The most ancient stone tools (about 2.6 million years old), created by human hands, were found by archaeologists in the Kada Gona area in Ethiopia. Almost equally ancient products were discovered in a number of areas of East Africa, in particular in the Olduvai Gorge (Oldovay) in Tanzania. Fragments of the remains of their creators were also excavated in these same places. Scientists have named this oldest human speciesHomo habilis - skillful man . The most characteristic tools of Homo habilis are stone pebbles, chipped on one or both sides.

The main occupation of man from the moment of his appearance was hunting, including quite large animals (elephants). 1 Even the dwellings of the most ancient people were discovered in the form of a fence of large stones stacked in a circle. They were probably covered with branches and skins on top.

Types of man. Settlement of ancient people. There is no consensus among scientists on the issue of continuity between Homo habilis and the next species of manHomo erectus - Homo erectus , or, literally, straightened. The oldest discovery of the remains of Homo erectus in East Africa dates back to 1.7 million years ago. For a whileHomo erectus coexisted with Homo habilis , but it is important to note that Homo erectus was close in height to modern man, the volume of his brain was quite large.

The most common human tool washand chopper . It was an oblong tool, pointed at one end and rounded at the other: it is convenient for cutting, digging, chiseling, and scraping the skin of a killed animal. Another great achievement of Homo erectus was the mastery of fire. The oldest traces of fires date back 1.5 million years ago and were found in East Africa.

Homo erectus was destined to become the first human species to leave Africa. The oldest finds of the remains of this species in Europe and Asia are dated back to about 1 million years ago. Back at the end of the 19th century. Dutch anthropologist E. Dubois found on the island of Java the skull of a creature he namedPithecanthropus (ape-man). At the beginning of the 20th century. Similar skulls were discovered in Kotsetang Cave near BeijingSinanthropus (Chinese people). Several fragments of the remains of Homo erectus and many of his artifacts, as well as traces of ancient sites, have been discovered in a number of places in Europe, including in Russia.

Homo erectus became extinct approximately 300 thousand years ago. He was replaced byHomo sapiens - reasonable man .

According to modern ideas, there were originally two subspecies of Homo Sapiens: the development of one of them led to the appearance ofNeanderthal . Neanderthals settled all of Europe and large parts of Asia. Externally, the Neanderthal was similar to modern man. However, he had a low forehead and a large bony ridge hanging over his eyes; the Neanderthal had almost no chin protuberance.

The main difference between the Neanderthal and previous species is the appearance of burials. Thus, nine Neanderthal skeletons were excavated in the Shanidar Cave in Iraq. Various stone items and even remains of flowers were found next to the skeletons. This may indicate the existence of religious beliefs among Neanderthals, a certain system of thinking and speech, and a rather complex social organization.

At the same time, another subspecies existed. In its development it led to the emergencemodern type of person .

This scheme of the origin of modern man is not shared by all scientists. Some researchers do not classify Neanderthals as a speciesHomo sapiens . There are also adherents of the theory that modern man nevertheless descended from Neanderthal man.

About 40 - 35 thousand years ago, Neanderthals completely gave way to modern humans. According to the town of Cro-Magnon in France, the first people of the modern typecalled Cro-Magnons .

With the advent of Cro-Magnons, the process of anthropogenesis ends.

Some researchers believe that Cro-Magnons appeared much earlier, about 100 thousand years ago, in Africa or the Middle East, and 40-35 thousand years ago they began to populate Europe and other continents.

Living conditions of primitive people . The process of anthropogenesis took about 3 million years. During this time, dramatic changes occurred in nature more than once: four major glaciations, and within the glacial and warm eras their own periods of warming and cooling.

During ice ages in northern Eurasia and North America, a layer of ice up to 2 km thick covered vast territories. The endless tundra stretched south from the glacier. In summer, grass grew wildly here and bushes turned green. The glacial lands were quite densely populated by people, since animals lived there, which were the main object of hunting for humans. We are primarily talking about mammoths, woolly rhinoceroses and cave bears (these animals are calledpaleolithic triad ).

The need to withstand difficult conditions contributed to the progressive development of mankind. Hunting for large animals was possible only with the participation of a significant number of people. It is assumed that the hunt was driven: the animals were driven either to cliffs or to dug holes. Thus, a person could survive only in a group of his own kind.

Tribal community . It is very difficult to judge social relations during the Paleolithic period. Even the most backward tribes studied by ethnographers (Australian aborigines, Bushmen, a number of tribes of the Amazon), according to archaeological periodization, were at the Mesolithic stage.

It is assumed that the first people, like flocks of modern monkeys, lived in small groups (the term “human herd” is now not used by most researchers). In groups of primates (apes), the leader and several males close to him dominate over all other males and females. A number of backward peoples studied by ethnographers also revealeddominance system leaders and their retainers over the rest of the group. It should be assumed that the same system existed among the first people. However, there is another opinion, confirmed by ethnographers. In most backward tribes, relationships have been recorded that scientists have called “primitive communism.” Traits"primitive communism" - equality of group members, mutual assistance and mutual assistance. Authority in such human groups is enjoyed by those whom all members recognize as the most experienced and intelligent. Obviously, it was precisely such relationships that prevailed in primitive society.

Data from archaeology, ethnography, and folkloristics allowed scientists to come to the conclusion that the basis of the social organization of the Cro-Magnons was the clan community (clan) - a group of blood relatives descending from a common ancestor.

Judging by the excavations, the ancient tribal community consisted of 100 - 150 people. All members of the clan community jointly engaged in hunting, gathering, making tools and processing the spoils. Dwellings, food supplies, animal skins, and tools were consideredcommon property . At the head of the clan were experienced people, usually older in age (chiefs or elders ). All the most important issues in the life of the community were decided at a meeting of all its adult members.

The problem of sexual relations is closely related to the problem of the social structure of primitive peoples. Apes have harem families: only the leader and his associates participate in reproduction, using all the females of their group. Scientists suggest that among ancient people, after the elimination of the system of leader dominance, sexual relations took the formpromiscuity - every man in the group was considered the husband of every woman. Later appearedexogamy - a ban on marriage within the clan community. Formeddual-clan group marriage , in which men of one kind married only women of another kind and vice versa. This custom contributed to the biological progress of mankind.

Clan communities united intotribes . Initially, there were two clans in the tribe that participated in group marriage, then the number of clans became more and more numerous. Over time, restrictions also appeared in group marriage. Members of the clan were divided into groups according to age (marriages were allowed only between the corresponding age groups). Then it took shapecouple marriage , which was initially very fragile.

For a long time, the prevailing idea was that the clan organization went through two stages in its development -matriarchy Andpatriarchy . Under matriarchy, kinship was counted along the maternal line, and husbands went to live in their wife’s clan. Under patriarchy, the main unit of society becomes a large patriarchal family headed by an older man. Currently, opinions are being expressed that these two stages were not universal for all primitive peoples.

Achievements of Paleolithic people . As a material for making tools and hunting, the Cro-Magnons used, first of all, flint, as well as obsidian, jasper and other types of hard, but easily splitting stone. Along with the universal hand ax, specialized tools appeared for different purposes. The skins were processed with a stone scraper, holes were pierced in them with a pierce or a pointed point, cut with a knife, chisel, etc. Composite tools were also made: a processed stone was tied to a wooden handle to form a spear or an ax. They learned to sharpen the cutting edges of tools using pressure and light blows (retouching).

The cold climate led to the development of clothing and improved housing. In Western Europe and a number of other places, caves were widely used for housing. It was once believed that all primitive people lived in caves; they were even calledtroglodytes (cave people). However, in Eastern Europe, in places where there were caves (for example, in the Urals), people did not always settle in them. Here they usually dug a round or oval hole, placed mammoth tusks curved inward along its edges, which were covered with skins, branches and covered with earth. Up to fifty people lived in such a “house”.

In the Middle Paleolithic the first occursgender and age division of labor : men went hunting, women gathered, sewed clothes. Children helped women, and older boys hunted equally with men.

Over time, human tribes populated almost all of Eurasia. During times of warming, they moved north, and when the glacier advanced, they retreated to the south.

Forty thousand years ago (and maybe earlier) the settlement of America began. It is assumed that people got there through the isthmus that connected Chukotka and Alaska, or through ice. During the Late Paleolithic period, Australia and the islands of Polynesia were inhabited.

For the end of the Paleolithic era, the coexistence of different archaeological cultures in different parts of the earth is recorded (an archaeological culture covers a group of sites with similar inventory). This indicates the emergence of ethnic differences between groups of the population of our planet. Even earlier they began to take shapethree main races humanity: Negroid, Caucasoid and Mongoloid.

Primitive religion and art . Primitive people knew a lot about the world. They understood the habits of animals, the properties of various plants and stones, were able to predict the weather, and treat wounds and bites of poisonous snakes. Even surgical operations were performed with the help of stone tools: they cut off a damaged arm or leg, opened the skull to remove a tumor.

Observations of natural phenomena and reflections on people’s lives led to the emergence of ideas about the existence of invisible forces -spirits and gods that affect nature and human life. This is how it was bornreligion .

Primitive religion was different from the religions that exist in the modern world. For ancient people, gods and spirits were not otherworldly forces that controlled the world; they were not perceived as something different from humans. The gods were embodied in specific objects: stones, trees, animals, mountains. The ancestors of the family were also considered gods. People felt their constant connection with such gods. They believed that they could influence them: cajole, feed (sacrifices), even punish.

Primitive is associated with religionart , the problem of whose origin is still the subject of scientific debate.

It is assumed that art, like religion, has become one of the ways of understanding the world around us.

Art originated with the Neanderthals (incisions, ornaments). Under the Cro-Magnons, the time of its true heyday came. The most impressive monument of the Paleolithic times is cave (rock) painting. Hundreds of magnificent colorful realistic images of animals were discovered in the caves: mammoths, bison, deer, horses, bears. Cave paintings were created from 30 to 12 thousand years ago. Some images obviously served for witchcraft hunting rituals.

No less interesting is the Paleolithic sculpture. Often these are animal figures made of stone or bone. They were also used for ritual purposes (they bear traces of blows inflicted with stone tips).

Unlike images of animals, images of people were usually done abstractly. On the walls of the caves, all the human figures have masks on their faces. There are practically no faces andPaleolithic Venus - small (5 - 15 cm) figurines of women, usually naked, occasionally clothed. Many such figurines were found in Western Europe, but most of all in Russia, in the Voronezh region, as well as in the Baikal region. Historians suggest that these are images of the ancestors of the family. Such sculptures also expressed ideas of motherhood and fertility.

Paleolithic in Russia . Some archaeologists date the very first signs of human presence on the territory of modern Russia to about 1 million years ago. Thus, at the sites of Ulalinka and U-Kan (within the city of Gorno-Altaisk), Dering-Yuryakh near Yakutsk, and Mysovaya in the Southern Urals, primitive tools made from pebbles were discovered, similar to the most ancient products from East Africa.

One of the most famous places associated with the presence of ancient people is the Kapova Cave in Bashkiria. More than forty drawings made in red ocher were found there: mammoths, bison, wild horses, rhinoceroses. The age of the drawings is 15 - 13 thousand years.

The Kostenko-Borshchevsky district near Voronezh is unique. Here, in a small area, 24 sites and 4 burials were excavated, a colossal number of stone and bone tools, figurines, primarily Paleolithic Venus, were found.

At the Sungir site near Vladimir, two burials were excavated, made 25 - 30 thousand years ago. One of them may have contained a tribal leader. All his clothes and hat were embroidered with hundreds of small beads from mammoth tusks. The hands were decorated with more than twenty bracelets, also made from tusks. Even more interesting is the second grave, where a boy 12-13 years old and a girl 7-8 years old are buried. Their clothes are also richly decorated with bone items; a total of 7.5 thousand beads were collected. It remains a mystery why the children were given such a magnificent burial.

QUESTIONS AND TASKS

1. Describe the main sources of our knowledge about the ancient history of mankind.

2. What is anthropogenesis? What are the modern views on anthropogenesis?

3. What difficulties did ancient people have to overcome? What allowed them to overcome these difficulties?

4. What is a clan community? Could people survive without this organization?

5. What were the achievements of Paleolithic people?

6. What are the features of the religious ideas of primitive people in comparison with modern religions?

7. Describe the main features of primitive art.

8. Name the Paleolithic monuments known to you on the territory of Russia. Do you know about such monuments in your city, district, region, territory, republic?

9. Using additional literature, write a report on the origin of religion or art.

The Paleolithic is the most important cultural and historical period of the Stone Age. It got its name due to the fact that the main material for making tools was stone. The Paleolithic era was of great importance for all humanity, since during this period the necessary experience, knowledge and qualities were accumulated that allowed it to develop into a modern form.

1. Characteristic features of the Paleolithic
2. Early Paleolithic
3. Middle Paleolithic
4. Late Paleolithic
5. Table of centuries
6. What have we learned?

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Characteristic features of the Paleolithic

The history of human origin is characterized by a long time span. Thanks to archaeological excavations, scientists were able to establish the main stages of human evolution, the most important inventions and problems that were characteristic of each period.

The Paleolithic is an important historical period during which the formation of man and the formation of primitive society took place.

In the Paleolithic era, natural and climatic conditions, flora and fauna were significantly different from modern ones. People lived in small communities, using stone tools for their daily needs. At that time, they were not yet able to polish stone or use other hard rocks, but they learned to use wood, leather, and bones for their purposes.

Rice. 1. Stone tools.

The entire era is characterized by an appropriating economy: primitive people provided themselves with food through gathering and hunting. Cattle breeding and agriculture were not yet known, and fishing was just beginning to develop. The most important achievement of man in the Paleolithic era was the appearance of speech.

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The Paleolithic is the longest stage of the Stone Age, which, for greater convenience, was divided by scientists into three main eras:

• Lower (Early) Paleolithic;
• Middle Paleolithic;
• Upper (Late) Paleolithic.

All Paleolithic eras differ significantly from each other in the methods of making tools and weapons, their forms, and anthropological characteristics.

Early Paleolithic

This is the initial and longest era of the Paleolithic, which is characterized by the appearance of the first ape-like man - Archanthropus. He was distinguished by his short stature, sloping chin and clearly defined brow ridges.

The most important achievements of this period include:

• the beginning of the use of homemade stone tools;
• use of fire - the archanthrope could already maintain fire, but had not yet learned how to make it.

Middle Paleolithic

Throughout the Middle Paleolithic, there was a gradual development and improvement of the abilities of Homo erectus. In the course of evolution, a new species appeared - the Neanderthal, whose brain volume was already much closer to modern man. He was also distinguished by his massive build and tall stature.

Rice. 2. Neanderthal.

The Middle Paleolithic is an era of survival, since the life of primitive people took place against the backdrop of extremely harsh climatic conditions, during the Ice Age.

The Middle Paleolithic era is characterized by the following features:

• making fire yourself by cutting it out;
• the emergence of new types of tools: knives, spears, arrowheads, scrapers;
• improvement of social organization - people unite in large groups, take care of the elderly;
• the origin of primitive art - the appearance of the very first rock paintings.

Late Paleolithic

This period was marked by the appearance of the Cro-Magnon man - an ancient man who outwardly had much in common with modern man. He had a high forehead, a well-defined chin, and developed fine motor skills in his hands.

The main achievements of the Late Paleolithic include:

• making primitive boats;
• weaving baskets from willow twigs;
• making bone needles used to sew clothes;
• active development of art: rock painting, making primitive figurines from mammoth bones and tusks;
• domestication of wild animals, the first of which was the dog;
• determining time using the lunar and solar calendars;
• replacement of primitive society with a tribal community;
• making pottery.

Rice. 3. Rock painting.

On the territory of Russia, sites of primitive people of the Paleolithic era were found in the settlements of Sungir, Kostenki, Karacharovo, and some others. Valuable archaeological finds helped scientists restore the way of life and farming features of distant ancestors.

Primitive history dates back to the Stone Age, which was replaced by the Bronze Age, and then the Iron Age. These stages of human development were of great importance because they predetermined the formation of modern society.

Table of centuries

What have we learned?

When studying the topic “Paleolithic” we learned what period of time the Paleolithic era occupied and into what periods it was divided. We got acquainted with the characteristics of the periods, found out how human development occurred during the Paleolithic years, what were its most important achievements.

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The Upper Paleolithic period of its existence is much shorter and is determined by archaeologists to be between the 40th and 10th millennia BC. e. Until recently, the Upper Paleolithic was divided into more subdivided periods: Aurignac, Solutre and Madeleine, according to which further stages of the development of human society were classified. But although human culture at this time develops in similar ways, certain territorial differences are already emerging. Therefore, it is more correct to abandon the division of the Upper Paleolithic into cultures that has been in existence for a long time, which received their names from monuments found in France, and is now used in Western Europe. For all of humanity, it would be more correct to divide it into the early, middle and late periods of the Upper Paleolithic.

The time of the Upper Paleolithic was primarily marked by the appearance of the modern type of Homo sapiens, that is, Homo sapiens. Having replaced the Neanderthals, he completed the transition from animal to human, which lasted about two million years.

The differences between Neanderthals and Homo sapiens consisted not so much in the disappearance of many features of external structure inherited from animals, but in large changes in higher nervous activity. The man of modern times thought more, and therefore acted much more successfully than his predecessors. The reason that caused the emergence of a new type of person must first of all be sought in the formation of a matriarchal clan community. The Neanderthal, who lived in his own group, not only did not seek rapprochement with his own kind from other groups, but, most likely, avoided it, and in the event of a collision with his own kind, he behaved hostilely. Exogamy arose within the clan, that is, a custom prohibiting marriage relations between members of the clan, which forced a person to build interclan connections.

The Upper Paleolithic era coincided in time with the last stage of glaciation, which pushed humanity (especially in those areas where the cooling was felt especially strongly) to the further development of labor activity. First of all, this development affected the production of tools and the method of processing them. The technique for producing blank plates remains the same. They are obtained by cleaving from a prismatic core. But due to the improvement of retouching, the tools became more advanced, and their efficiency in work increased. For retouching, they began to use bone sticks fixed in a wooden handle. Pressing the compound wringer, the master did not chip off the elastic bone tip, but rather whittled flint flakes from the tool blank one after another. This “sharpening” of the working part of the weapon was carried out not on one side, as was the case in previous eras, but on both sides, which increased the quality of the weapon.

Retouching was used not only to process the working edge of a tool; it was often used to process the entire surface of the product. The retouching technique was complex and required maximum attention from the master. It was enough not to calculate the pressure when pressing, and the flint could be split. This apparently happened often, as evidenced by numerous finds of tools damaged by the master during the manufacturing process. Retouching covered parts of the tool that did not play a significant role in the labor process. Such a passion for retouching indicates the emergence of an aesthetic perception of things in a person. Man sought to make not only a convenient, but also a beautiful tool.

The time of the Upper Paleolithic was marked by the widespread use of, along with stone tools, tools made of bone: spear tips, darts (throwing spears) and harpoons, i.e. tips with jagged edges, were mainly made from this material. The expansion of hunting equipment speaks quite clearly about the intensity of hunting.

To throw a spear, a person invents a spear thrower. The materials for its manufacture were wood and bone. Modern peoples who use spear throwers currently make them primarily from wood. Perhaps in those days they were made more often from wood, but this is how it is poorly preserved, archaeologists more often find bone spear throwers or those made from reindeer antler. The latter include finds at Paleolithic sites in France: Bruniquel, Logerie Bass, Gourdan. The spear thrower allowed the hunter to increase the length of the spear's flight.

The role of hunting especially increased in areas close to the glacier, where there were fewer edible plants for human consumption. In these areas, herds of reindeer and musk ox grazed; a little to the south was the kingdom of the mammoth, woolly rhinoceros, and bison; Even further south, herds of wild horses, deer, antelope, etc. grazed. The possibility of rich prey attracted man, and he intensively moved north, exploring more and more new territories.

In areas where the influence of the next cold snap was not felt, the hunter of the Upper Paleolithic time hunted zebra, antelope, and elephant, but gathering, which in the northern regions came to almost nothing, plays a large role in human economic life.

In addition to bone tools intended for hunting and fishing, it is necessary to note the appearance of bone needles with a hole (eye) located in their thickest part, into which a tendon was pulled, acting as a thread. Bone needles were stored in special cases made from the tubular bones of birds. The appearance of needles indicates the existence of tailoring in the Upper Paleolithic era. True, a person could sew together individual parts of skins using simple punctures (bone and flint), but the presence of an eye simplified this process and undoubtedly contributed to more advanced production of various types of clothing. For a long time, scientists had no information about the presence of clothing among Paleolithic people. However, a bone figurine of a woman wearing clothes with a hood on her head was discovered in Buryatia. Today, science has sufficient material to completely reconstruct the various types of clothing, hats, and shoes that make up the complete set of clothing of a person from the Upper Paleolithic era.

Based on climatic conditions, and therefore differences in the economic life of man during the Upper Paleolithic period, it is more appropriate to consider the cultural development of five territorial regions.

The first area is periglacial. This includes the middle zone of Western and Eastern Europe. By the time of the Upper Paleolithic, the vast territory of this region, thanks to climate warming, was quickly covered with forests. At first, spruce and pine trees grew in place of the retreating glacier, then, when the glacier retreated further, they were replaced by oak, hornbeam, linden, beech, i.e., broad-leaved trees.

The most striking monument here is the Sungir site in Siberia. The most striking finds, in particular burials, were discovered here. The bones were stretched along a line from southwest to northeast. The children are aged seven and twelve years. The position of the corpse was unusual. Both children lay on their backs with their heads facing each other. Before this, this situation was known from a number of figurines. It is possible that this is a brother and sister who died of some disease at the same time. The young Sungir people were equipped with an amazing set of weapons in the amount of 16 items, among which were a club carved from mammoth bone (this kind of weapon was discovered for the first time), two spears - 2 m 42 cm and 1 m 66 cm, made from mammoth ivory. In addition to the listed items, there were also two sharp bone stiletto daggers measuring 42 and 28 cm. Bone darts also lay next to the buried people. Among the accompanying objects was the thigh of a cave lion (bones of this animal were also found in other sites at the site; they may have been used as decoration). A lot of jewelry was also made from bone. The graves in which the buried were placed were dug using hoes, also made of bone.

The Sungir people, who lived on the plain, had already created artificial dwellings. A thorough study of a large accumulation of mammoth bones and other animals in one of the areas of the Sungir site and a fire pit located inside the observed accumulation made it possible to restore the appearance of one of the buildings. The dimensions of this building were small; its diameter was no more than 3 m. Its frame was made up of wooden poles and bones of large animals. The frame was covered on top with animal skins. A fire burned in the center of the room, warming people on long autumn and winter evenings. In addition to this kind of dwellings, the Sungir people also had other buildings that looked like a hut made of poles and branches.

The sites were usually located in places where there were many animals. The duration of the existence of these sites suggests that at that time ownership of hunting grounds had already arisen for each group, clan, etc., which made it possible to establish stronger connections between neighboring groups. Such connections were also strengthened through marriage alliances between members of neighboring groups.

For a long time it was believed that Upper Paleolithic man led a wandering lifestyle. The work carried out in the village of Kostenki on the Don (near Voronezh) marked the beginning of research into the Upper Paleolithic settlement. The people who lived in this area were amazing mammoth hunters and serious builders. The area of ​​one of the dwellings excavated here reached almost 600 sq.m. Its length was 35 m, and its width was 15-16 m. Along its central axis there were 9 hearths, the diameter of which reached 1 m. The hearths were located at a distance of up to 2 m from each other. This huge dwelling was the main one for the members of society who lived on the site. Analysis of the ashes and burnt bone remains suggests that the fuel was mainly animal bones.

Not all lesions performed the same functions. So, in one, pieces of brown iron ore and spherosiderite were fired and mineral paint - ocher - was obtained. Apparently, it was widely used, since traces of it were found on the entire surface of the floor. Near other hearths, archaeologists discovered tubular bones of a mammoth stuck into the ground. The characteristic notches and serifs on them suggest that they served as a kind of workbenches for the craftsmen working on them. In addition to this simple dwelling, there were three more. Two of them were dugouts located on the left and right sides of the main room. Both had fires. The frame of their roofs was constructed from mammoth tusks. The third room - a dugout - was located at the far end of the parking lot. The absence of a fireplace and any household items in it makes one think that this is a storage facility for food supplies and the most valuable products. Sculptural images of women and animals were hidden in special storage pits. Here the wife had jewelry made from the fangs of predators. Other pits contained finished tools, such as well-processed spearheads. It is not without interest that the figurines of women were deliberately broken. Archaeologists, comparing the available materials, came to the following conclusion: the settlement of Kostenki was abandoned by the owners shortly before the arrival of the enemies. The invaders, having discovered the figurines, smashed them, thereby destroying, according to their belief, the possibility of procreation of their enemies.

Similar dwellings were later discovered in Dolni Vestovica (Czechoslovakia). The dwelling there, too, was slightly recessed into the ground, oval in plan, its length was 19 m, width 9 m. There were five hearths inside. Among the finds there are many flint tools, there are also tools made of bone, but the bone here was used mainly for jewelry. In Switzerland, similar structures were discovered in Schussenried. Everywhere, bones and skulls of large animals, mainly mammoths, served as building material for dwellings. In Gontsy (Ukraine), 27 skulls and 30 mammoth scapular bones were needed to build a dwelling. The frame of this house was formed by 30 tusks. But not all houses were built only from bones. There are traces of dwellings with a supporting structure of a series of wooden posts. They had a gable roof, and its frame was made using wooden slats.

In Czechoslovakia, at the sites of Tibava and Barka, archaeologists discovered traces of a number of pillars and supports, with the help of which, apparently, the sloping roof was supported. The walls of some dwellings of the noted era were sometimes made of rods and had the appearance of wattle fence. It is possible that their walls were covered with animal skins. The walls were supported by stone slabs, mammoth bones, and sometimes earth rollers.

To the south of the periglacial zone of Europe there was a second zone, which included the southern regions of Europe, North Africa, i.e. Mediterranean. During the Upper Paleolithic and Mesolithic era, the so-called Capsian culture, named after the discovered monument of this culture near the city of Gafsa (Kapsa) in Tunisia, was widespread in this area.

Along with hunting, gathering played an important role in the life of people in this zone. The main objects for this type of activity were edible shellfish and plants. The scale of consumption of mollusks, both river and sea, is eloquently indicated by accumulations of shells, often covering an area of ​​​​several hundred square meters. The thickness of the layer of shells reaches two to three meters, and in some places reaches five. The areas filled with animal bones (the result of hunting) and mollusk shells (the result of gathering) sometimes exceed 10 thousand square meters.

Unlike the population of the periglacial regions, who lived sedentary lives and knew how to build houses, the southerners led a nomadic lifestyle. Climatic conditions did not require them to build houses, and if necessary, they quickly built light shelter huts to shelter them from the sun, wind and rain. The presence of natural shelters such as caves and grottoes made it possible to temporarily use them. Tools were made mainly of stone; bone was almost never used. Only awls of the simplest type were made from it. In stone processing, the population of this second region lagged significantly behind the inhabitants of the periglacial regions. Thus, the carriers of the Capsian culture did not know the method of pressing retouching, did not know how to make points using double-sided processing, and they did not have laurel tips. But they knew how to produce small flint plates - microliths, which served as dart tips. Some scientists believe that microliths also served as arrowheads, which means that the bow as a weapon was known to the Capsians. Other composite tools were also created using microliths. The base of such tools was wooden or bone. Small flint plates that made up the blade were inserted into a specially made slot in the base.

Pieces of ostrich egg shells were used as material for jewelry. They were given a certain shape, a hole was drilled for stringing on a core, and the surface was covered with thin carved lines. There are known examples of such plates with geometric patterns or with realistic images of gazelles, ostriches and other animals. Stringed on sinew, these pieces made necklaces and bracelets. Drilled sea shells and animal vertebrae also served as decoration.

It is difficult to talk about the clothing of the inhabitants of Africa and the Middle East of those times, and it is unlikely that there was any, except for loincloths. We know much more about the clothing of the inhabitants of the southern regions of Europe. In grottoes located in the vicinity of Menton (Italy), archaeologists discovered burials of the Upper Paleolithic era. People were buried in clothes made of leather and decorated with sea shells sewn onto it; they wore bracelets made of the same shells on their hands, and necklaces on their chests. As in the Sungir burial ground, the corpses were sprinkled with red mineral paint. The position of the corpse is not always elongated; it can also be crouched. In the Grimaldi caves (Italy) two skeletons were discovered: one of a man and the other of an old woman. Both skeletons were placed on the site of the extinguished fire in a crouched position, and with them inventory in the form of tools, weapons, and jewelry.

The main features of the Capsian culture are found in the Late Paleolithic layers of settlements in Palestine, Iraq, Asia Minor, Transcaucasia, Crimea and parts of Central Asia. Some sites in Georgia, such as Mgvimevi and Devis Khvrel, are especially close to the Capsian culture. Everywhere in these areas, the basis of the economy was hunting and gathering. The Capsians did not build permanent artificial dwellings.

The third region includes the central and southern parts of the African continent. This area has been poorly studied to this day. One of the features of the development of cultures in this area is their almost complete absence of features similar to those of the neighboring Capsian culture. This is all the more interesting because there are no significant natural barriers between both areas. It should be noted that the cultures of the first region (the periglacial region of Central Europe) and South Africa had common features. These common features were that the people who lived in the south of the African continent had flint laurel-leaf tips processed using squeezing retouching, which are completely absent from the people of the Capsian culture

The most significant and studied culture of the third region is the Bambat culture. It got its name from the Bambat Cave in Southern Rhodesia. In addition to flint, the Bambat culture also used quartz crystals. When struck at a certain angle, this stone can produce flake plates that are not inferior in quality to flint ones. In economic life, hunting here played a greater role than gathering. Analysis of fire pits indicates a person’s prolonged stay in one place.

The fourth region includes the territories of Eastern Siberia, the central part of the Asian continent and China. Archaeological research in the basin of the Angara and Yenisei rivers showed that in the Upper Paleolithic era a person penetrated here who had significant cultural skills and was in many ways close to the culture of the population of the Russian Plain. This can be traced on the basis of archaeological materials obtained from a settlement discovered near the city of Irkutsk (this is the earliest period), as well as from the Buret site on the river. Hangar and the settlement of Malta on the river. Belaya (tributary of the Angara). The population living in these places hunted mammoth, reindeer, bull, and wild horse. Although gathering existed, it provided a small amount of food. Climatic conditions allowed for gathering only at certain times of the year, so it was seasonal. The inhabitants of Bureti, like the hunters of settlements in the periglacial regions of Europe, led a sedentary lifestyle and knew how to build dwellings. In plan, these dwellings looked like a rectangle with slightly rounded corners. The floor of the room is somewhat recessed into the ground. Along the edge of this depression, the femur and shoulder blade bones of the mammoth were buried in a vertical position. For better fastening, their lower part was wedged with smaller bones and limestone slabs. The supports supporting the roof were large mammoth bones and tree trunks. The roof covering was assembled from reindeer antlers. The entrance to the dwelling was a long narrow corridor, lined along the edges with symmetrically located mammoth femurs. The corridor had no ceiling. This entrance device protected the room from the cold. Inside the dwelling there were fireplaces from which accumulations of ash remained. Exactly the same dwellings were discovered at the Malta site.

The tools used by the people who lived in this area during the Upper Paleolithic era are reminiscent of Western European tools from the Mousterian era. here, a disc-shaped core and massive triangular-shaped plates, as well as pointed points of an archaic appearance, were widely used. The processing technique uses impact retouching. Along with this, the population of Central Asia also knew prismatic cores and a method for obtaining long knife-like plates with regular parallel edges from them. They also used miniature scrapers. The pointed tips of spears and darts had a shape similar to European laurel leaves.

In Europe during this period, composite tools had not yet been used, but archaeologists discovered them at the Siberian sites of Afontova Gora and Oshchurkovskaya. Unlike the tribes living in Europe, the tribes of the Asian continent, along with flint, gray and black stone, used quartzite, jasper slate, deposits of which are found on the banks of the Lena, Angara, and Yenisei rivers; in addition, bone was widely used to make tools. Harpoons, piercing awls, and needles for sewing clothes were made from it, and the shape and size of the needles remained almost unchanged. The bone was also used to make jewelry - necklaces, plates with ornaments made of solid holes, figurines of humans, animals, and birds. Examples of the jewelry art of the peoples of Siberia from the Upper Paleolithic era can be found in the objects discovered in the complex of a child’s burial discovered in Malta. This burial testifies to the complexity of the worldview of man of that time, which was expressed in the emergence of a funeral cult. The child's body was buried in a slot-shaped hole dug in the floor of the dwelling. The skeleton was sprinkled with red ocher. Around the neck of the deceased was worn a necklace of approximately 120 large flat beads and seven pendants. All pendants - six middle ones and one central one - are decorated with drills. Pendants in the form of birds, shaped like a flying swan or goose, and one square with rounded corners were also placed in the grave. All jewelry is made from mammoth ivory. In the grave pit there were weapons made of bone and stone. A small tombstone made of stone slabs was built over the grave.

The finds of human figurines made it possible to restore the type of clothing of that time. A.P. Okladnikov, based on archaeological data - figurines like the remarkable female image from the Buret site, made from mammoth ivory, believes that the clothing of that time was a warm suit made of fur, the length of which reached the ankles. On the head they wore a headdress in the form of a fur hood that folded back. The clothes were put on over the head, since there were no marks from longitudinal cuts on it, but for the harsh climate it was very comfortable. This clothing has survived almost unchanged among many peoples living in the Arctic regions to this day.

It should be noted that figurines of a man in clothing dating back to the Upper Paleolithic are very rare. More often there are images of a naked person. Some researchers believe that people of those times obviously stayed naked or semi-naked in their homes. Clothes were used outside the home.

At the end of the Upper Paleolithic era, another warming occurred, which in turn led to changes in flora and fauna. The mammoth and woolly rhinoceros disappear, the deer becomes the main object of hunting, and since it is a nomadic animal, the nature of human settlements also changes. From a sedentary resident, he again becomes a nomad. Permanent housing was replaced by a lightweight, quickly assembled and disassembled round tent. Its frame is made of light wooden poles, covered on the outside with animal skins; in the center there is a fireplace. This type of housing has existed to this day among peoples living in the north and engaged in reindeer herding.

The above examples indicate the uniqueness of the cultural development of people who lived in North and Central Asia during the Upper Paleolithic. To the mentioned settlements you can add settlements on the river. Chusovoy (Ural), in Altai, in Northern Kazakhstan, in the area of ​​the upper reaches of the river. Irtysh, in the basins of the Toly and Orkhon rivers (Mongolia), Zhoutunku sites, located in a large bend of the river. Yellow River (China), etc. In terms of their material, they are close to those listed above.

The fifth area of ​​cultural development in the Upper Paleolithic era is the region of Southeast Asia. The inhabitants of this part of the Asian continent, like their northern brethren, knew chopping tools. The technique for making them is exactly the same as that used by the population of Malta, Bureti, etc. Many stone tools of this era are made of broken pebbles and roughly sharpened. These tools are original prototypes of axes and adzes of later times. Bone artifacts are found, but in small quantities.

The source of life was hunting and gathering. The latter could be even more important, since the tropical forest could supply humans with plant food all year round. This is what forced a person to lead a wandering lifestyle. On the other hand, an impenetrable tropical forest with a mass of strong predators and poisonous snakes limited the area of ​​nomads, which were located mainly on the edges, banks of rivers, lakes and on the coastal strip, which also had an impact on human economic activity. Although there is evidence of human hunting for elephants, rhinoceros and other smaller animals, his main food was edible plants, shellfish, turtles, and fish.

For housing, in addition to huts - temporary shelters, people also used numerous caves, which they often left, but invariably returned to. It is possible that he used the caves during the tropical rainy season. Such cave settlements include the sites of Bak Son and Hoa Bin. The first is located in the north, and the second in the south of Vietnam.

The inhabitants of the Zhoukoudian grotto (a region of Beijing, China) are close in lifestyle to the people of Southeast Asia. Natural conditions allowed the people of this area to engage in gathering, for which all they needed was a stick sharpened by fire, a stone chopper, and rough stone chips. The lack of development of hunting is evidenced by the minimal number of bones of small animals such as gophers found in settlements. The favorable climatic conditions of this area did not contribute to the development of people's skills in the construction of artificial dwellings, and the availability of food products obtained through gathering delayed the development of hunting.

The Upper Paleolithic era was marked by the penetration of man into the American continent. The issues surrounding the initial settlement of a new continent have long been controversial. Of these, the most controversial questions were when and how this happened. Man entered America through a passage located at the narrowest point of the Bering Strait. The width of the latter in the narrowest test is now just over 80 km. It should be noted that almost in the middle between the Chukotka Peninsula and Alaska there is a chain of islands of the Big and Little Diomedes, St. Lawrence and Ratmanov. It is also important that the depth of the ocean does not exceed 58 m (this is the deepest place, and on average it is 45 m), so scientists believe that when, due to the onset of glaciations on the globe, the level of the World Ocean dropped, between Asia and America formed an isthmus of considerable size, the so-called Beringia.

The oldest finds in the United States date back to about 12 thousand years ago. These are arrowheads that have one common characteristic feature: along both sides of their blades there is a deep longitudinal groove running from the base almost to the tip of the point. One of the first tips of this type was found in 1926 near Folsom in New Mexico.

In 1937, in one of the caves in the Sandia Mountains, archaeologist Frank Hibben found spearheads that were more crudely made, with a notch made only on one side - this tool was more ancient than the Folsom tips.

In the cave, as well as at other sites belonging to this culture, fragments of flint, burnt bones and roughly sharpened pieces of animal bones are found near hearths lined with stone.

Based on geological and stratigraphic data and radiocarbon analysis, it can be assumed that the tribes that created this culture lived about 22-25 thousand years ago. The basis of the economy was hunting, and these tribes led a wandering lifestyle. Mostly, the bearers of the Sandia culture lived in the western part of the United States (individual finds of stone tools are also found in more northern areas). The descendants of hunters gradually mastered the entire territory of North America and created a number of new cultures: Clovis, Stolsom, Elanview, etc. Hunting continued to be the basis of the economy of the bearers of these cultures, although in more southern regions gathering was already a significant help in people's lives. In terms of changes in the shape of hunting tools, it should perhaps only be noted that in the Folsom type tips, the petiole base had two protrusions and a notch, shaped like a fish tail.

Following the herds of animals, man gradually begins to explore new territories: first in North America, and then in South America. The complete development of these vast territories required the effort of almost 600 generations of people, i.e. about 18 thousand years (we take 30 years for the average human life expectancy). If the most ancient human sites in North America date back to 23 thousand years BC. e., then in Patagonia, located almost 13 thousand km to the south, the most ancient monuments of human presence there date back to 5 thousand years BC. e.

Finds of spearheads and darts in the lower layers of the Paglia Atke and Fell caves in Patagonia, made according to the Clovis and Folsom type, indicate that these areas were developed by people from North America, and not by peoples who arrived there from other areas, for example from the islands Indian Ocean, as some ethnographers claim (it is possible that later some representatives of the Pacific Islands moved to America).

Moving along this path, a person crossed areas with different geographical and climatic conditions and, settling in place, adapted to them, in some places engaging in hunting and fishing, in others using the abundance of wild cereals, fruits, vegetables, root crops, moving on to gathering, and later - to agriculture.

Man found the most favorable conditions for existence in the regions of Central America, and especially in the central part of Mexico, where a mild climate, vast spaces occupied by grasses, comfortable pastures in mountain valleys, many lakes and rivers - all contributed to the development of hunting and fishing. The largest representatives of the fauna here were mammoths. The abundance of plants contributed first to the development of gathering, and subsequently to the emergence of agriculture. Man mastered the regions of Central America around the 15th-12th millennium BC. e. In the town of Santa Isabel Iztapan, a complete skeleton of a mammoth and a set of hunting weapons in the form of flint spearheads and darts, similar in type to the tools of the Clovis and Folsom cultures, were discovered.

Approximately until the 8th millennium BC. e. On the territory of the American continent, people were engaged in hunting and gathering. At the end of the VII millennium BC. e. Quite dramatic changes in climate are occurring around the globe. In Africa, in the Sahara region, at this time the rivers dry up and vegetation disappears; the same thing happens in the regions of Central America. The climate is becoming drier and warmer. Lush vegetation and lush meadows disappear, and savannas turn into arid steppes and semi-deserts. The lack of moisture-loving vegetation leads to the death of mammoth, mastodon, bison, and wild horse. Some animals go north. Hunting is losing its exceptional importance. Gatherers also experience no less difficulty, but the skills and knowledge acquired during gathering made it possible to begin primitive agriculture on the ocean coast and on the banks of preserved rivers and lakes, and, as an aid to agriculture, to maintain hunting for small animals (since there were no longer large ones) ) and poultry, fishing and collecting river and sea shellfish. It was in the regions of Central America, based on agriculture, that the greatest cultures of the peoples of the American continent later arose.

The tribes that inhabited North America, with the exception of the southern states, were engaged in hunting before the arrival of Europeans there. In the Arctic regions, it was carried out mainly on sea animals: seal, walrus, whale, as well as bear and arctic fox. The main type of hunting weapon was a dart thrown with a spear thrower and a harpoon with a movable tip. Fish were caught using bone hooks. For hunting sea animals and fishing, a boat has long been used, the wooden frame of which was covered with walrus or seal skin. Stone and bone served as materials for the production of tools and weapons. Animals, both sea and land, provided the people of this region with everything necessary for life: fat, meat, bones for the frame of dwellings and skins for covering it and for clothing. The meat was consumed raw, which was probably caused by purely practical considerations - to prevent vitamin deficiency - scurvy.

Tribes lived on the northwestern coast of North America, mainly engaged in fishing, as well as collecting wild berries and fruits. In the forest zone of Canada lived tribes of hunters armed with bows and arrows and spears (all types of weapons and tools - axes, knives, etc. - were made of stone and bone). They hunted mainly deer, elk, bear, and wild boar. In addition to hunting, the population collected wild seeds, fruits, nuts, etc. and led a nomadic lifestyle.

It should be noted that North and South America, from the point of view of archaeology, are still far from being studied, but based on the archaeological data available today, one can judge that the basis of the economy was hunting and fishing, only in some places did it flourish gathering.

Questions for self-control:

1. What human species appears in the Upper Paleolithic era?
2. What are the main zones of Upper Paleolithic cultures?
3. What type of economy and related activities predominated in the Upper Paleolithic?
4. What are the reasons for the differences in the economic and tool complex in various Upper Paleolithic cultures?
5. Why did clothing begin to be used everywhere in the Upper Paleolithic era?

Lecture 8 Mesolithic

Climate warming, which caused rapid melting of the glacier, marked the end of the Paleolithic, which lasted hundreds of thousands of years. A new era has begun - the Mesolithic, which was inferior to the previous period in terms of duration of existence, but in terms of the pace of development in economic and other areas of human life, it marked a new, more significant step forward.
The beginning of the Mesolithic is characterized by the almost universal distribution of microliths, bows and arrows. F. Engels in his work “The Origin of the Family, Private Property and the State” notes this event as follows: “a bow, a bowstring and an arrow constitute a very complex weapon, the invention of which requires long-term accumulated experience and more developed mental abilities, therefore, simultaneous acquaintance with many other inventions."

A bow as a hunter's weapon is more effective than a spear with a throwing board; it could be used to hunt any animal. The presence of a bow allowed man to hunt alone. Drive hunting, which required a large group of people, although it continued to be used, gradually lost its role, which was so significant in the Paleolithic era. The invention of the onion and its widespread use was caused by a number of circumstances. Thus, warming and a fairly rapid retreat of the glacier (in the area of ​​the Karelian Isthmus, this speed was approximately 160 m per year) led to another change in the fauna and flora. During the Mesolithic era, there were no longer mammoths or woolly rhinoceros, and the numbers of many game animals had decreased so much that they could be considered extinct. This happened, for example, with the musk ox. The fauna has become impoverished as a result of the disappearance of the largest representatives of the animal world. Much of Europe was covered with dense forests. The remaining animals and those that came from more southern regions were smaller in size, fleet-footed, and cautious. Many species of animals were not gregarious (for example, moose), other animals (deer, roe deer) live in small groups, and when danger approaches, they scatter in all directions. Hunting for them is possible only with the help of a bow, which allows you to achieve the greatest accuracy and speed in shooting. The use of the bow, the beginnings of which can be traced back to the Capsian culture (Upper Paleolithic), not only contributed to the further development and facilitation of hunting, but also made it possible for a person to provide himself and the members of his clan group with the necessary daily amount of meat food, and from the surplus to prepare food supplies for himself in in the form of meat smoked in the smoke of a fire and dried in the sun.

With the help of the bow, man was able to move on to a new type of preservation of meat food, that is, keeping lightly wounded animals in pens, which were killed if the hunt was unsuccessful. Such keeping of animals was convenient and did not require much time and labor; in addition, it was the impetus for a new type of farming - cattle breeding. It will still be a long time before man learns to raise livestock, but the beginnings of cattle breeding were laid in the Mesolithic. At this time, the first pet appears - a dog. In the Upper Paleolithic era, its traces are found only in some areas of China, and in the Mesolithic, bone remains of a dog are found at the sites of many Mesolithic sites. The domestication of the dog apparently occurred both for the purpose of using it for food, as some scientists believe, and for the purpose of obtaining an assistant in hunting (for example, waterfowl).

Simultaneously with the appearance of the first signs of cattle breeding, the Mesolithic time was also marked by signs of the emergence of another no less important form of farming - agriculture, the starting point for which was gathering. It was possible to collect not only edible shellfish, tree fruits, mushrooms, berries, edible root vegetables, but also grains of wild cereals. Grain collection in the Mesolithic era probably reached a large scale, otherwise it is difficult to explain the appearance of special harvesting knives at this time. Such a knife: found at a Mesolithic site in Kabardino-Balkaria (Caucasus). Composite tools were also used to collect cereals, which later served as the prototype of the sickle. The processing of grain is also evidenced by numerous grain grinders discovered in the Nebit-Daga cave (Central Asia). Fishing played no less importance in the life of people of Mesolithic times. Thus, the Mesolithic is characterized by the initial stages of completely new forms of farming.

For a long time, the Mesolithic was not identified by scientists as an independent era. It was believed that the Paleolithic gave way directly to the Neolithic. Only at the end of the 19th century, when the first Mesolithic sites were discovered, was the previously existing gap in the study of human history filled. Currently, this era is most fully studied from the monuments of Europe.

A common feature remains the abundance of small stone microlithic tools found at all Mesolithic sites. Some microliths were used as arrowheads, which had the shape of a triangle and a bay leaf; some arrowheads were made like a handle, i.e. they were close to the classical shape of an arrow. Microliths were also used as inserts, i.e. they were the cutting part of composite tools. The abundance of microliths at all Mesolithic sites indicates their dominance over all other tools used by man of that time. The method of obtaining microlithic tools was to split off plates 1-2 cm in size from the core using a bone squeezer. Their shape is strictly geometric - these are triangles, rhombuses, segments, the latter were used mainly as inserts. Composite tools with inserts are a big step forward in the history of technology development. The experience accumulated over many tens of thousands of years in the processing of stone tools allowed the master to make a fairly large and sharp tool such as a knife, but this tool required very skillful handling, because the slightest careless movement of the maker or the person working with it led to breakage, which was impossible to fix. A different matter is a weapon with microlith inserts. The base of such tools was made of wood and bone. This base could be given any shape. Individual microlithic plates, constituting the working blade of the tool, were inserted into a specially made slotted recess with their pointed part facing outward. Microlithic inserts made of flint or other types of stone during the Mesolithic era have been identified throughout Europe, Central Asia, India, Australia and Africa, where they were found during the Capsian culture.

In addition to microliths, Mesolithic people also used large stone tools - macroliths. These include adzes (tools for working wood) and numerous axes made of both stone and bone. These chopping tools were often secured in special couplings made of bone or horn. An ax of the lyngby type was made from the antlers of deer and elk. Its handle served as the trunk of the horn, and one, rarely two processes served as clinics. The appearance of two new types of military hunting weapons also dates back to the Mesolithic era. Thus, in North Africa, especially in the region of Egypt, as well as in the southern part of India, Mexico and Australia, the boomerang, one of the types of so-called throwing clubs, was used relatively widely, and in Europe and Central Asia to a much lesser extent. The flight range of non-returning boomerangs, depending on the force of the throw and the weight of the gun, reaches 130-180 m. Returning boomerangs are known as a hunting weapon only to Australians.

A boomerang is a curved wooden plate about 1 cm thick. One surface is flat, and the other (the lower one when thrown) is convex. In tropical areas, people also used the so-called blowgun, with the help of which they hunted mainly birds; it was rarely used as a military weapon. The blowgun is a long (1.5 to 3 m) tube made from a reed-type plant. Miniature arrows, most often wooden, but always poisoned with plant poison, are blown from a tube. As ethnographers testify, an experienced hunter can send an arrow 30-40 m in this way. According to some information, some peoples of Western Siberia and the Urals knew this gun. Blowguns were widely used by the Iroquois (North America). Currently, it is used on the islands of Sumatra and Borneo; this weapon is also known on the Malacca Peninsula and in the tropical regions of South America.

The retreating glacier gradually left more and more parts of the land, where various kinds of animals rushed, and after them came man. Thus, the Mesolithic also marked the re-population of new territories by humans. It was possible to reconstruct not only the time of glacier retreat from one or another area, but also the time of human appearance there. Thus, the territory of the Karelian Isthmus was freed from the glacier 12,400 years ago, and after 400 years, traces of human habitation appeared there.

200 years after the glacier left the area of ​​the present city of Hamburg (Germany), when its remains still lay in the ravines, man had already established his camp there near the modern village of Meyendorf. The people who inhabited the lands freed from the glacier were hunting. The main game animals were deer, wild horse, wild bull aurochs and smaller animals - hare, fox, badger. On many rivers, lakes, and swamps left by the glacier, people hunted birds using a bow and arrow and a harpoon, the tips of which were found by archaeologists among the bones of a deer. Hunting for it was so important for the Meyendorf inhabitants that in the visual arts this animal was the only character. Another Mesolithic site, Shtelmoor, was discovered 600 m from the Meyendorf site. Its inhabitants lived a little later - between the 10th and 8th millennia BC. e. By this time, the Hamburg region had transformed from forest-tundra into an area of ​​mixed birch-pine forest, and now the main game animal here, in addition to the remaining reindeer, was the elk, and the fur-bearing animal was the beaver. There were apparently still a lot of reindeer at that time, because up to 1,300 antlers were found at one site. The oldest fragments of a bow and arrow in Europe were found at the Shtelmoor site.

On the territory of modern Poland, the Mesolithic is better traced at the site, which is located on the river. Swidere (20 km southeast of Warsaw). The inhabitants of this settlement were hunting. Thousands of arrows, cutters, and piercings were made from flint, reminiscent in appearance of Paleolithic products, but the technology for their processing was much higher than in the previous era. The arrowheads are symmetrical and resemble a willow leaf in appearance. The Swider culture (the Mesolithic culture of Poland) brought to us in addition to a series of sites, of which the most famous are the sites near the villages of Velishevo, Stavinoch, Wistka Shlyakhetska, and burials of the Mesolithic era. In 1937, K. Yazhdzhevsky near the village. Jani Slavica of the Skierniewice region discovered the burial. Flint tools and other objects, more than 40 in total, made of bone and horn were found near the skeleton. Of greatest interest are stiletto points made from the shoulder blades of a wild aurochs, knife-scrapers made from boar tusks, pendant-decorations made from deer teeth, and a small hoe made from elk antler.

Mesolithic sites in southern and middle Scandinavia and northern England are characterized by the Maglemose culture. The most famous are the sites on the island. Zealand: Kholmogora, Sverdborg, some sites in Denmark and Southern Sweden. Some sites in Estonia are close to this culture, for example, the Kunda site.

The life of the carriers of the Maglemoz culture was based on hunting and fishing. All known human settlements of this culture are located along the banks of rivers and lakes. When hunting with a bow, they caught bison, elk, red deer, brown bear, wild boar, roe deer and other smaller forest animals. Of no less importance was hunting for waterfowl, for which darts and nets were used. The dead bird was most likely retrieved from the water by a dog, whose abilities had already been assessed by man. Fishing was also important. They hit the fish with a harpoon, a three-pronged spear, and, undoubtedly, they also used a bow and arrows. Fishermen of the Mesolithic era knew pins, tops and nets. The tops were woven from willow and willow twigs. The shape and structure of the top have not changed and have survived to this day. Some fragments of it for catching medium and small fish are found at Mesolithic sites in Scandinavia. The nets were woven from willow bark fibers; dried nettle fibers could also be used for the same purpose. The floats were made of bark, and the sinkers were made of stone. A fragment of such a network was discovered in one of the peat bogs near the city of Vyborg.

Waterfowl hunting and fishing created an urgent need for the invention of a means of transportation on water. In Perth (Scotland), in the sediment of one of the lakes, archaeologists found a boat burned out of Scottish spruce. Its stern and bow parts were slightly pointed. On such boats, people had not yet ventured far from the shore and were unlikely to use the boat at sea. In one of the peat bogs on the island. Zealand, oars were discovered in the Mesolithic layer. On the territory of the Baltic States, sites culturally close to Maglemosis sufficiently indicate that fishing and waterfowl hunting significantly prevailed over animal hunting. Thus, at the Kunda site (Estonia), the number of bones of waterfowl sharply exceeds those of land animals. The people of Kunda established a settlement on the island. Boats were used for crossing. The most common find during the study of the settlement was a bone harpoon, which indicates a developed fishing industry.

The art of Maglemose culture is unique. At this time, an ornament appears on some types of tools, which consists of dimples and scratched wavy lines. Images of animals are less common; sculptural images also appear, most often of fish, snakes, frogs, and very rarely of deer and people. Images of humans are also rare and highly stylized. Amber was used for jewelry in the form of oval plates and beads.

The Mesolithic of the southern regions of Europe differs from the northern ones. A significant role in this was played by the fact that the southern regions did not experience such sharp temperature fluctuations as the northern ones. Therefore, the nature of the southern regions has not undergone drastic changes.

The most significant culture of the early Mesolithic era of southern Europe was the Azilian. It got its name from finds in the Mas d'Azil cave in the foothills of the Pyrenees Mountains in France. The Azilians, like their predecessors in the Paleolithic, continued to live in caves. The basis of their life was hunting red deer, wild boar, beaver, and ram. a less important role was played by gathering, especially of edible mollusks, among which the forest snail occupied the first place. In the production of stone tools, the Azilians followed the path common to the Mesolithic era, that is, along the path of increasing the assortment of small tools. They were used, but to a lesser extent, macrolithic tools. In the manufacture of bone tools among the Azilians, there is a noticeable shift towards increasing their size, massiveness and roughness in processing technology. This is explained by the following: the strength of the red deer antler is significantly inferior to the antler of the reindeer, which does not have a loose spongy core, and can be processed to any depth, while red deer antler can be processed shallowly, only within the thickness of the outer crust (no more than 4-5 mm). This forced the craftsman to subject the deer antler to only minor processing.

One of the interesting features of the Azilian culture is the obligatory presence of piles of painted pebbles at cave sites. Painting, most often in the form of an ornament, was applied to the surface of the stones with red paint mixed with fat. Pebbles of a grayish or whitish color were chosen for coloring. In addition to the ornamental design, there are figures of people and animals, made in schematic form. The French scientist E. Piette sees signs of ancient writing in Azilian painted pebbles. Domestic scientist S.A. Tokarev, speaking about these pebbles, makes the following assumption: “The analogy of the Azil pebbles is much more likely not with written signs, but with the so-called churingas of modern Australians, stone and wooden sacred tablets, totemic emblems, which are covered with symbolic drawings , in part they are very reminiscent of the drawings on Azilian pebbles. This comparison suggests the presence of totemic beliefs in the Azilian era." The hypothesis put forward by S.A. Tokarev can also be confirmed by the fact that part of the pebbles was deliberately split. The aborigines of Australia, seeking revenge on the enemy, destroy his churinga; something similar was noted when describing the female figurines in Kostenki-1. Archaeologists encountered painted pebbles at Azilian sites in France, in the Rista Cave in Spain, at the Mesolithic sites of Crimean Yalta (plateau of the Crimean Mountains), in Bierseck (Switzerland). In Birzeke, out of 225 pebbles discovered, 120 have preserved signs. Painted pebbles lay in piles (nests), many of the pebbles were broken.

The different forms of burials also indicate that the Azilians have beliefs. Thus, in the Gross Offnet cave in Bavaria, in two pits, archaeologists found 33 skulls, of which 20 were children’s, 9 women’s and 4 men’s. All the skulls were arranged in order: those placed in the center were more ancient than the skulls located on the edge. This indicates burial at different times. Women's and children's skulls were decorated with deer tusks and drilled shells. A similar burial was found in the Zamil-Koba grotto (Crimea), the skull found there was decorated with the teeth of predatory fish. Another burial was found in the Cold Grotto in Abkhazia, where the skulls were thickly sprinkled with red ocher. Group burials in the Mesolithic are found in North Africa and Portugal. Traces of Azilian culture are found in Central Asia and the British Isles.

The Azilian culture was replaced by the Tardenoise culture, named after the site of Fère-en-Tardenois (France), where its traces were first found. These cultures have many common features, so some scientists consider them to be one - Azilian-Tardenoise. But, despite the similarities between them, there are still differences. The first is that the flint products of this culture became smaller in size, in addition, the Tardenoise hunters and fishermen led a more sedentary life than their Azilian predecessors.

The most striking expression of the characteristics of the Tardenoise culture are found in the Mugem region (a suburb of Lisbon). This area is located on the banks of the river. Temu (Tahoe) 25 km from its confluence with the Atlantic Ocean. The staple food of the inhabitants of this area was edible shellfish, the accumulation of shells of which is unparalleled. The hill formed from shells, known as Cabezo d'Arruda, has a length of 100 m, a width of -60 m, and in places reaches a height of 7 m. It is interesting to note that the shells do not belong to river mollusks, but to sea mollusks. Consequently, people used food resources of the ocean. In addition to collecting sea shellfish, the population of this area was intensively engaged in hunting, as evidenced by the finds of bones of red deer, bull, wild boar, birds, as well as fishing. A significant layer of ash and ash in the hearths of the dwellings suggests a predominantly sedentary lifestyle. built in the form of semi-dugouts. In non-coastal areas, the dwellings of the Tardenoisians had the form of semi-dugouts, having an oval shape in plan. The depth of the semi-dugouts was from 50 to 75 cm. The edges were lined with sandstone slabs.

This type of dwelling was built in the Tardenoise settlement near the village. Ansbach (district: Nuremberg). The tools found in this area are mainly made of stone; very few items made of bone are found.

A comparison of monuments of Tardenoise culture found in England, Portugal, Crimea and other places made it possible to derive the following pattern: if these monuments were located on the ocean or sea coast, then the inhabitants of these places led a seasonal lifestyle. In summer they went to the coastal mountains, and in winter they went down to the sea. The reason for this change of residence, apparently, was that in the summer, when the mountain pastures and forests were covered with lush vegetation, the animals went there, and people followed them. In winter, to escape the cold and possible lack of food, animals descended from the mountains to the coastal strip, heated by warm sea currents.

The Tardenoise burials resemble those of the Upper Paleolithic in appearance. Dead relatives were often buried at the clan's habitat - in a cave, grotto. The corpse was placed in a special recess and covered with red ocher (bloodstone). Such are the burials in the Crimean caves of Fatma-Koba, Murzak-Koba, etc. There are group burials, but not in a common pit, like among the Azilians, but in separate graves, which indicates the appearance of burial grounds, i.e., one place where burial takes place a member of a clan, and possibly a tribe. Necropolises of that time numbered from several dozen to several hundred graves. The bones in the grave pits lie in a crouched or extended position. In some burial grounds there are mainly female and children's burials, in others the overwhelming majority are male. These include the burial ground of Fr. Tevyeka (France). The bones of the buried are crumpled and thickly sprinkled with red ochre. Each bone was placed in a separate burial pit. One of the burials is of particular interest. Archaeologists discovered two deer antlers above the head of the buried man. This is probably the burial of a sorcerer (in the cave of the Three Brothers (Spain) there is an image of a dancing man with a headdress made of deer antlers).

Another type of Mesolithic burial ground was discovered by archaeologists near the village. Vasilyevka, Dnepropetrovsk region. D. A. Avdusin gives the following description of it: “The burials were made without grave pits on the site of a specially dug recess common to the entire burial ground. A small mound was erected over each deceased. The dead were buried with their heads at sunrise. The bones are so twisted that one might think that the dead were tied up. A heavy stone was placed on one of these burials. All this, apparently, was caused by fear of the dead. The flint implements are very poor - a few typically Mesolithic arrows and scrapers, in addition, river shells - perhaps the remains of food given to the dead. There are few female burials in these burial grounds (near the village of Vasilyevka, three burial grounds have been explored; two of them date back to the Neolithic era). Scientists think that the environment of the tribe that left these burial grounds was hostile, and armed clashes were frequent. Arrowheads were found on one of the buried people, which were probably used to kill him.”

The increase in the growth of members of clans and tribes led to the separation from them of groups of people who went to new, less populated areas or areas completely undeveloped by humans. This kind of relocation in Europe and Asia took place in the northern and northeastern regions, and in Africa, on the contrary, - from North to South. For the American continent, the Mesolithic period is the time of human exploration of the territory of North America; the islands of Oceania and Australia were also developed.

Questions for self-control:

1. What is the progressive role of the bow and arrow?
2. What did the retreat of the glacier mean for the development of the economy?
3. Why did it become possible to develop the entire territory of the earth?
4. Main characteristics of the era.

Paleolithic, Mesolithic, Neolithic are three large cultural and historical periods of the Stone Age. It received its name due to the fact that weapons in those days were made only from stone, and only towards the end of the century bones began to be used and the century lasted for hundreds of thousands of years. But even now, thanks to numerous historical and archaeological finds, we can learn at least the main moments of the life of primitive people at the dawn of human civilization.

What is Paleolithic?

The earliest history of mankind is the Paleolithic era, the longest period of the Stone Age, which began more than 2.5 million years ago. Its main feature is the evolution of people: from an animal to a primitive communal system. The emergence and development of speech is very important and significant. The Paleolithic is divided into three stages: early, middle and late.

Early Paleolithic

This is the first and longest stage. The beginning of the Paleolithic is associated with the appearance of the first ape-like man - Archanthropus. They were not tall (1.5 - 1.8 m), had characteristic clearly defined brow ridges and a sloping chin. They used animal skins as clothing, lived in caves and, according to many scientists, actively practiced cannibalism. The main feature of the Early Paleolithic is the beginning of the use of homemade stone tools. They were made by cutting off all the excess from one stone to another in order to form a chip or cutting edge. Gradually, manufacturing techniques improved, and hand axes and so-called drills appeared - tools with which they dug up roots or chopped down trees. Another significant evolutionary step of the Early Paleolithic was the use of fire. Traces of ancient fire pits dating back 1.5 million years were discovered in Africa and Asia. But at this stage he could only maintain the fire; he had not yet produced it on his own.

Middle Paleolithic

At this time, Homo erectus is still the predominant species, and its evolution continues. In Africa, about 200-300 thousand years ago, a new species appeared, which in terms of brain volume was close to modern man - this is the Neanderthal. They were taller and had a very strong muscular build, which gave them considerable physical strength. The Middle Paleolithic is an era of survival, since Neanderthals lived in perhaps the most difficult climatic conditions - during the Ice Age.

What helped them survive was that people learned to make fire on their own, using the carving method. It was discovered, most likely, by accident during the manufacture of another sharp stone tool. At the same time, the first spears and knives, arrowheads and scrapers for processing animal skins appeared. The social structure develops, people live in large groups, caring for the elderly. Art arose in the form of rock paintings depicting hunting or, very often, women, which can be regarded as prerequisites for matriarchy.

Late Paleolithic

This is the period when a person resembling the modern one appeared - the Cro-Magnon man, he was named after the Cro-Magnon cave in which his remains were found. The Cro-Magnon phenotype is reminiscent of modern people: a high forehead, a pronounced chin, smaller muscles, developed hand motor skills, which made it possible to make improved tools for hunting and everyday life. The main material is still stone. During the Late Paleolithic-Mesolithic (early) period, the first semblance of boats appeared. This was preceded by the production of the first rafts from logs or dry twigs. Needles, the ancestors of modern ones, were made from bones; they were used to make clothes and rods. Figures made from mammoth tusks and bones and rock paintings actively developed. The Paleolithic era at a late stage marked the beginning of the domestication of wild animals; dogs, as we know, were the first. The Cro-Magnons determined time using the solar and lunar calendars. gradually replaced by matriarchal The production of the first clay figurines characterizes the Paleolithic. The Neolithic is marked by the appearance of the first pottery.

Mesolithic

This era begins after the end of the last ice age. This segment is controversial among historians. It is most strongly expressed in the north of modern Europe. During this period, weapons continued to improve, and the bow and arrow appeared. People domesticated wild animals: buffalos, horses, cows. Society develops, and the first norms of behavior and rules appear. The Mesolithic is characterized by the further development of speech.

Neolithic

If the Paleolithic is a period of active hunting, fishing and gathering, then one of the main events of the Neolithic is the transition to a productive economy: agriculture and cattle breeding. People became more attached to one place, the first houses, huts and even cities began to appear. Clay began to be used for making dishes and in art.

The Neolithic, like the Paleolithic, is divided into early, middle and late periods. And each of them proceeded unevenly, not at the same time; different cultures entered each stage at different times. Even then, for example, the territory of modern China could boast of high development.

Paleolithic, Mesolithic, Neolithic are milestones in the evolution of man as a biological species. For thousands of years it has won its place in the sun from nature. One species was replaced by another, tools were improved, the system changed from the herd characteristic of animals to the primitive communal one, and art was born.