Upper Paleolithic
From EvoWiki
The Upper Paleolithic refers to the third and final stage of the Paleolithic period.[1] The Upper Paleolithic began around 50,000 or 45,000 years ago when modern humans (Homo sapiens) Became completely behaviorally modern and ended around 10,000 years ago when the Global ice age and the Geological period known as the Pleistocene ended.[1][1] The terms "Late Stone Age" and "Upper Paleolithic" both refer to the same period however the term Late Stone Age is used mostly to describe the African Upper Paleolithic. [1]
Upper Paleolithic people gained their subsistence by hunting wild animals and gathering plants.[1] It appears that plants and other sources of food obtained from gathering constituted the majority of the diets of most Upper Paleolithic groups[1] though, it is likely that the relative proportions of plant and animal foods in the diets of Upper Paleolithic diets and Paleolithic diets in general varied across regions for instance, Upper Paleolithic societies in cold regions such as Northern Europe probably had a meat based diet while as Upper Paleolithic groups in warmer regions such as Africa most likely consumed a plant based diet.[1]
Like some contemporary hunter-gatherers most Upper Paleolithic people lived in small nomadic groups known as Band societies that consisted of 20 to 30 or 25 to 100 members.[1][1][1] These bands were most likely formed by a small kin group, no larger than an extended family or clan. Archeological evidence and ethnographic analogies to existent hunter gatherers suggests that that the distribution of wealth and resources in most Upper Paleolithic societies was egalitarian,[1][1][1][1][1][1] strict taboos likely ensured that wild game obtained from hunting was divided equally amongst all members of the Paleolithic band. Upper Paleolithic bands also possessed very little social hierarchy and may have made decisions on a consensus basis.[1] Nor was there a formal division of labor during the Upper Paleolithic each member of the group was skilled at all tasks essential to survival, regardless of individual abilities. However some Upper Paleolithic populations in areas where resources such as food were abundant formed more complex and hierarchical social structures such as Tribes and possibly chiefdoms.[1]
References
| See Upper Paleolithic in Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. |
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