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Middle Paleolithic
Middle Paleolithic
Prepared core technology
Where, when, and who?
Where, when, and who?
Africa (Middle Stone Age), Europe and Asia (Middle Paleolithic), ~300,000-150,000 years ago
Homo sapiens, Homo neanderthalensis, Denisovans
Manufacturing techniques
Manufacturing techniques
Prepared core technology / Levallois technique: require that the toolmaker modify the original core by a number of flake removal steps in order to prepare it to produce a flake of a prescribed size and shape. This technology allows the systematic, regular production of standardized flake forms.
Tool types / physical characteristics
Tool types / physical characteristics
Prepared core, Scrapers (made from flakes), Mousterian point
Hafted tools, tools attached to a handle of haft, appear alongside prepared core. The standardized forms allow broken pieces, such as spear tips and arrow heads, to be easily replaced on a handle without too much further modification to the haft.
Upper Paleolithic
Upper Paleolithic
Blade-based technology
Where, when, and who?
Where, when, and who?
50,000-12,000 years ago, Global
Homo sapiens, Homo neanderthalensis
Tool types / Physical characteristics
Tool types / Physical characteristics
Blades: flakes that are twice as long as they are wide
More varied tool forms and use of raw materials (bone, ivory, shell)
Projectile points, microliths, blades, bone needles
Microliths are small, shaped flakes that probably were once attached to wood or bone to make composite tools.Â
Manufacturing techniques
Manufacturing techniques
Refinements in tool flaking for standardized production of blades
More regional variation across the globe in tool types, materials, and techniques
Human evolution
Human evolution
Generally characterized by an increase in technological and cultural diversity among Homo sapiens
Comparing Tool Technologies
Comparing Tool Technologies
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