Middle Paleolithic

The Middle Paleolithic (or Middle Palaeolithic) is the second part of the Paleolithic, also called the Old Stone Age. It took place in Europe, Africa, and Asia. This time lasted from about 300,000 to 50,000 years ago, but the exact dates can change in different places. After this came the Upper Paleolithic around 50,000 to 40,000 years ago.

During the Middle Paleolithic, early humans made and used stone tools. This time is very helpful for learning about how our ancestors lived. Around this time, about 125,000 years ago, humans began leaving Africa. They slowly moved into areas where other human-like groups, such as the Neanderthals and Homo erectus, lived.

Origin of behavioral modernity

The earliest signs of modern human behavior, like creating art and special tools, appeared during the Middle Paleolithic. Burials at places like Krapina in Croatia and the Qafzeh and Es Skhul caves in Israel suggest that people might have thought about life after death or buried people for practical reasons.

We also see early art from sites like Blombos Cave, where people made bracelets, beads, and painted with a special red earth called ochre. These activities show that people worked together more and had more complex social groups. During this time, people also began trading with others far away, sharing things like ochre and other materials, which helped groups survive when resources were hard to find.

Social stratification

People in the Middle Paleolithic lived in small, fair groups, like some hunter-gatherer groups today. Both Neanderthals and early humans helped care for older members of their groups. Some experts think this fair way of living helped make sure everyone had enough food.

We used to think that in the Paleolithic period, women gathered plants and wood, while men hunted animals. But some researchers now believe this way of sharing jobs might have started later, after 45,000 years ago, to get food more efficiently.

Nutrition

During the Middle Paleolithic, people got food by gathering and hunting. They also ate seafood and kept meat fresh by smoking and drying it. For example, people in what is now the Democratic Republic of the Congo caught large catfish with special tools about 90,000 years ago. Both Neanderthals and early humans in Africa ate shellfish, as shown by old cooking spots in Italy and Africa.

Some scientists think that in the past, people might have eaten others from their group when there wasn’t enough food. But we don’t know why this might have happened.

Technology

Around 200,000 years ago, people in the Middle Paleolithic began making tools in new ways. They used the Levallois technique or prepared-core technique. This was better than older ways, like the Acheulean method. They made sharper tools and could attach stone tips to sticks to make spears. Groups like the Neanderthals used these tools to hunt big animals.

People also started using fire more often, cooking food around 250,000 years ago. This helped them stay safe and healthy in colder places. Some think dogs may have been tamed by people during this time.

Sites

Cave sites

Western Europe

• Axlor, Spain
• Grotte de Spy, Spy, Belgium
• La Cotte de St Brelade, Jersey
• Le Moustier, France—see also Mousterian
• Neandertal (valley), Germany
• Petralona, Greece

Middle East and Africa

• Aterian, North Africa
• Bisitun Cave, Iran
• Daş Salahlı, Azerbaijan
• Wezmeh, Iran

Open-air sites

• Biache-Saint-Vaast, France
• Maastricht-Belvédère, The Netherlands
• Veldwezelt-Hezerwater, Belgium