Middle Paleolithic

The Middle Paleolithic (or Middle Palaeolithic) is the second part of the Paleolithic, also known as the Old Stone Age. It happened in Europe, Africa, and Asia. This time period lasted from about 300,000 to 50,000 years ago, though the exact dates can vary in different places. It was followed by the Upper Paleolithic around 50,000 to 40,000 years ago.

During the Middle Paleolithic, early humans lived and worked with stone tools. This period is very important for understanding how our ancestors lived. According to ideas about where humans come from, anatomically modern humans started moving out of Africa around this time, about 125,000 years ago. They gradually replaced other human-like species, such as the Neanderthals and Homo erectus. This time helps us learn about the lives and skills of our early ancestors.

Origin of behavioral modernity

The earliest signs of modern human behavior, such as 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 had ideas about life after death or simply 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 during the Middle Paleolithic lived in small, fair groups, much like some hunter-gatherer groups today. Both Neanderthals and early humans cared 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 mainly got their food by gathering and hunting. But they also started eating seafood and found ways to keep meat fresh by smoking and drying it. For example, people living in what is now the Democratic Republic of the Congo caught very large catfish using special fishing tools about 90,000 years ago. Both Neanderthals and early humans in Africa began eating shellfish, as shown by cooking spots at old sites 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 really know why this might have happened. It could have been because of religion, or maybe the bones found were damaged by animals or other natural reasons instead.

Technology

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

People also started using fire more often during this time, cooking food around 250,000 years ago. Some think this helped them survive in colder places by keeping food safe to eat. There are also ideas that dogs might have first been tamed by people during this period.

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