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"The What's What and Who's Who of The Upper Paleolithic"

You've stumbled upon this blog for one of two reasons:

1) It was completely accidental and you were attempting to google something, which you believed was of much greater importance, and somehow the forever incomprehensible google search engine brought you here.

OR

2) You're interested in the Upper Paleolithic! When did it happen? Who was involved? What really matters? And what does it all mean?

If your reason for coming to this page is the latter of the two then... CONGRATULATIONS! You have come to the right spot.

Today we will begin by taking a page or two from the newest "For Dummies" edition and provide you with a general and overall understanding of what makes the Upper Paleolithic tick.

Maybe you have seen the movie 10,000 BC and you're thinking to yourself, "Yeah, that's seems like the Upper Paleolithic Period to me". Well I'm here to inform you that you are just about 10,000 years too late. 

The Upper Paleolithic covers a span of approximately 28,000 years, starting around 50,000 years ago and continuing onwards until about 20,000 years ago. It is comprised of 3 phases: 1) Early Transitional Phase from Middle to Upper Paleolithic 2) Ahmarian Phase and 3) Aurignacian Phase. (Bar-Yosef, 2002)

So now you're probably asking yourself, "What came out of this period? In such a short time, it can't be much, right?" Wrong my friend, so wrong.

Upper Paleolithic for Dummies Overview

1.  Tools : Here we find evidence for the increased use and appearance of blade-based technology which allowed for the creation of a huge variety of refined and efficient tools, allowing for an even greater variety of specific actions and uses (Hirst, 2012).

2.  Art: Cave art, cave art, cave art. The Upper Paleolithic could just not get enough. Engravings of animals adorned the walls of famous caves. We can not forget about their mobile art. The Venus figurine was found anywhere and everywhere (Hirst, 2012).

Photo taken from: 

http://www.d.umn.edu/cla/faculty/troufs/anth1602/images/lfmc070923_hunters-gatherers_2007.09.23.gif

3. Lifestyles: Mammoth bone huts, floors and hearths made it clear that The Upper Paleolithic liked where they were and wanted to stay a little longer than their predecessors of the Middle Paleolithic. Hunting became an art, mastered by those of the Upper Paleolithic, creating the first hunter-gatherer economy (Hirst, 2012).

This concludes "The What's What and Who's Who of the Upper Paleolithics" introduction to The Upper Paleolithic. Come on back for some fun facts that you just won't be able to resist spitting out at your next Anthropology function!

Citations:
1. Bar-Yosef, Ofer. "The Upper Paleolithic Revolution." Annual Review of Anthropology 31 (2002): 363-393. www.annualreviews.org. Web. 4 Nov. 2012.
2. Hirst, K. Kris. "Guide to the Upper Paleolithic." Archaeology - The Study of Human History. N.p., n.d. Web. 7 Nov. 2012. <http://archaeology.about.com/od/upperpaleolithic/qt/Upper=paleolithic.htm>.