1.
Epipaleolithic
–
Epipaleolithic is a term used for the final Upper Palaeolithic industries occurring at the end of the final glaciation which appear to merge technologically into the Mesolithic. The period is dated from c. 20,000 BP to c. 10,500 BP. The term is used as a synonym of Mesolithic. Inversely, those that are in transitional ways towards artificial production of food are inscribed in the Mesolithic, epipalaeolithic hunter-gatherers, generally nomadic, made relatively advanced tools from small flint or obsidian blades, known as microliths, that were hafted in wooden implements. The Epipaleolithic is best understood when discussing the southern Levant, as the period is well documented due to preservation at the site. Of these animals, it is likely only the equids were migrational
Epipaleolithic
–
Azilian points,
microliths from epipaleolithic northern Spain and southern France.
2.
Paleolithic
–
The Paleolithic is a prehistoric period of human history distinguished by the development of the most primitive stone tools and covers roughly 95% of human technological prehistory. It extends from the earliest known use of tools, probably by Homo habilis initially,2.6 million years ago. The Paleolithic era is followed by the Mesolithic, the date of the Paleolithic–Mesolithic boundary may vary by locality as much as several thousand years. During the Paleolithic period, humans grouped together in small societies such as bands, the Paleolithic is characterized by the use of knapped stone tools, although at the time humans also used wood and bone tools. Other organic commodities were adapted for use as tools, including leather and vegetable fibers, however, due to their nature, surviving artifacts of the Paleolithic era are known as paleoliths. About 50,000 years ago, there was a increase in the diversity of artifacts. For the first time in Africa, bone artifacts and the first art appear in the archaeological record, the first evidence of human fishing is also noted, from artifacts in places such as Blombos cave in South Africa. The new technology generated an explosion of modern humans which is believed to have led to the extinction of the Neanderthals. Humankind gradually evolved from members of the genus Homo—such as Homo habilis. The climate during the Paleolithic consisted of a set of glacial and interglacial periods in which the climate periodically fluctuated between warm and cool temperatures, by c. 50,000 – c. 40,000 BP, the first humans set foot in Australia. By c. 45,000 BP, humans lived at 61°N latitude in Europe, by c. 30,000 BP, Japan was reached, and by c. 27,000 BP humans were present in Siberia, above the Arctic Circle. At the end of the Upper Paleolithic, a group of humans crossed Beringia, the term Paleolithic was coined by archaeologist John Lubbock in 1865. It derives from Greek, παλαιός, palaios, old, and λίθος, lithos, stone, human evolution is the part of biological evolution concerning the emergence of anatomically modern humans as a distinct species. The Paleolithic Period coincides almost exactly with the Pleistocene epoch of geologic time and this epoch experienced important geographic and climatic changes that affected human societies. During the preceding Pliocene, continents had continued to drift from possibly as far as 250 km from their present locations to positions only 70 km from their current location. South America became linked to North America through the Isthmus of Panama, most of Central America formed during the Pliocene to connect the continents of North and South America, allowing fauna from these continents to leave their native habitats and colonize new areas. Africas collision with Asia created the Mediterranean Sea, cutting off the remnants of the Tethys Ocean, climates during the Pliocene became cooler and drier, and seasonal, similar to modern climates. The formation of an Arctic ice cap around 3 million years ago is signaled by a shift in oxygen isotope ratios and ice-rafted cobbles in the North Atlantic
Paleolithic
–
This
cranium, of
Homo heidelbergensis, a
Lower Paleolithic predecessor to
Homo neanderthalensis and possibly
Homo sapiens, dates to sometime between 500,000 and 400,000 BP.
Paleolithic
–
The Paleolithic climate consisted of a set of glacial and interglacial periods.
Paleolithic
–
Many great mammals such as
woolly mammoths,
woolly rhinoceros, and
cave lions inhabited places like Siberia during the Pleistocene.
Paleolithic
–
Paleoindians hunting a
glyptodon. Glyptodons were hunted to extinction within two millennia after humans' arrival to South America.
3.
Mesolithic Europe
–
In archaeology, the Mesolithic is the culture between Paleolithic and Neolithic. The term Epipaleolithic is often used for areas outside northern Europe, Mesolithic has different time spans in different parts of Eurasia. It was originally post-Pleistocene, pre-agricultural material in northwest Europe about 10,000 to 5000 BC, in the archaeology of Northern Europe, for example for archaeological sites in Great Britain, Germany, Scandinavia, Ukraine, and Russia, the term Mesolithic is almost always used. In the archaeology of other areas, the term Epipaleolithic may be preferred by most authors, in the New World, neither term is used. Other authors use the term Mesolithic for a variety of Late Paleolithic cultures subsequent to the end of the last glacial period whether they are transitional towards agriculture or not, conversely, those that are in course of transition toward artificial food production are assigned to the Mesolithic. Therefore, care must be taken in translating Mesolithic as Middle Stone Age, subdivisions of earlier and later were added to the Stone Age by Thomsen and especially his junior colleague and employee Jens Jacob Asmussen Worsaae. John Lubbock kept these divisions in his work Pre-historic Times in 1865 and he saw no need for an intermediate category. When Hodder Westropp introduced the Mesolithic in 1866, as an intermediate between Paleolithic and Neolithic, a storm of controversy immediately arose around it. A British school led by John Evans denied any need for an intermediate, the ages blended together like the colors of a rainbow, he said. A European school led by Louis Laurent Gabriel de Mortillet asserted that there was a gap between the earlier and later, edouard Piette claimed to have filled the gap with his discovery of the Azilian Culture. Knut Stjerna offered an alternative in the Epipaleolithic, a continuation of the use of Paleolithic technology, the start and end dates of the Mesolithic vary by geographical region. Childes view prevails that the term covers the period between the end of the Pleistocene and the start of the Neolithic. If the Mesolithic is more similar to the Paleolithic it is called the Epipaleolithic, the Paleolithic was an age of purely hunting and gathering while in the Neolithic domestication of plants and animals had occurred. Some Mesolithic peoples continued with intensive hunting, others were practising the initial stages of domestication. The type of remains the diagnostic factor, The Mesolithic featured composite devices manufactured with Mode V chipped stone tools. The Paleolithic had utilized Modes I–IV and the Neolithic mainly abandoned the chipped microliths in favor of polished, not chipped, the first period, known as Mesolithic 1, followed the Aurignacian or Levantine Upper Paleolithic periods throughout the Levant. By the end of the Aurignacian, gradual changes took place in stone industries, small stone tools called microliths and retouched bladelets can be found for the first time. The microliths of this period differ greatly from the Aurignacian artifacts
Mesolithic Europe
–
Mesolithic microliths
Mesolithic Europe
–
Two skeletons of women aged between 25 and 35 years, dated between 6740 and 5680 BP, both of whom died a violent death. Found at
Téviec,
France in 1938.
4.
Maglemosian culture
–
Maglemosian is the name given to a culture of the early Mesolithic period in Northern Europe. In Scandinavia, the culture was succeeded by the Kongemose culture, the name originates from the Danish archeological site Maglemose, situated near Gørlev and Høng on western Zealand, southwest of lake Tissø. Here the first settlement of the culture was excavated in 1900, during the following century a long series of similar settlements were excavated from England to Poland and from Skåne in Sweden to northern France. The Maglemosian people lived in forest and wetland environments, using fishing and hunting tools made from wood, bone and it appears that they had domesticated the dog. Some may have lived settled lives, but most were nomadic, huts made of bark have been preserved, and the tools were made of flint, bone, and horn. A characteristic of the culture are the sharply edged microliths of flintstone, used for spear, another notable feature is the leister, a characteristic type of fishing spear, used for gigging. When the Maglemosian culture reigned, sea levels were lower than now and Europe. The cultural period overlaps the end of the last ice age, when the ice retreated, therefore, there is hope that the emerging discipline of underwater archaeology may reveal interesting finds related to the Maglemosian culture in the future. CBA Research Report 141,2004, s, 23ff Danish-language texts Geoffrey Bibby, Spadens vidnedsbyrd, Wormanium 1980, ISBN 87-8516-071-7 s. 109f Gyldendal og Politikens Danmarkshistorie, Bind 1, I begyndelsen, fra de ældste tider til ca. 86ff Anders Fischer, En håndfuld flint, Skalk nr, 8ff Anders Fischer, Mennesket og havet i ældre stenalder, i, Carin Bunte, Arkeologi och Naturvetenskab, Lund 2005, s. 276ff Kim Aaris-Sørensen, Uroksejagt, Skalk nr, 10ff Ole Grøn, Teltning, Skalk nr. 13f Søren A. Sørensen, Hytte ved sø, Skalk nr, 25ff Peter Vang Petersen, Bjørnejagt, Skalk nr. 3ff Poul og Kristian Krabbe, Vest for Valhal, Skalk nr, 11ff Axel Degn Johansen, Ikke en sky og ikke en vind
Maglemosian culture
–
Maglemosian culture
5.
Lepenski vir
–
Lepenski Vir is an important Mesolithic archaeological site located in Serbia in central Balkan peninsula. The latest radiocarbon and AMS data suggests that the chronology of Lepenski Vir is compressed between 9500/7200-6000 BC, there is some disagreement about the early start of the settlement and culture of Lepenskir Vir. But the latest data suggest 9500-7200 to be the start, numerous piscine sculptures and peculiar architecture have been found at the site. Lepenski Vir is located on the banks of the Danube in eastern Serbia, within the Iron Gates gorge, the first excavations were made on the site in 1965. In 1966 it was listed as a monument of Yugoslavia. It was only in 1967 that its importance was fully understood after the discovery of the first Mesolithic sculptures, the excavations ended in 1971 when the whole site was relocated 29. 7m higher to avoid flooding from a new artificial lake created in the Iron Gates gorge. The main contribution to the exploration of site was through the work of professor Dragoslav Srejović of the University of Belgrade. 136 buildings, settlements and altars were found in the excavations in 1965-1970. Lepenski Vir was declared a Monument of Culture of Exceptional Importance in 1979, a number of satellite villages belonging to the same culture and time period were discovered in the surrounding area. These additional sites include Hajducka Vodenica, Padina, Vlasac, Ikaona, Kladovska Skela, found artifacts include tools made from stone and bones, the remains of houses, and numerous sacral objects including unique stone sculptures. It is assumed that the people of Lepenski Vir culture represent the descendants of the early European population of the Brno-Předmostí hunter gatherer culture from the end of the last ice age, archeological evidence of human habitation of the surrounding caves dates back to around 20,000 BC. The first settlement on the low plateau dates back to 9500-7200 BC, treskavac - a bare porphyritic cliff which rises on the left bank of the Danube opposite Lepenski Vir like a giant sentinel of the prehistoric settlement. Treskavac was very important to the habitants of Lepenski Vir, the development of the settlement was strongly influenced by the topology of the surrounding area. It sat on a plateau on the banks of the river. As such it offered only limited resources in terms of food, raw materials and this is reflected in the findings from the earliest layer. Proto-Lepenski Vir represents only a settlement of maybe just 4 or 5 families with fewer than a hundred inhabitants. The primary food source of the inhabitants was probably fishing, fishing communities of this type are typical for the wider Danube valley region during this period. In later periods the problems of overpopulation of the settlement became evident
Lepenski vir
–
Displaced site under glass roof
Lepenski vir
–
Lepenski Vir sculptures
Lepenski vir
–
Entrance to Lepenski Vir museum
6.
Kunda culture
–
The oldest known Kunda culture settlement in Estonia is Pulli settlement. The Kunda Culture is succeeded by the Narva culture who use pottery, most Kunda settlements are located near the edge of the forests beside rivers, lakes, or marshes. Elk were extensively hunted, perhaps helped by trained domestic hunting-dogs, on the coast seal hunting is represented. Pike and other fish were taken from the rivers, there is a rich bone and antler industry, especially in relation to fishing gear. Tools were decorated with geometric designs, lacking the complexity of the contemporary Maglemosian Culture communities to the southwest. The Kunda culture appears to have undergone a transition from the Palaeolithic Swiderian culture located previously over much of the same range, one such transition settlement, Pasieniai 1C in Lithuania, features stone tools of both Late Swiderian and early Kunda. One shape manufactured in both cultures is the retouched tanged point, the final Swiderian is dated 7800–7600 BC by calibrated radiocarbon dating, which is in the Preboreal period, at the end of which time with no gap the early Kunda begins. Evidently the descendants of the Swiderians were the first to settle Estonia when it became habitable, other post-Swiderian groups extended as far east as the Ural mountains. Kunda, Estonia Pulli, Estonia Luga Pasieniai, Lithuania Ristola, Finland Velizh Zvejnieki, Latvia
Kunda culture
–
Tools of Kundra Culture
7.
Narva culture
–
A successor of the Mesolithic Kunda culture, Narva culture continued up to the start of the Bronze Age. The technology was that of hunter-gatherers, the culture was named after the Narva River in Estonia. The people of the Narva culture had little access to flint, therefore, they were forced to trade, for example, there were very few flint arrowheads and flint was often reused. The Narva culture relied on local materials, heavy use of bones and horns is one of the main characteristics of the Narva culture. The bone tools, continued from the predecessor Kunda culture, provide the best evidence of continuity of the Narva culture throughout the Neolithic period, the people were buried on their backs with few grave goods. The Narva culture also used and traded amber, a few hundred items were found in Juodkrantė, one of the most famous artifacts is a ceremonial cane carved of horn as a head of female elk found in Šventoji. The people were primarily fishers, hunters, and gatherers and they slowly began adopting husbandry in middle Neolithic. They were not nomadic and lived in same settlements for periods as evidenced by abundant pottery, middens. The pottery shared similarities with Comb Ceramic culture, but had specific characteristics, one of the most persistent features was mixing clay with other organic matter, most often crushed snail shells. The pottery was made of 6-to-9 cm wide clay strips with minimal decorations around the rim, the vessels were wide and large, the height and the width were often the same. The bottoms were pointed or rounded, and only the latest examples have narrow flat bottoms, from mid-Neolithic Narva pottery was influenced and eventually disappeared into the Corded Ware culture. For a long time believed that the first inhabitants of the region were Finno-Ugric. In 1931, Latvian archeologist Eduards Šturms was the first to note that artifacts found near Zebrus Lake in Latvia were different, in early 1950s settlements on the Narva River were excavated. Lembit Jaanits and Nina Gurina grouped the findings with similar artifacts from eastern Baltic region, at first it was believed that Narva culture ended with appearance of the Corded Ware culture. However, newer research extended it up to the Bronze Age, as Narva culture spanned several millenniums and encompassed a large territory, archaeologists attempted to subdivide the culture into regions or periods. For example, in Lithuania two regions are distinguished, southern and western, there is an academic debate what ethnicity represented the Narva culture, Finno-Ugrians or other Europids, preceding arrival of the Indo-Europeans. It is also unclear how the Narva culture fits with the arrival of the Indo-Europeans, overview of Neolithic sites on Narva River in Estonia
Narva culture
–
Pottery of the Narva culture
8.
Swiderian culture
–
Swiderian culture, also published in English literature as Sviderian and Swederian, is the name of Final Palaeolithic cultural complexes in Poland and the surrounding areas. The type-site is Świdry Wielkie, in Otwock near the Swider River, the Swiderian is recognized as a distinctive culture that developed on the sand dunes left behind by the retreating glaciers. The crude flint blades of Early Swiderian are found in the area of Nowy Mlyn in the Holy Cross Mountains region, late Swiderian is characterized by blades with a blunted back. The Swiderian culture plays a role in the Palaeolithic-Mesolithic transition. It has been accepted that most of the Swiderian population emigrated at the very end of the Pleistocene to the northeast following the retreating tundra. Recent radiocarbon dates prove that some groups of the Svidero-Ahrensburgian Complex persisted into the Preboreal, unlike western Europe, the Mesolithic groups now inhabiting the Polish Plain were newcomers. This has been attested by a 300-year-long gap between the youngest Palaeolithic and the oldest Mesolithic occupation, the oldest Mesolithic site is Chwalim, located in western Silesia, Poland, it outdates the Mesolithic sites situated to the east in central and northeastern Poland by about 150 years. Thus, the Mesolithic population progressed from the west after a 300-year-long settlement break, the Ukrainian archaeologist L. Zalizniak believes Kunda culture of Central Russia and the Baltic zone, and other so-called post-Swiderian cultures, derive from the Swiderian culture. The raw materials of the assemblage at Sujala originate in the Varanger Peninsula in northern Norway. Proposed parallels with the blade technology among the earliest Mesolithic finds in southern Norway would have placed the find closer or even before 10000 BP. However, a connection to early North Norwegian settlements is contradicted by the shape of the tanged points. There, counterparts of the Sujala cores can also be found, the Sujala assemblage is currently considered unquestionably post-Swiderian and is dated by radiocarbon to 9265-8930 BP, the true age being approximately 8300-8200 CalBC. Such an Early Mesolithic influence from Russia or the Baltic might imply an adjustment to previous thoughts on the colonization of the Barents Sea coast
Swiderian culture
–
Swiderian culture
9.
Epipaleolithic Transylvania
–
The Prehistory of Transylvania describes what can be learned about the region known as Transylvania through archaeology, anthropology, comparative linguistics and other allied sciences. Transylvania proper is a plateau or tableland in northwest central Romania and it is bounded and defined by the Carpathian Mountains to the east and south, and the Apuseni Mountains to the west. As a diverse and relatively protected region, the area has always been rich in wildlife, the mountains contain a large number of caves, which attracted both human and animal residents. The Peştera Urşilor, the Cave of Bears, was home to a number of cave bears whose remains were discovered when the cave was found by humans in 1975. Other caves in the area sheltered early humans, Prehistory is the longest period in the history of mankind, developing from times when the writing was still unknown. Chronologically it stretches from the Paleolithic, Neolithic, and Bronze Age to the Iron Age, the chronological frame of the Paleolithic coincides with that of the Pleistocene, and is marked by four great glaciations, as established in the Alps. Likewise, in the Ciurul Mare Cave in the Pǎdurea Craiului Mountains speleologists have discovered some distinctively male, female, an anthropological analysis has identified Cro-Magnon and even Neanderthal characteristics in these footprints. The economy of the Paleolithic communities consisted mainly of exploiting natural resources, gathering, fishing, as early as the Lower Paleolithic, human groups either hunted or trapped game. We can assume that in Transylvania, alongside mammoths or deer, horses were an important food source. The Lower Paleolithic in Transylvania, because data are scarce, is largely a mystery, if the discovery of an Acheulean lithic item at Căpuşu Mic and of several Pre-Mousterian lithic items at Tălmaciu are a certain fact, their precise stratigraphic position remains to be established. The Middle Paleolithic – Mousterian – covers a period much shorter than that of the prior epoch. The Mousterian period is closest to the alpine Paleolithic, both periods were characterized by the presence of numerous quartzite slivers and chips, with the bones of hunted game outnumbering the tools. Consequently, specialists consider this Mousterian to be an Eastern Charentian”, the process of regional diversification among cultures was accelerated in the Upper Paleolithic through the middle to upper Würm. The onset of the Aurignacian culture seems to have paralleled the late Mousterian facies in the Carpathian caves, northwestern Transylvania is the site where layers of the Middle Aurignacian culture have been identified, as signaled by the presence of blade scrapers, refitted core, burins. In Banat, the settlements of Tincova, Coşova and Româneşti-Dumbrăviţa, have produced flint tools demonstrating that the Aurignacian in this area evolved closely with that in Central Europe. The Eastern Gravettian had a long evolution, featuring several stages of development as documented especially by the settlements in Moldova, the populations evolving at the onset of the Bölling oscillation and which have continued to the end of the Preboreal have been generally attributed to the Epipaleolithic. Consequently, this period could be associated with the interval between 13,000 and about 9, 500-9,000 BP. These communities continued the lifestyles of the Upper Paleolithic, the area of Porţile de Fier is settled by a population attributed to the Late Epigravettian or Mediterranean Tardigravettian
Epipaleolithic Transylvania
–
Transylvania is a plateau in northwest central
Romania, bounded by the
Carpathian Mountains to the east and south and the
Apuseni Mountains towards the west.
Epipaleolithic Transylvania
–
Aurignacian double edged
scraper on
blade - 3 views of the same object.
Epipaleolithic Transylvania
–
The
Iron Gates of the
Danube
Epipaleolithic Transylvania
–
Sculpture found at the archaeological site of
Lepenski Vir
10.
Mesolithic Transylvania
–
The Prehistory of Transylvania describes what can be learned about the region known as Transylvania through archaeology, anthropology, comparative linguistics and other allied sciences. Transylvania proper is a plateau or tableland in northwest central Romania and it is bounded and defined by the Carpathian Mountains to the east and south, and the Apuseni Mountains to the west. As a diverse and relatively protected region, the area has always been rich in wildlife, the mountains contain a large number of caves, which attracted both human and animal residents. The Peştera Urşilor, the Cave of Bears, was home to a number of cave bears whose remains were discovered when the cave was found by humans in 1975. Other caves in the area sheltered early humans, Prehistory is the longest period in the history of mankind, developing from times when the writing was still unknown. Chronologically it stretches from the Paleolithic, Neolithic, and Bronze Age to the Iron Age, the chronological frame of the Paleolithic coincides with that of the Pleistocene, and is marked by four great glaciations, as established in the Alps. Likewise, in the Ciurul Mare Cave in the Pǎdurea Craiului Mountains speleologists have discovered some distinctively male, female, an anthropological analysis has identified Cro-Magnon and even Neanderthal characteristics in these footprints. The economy of the Paleolithic communities consisted mainly of exploiting natural resources, gathering, fishing, as early as the Lower Paleolithic, human groups either hunted or trapped game. We can assume that in Transylvania, alongside mammoths or deer, horses were an important food source. The Lower Paleolithic in Transylvania, because data are scarce, is largely a mystery, if the discovery of an Acheulean lithic item at Căpuşu Mic and of several Pre-Mousterian lithic items at Tălmaciu are a certain fact, their precise stratigraphic position remains to be established. The Middle Paleolithic – Mousterian – covers a period much shorter than that of the prior epoch. The Mousterian period is closest to the alpine Paleolithic, both periods were characterized by the presence of numerous quartzite slivers and chips, with the bones of hunted game outnumbering the tools. Consequently, specialists consider this Mousterian to be an Eastern Charentian”, the process of regional diversification among cultures was accelerated in the Upper Paleolithic through the middle to upper Würm. The onset of the Aurignacian culture seems to have paralleled the late Mousterian facies in the Carpathian caves, northwestern Transylvania is the site where layers of the Middle Aurignacian culture have been identified, as signaled by the presence of blade scrapers, refitted core, burins. In Banat, the settlements of Tincova, Coşova and Româneşti-Dumbrăviţa, have produced flint tools demonstrating that the Aurignacian in this area evolved closely with that in Central Europe. The Eastern Gravettian had a long evolution, featuring several stages of development as documented especially by the settlements in Moldova, the populations evolving at the onset of the Bölling oscillation and which have continued to the end of the Preboreal have been generally attributed to the Epipaleolithic. Consequently, this period could be associated with the interval between 13,000 and about 9, 500-9,000 BP. These communities continued the lifestyles of the Upper Paleolithic, the area of Porţile de Fier is settled by a population attributed to the Late Epigravettian or Mediterranean Tardigravettian
Mesolithic Transylvania
–
Transylvania is a plateau in northwest central
Romania, bounded by the
Carpathian Mountains to the east and south and the
Apuseni Mountains towards the west.
Mesolithic Transylvania
–
Aurignacian double edged
scraper on
blade - 3 views of the same object.
Mesolithic Transylvania
–
The
Iron Gates of the
Danube
Mesolithic Transylvania
–
Sculpture found at the archaeological site of
Lepenski Vir
11.
Schela Cladovei culture
–
The Prehistory of Transylvania describes what can be learned about the region known as Transylvania through archaeology, anthropology, comparative linguistics and other allied sciences. Transylvania proper is a plateau or tableland in northwest central Romania and it is bounded and defined by the Carpathian Mountains to the east and south, and the Apuseni Mountains to the west. As a diverse and relatively protected region, the area has always been rich in wildlife, the mountains contain a large number of caves, which attracted both human and animal residents. The Peştera Urşilor, the Cave of Bears, was home to a number of cave bears whose remains were discovered when the cave was found by humans in 1975. Other caves in the area sheltered early humans, Prehistory is the longest period in the history of mankind, developing from times when the writing was still unknown. Chronologically it stretches from the Paleolithic, Neolithic, and Bronze Age to the Iron Age, the chronological frame of the Paleolithic coincides with that of the Pleistocene, and is marked by four great glaciations, as established in the Alps. Likewise, in the Ciurul Mare Cave in the Pǎdurea Craiului Mountains speleologists have discovered some distinctively male, female, an anthropological analysis has identified Cro-Magnon and even Neanderthal characteristics in these footprints. The economy of the Paleolithic communities consisted mainly of exploiting natural resources, gathering, fishing, as early as the Lower Paleolithic, human groups either hunted or trapped game. We can assume that in Transylvania, alongside mammoths or deer, horses were an important food source. The Lower Paleolithic in Transylvania, because data are scarce, is largely a mystery, if the discovery of an Acheulean lithic item at Căpuşu Mic and of several Pre-Mousterian lithic items at Tălmaciu are a certain fact, their precise stratigraphic position remains to be established. The Middle Paleolithic – Mousterian – covers a period much shorter than that of the prior epoch. The Mousterian period is closest to the alpine Paleolithic, both periods were characterized by the presence of numerous quartzite slivers and chips, with the bones of hunted game outnumbering the tools. Consequently, specialists consider this Mousterian to be an Eastern Charentian”, the process of regional diversification among cultures was accelerated in the Upper Paleolithic through the middle to upper Würm. The onset of the Aurignacian culture seems to have paralleled the late Mousterian facies in the Carpathian caves, northwestern Transylvania is the site where layers of the Middle Aurignacian culture have been identified, as signaled by the presence of blade scrapers, refitted core, burins. In Banat, the settlements of Tincova, Coşova and Româneşti-Dumbrăviţa, have produced flint tools demonstrating that the Aurignacian in this area evolved closely with that in Central Europe. The Eastern Gravettian had a long evolution, featuring several stages of development as documented especially by the settlements in Moldova, the populations evolving at the onset of the Bölling oscillation and which have continued to the end of the Preboreal have been generally attributed to the Epipaleolithic. Consequently, this period could be associated with the interval between 13,000 and about 9, 500-9,000 BP. These communities continued the lifestyles of the Upper Paleolithic, the area of Porţile de Fier is settled by a population attributed to the Late Epigravettian or Mediterranean Tardigravettian
Schela Cladovei culture
–
Transylvania is a plateau in northwest central
Romania, bounded by the
Carpathian Mountains to the east and south and the
Apuseni Mountains towards the west.
Schela Cladovei culture
–
Aurignacian double edged
scraper on
blade - 3 views of the same object.
Schela Cladovei culture
–
The
Iron Gates of the
Danube
Schela Cladovei culture
–
Sculpture found at the archaeological site of
Lepenski Vir
12.
Mesolithic Southeastern Europe
–
For the history of Earth before the occupation by the genus homo, including the period of early hominins, see Geology of Europe and Human evolution. The changes between these are gradual, for example, depending on interpretation, protohistory might or might not include Bronze Age Greece, Minoan, Mycenaean, Thracian and Venetic cultures. By one interpretation of the criterion, Southeastern Europe enters protohistory only with Homer. At any rate, the period ends before Herodotus in the 5th century BC, the earliest evidence of human occupation discovered in the Balkans, in Kozarnika Bulgaria, date from at least 1.4 million years ago. There is evidence of presence in the Balkans from the Lower Paleolithic onwards. According to Douglass W. Bailey, The Palaeolithic period, literally the “Old Stone Age”, is an ancient cultural level of development characterized by the use of unpolished chipped stone tools. The transition from Middle to Upper Palaeolithic is directly related to the development of modernity by hominids around 40,000 years BP. To denote the significance and degree of change, this dramatic shift from Middle to Upper Palaeolithic is sometimes called the Upper Palaeolithic Revolution. In the late Pleistocene, various components of the culture and environmental features indicate continual change. The aforementioned aspects leave some doubt that the term Upper Palaeolithic Revolution is appropriate to the Balkans, in general, continual evolutionary changes are the first crucial characteristic of the transition to the Upper Palaeolithic in the Balkans. The notion of the Upper Palaeolithic Revolution that has developed for core European regions is not applicable to the Balkans. This particularly significant moment and its origins are defined and enlightened by other characteristics of the transition to upper Old Stone Age, the environment, climate, flora and fauna corroborate the implications. During the last interglacial period and the most recent glaciation of the Pleistocene, the glaciations did not affect southeastern Europe to the extent that they did in the northern and central regions. The evidence of forest and steppe indicate the influence was not so drastic, some species of flora, the Balkans today still abound in species endemic only to this part of Europe. The notion of gradual transition best defines Balkan Europe from about 50,000 BP, in this sense, the material culture and natural environment of the Balkans of the late Pleistocene and the early Holocene were distinct from other parts of Europe. Douglass W. ” Thus, in speaking about southeastern Europe, in this regard, the absence of Upper Palaeolithic cave art in the Balkans does not seem to be surprising. Civilisations develop new and distinctive characteristics as they respond to new challenges in their environment, in 2002, some of the oldest modern human remains in Europe were discovered in the Cave With Bones, near Anina, Romania. Nicknamed John of Anina, the remains are approximately 37,800 years old and these are some of Europe’s oldest remains of Homo sapiens, so they are likely to represent the first such people to have entered the continent
Mesolithic Southeastern Europe
–
Aurignacian double edged
scraper on
blade - 3 views of the same object.
Mesolithic Southeastern Europe
–
Southeastern European cultures during the Neolithic
Mesolithic Southeastern Europe
–
Sculpture found at the archaeological site of
Lepenski Vir
Mesolithic Southeastern Europe
–
The Thinker of
Hamangia, Neolithic
Hamangia culture (c. 5250-4550 BC)
13.
Levantine corridor
–
The Levantine corridor is the relatively narrow strip between the Mediterranean Sea to the northwest and deserts to the southeast which connects Africa to Eurasia. This corridor is a route of migrations of animals between Eurasia and Africa. In particular, it is believed that early hominins spread from Africa to Eurasia via the Levantine corridor, the corridor is named after the Levant. The Levantine Corridor is the part of the Fertile Crescent. Botanists recognize this area as a route of plant species. The first sedentary villages were established around fresh water springs and lakes in the Levantine corridor by the Natufian culture, the term is used frequently by archaeologists as an area that includes Cyprus, where important developments occurred during the Neolithic revolution
Levantine corridor
–
Fertile Crescent; the Levantine corridor is by the sea
14.
Natufian culture
–
The Epipaleolithic Natufian culture /nəˈtuːfiən/ existed from around 12,500 to 9,500 BC in the Levant, a region in the Eastern Mediterranean. It was unusual in that it supported a sedentary or semi-sedentary population even before the introduction of agriculture, the Natufian communities may be the ancestors of the builders of the first Neolithic settlements of the region, which may have been the earliest in the world. Natufians founded Jericho which may be the oldest city in the world, some evidence suggests deliberate cultivation of cereals, specifically rye, by the Natufian culture, at Tell Abu Hureyra, the site of earliest evidence of agriculture in the world. Generally, though, Natufians exploited wild cereals, Dorothy Garrod coined the term Natufian based on her excavations at Shuqba cave in Wadi an-Natuf, in the western Judean Mountains. The Natufian culture was discovered by British archaeologist Dorothy Garrod during her excavations of Shuqba cave in the Judaean Hills, prior to the 1930s, the majority of archaeological work taking place in Palestine was biblical archaeology focused on historic periods, and little was known about the regions prehistory. She discovered a layer sandwiched between the Upper Palaeolithic and Bronze Age deposits characterised by the presence of microliths. She identified this with the Mesolithic, a period between the Palaeolithic and the Neolithic which was well represented in Europe but had not yet been found in the Near East. A year later, when she discovered similar material at el-Wad Terrace, Garrod suggested the name the Natufian culture, as early as 1931, both Garrod and Neuville drew attention to the presence of stone sickles in Natufian assemblages and the possibility that this represented very early agriculture. Radiocarbon dating places this culture from the terminal Pleistocene to the beginning of the Holocene. The period is split into two subperiods, Early Natufian and Late Natufian. The Late Natufian most likely occurred in tandem with the Younger Dryas, the Natufian developed in the same region as the earlier Kebaran industry. It is generally seen as a successor, which evolved out of elements within that preceding culture, more generally there has been discussion of the similarities of these cultures with those found in coastal North Africa. In fact, Weiss et al. have shown that the earliest known usage of plants was in the Levant 23,000 years ago at the Ohalo II site. Loring Brace cross-analysed the craniometric traits of Natufian specimens with those of ancient and modern groups from the Near East, Africa. Settlements occur in the belt where oak and Pistacia species dominated. The underbrush of this woodland was grass with high frequencies of grain. The habitations of the Natufian are semi-subterranean, often with a dry-stone foundation, the superstructure was probably made of brushwood. No traces of mudbrick have been found, which became common in the following Pre-Pottery Neolithic A, the round houses have a diameter between three and six meters, and they contain a central round or subrectangular fireplace
Natufian culture
–
Remains of a wall of a Natufian house
Natufian culture
–
Natufian culture
Natufian culture
–
The Ain Sakhri lovers. British Museum: 1958,1007.1
Natufian culture
–
Geography
15.
Khiamian
–
The Khiamian is a period of the Near-Eastern Neolithic, marking the transition between the Natufian and the Pre-Pottery Neolithic A. Some sources date it from about 10,000 to 9,500 BCE and it currently dates between 10,200 and 8800 BC according to the ASPRO chronology. They have served to identify sites of this period, which are found in Israel, as well as in Jordan, Sinai, aside from the appearance of El Khiam arrow heads, the Khiamian is placed in the continuity of the Natufian, without any major technical innovations. However, for the first time houses were built on the level itself. Otherwise, the bearers of the El Khiam culture were still hunter-gatherers, the Khiamien also sees a change occur in the symbolic aspects of culture, as evidenced by the appearance of small female statuettes, as well as by the burying of aurochs skulls. According to Jacques Cauvin, it is the beginning of the worship of the Woman, zivilisationen – wie die Kultur nach Sumer kam. The birth of the gods and the origins of agriculture, catastrophic early Holocene sea level rise, human migration and the Neolithic transition in Europe
Khiamian
–
A shepherd with
sheep on a mountainside. Sheep were among the first animals to be domesticated by humankind; the domestication date is estimated to fall between nine and eleven thousand years ago in
Mesopotamia.
Khiamian
–
Khiamian
16.
Zarzian culture
–
Zarzian culture is an archaeological culture of late Paleolithic and Mesolithic in Southwest Asia. The period of the culture is estimated about 18, 000–8,000 years BC and it was preceded by the Baradostian culture in the same region and was related to the Imereti culture of the Caucasus. The culture was named and recognised of the cave of Zarzi in Iraqi Kurdistan, here were found plenty of microliths. Their forms are short and asymmetric trapezoids, and triangles with hollows, andy Burns states The Zarzian of the Zagros region of Iran is contemporary with the Natufian but different from it. The only dates for the entire Zarzian come from Palegawra Cave, and date to 17, 300-17, 000BP and it seems to have evolved from the Upper Palaeolithic Baradostian. There are only a few Zarzian sites and the area appears to have been sparsely populated during the Epipalaeolithic. Faunal remains from the Zarzian indicate that the form of structures indicate a hunter-gatherer subsistence strategy, focused on onager, red deer. Better known sites include Palegawra Cave, Shanidar B2 and Zarzi, the Zarzian culture seems to have participated in the early stages of what Kent Flannery has called the broad spectrum revolution. The Zarzian culture is associated with remains of the domesticated dog. It seems to have extended north into the Gobustan region and into Eastern Iran as a forerunner of the Hissar, epipaleolithic Prehistory of Iran History of Mesopotamia Trialetian cuture Natufian culture Khiamian
Zarzian culture
–
Geography
17.
Neolithic
–
It ended when metal tools became widespread. The Neolithic is a progression of behavioral and cultural characteristics and changes, including the use of wild and domestic crops, the beginning of the Neolithic culture is considered to be in the Levant about 10, 200–8800 BC. It developed directly from the Epipaleolithic Natufian culture in the region, whose people pioneered the use of wild cereals, which then evolved into true farming. The Natufian period was between 12,000 and 10,200 BC, and the so-called proto-Neolithic is now included in the Pre-Pottery Neolithic between 10,200 and 8800 BC. By 10, 200–8800 BC, farming communities arose in the Levant and spread to Asia Minor, North Africa, Mesopotamia is the site of the earliest developments of the Neolithic Revolution from around 10,000 BC. Early Neolithic farming was limited to a range of plants, both wild and domesticated, which included einkorn wheat, millet and spelt, and the keeping of dogs, sheep. By about 6900–6400 BC, it included domesticated cattle and pigs, the establishment of permanently or seasonally inhabited settlements, not all of these cultural elements characteristic of the Neolithic appeared everywhere in the same order, the earliest farming societies in the Near East did not use pottery. Early Japanese societies and other East Asian cultures used pottery before developing agriculture, unlike the Paleolithic, when more than one human species existed, only one human species reached the Neolithic. The term Neolithic derives from the Greek νέος néos, new and λίθος líthos, stone, the term was invented by Sir John Lubbock in 1865 as a refinement of the three-age system. In the Middle East, cultures identified as Neolithic began appearing in the 10th millennium BC, early development occurred in the Levant and from there spread eastwards and westwards. Neolithic cultures are attested in southeastern Anatolia and northern Mesopotamia by around 8000 BC. The total excavated area is more than 1,200 square yards, the Neolithic 1 period began roughly 10,000 years ago in the Levant. A temple area in southeastern Turkey at Göbekli Tepe dated around 9500 BC may be regarded as the beginning of the period. This site was developed by nomadic tribes, evidenced by the lack of permanent housing in the vicinity. At least seven stone circles, covering 25 acres, contain limestone pillars carved with animals, insects, Stone tools were used by perhaps as many as hundreds of people to create the pillars, which might have supported roofs. Other early PPNA sites dating to around 9500–9000 BC have been found in Jericho, Israel, Gilgal in the Jordan Valley, the start of Neolithic 1 overlaps the Tahunian and Heavy Neolithic periods to some degree. The major advance of Neolithic 1 was true farming, in the proto-Neolithic Natufian cultures, wild cereals were harvested, and perhaps early seed selection and re-seeding occurred. The grain was ground into flour, emmer wheat was domesticated, and animals were herded and domesticated
Neolithic
–
An array of Neolithic artifacts, including bracelets, axe heads, chisels, and polishing tools. Neolithic stone artifacts are by definition polished and, except for specialty items, not chipped.
Neolithic
–
Algerian cave paintings depicting hunting scenes
Neolithic
–
Female figure from
Tumba Madžari,
Republic of Macedonia
Neolithic
–
Skara Brae, Scotland. Evidence of home furnishings (shelves)
18.
Stone Age
–
The Stone Age was a broad prehistoric period during which stone was widely used to make implements with an edge, a point, or a percussion surface. The period lasted roughly 3.4 million years, and ended between 8700 BCE and 2000 BCE with the advent of metalworking, bone tools were used during this period as well but are rarely preserved in the archaeological record. The Stone Age is further subdivided by the types of tools in use. According to the age and location of the current evidence, the cradle of the genus is the East African Rift System, especially toward the north in Ethiopia, where it is bordered by grasslands. The closest relative among the living primates, the genus Pan, represents a branch that continued on in the deep forest. The rift served as a conduit for movement into southern Africa and also north down the Nile into North Africa and through the continuation of the rift in the Levant to the vast grasslands of Asia. The oldest indirect evidence found of stone tool use is fossilised animal bones with tool marks, the oldest stone tools were excavated from the site of Lomekwi 3 in West Turkana, northwestern Kenya, and date to 3.3 million years old. Prior to the discovery of these Lomekwian tools, the oldest known stone tools had been found at sites at Gona, Ethiopia, on the sediments of the paleo-Awash River. All the tools come from the Busidama Formation, which lies above a disconformity, or missing layer, the oldest sites containing tools are dated to 2. 6–2.55 mya. One of the most striking circumstances about these sites is that they are from the Late Pliocene, excavators at the locality point out that. the earliest stone tool makers were skilled flintknappers. The possible reasons behind this seeming abrupt transition from the absence of tools to the presence thereof include. The species who made the Pliocene tools remains unknown, fragments of Australopithecus garhi, Australopithecus aethiopicus and Homo, possibly Homo habilis, have been found in sites near the age of the Gona tools. Innovation of the technique of smelting ore ended the Stone Age, the first most significant metal manufactured was bronze, an alloy of copper and tin, each of which was smelted separately. The Chalcolithic by convention is the period of the Bronze Age. The Bronze Age was followed by the Iron Age, the transition out of the Stone Age occurred between 6000 BCE and 2500 BCE for much of humanity living in North Africa and Eurasia. Note the Rudna Glava mine in Serbia, Ötzi the Iceman, a mummy from about 3300 BCE carried with him a copper axe and a flint knife. In regions such as Sub-Saharan Africa, the Stone Age was followed directly by the Iron Age, the Middle East and southeastern Asian regions progressed past Stone Age technology around 6000 BCE. Europe, and the rest of Asia became post–Stone Age societies by about 4000 BCE, the proto-Inca cultures of South America continued at a Stone Age level until around 2000 BCE, when gold, copper and silver made their entrance
Stone Age
–
Obsidian projectile point
Stone Age
–
Modern
Awash River, Ethiopia, descendant of the Palaeo-Awash, source of the sediments in which the oldest Stone Age tools have been found
Stone Age
–
A variety of
stone tools
Stone Age
–
This is a Mode 1, or Oldowan,
stone tool from the western Sahara.
19.
Ancient Greek language
–
Ancient Greek includes the forms of Greek used in ancient Greece and the ancient world from around the 9th century BC to the 6th century AD. It is often divided into the Archaic period, Classical period. It is antedated in the second millennium BC by Mycenaean Greek, the language of the Hellenistic phase is known as Koine. Koine is regarded as a historical stage of its own, although in its earliest form it closely resembled Attic Greek. Prior to the Koine period, Greek of the classic and earlier periods included several regional dialects, Ancient Greek was the language of Homer and of fifth-century Athenian historians, playwrights, and philosophers. It has contributed many words to English vocabulary and has been a subject of study in educational institutions of the Western world since the Renaissance. This article primarily contains information about the Epic and Classical phases of the language, Ancient Greek was a pluricentric language, divided into many dialects. The main dialect groups are Attic and Ionic, Aeolic, Arcadocypriot, some dialects are found in standardized literary forms used in literature, while others are attested only in inscriptions. There are also several historical forms, homeric Greek is a literary form of Archaic Greek used in the epic poems, the Iliad and Odyssey, and in later poems by other authors. Homeric Greek had significant differences in grammar and pronunciation from Classical Attic, the origins, early form and development of the Hellenic language family are not well understood because of a lack of contemporaneous evidence. Several theories exist about what Hellenic dialect groups may have existed between the divergence of early Greek-like speech from the common Proto-Indo-European language and the Classical period and they have the same general outline, but differ in some of the detail. The invasion would not be Dorian unless the invaders had some relationship to the historical Dorians. The invasion is known to have displaced population to the later Attic-Ionic regions, the Greeks of this period believed there were three major divisions of all Greek people—Dorians, Aeolians, and Ionians, each with their own defining and distinctive dialects. Often non-west is called East Greek, Arcadocypriot apparently descended more closely from the Mycenaean Greek of the Bronze Age. Boeotian had come under a strong Northwest Greek influence, and can in some respects be considered a transitional dialect, thessalian likewise had come under Northwest Greek influence, though to a lesser degree. Most of the dialect sub-groups listed above had further subdivisions, generally equivalent to a city-state and its surrounding territory, Doric notably had several intermediate divisions as well, into Island Doric, Southern Peloponnesus Doric, and Northern Peloponnesus Doric. The Lesbian dialect was Aeolic Greek and this dialect slowly replaced most of the older dialects, although Doric dialect has survived in the Tsakonian language, which is spoken in the region of modern Sparta. Doric has also passed down its aorist terminations into most verbs of Demotic Greek, by about the 6th century AD, the Koine had slowly metamorphosized into Medieval Greek
Ancient Greek language
–
Inscription about the construction of the statue of
Athena Parthenos in the
Parthenon, 440/439 BC
Ancient Greek language
–
Ostracon bearing the name of
Cimon,
Stoa of Attalos
Ancient Greek language
–
The words ΜΟΛΩΝ ΛΑΒΕ as they are inscribed on the marble of the 1955
Leonidas Monument at
Thermopylae
20.
Northern Europe
–
Northern Europe is the northern part or region of Europe. However, narrower definitions may also be used based on geographical factors, such as climate. Greenland, geographically a part of North America, is politically a part of the Kingdom of Denmark, while Northern Europe overlaps with most of Northwestern Europe, north-Central Europe, and Northeastern Europe, it does not border Southern Europe. Countries which are central-western, central-central, or central-eastern are generally considered part of neither Northern Europe or Southern Europe. Historically, when Europe was dominated by the Mediterranean region, everything not near this sea was termed Northern Europe, including southern Germany, all of the Low Countries and this meaning is still used today in some contexts, such as in discussions of the Northern Renaissance. In medieval times, the term Thule was used to mean a place in the extreme northern reaches of the continent. The region has a south west extreme of around 50 degrees north, the entire regions climate is mildly affected by the Gulf Stream. From the west climates vary from maritime and maritime subarctic climates, in the north and central climates are generally subarctic or Arctic and to the east climates are mostly subarctic and temperate/continental. With the exception of the United Kingdom and Ireland, Northern European countries are known for harsh winters with temperatures reaching as low as minus 50 degrees Celsius in some parts. Countries in Northern Europe have large, developed economies and some of the highest standards of living in the world and they often score highly on surveys measuring quality of life, such as the Human Development Index
Northern Europe
–
A map of northern Europe after
Ptolemy
Northern Europe
–
A satellite photograph of northern Europe
Northern Europe
–
A Dutch map of northern Europe, 1601
Northern Europe
–
Typical landscape of Northern Europe
21.
Eurasia
–
Eurasia /jʊˈreɪʒə/ is a combined continental landmass of Europe and Asia. The term is a portmanteau of its constituent continents, in geology, Eurasia is often considered as a single rigid megablock. However, the rigidity of Eurasia is debated based on the paleomagnet data, Eurasia covers around 55,000,000 square kilometres, or around 36. 2% of the Earths total land area. The landmass contains around 5.0 billion people, equating to approximately 70% of the human population, humans first settled in Eurasia between 60,000 and 125,000 years ago. Physiographically, Eurasia is a single continent, the concepts of Europe and Asia as distinct continents date back to antiquity and their borders are geologically arbitrary. Eurasia is connected to Africa at the Suez Canal, and Eurasia is sometimes combined with Africa as the largest contiguous landmass on Earth called Afro-Eurasia. Eurasia formed 375 to 325 million years ago with the merging of Siberia, Kazakhstania, and Baltica, chinese cratons collided with Siberias southern coast. Eurasia has been the host of ancient civilizations, including those based in Mesopotamia. In the Axial Age, a belt of civilizations stretched through the Eurasian subtropical zone from the Atlantic to the Pacific. This belt became the mainstream of world history for two millennia, originally, “Eurasia” is a geographical notion, in this sense, it is simply the biggest continent, the combined landmass of Europe and Asia. However, geopolitically, the word has different meanings, reflecting the specific geopolitical interests of each nation. “Eurasia” is one of the most important geopolitical concepts, as Zbigniew Brzezinski observed, how America manages Eurasia is critical. A power that dominates “Eurasia” would control two of the three most advanced and economically productive regions. About 75 per cent of the people live in “Eurasia”. “Eurasia” accounts for about three-fourths of the known energy resources. ”At the moment one of the most prominent projects of the European Union is the Russia - EU Four Common Spaces Initiative. A political and economic union of former Soviet states named the Eurasian Economic Union was established in 2015, the Russian concept of “Eurasia” corresponded initially more or less to the land area of Imperial Russia in 1914, including parts of Eastern Europe. One of Russias main geopolitical interests lies in ever closer integration with those countries that it considers part of “Eurasia. ”Every two years since 1996 a meeting of most Asian and European countries is organised as the Asia-Europe Meeting. In ancient times, the Greeks classified Europe and Asia as separate lands, where to draw the dividing line between the two regions is still a matter of discussion
Eurasia
–
Eurasia with surrounding areas of
Africa and
Australasia visible
Eurasia
–
Eurasia
Eurasia
–
Afro-Eurasian aspect of
Earth
22.
Pleistocene
–
The Pleistocene is the geological epoch which lasted from about 2,588,000 to 11,700 years ago, spanning the worlds most recent period of repeated glaciations. The end of the Pleistocene corresponds with the end of the last glacial period, the Pleistocene is the first epoch of the Quaternary Period or sixth epoch of the Cenozoic Era. In the ICS timescale, the Pleistocene is divided into four stages or ages, all of these stages were defined in southern Europe. In addition to this subdivision, various regional subdivisions are often used. Charles Lyell introduced the term pleistocene in 1839 to describe strata in Sicily that had at least 70% of their molluscan fauna still living today and this distinguished it from the older Pliocene Epoch, which Lyell had originally thought to be the youngest fossil rock layer. The Pleistocene has been dated from 2.588 million to 11,700 years before present and it covers most of the latest period of repeated glaciation, up to and including the Younger Dryas cold spell. The end of the Younger Dryas has been dated to about 9640 BC, the IUGS has yet to approve a type section, Global Boundary Stratotype Section and Point, for the upper Pleistocene/Holocene boundary. The proposed section is the North Greenland Ice Core Project ice core 75°06 N 42°18 W, the lower boundary of the Pleistocene Series is formally defined magnetostratigraphically as the base of the Matuyama chronozone, isotopic stage 103. Above this point there are notable extinctions of the calcareous nanofossils, Discoaster pentaradiatus, the Pleistocene covers the recent period of repeated glaciations. The name Plio-Pleistocene has, in the past, been used to mean the last ice age. The revised definition of the Quaternary, by pushing back the date of the Pleistocene to 2.58 Ma. Pleistocene climate was marked by repeated glacial cycles in which continental glaciers pushed to the 40th parallel in some places and it is estimated that, at maximum glacial extent, 30% of the Earths surface was covered by ice. In addition, a zone of permafrost stretched southward from the edge of the sheet, a few hundred kilometres in North America. The mean annual temperature at the edge of the ice was −6 °C, during interglacial times, such as at present, drowned coastlines were common, mitigated by isostatic or other emergent motion of some regions. The effects of glaciation were global, antarctica was ice-bound throughout the Pleistocene as well as the preceding Pliocene. The Andes were covered in the south by the Patagonian ice cap, there were glaciers in New Zealand and Tasmania. The current decaying glaciers of Mount Kenya, Mount Kilimanjaro, glaciers existed in the mountains of Ethiopia and to the west in the Atlas mountains. In the northern hemisphere, many glaciers fused into one, the Cordilleran ice sheet covered the North American northwest, the east was covered by the Laurentide
Pleistocene
–
The maximum extent of
glacial ice in the north polar area during the Pleistocene period.
Pleistocene
–
Ice ages as reflected in atmospheric CO 2, stored in bubbles from glacial ice of
Antarctica.
Pleistocene
–
Pleistocene of
Northern Spain showing
woolly mammoth,
cave lions eating a
reindeer,
tarpans, and
woolly rhinoceros.
Pleistocene
–
Pleistocene of
South America showing
Megatherium and two
Glyptodon.
23.
Agricultural
–
Agriculture is the cultivation and breeding of animals, plants and fungi for food, fiber, biofuel, medicinal plants and other products used to sustain and enhance human life. Agriculture was the key development in the rise of human civilization. The study of agriculture is known as agricultural science, the history of agriculture dates back thousands of years, and its development has been driven and defined by greatly different climates, cultures, and technologies. Industrial agriculture based on large-scale monoculture farming has become the dominant agricultural methodology, genetically modified organisms are an increasing component of agriculture, although they are banned in several countries. Agricultural food production and water management are increasingly becoming global issues that are fostering debate on a number of fronts, the major agricultural products can be broadly grouped into foods, fibers, fuels, and raw materials. Specific foods include cereals, vegetables, fruits, oils, meats, fibers include cotton, wool, hemp, silk and flax. Raw materials include lumber and bamboo, other useful materials are also produced by plants, such as resins, dyes, drugs, perfumes, biofuels and ornamental products such as cut flowers and nursery plants. The word agriculture is a late Middle English adaptation of Latin agricultūra, from ager, field, Agriculture usually refers to human activities, although it is also observed in certain species of ant, termite and ambrosia beetle. To practice agriculture means to use resources to produce commodities which maintain life, including food, fiber, forest products, horticultural crops. This definition includes arable farming or agronomy, and horticulture, all terms for the growing of plants, even then, it is acknowledged that there is a large amount of knowledge transfer and overlap between silviculture and agriculture. In traditional farming, the two are often combined even on small landholdings, leading to the term agroforestry, Agriculture began independently in different parts of the globe, and included a diverse range of taxa. At least 11 separate regions of the Old and New World were involved as independent centers of origin, wild grains were collected and eaten from at least 105,000 years ago. Pigs were domesticated in Mesopotamia around 15,000 years ago, rice was domesticated in China between 13,500 and 8,200 years ago, followed by mung, soy and azuki beans. Sheep were domesticated in Mesopotamia between 13,000 and 11,000 years ago. From around 11,500 years ago, the eight Neolithic founder crops, emmer and einkorn wheat, hulled barley, peas, lentils, bitter vetch, chick peas and flax were cultivated in the Levant. Cattle were domesticated from the aurochs in the areas of modern Turkey. In the Andes of South America, the potato was domesticated between 10,000 and 7,000 years ago, along with beans, coca, llamas, alpacas, sugarcane and some root vegetables were domesticated in New Guinea around 9,000 years ago. Sorghum was domesticated in the Sahel region of Africa by 7,000 years ago, cotton was domesticated in Peru by 5,600 years ago, and was independently domesticated in Eurasia at an unknown time
Agricultural
–
Agriculture
Agricultural
–
Fields in
Záhorie (
Slovakia) - a typical Central European agricultural region.
Agricultural
–
Domestic sheep and a
cow (heifer) pastured together in
South Africa.
Agricultural
–
A
Sumerian harvester's sickle made from baked clay (ca. 3000 BC).
24.
Northwest Europe
–
Northwestern Europe, or Northwest Europe, is the loosely defined northwestern region of Europe. The phrase is defined geographically and ethnographically. Geographically, Northwestern Europe usually consists of Ireland, the United Kingdom, Belgium, the Netherlands, northern Germany, Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Luxembourg, northern France, southern Germany, and Switzerland are also often considered part of the grouping. Austria is also defined as Northwestern Europe, though less frequently. Southern France is not regarded as northwestern, and it is geographically and culturally considered part of the Mediterranean region or Southern Europe. Due to its geographically eastern position and unique status as a Finnic language country, the term is helpful when discussing issues of climate or biology. The region also has a history of Protestantism that differentiates it from its Mediterranean / Southern European / Latin and Eastern European / Slavic neighbors. In military history, especially in Commonwealth countries, the battle honour North-West Europe has been used to refer to the two campaigns in that approximate area during World War II. Two separate battle honours were awarded to regiments who took part in these campaigns, the North-West Europe Campaign of 1940, during the Battle of France, was restricted to Belgium and the French Channel ports. In the First campaign the French Army was responsible for the rest of the Western Front from Luxembourg to Switzerland, as were the American 12th Army and 6th Army Groups during the second campaign. A period of warfare existed from 1 November 1944 to 8 February 1945 during which time the First Canadian Army manned positions in the Nijmegen Salient
Northwest Europe
–
Dark green – minimum extent of northwest Europe Green – maximum extent of northwest Europe
25.
Levant
–
The Levant is an approximate historical geographical term referring to a large area in the Eastern Mediterranean. The term Levant entered English in the late 15th century from French and it derives from the Italian Levante, meaning rising, implying the rising of the sun in the east. As such, it is equivalent to the Arabic term Mashriq. Eventually the term was restricted to the Muslim countries of Syria-Palestine, in 1581, England set up the Levant Company to monopolize commerce with the Ottoman Empire. The name Levant States was used to refer to the French mandate over Syria and this is probably the reason why the term Levant has come to be used synonymously with Syria-Palestine. Some scholars misunderstood the term thinking that it derives from the name of Lebanon, today the term is typically used in conjunction with prehistoric or ancient historical references. It does not include Anatolia, the Caucasus Mountains, or any part of the Arabian Peninsula proper, the Sinai Peninsula is sometimes included. The Levant has been described as the crossroads of western Asia, the eastern Mediterranean, and northeast Africa, the populations of the Levant share not only the geographic position, but cuisine, some customs, and a very long history. They are often referred to as Levantines, the term Levant, which appeared in English in 1497, originally meant the East in general or Mediterranean lands east of Italy. It is borrowed from the French levant rising, referring to the rising of the sun in the east, the phrase is ultimately from the Latin word levare, meaning lift, raise. Similar etymologies are found in Greek Ἀνατολή, in Germanic Morgenland, in Italian, in Hungarian Kelet, in Spanish and Catalan Levante and Llevant, most notably, Orient and its Latin source oriens meaning east, is literally rising, deriving from Latin orior rise. The notion of the Levant has undergone a process of historical evolution in usage, meaning. While the term Levantine originally referred to the European residents of the eastern Mediterranean region, it came to refer to regional native. The English Levant Company was founded in 1581 to trade with the Ottoman Empire, at this time, the Far East was known as the Upper Levant. In early 19th-century travel writing, the term sometimes incorporated certain Mediterranean provinces of the Ottoman empire, in 19th-century archaeology, it referred to overlapping cultures in this region during and after prehistoric times, intending to reference the place instead of any one culture. The French mandate of Syria and Lebanon was called the Levant states, today, Levant is the term typically used by archaeologists and historians with reference to the history of the region. Scholars have adopted the term Levant to identify the region due to it being a wider, yet relevant, archaeologists seeking a neutral orientation that is neither biblical nor national have used terms such as Levantine archaeology and archaeology of the Southern Levant. Two academic journals were launched, Journal of Levantine Studies, published by the Van Leer Jerusalem Institute and The Levantine Review
Levant
–
The
Levantine Sea, the eastern portion of the
Mediterranean.
Levant
–
Countries of the Levant in the broad, historic meaning (equivalent to the
eastern Mediterranean)
Levant
–
French medal commemorating the
war in
Cilicia, which was initially part of the
French mandate.
Levant
–
Satellite view of part of the Levant including
Cyprus,
Israel,
Jordan,
Lebanon,
Palestine, and southern
Syria.
26.
Timeline of human evolution
–
The timeline of human evolution outlines the major events in the development of the human species, Homo sapiens, and the evolution of our ancestors. It includes brief explanations of some of the species, genera, and this timeline is based on studies from anthropology, paleontology, developmental biology, morphology, and from anatomical and genetic data. It does not address the origin of life, which discussion is provided by abiogenesis, a caution, Other than Mr Haeckels historic and emblematic tree, this article provides no phylogenetics analysis to help portray the complex, nonlinear facts of human evolution. One of several lines of descent, or taxonomic ranking
Timeline of human evolution
–
Haeckel 's Paleontological Tree of Vertebrates (c. 1879). The evolutionary history of
species has been described as a "
tree " with many branches arising from a single trunk. While Haeckel's tree is somewhat outdated, it illustrates clearly the principles that more complex modern reconstructions can obscure.
Timeline of human evolution
–
Pikaia
Timeline of human evolution
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A
Placoderm
Timeline of human evolution
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Panderichthys
27.
Ouranopithecus
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Based on O. macedoniensiss dental and facial anatomy, it has been suggested that the Ouranopithecus were actually dryopithecines. However, Ouranopithecines are probably closely related to the Ponginae. It is true that O. macedoniensis shares derived features with some early hominins and it has been suggested that it may be a synonym of Graecopithecus freybergi, although this is widely disputed in the literature. Media related to Ouranopithecus at Wikimedia Commons Human Timeline – Smithsonian, National Museum of Natural History
Ouranopithecus
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Ouranopithecus Temporal range:
Miocene
28.
Sahelanthropus
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Sahelanthropus tchadensis is an extinct homininae species that is dated to about 7 million years ago, during the Miocene epoch, possibly very close to the time of the chimpanzee–human divergence. Few specimens are known, other than the partial skull nicknamed Toumaï, existing fossils include a relatively small cranium named Toumaï, five pieces of jaw, and some teeth, making up a head that has a mixture of derived and primitive features. The braincase, being only 320 cm³ to 380 cm³ in volume, is similar to that of extant chimpanzees and is less than the approximate human volume of 1350 cm³. The teeth, brow ridges, and facial structure differ markedly from those found in Homo sapiens, cranial features show a flatter face, u-shaped dental arcade, small canines, an anterior foramen magnum, and heavy brow ridges. No postcranial remains have been recovered, the only known skull suffered a large amount of distortion during the time of fossilisation and discovery, as the cranium is dorsoventrally flattened, and the right side is depressed. Sahelanthropus tchadensis may have walked on two legs, upon examination of the foramen magnum in the primary study, the lead author speculated that a bipedal gait would not be unreasonable based on basicranial morphology similar to more recent hominins. Further, according to recent information, what might be a femur of a hominid was also discovered near the cranium—but which has not been published nor accounted for. All known material of Sahelanthropus was found between July 2001 and March 2002 at three sites, TM247, TM266, which yielded most of the material, including a cranium and a femur, and TM292. The discoverers claimed that S. tchadensis is the oldest known human ancestor after the split of the line from that of chimpanzees. The bones were found far from most previous hominin fossil finds, however, an Australopithecus bahrelghazali mandible was found in Chad by Mamelbaye Tomalta, Najia and Alain Beauvilain, Michel Brunet and Aladji H. E. With the sexual dimorphism known to have existed in early hominins, Sahelanthropus may represent a common ancestor of humans and chimpanzees, though no consensus has been reached yet by the scientific community. The original placement of species as a human ancestor but not a chimpanzee ancestor would complicate the picture of human phylogeny. Another possibility is that Toumaï is related to humans and chimpanzees, but is the ancestor of neither. Brigitte Senut and Martin Pickford, the discoverers of Orrorin tugenensis, even if this claim is upheld the find would lose none of its significance, because at present, very few chimpanzee or gorilla ancestors have been found anywhere in Africa. Thus if S. tchadensis is a relative of the chimpanzees or gorillas. And S. tchadensis does indicate that the last common ancestor of humans and chimpanzees is unlikely to closely resemble extant chimpanzees, indeed, some researchers consider suggestions that Sahelanthropus is too early to be a human ancestor to have evaporated. Sediment isotope analysis of atoms in the fossil yielded an age of about 7 million years. In fact, Toumaï may have been reburied in the recent past, taphonomic analysis reveals the likelihood of one, perhaps two, burial
Sahelanthropus
Sahelanthropus
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Detail of map.
Sahelanthropus
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Reconstruction of S. tchadensis by sculptor
Élisabeth Daynès
29.
Orrorin
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Orrorin tugenensis is a postulated early species of Homininae, estimated at 6.1 to 5.7 million years and discovered in 2000. It is not confirmed how Orrorin is related to modern humans and its discovery was an argument against the hypothesis that australopithecines are human ancestors, as much as it still remains the most prevalent hypothesis of human evolution as of 2012. The name of genus Orrorin means original man in Tugen, and the name of the only classified species, O. tugenensis, derives from Tugen Hills in Kenya, as of 2007,20 fossils of the species have been found. Orrorin had small teeth relative to its body size and its dentition differs from that found in Australopithecus in that its cheek teeth are smaller and less elongated mesiodistally and from Ardipithecus in that its enamel is thicker. The dentition differs from both species in the presence of a mesial groove on the upper canines. The canines are ape-like but reduced, like those found in Miocene apes, Orrorin had small post-canines and was microdont, like modern humans, whereas robust australopithecines were megadont. In the femur, the head is spherical and rotated anteriorly, the neck is elongated and oval in section, while these suggest that Orrorin was bipedal, the rest of the postcranium indicates it climbed trees. After the fossils were found in 2000, they were held at the Kipsaraman village community museum, since then, according to the Community Museums of Kenya chairman Eustace Kitonga, the fossils are stored at a secret bank vault in Nairobi. The main similarity is that the Orrorin femur is morphologically closer to that of H. sapiens than is Lucys, there is, however, some debate over this point. Other fossils found in the Lukeino Formation show that Orrorin lived in a dry evergreen forest environment, the team that found these fossils in 2000 was led by Brigitte Senut and Martin Pickford from the Muséum national dhistoire naturelle. This date is markedly different from those using the molecular clock approach. Life timeline List of human evolution fossils Martin Pickford Orrorin tugenensis - The Smithsonian Institutions Human Origins Program Human Timeline – Smithsonian, National Museum of Natural History
Orrorin
30.
Ardipithecus
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Ardipithecus is a genus of an extinct hominine that lived during Late Miocene and Early Pliocene in Afar Depression, Ethiopia. Two fossil species are described in the literature, A. ramidus, which lived about 4.4 million years ago during the early Pliocene, behavioral analysis showed that Ardipithecus could be very similar to chimpanzees, indicating that the early human ancestors were very chimpanzee-like in behaviour. A. ramidus was named in September 1994, the first fossil found was dated to 4.4 million years ago on the basis of its stratigraphic position between two volcanic strata, the basal Gaala Tuff Complex and the Daam Aatu Basaltic Tuff. The name Ardipithecus ramidus stems mostly from the Afar language, in which Ardi means ground/floor, the pithecus portion of the name is from the Greek word for ape. Like most hominids, but unlike all previously recognized hominins, it had a grasping hallux or big toe adapted for locomotion in the trees and it is not confirmed how much other features of its skeleton reflect adaptation to bipedalism on the ground as well. Like later hominins, Ardipithecus had reduced canine teeth, more fragments were recovered in 1994, amounting to 45% of the total skeleton. This fossil was described as a species of Australopithecus, but White. Between 1999 and 2003, a team led by Sileshi Semaw discovered bones. The fossils were dated to between 4.35 and 4.45 million years old, Ardipithecus ramidus had a small brain, measuring between 300 and 350 cm3. Like common chimpanzees, A. ramidus was much more prognathic than modern humans, the size of the upper canine tooth in A. ramidus males was not distinctly different from that of females. The features of the canine in A. ramidus contrast with the sexual dimorphism observed in common chimpanzees. The less pronounced nature of the canine teeth in A. ramidus has been used to infer aspects of the social behavior of the species. In particular, it has used to suggest that the last common ancestor of hominids. This is markedly different from social patterns in common chimpanzees, among which intermale, researchers in a 2009 study said that this condition compromises the living chimpanzee as a behavioral model for the ancestral hominid condition. A. ramidus existed more recently than the most recent common ancestor of humans and chimpanzees, nevertheless, it is in some ways unlike chimpanzees, suggesting that the common ancestor differs from the modern chimpanzee. After the chimpanzee and human lineages diverged, both underwent substantial evolutionary change, chimp feet are specialized for grasping trees, A. ramidus feet are better suited for walking. The canine teeth of A. ramidus are smaller, and equal in size between males and females, which suggests reduced male-to-male conflict, increased pair-bonding, and increased parental investment. Thus, fundamental reproductive and social behavioral changes probably occurred in long before they had enlarged brains and began to use stone tools
Ardipithecus
Ardipithecus
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Casts of Ardi's finger bones.
Ardipithecus
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Ardipithecus kadabba fossils.
