The evolution of Homo sapiens has come a long way and can be comprehended through various stages of history.The Paleolithic Age is also known as the Stone Age, which spanned from 30,000-10,000 BCE and is divided into distinct stages in archaeology. The first stage is called Lower Paleolithic, followed by Middle Paleolithic and then the Upper Paleolithic.The Middle Paleolithic Age or Middle Stone Age occurred approximately 300,000-30,000 years ago. As the name suggests, Stone Age was the period when stones were widely used to make tools that were utilized for different purposes. These tools enabled the Neanderthal men to survive. These stone tools must have existed almost 285,000 years ago in some regions of Africa and some 250,000-200,000 years ago in Europe.Please continue reading to know more about the Middle Paleolithic period and its stone tools.Introduction To The Middle Paleolithic EraThe Middle Paleolithic Age has evidence of the origin of behavioral modernity. This evidence becomes even more concrete during the Upper Paleolithic Age. More facts about the Middle Paleolithic period are described below.The social stratification of the Middle Paleolithic has been deciphered.The evidence from archaeology exhibits that people existed in compact, egalitarian camps.The Middle Paleolithic Age cave sites are situated in Spain, Belgium, Germany, France, and Greece in Europe.In Africa and the Middle East, cave sites are present in Iran, Azerbaijan, and South Africa.As behavioral modernity occurred during this period, bracelets, art rocks, beads, and patterns can be found on the bones of elephants.They even formulated advanced aspects and began participating in long-distance trades.Besides animal meat, people started catching shellfish.The use of fire became widespread for various purposes.Many researchers believed that these early versions of Homo sapiens defrosted their food using fire, particularly in the colder regions.The Upper Paleolithic Age succeeded the Middle Paleolithic Age.Middle Paleolithic ToolsTools had a considerable role in the Middle Palaeolithic period. Be it bone tools or stone tools, hunters used them mainly for their survival. Neanderthals primarily used projectile tools, and so the tools were pointed. The spear is one such stone tool primarily used by the Neanderthals. Even more bone and stone tools are described below.By the beginning of the Middle Stone Age, the emphasis shifted to typical small flake tools rather than huge core tools.The Prepared-Core technique tools replaced the previously made tools using Acheulean techniques.Thus, these stone tools comprised points that can be attached to the shaft to make spears.After that, small points were made to attach them with the smaller shafts.These tool types included arrows, darts, and more.They utilized these tools using a projectile motion evident from the remains that have been discovered.Other conventional tools would be the stone awls and side scrapers, used for penetrating hides and scrapping, respectively.They used heart-shaped hand axes, spears with sharp points, arrows, darts, stone awls, and scrapers.The heart-shaped hand axes were a west European variation of the Acheulean technique.There is another north African variation that is referred to as Aterian.The Howiesons Poort is a south African variant with a curved back.The tools of the Middle Paleolithic Age also comprise the blades and beads.Besides these tools, they used different tools for scrapping and perforating.The artifacts and tools recovered from this age give us a glimpse into their daily lives.Tool Techniques Of The Middle Paleolithic EraThe old hand axes and Acheulean tools that were used during the Lower Paleolithic period were replaced by pointed tools and different techniques. And the main difference is the core of these tools, as the flake tools were further modified and made more straightforward.There are two recognized techniques, the Levallois and Disk Core techniques.The Levallois technique is contemplated as the earliest of the Core Preparation Technologies (CPT).Core Preparation Technology has four stages in making the tools.The first stage involves trimming and cobbling into a rough pattern.In the second stage, the cortex is removed by trimming the upper surface of the core.The second stage produces a ridge parallel to the core.An even and flat platform is created by removing the platform preparation flake.The flake will be detached for the blow from the flat platform.The last or fourth stage is that the end region of the core is struck at the site of the platform following the previously made ridge.On the other hand, the Disk Core technique is not very different from the previous technique.However, this technique is more refined, and the effort goes into the flake preparation.The name of this technique is given because of the exhausted cores that are left behind with numerous flake scars.Uses Of Middle Paleolithic ToolsEach stone tool that has been discovered from this period is significant. The tools were mainly used for hunting and other survival strategies. The projectile weapons were used to chase and hunt large animals, while others were used to pierce the hides and for scrapping.The tools from the Middle Paleolithic Age served various purposes.The axes and spears were suitable to hunt huge animals.According to some research, it is determined that the Neanderthals used to ambush an animal first before killing it.To penetrate the skin of the animal, stone awls used to come in handy.For the preparation of meat, wood, hide, and other materials were scrapped using a scraper.If the core turned out to be small or thin, it was discontinued.The tools from this period were not as complex as those of the Lower Paleolithic period.Did You Know?According to research on the recent African originated modern human, it has been deduced that early modern human beings migrated out of Africa around 125,000 years ago.Thus, it replaced the Neanderthal men and other early Homo sapiens.The Stone Age constituted four different types of early humans.The one that made tools, the one that made a fire, the Neanderthal men, and the modern human beings.Animals like the woolly mammoth and giant deer that once existed during the stone age are now extinct.
The evolution of Homo sapiens has come a long way and can be comprehended through various stages of history.
