In the Upper Paleolithic new techniques of core preparation allowed for more intensive production of highly standardized blades and permitted the proliferation of this tool type. The toolmaker formed a cylindrical core, struck the blade off near the edge of the core, and repeated this procedure, going around the core in one direction until finishing near its center (Figure 9.5). The procedure is analogous to peeling long leaves off an artichoke. With this blade technique, an Upper Paleolithic flint knapper could get 75 feet of working edge from a 2-pound core; a Mousterian knapper could get only 6 feet from the same sized core.
Other efficient techniques of tool manufacture also came into common use at this time. One such method was pressure flaking, in which a bone, antler, or wooden tool was used to press rather than strike off small flakes as the final step in stone tool manufacture (Figure 9.6). The advantage of this technique is that the toolmaker has greater control over the final shape of the tool than is possible with percussion flaking alone. The so-called Solutrean laurel leaf bifaces found in Spain and France are examples of this technique (see photo on page 214). The longest of these tools is 33 centimeters (13 inches) in length but less than a centimeter (about a quarter of an inch) thick. Through pressure flaking, tools could be worked with great precision into a variety of final forms, and worn tools could be effectively resharpened over and over until they were too small for further use.
Although invented in the Middle Paleolithic, the burin, a tool with a chisel-like edge, became more common in
Blade
The Upper Paleolithic. Burins facilitated the working of bone, horn, antler, and ivory into such useful things as fishhooks, harpoons, and eyed needles. These implements made life easier for Homo sapiens, especially in colder
Blade technique A technique of stone tool manufacture in which long, parallel-sided flakes are struck off the edges of a specially prepared core.
Pressure flaking A technique of stone tool manufacture in which a bone, antler, or wooden tool is used to press, rather than strike off, small flakes from a piece of flint or similar stone. burin A stone tool with chisel-like edges used for working bone and antler.
The techniques of the Upper Paleolithic allowed for the manufacture of a wide variety of tools. The finely wrought Solutrean bifaces of Europe (shaped like the leaf of a plant) were made using the pressure-flaking technique. Tools such as eyed needles and harpoons began to be manufactured out of bone as well.
Northern regions where the ability to stitch together animal hides was particularly important for warmth.
The spear-thrower, also known by its Aztec name atlatl, appeared at this time as well. Atlatls are wooden devices, one end of which is gripped in the hunter’s hand, while the other end has a hole or hook, in or against which the end of the spear is placed. It is held so as to effectively extend the length of the hunter’s arm, thereby increasing the velocity of the spear when thrown. Using a spear-thrower greatly added to the efficiency of the spear as a hunting tool (Figure 9.7).
With handheld spears, hunters had to get close to their prey to make the kill. Because many of the animals they hunted were large and fierce, this was a dangerous business. The need to get within close striking range and the improbability of an instant kill exposed the hunter to considerable risk. But with the spear-thrower, the effective killing distance was increased; experiments demonstrate
Figure 9.7 Spear-throwers (atlatls) allowed Upper Paleolithic individuals to throw spears at animals from a safe distance while still maintaining reasonable speed and accuracy. Upper Paleolithic artists frequently combined artistic expression with practical function, ornamenting their spear-throwers with animal figures.
That the effective killing distance of a spear when used with a spear-thrower is between 18 and 27 meters as opposed to significantly less without.161
Killing distance can be safely shortened when the kill is assured. The use of poison on spear tips, as employed by contemporary hunters such as the Hadza of Tanzania, will decrease the risk to a hunter at shorter range. It is not clear from the archaeological record when this innovation began, although the invention of tiny sharp stone blades for dart tips to provide a vehicle for poison delivery is clear. The earliest examples of these “microliths” began during the Upper Paleolithic in Africa, but did not become widespread until the Mesolithic or Middle Stone Age, as will be described in detail in Chapter 10.
Another important innovation, net hunting, appeared some time between 22,000 and 29,000 years ago.162 Knotted nets, made from the fibers of wild plants such as hemp or nettle, left their impression on the clay floors of huts when people walked on them. When the huts later burned, these impressions, baked into the earth, provide evidence that nets existed. Their use accounts for the high number of hare, fox, and other small mammal and bird bones at archaeological sites. Like historically known and contemporary net hunters, such as the Mbuti of the Congo, everyone—men, women, and children—probably participated, frightening animals with loud noises to drive them to where hunters were stationed with their nets. In this way, large amounts of meat could be amassed without requiring great speed or strength on the part of the hunters.
A further improvement of hunting techniques came with the invention of the bow and arrow, which appeared first in Africa, but not until the end of the Upper Paleolithic in Europe. The greatest advantage of the bow is that it increases the distance between hunter and prey. Beyond 24 meters (79 feet), the accuracy and penetration of a spear thrown with a spear-thrower are not very good, whereas even a poor bow will shoot an arrow further, with greater accuracy and penetrating power. A good bow is effective even at nearly 91 meters (300 feet). Thus hunters were able to maintain more distance between themselves and dangerous prey, dramatically decreasing the risk to the hunter of being seriously injured by an animal fighting for survival as well as reducing the chance of startling an animal and triggering its flight.
Upper Paleolithic peoples not only had better tools but also a greater diversity of tool types than earlier peoples. The highly developed Upper Paleolithic kit included tools for use during different seasons, and regional variation in tool kits was greater than ever before. Thus it is really impossible to speak of a single Upper Paleolithic culture even in Europe, a relatively small and isolated region compared to Asia and Africa. For foot nomads, it was a formidable challenge to travel outside the region. Geologic features such as mountain ranges, oceans, and glaciers isolated groups of people from each other.
To understand the Upper Paleolithic, one must consider the many different traditions that made it possible for people to adapt ever more specifically to the various environments in which they were living. Just how proficient people had become at securing a livelihood is indicated by bone yards containing thousands of animal skeletons. At Solutre in France over a period of many years, for example, Upper Paleolithic hunters killed 10,000 horses; at Predmosti in the Czech Republic, they were responsible for the deaths of 1,000 mammoths. The favored big game of European hunters, however, was reindeer, which they killed in even greater numbers.
World History
